Professor Ronnie Ferguson
Contact Details
rgf@st-andrews.ac.uk
Phone: 01334 463660
Office: Buchanan 207
Research and Teaching
My main research interest is Italian Renaissance theatre, especially comedy in Venice and the Venetian state between c.1500 and c.1560. I have published extensively, and am continuing to carry out research, on Angelo Beolco (Ruzante), on the popular theatre of the early Conquecento, on multilingual Renaissance theatre and on stage sets of the period.
I work and publish on Italian dialectology, with a particular focus on the dialects of the north east of Italy. I have recently applied koineisation and sociolinguistic models to establish the origins of Venetian. My book A Linguistic History of Venice was published by Olschki of Florence (2007). I have published a series of etymological studies of north-eastern Italian lexis in major journals (Lingua Nostra, L'Italia Dialettale, Ce Fastu). I am continuing to research and publish on aspects of Venetian and Veneto linguistics, etymology and onomastics.
My next monograph will be Saggi di Lingua e Cultura Veneta. It will consist of some 10 chapters amounting to c. 100,000 words. It will cover aspects of literature, drama, philology and linguistics relating to Venice and the Veneto.
My research on Italian identity has ranged from work on the Italian far right to my edited volume on Italian Identities (Oxford, Forum for Modern Language Studies). I am currently working on the links between language and identity and on the theory and mechanics of language variation and change.
My work on Dante is particularly focused on Dante's use of naturalistic similes. At the moment I am carrying out a study of bird imagery in the Commedia.
PhD Supervision
Publications
A Linguistic History of Venice
Ferguson, R. G.
2007
Florence:
Casa Editrice Leo S Olschki
.
320 p.
Research output
:
Book/Report
›
Book
The Theatre of Angelo Beolco (Ruzante): Text, Context and Performance
Ferguson, R. G.
2000
Longo
.
256 p.
Research output
:
Book/Report
›
Book
Dante, Inferno Canto X
Ferguson, R.
2013
In:
Lectura Dantis Andreapolitana (Inferno).
Notre Dame:
Devers
Research output
:
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
›
Chapter
Poetiche del paradosso nel teatro ruzantiano
Ferguson, R.
30-Jun-2012
In:
Theatre and Language in Ruzante.
Cecchinato, A. (ed.). Padua:
CLEUP
,
p. 205-221.
16 p.
(Romanistica Patavina).
Research output
:
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
›
Chapter
Food and its roles in the theatre of Angelo Beolco (Ruzante)
Ferguson, R. G.
2010
In:
L'italiano a tavola: Linguistic and Literary Traditions.
Lepschy, A. L. & Tosi, A. (eds.).
Guerra (Perugia)
,
p. 43-52.
Research output
:
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
›
Chapter
The long-term contact influence of Italian on Venetian: dynamics of convergence, resistance and divergence
Ferguson, R. G.
2007
In:
Languages of Italy: Histories and Dictionaries.
Lepschy, A. L. & Tosi, A. (eds.).
Longo
,
p. 43-53.
Research output
:
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
›
Chapter
From proto-language of state to urban dialect: The impact on Venetian of long-term contact with Italian
Ferguson, R. G.
2007
In:
Language Contact and Minority Languages on the Littorals Europe.
Ureland, S., Lodge, A. & Pugh, S. (eds.).
Logos Verlag
,
p. 161-173.
Research output
:
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
›
Chapter
Ruzante and Venetian Renaissance Theatre
Ferguson, R. G.
2006
In:
A History of Italian Theatre.
Brand, P., Farrell, J. & Puppa, P. (eds.).
Cambridge University Press
,
p. 61-73.
Research output
:
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
›
Chapter
Appunti sul veneziano di Ruzante
Ferguson, R. G.
2005
In:
In lengua grossa, in lengua sutile: Studi su Angelo Beolco, il Ruzante.
Schiavon, C. (ed.). Padua:
Esedra
,
p. 207-225.
Research output
:
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
›
Chapter
'Andrea Calmo', 'Angelo Beolco', 'Maffio Venier', 'La Veniexiana', 'Venetian Polyglot plays'
Ferguson, R. G.
2002
In:
The Oxford Companion to Italian Literature.
Hainsworth, P. & Robey, D. (eds.).
Oxford University Press
Research output
:
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
›
Chapter
Venues and Staging in Ruzante's Theatre: A Practitioner's Experience
Ferguson, R. G.
1999
In:
The Renaissance Theatre: Texts, Performance, Design, I: English and Italian Theatre.
Cairns, C. (ed.).
Ashgate
Research output
:
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
›
Chapter
Veneto selega (AIS 488) e sisila (AIS 499): due etimi greci connessi?
Ferguson, R. G.
1998
In:
L'Italia Dialettale Edizioni ETS,Pisa, vol LIX.
p. 299-311.
Research output
:
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
›
Chapter
Status, Function and Evolution of Dialect in Ruzante's Theatre.
Ferguson, R. G.
1996
In:
Italian Dialects and Literature.
Zancani, D. & Tandello, E. (eds.).
Institute of Romance Studies
,
p. 23-36.
Research output
:
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
›
Chapter
Primi influssi culturali italo-veneti sull'inglese: la testimonianza dei venezianismi in Florio, Coryate e Jonson
Ferguson, R.
26-Nov-2012
In :
Quaderni Veneti
.
1
,
1
,
p. 57-82.
25 p.
Research output
:
Contribution to journal
›
Article
Five comedies from the Italian Renaissance.
Ferguson, R.
Apr-2006
In :
Modern Language Review
.
101
,
p. 554-556.
3 p.
Research output
:
Contribution to journal
›
Article
Alle origini del veneziano: una koiné lagunare?
Ferguson, R. G.
2005
In :
Zeitschrift für Romanische Philologie
.
121
,
3
,
p. 476-509.
34 p.
Research output
:
Contribution to journal
›
Article
The Formation of the Dialect of Venice
Ferguson, R. G.
&
Lodge, R. A. (ed.)
Oct-2003
In :
Aspects of Linguistic Change
.
39
,
4
,
p. 450-464.
15 p.
Research output
:
Contribution to journal
›
Article
The critique of national identity in the novels of Mario Rigoni Stern
Ferguson, R.
Apr-2002
In :
Forum for Modern Language Studies
.
38
,
p. 155-169.
15 p.
Research output
:
Contribution to journal
›
Article
L'etimologia dell'adriatico cocàl(e)/crocàl(e): 'gabbiano'
Ferguson, R. G.
Jan-2002
In :
Ce fastu? : Rivista della Società filologica friulana "Graziado I. Ascoli."
.
78
,
1
,
p. 7-22.
Research output
:
Contribution to journal
›
Article
The Critique of National Identity in the Novels of Mario Rigoni Stern
Ferguson, R. G.
&
Ferguson, R. G. (ed.)
2002
In :
Italian Identities
.
38
,
2
,
p. 35-50.
Research output
:
Contribution to journal
›
Article
The Influence of Venetian Popular Theatre on Ruzante's Parlamento and Bilora.
Ferguson, R. G.
1996
In :
Italian Studies
.
LI
,
p. 113-33.
Research output
:
Contribution to journal
›
Article
La prima oratione, by Angelo Beolco (il Ruzante). Ed. by Linda L. Carroll. (MHRA Critical Texts, 16). London: Modern Humanities Research Association. 2009. 158pp. ISBN 978-0-947623-79-1.
Ferguson, R. G.
Apr-2010
In :
Modern Language Review
.
105
,
2
,
p. 576-579.
Research output
:
Contribution to journal
›
Book/Film/Article review
Venice and the Islamic World 828-1797. Ed. by Stefano Carboni. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2006. 375pp. ISBN979-0-300-12430-9.
Ferguson, R. G.
Mar-2009
In :
Italian Studies
.
64
,
1
,
p. 166-168.
Research output
:
Contribution to journal
›
Book/Film/Article review
Sui dialetti italoromanzi: Saggi in onore di Nigel Vincent
. Ed. by Delia Bentley and Adam Ledgeway
. The Italianist
, 27 (2007), Special supplement, I. 316 pp. ISSN 0261-4340.
Ferguson, R. G.
Sep-2008
In :
Italian Studies
.
63
,
2
,
p. 340-342.
Research output
:
Contribution to journal
›
Book/Film/Article review
Staging Scripted Comedy in Renaissance Venice (1500-1560): A Survey of the Evidence
Ferguson, R. G.
, Richardson, B. (ed.), Gilson, S. (ed.) & Keen, C. (ed.)
2004
Research output
:
Other contribution
Per la storia di brufolo
Ferguson, R. G.
2004
Research output
:
Other contribution
Introduction - Introducing Italian identities
Ferguson, R.
Apr-2002
In :
Forum for Modern Language Studies
.
38
,
p. 121-125.
5 p.
Research output
:
Contribution to journal
›
Editorial
Italian Identities
Ferguson, R. G.
Apr-2002
In :
Forum for Modern Language Studies
.
38
,
2
,
p. 240.
240 p.
Research output
:
Contribution to journal
›
Special issue