La lingua di un follaiolo. Analisi lessicale di Milano sconosciuta di Paolo Valera

Abstract

Milano sconosciuta is an important work by Paolo Valera, a writer and journalist belonging to the movement of the so-called "Scapigliatura democratica". Published in 1879, it's a social study about the poor classes of the city of Milan in the nineteenth century. The language used by the author can be included in the category of "linguistic expressionism", created by Gianfranco Contini. Valera underlined the features of people's language, focussing the importance of the crowd in the creation of an expressive and lively language.