1,563 research outputs found
Economia - XVII edizione
No full textTraduzione italiana di Maria Teresa Musacchio (Capp. 1-3/20-34) e Carla Zanoni (Capp. 4-19
Seeing scientists' voices: Towards a 'grammar' of scientific translation?
No full textThis paper seeks to illustrate how Halliday’s analysis of the language of science as a syndrome of features can be used to develop a “grammar” of scientific translation. While systemic-functional grammar has been frequently used for the purposes of translating in general, Halliday’s work on the language of science is mainly referred to in the description of special languages, but is not applied consistently in scientific translation. First, Halliday’s contribution to the discussion of issues in translation and the language of science will be outlined against the backdrop of current studies in both areas. Second, it will be argued that Halliday’s syndrome of features in the language of science proposes a dynamic model of interrelated characteristics that can provide a holistic approach to the problems of scientific translation. Third, these features will be described and illustrated through a series of examples taken from a corpus of nuclear/particle physics. A dynamic grammar of the language of science can thus be fruitfully employed together with other frameworks of analysis to provide a holistic view of problems in the translation of science
I tecnicismi collaterali
No full textNell'articolo vengono presentati e discussi vari modelli teorici di descrizione dei tecnicismi collaterali, indicando le possibilità sia di distinguerli da modi di dire, espressioni idiomatiche ecc. della lingua comune (difficioltà, questa, sentita dai traduttori), sia di registrarli nelle banche dati terminografiche plurilingui (con notevole vantaggio per i traduttori)
When are science and technology (in)accessible? A diachronic study of the popularisation of new terms in physics and information technology
No full textIn terminology, two types of term formation are usually mentioned. Primary term formation is the coinage of new terms on the basis of the resources and prevailing trends in a given language. Secondary term formation consists in finding an equivalent for a concept already named in another language - usually English as the international lingua franca of science and technology. Finally, another form of term formation is term variation, a process whereby terms are formed on the basis of variation of existing terms (Humbley 2005). Though terminology has often been studied in a synchronic perspective and has therefore focused on primary term formation and on the issue of motivation from the point of view of the decoder of the message, a number of scholars – Cabré, Temmerman, Humbley and Kageura among others – have shown that research in term formation greatly benefits from a diachronic perspective. The main advantages are the possibility to account for processes of term consolidation and term change, in particular in languages other than English, where new terminology is often the result of secondary term formation processes or of term variation, and specifically in domains like information technology, characterised by a fast and marked evolution of concepts and designations over time and by a high degree of indeterminacy in primary term formation (Schmitz 2007). Investigation of term formation in a diachronic perspective has been enhanced by corpus-based and corpus-driven terminography which enables investigators to compile diachronic corpora for the study of terms from their first appearance to consolidation, possible variation and disappearance. Even within a diachronic perspective, however, a number of issues remain open-ended. First and foremost, given the English origin of many terms, to what extent are coiners of new terms in a target language aware of problems of accessibility to field-specific knowledge for non-experts? Second, how is term variation accounted for in popularised accounts of science and technology? In other words, if the public understanding and communication of scientific and technological innovation are relevant enterprises to secure support and funds for research, or to contribute to the commercial success of a software product, are there strategies in place that ensure a smooth flow of information? In this paper we first analyse a diachronic corpus of popular science articles on particle physics in English and Italian to study development of term formation processes and to investigate what strategies are used to introduce new terminology while at the same time ensuring that it is understandable to the target readers. Ahmad and Musacchio (2003) found that, as nuclear physics increasingly became an international rather than a national enterprise, patterns of term formation in Italian changed and typically Italian morphological processes partly modified to accommodate a growing number of terms from English in the form of adapted loan words or loan translations. However, the corpus used to research Fermi’s language consisted of journal articles and different types of texts for students of physics at university level, so it could not provide data on popular science physics and how it tackles problems of accessibility or inaccessibility of new terminology such as the English loan term spin. Second, we compare processes of term formation and strategies for popularisation in particle physics with data from a corpus of information technology (IT) in order to detect similarities and differences in patterns of term formation, terminologisation and determinologisation with reference to information technology. In IT, nowadays one of more alternative terms produced directly in the market and available to experts / power users and the general public at the same time (popularisation by early adopters and influencers), often before they are standardised by commercial enterprises, that are left with limited term creation options, and might have to adopt what has been popularised by the market even if not the best choice. Until recently, enterprises involved subject matter experts only in term formation, then SMEs and selected end users, while nowadays crowdsourcing. Differences between “official” terminology and “power user” jargon, as reported by Adamo in 1996, have been largely reduced, thanks to much higher computer literacy. In IT terminology the evolution of concepts and designations over time is probably faster and more marked than in other domains, due not only to rapid technological developments but also to a higher degree of indeterminacy in primary term formation, partly caused by inadequate terminology awareness by developers (Schmitz 2007). As Sager (1997) put it, “The coexistence of several methods of secondary term formation in the target language which may be used simultaneously or sequentially, provides the occasion for several alternative or competing new terms”, a complexity that has become more marked in times of easier and faster access to new concepts and higher computer literacy. Understanding the patterns of secondary term formation and term variation in a diachronic perspective is therefore a crucial factor in the language of particle physics and in the standardization of IT terminology that is both acceptable to experts and accessible to non-experts, and that contributes to communication and understanding of particle physics and to the commercial success of a product without requiring any subsequent expensive term changes.
References
ADAMO, G. (1996), “La terminologia tecnico-scientifica in lingua italiana: alcune osservazioni sulla terminologia dell’informatica”, Réflexions Séminaire Realiter, Nice, 1er et 2 juillet 1996, "Réflexions méthodologiques sur le travail en terminologie et en terminotique dans les langues latines", Nice http://www.realiter.net/spip.php?article665
AHMAD K., MUSACCHIO M.T. (2003) “Enrico Fermi and the making of the language of nuclear physics”, Fachsprache, vol. 3-4, pp. 120-140.
CABRÉ M.T. (1999) Terminology. Theory, Methods, and Applications, Amsterdam, Benjamins.
HUMBLEY J. (2005) “Accounting for term formation”, Terminology Science and Research. Journal of the International Institute for Terminology Research IITF, Vol. 16,
http://lipas.uwasa.fi/svenska/iitf/tsr2005/vol20/vol20_humbley.php.
SAGER, J.C. (1990) A Practical Course in Terminology Processing, Amsterdam, Benjamins.
SAGER, J.C. (1997) “Term Formation”, Handbook of Terminology Management (Volume I), S. E. Wright and G. Budin (eds), Amsterdam, Benjamins.
SCHMITZ, K.-D. (2007), “Indeterminacy of terms and icons in software localization”, Indeterminacy in Terminology and LSP: Studies in Honour of Heribert Picht, H. Picht, B. E. Antia, Amsterdam, Benjamins.
TEMMERMAN R. (2000) Towards New Ways of Terminology Description, Amsterdam, Benjamins
Towards a SFL reading of Koestler's bisociation theory of humour
No full textDrawing on examples of verbal and visual humour, the paper considers briefly some ways in which Koestler’s (1964) cognitive bisociation theory of humour creation might be interpreted using analytical tools and concepts (or adaptations thereof) from Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL). It argues that bisociation is best interpreted as recontextualisation of some event, state or activity of which it is at the same time a coherent evolution. Recontextualisation brings conflicting value orientations to bear on ideational content. Intertextuality offers a way of explaining how these largely implicit interpersonal meanings are invoked, with reference to social norms concerning what is good or bad, allowed or not, necessary or not
Description vs prescription in translation teaching: a bridgeable gulf?
No full textThis paper seeks to demonstrate that translation teaching could gain fruitful insights from Systemic Functional Linguistics (Halliday 1985/1994; Halliday, Matthiessen 2004). It is argued that Functional Grammar can offer a useful tool for translators, with a dual purpose. First, as Carol Taylor Torsello (1996) put forward, it can serve as a practical skill for analysing the multidimensional kinds of meanings encoded in a Source Text and reproducing them in a Target Text. Second, it could help narrow the gap between the theorist’s descriptivism and the student’s desire for prescriptivism. Indeed, while descriptivism underlie both Hallidayan approach to language and theories of most Western translation scholars today, a certain amount of prescriptivism is often sought by translation practitioners, who look for guidelines and instructions to be able to produce a ‘good’ translation. After briefly illustrating such different positioning and sketching the main aspects of Functional Grammar that translators could exploit, a selection of illustrative examples is offered, drawing from the author’s personal experience as a teacher of courses in Translation Studies, addressed to graduate students. The material is taken from real assignments dealing with a variety of text-types – i.e., a specialized book in the field of Urban Studies, a horror novel and a tourist guide – and consists of English Source Texts along with the published Italian Target Texts. The focus is on the production of a ‘functionally equivalent’ translation, in particular at the levels of ‘stratification’ and ‘metafunction’ (Halliday 2001; see Manfredi forthcoming). The final aim of the proposed method is an attempt at making students concretely realize that a metalinguistic reflection on translation in functional terms, rather than a rule-based approach, can help them reflect on wordings and meanings and take informed translation decisions within a range of more/less acceptable and effective choices
E-motiv-azione
No full textLo studio sulla motivazione all’apprendimento delle lingue straniere nasce in tempi lontani e si sviluppa lungo binari di crescente consapevolezza dei fattori che ad essa sottostanno. Proprio perché ritenuta da molti studiosi la scintilla che genera il desiderio acquisizionale, le indagini sulla motivazione si sono sviluppate sia in ambito teorico sia pratico-applicativo e le ricerche hanno portato alla creazione di strumenti didattici sperimentati in contesti di apprendimento formale e lavorativo. In particolare, in area glottodidattica, i vari metodi, approcci e le integrazioni degli stessi hanno sviluppato tecniche operative e proposto prassi didattiche per attivarla, sostenerla e nutrirla nel quotidiano laddove era meno intrinseca e integrativa.
Il presente articolo sintetizza il percorso evolutivo della motivazione attraverso due metafore che ne caratterizzano la valenza teorica all’interno del vissuto storico che le ha sostenuto, per proporne una terza, dove l’unico vero regista e attore consapevole è l’apprendente e la motivazione e-motivante che lo sostiene. Vengono così contrapposti il desiderio del docente di lingua straniera (“I have a dream”), sul finire degli anni settanta nel periodo a ridosso del primo Consiglio d’Europa e il nascente focus sugli apprendenti che ne derivò, con la consapevolezza all’apprendimento linguistico del singolo discente e la presenza facilitante l’acquisizione da parte del docente (“Yes, we can”), che a partire dagli anni novanta si concretizzò nelle proposte del secondo Consiglio d’Europa.
Entrambe le visioni, pur valide e innovative se considerate nella loro cornice, vedono la motivazione come etero-gestita e non auto-indotta, l’apprendente rimane co-attore e la sua forza acquisizionale ne risulta impoverita. La nuova generazione di discenti necessario richiede di andare oltre. È solo lo studente con il suo “Yes, I want” che può portare allo scoperto una motivazione che nasce dal profondo, crea un motivo e induce all’azione: una e-motiv-azione. I dati autentici che il presente contributo riporta sostengono questa visione e ne confermano l’efficacia
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