How mass image production is reshaping written language
Domenico Ioppolo contends that the proliferation of images since the iPhone's debut on January 9, 2007, is transforming written language. He outlines the transition of Italian from a literary form, heavily influenced by the Tuscan 'three crowns' (Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio), to a contemporary oral form enriched by television, dialects, and slang among youth. Introducing the concept of 'demo-iconography,' Ioppolo argues that smartphones diminish the necessity for intricate syntax. He references Carlo Sini's 'Il sapere dei segni,' highlighting that visual and verbal expression were previously distinct fields. Ioppolo anticipates that as images gain expressive significance, written language will simplify, potentially losing its poetic essence. He also refutes a misleading study by Tullio De Mauro regarding youth vocabulary, claiming that media has broadened it and suggests a hybrid of written and oral forms may develop.
Key facts
- iPhone launched January 9, 2007, marking a technological revolution
- Italian written language was static for centuries due to literary dominance
- Tuscan 'three crowns' (Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio) gave prestige to Tuscan vernacular
- Television made Italian an oral daily language for the first time
- Carlo Sini's 'Il sapere dei segni' argues iconic and verbal production share the same foundation
- Roman Jakobson identified six language functions: emotive, denotative, phatic, conative, poetic, metalinguistic
- Walter Benjamin noted technological reproduction would remove art's sacred aura
- Fake study attributed to Tullio De Mauro claimed youth vocabulary is poorer, but Ioppolo says it is richer
- Writing was historically a technique for elites (scribes, clerics, intellectuals)
- Digital creators are early prototypes of new verbal-iconic syntax
Entities
Artists
- Dante Alighieri
- Francesco Petrarca
- Giovanni Boccaccio
- Carlo Sini
- Roman Jakobson
- Walter Benjamin
- Tullio De Mauro
- Giambattista Marino
- Steve Jobs
- Domenico Ioppolo
Institutions
- Artribune
- Campus
- Milano Marketing Festival
- Nielsen Media
- WMC
- Initiave Media
- Classpi
- MacWorld
- Convento di San Vittore
Locations
- Parigi
- Francia