Association for the History of the Italian Language
ASLI is an Italian non-profit professional association, founded in 1992, that brings together scholars of the history of the Italian language and promotes research and teaching of Italian.
Last updated September 26, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile since Oct 28, 2026.
Overview
The Associazione per la Storia della Lingua Italiana (ASLI) is an Italian professional association founded in 1992 that gathers scholars of the history of the Italian language and of Italian linguistics in its various aspects. According to its official website, it brings together around 400 teachers and scholars in Italy and worldwide, and it pursues the goal of promoting studies on the Italian language through targeted initiatives in the university world and in civil society, as well as fostering more effective teaching of Italian. Its members include university professors of the history of Italian and of Italian linguistics or related disciplines such as Romance philology, glottology and dialectology; structured members are joined by research doctors and research fellows, while doctoral students and scholarship holders may take part in activities and congresses. The association is non-profit and has no political aims. It is based in Florence at the Accademia della Crusca. Its objectives, set out in Article 2 of its statute, are to promote studies on the history of the Italian language and, more generally, on the Italian language at every cultural, scientific and didactic level, and to support the dissemination and development of the national language. Particular attention is devoted to the teaching of Italian in schools of every level, including proposals on school curricula and verification of the coherence between programmes and their application. ASLI is a recognised interlocutor of the Italian Ministry of Education (MIUR) in ministerial working groups and parliamentary commissions. In November 2009 it jointly signed, with the Accademia della Crusca and the Accademia dei Lincei, the document 'Lingua italiana, scuola, sviluppo', which was transmitted to the Ministry of Education and to the then President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano. The association also addresses what it sees as a situation of crisis and transition for Italian in contemporary society, linked to new needs of institutional, administrative, corporate and media communication, the issues raised by a multi-ethnic society, and the possible downgrading of Italian within the restricted group of stable languages of the European Union. In 2010 ASLI created an internal section, ASLI Scuola, to follow more closely the teaching of Italian in schools and teacher training. ASLI Scuola is coordinated by Claudio Giovanardi, after Paolo D'Achille and Massimo Palermo, and is open to all Italian teachers in primary and secondary schools. It promotes the open-access journal 'Italiano a scuola', founded and directed by Roberta Cella and Matteo Viale, and is organised in regional branches. ASLI also organises seminars, study days or weeks, international congresses and advanced training projects, often exploring the relationship between language history and other fields such as literature, art, music, theatre, cuisine, philology, dialectology and politics. Its leadership has included Ignazio Baldelli, Francesco Bruni, Francesco Sabatini, Gian Luigi Beccaria, Rosario Coluccia, Silvia Morgana, Rita Librandi, Michele Cortelazzo and Pietro Trifone; Sergio Lubello has been president since 2024.
History
The Associazione per la Storia della Lingua Italiana (ASLI) was founded in 1992 as an association of university teachers of the history of the Italian language and of Italian linguistics or related disciplines such as Romance philology, glottology and dialectology. It is a non-profit body with no political aims, and it established its seat in Florence at the Accademia della Crusca. From its foundation it has combined scholarly research with a strong commitment to the teaching of Italian in schools of every level. Over the decades ASLI has organised a long series of international congresses and study events that deliberately place the history of the language in dialogue with other fields. Among the themes addressed are 'Storia della lingua e storia letteraria' (Florence, 1997), 'Storia della lingua e storia' (Catania, 1999), 'Storia della lingua e storia dell'arte' (Rome, 2002), 'Storia della lingua e storia della musica' (Sanremo, 2004), 'Storia della lingua e storia del teatro' (Bologna, 2006), 'Storia della lingua e storia della cucina' (Modena, 2007), 'Storia della lingua e filologia' (Pisa and Florence, 2008), 'Storia della lingua e dialettologia' (Palermo, 2009), 'Storia della lingua e storia dell'Italia unita' (Florence, 2010), a congress on the Vocabolario degli Accademici della Crusca (1612) and Italian lexicography (Padua and Venice, 2012), 'L'italiano della politica e la politica per l'italiano' (Naples, 2014), 'Etimologia e storia di parole' (Florence, 2016) and 'Pragmatica storica dell'italiano'. In November 2009 ASLI joined the Accademia della Crusca and the Accademia dei Lincei in signing the document 'Lingua italiana, scuola, sviluppo', which was sent to the Ministry of Education and to the President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano. This document expressed the association's educational and civic concerns about the state of Italian in schools and society. ASLI has since acted as an interlocutor of the MIUR in ministerial working groups and parliamentary commissions. In 2010 the association created an internal section, ASLI Scuola, to follow more closely the teaching of Italian in schools and teacher training. ASLI Scuola has been coordinated successively by Paolo D'Achille, Massimo Palermo and Claudio Giovanardi, and is open to all teachers of Italian in primary and secondary schools. It promotes the open-access journal 'Italiano a scuola', founded and directed by Roberta Cella and Matteo Viale, and is organised in regional branches. It has held periodic national conferences, including 'Grammatica e testualità. Metodologie ed esperienze a confronto' (Rome, 25-26 February 2015), 'Scrivere nella scuola oggi. Obiettivi, metodi, esperienze' (Siena, 12-14 October 2017) and 'Dal testo al testo. Lettura, comprensione e produzione' (Rome, 20-22 February 2019). The association's presidency has passed through a line of distinguished Italian linguists: Ignazio Baldelli, Francesco Bruni, Francesco Sabatini, Gian Luigi Beccaria, Rosario Coluccia, Silvia Morgana, Rita Librandi, Michele Cortelazzo and Pietro Trifone. Sergio Lubello became president in 2024. In 2021 ASLI counted more than 230 members, including about twenty foreign members; the official website later describes around 400 teachers and scholars in Italy and worldwide. A new board was elected for the 2027-2029 term, with Davide Colussi as president, Fabio Romanini as secretary, Roberta Cella as treasurer, and Rita Fresu and Giuseppe Zarra as board members.
- 2024
Sergio Lubello becomes president of ASLI.
- 2021
ASLI counts more than 230 members, including about twenty foreign members.
- 2019
Third ASLI Scuola national conference 'Dal testo al testo' held in Rome, 20-22 February.
- 2017
Second ASLI Scuola national conference 'Scrivere nella scuola oggi' held in Siena, 12-14 October.
- 2016
Congress 'Etimologia e storia di parole' held in Florence.
- 2015
First ASLI Scuola national conference 'Grammatica e testualità' held in Rome, 25-26 February.
- 2014
Congress 'L'italiano della politica e la politica per l'italiano' held in Naples.
- 2012
Congress on the Vocabolario degli Accademici della Crusca (1612) and Italian lexicography held in Padua and Venice.
- 2010
Congress 'Storia della lingua e storia dell'Italia unita' held in Florence; ASLI creates the internal section ASLI Scuola.
- 2009
Congress 'Storia della lingua e dialettologia' held in Palermo; in November ASLI signs the document 'Lingua italiana, scuola, sviluppo' with the Accademia della Crusca and the Accademia dei Lincei.
Products and positioning
A scholarly, non-profit professional association and authoritative interlocutor on the history and teaching of the Italian language, based at the Accademia della Crusca and engaged with public institutions.
International ASLI congresses
Periodic international congresses exploring the history of Italian in relation to other fields.
ASLI Scuola
Internal section created in 2010 for school teaching of Italian and teacher training, with regional branches and national conferences.
Italiano a scuola
Open-access journal on the teaching of Italian, founded and directed by Roberta Cella and Matteo Viale.
SeRA | Seminari in rete dell'ASLI
Online seminar series organised by ASLI.
Marketing campaigns
- Lingua italiana, scuola, sviluppo
Sources3 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/associazione-per-la-storia-della-lingua-italiana · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled