Famed linguist Tullio De Mauro died
in Rome on Thursday aged 84.
A university professor and education minister in the
government of Giuliano Amato from 2000 to 2001, De Mauro was one
of Italy's best-known public intellectuals and a regular
presence on TV.
His death was announced by the Bellonci Foundation, which
organises the Strega book prize, Italy's most prestigious
literary award, and of which De Mauro was also president.
One of De Mauro's best-known sayings was "the destruction of
language is the premise for all future destruction".
He was also fond of saying, after the transformation of Italy
from a largely dialect-speaking country into a linguistically
united nation after WWII, that "the dream of Carlo Cattaneo and
Alessandro Manzoni, that Italian should become a national
language spoken by most of the people has become a reality
today".
"I remember Tullio De Mauro as a passionate master for all
those who love Italian schools, research and language," Premier
Paolo Gentiloni tweeted.
Culture Minister Dario Franceschini said De Mauro's death
"deprives the country of a distinguished linguist, a man
of profound culture, capable of transmitting learning and
knowledge with passion, a keen intelligence whom I was able to
appreciate in the years of joint work with the Strega Prize of
the Bellonci Foundation".
Born in Torre Annunziata near Naples on March 31, 1932, De
Mauro graduated in classical literature before going on to teach
at the universities of Naples, Chieti, Palermo and Salerno.
He was appointed lecturer in the philosophy of language and
then professor of general linguistics at Rome's Sapienza
university and in 1966 he became a founding member of the
Italian Linguistics Society, of which he was also president from
1969-1973.
De Mauro served as a Lazio regional councillor from 1975 to
1980, a member of the board of governors of Rome university from
1981 to 1985, the dean's delegate for teaching from 1986 to 1988
and president of the Rome Institute of libraries and cultural
centres from 1996 to 1997.
In 2006 he received the president of the republic's prize
from the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, the world's oldest
scientific academy, for his academic research, and in 2008 he
was awarded an honorary doctorate by Waseda university in Tokyo.
De Mauro's most important works include A Linguistic History
of United Italy, published in 1963, and a comprehensive
dictionary of Italian usage.
He also curated numerous dictionaries, including the
Dictionary of Foreign Words in the Italian language (with M.
Mancini, 2001), and contributed to weekly current affairs
magazines Il Mondo and L'Espresso, among others.
"His dictionary is in Italians' homes, his teaching in the
memory of many researchers. 'Non omnis moriar', thank you
#TullioDeMauro" said former education minister Stefania Giannini
in a tweet.
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