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DOSSIER (TEXT 3)
From Daniel Franklin,
the Editor of
The World in 2008
A special issue of
The Economist
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Understanding the text
- Look for the central issue of each paragraph- Pay attention to the tone of the final
paragraph- Look for metaphors- Identify the main semantic fields - Look up words/expressions you do not know- Clarify geographical, political and cultural
references
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Translation difficulties
Line 4 “front-loaded primary season”
Line 28 “green”
Lines 33-34 “The politicians have talked the issue up; will they now let the people down?”
Line 39 “In fact”
Line 48 “contemplate”
Lines 53-54 “Chinese empty-nesters”
Line 73 “Happy nibbling”
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Is newspaper discourse specialized discourse?
• A newspapers contains several genres, information (e.g. weather forecast, sport results), opinion (e.g. editorial, op-ed), news ( objective facts but usually including the author’s explicit or implicit stance)
• News value (in general or according to the audience)• negativity, recency, proximity, relevance, personalization, facticity, • continuity, competition, predictability• clarity, brevity, colour, liveliness
• Non-verbal elements (e.g. photos, graphics, sections)
• Some important features of the news: • the five W words + 1 h word (Who, what, where, when, why, how), • what is the source of the news?, facticity (e.g. numbers, data),
reporting facts (direct and indirect speech)• Stylistic features: brevity (e.g. nominalisation), specialized
lexicon of particular fields (e.g. politics, food), reporting opinions, the author’s explicit or implicit stance
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DOSSIER (TEXT 4)
Ian Fisher“In a funk, Italy sings an aria of
disappointment”, in The New York Times, December
13, 2007 widely quoted and discussed in Italian newspapers when it came
out
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The New York Times
One of the most important American papers, of liberal attitude
It covers world and American news, and a wide range of topics
Founded in 1854About 1 million copies sold dailyThe website contains: a free personalization service today’s newspaper most popular articles topic archives
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TEXTUAL and NON-VERBAL ELEMENTS in the paper versus the on-line edition
COMMON TO THE PAPER AND THE ON-LINE
EDITIONS TITLE
SECTIONS
PHOTOS TYPICAL OF THE ON-LINE EDITIONS
VIDEOS
LINKS
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TITLE
In a funk (from MacMillan English Dictionary for Advanced
learners, 2002) Funk: a type of music in the late 1960s that
developed from SOUL and ROCK and ROLL(mainly American English, informal, old-
fashioned) = sadness, worry, angerIn a (blue) funk (British, old-fashioned) = very
frightened(see lines 5-8 in the text “ a collective funk”=
the least happy people in Western Europe)
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Italy sings an aria of disappointment
(positive?) cliché of Italy linked to music and singing
Use of an Italian expression ARIA, which is linked to the Italian genre of the opera
Aria of disappointment ( linked to ‘in a funk’) = delusione, insoddisfazione
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How to render “in a funk” into Italian? (Picchi 1999, SEI 1979)
Depresso, in stato depressivo• In crisi• Che depressione!• Essere giù di corda….Essere spaventato• Avere una fifa blu• Avere la tremarellaEssere arrabbiato
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Suggested translations for the whole title
From more literal translations to the interpretation based on the whole article
In piena crisi. L’Italia canta la sua delusione/tristezza
L’Italia in crisi canta/urla la sua insoddisfazione
Gli italiani sono giù di corda. Anche cantare non li rallegra più
Gli italiani sono nei guai? Bisogna che si diano da fare …
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Readership
What kind of knowledge is presupposed in the
article?
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Unexplained cultural references
1. Italy’s top bishop (para. 8)2. The Continent (para.18)3. Buckingham palace (para.24)4. Google = “we can’t imagine in Italy that a 30-year-
old opens a business in a garage” (para.43)5. Fellini, Rossellini, Loren (para. 45)6. Ferrari, Ducati, Vespa, Armani, Gucci, 7. Piano, Illy, Barolo = all symbols of style and
prestige (para.46) 8. The Republic of Venice; Napoleon’s conquest of
Venice in 1979 (para.58-59)
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Reporting sources
What people are mentioned in the article? How are they presented?
Whose opinion is reported - in a direct or indirect way?
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People mentioned or whose opinion is reported
1. Veltroni, the mayor of Rome and a possible future center-left prime minister;2. the American ambassador Ronald P. Spogli with 40 years of experience in Italy; 3. Beppe Grillo,a 59-year old comic and blogger with swooping gray hair … (+ picture +
blog)4. Luisa Corrado, an Italian economist, lead the research behind the study at the university
of Cambridge…; 5. Alexander Stille, a Columbia university professor and expert on Italy; 6. Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s richest man who became prime minister for the first time in
1994… (link) 7. Romano Prodi who had served as prime minister from 1996 to 1998 (link); 8. Gianfranco Fini, leader of National Alliance (link); 9. Ginluca Giamboni, 36, a financial adviser in Rome; 10. Mario Adinolfi, 36, a blogger and an aspiring lawmaker; 11. Luciano Pavarotti, the tenor and arguably the world’s most famous Italian (link); 12. Federico Boden, 28, a student; 13. Andrea Illy, the company’s president; 14. Massimo Martino, director of Maxdesign, a furniture company; 15. Pietro Costantini who runs a third generation furniture company; 16. Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, the chairman of Fiat and the president of Ferrari and the
influential business group Confindustria; 17. Beppe Severgnini, a columnist for Corriere della Sera
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Italian ( and foreign) words and expressions
AriaMalessereMalaiseBasta, basta, bastaPiazzacamorrapizzapastalira
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Some recurrent stylistic features
• Positive statements followed by criticism (paragraphs 1/2; 5/6; 25/26; 28/29; 30/31; 52/53; 55/56
etc. )• Explicit criticism (para.38 “The Roman Catholic
Church’s position is diminishing, from a cultural pillar to a lobbying group”)
• Humour = see para.1 meaning of red in a stoplight; an obscenity politely translated as “take a hike”(para.16)
• Idioms (e.g. the kettle of fish, above the fray, a clean slate, on the cutting edge)
• Metaphors: e.g. backbone, clouds…, the stakes, the ivy, hurdle, a lens…focus; Venice ..a corpse.. the Florida of Europe; a white knight;
• Facticity: figures/data e.g. para. 40/50; the age of the people mentioned
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Difficult points
Para. 7 Italy’s low-tech way of life Para. 8 Italy’s top bishop Para. 9 …long the nation’s family-run backbone (line
24)Para.19 The whole kettle of fish stinks to high heavenPara 21 errant political system Para. 24 keeping Italy’s lagging south poorPara. 27 you could slough it offPara. 40 The old are not letting goPara. 41 in parks, clutches of old ladies coo at a single
toddlerPara 45 on the cutting edgePara 46 …trademarking mystique into “Made in Italy”
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Dossier: text 5
Richard Owen
“La dolce vita turns sour as Italy faces up to being old and poor”
The Times, December 22, 2007
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Italian (and foreign) words and expressions
La dolce vitaAngstMalaiseLa CastaRaccomandazioneLa Mammapastamafiapizza spaghetti
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People mentioned or whose opinions are reported either directly or indirectly
1. A woman in a market2. Fabio Capello ( has taken charge of the England football team)3. Carla Bruni (has conquered the heart of the French President)4. The writer Umberto Eco5. Romano Prodi, the centre-left prime Minister6. Mr Zapatero of Spain, 477. Mr Sarkozy, a bouncy 528. The centre-right leader and media tycoon, Silvio Berlusconi, aged 719. Michele Salvati, a leading economist10. Fellini, Visconti, Monica Bellucci, Sophia Loren11. Larry Gagosian, the dynamic American art dealer12. Vincenzo Cremonini, 44, who has expanded his meat-producing business at Modena to include railway and motoring catering,
including the new Eurostar service from St Pancras13. Francesco Caltagirone, one of Italy’s top entrepreneurs14. Confesercenti, the traders’ association15. Coldiretti, the farmers’ union16. Mr.Prodi’s wife, Flavia, 17. A well-dressed woman in a fur coat18. Gucci, Armani, Versace19. The European Union statistics office20. Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, the head of Fiat and the employers’ federation Confindustria21. Luisa Corrado, of the University of Rome22. The historian Ginapaolo Pansa, 7223. Carlo Bastasin , an economist24. Ronald Spogli, the US Ambassador to Rome,25. Sicilian businessmen – almost all in their forties , with European experience, who risk their lives by refusing to pay protection
money26. Walter Veltroni, the mayor of Rome and a likely future centre-left Prime Minister
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IDIOMS and METAPHORSIn the wingsAt the cutting edge“a job for life” to bring the economy grinding to a haltThe bulwarkA havenTo carve a niche“The fourth week syndrome”To feel the pinchTo feel the squeezeThe last strawTo look out for oneselfA needle match“do-nothing demon”Red tape
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DOSSIER Text 6
“Naked Ambition”By Adrian Michaels
The Financial Times, 13th July 2007
Arts and weekend magazine
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The Financial Times
British business and financial newspaper.
It is now printed in Frankfurt.
It has a UK, a European, a US and an Asian editions.
Launched in 1888
Published as a broadsheet in pink coloured pages
In 1995 it launched its website
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Naked Ambition”By Adrian Michaels (Text 6)
What is the topic of the article?
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The frequent use of naked women in
advertising and in television programmes
in Italy
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Naked Ambition”By Adrian Michaels (Text 6)
How is the topic developed?
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The author’s argumentative strategy
1. Writing (more or less) objective description of facts and events (e.g. para. 1, 34)
2. Providing official figures and data (e.g. para.13,19,29)3. Reporting supposedly common opinions or general truths (e.g. para. 7
“ In the UK or US, such tactics might inspire anything from headshaking and irritation to clear outrage; para.14 “Maybe, nudity, chauvinism and a lack of professional attainment are ……para.36 “Plenty of people dismissed the episode as stunt”)
4. Reporting his experience and opinion (e.g. para. 4, “Since moving to Milan…I have been wondering…, para. 20)
5. Involving the reader by using “you” (e.g. para. 3, 21)6. Reporting different opinions from both experts and common people
(e.g. Sergio Rodriguez, group creative director at Leo Burnett Italy, the ad agency; Caterina Presti, a 19-year old Italian student who moved from Milan to London in September; Emma Bonino, minister for International Trade and European Affairs …; Graziella Parati, head of comparative literature at Dartmouth College in the US; Mario Draghi, the Governor of the Bank of Italy, Veronica Berlusconi, Silvio Berlusconi’s wife of almost three decades…)
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UNIT 2 INSTITUTIONAL/SOCIAL COMMUNICATION
PROMOTERS: the state, public institutions ( e.g. universities, public
libraries, post offices), charities (operational or campaigning), Nonprofit Organisations, Non-Governmental Organisations NGO(e.g. Amnesty International, Medicins sans frontières), public and private corporations engaged in cause–related marketing or environmental policies
lo stato; enti pubblici; organizzazioni senza scopo di lucro, ONG; volontariato
RECEIVERS : citizens, supporters, members, consumers, visitors
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UNIT 2 INSTITUTIONAL / SOCIAL COMMUNICATION
FIELDS COVERED: citizens’ rights and duties (e.g. pensions, taxes), the great tragedies of humanity (e.g. poverty, child mortality); health (e.g. organ donation, aviary flu), environment preservation (e.g. recycling), education, political and cultural life, recreational activities ( e.g sport)
AIMS : fund raising, publicizing services and facilities, informing and creating awareness, warning
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INSTITUTIONAL/SOCIAL COMMUNICATION
• CONTEXTS (and GENRES): paper leaflets and documents in public offices, hoardings and billboards in the streets, ads in the Press, ads on TV, films, videos, web sites
• LINGUISTIC AND DISCOURSAL FEATURES: from clear and precise official legal documents to creative strategies and techniques typical of advertising.
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BUREAUCRACYEnglish versus Italian
• Burocrazia/burocrate and bureaucracy/bureaucrat : from the French bureau = office in the 18th century; from impersonal routine to a complicated and inefficient system of rules (new compound noun “Eurocrat”); often with a derogatory meaning
• civil service/ civil servant versus statale, dipendente pubblico, “servitore dello stato”
• BUROCRATESE, LINGUA DELLA PUBBLICA AMMINISTRAZIONE,, COMUNICAZIONE SOCIALE, PUBBLICITA’ PROGRESSO
• LEGALESE, BUREAUCRATESE, GOBBLEDYGOOK, OFFICIALESE, SOCIAL COMMUNICATION, HUMANITARIAN ADVERTISING
:
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THE LANGUAGE OF PUBLIC DOCUMENTS TENDS TO BE SIPLER IN GREAT BRITAIN
ITALYa) historical reasons: Latin as
the language of the Roman Empire and the legal system, late national unification, influence of the catholic religion
b) linguistic policy; “Semplificazione del linguaggio Amministrativo” since the 1990s
c) prevailing cultural attitude: a “high-context” culture where a lot of information is taken from granted
GREAT BRITAINa) Historical reasons: earlier
national unification, invention of printing in the 15th century, importance of the Puritan religion and the Protestant Reformation, King James translation of the Bible into English in 1603, scientific style in the 18th century
b) linguistic policy: “Plain English Campaign” since the 1950s-70s
c) a “low-context” culture where a lot of information is made explicit
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A one page example of social communication (or humanitarian advertising) from he Financial Times,
8th March 2007 Where does
a litre of water cost more than in Central London?
In a developing
country slum
WATER The water crisis hits the poor the hardest - by far. In some poor
countries water costs 5 to 10 times more than in richest ones
ALERT The poorer you are, the more you pay.
To put water on everyone’s lips. Click on www.UNDP.ORG
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UNICEF(The United Nations Children’s Fund Website)
TASK: Compare the international and the Italian versions
of the UNICEF website and identify differences ( if any) in the choice of informative/persuasive strategies (observe, in particular, time orientation, neutral versus emotional styles, use of modality)
www.unicef.org
www.unicef.it
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Europe and languages
Some facts about the European Union.
The EU
- has 27 state members
- has 23 official languages
- has translation and interpreting services
- has English and French as main working languages
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Is there a variety of English called Euro-English?
• Lexical productivity, e.g. harmonization or harmonisation
• Loans from other languages, e.g. third countries, inter alia)
• Acronyms, e.g. Eurostat = European Statistical Office
• Metonyms, e.g. The Bologna Process• Metaphors e.g. Europe’s founding fathers• Impersonal constructions versus
personalizations• Premodification and nominal style
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DOSSIER TEXT 7
“COMMUNICATING IMPORTANT INFORMATION TO NEW LOCAL
RESIDENTS”
Communities and Local Government Publications
www.communities.gov.uk
February 2008
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Textual features
Text genre: written (and on-line) document addressed by a public institution to local authorities about how to inform new people who will settle in their community
Textual organization: use of numbered and/or titled sections, paragraphs, graphic devices, alternation of explanations and examples, of exposition and instruction.
Clarity: achieved through lexical repetition, parallel patterns and use of either common concrete words (e.g. keep streets clean) or general and simple words (e.g. things)
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Syntactic features
. Many simple sentences made of one clause or coordinated clauses, and containing non-finite clauses; few subordinate clauses
. Use of personal pronouns (we/you) with active verb forms (“we may be able to improve…” and “your council can tell you”) to emotionally involve the addressees; few passive forms
. Use of modal verbs that express possibility (may, can, could), intention (will), advice ( should), ability (can),
rarely obligation (must)
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LEXICAL FEATURES
Use of simple words (produce, information, thing, new, important)
Repetition of key words ( e.g. information packs, rights and responsibilities)
Some words are explained or simplified ( G.P = doctor; lose your job = being sacked)
The semantic field of immigration: migrant, refugee
Use of politically correct, friendly expressions: new local residents, new communities
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CULTURAL CONTENTS
•Shared British values
•Unwritten rules of behaviour
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DOSSIER: TEXT 8
“Citizenship” From the website of the Department of
Foreign Affairs Republic of Ireland
accessed on 4th March 2008http://www.dfa.ie
Compare to the information on citizenship in the website of Ministero dell’Interno Italiano http://www.interno.it
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Features of the text
• Official document informing citizens on legal matters• Impersonal tone, use of the passive voice• Long and complex sentences with subordinate
clauses• Very detailed and precise descriptions of documents
or requirements• Reference to Acts, use of precise legal concepts
( e.g. entitlement to citizenship, naturalisation) and terms (e.g. applicant, civil birth certificate)
• Cultural contents: moving from “ ius soli” to “ius sanguinis”
