Associate Professor Snježana Bralić, PhD, delivered a presentation entitled “Interculturalità e insegnamento linguistico: accezioni positive e negative nelle espressioni culturospecifiche sugli animali in italiano e in croato” at the international scientific conference “Literature, Art, Culture Between the Two Shores of the Adriatic” / Convegno internazionale “Letteratura, arte, cultura tra le due sponde dell’Adriatico”, held at the University of Zadar from 9 to 10 October 2025. The presentation outlines the results of initial research conducted within the MEDHRID research project. The study is based on the objective of collecting and classifying culture-specific lexicon representative of the Italian and Croatian languages, with the aim of transforming the collected corpus into an effective tool for a deeper understanding of both Italian and Croatian cultures. The focus of the research is on examining the cultural and connotative value of the lexicon, with particular attention to corpus material and the specific ways in which tradition, customs, and aspects of identity are reflected in Italian and Croatian. Through the analysis of positive and negative meanings in animal-related expressions, the study seeks to clarify lexemes which, although sometimes not directly comparable due to their cultural specificity, are deeply rooted in the history and everyday life of both contexts. By fostering “cultural literacy” aimed at understanding both one’s own and other cultures, this contribution represents a step toward the thematic grouping of lexicon and lays the groundwork for further research within the MEDHRID project.
