The study of the linguistic landscape (LL) focuses on the representations of languages on signs placed in the public space and on the ways in which individuals interact with these elements. Regulatory, infrastructural, commercial, and transgressive discourses, among others, emerge in these spaces, overlapping, complementing, or opposing each other, reflecting changes taking place and, in turn, influencing them. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all aspects of life, including cities, neighborhoods, and spaces in general. Against this background, the study of the LL is fundamental not only to better understand the ways in which places have changed and how people are interpreting and experiencing them but also to analyze the evolution of COVID-19 discourses since the pandemic broke out. This contribution aims to investigate how and in what terms the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the Italian LL, considered both in its entirety, as a single body that, regardless of local specificities, responded to and jointly reflected on the shared shock, and specifically, assuming the city of Florence as a case study. The data collected in the three main phases of the pandemic include photographs of virtual and urban LL signs and interviews, which were analyzed through qualitative content analysis with the aim of exploring citizens' perceptions and awareness of changes in the LL of their city. The results obtained offer a photograph of complex landscapes and ecologies, which are multimodal, multi-layered, and interactive, with public and private discourses that are strongly intertwined and often complementary. Furthermore, the diachronic analysis made it possible to identify, on the one hand, points in common with the communication strategies in the different phases, both at a commercial and regulatory level. On the other hand, strong differences emerged in the bottom-up representations, characterized in the first phase by discourses of resilience, tolerance, hope, solidarity, and patriotism, and in the second and third phases by disillusionment, despair, and protest.

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This paper aims at investigating lower and upper secondary students’ attitudes towards linguistic diversity, here assumed as an extension of the language attitude construct. The research focuses on individual factors, as well as on aspects related to the educational context. Drawing from a larger study, data was gathered from a considerable number of informants in a representative number Italian regions, employing a Likert scale-based questionnaire and through the triangulation of different information from a variety of sources. Results showed that gender, school grade, number of languages known and the migratory background are all predictors of attitudes towards linguistic diversity. Moreover, the adoption of éveil aux langues and CLIL and the purposeful use of the schoolscape though specific activities promoting plurilingualism and intercultural reflection have a significant impact on students’ attitudes.   Gli atteggiamenti degli studenti della scuola secondaria verso la diversità linguistica: un’indagine sugli aspetti individuali ed educativi nelle scuole italiane Questo articolo mira a indagare gli atteggiamenti degli studenti della scuola secondaria inferiore e superiore verso la diversità linguistica, qui assunta come un’estensione del costrutto di attitudine linguistica. La ricerca si concentra sia su fattori individuali sia su aspetti legati al contesto educativo. Attingendo da uno studio più ampio, i dati sono stati raccolti da un numero considerevole di informatori rappresentativi di diverse regioni italiane, utilizzando un questionario basato sulla scala Likert e attraverso la correlazione di diverse informazioni tratte da una varietà di fonti. I risultati hanno mostrato che il genere, il grado scolastico, il numero di lingue conosciute e il background migratorio sono tutti indicatori di atteggiamenti verso la diversità linguistica. Inoltre hanno messo in evidenza che l’adozione di éveil aux langues, del CLIL e l’uso mirato dello schoolscape, attraverso attività specifiche che promuovono il plurilinguismo e la riflessione interculturale, hanno un impatto significativo sugli atteggiamenti degli studenti.

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