Giocare in veneziano: lessico, ritualità e tradizione

This study aims to analyze the use of game-related terms in the Venetian dialect as part of the intangible cultural heritage, closely linked to collective memory. This study is motivated by two main considerations: on the one hand, an idealistic drive to preserve the Venetian dialectal tradition by keeping its linguistic roots alive; on the other, the awareness that the world of children’s play represents one of the oldest cultural reservoirs of human civilization. As noted by Philippe Ariès, children represent one of the most culturally conservative segments of society, preserving rituals and terminology that have often fallen into disuse in the adult world. The realm of game-playing is also rich in features linked to folk traditions and deserves specific dialectological attention. By studying the nomenclature and specific lexicon of games, it is possible to trace a profile of the vitality of the Venetian dialect, moving beyond the view of the name as a mere label and adopting a historical, linguistic, social, and anthropological perspective capable of capturing the dynamics of cultural transmission and the processes of identity formation reflected in the use and transformation of the names themselves. The relevance of the topic, in fact, goes beyond the dialectological aspect, because it reflects how society and the culture that underpins it have changed: and in this regard, it is interesting that the primary medium through which this cultural universe is accessed, remains the dialect itself. According to Mario Alinei’s theories, game names should be interpreted as “magical-religious icononyms,” that is, crystallizations of ancient rites, interpreted from both pagan and Christian religious perspectives. This study therefore examines how the names of games are expressed in the Venetian dialect and its various linguistic variants. The central objective will be to identify the similarities and differences in the names of games within the Venetian region, by analyzing the relationship between the city, the lagoon varieties (such as Chioggia, Burano, or the ancient Lio Mazor), and the dialects of the mainland. The intent was thus to verify whether Venice still acts as a center of linguistic diffusion or whether, in peripheral or more isolated areas, archaic and conservative forms persist that deviate from the urban model. This essay is divided into three chapters, each of which explores the topic from an increasingly specific perspective, moving from a general linguistic overview to a detailed analysis of individual games. The First chapter, dedicated to the linguistics of Venice, provides the necessary framework for understanding the context in which ludonyms develop. The chapter begins by outlining the historical and linguistic characteristics of Venetian as a language that is both “conservative” and “contact-based”, that is, capable of preserving inherited phonological, morphological, and lexical structures while assimilating linguistic formations through exchanges with the Mediterranean world, integrating diverse elements into a coherent system. Subsequently, internal variants are explored in depth, distinguishing between Rialto Venetian and the lagoon dialects, such as those of Chioggia, Burano, and Lio Mazor, which exhibit specific autonomous features. The Second chapter focuses on the relationship between language and play, placing the analysis within a dialectological and ethnolinguistic framework. Starting from an anthropological approach, which views the child as a repository and transmitter of cultural traditions, the discussion moves to the ethnolinguistics of ludonyms, interpreting play as a form of “crystallization” of rituals and symbolic practices. The Third chapter constitutes the analytical core of this work and will focus on the collection and analysis of a series of critical entries dedicated to the main traditional games, examined in their