Nella dissertazione si intende indagare il problema delle varietà della lingua tedesca, con particolare attenzione alla loro percezione da parte di parlanti provenienti dai tre centri principali, la Germania, l'Austria e la Svizzera. Le istituzioni di questi Paesi hanno avvertito la necessità di fissare le particolarità linguistiche attraverso grammatiche, dizionari, glossari. La trattazione ha inizio con una breve descrizione dello sviluppo del concetto di testo e dell'insorgere della sua consapevolezza negli studi linguistici. In seguito, si introducono la tipologia testuale e la componente culturale, con considerazioni sui molti approcci e scopi attraverso i quali entrambi i fenomeni sono stati affrontati nelle discipline più disparate, per giungere a collocare in modo più puntuale l'evoluzione dell'interesse per il pluricentrismo nella lingua tedesca. L'ipotesi più accreditata presso gli esperti è che la varietà di appartenenza venga segnalata sul piano lessicale, sintattico, grammaticale e pragmatico. Infine, si descrivono i risultati che un semplice sondaggio sulla comprensione di testi del settore assicurativo hanno evidenziato e li si confronteranno con quanto riportato dai dizionari di riferimento che fanno parte del codice delle varietà. / The dissertation investigates the problem of the German varieties, and in particular how a text is perceived by native speakers coming from its three main linguistic centres, namely Germany, Austria and Switzerland, where the institutions have felt the need to fix the different characteristics of their own variety in dictionaries, grammars and glossaries. The first Chapter is devoted to the development of the concept of textuality in linguistics. Chapter two considers some of the various approaches to text typology and culture in the different disciplines to introduce the question of pluricentricity in German. The hypothesis generally supported by the main scholars is that the varieties are signalled at the lexical, syntactic, pragmatic and grammar levels. The last chapter deals with the results of the interviews about the comprehension of some insurance texts and compare them to the dictionaries acknowledged in the code of the three varieties.

La presente ricerca intende indagare alcune tendenze interazionali di discenti giapponesi e svedesi in relazione alla cultura dei parlanti e al processo comunicativo che ha luogo nell’insegnamento dell’italiano all’estero. Gli stili comunicativi e gli stili di apprendimento costituiscono lo sfondo della dinamica di rapporto fra docente e studente. Tali elementi si manifestano in interazioni interculturali attraverso una co-occorrenza di regolarità caratteristiche della comunità linguistica a cui i discenti appartengono. Osservando lo stile comunicativo degli studenti si nota che alcune strategie interazionali riflettono valori culturali a cui è legato il senso della politeness, così come percepito dalla loro comunità linguistica. Il trasferimento di strategie comunicative da una lingua all’altra può dare origine a dissonanze nelle interazioni tra docenti e studenti, inficiando il processo comunicativo che permette di attuare pragmaticamente l’azione didattica, compromettendone talvolta il buon esito. Le modalità interazionali degli studenti riflettono lo stile comunicativo della comunità linguistica di cui fanno parte, mentre la tradizione della didattica delle lingue straniere permette di comprendere gli stili di apprendimento dei discenti. Si comprende così la centralità che hanno la cultura dei parlanti e il processo comunicativo, ai fini dell’insegnamento e dell’apprendimento delle lingue all’estero. / The aim of the present research is to investigate some interactional features of Japanese and Swedish students as regards the culture of the speakers and the process of communication involved in the teaching of Italian as a foreign language. Communication styles and learning styles form the background of the dynamics in the relationship between the lecturer and the student. Such elements can be perceived in intercultural communications, especially by a co-occurrence of regularities that are distinctive of the language community the students belong to. By observing the communication styles of the students one can see that some interactional strategies reflect cultural values that are strictly connected to the sense of politeness, as perceived by a language community. Transferring communicative strategies from one language to another can produce dissonances in the interactions between the lecturer and the students; this in turn can affect the process of communication in its pragmatic application of the teaching, at times making it less successful. The communication styles of the students reflect those of the language community they belong to, whereas the foreign language teaching tradition allows one to comprehend their styles of learning. Thus one can rediscover the central role of culture and communication in the process of teaching a foreign language abroad.

<p>In today’s world, exposure to other cultures has become a symbol of increasing globalization processes. Many people leave their home area to embark on a voyage of discovery and learning that affects their original cultural identity.</p><p>This study explores the life experience of independent transcultural sojourners, i.e. people who freely decide to relocate to different cultural contexts after their formative years. The inquiry covers three major themes of their intercultural experience: Multicultural identity, processes of intercultural adaptation, and change and transformation ensuing from multiple intercultural relocations. The aim of this study is to show the effects of multiple intercultural experiences on the identity of transcultural sojourners, and how they dealt with relevant emerging processes of intercultural adaptation.</p><p>Following a format suggested by Seidman (1996), five respondents were asked to recount and reflect on their transcultural experience in three separate, asynchronous interviews that covered three dimensions of their intercultural experience: past, present, and reflections. The ensuing text comprised about 16,000 words and was analyzed using both a narrative and a thematic approach using a mixed typology of categories and sub-themes made up of indigenous typology stemming from relevant scholarly literature and researcher-constructed typology suggested by the researcher and the respondents.</p><p>The analysis indicates that personal factors like mindfulness, motivation, resourcefulness, and intercultural awareness strongly influence processes of Intercultural communication competence and Multicultural identity development. Contextual factors are also relevant, as they include issues of avowed and ascribed identity. The analysis also shows no specific, generalizable link between the presence of intercultural stimuli in the original cultural milieus and the decision to relocate across cultural boundaries. Furthermore, it points to a strong relation between Piagetian constructivist learning theories and the development of ICC competence. The study also indicates that independent transcultural sojourners are in a position to negotiate the level of their integration and marginality, which in turn affects the spectrum of their Intercultural communication competence.</p><p>Finally, this study indicates the limited applicability of traditional functionalist approaches to understanding and conceptualizing processes of intercultural adaptation and multicultural identity building. It also suggests the need for a shift towards a dialogical perspective informed by systems-thinking and Chaos theory.</p> / The author would like to acknowledge the inspiration and passion for intercultural issues provided over the years by the Intercultural Insights on-line community.Seattle, summer 2010.

In today’s world, exposure to other cultures has become a symbol of increasing globalization processes. Many people leave their home area to embark on a voyage of discovery and learning that affects their original cultural identity. This study explores the life experience of independent transcultural sojourners, i.e. people who freely decide to relocate to different cultural contexts after their formative years. The inquiry covers three major themes of their intercultural experience: Multicultural identity, processes of intercultural adaptation, and change and transformation ensuing from multiple intercultural relocations. The aim of this study is to show the effects of multiple intercultural experiences on the identity of transcultural sojourners, and how they dealt with relevant emerging processes of intercultural adaptation. Following a format suggested by Seidman (1996), five respondents were asked to recount and reflect on their transcultural experience in three separate, asynchronous interviews that covered three dimensions of their intercultural experience: past, present, and reflections. The ensuing text comprised about 16,000 words and was analyzed using both a narrative and a thematic approach using a mixed typology of categories and sub-themes made up of indigenous typology stemming from relevant scholarly literature and researcher-constructed typology suggested by the researcher and the respondents. The analysis indicates that personal factors like mindfulness, motivation, resourcefulness, and intercultural awareness strongly influence processes of Intercultural communication competence and Multicultural identity development. Contextual factors are also relevant, as they include issues of avowed and ascribed identity. The analysis also shows no specific, generalizable link between the presence of intercultural stimuli in the original cultural milieus and the decision to relocate across cultural boundaries. Furthermore, it points to a strong relation between Piagetian constructivist learning theories and the development of ICC competence. The study also indicates that independent transcultural sojourners are in a position to negotiate the level of their integration and marginality, which in turn affects the spectrum of their Intercultural communication competence. Finally, this study indicates the limited applicability of traditional functionalist approaches to understanding and conceptualizing processes of intercultural adaptation and multicultural identity building. It also suggests the need for a shift towards a dialogical perspective informed by systems-thinking and Chaos theory. / The author would like to acknowledge the inspiration and passion for intercultural issues provided over the years by the Intercultural Insights on-line community.Seattle, summer 2010.