Barbara Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk, STSM notes  

The ten days STSM I spent at the University of Napoli L’Orientale, Italy, from 4th to 13th March, 2025, were particularly busy. Together with my host, Dr Maria Pia di Buono, we managed to perform manual as well as some corpus-based searches for newly emerging feminativa neologisms in Italian and Polish – the topic of my STSM. We studied their originally altered meanings that reflect changing societal attitudes towards gender roles and their related stereotypes.

There is also a new thematic offspring of our joint study that reveals significant differences between the two uses. It regards a comparison of the press’s gendered language with the data available in government and political documentation accessible via press releases and public announcements. This research thus combines the linguistic, computational, and socio-cultural underpinnings of new gendered lexis in its fuller socio-linguistic and cultural perspectives. Discussions we had about changing women’s position in society as depicted in the Italian and Polish media texts are also of relevance here. 

There is already a first tangible outcome of our cooperation – it’s a talk we gave a few days ago – on 26 March, 2025 – at an international Contacts & Contrasts in languages and media conference at the University of Applied Sciences in Konin (Poland), with a paper at an international publisher coming. There are also next newly emerged aspects of our theme, focusing on neological research methodology – to be presented at another international meeting and, as can be hoped, eventually published. 

I was also invited there to give a lecture – in Polish with English PP, just in case (picture attached) – to Slavic Philology students at the University of Napoli L’Orientale. A particularly satisfying experience – and a fine discussion conducted by Dr Andrea de Carlo, my host there, with the contribution from the students and colleagues. 

Needless to say, Naples itself is an intriguing place – somewhat chaotic, sometimes terrifying  –  when we experienced quite violent  Vesuvius tremors one night – but captivating and rich in history. Great scholarly and personal experience!