Mother Tongues and Other Reflections on the Italian Language

In this collection of six scholarly essays on the Italian language, Giulio Lepschy discusses issues ranging from Italian literary and spoken history to prosody and a play of the Italian Renaissance.

Giulio Lepschy is Emeritus Professor, University of Reading, and Honorary Professor, Department of Italian, at University College London.

'This set of lectures displays the intellectual sharpness, the formal clarity, and the stylistic 'friendliness' that distinguish the entire corpus of Professor Lepschy's published writings. The work is of great interest to the specialist while being perfectly accessible to the college student and curious general reader. At a time when critical discourse in language and literature is normally shrouded in technical, often incomprehensible jargon, Lepschy's clarity of thought and style is a welcome breath of fresh air.'

Brian Richardson, Department of Italian, University of Leeds:

'This set of lectures displays the intellectual sharpness, the formal clarity, and the stylistic 'friendliness' that distinguish the entire corpus of Professor Lepschy's published writings. The work is of great interest to the specialist while being perfectly accessible to the college student and curious general reader. At a time when critical discourse in language and literature is normally shrouded in technical, often incomprehensible jargon, Lepschy's clarity of thought and style is a welcome breath of fresh air.'