A forgotten piece of Italian sinology: Amedeo Cracco's Grammatica della lingua cinese moderna (1951)

This article deals with Grammatica della lingua cinese moderna (1951) by Amedeo Cracco O.F.M., one of the earliest comprehensive grammars of Chinese published in Italian. Rapidly fallen into oblivion due to the general hostility of Italian sinologists to its “unorthodox” approach to many problems of Chinese linguistics, Cracco’s grammar is nonetheless worthy of recognition for its original mix of archaisms and innovations. While Cracco’s commitment to a five-tone variety of Mandarin and the Latin grammatical framework can be mentioned for the former, his emphasis on the polysyllabism of Modern Chinese and new categories borrowed from the latest generation of Chinese grammarians make good examples of the latter. Presenting Grammatica della lingua cinese moderna in its historical and epistemological background, the article aims at retrieving the memory of a forgotten piece of Italian sinology.