Translating Musical Traditions: An Inter-linguistic Analysis of Neapolitan Lute-making Technical Terminology

Due to the spread of lute-making in many Italian regions since the 16th century, research in Italian lute-making terminology has mostly looked at the dynamics producing geographical variations. The instrument has definitely undergone structural, historical and geographical modifications which have affected its naming dynamics significantly, let alone a whole terminology. As part of an effort aimed at the preservation of local traditional and identitarian expressions, which are continuously threatened within the context of a relentlessly globalising society, local authorities have taken action in a both communicative and practical sense. The study evaluates the degree to which the target text is able to convey source meanings and retain cultural values. The first section outlines the history of the mandolin journey to Europe and its evolution in the Old Continent with a specific focus on Naples. Scrutinisation of the Italian version of the corpus is then performed; the main purpose of this phase is detecting luthiers’ specialised terms that denote parts of the lute. Subsequently, English correspondents from the target version are identified. Finally, Italian and English terms are compared for discussing choices from a joint terminological-translational perspective.