Codifying lexical exchange: Borrowings in Joseph Baretti English-Italian dictionary (1760)

The English language has collected a conspicuous number of Italian borrowings from various fields – trade, architecture, music and food among the most popular – and throughout the centuries. The present chapter deals with the lexicographical outcome of language contact in a key moment in the history of Anglo-Italian relations, i.e. Giuseppe Baretti’s bilingual dictionary of the Italian and English languages published in 1760. The Dizionario delle lingue italiana ed inglese, vol. II is analysed in order to study Baretti’s treatment of Italian borrowings in it. In turn, unadapted and adapted borrowings are commented on, as well as other relevant lexicographical issues (e.g., coexisting and competing spelling forms, linguistic calques, culture-bound words, etc.).