The Presence of Anglicisms in four italian Magazines: a Case Study


 
 3  
INTRODUCTION 
 
 
 
The central idea of this work arose while reading English as a Global 
Language by David Crystal. What appeared at first as an obvious statement – that 
English is the global language – is in fact a complex and controversial issue. The 
spread of English concerns and affects many domains and aspects of daily life that 
Crystal's book effectively summarizes. When referring to my personal experience, 
a comparison between the global situation and how Italy, my country, is affected 
or part of this process seemed to me particularly interesting.  
To better comprehend the presence of the English language in Italy, it is 
nevertheless necessary to contextualize it in a global (Ch. 1) and European (Ch. 2) 
context. The present situation, in fact, is only the result of many centuries of 
political, economic and cultural contact with the English-speaking countries 
(especially the UK and the USA). Chapter 1 focuses on the long journey of the 
English language around the world; its history is in fact characterized by a 
constant movement and development. The term ‛diaspora’ is used by many 
scholars (e.g. Jenkins 2003; Kachru 2006) to describe the geographical spread of 
English first in the present-day English-speaking countries, such as the USA, 
Canada, Australia and New Zealand (Par. 1.1.1), and secondly in other continents, 
namely Africa (Par. 1.1.2, 1.1.3, 1.1.4) and Asia (Par. 1.1.5, 1.1.6). These 
territories share a common background in which the presence of English is closely 
linked to political and military actions. However, the influence of the English 
language in the world, above all in the 20
th
 and 21
st
 century, is not just a result of 
colonialism, at least not in its traditional form. Economic (Par. 1.1.7) and cultural 
factors (Par. 1.1.8) contributed to its spread, too.  
When referring to such a vast and diversified domain as the global spread of 
English, the need for representation and codification seems to be an urgent matter. 
Several scholars (e.g. McArthur 1987; Strevens 1992; Kachru 1992; Modiano 
1999a, 1999b; Jenkins 2003; Svartvik, Leech 2006) have attempted to describe

 
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English speakers in the world through classifications or graphical representations. 
In Paragraph 1.2, different attempts will be presented and displayed, with a special 
focus on Kachru's concentric circles (Par. 1.2.1) and Modiano's models (Par. 
1.2.2); these two authors, in particular, seem to effectively represent the main 
issue in the debate concerning global English. On the one hand, native speakers 
and their claim for the “ownership” of English, on the other hand non-native 
speakers and their need for recognition as proficient English speakers, though not 
living in Inner Circle countries. Kachru's circles display a geographical-historical 
perspective, whereas the focus of Modiano's models is on proficiency. 
In this perspective, two concepts are particularly interesting: on the one 
hand, the Standard English ideology, namely the idea that a standard form of 
English should be codified and approved and that any deviation from this standard  
should be considered incorrect; on the other hand, English as a Lingua Franca 
(ELF), spoken and written by those who are not English native speakers but need 
English as a mutual means of communication. The issues connected to these 
topics will de deepened in Par. 1.2.3.  
Finally, some scholars (Crystal 1999, 2003; Graddol 1997, 2006) attempt at 
making predictions on the future of English. Will English maintain its status of 
global language? Will it be challenged? Is it possible to make a comparison with 
former languages performing the same role in the past? In Paragraph 1.3 some 
possible developments will be presented.  
In Chapter 2, the presence of English in Europe will be taken into account. 
Europe is a continent in which multilingualism and cultural diversity is 
considered, even at an official level, as a source of mutual enrichment. Minority 
languages are promoted and protected, and all the languages spoken in the 
European Union are considered official (Par. 2.1). However, for practical reasons, 
the need for a lingua franca is particularly felt; French and English are therefore 
unofficially used as languages of communication in the main European 
institutions (Par. 2.2). The value of multilingualism seems to be therefore in 
contrast with the widespread presence and use of English in Europe, that might 
threaten this vital and diversified linguistic scenario. 
Despite the differences among European countries and cultures, the English

 
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language seems to present some common features throughout the continent. The 
contact with English in Europe takes place above all through the mass media, such 
as the TV , the radio, the printed press, movies and the Internet (Par. 2.2.1). English 
learning is also implemented in education, through official actions and projects 
(Par. 2.2.2). The increasing use of English in Europe has resulted in some attempts 
of codification of a variety named “Euro-English”. In Par. 2.2.3 the features of 
such variety and the reactions following its codification will be presented.  
As already mentioned, the European linguistic scenario is various and 
diversified. The impact of English, despite some common features, is not 
homogeneous; in Paragraph 2.3 the influence of English in different areas of 
Europe, such as the Northern countries, the Netherlands, Germany, France, and 
Spain, will be briefly presented. 
Chapter 3 will be reserved to the Italian situation. Despite the commonalities 
between Italy and the other Mediterranean countries, the history of the presence of 
English in Italy seems to follow a unique path. In fact, the first traces of English 
words introduced into Italian date back to the 16
th
 century. The phenomenon 
named “anglomania” constantly grows until the beginning of the 20
th
 century, 
when the purist ideologies and the fascist measures impose on it a temporary stop. 
As well as in the rest of Europe, after World War II, the exponential increase in the 
use of English words until the present-day situation (Par. 3.1). More recent 
attitudes towards English in Italy will be presented in Paragraph 3.2, and finally, a 
brief overview of the studies concerning the presence of English in Italy will be 
dealt with in Paragraph 3.3. 
The final part of this work, Chapter 4, will be devoted to a case study. Four 
popular Italian magazines – L'Espresso, Sorrisi e Canzoni TV , Sportweek and 
Donna Moderna – have been examined in order to compile a corpus of 
anglicisms
1
 within printed press In Paragraph 4.1 the theoretical framework of the 
study will be presented; Paragraphs 4.1.1 and 4.1.2 will be dedicated respectively 
to the presentation of  methodology and data collection.  
The corpus, composed of nearly one thousand items, will be analyzed from 























































 
 1
 The term 'anglicism' is used in this research with a particular connotation (cf. Par. 4.1).

 
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different perspective, in order to provide an exhaustive all-round analysis. The 
first step of the study will be a quantitative analysis of the data in the corpus (Par. 
4.1.3). The qualitative analysis will focus on different questions; firstly, to which 
word classes do the English words found in the four Italian magazines belong? Do 
the results tell us something about the impact of English on the Italian language 
(Par. 4.1.4)? Secondly, English is a language in which nouns are normally given 
neuter gender; what is more, adjectives and articles are used for both masculine 
and feminine words. In Italian, on the contrary, every noun has a masculine or 
feminine gender, as well as the related articles and adjectives; when English 
words are used in Italian, therefore, they must be given gender: how is gender 
assigned? Are there any recurrent rules in the process of gender assignment to 
anglicisms? This issue will be discussed through the use of examples from the 
corpus. A new trend in the use of English words in Italian is also noticeable in my 
data: an increased proficiency in the English language appears to result in the 
correct use of plural endings. Some examples of words from the data in their 
plural form will be displayed (Par. 4.1.5). 
The following paragraphs will deal with the “manipulation” of anglicisms; 
the English language is used and manipulated in Italian in order to satisfy 
communicative needs. The “appropriation” of the English language takes place 
through clipping and blending (cf. Par. 4.1.6), compounding (cf. Par. 4.1.7) and 
the creation of hybrid formations and pseudo-anglicisms (cf. Par. 4.1.8). 
The items of the corpus were finally scanned and looked up in two different 
dictionaries: Tullio De Mauro's Grande Dizionario Italiano dell'Uso (2003) and 
Görlach's Dictionary of European Anglicisms (2001). This search is aimed at 
observing whether the data are recorded in the dictionaries and how much the 
introduction of new English words has increased in the last decade. It is also 
interesting to notice the frequency assigned to each item in the dictionaries and 
the presence of Italian equivalents (Par. 4.1.9). 
Finally, despite the intention of compiling a corpus made up of common and 
non specific terminology, many words concerning the domains of economics and 
politics were retrieved, especially in L'Espresso as this magazine often deals with 
these topics. Such terms will be handled separately and commented in Paragraph

 
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4.1.10.  
The structure and the content of this work deal with the presence of English 
as a global language, and particularly in Europe and in Italy, since the latter 
cannot be fully understood without contextualizing it in a wider perspective. The 
case study, finally, is a concrete and practical attempt of observing and 
exemplifying the presence of English in the Italian press.