The LIPS corpus (Lexicon of Spoken Italian by Foreigners): a study on the acquisition of vocabulary by L2 Italian learners, between measures of lexical richness and lexical fields

The aim of this paper is to present a corpus based research of the acquisition of the vocabulary by learners of L2 Italian. The goal of the research is to study the lexical uses of non-native speakers and the processes of lexical acquisition underlying these uses, applying some measures of lexical richness and analysing the lexical fields of the corpus. The informants were non-native speakers with different proficiency levels, learning Italian both in Italy and outside of it. The main results show how lexical competence develops above all quantitavely at the beginning and intermediate levels, as well a show it develops qualitatevely st more advanced levels in particolar. Different learning inputs greatly affects the development of lexical competence: learners acquiring Italian in Italy have a deeper knowledge of the Italian vocabulary compared to learners learning Italian outside of Italy. Regardless of the learning context or proficiency level, the most relevant categories among the lexical fields are those linked to everyday life, whereas those categories linked to more abtract domains are less relevant, but show a higher level of lexical richness compared to categories linked to daily life