Definitions of syllable in Italian grammars : a brief historical survey

This paper provides a first outline of the historical development of the definition of syllable in the Italian grammatical production. First, it focuses on a number of treatises written between the fifteenth and the seventeenth century, starting from Leon Battista Alberti‟s Grammatichetta vaticana and ending with Benedetto Buommattei‟s treatise Della lingua toscana. By examining these writings, we outline the formation of the core of Italian tradition concerning the syllable while highlighting the strong continuity between Italian grammar and classical Antiquity grammars. Thereafter we show how the traditional Italian definitions of syllable developed in the first centuries of the Italian grammatical production travel through the centuries, finally arriving at the present age.This paper provides a first outline of the historical development of the definition of syllable in the Italian grammatical production. First, it focuses on a number of treatises written between the fifteenth and the seventeenth century, starting from Leon Battista Alberti‟s Grammatichetta vaticana and ending with Benedetto Buommattei‟s treatise Della lingua toscana. By examining these writings, we outline the formation of the core of Italian tradition concerning the syllable while highlighting the strong continuity between Italian grammar and classical Antiquity grammars. Thereafter we show how the traditional Italian definitions of syllable developed in the first centuries of the Italian grammatical production travel through the centuries, finally arriving at the present age.B