Danske grammatikker på italiensk

The article is a comparative analysis of the only three Danish grammars written for Italian learners. The texts examined are: Gaetano Frisoni's "Grammatica ed esercizi pratici della lingua Dano-Norvegiana" (Milan, Hoepli, 1900), Carlo Merolli's "Appunti di grammatica e lingua danesi" (Rome, Bulzoni, 1977) and Steen Jansen's "Lingua danese. Elementi strutturali" (Rome, Bulzoni, 1978). The analysis is carried out by posing the same four questions to each of the texts: 1) Who was the author of the grammar?, 2) Who was the target audience, 3) Why was the grammar written?, 4) What aspects of the Danish language did it prioritise? To answer the first three questions, the article presents an examination of important paratextual elements; the fourth and final question is addressed through a reading of the grammars themselves. One the basis of this analysis, the article concludes with a brief survey of the treatment of Danish grammar in Italy.