2,000 research outputs found
Specialized and culture-bound knowledge dissemination through spoken tourism discourse: Multimodal strategies in guided tours and documentaries
No full textThe distinctive features of most instances of tourism discourse are their predominantly low specialization and their hybrid generic and semantic nature. Tourism discourse draws from a range of genres and specialized domains, including but not limited to art, history, economics, architecture, and geography to name but a few. Through its communicative strategies, it leads the tourists and their “tourist gaze” (Urry 2002) in their real or imaginary journey, it mediates the tourist experience and contributes to closing the gap between their culture and the destination’s culture. These leading and mediating operations are performed by making culture-specific knowledge and specialized concepts accessible to the general public (Cappelli 2016; Cappelli, Masi forthcoming). For this reason, tourism discourse offers an ideal vantage point to investigate popularization and knowledge dissemination strategies. Much linguistic research on written tourism discourse has been carried out over the past two decades. However, to the best of our knowledge, spoken genres remain largely unexplored with few exceptions. Our study intends to contribute to closing that gap by investigating the way in which multimodal semiotic resources are exploited in oral communication in tourism to make specialized and culture-bound concepts accessible to the audience. First, we present the data obtained by the analysis of a small sample of clips of guided tours and documentaries representing various domains. Then, we illustrate the way in which verbal and non-verbal strategies are used to create accessibility in a genre-specific way. Finally, we propose a classification of the data analysed as belonging to three strictly interconnected and yet distinct genres, namely documentaries, “docu-tours” and guided tours, and we provide some conclusions regarding the relevance of the study for professional development and pedagogical applications
The Impact of Dyslexia on Lexico-Semantic Abilities: An Overview.
No full textThe chapter presents an overview of the research on the impact of dyslexia on the lexico-semantic level of the linguistic system. “Reduced reading experience” due to difficulties with “word recognition and poor spelling and decoding abilities” is listed as one of the “secondary consequences” of dyslexia in its most widely accepted definition (IDA 2002), along with its impact on “the growth of vocabulary and background knowledge” and, therefore, on reading comprehension. This causal connection is, however, not uncontroversial, since delays in vocabulary development have been observed both in dyslexic children and in children at family risk from a very early age (Van Viersen et al. 2017). Song et al. (2015) observe that “the initial size and growth rate of vocabulary” may in fact be predictors for later reading development. This change in perspective points to the existence of possible difficulties and differences in the development and organization of the lexical system in people with dyslexia, both in their L1 and in foreign languages (Cappelli and Noccetti 2016). The phonological deficit is believed to be the most relevant factor in this regard (Gupta and Tisdale 2009, Litt and Nation 2014, Sweins 2015, Alt et al. 2017). Recent studies, though, have investigated the role of working memory, short-term memory, attention and executive functions deficits in the word learning and retrieval difficulties observed in dyslexic people (Laasonen et al. 2012, Smith-Spark et al. 2017, Staels et al. 2017). Moreover, there is growing evidence of the role of individual differences in vocabulary knowledge in both word learning and reading fluency (Rose and Rouhani 2012) and of the advantages offered by rich semantic representations for word recognition and text comprehension at large (Rodd et al. 2002)
Popularizing, Disseminating and Rewriting for Young Audiences
No full textThis volume explores the strategies and the characterising features of popularisation, dissemination and rewriting (Myers, 2003; Hyland 2005; Calsamiglia & Van Dijk, 2004; Garzone, 2006; Gotti, 2013; Mattiello, 2014; Cappelli, 2016) for young audiences in a wide array of texts belonging to different genres and specialised domains. On the basis of previous research in the field (e.g. Bianchi, 2018; Diani, 2015, 2018; Diani & Sezzi, forthc.; Cappelli & Masi, fortch.; Bruti & Manca, 2019; Manca, forthc.), popularisation appears to be a form of “reconceptualisation and recontextualisation of expert discourse that meets the needs, tastes and background encyclopaedia of lay readers” (Cappelli & Masi, fortch., p. 3), which varies considerably depending on the profile of the intended reader, on the degree of specialisation needed (which in turn depends on the genre and its aims) and also across cultures, as different countries prioritise different communicative styles. Starting from these premises, it is the aim of the volume to account for the variation of strategies aimed at increasing accessibility (not only and not necessarily explanation in all its forms, but also techniques to favour involvement, relying on multimodal communication), in relation to the genre, topic, and age of the intended addressees. To the purpose, we consider a wide range of topics – including art, the environment, legal issues, medicine and science – and a range of media and text types – such as websites, museum panels, TED videos, and books. For a richer picture, the volume also includes one paper dealing with the rewriting of a famous contemporary novel for a younger audience by the novelist himself
Foreword
No full textBreve prefazione in inglese all'opera che include contributi in diverse lingue (francese, tedesco, spagnolo e inglese
Preface
No full textThe volume collects articles which discuss complexity, conventionality and creativity in the English language from perspectives as diverse as specialised discourse, language teaching and learning, language varieties, lexical creativity, stylistics, knowledge dissemination through the media and audio-visual translation. It offers a multifaceted picture of the ways in which opposing forces exerted by conventionality and creativity contribute to shaping all levels of the linguistic system. The interpretive paradigm is offered by the theory of complex systems, a rich research framework attempting to describe and explain the dynamics which emerge in the many forms of situational adaptation of natural systems. Norms and conventions are, in fact, constantly exploited and manipulated through the creative behaviour of language users. This may lead to unpredictable synchronic effects and variation and, ultimately, to diachronic innovation
Blended learning and memory-training techniques for specialised vocabulary learning in adult EFL learners with dyslexia
No full textCompleting a University’s foreign language proficiency requirement is often a challenge for dyslexic students. Foreign language learning is a strenuous and difficult task for these learners because of a complex interplay of deficit-, personality- and methodology-related factors. This contribution presents an ongoing project on EFL learning and dyslexia carried out at the University of Pisa Language Centre. It discusses the preliminary results obtained from a case study focusing on the effects of memory training techniques and of a multimodal and multisensory approach to specialized vocabulary teaching on learners with dyslexia. A multimodal approach in communicative settings has proven effective and beneficial in terms of memorization and motivation. Blended learning, computer mediated communication, together with face-to-face modes can contribute to plan effective multisensory learning settings for dyslexic students (Gillingham and Stillman 1997, Nijakowska 2010, Dóczi and Kormos 2015, Cappelli and Noccetti 2016). Existing EFL materials were adapted using both audio-visual and tactile tools to activate the different sensory channels. The frequency of stimulus exposure was increased and denomination techniques were used to help the memorization of new lexical items. At the same time, the learners’ memory systems (both declarative and procedural) were trained through specifically designed memory-games and techniques (Allway and Allway 2013)
Translating English verbs of cognitive attitude into Italian:the difficulties of mapping two apparently equivalent complex systems
No full text‘A perfect Tuscan experience’: Destination image and Cultural expectations in positive travel reviews in English and Italian
No full textL’articolo discute somiglianze e differenze che emergono dall’analisi lessicale e collocazionale di un piccolo corpus comparabile di recensioni positive pubblicate da viaggiatori di madrelingua inglese e italiana su TripAdvisor, ad oggi il maggiore sito di viaggi fondato su contenuti generati dagli utenti. L’analisi delle recensioni di hotel situati in Toscana mostra come anche questa tipologia testuale di recente sviluppo contribuisca alla natura essenzialmente tautologica del discorso turistico rafforzando l’immagine stereotipica della destinazione in modo non dissimile da ciò che avviene nel testo promozionale per il turismo propriamente detto attraverso il ricorso a temi e strategie retoriche tipiche
Travelling in space: Spatial Representation in English and Italian Tourism Discourse
No full textThis article reports on a case-study of verbs that describe location and movement in space in a selection of texts from two English guidebooks and their Italian translation. Corpus data are discussed to show how items taken from general everyday language can act as accessible but functionally specialized lexical items, in that they are carefully selected to guide and shape the tourist gaze while firing imagination
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