From the Local to the International Market: a Linguistic Analysis of Italian Agri-food Products Promotional Discourse in the USA

Although agri-food Italian products are massively sold in the American market, the very essence of the item, inevitably associated with the cultural background and the traditional production system, seems to be fully appreciated only by the experts within the field. Italian popular products tend not to be recognised by American common costumers. In this regard, an interest in marketing international strategies adopted by national/local Italian companies has been growing. The present paper aims to investigate linguistic and socio-cultural features operating in the promotional discourse of agri-food Italian products in the USA. The analysis of persuasive linguistic choices will guide to critically reflect upon lingua-cultural processes influencing two apparently different contexts: the (Italian) local environment and the international (American) scenery. For this purpose, the English versions of 118 Italian olive oil and vinegar websites have been taken into consideration.