A few posts ago, Estrella talked about updating languages and the different strategies that different countries adopt to do that. Since she mentioned the Italian institute Accademia della Crusca, I thought it would be interesting to learn a bit more about it and its activities.

First of all, I was very pleased to find out that the Accademia della Crusca boasts a bilingual website, both in English and Italian, although some of the funniest sections have not been translated. Anyway, founded in the second half of the 16^th century, the Accademia  was given the name Crusca (‘Chaff’), establishing the use of the symbolism related to flour and to the process of bread-making, and setting its aim as ‘separating the wheat (the good language) from the chaff (the bad language)’. In addition to this, the institution’s symbol is the “frullone”, the tool used to separate the flour from the husk, together with a motto taken from a verse by Petrarch “il più bel fior ne coglie” (‘she gathers the fairest flower’). Everything, even objects, furniture, roles and the coat of arms in the Accademia boasts a name related to bread making! However, the Accademia is very famous for having published its Vocabolario (dictionary) in 1612, which has been edited several times over the centuries. Today, the Accademia promotes the study of the Italian language and its history. This kind of reference work is often used in the translation services industry and can be the backbone of a premium translation.

Their website can be really useful for both translators and other linguists. In this section, there is a very funny list about the objects and actions of the Accademia, which are all related to bread making. Also, this page presents new words, together with a definition in Italian. You can even write to them if you think that you have found a new word! Finally, Cruscle (which, as you can see, looks like a relative of Google’s logo) is a search engine to browse the different editions of the Vocabolario for free.

And now, go and sink your teeth into this tasty website!

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