Living Memory: The Social Aesthetics of Language in a Northern Italian Town

Living Memory investigates the complex question of language and its place at the heart of Bergamasco culture in northern Italy. This title integrates extensive participant observation with sociolinguistic data collection. It reveals the political and social dynamics of a national language (Italian) and a local dialect (Bergamasco) struggling for survival. It introduces the original concept of the ‘social aesthetics of language’: the interweaving of culturally-shaped and emotionally felt dimensions of language-choice. It is written to be accessible to students and specialists alike.