Stefano Lusito wins first prize in the Scholarly Studies category of the 2026 Tullio De Mauro Prize

Our member Stefano Lusito has been awarded first prize in the “Saggi” (Scholarly Studies) category of the Tullio De Mauro Prize, presented as part of the 14th edition of the Italian national competition Salva la tua lingua locale (2026), an initiative dedicated to the preservation, study and promotion of Italy’s local linguistic heritage.

The award recognises his monograph Aspetti teorici e pratici della redazione di un dizionario genovese-italiano della lingua contemporanea: metalessicografia di una varietà romanza di koinè (Alessandria: Edizioni dell’Orso, 2025). The book examines the theoretical and practical challenges of contemporary Genoese lexicography, setting out a methodological framework for the compilation of a general-purpose Genoese–Italian dictionary. Particular attention is given to the conception of Genoese as a koine whose geographical reach extends beyond the city of Genoa itself, as well as to issues concerning the selection and treatment of lexical material, the structure of dictionary entries and the linguistic resources required for dictionary compilation. Alongside these metalexicographic considerations, the study also investigates phonetic and morphological features of Genoese attested in actual language use that have so far received relatively little scholarly attention, thereby contributing to a fuller understanding and more comprehensive documentation of this Romance variety.

Named in honour of the Italian linguist Tullio De Mauro, the Tullio De Mauro Prize is the scholarly component of the national “Salva la tua lingua locale” competition. It comprises three categories, devoted respectively to dictionaries, scholarly studies and undergraduate or postgraduate theses. Entries are assessed by a panel of scholars specialising in linguistics and dialectology, chaired by Salvatore Trovato and including Mari D’Agostino, Cristina Lavinio, Luca Lorenzetti and Giovanni Ruffino, the latter a member of the Accademia della Crusca.

The monograph is based on Lusito’s doctoral dissertation, which he defended at the University of Innsbruck in 2024 under the supervision of Professors Christine Konecny and Paul Danler. The dissertation had previously received the Hypo Tirol Bank Dissertationspreis in 2025, an award recognising doctoral research of outstanding scholarly merit.

This latest distinction follows the recognition received in Austria and forms part of a broader body of scholarly work encompassing research publications, edited volumes, scholarly editions of texts and participation in university research projects, with a particular focus on Ligurian dialectology, Romance lexicography and the linguistic documentation of Genoese and Monégasque.