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.
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.
Full programme
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Bibliography
Canepari, M. * Linguistica, Lingua e Traduzione vol. 1*, Padova, Libreria universitaria 2016 (chapters on specialised languages, intersemiotic and audiovisual translation)
Canepari, M. *Viaggio intersemiotico nel discorso della scienza vol. 1: Prospettive e teorie*, Nuova Cultura, Roma, 2013.
Canepari, M. * Viaggio intersemiotico nel linguaggio della scienza vol. 2: Popolarizzazione televisiva*, Nuova Cultura, Roma, in print.
Canepari, M. 'From Psychiatry to Anti-Psichiatry: An Intersemiotic Journey through the Language of Schizophrenia', in *La Torre di Babele*, 8, 2012, pp. 297-337.
Canepari, M. 'The Language of Science in the Fiction of Christine Brooke-Rose', in *La Torre di Babele*, 10, 2014.
Lecture notes available on Elly, as far as the corpus of written and spoken texts analysed during the course is concerned.
A detailed bibliography will be given during the course and clearly indicated in the examination programme that will be available on Elly in digital form.
Texts for developing language skills will also be indicated by the foreign language assistants at the beginning of the year.
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.
Students will also attend practical lessons held by foreign language assistants throughout the whole academic year. They will also be required to develop their self-study skills for a minimum of 6 hours in the multimedia laboratory.
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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