This book examines the alternation between accusative-dative and dative-accusative order in Old Florentine clitic clusters and its decline in favor of the latter. Based on an exhaustive analysis of data collected from medieval Florentine and Tuscan texts we offer a novel analysis of the rise of the variable order, the transition from one order to the other, and the demise of the alternation that relies primarily on iconicity and analogy. The book employs exophoric pragmatic iconicity, a language-external iconic relationship based on similarity between linguistic structure and the speaker/writer's conceptualization of reality, and endophoric iconicity, a language-internal iconic relationship where the iconic ground is construed between linguistic signs and structures. Analogy is viewed as a productive process that generalizes patterns or extends grammatical rules to formally similar structures, and obtains the form of the analogical relationship between the masculine singular definite article and the third person singular accusative clitic, which shared the same phonotactically constrained distribution patterns. The data indicate that exophoric pragamatic iconicity exploits and maintains the alternation, whereas endophoric iconicity and analogy conspire to end it.

Informed by second-language acquisition research, the Avanti! program for introductory Italian is known for its focused approach and flexible content, its emphasis on communicative competence, its opportunities for recycling, and its exploration of culture. With Avanti!, students begin to learn and practice the language while developing an authentic appreciation for Italian culture, both inside and outside of class. Avanti! is built around the following principles: Focus and Flexibility: Whereas most Italian programs attempt to cover too much material in the first year, Avanti! reflects a reasonable expectation that most beginning learners can acquire in one year of classroom instruction. The Strutture sections focus on the core structures that are necessary for meaningful communication at the elementary level. Additional structures are either presented "for recognition only" or appear in Per saperne di piu, giving instructors flexibility to teach the grammar they want to teach. The Connect platform allows instructors to fully customize course content to meet the needs of their students, whether their courses are face-to-face, hybrid, or online. Communicative Competence: From the very beginning, Avanti! satisfies student's desire to communicate in everyday situations through a guided and gradual process of acquisition. In the Strategie di comunicazione authentic videos that open each chapter, students see and hear Italians of all ages and backgrounds using high-frequency, practical expressions that students can begin using immediately. Outside of class, McGraw Hill Connect (R) provides easy-to-use voice tools for synchronous partnered speaking practice and asynchronous chat (Recordable Video Chat and Voice Board powered by GoReact). With Avanti! students are always well supported in their practice whether in person or online, building their communicative competence along with their confidence. Recycling: Avanti! is designed to provide maximum exposure to vocabulary and grammar structures. Every fourth chapter provides practice of four previously taught grammar points, which are then followed by a related topic. Chapter 16 contains only review grammar sections, providing students with additional practice with challenging structures. With Adaptive Learning Assignments in Connect, students can practice key vocabulary and grammar points outside of class. Cultural Competence: In addition to providing a meaningful and extensive exploration of Italy's gorgeous and unique culture, the 5th edition of Avanti! places a new emphasis on the importance of intercultural competence. Students are asked to think critically about the experience of learning a language and how it can benefit people's lives through exposure to new skills, behaviors, and attitudes. The first of four new modules features a video interview of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri, who sets the stage for new learners by describing the challenges and benefits of learning a new language. Subsequent modules feature a series of interviews with a diverse group of young Italians, and new activities related to intercultural competence have been added to each chapter (Prospettive a confronto and Cosa vedi? Cosa capisci?). The former Cultura section has also been extensively revised in this edition, with all sections renamed and re-envisioned to develop discourse-level language skills while exploring rich cultural content. Following a sensitivity analysis, users will also find more inclusive representation of the regions of Italy, historical information, race and ethnicity, gender and LGBTQ, religion, body image, mental health, and gender roles.

As the fastest growing introductory Italian title, Avanti Beginning Italian continues to evolve to meet the changing needs of instructors and students. Professors are offering more hybrid and online courses, technology is providing functionality we could not envision just a few years ago, and the types of students we teach are ever-changing. Thus, in planning the third-edition revision, it was critical to retain the best parts of our program while responding to the changes around us.
The title Avanti conveys the forward-thinking approach of this program, which is designed to guide experienced and inexperienced instructors in creating a truly communicative, interactive environment for their students. In preparation for this edition, we employed a wide array of market research tools to identify a number of areas for digital innovation. As a direct result of our research, this new edition offers McGraw-Hill's Connect(TM) and LearnSmart(TM) with their game-changing, adaptive, and digital learning resources. These powerful, digital tools, now an integral part of the third edition, complement and support the goals of the Avanti program and address the needs of the evolving Introductory Italian course.
How does Avanti with Connect and LearnSmart support the needs of Italian instructors and students?
Communicative Competence: One of the major challenges of any introductory language course is to give students ample exposure to the language and sufficient opportunity for speaking practice to inspire them to communicate with confidence. Avanti satisfies students' desire to communicate in everyday situations right from the start. In Connect Italian students have access 24/7 to the digitally enhanced eBook, the interactive textbook activities, the online Workbook / Laboratory Manual activities, all of the accompanying audio and video resources, and the voice tools that allow for out-of-class practice of important oral skills.
Review and Recycling: Since introducing and practicing each grammatical structure once in a year-long course is simply not enough to promote acquisition, recycling vocabulary and structures for maximum exposure is a key feature of Avanti Every fourth chapter provides practice of four previously taught grammar points, which are then followed by a related topic. With the addition of LearnSmart, a super-adaptive learning system, students can practice key vocabulary and grammatical structures outside of class. This powerful system helps students identify their weaknesses and provides them with an individualized study program based on their performance.
Manageable Scope and Sequence: Avanti responds to instructors' concerns that most programs attempt to cover too much material in the first year. We have designed an elementary course that reflects reasonable expectations for the amount of material that most beginning learners can acquire in one year of classroom instruction, while providing the necessary practice students need to acquire these structures. The Connect Italian platform includes an assignment builder feature that allows instructors further flexibility to fully customize the course content to meet the needs of their particular students. Instructors may choose to assign all (or a subset) of the textbook and workbook activities as well as some or all of the grammar points presented in Per saperne di piu based on their course goals.
Cultural Competence: Avanti 's meaningful and extensive exploration of Italy's rich and unique culture is fully supported in Connect Italian through audio and video resources and interactive activities. Throughout each chapter, brief readings and interactive, culture activities promote an understanding of products, practices and perspectives. All chapters end with reading, listening, and writing activities that explore cultural topics in depth. Each chapter also includes an analysis of film clips where students can see Italian society and culture in action.
Student-centered Classroom: A significant goal of Avanti is to engage the learner inside and outside of the classroom and promote students' personal sense of responsibility to interact with the material and maximize learning. To this end, the inductive presentations of vocabulary and grammar, which encourage language processing and cognitive engagement, can be successfully completed in the classroom or by using the interactive versions in Connect.
Administrative Challenges: The Avanti program provides the online tools to reduce the amount of time and energy that instructors have to invest in administering their course. The Assignment Builder allows instructors to easily sort activities according to a variety of parameters that are important to them, including by learning objective, language skill, topic, amount of time on task, or by activity type (multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, and so on). With Reports instructors can pull full administrative reports about students' performance, and coordinators will be able to integrate these reports across all sections to see the performance of the entire program. The at-risk student report also allows instructors to quickly identify at-risk students, based on numerous criteria, who may need additional help to successfully complete the course.

As the fastest growing introductory Italian title, Avanti Beginning Italian continues to evolve to meet the changing needs of instructors and students. Professors are offering more hybrid and online courses, technology is providing functionality we could not envision just a few years ago, and the types of students we teach are ever-changing. Thus, in planning the third-edition revision, it was critical to retain the best parts of our program while responding to the changes around us.
The title Avanti conveys the forward-thinking approach of this program, which is designed to guide experienced and inexperienced instructors in creating a truly communicative, interactive environment for their students. In preparation for this edition, we employed a wide array of market research tools to identify a number of areas for digital innovation. As a direct result of our research, this new edition offers McGraw-Hill's Connect(TM) and LearnSmart(TM) with their game-changing, adaptive, and digital learning resources. These powerful, digital tools, now an integral part of the third edition, complement and support the goals of the Avanti program and address the needs of the evolving Introductory Italian course.
How does Avanti with Connect and LearnSmart support the needs of Italian instructors and students?
Communicative Competence: One of the major challenges of any introductory language course is to give students ample exposure to the language and sufficient opportunity for speaking practice to inspire them to communicate with confidence. Avanti satisfies students' desire to communicate in everyday situations right from the start. In Connect Italian students have access 24/7 to the digitally enhanced eBook, the interactive textbook activities, the online Workbook / Laboratory Manual activities, all of the accompanying audio and video resources, and the voice tools that allow for out-of-class practice of important oral skills.
Review and Recycling: Since introducing and practicing each grammatical structure once in a year-long course is simply not enough to promote acquisition, recycling vocabulary and structures for maximum exposure is a key feature of Avanti Every fourth chapter provides practice of four previously taught grammar points, which are then followed by a related topic. With the addition of LearnSmart, a super-adaptive learning system, students can practice key vocabulary and grammatical structures outside of class. This powerful system helps students identify their weaknesses and provides them with an individualized study program based on their performance.
Manageable Scope and Sequence: Avanti responds to instructors' concerns that most programs attempt to cover too much material in the first year. We have designed an elementary course that reflects reasonable expectations for the amount of material that most beginning learners can acquire in one year of classroom instruction, while providing the necessary practice students need to acquire these structures. The Connect Italian platform includes an assignment builder feature that allows instructors further flexibility to fully customize the course content to meet the needs of their particular students. Instructors may choose to assign all (or a subset) of the textbook and workbook activities as well as some or all of the grammar points presented in Per saperne di piu based on their course goals.
Cultural Competence: Avanti 's meaningful and extensive exploration of Italy's rich and unique culture is fully supported in Connect Italian through audio and video resources and interactive activities. Throughout each chapter, brief readings and interactive, culture activities promote an understanding of products, practices and perspectives. All chapters end with reading, listening, and writing activities that explore cultural topics in depth. Each chapter also includes an analysis of film clips where students can see Italian society and culture in action.
Student-centered Classroom: A significant goal of Avanti is to engage the learner inside and outside of the classroom and promote students' personal sense of responsibility to interact with the material and maximize learning. To this end, the inductive presentations of vocabulary and grammar, which encourage language processing and cognitive engagement, can be successfully completed in the classroom or by using the interactive versions in Connect.
Administrative Challenges: The Avanti program provides the online tools to reduce the amount of time and energy that instructors have to invest in administering their course. The Assignment Builder allows instructors to easily sort activities according to a variety of parameters that are important to them, including by learning objective, language skill, topic, amount of time on task, or by activity type (multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, and so on). With Reports instructors can pull full administrative reports about students' performance, and coordinators will be able to integrate these reports across all sections to see the performance of the entire program. The at-risk student report also allows instructors to quickly identify at-risk students, based on numerous criteria, who may need additional help to successfully complete the course.