From the Talking Initials of Luigi Vanvitelli to the Graphics of the Alphabet for Language Teaching of XX and XXI Century

Abstract

In a text, “parlanti” are the illustrated initials decorated with a figurative image whose name begins with the letter itself: the drawing has an illustrative-mnemonic function compared to the letter, but remains independent from text content. The use, although sporadic, of talking initials, dates back to the richly miniated manuscripts of the Middle Ages. With the advent of the press, figurative initials gradually lose their primary role in text composition. However, it is with woodcut, that initials are completely free from the rich decorative apparatus of earlier centuries, and reaches an essential representation, enhanced by the use of graphic engraving technique. One of the last examples of the eighteenth century are the talking initials designed by Luigi Vanvitelli and engraved on copper by Carlo Nolli in Le Antichità di Ercolano esposte. The contribute documents the images and imaginations represented in Vanvitelli’s illustrated letters to arrive at modern and contemporary representations of talking alphabets used in the books for younger learners. The aim is to highlight the ability of graphic design to produce a connection between perceptual, cognitive and executive functions expressed both in XVIII initials and in alphabet books created for language teaching.