The Italianist

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'Corti' or 'la Corti'? Definite article + surnames for

women

Chiara Cirillo

To cite this article: Chiara Cirillo (1998) 'Corti' or 'la Corti'? Definite article + surnames for
women, The Italianist, 18:1, 272-288

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/ita.1998.18.1.272

Published online: 18 Jul 2013.

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 'Corti' or 'la Corti'? Definite article +
surnallles for WOlllen*
Chiara Cirillo
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1 Introduction

As recent grammars of Italian confirm,l along with the traditional use of

the definite article in front of women's surnames occurring without the first
name (type art+S), a relatively new linguistic use has emerged, i.e. the
omission of the article (type 0+5), which is the norm for surnames referring
to men:

1 II nuovo libro della Corti

2 II nuovo libra di Corti
3 II nuovo libra di Segre

The omission of the definite article in 2 cancels the most obvious

grammatical gender marker denoting the referent's sex, without interfering
with the rest of the sentence in terms of gender agreement: 'Corti e stata
allieva di Terracini'. Grammatically speaking, it is a rather harmless device.
From a sociolinguistic point of view, though, the choice of type 0+5 can be
quite interesting. In fact, the purpose of omitting the definite article is exactly
to disguise the referent's sex, perceived as unnecessary when we talk, for
instance, of a scholar, and thus to comply with the non-sexist requirement
of avoiding gender asymmetries.2
Assessing this minor grammatical change can be revealing of the
extent to which contemporary Italian is sensitive to the question of sexism
in language. There can be no doubt, in fact, that this is the reason underlying
the choice of type 0+5. However, this usage is not totally new: as we shall
see there are examples of women's surnames without articles which date
from before feminist discussions on language, although their presence seems
limited to a particular register within a certain variety of regional Italian.
 Cirillo' 'Corti' or 'Ia Corti'? 273

This paper presents the results of a study conducted on a sample of

authentic material from newspapers, magazines and academic periodicals
of the last twenty years, when the 'new' type (0+S) began to be noticed by
grammarians. The aim was to quantify the use of women's surnames
without articles (type 0+S) compared to the traditional one (type art+S), and
to verify whether or not it has increased in recent years and whether we can
assign type 0+S to particular areas of discourse, e.g. more cultured prose,
where we can expect to find writers more sensitive to a non-sexist use of
language.
However, in order to understand the development of type 0+S we
need to contextualize it within the broader issue of the syntax of articles in
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front of proper names. A brief outline of what some important grammars

of the last hundred years say on the topic will serve our purpose.

2 Definite articles with proper names in Italian

Most grammars deal with this topic, which is peculiar to Italian, in

considerable detail, distinguishing between first names and surnames, for
men and for women. The same division will be followed here.

2.1 Men's first names

All the grammars surveyed,3 except Battaglia-Pernicone ([1951] 1965),
devote at least a mention to the issue, which is quite unproblematic: in
standard Italian, first names do not require the definite article unless they are
somehow modified:

4 a Questo e Gianni figlio della signora Maria

b Questo e il Gianni della signora Maria (and not someone else's
Gianni)4

Yet, if we move away from the standard, diatopic and diaphasic variations
can be found:

5 a Paolo - Silvio - Luca

b II Paolo - i1 Silvio - i1 Luca
5b corresponds to Northern varietiesS and/or to colloquial varieties.6 Hence
traditional grammars with a puristic attitude strongly oppose the article,
felt to be popular and vernacular. 7
 274 the italianist 18 . 1998

2.2. Women's first names

There is general agreement also in this case. Standard Italian does not
require the definite article in front of names, but some regional varieties
present it, namely Northern Italian and Tuscan:

6 a Maria - Luciana - Alessandra

b La Maria -la Luciana -1' Alessandra

As Tuscany is considered the cradle of the Italian language, traditional

grammars are less strict in stigmatizing the article with women's names than
with men's. Again, some grammars recognize· only a diatopic variation,8
some only a diaphasic variation,9 some others a mixture of the two.10
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Among the grammars surveyed only two nineteenth-century grammars11

and Panzini ([1932] 1982) consider the article in front of women's first
names to be the rule, but only for referring to ordinary people and in the
spoken language (diamesic variation). Illustrious names, historical and
mythological, occur without it.12
For women's first names, just as for men's, the language system seems
steady and does not present any particular problem. Puristic grammars
which attempted to export the regional use of Tuscany to the rest of Italy
tried to preserve the article but apparently they did not succeed. Alessandro
Manzoni never used the article before a woman's name in his novel I
promessi sposi, except in the case of the diminutive expression 'La
Gertrudina' .13

2.3 Men's surnames

As Brunet points out (1979:68), this particular issue is more complicated
than those treated above, and grammarians often disagree with and
contradict each other. However, recent grammars agree that contemporary
standard Italian does not present the article,14 although in some regional
varieties (Northern Italian and Tuscan), it can be found with a colloquial
and jocular connotation. IS It also survives in cultivated prose (mainly
literary criticism) as a peculiar feature,16 even if it is becoming obsolete.1?
In any case, where it does appear, the type art+S marks the referent as
known: either through encyclopedic knowledge or contextual knowledge.
An example of the latter is the anaphoric use of the type art+S, after a person
has been mentioned by name+surname (typical of journalistic and
bureaucratic prose):
 Cirillo' 'Corti' or 'Ia Corti'? 275

7 Un uomo di 27 anni, Mario Rossi, e stato gravemente ferito

[ ... ] If Rossi stava attraversando la strada quando [... ].18

The situation becomes more fluid when we look at less recent

grammars. Those written between 1945 and 1970 still prescribe the article,
at least in front of ordinary people's surnames, as its omission would sound
too informal. 19 Opinions differ instead for well-known figures: according to
Fogarasi ([1969] 1983:169) the article can be used or be left out, but
omission is preferred in modern usage; Regula-Jernei ([1965] 1975)
recommends no article in front of well-known names, although a number
of exceptions (all writers) are admitted; Rohlfs (1969) maintains that the
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article must be used in front of famous names (on the basis of the Latin
model of Antipater ille 'the famous Antipater'), but he equally admits some
exceptions.
This uncertainty can be explained if we assume that two views
co-existed in the period 1945-1970:
(i) the traditional one, prescribing the article, regardless of the
importance of the owner's surname, deriving from Tuscan usage and,
according to Hall (1941 and 1964), starting in the sixteenth century;
(ii) a new one, in favour of the omission of the article, arising in the
nineteenth century. A cause for the change, could be the influence of French,
as Pietro Giordani explains to Leopardi, who queries his omission of the
article as a violation of the Tuscan norm.20 Another reason is that Tuscany
stands isolated from the rest of Italy in its use of the article with surnames,
as D'Ovidio ([1878] 1933:78-80) points out, remarking on his discomfort
at the puristic attitude.
In fact, if we look at grammars published between 1880-1945 we find
that the article is still generally prescribed and still commonly used.21 Masini
(1977:72), studying the language of Milanese mid-nineteenth-century
newspapers observes that, despite a constant oscillation between the two
forms, surnames with definite articles slightly prevail. In fact, it would seem
that omission increases only later since first Goidanich ([1918] 1967), then
Panzini ([1932] 1982) and Trabalza-Allodoli (1934), whilst stating the
traditional rule, admit a 'new' trend of omitting the article, expecially in
front of illustrious surnames. This trend must have become well rooted in
people's linguistic conscience and may be illustrated by Mussolini's dislike
for Croce's puristic habit of writing 'il Mussolini'. 22
 276 the italianist 18 . 1998

2.4 Women's surnames

The question of the definite article in front of women's surnames is less
controversial. All the grammars which deal with the matter,23 agree that the
definite article is used when a woman is mentioned only by her surname,
irrespective of her being or not being famous:

8 La Corti -la Morante -la Rossi

In most grammars the rule seems to be compulsory.24 In Migliorini

(1963:143), however, we read that famous women's surnames always
require the article: the obvious inference is that ordinary women's surnames
do not, but nothing is explicitly said.
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Only three recent grammars report, along with the traditional usage,
a new tendency of omitting the article. The first is Lepschy- Lepschy
(1981:152), where we read: 'Si e venuto diffondendo recentemente (forse in
base ad atteggiamenti di carattere femminista) l'uso di trattare i cognomi
delle donne come quelli degli uomini, cioe normalmente senza articolo'.25
The same opinion is shared by Renzi (1988) and Serianni (1988) although
the latter openly stigmatizes it.26 It is presented as a feature pertaining
mainly to political, social and cultural discourse, which enables one to make
no distinctions between men's and women's surnames, hence avoiding an
unequal treatment of the sexes.
Since only grammars of the last fifteen years comment on this 0+S
construction one might be led to consider it a new phenomenon. However,
earlier occurrences of the type 0+S are documented.
In one of Matilde Serao's short stories, entitled 'Telegrafi dello Stato',
a cleaning lady is mentioned only by her surname: 'Chissa, Galante, la
nostra inserviente potrebbe aiutarmi'. 27The example is quoted by Serianni
(1988:146) as an instance of what D'Ovidio considers to be a feature of 'il
gergo scolastico del Mezzogiorno'. 28In fact, Serao uses both type 0+S and
type art+S (the first is more common in direct speech), as one can see from
reading not only 'Telegrafi dello Stato', but also - perhaps more
appropriately if one is looking for school jargon - 'Scuola normale
femminile' .29 Looking for other evidence of 'gergo scolastico', further
occurrences were found in a recent author, Domenico Starnone: the school
teacher protagonist-narrator of his novels always refers to his women
students or colleagues by surname only.30 On the opposite side stands
Mastronardi: in If Maestro di Vigevano the school teacher refers to his
women colleagues using the article in front of their surnames.31 Starnone's
teacher is from Rome, Mastronardi's from Vigevano, in Lombardy, a
 Cirillo' 'Corti' or 'Ia Corti'? 277

difference which seems to be significant. Wishing to draw a provisional

conclusion (more research is needed) from this brief excursion into the
literary world of school novels, we can say that type 0+S is documented in
Central and Southern varieties of Italian with examples reproducing spoken
usage, from Serao (1886) to Starnone (1989 and 1991), in contexts where
women are usually referred to by surname: school, public offices and so on.
This is apparently not directly linked to the question of sexism.

3 'Corti' or 'La Corti'?: An empirical study based on authentic language

data
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In order to assess to what extent the definite article has actually been
disappearing in front of women's surnames 250 occurrences from
newspapers, magazines and periodicals between 1977 and 1997 were
collected and analysed. We did not go further back in time since grammars
seem to place the phenomenon within the last twenty years. Our sources
were the following:

• newspapers: II Corriere della Sera, La Repubbliea, La Stampa

and L'Unita;
• weekly magazines: L'Espresso;
• women's magazines: 10 Donna, La Repubbliea delle Donne;
• monthly magazines: L'Indiee dei libri;
• academic periodicals: Belfagor, Giornale storieo della letteratura
italiana, The Italianist, Lingua nostra, Studi dantesehi.32

Samples were grouped by date and by genre. In going through the

data the first 50 occurrences (in some cases 100, see below) of a woman
mentioned by her surname were collected and it was recorded whether the
surname was preceded by the definite article (type art+S) or not (type 0+S).
Occurrences have been organized in 4 sets:

(1) 1997: 100 from newspapers and magazines

(2) 1987: 50 from newspapers
(3) 1977: 50 from newspapers
(4) 1977-1997: 50 from academic periodicals

Consideration was also given to the context in which occurrences

appeared, to verify if and to what extent it conditioned the choice between
 278 the italianist 18 . 1998

the type art+5 and the type 0+5. In particular, attention was paid to two
relevant aspects:

(a) whether the surname appeared in headlines or captions, since the

need for brevity may have encouraged the author to use type 0+5;

(b) whether the surname appeared within a list of men's surnames,

since the need for symmetry may have induced the writer to adopt
type 0+5, which is the usual form for men's surnames.33 The
purpose was to obtain a result free from contextual conditioning,
and therefore indicative of a meaningful choice.
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Data have been organized in four tables, corresponding to each of

the four sets mentioned above. The first three tables can be read as follows:
in the first column on the left the top left cell shows the date of the material
of a set, underneath there are the specifications of the type used; the second
column gives the number of occurrences whose choice of one type or the
other may be affected by their appearance in special contexts,
('context-bound' occurrence). These are divided into two groups:

(i) those which appear in headlines (first subcolumn);

(ii) those which appear in lists with men's surnames (second

subcolumn).

The third column shows the number of occurrences of women's

surnames which do not appear in contexts that may have restricted the
choice between the two types, ('context-free' occurrences). The fourth and
the fifth columns give respectively the total number of occurrences for each
type and their percentage.

Table 1 Examples from newspapers and magazines (1997)

context-free
1997 context-bound occurrences occurrences total 0/0

in headlines in lists with

men's surnames
type art+5 9 1 65 75 75
type 0+5 8 9 8 25 25

Type art+5 clearly prevails, with 75 occurrences against 25 of type

0+5. Among these 25 the great majority are context-bound, such as the
following:
 Cirillo· 'Corti' or 'Ia Corti'? 279

9 a Dandini: 'Prima del Tg' con il meglio della settimana

(headline, REP, 14/4/97,29)

b Cavani: il segreto, essere liberi e fedeli (headline, STAM,

12/4/97,25)

c Firma falsa nella lite per il divorzio: Schiaffino a processo

(headline, CaRR, 16/5/97, 11)

d Sulla rinascita della satira Dandini e Guzzanti non avevano

dubbi (REP, 14/4/97, 29)

e 'Eyes wide shut' racconta l' ossessione per l' eros di due coniugi
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(Cruise e Kidman, appunto) (ESPR, 8/5/97, 136)

Our assumption that headlines are typical context-bound positions (9a, b,

and c) is confirmed by the fact that in the body of the article the traditional
type art+S is used, as is clearly shown in the following example:

10 a Fenech: prove tecniche di Domenica In (headline, ESPR,

27/3/97, 209)

b Chi ci fa, per contrasto, una gran figura e la Fenech, immersa

in una luce rosa che la rende corposa e diafana allo stesso
tempo (in the body of the article)

The same argument applies to the other context-bound positions we

identified (9d and e): type 0+5 is privileged when a woman's surname occurs
in a list with one or more surnames of men, but the traditional type art+S
reappears when a woman is mentioned on her own, as in the following:

11 a Anche perche, al niente di Parietti e Boncompagni fa da

contrappunto illavoro a tempo pieno del 'Pippo Chennedy'
(REP, 14/4/97,29)

b [... ] Lo show di Boncompagni condotto dalla Parietti e visto

da uomini e donne (REP, 14/4/97, 29)

Leaving aside the 17 context-bound occurrences, we are left with 8

context-free occurrences of type 0+5. However, 5 of these are problematic
because the article is not consistently omitted throughout the passage, and
apparently there is no immediate reason for the alternation between the
two types. We will call them 'mixed occurrences'. Interestingly, in the case
of mixed occurrences, type 0+S always appears first, as if the writer were
 280 the italianist 18 . 1998

conforming to a rule not perfectly mastered, but then the traditional habit
came out again. Here are examples of mixed occurrences:

12 a Per la verita, racconta Schelotto, i due oggi stanno benissimo

e hanno un bambino (ESPR 27/3/97, 84)

bEla storia continua ancora oggi - conclude la Schelotto (ESPR

27/3/97, 84)

c Per Arendt esso e implicato nella mentalita politica e filosofica

moderna, per Weil [... ] (IND, 5/97, 44)

d Esposito fa notare come la triade romana di autorita

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tradizione e religione, glorificata dalla Arendt, condannata

senza riserve dalla Weil [... ] (IND, 5/97, 44)

Having eliminated mixed occurrences, only three context-free occurrences

remaIn:

13 a Mi sembra sia proprio questo 10 stoico piacere che ha ispirato

la minuziosa, paziente e un po' perversa cura con cui Novella
Bellucci ricostruisce la fittissima rete di relazioni [... ] Bellucci
avanza nella sua premessa (IND, 4/97, 14)

b Elisabetta Rasy non aveva mai scritto un libro come questo

[... ] Ma il 'Posillipo' di Rasy forse e pili vicino a quello cantato
nel '400 dal Sannazzaro [... ] Rasy e magnifica nel registrare Ie
intermittenze del suo cuore (DON, 8/4/97, 72).

c Quelle fortunate ore passate a buttar via scrittura mi tornano

in mente con rammarico leggendo 'Ombre dal Fondo', il
romanzo di verita che la critica Maria Corti [... ] perche Corti
e abilissima nel tracciare il gioco d'ombre dell'archivio [... ]
Corti raccoglie con am ore Ie carte di Fortini, Arbasino,
Bilenchi, Morselli [... ] (IOD, 1/3/97, 177).

Here women are mentioned by their surnames without the article, but only
after they have been first mentioned by name+surname, which makes the
referent's sex unequivocal. The fact that the women mentioned are all
writers meets our expectation of finding type 0+S in literary criticism, but
examples are too few to enable us to draw generalizations.
 Cirillo· 'Corti' or 'Ia Corti'? 281

Table 2 Examples from newspapers (1987)

context-bound context-free
1987 occurrences occurrences total 0/0
in headlines in lists with
men's surnames
type art+5 22 3 18 43 86
type 0+5 3 1 3 7 14
(same passage)

Type art+S prevails overwhelmingly (86% compared with 75% of the 1997
set). Half of the remaining 14% consists of context-bound examples (as is
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demonstrated by the fact that in the text the article reappears), like the
following:

14 a I segni di Lazzari come corde music ali nel testo (headline,

UNI, 24/10/87, 17)

b La Lazzari aveva studiato in conservatorio e studiava il

violino, come Klee (in the body of the article)

Interestingly, the only 3 context-free occurrences of type 0+S belong to the

same passage, but in the end the writer surrenders to tradition and goes
back to type art+S, providing an excellent example of mixed occurrences:

15 a Ma Collins? In apparenza si tratta di una donna bellissima

(REP, 11/8/87)

b I guai cominciano quando si avvicina, la macchina da pres a,

a Collins in primo piano (REP, 11/8/87)

c Eppure tale immagine e stata elevata a simbolo, a riscatto

della cinquantenne che avrebbe in Collins la sua piu splendida
rappresentante (REP, 11/8/87)

d [... ] certi aspetti del personaggio di Alexis Colby si siano

sovrapposti alia Collins confondendo inestricabilmente
l'immagine (REP, 11/8/87)
 282 the italianist 18 . 1998

Table 3 Examples from newspapers (1977)

context-bound context-free
1977 occurrences occurrences total 0/0

in headlines in lists with

men's surnames
type art+5 9 4 32 45 90
type 0+5 2 1 2 5 10

Here, in the earliest set of data, type art+5 corresponds to 90% of the
occurrences (4 % more than a decade later and 15 % more than twenty years
later). Once again, over half of the remaining type 0+5 is context-bound,
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either because employed in headlines (16a) or in a list with a man's surname

(16a and 16b):

16 a Girardot poliziotta, Noiret poeta: amore suI 'set' (headline,

CaRR, 29/6/77, 15)

b Allo stadio attuale - scrivono Guattari e Macciocchi -Ie forze

vive dell'ltalia non hanno altro ricorso che l' espressione
diretta nelle strade [... ] (UNI, 21/9/77, 2)

One of the two context-free occurrences is mixed, i.e. both types are used
in the same passage:

17 a E forse 10 fa ancora con 'modelli' (Muscio direbbe patterns) e

figure del discorso non liberate dalla ganga, appunto,
stereotipata (UNI, 28/9/77, 8)

b I documenti dei repressori dell'HUAC, 0 Comitato per Ie

Attivita Antiamericane, che la Muscio ghiottamente ci
ammannisce nella seconda parte del libro, 10 dimostrano
(UNI, 28/9/77, 8)

The other context-free occurrence is the following:

18 Due grandi foto sulla prima pagina del 'Times' illustrano

abbastanza la gioia degli inglesi per Ie loro due tenniste,
Barker e Wade, giunte alle semifinali (CaRR, 29/6/77, 19)

But here the writer could be influenced by the abbreviation 'Barker & Wade'
or by the foreign source of the news. In any case, whether we accept this
example as context-free or not, the situation does not change: the more we
go back in time the fewer occurrences of type 0+5 we find.
 Cirillo' 'Corti' or 'Ia Corti'? 283

Finally, the last set of data, occurrences found in academic periodicals,

could not be analysed in the usual chronological way; this is because the
chronological development did not give any meaningful result: apparently
what seems to matter is not the year of publication, but a sort of editorial
policy. In some periodicals there were examples of only one type, in some
others, only of the other one, as table 4 shows:

Table4 Examples from periodicals (1977-97)

1977-97 BELF GSLI ITAL LN SO total 0/0

periodicals (23) (13) (5) (4) (5) (50)

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type art+5 20 13 0 4 5 42 84
type 0+5 3 0 5 0 0 8 16

The sole exception is Belragar, which offers examples of both types,

although the great maj ority corresponds to the traditional art+S. More
interestingly, our expectations were disappointed: despite the assertions of
grammars that educated usage is more likely to produce type 0+S, it is the
traditional art+S that still prevails, with only 8 occurrences of type 0+5.
Besides, 2 out of these 8 are mixed (19a, 19b) or context-bound occurrences:

19 a Quest'ultimo aspetto eben illustrato dallibro di Billi (BELF,

49,1994,489)

b Lo studio della Billi, dunque, e anche un libro di critica

femminista [... ] (BELF,49, 1994,489)

c E infine, su testi di Arbasino, Maraini e Pasolini studia [... ]

come hanno operato alcuni modelli 'classici' ispanici (BELF,
42, 1987,476).

In addition, 4 examples out of 5 found in The Italianist belong to the same

author, even if from different articles published at different times and are
therefore more likely to illustrate an idiosyncratic usage than an editorial
policy.34 In any case 0+S is still poorly represented in academic writing.

4 Conclusion

Although a limited sample was used, some conclusions can be drawn from
the data analysed. The first concerns quantitative results: at first, type 0+S
seemed to have some weight (25 0/0) in the language of contemporary
 284 the italianist 18 . 1998

newspapers and magazines, but a closer observation has revealed that most
occurrences of type0+S were context-bound, that is the choice of one type
or the other could have been influenced by the context in which it appeared,
reducing this percentage to a mere 8%. This means that in only 8 occasions
out of 100 has a journalist, mentioning a woman by her surname, decided
to omit the definite article to comply with a non-sexist language
requirement. The weight of tradition seems so strong that very often a
journalist begins by using type 0+S and then reverts to type art+S in the
same passage. These situations that we called 'mixed occurrences' reveal a
degree of uncertainty, as though the writer were uncomfortable with type
0+S. Yet, our analysis has shown that despite being relatively insignificant,
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type 0+S has steadily grown at the expense of type art+S since 1977.
A second aspect concerns styles, registers or textual genres where we
expected to find a prevalence of type 0+S: literary criticism in academic
periodicals, cultural, social and political sections in newspapers and
magazines should have been, according to our expectations (raised both by
our feeling and by what grammars say), more sensitive to non-sexist usage.
In actual fact, context-free occurrences were so few that it would be unwise
to specify which genres or registers are more likely to exhibit them. In
particular literary criticism proved to be attached to tradition (sometimes
chosing type art+S also for men's surnames). The few occurrences of type
0+S found in 1997 referred to women writers, but the very few of 1977
and 1987 referred to other kinds of celebrities. Therefore, taking into
consideration the fact that poverty of data could affect the answer, we can
say that statistical evidence does not suggest that type 0+S is preferred in
specific areas of discourse.
Finally, although the omission of the definite article in front of a
woman's surname is closely linked with the desire to avoid gender
asymmetries, and in this sense it is a recent change in Italian grammar, some
earlier examples were found in texts reproducing the spoken language of
school teachers and civil servants of Central and Southern Italy. These
examples, the oldest being dated 1886, testify to another, more restricted,
usage of type 0+S, apparently not connected with the question of sexism in
language.
University of Reading
 Cirillo· 'Corti' or 'Ia Corti'? 285

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Brunet, J. 1979. Grammaire critique de I'italien, 2: L'article, Paris: Universite Paris VIII, Vincennes

Dardano, M. and Trifone, P. 1985. La lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli

Devoto, G. and Massaro, D. 1962. Grammatica italiana, Leece: Milella
Fogarasi, M. [1969] 1983. Grammatica italiana del Novecento, Rome: Bulzoni
Fornaciari, R. [1881] 1974. Sintassi italiana, Florence: Sansoni
Goidimich, P.G. [1918] 1967. Grammatica italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
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Leone, A. 1986. Complementi di grammatica italiana, Palermo: [no publisher]

Lepschy, A. L. and Lepschy, G. [1977] 1988. The Italian Language Today, London: Routledge

-- 1981. La lingua italiana, Milan: Bompiani

Mariani, C. 1904. Grammatica italiana della lingua parlata, Turin: Paravia

Migliorini, B. 1963. La lingua nazionale, Florence: Le Monnier

Moise, G. 1878. Grammatica della lingua italiana, Florence: Tipografia del vocabolario
Panzini, A. [1932] 1982. Grammatica italiana, Palermo: Sellerio

Petrocchi, P. [1887] 1992. Lagrammatica italiana, Sorrento-Naples: Di Mauro (first ed. Grammatica
della lingua italiana, Milan: F.lli Treves)
Regula, M. and Jernei, J. [1965] 1975. Grammatica italiana descrittiva, Bern-MOnchen: Francke
Verlag
Renzi, L. 1988. Grande grammatica italiana di consultazione, vaLl: La Frase.Isintagmi nominale e
preposizionale, Bologna: II Mulino
Serianni, L. 1988. Grammatica italiana, Turin: UTET
Trabalza, C. and Allodoli, E. 1934. Lagrammatica degli Italiani, Florence: Le Monnier
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Migliorini, B. 1960. Storia della lingua italiana, Florence: Sansoni
Rohlfs, G. 1966-1969. Grammatica storica della lingua italiana e dei suoi dialetti, 3 vols, Turin:
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Eco, U. 1980. Come si fa una tesi di laurea. Le materie umanistiche, Milan: Bompiani
Hall, R. A., jr. 1941. 'Definite article + family name in Italian', Language, 17,33-39
---1964. 'Moot points in Italian grammar: 3. Definite article + family name (mase)', Italica,
41,162-67
 286 the italianist 18 . 1998

Herczeg, G. H. 1972. 'Contributi all'uso dell'articolo determinativo in italiano', Acta Linguistica

Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 22, 119-39
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Press
Masini, A. 1977. La lingua di alcuni giornali milanesi dal1859 al1865, Florence: La Nuova Italia
Sabatini, A. 1987./1 sessismo nella lingua italiana, Rome: Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri

Notes
* I should like to thank Giulio Lepschyfor his 9 Goid~mich([1918] 1967), Trabalza-Allodoli (1934),
suggestions and comments on earlier drafts of this Migliorini (1960), Devoto-Massaro (1962),
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article. Please note that page numbers refer to the Regula-Jernei (1965), and Fogarasi ([ 1969] 1983).
edition I have used.The date of the original edition, 10 Lepschy-Lepschy(1988), Renzi (1988), and Serianni
when different, is given in square brackets. (1988).
1 Lepschy-Lepschy (1988: 173), Renzi (1988:393), and 11 Petrocchi ([ 1887] 1992) and Fornaciari ([ 1881]
Serianni (1988:146). 1974).
2 See Lepschy-Lepschy (1988: 173), Renzi (1988:393), 12 Seealso Moise (1878:646).
and Serianni (1988:147).ln her guidelines for a
13 D'Ovidio ([1878] 1933:78).
non-sexist use of language Sabatini (1987: 110)
recommends either dropping the article with women's 14 Brunet (1979), Dardano-Trifone (1985),

surnames or inserting it with men's surnames too. Lepschy-Lepschy(1988), Renzi (1988), Serianni
(1988).
3 Seethe bibliography.
15 Lepschy-Lepschy(1988), Serianni (1988).
4 Renzi (1988:391).
16 Lepschy-Lepschy(1988: 173) notices that: 'Some
5 D'Ovidio ([1878] 1933), Trabalza-Allodoli (1934),
authors follow the convention of never using the
Brunet (1979), Lepschy-Lepschy(1988), Renzi (1988),
article with the name of a living person'.
and Serianni (1988).
17 Umberto Ecoin his popular handbook on how to
6 Brunet (1979), Lepschy-Lepschy(1988), and Renzi
write a degree thesis suggests avoiding the article,
(1988). Moise (1878:641 n. 3) suggests that some
even for well-known figures, because 'sa di vecchio'
names with articles, for example in works by
(Eco 1980: 169).
Boccaccio, Dante or Ariosto, are justified because they
are perceived as nicknames. 18 Authentic examples in Korzen (1996:527), who
suggests an interesting parallel between this
7 Seefor example Panzini ([1932] 1982:24):'11 nome
construction and the one in which a definite noun
proprio e senza articolo: Carlo e non iI Carlo, come
phrase refers to the head of the antecedent without
dicono a Milano' and Trabalza-Allodoli (1934:89): 'Lo
attribution: 'Traccia un triangolo nero. Sotto iI
respingono [I'articolo] i nomi propri di persona e di
triangolo traccia una linea rossa'.
animale (Paolo, Brigliadoro) e qualche tentativo di
estendere al parlar nazionale e letterario un certo uso 19 Migliorini (1960) and Fogarasi ([1969] 1983).
dialettale dell'Alta Italia non attecchisce'. According to Regula-Jernei ([1965] 1975) it is
optional.
8 D'Ovidio ([1878] 1933), Brunet (1979), and
Dardano-Trifone (1985). 20 On 30 May 1817 Leopardi writes: 'Ho notato che
Ella, come mille altri de' buoni, usa nominando Ie

persone pel solo cognome lasciare I'articolo. Ora da
qualcuno vissuto certo tempo in Toscana, ho sentito
dire che questo la non si fa, e non si vuol che si faccia,
perche, dicono, il cognome e aggettivo e non pub
stare da se, valendo quanto iI patronimico dei greci;
onde come non si dice, per esempio, Pelide
assolutamente ma, il Pelide, cosl non si pub dire
Salviati Valori Strozzi, ma iI Salviati iI Valori 10 Strozzi.
Questa ragione a me quadra e pub stare che negli
antichi non si trovino molti esempi contrari. Veda ella
se Ie par buona'.And Giordani, on 10th June, replies:
'La ringrazio delle osservazioni su' miei opuscoli.
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L'omettere I'articolo ai cognomi e mio errore, nato
dalla mala consuetudine universale del
franceseggiare in questo secolo, che I'uomo talora
non se ne accorge' (Epistolario di Giacomo Leopardi
and Lettere degli amici a lui, edited by Giuseppe
Piergili, in Giacomo Leopardi, Opere complete,
vols (Florence, Le Monnier, 1925), I, 75 and 111,45.
21For Petrocchi ([ 1887] 1992) the article must be
used in all circumstances, Fornaciari ([1881] 1974)
and Mariani (1904) consider it necessary but admit
exceptions with famous surnames (treated as first
names). According to Moise (1878) it is commonly
used.
22See Leone (1986: 120).
23No mention was found in Battaglia-Pernicone
([ 1965] 1975), Panzini ([ 1932]1982), Goidanich
([1918] 1967), Mariani (1904), Petrocchi ([1887]
1992) and Fornaciari ([1881] 1974). This is in itself
interesting for the history of attitudes to gender.
24Moise (1878:646), Trabalza-Allodoli (1934:89),
Rohlfs (1969:30), Regula-Jernej ([1965] 1975:118),
Fogarasi ([1969] 1983:169), Brunet (1979:73) and
Dardano-Trifone (1985:95).
25Here we quote from the Italian version (1981); this
statement is missing in the first English edition
(1977), where we read: 'If a woman is referred to only
by her surname, the article must be used' (1977: 164)
and the issue of sexism is not mentioned. This gives us
the opportunity to date more precisely the diffusion of
Cirillo' 'Corti' or 'Ia Corti'? 287
type 0+5, or at least to date the moment when
grammars begin to notice it.
26'(01 solo cognome I'articolo e obbligatorio, e in
pratica segnala automaticamente che la persona in
questione e una donna [ ... ] AI fine di evitare la
segnalazione asimmetrica di uomini e donne,
soprattutto nel campo politico, sociale e culturale, si
sta sviluppando la tendenza ad usare una stessa
determinazione, per cui si avra per entrambi i sessi 0
la forma senza articolo 0 la forma completa di nome e
cognome' (Renzi 1988:393). '(on i cognomi
femminili la norma tradizionale, cui e bene continuare
ad attenersi, prescrive I'obbligo dell'articolo. Tuttavia
andra notato che la tendenza attuale e verso I'uso del
semplice cognome senza articolo, come per il
maschile' (Serianni 1988: 146).
27Matilde Serao,'Telegrafi dello Stato' [1886], in
16
Romanzi e raeeonti dell'Ottoeento. Serao, edited by
P.Pancrazi (Milan, Garzanti, 1944), I, 915.
28D'Ovidio ([1878] 1933:80).
29'Scuola normale femminile' in Romanzi e raeeonti
dell'Ottoeento. Serao, I, 951-88. Both short stories
are collected in /I romanzo della fanciulla, published
for the first time in 1886.
30Domenico Starnone, Ex eattedra (Milan, Feltrinelli,
1989), and Fuori registro (Milan, Feltrinelli, 1991).
31Lucio Mastronardi, 1/maestro di Vigevano (Turin,
Einaudi, 1962).
32The following abbreviations have been used in
giving examples: (ORR = 1/Corriere della Sera; REP=
La Repubbliea; STAM = La Stampa; UNI = L 'Unita;
ESPR= L 'Espresso; laD = 10 Donna; DON = La
Repubbliea delle Donne; IND = L 'Indiee dei libri; BELF
= Belfagor; GSLI = Giornale storieD della letteratura
italiana; ITAL = The Italianist; LN = Lingua nostra; SD
= Studi dantesehi.
331tmay be of some interest to note that in order to
find 250 occurrences of women's surnames we had to
look at more than thirty issues of newspapers,
magazines and periodicals. Besides,some occurrences
were taken from the same article, and very often the
 288 the italianist 18 . 1998

same character was the protagonist of many articles. 34 The Italianist is also the only periodical in my
If we had had to collect 250 men's surnames one sample which is not published in Italy, but in England,
single issue of a newspaper, magazine or periodical where a certain awareness of sexism in language
would have been enough. Going back to linguistic seems generally greater than in Italy.
considerations it is also perhaps worth mentioning
that, excluding periodicals, in my sample I found only
two surnames of men of type art+S, apart from the
anaphoric use (for which see 2.3).
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