Italianismi enogastronomici in francese e in inglese: il caso OIM/DIFIT

This study investigates the circulation and adaptation of Italian enogastronomic terms in English and French, drawing on information that we collected from the OIM database and the DIFIT dictionary. Having adopted a broad definition of Italianism, encompassing direct and indirect borrowings as well as lexical creations sous influence, the study analyzes 321 lemmas in English and 181 in French. They are classified according to type, degree of integration, and semantic fields. The data suggest that English incorporates more Italianisms, often mediated through French, whereas French tends to borrow directly from Italian. Both languages exhibit similar dynamics in terms of graphic adaptation, semantic extension and metonymy, as well as the formation of second-degree Italianisms. The research lays the groundwork for future diachronic corpus-based studies that will investigate the actual distribution and use of enogastronomic Italianisms in the two languages.