Learning objectives
As well as continuing to develop written and oral language skills and
translation strategies, the course aims at providing students
with a general knowledge of the main features of specialised languages
that should allow them to understand and translate the various textual
types in which the language of science is present.
During the course students will learn to:
.know the main specialised languages that belong to the more general
category of 'scientific discourse'; understand and analyse literary and
audiovisual texts; formulate reasoned judgments and opinions after a
thorough analysis of the text, even with regard to complex phenomena;
.communicate and discuss in English at the level C1 contents, analyses
and theories in a register appropriate to Language and Translation
Studies; apply the abilities developed during the course also to texts
which might not be strictly defined as 'scientific', often present in
everyday life. During the course, students will
become more independent in language learning
by acquiring the necessary competence in order to be able
to use receptive and productive capacities in a professional context; formulate informed and motivated judgments, based on attentive decoding processes with reference to complex phenomena.
Prerequisites
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Course unit content
The course, which is taught in English, focuses on the notion of
(intralinguistic, interlinguistic, intersemiotic and audiovisual) translation ,
focussing in particular on the language of science in its various forms
(medical language, the language of physics and the language of maths).
In particular, the course examines the process of popularization of
specialized discourse, understood here in terms of intralinguistic
translation, also focusing on its interlinguistic and/or intersemiotic
translations.
To this end, during the course we will approach literary texts where the
language of science is particularly relevant in order to see how these
texts were (or should be ) translated into Italian. Further to this, we shall
analyze the way in which scientific discourse can be (and actually is)
intralinguistically and intersemiotically translated in television shows,
films and documentaries, thereby addressing issues of dubbing and
subtitling. In addition, the course will address issues related to the intersemiotic translation in graphic form of the language of science (comics, graphic novels etc.).
practical lessons given by English language assistants during both semesters, aimed at consolidating language skills in order to reach a minimum level C1.
Full programme
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Bibliography
M. Canepari: *Reading Paths in Specialized Languages*, Parma,
Athenaem, 2018.
M. Canepari: *Specialized Languages and graphic art*, Peter Lang, 2022.
Slides and other materials prepared by the teacher and available on Elly.
Teaching methods
During class lectures in English, the lecturer will present the main
features of the various specialised languages taken into consideration,
using both the textbooks indicated in the bibliography and other textual
or visual documents that will be available to students on the Didattica
platform. Further suggestions will be given during the course for
individual study and analysis with a view to stimulating in the student a
high level of independence in approaching textual analysis and
discussing issues tackled by the lecturer during the lessons.
The course will include interactive classes, during which students are stimulated to apply the key concepts and theories previously covered through the analysis and discussion of case studies. The course will also include practical classes, devoted to practical applications of the theoretical notions through the translation of texts.
Further suggestions will be given during the course for individual study and analysis with a view to stimulating in the student a high level of independence in approaching textual analysis.
Students will also attend practical lessons held by English language
assistants throughout the whole academic year.
Assessment methods and criteria
Evaluation of the knowledge and skills acquired during the course will be
carried out by means of a preliminary written test and an oral
examination at the end of the academic year. The knowledge and
competences that will be evaluated are as follows:
. written and oral competence in the English language corresponding to
the level C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference and, in
particular the acquisition of all language skills (written and spoken) as
well as translation strategies in a register appropriate to the text genre
and which reflects the communicative functions of the source text;
. knowledge of text features and context, formal, informal and ideological
issues relating to the text genre and object of study;
. an ability to study independently, re-elaborate the contents imparted
during the course, propose individual research complementary to the
topics discussed during lectures, solve problems relating to the retrieval of information and decoding of complex texts, to formulate individual
judgements and opinions.
With a view to verifying whether such knowledge and level of
competences have been achieved, the aim of the oral examination is to
evaluate the ability of the student to re-elaborate, reformulate such
knowledge as well as his/her ability to apply the knowledge and skills
gained to text analysis and also apply them at a contrastive level.
The preliminary written text evaluation will be considered insufficient if
the student is found lacking in any of the language skills; an insufficient
evaluation (less than 18/30) does not permit access to the oral
examination.
The final evaluation takes into account the competences gained in the
preliminary written test.
A final evaluation of insufficient is determined by the lack on the part of
the student: to demonstrate a minimum knowledge of the contents of the
course; to express him or herself adequately in English (expected level of
C1) on the topics of the course; to discuss and solve problems regarding
the retrieval of information and decoding of complex texts, and to
formulate independent critical judgements and opinions.
A final evaluation of sufficient (18-23/30) is determined if the student is
able to show that he/she has mastered the basic notions and contents of the course and is sufficiently able to express them, even simply, at a
level of English that at least corresponds in part to the C1 level. An
average mark (24-27/30) is awarded to the student who can demonstrate
he/she possesses a more than sufficient (24-25/30) or good (26-27/30)
command of the language and theoretical knowledge according to the
above criteria of evaluation. The highest marks ( 28-30/30 and merit) are
likewise awarded on the basis of a very good to excellent command of
the language and theoretical knowledge according to the above criteria
of evaluation.
Other information
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2030 agenda goals for sustainable development
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