Virginia Pulcini, Professor of English Language and Linguistics at the University of Torino and a prominent expert on anglicisms, co-edited with Cristiano Furiassi and Félix Rodríguez González a volume on The Anglicization of European Lexis in 2012, published by John Benjamins. At the time, she had already gained specialized knowledge of the topic through her participation in the compilation of a Dictionary of European Anglicisms (Reference Görlach2001), contributing to its companion volumes English in Europe (Reference Görlach2002b) and An Annotated Bibliography of European Anglicisms (Reference Görlach2002a), all edited by Manfred Görlach and published by Oxford University Press. Her latest book, The Influence of English on Italian. Lexical and Cultural Features, is an extraordinary testimony to her expertise in this field as it offers an accomplished, in-depth account of the influence of the English language on Italian within a broader historical and sociological context.

Although the focus is primarily linguistic, the book touches on a range of inter-related phenomena, such as the rise and fall of the influence exerted on Italian by foreign cultures and languages, the study of English as a second language in Italian schools and universities, or the socio-political background against which to measure the impact of linguistic change. Throughout the volume, Pulcini offers valuable theoretical insights and extensive reviews of academic research, while addressing the phenomenon of the anglicization of Italian both in the general language and in specialized domains. Besides, it provides key information concerning tools available to the targeted audience, i.e. scholars, university students, or laypersons with an interest in how and to what extent English is and has been shaping Italian. Clearly, the socio-historical topics addressed in the book provide a remarkably insightful context to better understand the development and reception, not always welcoming, of different types of anglicisms.

The volume comprises eight chapters including the conclusions – each distinctly tailored to provide a coherent and logical structure to the topics addressed. However, individual chapters constitute autonomous units that can be read independently of the others, thus making the book easily accessible to those readers who may be interested in some topics more than others.

After providing a historical account of the socio-cultural contacts between Italy and English-speaking countries (chs. 1–2), the volume offers a detailed taxonomy of different types of anglicisms (ch. 3). The mechanisms by which these are integrated into the receiving language are extensively explained in chapter 4. These last two chapters represent the core of the volume, with a reasoned outline of the different ways a word can be borrowed by the recipient language, sometimes even going back and forth, as is the case with reborrowings: for example, the English words portfolio and studio actually derive from the Italian portafoglio (‘billfold’) and studio (‘room used for studying’), but were re-introduced as anglicisms to express new meanings (p. 129).

The well articulated taxonomy offered by Pulcini is not only clear and detailed but makes for a compelling reading with all the examples and subtle differences that may or may not occur in the transfer. Even though most loans are lexical, the author points out how the influence of a language can be exerted at various levels, including the phonological, morphosyntactic and phraseological one. These are discussed at length in the appropriate sections, thus contributing to the all-around picture of the several ways a language can be influenced by another (specifically, but not exclusively, Italian by English).

Chapter 5 delves into a more technical, lexicographical approach, with its overview of how dictionaries, newspaper archives and corpora are and can be used to study the occurrence, currency and frequency of different types of anglicisms. Quantitative data provided by dictionaries and corpora are thus combined with an explanation of how different methods of inclusion/exclusion of each lexical item inevitably lead to substantial variety in the findings.

The topic of Chapter 6 revolves around specialized lexis, where the majority of anglicisms can be found. The author identifies three domains more exposed to lexical borrowings: information and communication technology, the economy, and sports. Even though reference is also made to the intensive usage of anglicisms in the language of journalism, unfortunately the volume does not include a section specifically devoted to such domain – a particularly prolific one and subjected, probably more than most, to obsolescence (another highly interesting topic dealt with in chapter 6). Except for this minor weakness, the volume addresses many if not all the dynamics at play when a language exerts its influence on another.

A further contribution to the thoroughness of the volume's coverage is finally provided by Chapter 7, which offers a detailed and argumentative analysis of the role English has played in the Italian educational system since the second half of the 19^th century. The development of methodologies such as content and language integrated learning (CLIL) or English-medium instruction (EMI) have significantly impacted the way the language is acquired and perfected. As Pulcini aptly demonstrates, a progressive implementation of policies aimed at fostering the acquisition of English as a second language at primary, secondary and tertiary level has proven to be effective, albeit not entirely.

The conclusions drawn by the author are rather concise but certainly helpful in emphasizing the main points covered in the book, while at the same time recalling problematic aspects that need to be further addressed. The author also comments on key resources in comparative research on lexical borrowings and provides suggestive hints for future research.

Contrary to what might be expected, the volume is not exhaustive at all in terms of glossaries or lists of loanwords – nor is it meant to be. As a matter of fact, it does not include any glossary of Italian anglicisms (it does provide, however, an index of borrowings and cited words at the end of the book). Nevertheless, the lack of a glossary is not a weakness at all, as the author refers widely to a variety of resources, such as the Global Anglicism Database, where readers can extract for themselves different lists of anglicisms accompanied by crucial information on each word as to type of borrowing, etymon, and domestic form.

What Pulcini quite poignantly offers instead is a reasoned analysis of the underlying mechanisms that govern the transfer from donor language to recipient language. Such mechanisms are contextualized and illustrated with a plethora of examples (including excerpts from corpora and dictionaries) whose meaningfulness undoubtedly gains greater efficacy as compared to exhaustive – yet un-contextualized – word lists or glossaries.

As a conclusion, it seems fair to claim that both the significance and the limit of this book stem from the historical moment in which it is published, a time when changes seem to be occurring at swirling speed. Indeed, the volume thoroughly portrays and crystallizes the influence of English on Italian up to the beginning of the 21^st century, touching also – to a limited extend – on more recent trends and events (e.g. non-adapted borrowings such as lockdown, whose currency was boosted by the COVID-19 pandemic). Yet – especially when the very subject of study is prone to change, as is the case with languages – research findings are always meant to be somehow temporary. This volume is no exception. In particular, it does not cover – probably could not have, given their relatively new emergence and fast pace of spread – the most recent influences of the donor language that might stem from potent domains such as: new social media, omniscient (multilingual) Artificial Intelligence, and the intersection of these with virtual or augmented reality – fields most likely doomed to gain even greater momentum in every aspect of our lives, including the language we speak. Indeed, an exponential, massive use of social networking as well as the growing pervasiveness of cutting-edge technologies can very well affect the speed and quality of the interference of English on Italian. These factors have not reached their full potential yet. When that time comes, the dynamics at play between the two languages will probably change, and Pulcini's book will become an excellent benchmark against which to measure these fast oncoming socio-linguistic developments.