Gli italianismi nella lingua cinese

Detecting the presence of Italian words in Chinese is a demanding issue due to the various historical, socio-cultural and geographical factors involved. This article presents the first results of the Chinese research group of the OIM (Osservatorio degli Italianismi nel Mondo ‘Observatory of Italianisms in the World’) project. First, the many ways in which loanwords enter and adapt to the Chinese linguistic system are introduced, followed by a presentation of the research approaches conducted and the data collected, together with the cataloguing information in the database. Finally, two concrete examples are offered, mafia and Rinascimento ‘Renaissance’, two words that are highly representative of Italian historical and social contest