9 ottobre Texts & textualy

HISTORY
• Linguistics: discipline that started investigating texts → recent – started at the beginning of 20th c.
we mark its beginning with the work of Ferdinand de Saussures (French) → he originated a new movement:
structuralism: structuralists were concerned in grammar (which includes morphology = structure of words).

• Only in the 1950s interest in how language is organised above sentence level emerged
linguists called Zelig Harris: ???
concept of text as a unit above the sentence → goal: identify the grammatical evidence of how texts are composed.

A HIERARCHY OF LANGUAGE UNITS

Language is organised in units that are placed in a hierarchy – it can be read:

» top-down = large unit is composed by small units
» bottom-up = units together create large unit.
many sentences together compose a text.
clause: main, subordinate, coordinate clause
phrase – 6 main phrases: V phrase, N phrase, Adj phrase, Adv phrase, Prep phrase
morpheme: smallest unit of meaning.

EXAMPLE – From MORPHEME to TEXT

– Play with morphemes to compose words: Count (noun or verb) → countable (adj) → uncountable (prefix to say opposite)
– Create noun phrase: an uncountable expression (it can be subject or complement)
– Clause: “Fake news” is an uncountable expression
– Text: “Fake news” is an uncountable expression If you describe information as “fake news”, you mean that it is false even
though it appears newsworthy.

a formal definition of text

"A text is a unit of language in use. It is not a grammatical unit, like a clause or a sentence; and it is not defined by its size.
[..] A text is best regarded as a semantic unit: a unit not of form but of meaning.
from Halliday and Hasan → Halliday created a new branch of linguistics: Systemic functional grammar (SFG)
definition published in a book called Cohesion in English.

= the essence of a text is its meaning → it’s not defined by its size (even just 1 word).
ACTIVITY 1
What is a te ?
Consider the examples below. Which ones would you classify as ‘text’? Answer the
question motivating your choices in about 100 words. Then, verify whether the
definition of text given by Halliday and Hasan (1976) fits the examples that you
selected and decide whether you need to reconsider your decisions.

1.

«Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed,
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimmed;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wand'rest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st:

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

So long lives this and this gives life to thee.»

William Shakespeare, Sonnet 18

YES, it s text
it has a cultural value → community recognises it as an important text
Shakespeare is an authoritative figure
if you read it you get a meaning

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 Tweet – YES, it’s a text
2. more than 1 sentence that together makes sense → message exchange has happened.

3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tIru-XGuUk (go to the link)

Video: how to make a smoothie – NOT A TEXT?
there are no sentences, there are no units above the sentence level, therefore it’s not a text
4. BUT it was coherent: you can recreate the recipe

NOT A TEXT?
it’s just a phrase (ing form as a noun)
BUT you understand the meaning

5. I bought a Ford. The car in which President Wilson rode down the Champs Elysees
was black. Black English has been widely discussed. The discussions between the
presidents ended last week. A week has seven days. Every day I feed my cat. Cats
have four legs. The cat is on the mat. Mat has three letters1.

NOT A TEXT
it’s above the sentence level BUT there is no coherence
there is cohesion = logic connection between sentences (but no coherence).

1
From Enkvist (1978: 110-111)

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 TEXT LINGUISTICS
Text linguistics: field that studies text; it studies what gives a text it’s meaning + what makes it a consistent whole.
it is not only concerned with written language, BUT ALSO with the spoken language.
it deals with any type of text and any length (culturally important texts like Shakespeare, as well as signs)
More recent development – in the late 90s (1996): Kress and van Leeuwen started a new branch – multimodal text.

What does make a text ‘a consistent whole’?

Etimology of text from Oxford English Dictionary:
< French texte, also Old Northern French tixte, tiste (13th cent. in Godefroy), the Scriptures, etc., < medieval Latin textus the
Gospel, written character (Du Cange), Latin textus (u-stem) style, tissue of a literary work (Quintilian), lit. that
which is woven, web, texture, < text-, participial stem of texĕre to weave.
literal meaning of text was tissue = piece of cloth (put together fibres of a piece of cloth) → the notion of text is a
metaphor borrowed from a very tangible field of the production of clothes
sentences are woven together in a specific way (smth connected that makes sense).

TEXTURE
Texture: term used to talk about what makes a serie of sentences, or spoken utterances, a unified whole rather than a
disconnected set of ideas.
cohesion = propriety that gives texture to a text (the propriety that gives a text its texture).
 Activity 2
Becoming familiar with cohesion
Underline the words that contribute to the cohesion of the following text

A Plastic Ocean: a film review1

A Plastic Ocean is a film to make you think. Think, and then act. We need to take
> repetition
-

action on our dependence on plastic. We’ve been producing plastic in huge

quantities since the 1940s. Drink bottles, shopping bags, toiletries and even clothes
are made with plastic. We live in a world full of plastic, and only a small proportion
referring back to the question
&

is recycled. What happens to all the rest? This is the question the film A Plastic
Ocean answers. It is a documentary that looks at the impact that plastic waste has
on the environment. Spoiler alert: the impact is devastating.
↑ semantical element

The film begins as a journey to film the largest animal on the planet, the blue whale.
Conjunctions But during the journey the filmmakers (journalist Craig Leeson and environmental
Clogical connection(
activist Tanya Streeter) make the shocking discovery of a huge, thick layer of plastic
Pronoun + previews senfelice
refers to
floating in the middle of the Indian Ocean. This prompts them to travel around the
(the film makers)
world to look at other areas that have been affected. In total, they visited 20
locations around the world during the four years it took them to make the film. The
documentary premiered in 2016, and is now on streaming services such as Netflix.

It’s very clear that a lot of research went into the film. There are beautiful shots of
the seas and marine life. These are contrasted with scenes of polluted cities and
dumps full of plastic rubbish. We see how marine species are being killed by all the
plastic we are dumping in the ocean. The message about our use of plastic is
painfully obvious.

But the film doesn’t only present the negative side. In the second half, the
filmmakers look at what we can do to reverse the tide of plastic flowing around the
world. They present short-term and long-term solutions. These include avoiding
plastic containers and ‘single-use’ plastic products as much as possible. Reuse your
plastic bags and recycle as much as you can. The filmmakers also stress the need

1
Taken from: British Council 2019, at www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish

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for governments to work more on recycling programmes, and look at how
technology is developing that can convert plastic into fuel.

We make a staggering amount of plastic. In terms of plastic bags alone, we use five
hundred billion worldwide annually. Over 300 million tons of plastic are produced
every year, and at least 8 million of those are dumped into the oceans. The results
are disastrous, but it isn’t too late to change. Once you’ve seen A Plastic Ocean, you’ll
realise the time is now and we all have a role to play.

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 Why are we interested in cohesion?
Cohesi
1. It’s a Theoretical interest: we want to understand what makes a passage of language a text (how it works).
The result is a theory of text, a classification of framework.

2. Descriptive interest: we want to describe how a specific test was put together (is cohesion the same in ≠ genres?).
better understanding of a text: writing style, typical features of a textual genre + comparison w/ other genres (by
understanding cohesion you will understand the text).

3. Pedagogical interest: » learn how to create a clear and well-written text (knowing cohesion will speed up process).
» to understand why a learner text seems disconnected & stylistically inappropriate.
develop writing skills, analyse mistakes + suggest improvements (understand where a text can be improved).

DEFINITION
Cohesion is a semantic relation, or tie, whereby the interpretation of any item in a text requires making reference
to some other item in the same text.
in order to describe the semantic relations in a text we need 2 concepts:
• cohesive item – item that refers to smth else in the text
• presupposed item – item that you need to make sense of them
Ex. Wash and core (=remove the core) six cooking apples. Put them into the fireproof dish.

The domains of cohesive relations

» Anaphora: when an item points back to a previous element in the text (= anaphoric tie).
A: Did the gardener water my flowers?
B: He said so. → 'He’ immediately follows.
The first years of Henry's reign, as recorded by the admiring Hall, were given over to sport and gaiety, though there
was little of the licentiousness which characterized the French Court.The athletic contests were serious but very
popular. Masques, jousts and spectacles followed one another in endless pageantry. He brought to Greenwich a
tremendously vital court life, a central importance in the country's affairs and, above all, a great naval connection.
in writing – connection between cohesive and presupposed items may occur after few sentences.

» Cataphora: a meaning relation whereby the presupposed element follows the cohesive item.
the presupposed element often consists of 1 or more sentences.
This is how to get the best results. You let the berries dry in the sun, till all the moisture has gone out of them.Then
you gather them up and chop them very fine.→ meaning comes after (wait until ‘this’ makes sense).

» Exophora: the info needed to interpret some element in the text to be found in context of situation, outside the text.
contributes to the cohesion of the text BUT it doesn’t have anything to do with language.
A) Did the Gardner water those plants? (Pointing to the plants) → meaning from the context (not the text) = deixis
B) Yes, he did
Activity 3
The domains of cohesive relations
Identify the ties in the following examples, distinguishing the cohesive and the
presupposed items. Say whether the ties are anaphoric, cataphoric or exophoric.

1. Two years ago, this property cost 1 million pounds. Today, it costs 5 million.
2. Ted bought some red wine and some white wine. He put in the fridge the white
wine. >
-

repetition

3. Do you prefer these or those?

4. Remember this: never trust a stranger.
5. Would you like to hear another song? I know two more.
6. I would never have believed it. They’ve accepted my proposal!
7. Take a look at that new building.
8. A: “Do you think that they have all left?”
B: “I’m afraid so”

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 10 ottobre
Cohesive features
We have 3 main sets of cohesive features depending on part of speech involved in cohesion:
1. Grammatical cohesion: cohesive item is a grammar word (ex. pronouns – cohesion realised through grammar)
2. Lexical cohesion: forms of cohesion realised through vocabulary (ex. Repetition of word plastic)
3. Conjunction: some forms of cohesion are borderline – between grammar & lexis (conj. have features of both).
limited in number (finite set – like grammar words), BUT conj. have a meaning on their own (don’t have to refer to
any other item – If I say ‘however’ you expect me to say something in contrast).

Grammatical cohesion
Grammatical cohesion is composed of 3 subcategories: reference, substitution & ellipsis.

• REFERENCE: is a semantic tie that occurs when a linguistic item needs to refer to another item in the co-text to
acquire meaning (very common phenomena in language).

Reference may be realized by different words: personal, demonstrative & comparative reference.
1. Personal reference: pronouns – I, you, he/she/it, we, you, they
The Grand Old Duke of York
Oh, the grand old Duke of York,
he had 10 thousand men,

He marched them up to the top of

the hill and he marched
them down again.

And when they were up they were up.

And when they were down they were down.
And when they were only half way up,
they were neither up nor down.
all anaphoric ties – 3rd person forms are always cohesive, 1st & 2nd may not always be

Steve Job’s Commencement Address at Stanford University, June 12, 2005

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from 1 of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from collage.
Thruth be told, this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you 3 stories from my life.
That’s it. No big deal. Just 3 stories.
1st & 2nd person forms refer to speech roles of speaker and addressee: they are exophoric → deixis, not cohesion.
only 3rd person forms (he, she, it, they) refer to the text and have a cohesive function.

1st & 2nd person references can be considered cohesive when they occur in quoted direct speech:
My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I
should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I
popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of
the night asking: “We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?” They said: “Of course.”
you is cohesive in this case → this phenomena occurs when we have reported speech.

3rd person pronoun it can be text-referring: it doesn’t refer to particular object/person, BUT to a whole portion of text.
I would never have believed it. They’ve accepted the whole scheme.
 Activity 4
When is personal reference appropriate?
Fill in the blanks using an appropriate form of personal reference. However, in some
blanks personal reference seems inappropriate. When would you reintroduce the full
or partial name of the protagonist and why?

official position +

Dr . Strick gives authority

Our speaker today is Dr. Sheryl M. Strick. _______
She is a professor in the Department of
-
She
Vegetarian Diet at the College of Agriculture and Environment at UCLA. _______
Dr Strickt
~
.

graduated from Florida State University, and after a summer as an assistant seed
v
breeder for the Burpee Company in Texts, _________
Shie went on to do graduate work in
ner Ph.D., ________
plant genetics at UC San Diego. After receiving _________ Shev joined the
Pennsylvania State University faculty where _________
she remained except for trips to the
Himalayas and Outer Mongolia to collect potato varieties and do research on potatoes.
To remind the
presupposed item . ________
Dr Strick wrote that _________
. She was bitten by the potato bug in _________
her grade school days
and never completely recovered. _________
She remembers all the excitement ________
she felt
when _____________
she placed ______________
her first mail order for seed and how _________
She did
everything wrong in sowing the seeds. Later, while still at home, _________
Dr Strick spent every
.

available hour working on the farm that __________

her mother managed. It was clear even
Use of 1st name Sheryl
this is a memory then in _________’s
Dr Strick.
life ___________
Sher would deal with plants. It is a pleasure to introduce to
from personal life -

you ___________
Brystrick who will speak to us on ‘The Potato.’ [1]
Sheryl

[1] Example taken from Hatch (1983: 115 in Flowerdew, 2013: 54-5)

If you want to imply importance you use the surname, if yo want to imply closeness use the noun, if it’s clear who you are
talking about use the pronoun but if the presupposed item is far away repeat it.
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2. Demonstrative reference: demonstrative pronouns or adjectives
• demonstrative pronouns – this, that, these, those
We went to the opera last night. That was our first outing for months.
We’re going to the opera tonight. This’ll be our first outing for moths.

• demonstrative adjectives – when pronouns are accompanies by nouns, they become adj.
I must introduce you to the surgeon who looked after me when I was in hospital. That surgeon really did a fine job, and nothing was too
much trouble for him.
Medical institutions are still searching for the best vaccine for AIDS. However, according to many so far the best cure to this disease is
prevention.
this indexes proximity VS that indexes distance (in time or space)

• demonstrative adverbs with cohesive functions – here, there, now, then

Now, correct me if I'm wrong here: what we are discussing is whether or not there is a conflict of interest.
In my young days we took these things more seriously. We had different ideas then.
here = means ‘in my reasoning’ (what I’m going to say, not where I’m standing).
2nd example is borderline: it can be exophoric – we can consider connection between then and the young days (even
though it may refer to an external event)

• definite article the – the is a specifying agent: it refers to a specific entity.

implies that both speaker & listener know what specific entity is being talked about (share same info).
Last year I bought a new house. The house is very well built. → 2nd mention requires the – we know which house.

MORE ON REFERENTIAL THE – reference is a phenomena that can be exophoric or endophoric.

Exophoric uses = refers to the world, not the text
• The sun shone brightly in the clear, blue sky → unique reference or homophora: the moon, the sun (there is only 1)
• The water is too cold → said standing in front of a swimming pool = specific context of situation
• Mind the gap! → between the train and the platform = general context of situation
• The British have a rich history of literature and culture → a known class of items
• The dog is a person's best friend → an individual considered as a representative of a known class (prototypical example)

Endophoric uses: cataphoric & anaphoric = located within the text (in post-modification)
• The title of the book → cataphoric
• The lady sitting by the window → cataphoric
• Last year I bought a new house. The house is very well built → anaphoric – the only cohesive 1

3. Comparative reference: main resources – such, more, less, other, similar, different… → words that imply a
comparison, often accompanied by a noun.
There are many things we can do to aid the development of children. Here are a few such ideas, and, as you’ll notice, they’re simple,
inexpensive, and even fun.
During our meeting on renewable energy, Mike argued in favour of wind power because of its sustainability. A similar argument was made
by John at the previous meeting.
such ideas → presupposes that you have already mentioned the ideas.

A: The kids finished all the cookies A: Here are your chicken wings [said while serving them]
B: Too bad! I wanted some more! B: Thanks, but please give me less!
RECURRENT ISSUES & INACCURACIES IN IMPLEMENTING REFERENCE
1. In 1985 the linguist B. Kachru first discussed a model known as the ‘Three Circles of English’. The model describes the sociolinguistics of
Present-Day English. → The model = 2nd mention – because it’s already known.
2. the concept of ‘standard variety’ → post-modification – we are required to use the whenever we specify a noun
3. the example provided in the exam paper → post-modification with a past participle
4. the elements which make up a noun phrase → ?
5. Nouns, adjectives, verbs and pronouns follow specific inflectional rules → general plurals = NO article
6. Lexical innovation occurs thanks to processes such as borrowing → uncountable nouns (concepts) = NO article

7. Text A is written in this way because *he has to follow specific devices to be understood. → agreement mistake – it
8. A writer has the ability to unify different members of a community just by discussing shared ideas in his text. → we are implying that
every writer is a man – use both forms (his/her)
9. A writer has the ability to unify different members of a community just by discussing shared ideas in his/her text → lang. inclusivity
10. Writers have the ability to unify different members of a community just by discussing shared ideas in their texts → use plur. to
avoid gender biased.

11. ...writers can unify different members of a community by just discussing their ideas... → to avoid ambiguity use lexical
repetition or restructure the sentence
12. The text reflects the will of the writer to be clear. This is very important. → unattended ‘this’ should be avoided: use of this
w/out a noun that specifies what it refers to (it sounds childish or too conversational = stylistically inadequacy)
use ‘this desire’ = turn it into a demonstrative adjective
• SUBSTITUTION: is the replacement of 1 item by another 1 through an indefinite proform.
A: Which is your car?
B: The one in front of the chemist’s = The car in front of the chemist’s
substitution is used instead of the repetition of a particular item → indefinite pronoun one to replace lexical item car
(meaning is the same, BUT we have a change in style).

Substitution is normally anaphoric BUT in some cases, cataphoric uses are possible.
The team got this one right. They showcased problem-solving skills, collaborated effectively, and executed the project flawlessly.
= The team got this task right.
The indefinite proform’s presupposed lexical item is understood + details clarifying its meaning are following.
these cases are peculiar: presupposed lexical item is not stated, is assumed.

Types of substitution
In order to recognize, we need to pay attention to some words implicated in this process – we have 3 types:

– Nominal substitution – realized by same, one(s)

presupposed item is a NP (noun phrase) or part of it → occurs when an item within the NP (or entirely) is replaced.
A: I'll have 2 scrambled eggs on toast, please.
B: I’ll have the same. = I’l have 2 scrambled eggs on toast, too
the same replaces the entire NP

I’m fed up with this watch. My old one worked all right, but this one's hopeless.= My old watch worked all right, but this watch's hopeless.
one replaces the head noun (watch)

– Verbal substitution – realized by do → presupposed item is a VP (the VP is replaced)

A: Have they removed their furniture?
B: They have done the desks, but that's all so far.= They have removed the desks
done replaces the lexical verb ‘removed’

B: Yes, they have done so.= They have removed the furniture
done reinforced by so – confirm what was said before.

– Clausal substitution – realized by so, not → presupposed item is an entire clause

1. Substitution of that-clauses: replaced by so
A: Do you think that you might have a chance?
B: I don’t think so = I don’t think that I might have a chance.

2. Substitution of clause in if-conditionals:

Everyone seems to think that he's guilty. If so, no doubt he'll offer to resign. = If he is guilty, ….
Everyone seems to think he's guilty. If not, they’ll have to apologize. = If he is not guilty, …

3. Substitution of moralised clauses: expressions of (un)certainty, obligation – modal verbs (should, may…); modal
adverb (maybe)
Mum, dad, you might be glad to hear what I’m going to say. Or perhaps not. Well, me and James are going to marry!
= perhaps you might not be glad.
• ELLIPSIS: an elliptical item is 1 which leaves a “structural slot” = empty element in the sentence.
Would you like to hear another song? I know 2 more [____] = 2 more songs (redundant)

Ellipsis is almost always anaphoric, BUT in some sentence structures it can be cataphoric.
If you could [_____], I’d like you to be back here at 5:30 = If you could be back here at 5:30 … (McCarthy 1991, p. 43).

Types of ellipsis
– Nominal ellipsis: ellipsis within a NP (part of it is omitted) – 2 most common cases are:
» omission of the head noun
» omission of post-modifying elements (normally prepositional phrases)

Which hat will you wear? This is the best = this is the best hat → head noun
I bought 2 pairs of shoes. The 1st pair is blue, the 2nd is black
prepositional phrase head noun + prepositional phrase
ellipsis of 2 pairs of shoes ellipsis of both 2 pairs & the 1st pair

– Verbal ellipsis: ellipsis of part of the VP (which includes subject + verb)

A: Is John going to come?
B: He was to, but he may not → dropped the lexical verb ‘come’

A: Has your sister been crying?

B: No, laughing → subject & auxiliary verb dropped

A: She looks exhausted. What has she been doing?

B: Been staring at the computer screen all day → subject & auxiliary verb

– Clausal ellipsis: ellipsis of some elements of the clause – normally subject & the entire verb group.
A: Has your sister been crying?
B: No → just the adverb ‘no’ (all the clause erased)

A: Is John going to come?

B: Maybe

Verbal or clausal ellipsis?

Verbal Clausal
A: Has your sister been crying? A: Has your sister been crying?
B: No, laughing. B: No.
omission of subject + auxiliary verbs omission of subject + WHOLE verb group
lexical verb is present

A: Is John going to come? A: Is John going to come?

B: He was to, but he may not. B: Maybe.
omission of lexical verb only omission of subject + WHOLE verb group
 Why using substitution & ellipsis?
• To improve the style of writing & conciseness:
I expected the bus to be full and I expected it to force us to go on foot; well, the bus was full and it forced us to go on foot.
= I expected the bus to be full and to force us to go on foot; well, it was and it did.
if you don’t use it, it would sound redundant → it was and it did = ellipsis + ellipsis + substitution

• Focus & informativity:

A: Have you done the washing up?
B: No, I haven't done the washing up yet = No, not yet.
Grice’s maxim of quantity (1989, p.26): be as informative as the conversation requires, BUT no more.
Avoid giving unnecessary or irrelevant info (right amount).
Activity 5
Substitution and ellipsis
Come
Read the following sentences and say whether the cohesive tie is substitution or
ellipsis. Then, identify the type, i.e. nominal, verbal or clausal.

Ellipsis of
splayed)
V
~ 1. John played tennis and Peter football VERBAL
replaces
Cwrite)
~ 2. I’ve written the table of contents, but I still have to do the introduction. VERBAL Substitution

~ 3. A: Do you really think your invention will make an impact?

J clausal ellipsis
B: No, but that won’t stop me having ambitious goals
X 4. For the best deals, plan your trip mid-week and outside of peak holiday periods
if you can. If not, just book early. CLAUSAL SUBSTITUTION

~ 5. A: The new player is stronger than the old one substitution

NOMINAL
creplaces
creplaces that-clause)
B: Okay, if you say so CLAUSAL substitution
player

6. Rosie hit the pink ball and thenNthe black M NOMINAL

She hit CLAUSAL +

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Activity 6
Substitution and ellipsis (bis)
Create ellipsis and make the text more concise and natural by erasing all
the words and phrases you think are unnecessary.

The Korean culture wave has swept through the editorial offices of the Oxford English
Dictionary (OED), which has added more than 20 new words of Korean origin to its latest
edition of the dictionary.
-
nominal ellipsis

The K- prefix is prominently featured in the dictionary, as you might expect given that so
-

many people outside of South Korea now listen to K-pop, -

they now watch K-dramas or
they now use K-beauty products. omitting subs and time expression
-

The new words include hallyu-

and hallyu is the Korean original for the wave of pop clausal

culture that has made BTS one of the world’s most popular bands and that has made - ellipsis

Squid Game the Netflix sensation of 2021.

But as the dictionary’s new additions make clear, there is much more to Korean cuisine
than its spicy staple kimchi, which appeared in the OED as long ago as 1976. New
food-related entries include bulgogi, that is to say thin slices of beef or pork, and they
2
-

include chimaek, that is to say Korean-style fried chicken and beer.

- -

clausal ellipsis
Traditional culture is represented by hanbok, which is the formal attire worn by both
-

men and women, and it is represented by Hangul, which is the Korean alphabet devised
- -

by King Sejong in 1443. There is room, too, for mukbang, or livestreams of people eating
extraordinary amounts of food while talking to the online audience.

The OED said that the inclusion of so many Korean words was recognition of a shift in
-

language usage beyond the English-speaking world.

“They show how Asians in different parts of the continent invent and how they -

exchange words within their own local contexts, then they introduce these words to the
-

rest of the English-speaking world, thus allowing the Korean wave to continue to ripple
on the sea of English words.”
Conducting an Interview
Objective: In this activity, you and your partner will engage in an interview. One of you will
play the role of the interviewer, while the other will be the interviewee. The interviewer will
choose between the topics of hobbies or ambitions and will ask a series of questions
related to the chosen topic. The interviewer should carefully record the responses. At the
conclusion of the interview, the interviewer's task will be to craft a text, in the third person,
showcasing the ‘special guest’ - the interviewee.

Style: Write the resulting text in the third person, alternating between personal references
and proper names when appropriate. Include direct quotes (preferably featuring first
person forms). Be imaginative and creative with your choice of words to make the text
captivating and enjoyable to read.

Submission: Once your text is complete, please upload it to Moodle

Questions:

Hobbies
1. Can you tell me about some of your favorite hobbies or interests outside of work or
school?
2. How did you first get interested in [mention a specific hobby]?
3. What do you enjoy most about [mention a specific hobby]?
4. Have your hobbies evolved or changed over the years? If so, how?
5. Are there any specific skills or lessons you've learned from your hobbies that you
apply to other aspects of your life?

Ambitions for the Future

1. What are your long-term study or career aspirations, and how do you plan to
achieve them?
2. How do your future ambitions or career goals align with your educational
background and past experiences?

1
 3. Do you plan to participate in programmes like Erasmus or study abroad, and how
do you think they'll benefit your future?
4. Are you considering additional certifications, internships, or extracurricular activities
to boost your career prospects?
5. Are there any role models or individuals who inspire your ambitions for the future?

2
 Hobbies
1. Can you tell me about some of your favorite hobbies or interests outside of work or school?
I dont really have many hobbies or interests outside of school, but the only one I can speak about is scout. I’m in the world
of scout since I was 10. It’s more than an interest. It’s a passion I had since I was 10.

I used to dance, ballet and jazz – from 6 to 10 yo

Then she started ginnastica ritmica, she stopped at 17 yo because of the corona virus.

2. How did you first get interested in scout?

It is fun to say. I was jealous of my sister. 1 summer she left for 1 week to go scout. So she started.

3. What do you enjoy most about scout?

Difficut to say because there are a lot of things I love. As a scout must say, educative method. This method leads children
and adults to live with love and respect for people and nature, There is a motto that we use: Sing and smile even in the
difficulties. And it is your mindset.

4. Have your hobbies evolved or changed over the years? If so, how?
As I said before, it is not just a hobby, is a passion. When I was younger it was just a place for fun where I was myself. I
enjoyed the time with my colleagues. When you grow up you realise that it’s much more. You make a choice, and that’s the
one I made: bring what you have learnt to other children and adolescents.

5. Are there any specific skills or lessons you’ve learned from your hobbies that you apply to other aspects of your life?
I’ve learnt to be patient. When you work in the education field, many children can have problems, you have to lead them to
believe in themselves and explore themselves and help them.
Motto.

I learned to believe in myself thanks to ritmica

With dance I learnt the discipline.
 Intview – Erica
Today I had the pleasure of having a little chat with one of my colleagues: Erica

Erica is a 20-year-old student from Sicily. After attending a linguistics high school, she decided to continue her
study of languages at the University of Turin. Besides the academic background, Erica’s world is enriched by
many hobbies.

The 6-year-old Erica was a dancer: she practiced ballet and jazz at the local dance studio of Vercelli. At the age of
10, Erica decided to switch things up, joining the rhythmic gymnastics school: she was fascinated by the grace
of that world. Erica’s favorite apparatus was the ribbon: her top-notch qualities were shown at the national
competition, where she won the silver medal. Unfortunately, Erica’s ribbon met an obstacle: the pandemic of
Covid-19.

The old days as an athlete were over, but Erica was about to discover a whole new passion: the world of Scout.
There is a funny anecdote behind the discovery of this new hobby. It all dates back to the summer of 2013: 10-
year-old Erica was waving goodbye to her older sister, a scout herself, who was going away for one week of
adventure in the woods. Young Erica, a bit jealous of her sister, said to her parents: “I want to be a scout too!”.

From that moment on, Erica’s love for the world of Scout grew stronger. Among all the amazing things she
experienced, the one that she enjoyed the most was the educative method: children and adults living together
respecting Mother Nature.

In the beginning, the adventures with the scouts were just a fun way to spend time with friends and be in a safe
place where everybody could be themselves. As the years went by, this hobby became much more. Quoting
Erica’s words: “It’s not just a hobby, it’s a passion”. Therefore Erica decided that she wanted to hand down what she
had learnt to many other children and adolescents.

These hobbies made Erica how she is today. Erica learnt the strict discipline of the dance world; those years as a
rhythmic gymnastics athlete taught her to believe in herself. Most importantly, thanks to the scout experience,
Erica mastered the quality of patience, which is necessary in the educational field: working with children means
leading them through the path of exploring themselves and believing in their qualities.

In conclusion, Erica’s mindset can be summarised with the motto of the scouts: “Sing and smile even in the
difficulties”.
16 ottobre

Paragraphs in English
A paragraph is a group of sentences about a single topic. Together, the sentences
in the paragraph explain the writer's main idea about the topic. Paragraphs are
often between five and ten sentences long (ca. 100-150 words), but they can be
longer or shorter, depending on the topic. The first sentence of a paragraph is
usually indented or left-justified after a blank line. Do not mix the two strategies.

Internal structure of paragraphs

Topic sentence - indicates what the

idea/theme of the paragraph is
Supporting sentences - provide details
about the theme of the topic sentence
Concluding sentences - provide a brief
summary of the paragraph or draw
conclusions from the point(s) made in
the paragraph
Transition sentences - establish a
connection with the previous or next
paragraph

Example of a well-organised paragraph1

serie

1
From Zemach, D. E., &amp; Rumisek, L. A. (2019). Academic writing: From paragraph to essay. Macmillan (p. 12).
You are required to mark paragraphs visually

Correct ways of starting a new paragraph in English

Three paragraphs Strategy

Music plays a vital role in people's lives, transcending

√ Left-aligned +
boundaries and serving as a universal language that
blank line
conveys emotions. Whether it's the joy of a dance tune,
the sorrow of a ballad, or the triumph of a symphony,
music connects individuals on an emotional level,
enabling them to share experiences and find common
ground.

Music is a powerful tool for self-expression and

personal identity. It allows people to communicate their
feelings, experiences, and aspirations, fostering a sense
of belonging and self-understanding. Music also holds
cultural and social significance, playing a part in
religious ceremonies, celebrations, and cultural
traditions worldwide. It unites people from diverse
backgrounds, forming a common thread that links
generations and fosters cultural bonds.

In conclusion, the profound role of music in people's

lives, as a universal language, a means of
self-expression and a cultural bond underlines its
importance as an indispensable part of our shared
human heritage.
Three paragraphs Strategy

Music plays a vital role in people's lives, transcending

√ Indent
boundaries and serving as a universal language that
conveys emotions. Whether it's the joy of a dance tune,
the sorrow of a ballad, or the triumph of a symphony,
music connects individuals on an emotional level,
enabling them to share experiences and find common
ground.
Music is a powerful tool for self-expression and
personal identity. It allows people to communicate their
feelings, experiences, and aspirations, fostering a sense
of belonging and self-understanding. Music also holds
cultural and social significance, playing a part in
religious ceremonies, celebrations, and cultural
traditions worldwide. It unites people from diverse
backgrounds, forming a common thread that links
generations and fosters cultural bonds.
In conclusion, the profound role of music in
people's lives, as a universal language, a means of
self-expression and a cultural bond underlines its
importance as an indispensable part of our shared
human heritage.
 Wrong ways of starting a new paragraph in English

Three paragraphs Strategy

Music plays a vital role in people's lives, transcending

X No indent or
boundaries and serving as a universal language that
blank line
conveys emotions. Whether it's the joy of a dance tune,
Correct in
the sorrow of a ballad, or the triumph of a symphony, BUT
Italian
not in
English
music connects individuals on an emotional level,
enabling them to share experiences and find common
ground.
Music is a powerful tool for self-expression and
personal identity. It allows people to communicate their
feelings, experiences, and aspirations, fostering a sense
of belonging and self-understanding. Music also holds
cultural and social significance, playing a part in
religious ceremonies, celebrations, and cultural
traditions worldwide. It unites people from diverse
backgrounds, forming a common thread that links
generations and fosters cultural bonds.
In conclusion, the profound role of music in people's
lives, as a universal language, a means of
self-expression and a cultural bond underlines its
importance as an indispensable part of our shared
human heritage.

Fragmented structure Strategy

Music plays a vital role in people's lives, transcending

X A new
boundaries and serving as a universal language that
paragraph for
conveys emotions. each new sentence

Whether it's the joy of a dance tune, the sorrow of a

ballad, or the triumph of a symphony, music connects

Gives impression of a very fragmented text. In just 1 sentence it’s not possibile to give any idea
individuals on an emotional level, enabling them to
share experiences and find common ground.

Music is a powerful tool for self-expression and

personal identity.

It allows people to communicate their feelings,

experiences, and aspirations, fostering a sense of
belonging and self-understanding.

Music also holds cultural and social significance, playing

a part in religious ceremonies, celebrations, and
cultural traditions worldwide.

It unites people from diverse backgrounds, forming a

common thread that links generations and fosters
cultural bonds.

In conclusion, the profound role of music in people's

lives, as a universal language, a means of
self-expression and a cultural bond underlines its
importance as an indispensable part of our shared
human heritage.
How many paragraphs? Strategy

Music plays a vital role in people's lives, transcending

X Mixing
boundaries and serving as a universal language that
strategies
conveys emotions.
Whether it's the joy of a dance tune, the sorrow of a
ballad, or the triumph of a symphony, music connects
individuals on an emotional level, enabling them to
share experiences and find common ground.

Music is a powerful tool for self-expression and

personal identity. It allows people to communicate their
feelings, experiences, and aspirations, fostering a sense
of belonging and self-understanding.
Music also holds cultural and social significance, playing
a part in religious ceremonies, celebrations, and
cultural traditions worldwide.
It unites people from diverse backgrounds, forming a
common thread that links generations and fosters
cultural bonds.

In conclusion, the profound role of music in people's

lives, as a universal language, a means of
self-expression and a cultural bond underlines its
importance as an indispensable part of our shared
human heritage.
 Conjunction
Differently from grammatical cohesion, conjunction doesn’t prompt the reader to supply missing info → semantic
relations are established by connecting a cohesive item that needs to refer to smth else in the text to make sense – in
conjunctions we don’t have this kind of item .
it just tells us how clauses, sentences & paragraphs are related.
She was never really happy here. So she’s leaving.
indicates consequence

TYPES OF CONJUNCTIONS
There are ≠ types of conjunctions depending on their overall meaning (groups may include subgroups):
• Additive: adds new info by reformulating it, or illustrating it through examples (expanding the text in ≠ ways) – and,
furthermore, in addition, besides, in other words, for instance, indeed (=infatti), in fact (=in realtà)…
• Adversative: to indicate contrast or opposition – but, yet, however, nevertheless, actually, in fact, instead, on the
contrary (I thought the movie was gonna be boring, on the contrary it was fun), by contrast (compare ≠ circumstances)…
• Causal: indicates consequence, effect + purpose – so, therefore, consequently, as a result, for this purpose,
to this end…
• Temporal: refer to time + sequences of ideas in a text + expressions that signal conclusion – afterwards, then, next,
subsequently, first, second, to sum up, in short, finally…

Conjunctions include adverbs (furthermore), prepositional phrases (in other words; in addition= preposition + noun) +
conjunctions (and).

Linking expressions (adverbs, prepositional phrases) connect sentences:

a) Mark is an excellent teacher. However, David is even better. (Standard way in writing)
b) Mark is an excellent teacher. David, however, is even better.
c) Mark is an excellent teacher. David is, however, even better.
d) Mark is an excellent teacher. David is even better, however. (used in oral language)

Conjunctions tend to connect clauses:

a) Mark is an excellent teacher and Alice too.
b) Mark is an excellent teacher but Alice is better.
c) Mark is an excellent teacher, so we are lucky to have him.
don’t use a conjunction at the beginning of a new sentence → use and adverb

In spoken language: conjunctions are used at the beginning of utterances → indicating when speaker is willing to
continue speaking + topic-organising function = indicate either topic continuity or topic switch.
I believe in that. Whatever’s gonna happen is gonna happen. I believe… that… y’know it’s fate. It really is.
Because eh my husband has a brother, that was killed in an automobile accident. and at tesate time there was another fellow, in there, that
walked away with not even a scratch on him.
And I really fee— I don’t feel y’can push fate. and I think a lot of people do.
But I feel that you were put here for so many, years or what (?) and that’s how it was meant to be.
Because like when we got marries. we were supposed t’get married uh: like about 5 months late my husband got a notice t’go into the
service and we moved it up.
And my father died the week… after we got married. While we were on our honeymoon.
And I just felt, that move was meant to be, because if not, he wouldn’t have been there.
So eh y’know it just s—seems that that’s how things work.
Activity 7
Conjunction
a. Fill in the following sentences with the most appropriate linking word.

1. My client says he does not know this witness. __________,

Further he denies ever having seen
,

in addition moreover
her or spoken to her. (Additive)
,

2. Perhaps she missed her train. ______________

Or else/ or she's changed her mind and isn't
(maybe) or perhaps
coming. (Additive/alternative) ,

Nevertheless
3. She failed. _________,
However she's tried her best. (Adversative)

4. He showed no pleasure at hearing the news. _____________

Instead he looked even gloomier.
(Adversative/correction)
5. I spent most of my money in the first week. _____________
Consequently/ I had very little to eat by the
As a consequence
end of the holiday. (Causal/consequence)
6. Carl's starting college in September. _____________,
Mean while he's travelling around Europe.
(Temporal/durative)
7. We had tea with delicious scones. _______________
Afterwords/ we sat in the garden for a while.
Then
(Temporal/sequential)

b. Supply linking words to enhance the flow of this passage1.

It has long been documented that individuals in an organization may voluntarily carry
out tasks that are not part of their regular job duties. ____________,
In other words individuals may go

above and beyond the call of duty to help coworkers, prevent problems, or volunteer
to stay late when not expected to do so. This behavior is intended to help others in the
organization or the organization itself and is often referred to as Organizational
Citizenship Behavior (OCB). It is recognized that OCB is important for an organization to

1
Adapted from Swales, John M. & Feak, Christine. 2012. Academic Writing for Graduate Students [3rd ed.]. Ann Arbor (MI):
University of Michigan Press (pp. 41-42).

1
 nevertheless/
effectively function; __________
however there is debate among researchers as to how OCB can
In addition/Moreover
be encouraged and rewarded. __________, this debate is complicated when considering
the role of OCB in multinational corporation pursuing global diversity. Most OCB
research has focused on Western cultures; __________,
therefore whether these research findings
as a
consequence
can be extended to other cultures is not clear, suggesting a need to investigate OCB as
it exists in other cultures, particularly those described as "collectivist".

2
 Lexical cohesion Reiteration and collocation
Lexical cohesion is created through the use of lexical items → they are not inherently cohesive (unlike grammatical
cohesion), as they (per se) do not imply the existence of a presupposed item
Grammatical: He is climbing a tree. → we need additional info to understand (in the context or co-text)
VS
Lexical: A boy is climbing a tree. → don’t need reference in the co-text

Lexical items become cohesive when they recall the meaning of a previous item in the text = there is some semantic
connection with other items in the text.
A) There’s a boy climbing that tree!
B) The child’s going to fall if It doesn’t take care.
boy & child are synonyms

• REITERATION – it can be: repetition, synonym, hypernym/hyponym & general class word.
» Repetition = same word being repeated
A) There’s a boy climbing that tree!
B) The boy’s going to fall if It doesn’t take care
Very often we have cooperation w/ lexical & grammatical cohesion: 2nd lexical item is accompanied by “the”
= signals continuity of reference (listener knows which boy is intended, the same one).

» Synonym = lexical cohesion may result from choosing a lexical item that is a synonym of a preceding one.
Ted has worked in a coal mine all his life. He first went down the pit when he was a boy.

» Hyperonymy / hyponymy: — hypernym = more general semantic category

— hyponym = more specific words that belong to a more general category
animal is the hypernym of dog AND dog is hyponym od animal.
Henry’s bought himself a new Jaguar. He practically lives in the car. → brand name VS general category
Henry’s bought himself a new car. He’s driving a Jaguar now.

» General class words = general words are a special category of hypernyms

they include items such as thing, stuff, issue, business, idea, place, matter, person.
Can you tell me where to stay in Geneva? I’ve never been to the place.
I’ve read all her books. I really like her stuff.
2nd item refer to same entity in the world → they are accompanied by grammatical cohesion.

• COLLOCATION – involves words that are related w/ each other semantically w/out being coreferential (= w/
out referring to the same entity in the world → unlike reiteration).
“There is cohesion between any pair of lexical items that stand to each other in some recognizable lexicosemantic (word
meaning) relation” – [Halliday & Hasan 1976: 285].
 Some of the most frequent semantic relations
– Co-hyponymy: words falling under the same hypernym (= conceptual unit) → apples, orange, banana, lemon = fruit.
– Antonymy: relation between opposites (very often exploited in texts) → large/small – happy/sad
– Series: words from the same series – closed sets (you can count the elements) → Monday/Tuesday – September/July
– Co-occurrences: words that tend to occur together, go hand by hand (ex. subj+verb, verb+obj associations) →
rain/to pour – hair/to comb
– Part-whole / whole-part relations: car/brake – flower/garden – body/leg
– Part-part relations: mouth/eyes (2 parts of a face) – branch/leaf (2 parts of a tree) [can be confused w/ co-hyponymy]

17 ottobre
1. Intraclausal ties: Mary put the money in her purse. → within same clause
Where do cohesive relations occur?
2. Interclausal ties: Mary took the money and put it into her purse. → it & her connect 2 coordinate clauses
3. Intersentential ties: Mary took the money. Then she put it in her purse.→ connects ≠ sentences
normally in text linguistics only interclausal & intersentential are considered cohesive + contribute to texture.
(Intraclausal are considered part of the grammar of the sentence).

HOW TO ANALYZE LEXICAL COHESION

1. Focus on interclausal & intersentential relations
2. Identify reiteration (continuity of reference) + its subtypes: it is easier to recognize, not so ambiguous
3. Identify collocations: » if clearly recognisable, describe the collocation subtype (in the slides).
» if in doubt, explain how, in your opinion, the words are related (ex. Now/September = 2 time expres).

EXAMPLE
REITERATIONS Repetition SYMonym
↓ I ↓ Crepetition)
(

A Plastic Ocean is a film to make you think. Think, and then act. We need to take action on our dependence on plastic. We’ve
Repetition
Hyponimy
been producing plastic in huge quantities since the 1940s. Drink bottles, shopping bags, toiletries and even clothes are
I
↓ = types of plastic I

Synonym SYMOMYM
made with plastic. We live in a world full of plastic, and only a small proportion is recycled. What happens to all the rest? This HYPOny
word)
(General class Repetition CHypOnym)
is the question the film A Plastic Ocean answers. It is a documentary that looks at the impact that plastic waste has on the
Title I of film
↓

Crepetition)
environment. Spoiler alert: the impact is devastating.

COLLOCATIONS
causeleffect
tonymy
A Plastic Ocean is a film to make you think. Think, and then act. We need to take action on our dependence on plastic. We’ve "

been producing plastic in huge quantities since the 1940s. Drink bottles, shopping bags, toiletries and even clothes are
↓

cooccurrence

made with plastic. We live in a world full of plastic, and only a small proportion is recycled. What happens to all the rest? This
↓ ,

↑
Co-occurrence - Part-part relat -I

is the question the film A Plastic Ocean answers. It is a documentary that looks at the impact that plastic waste has on the
.

↑
Co-occurrence ↓

environment. Spoiler alert: the impact is devastating.

I

I
- o c c u r re n c e
(Expression used
in relation to films)
 T
F
·
i
M
=
·
T
·
F
F
E

·
· r
Activity 8
Lexical cohesion
Recognise the lexical cohesive ties in the following sentences. Say whether they are
examples of reiteration or collocation and what subtype they belong to (e.g.
reiteration through repetition).

1. As part of our week dedicated to America, our channel revels in some of the
most expressive music of that continent. hyponym
2. Dreams can come true. Without that possibility, nature would not incite us to
have them. Reiteration -

general class word

3. I would like to introduce Dr Johnson. Dr Johnson is our Head of Department. Repetition

4. Our computer system is one of the most sophisticated in the country. The
network has been running for several years now. Synonymy
5. Congratulations on your purchase of a new colour television. We are pleased
that you have chosen a Philips. Hypony my
6. It was the aunts who brought most of the food for the Sunday dinners. They
would arrive with roasts, lemon meringue pies, cookies, jars of their own pickles.
-
Hyponyms
am- co-hyponymy &
7. Buy now... Pay September! Collocation
-

>
-

Co-occurrences & collocation , 2 time expressions

①m
8. Cormorants are the most widespread and versatile of the world’s seabirds. They
can be seen diving anywhere from the Arctic
=>
to the tropics. Hyponym
L
part-part relation

1
Lingua Inglese II
L11 - 2023-2024

Guidelines for Task 1

Task 1 consists in writing a text displaying specific cohesive and thematic features, and
producing a commentary illustrating their use in your own writing. You will be given a short
prompt for your text on the following topics. You will be given one prompt per topic and
you will be free to choose the one that you like best.

Topics:

1. Sustainability and the fashion industry

2. Social media in today’s society: Fake news and hate speech
3. Education and student stress

Text length:

● Your text: ca. 300 words

● Commentary on your own use of cohesive and thematic development features: ca.
250-300 words

Only paper dictionaries are allowed during the task

Time given: Up to 3 hours.

Assessment:

The assessment will take into account language form, terminological accuracy, coverage of
the cohesive features required and their correct use.

1
Getting ready for the task

Online dictionaries to consult while preparing for the task

Collins Dictionary: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/it/
Merriam-Webster: https://www.merriam-webster.com/
Macmillan Dictionary: https://www.macmillandictionary.com/
Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary: https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/

Examples of prompts

1.

Fast fashion should be banned. Take a position and explain your view.

How can the fashion industry become more sustainable? Make suggestions.

2.

Fighting fake news/hate speech can be a threat to freedom of speech. Express your
opinion on this matter and support it with examples.

How can we defend ourselves against the risks of fake news/hate speech?

3.

Take a position on whether the competitive nature of academia is a driving force behind
student stress or if it is a necessary aspect of educational rigour and personal growth.

Talk about the reasons for exam stress and suggest ways to cope with it.

Useful websites
Sustainability and the fashion industry
● The Life Cycle of a Pair of Jeans
https://www.ted.com/talks/madhavi_venkatesan_the_life_cycle_of_a_pair_of_jeans?u
tm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare
● Fast fashion: How clothes are linked to climate change, BBC News,
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-60382624

Fake news and hate speech

● What is fake news? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4o0B6IDo50
● The rise of fake news, British Council,
https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/reading/c1-reading/rise-fake-news

2
 ● The fine line between fake news and freedom of speech, King’s Social Journal
https://www.kcl.ac.uk/the-fine-line-between-fake-news-and-freedom-of-speech
● “Stop Hate UK” website: https://www.stophateuk.org/what-is-online-hate/
● Understanding hate speech, United Nations,
https://www.un.org/en/hate-speech/understanding-hate-speech/what-is-hate-speec
h

Education and student stress

● Student stress, NHS,
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/children-and-young-adults/help-for-teenagers-yo
ung-adults-and-students/student-stress-self-help-tips/
● Academic and exam stress, Teenagementalhealt.co.uk,
https://www.teenagementalhealth.co.uk/blog/post/19490/academic-and-exam-stres
s/

3
 Fast fashion should be banned

PRO BANNING AGAINST BANNING

• it causes pollution • cheaper clothes (accessibility, availability)

• Child labour • Follow the trend of the moment
• No originality • Chains of shops, available everywhere
• Recycle clothes • Many options of size and colors of the same piece of
• better quality products clothing
• always new clothes
 He speech line
Personal reference

I Members of the so-called Generation Z were born in the crib of the digital era. Social media is our dummy: it’s our m
~ - -

Reit Synonym (dummy) Causal Coll So-occurrence

cry-stopper when we are unable to deal with the real world, so we try to escape into someone else’s life, scrolling, media)
. .

ssocial
2
- -

Colj Adversative
pers reference

one post at a time. Actually, some of them are not too bad: homesickness kicks in while seeing a picture of the
.
.

3
-

Reit repetition

foreign friends you randomly met during a trip, as you remember all the memories.[In the social media world,
.

4
i n
~
Coll Co-occurrence

planet Earth seems much smaller, we are all one click apart.I Trepositional
.

5 phrase indicating space - MARKED

mm THEME

6
The average person spends about 150 minutes on social media every day and at least 95 million photos and videos
Sylonym Reit

are posted on Instagram daily. Unfortunately, not all of them are pictures of long-distance friends. In social media
.

7
ve n
m e e
LINEAR THEME CONSTANT THEME

S everybody is a know-it-all: non-qualified people become politicians, doctors, or experts in human rights. They feel
Additive Ti
free to judge everything they see and draw the worst and most underrated weapon of all: words.
personal reference
9 cron-qualified people
~

pers reference (people)

Texting on these keyboards is so quick that probably people don’t have time to really think about what they are
.

(Ellipsis) Reit repet Advers words

saying. What comes out is just a bunch of pointless words, but some hurt. The freedom of thought and speech
.

~
.
.

12
-

Adversative Reit repet -

are important rights for every individual. Nevertheless, so are the freedom of religion and the right to love who you
. .

12
-

Ecausal
13 want or express your personality as you wish. substitution

Finally ,

Reit rep

Social media should be a safe place to share your life with your friends, to connect people, and to spread positivity.
j
.
.

en- -

Adversative
25 However, unfortunately, love and hate have the same number of letters. Some people waste energy typing the -

referential the
16 wrong one. The only shield is to ignore them.
- -

Nominal Coll Co-occurrence

.

substitution (weapon)

Grammatical cohesion:
• personal reference (“it” referring to “social media”; “they” referring to “non-qualified ppl”; referential “the”)
• Clausal substitution (“so” referring to the fact that freedom of religion and expression of personality are equally
important rights, as much as freedom of thought and speech)
• nominal ellipsis (“words” ellipsed)

Lexical cohesion:
• reiteration — repetition (social media, words, freedom); near synonyms (dummy/cry-stopper, foreign/long-distance
friends)
• Collocation — co-occurrence (social media, scrolling, digital, click, post, weapon, shield)

Conjunctions:
• additive — and
• Adversative — actually, nevertheless, however
• Causal — so
• Temporal — finally
 THEMATIC DEVELOPMENT

• linear theme: concept of know-it-all (rheme) is taken up in the theme of following sentence (non-qualifies ppl)
• Constant theme: non-qualified people (theme) is reiterated in the following by using personal reference (they)
• Split rheme: ???

Grammatical cohesion was exploited in the text, especially personal reference:“it” (line 1, referring to “social media”), and
referential “the” (line 15, referring “love” or “hate”).
In addition, “so” (line 12) is an example of clausal substitution as it refers to the fact that freedom of religion and expression
of personality are equally important rights, as much as freedom of thought and speech.
An example of nominal ellipsis can be found in line 11: in the clause “but some hurt”, “words” was ellipsed.

Lexical cohesion was largely used in the text. Reiteration can be seen in the repetition of the terms “social media” (lines 1,
4, 7, 14), “words” (lines 9, 11) and “freedom” (lines 11, 12). Examples of synonyms or near synonyms are: cry-stopper (line 2,
for “dummy”), “long-distance friends” (line 7, for “foreign friends”).
As for collocations, so-occurrences were mainly exploited. “Scrolling” (line 2) and post (line 3) are directly linked with the
“social media” world. “Click” is a noun that picked up the meaning of ‘selecting an option on a device’ thanks to the “digital
era”. Lastly, since the words were compared to a “weapon” (line 9), the solution to hate speech is regarded as a “shield”.

All 4 types of conjunctions were employed: additive (“and”, line 9); adversative (“actually”, line 3; “nevertheless”, line 12;
“however”, line 15); causal (“so”, line 2) and temporal (“finally”, line 14).

Speaking of thematic development, the linear theme pattern is used in line 8: the concept of “know-it-all” is taken up in
the theme of the following sentence (“non-qualified people”). Constant theme is used in line 8-9: “non-qualified people” is
reiterated in the following sentence by using personal reference (“they”).
Lastly, since the text is made or declarative clauses, the unmarked theme is the subject. However, there is an example of
marked construction in lines 4-5: the prepositional phrase indicating time is fronted.

311 words
 FAKE NEWS
Fake news: news and stories are created to deliberately to misinform and deceive.
use the C.R.A.P. test: correct, reputable, author, purpose and common sense
Reasons why ppl create fake news: political motives, satire, profit for advertising (clickbait)
We have entered a post-truth era: media creators convince readers to believe something despite evidence against it
Fake news is an outcome of ignorance: lack of knowledge —> conspiracy theories flourish + mistrust increases.
Advance of technology has undoubtedly changed how media messages are reproduced = misleading info can be
shared by everyone
In social media: absence of fact-checking and proof-reading
Is censorship the bets way to deal with fake news? —> limit freedom of speech (civil rights)
People mistrust governments (mistrust built throughout decades) —> lack of transparency

Online hate
Online hate is no different then offline hate, other than where and how it occurs.
Online hate = posting and sharing hateful and prejudiced content against an individual, group or community (Threats, insults)
= offensive discourse targeting a group or an individual (pejorative or discriminatory language)
Hostile towards religion, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity (identity factors: religion , ethnicity, gender…)
Malicious communications, cyberbullying, cyberstalking, harassment, incitement to commit violence.
Hate speech can motivate people to commit harmful acts in the real world (physical assault, verbal abuse, damage of
property) —> it can even lead to tragedie (shootings or bombings)
Weaponization of social media

DIFFERENCES WITH OFFLINE HATE:

• Online content remains posted = online hate is usually permanent (regain popularity over time)
• Online hate can spread and travel across the web to a larger audience and quickly —> shared easily (low cost), potential
to reach a global audience in real time
• People who create online hate content are anonymous —> spread anonymously

Novembre 2020 — Facebook reported that the content exposure for hate speech is around 0,11% = 1 content out of 1000 will
be hateful (for every 1000 times a piece of content is viewed on the platform, 1 of them will be hateful).
Helpline service (Stop Hate UK) —> report hate crime, provide independent advice + educate ppl on the impact of online
hate on individuals and communities.
Create better online environment
Detecting hate speech with AI —> new AI model called BiCapsHate (researchers of UK): consists of several layers of
deep neural networks to capture different properties of hate speech (understand context behind the post) [but only ENG]

The average person spends about 150 minutes on social media every day and at least 95 million photos and videos are
posted on Instagram daily.
The year in which everything has changed was 1991: the date in which Word Wide Web was born. But how was the
world of news before that fateful year? People used to keep themselves informed through television or newspapers.
The TV, nowadays, is mainly used for entertainment purposes. On the other hand, the printed paper industry has
drastically lost readers since the beginning of the digital era. However, back in those days, fewer means of information
meant more truthful and transparent news.

Later, the advance of technology has drastically changed the way people look for information. This new age was called
Post-truth era: now media creators constantly try to convince people to believe in their theory despite evidence against
their point of view. Therefore our new world is controlled by fake news: stories created deliberately to misinform.

Everybody has the possibility to spread fake news. The main reasons why people do so are: political motives, satire or profit
for advertising. Politics has always been a scene of battles where everybody is a know-it-all and (everybody is) determined
to express opinions freely. Moreover, clickbait sites are the bread and butter of skammers, who use whatever they can to
get you to click on their page.

In the social media world, fake news find their natural habitat. They flourish thanks to the anonymity, the inclusivity and the
fast spread that internet provides: anybody can express whatever they want and reach global audience in no time. Finally,
fake news writers must thank the ignorance and laziness of the latest generation: skipping fact-checking gives them a free
pass to enter people’s minds.

1991: World Wide Web

1997: first social media

FAKE NEWS:
• news before 1991: TV, newspapers
• technologies = fake news; disinform; make ppl believe something despite evidence against it
• why people create fake news: political motives, satire, profit for advertising
• news in social media: anonymity, inclusivity, ignorance, no fact-checking

ONLINE HATE
• 1997: first social media –> Pro & cons: we are all one click apart BUT 150 min daily + 95 million posts on instagram daily
—> content exposure for hate speech is around 0,11% = 1 content out of 1000 will be hateful
• online hate (weaponisation of social media): offensive discourse targeting a group or an individual (identity factors) ––>
motivate people to commit harmful acts in the real world (physical assault, verbal abuse, damage of property)
• differences between offline hate: permanent (regain popularity), larger audience (quickly), anonymous (inclusivity)
• shields: helpline services (like Stop Hate UK) + detecting hate speech with AI (new AI model BiCapsHate: consists of
several layers of deep neural networks to capture different properties of hate speech (understand context behind the post)
[only ENG]
 COSA METTERE NEL TESTO
Grammatical cohesion:
• Reference: A similar argument; such ideas; this; the; it; they
• Substitution: the same applies to (nominal); one; if they do so (verbal) ; so; not
• Ellipsis: the 1st; the best;

Lexical cohesion:
• Reiteration: repetition; synonym; hypernym/hyponym; general class word
• Collocation: antonimy; co-occurrences; meronymy (part-whole)

Conjunctions:
• Additive — and; furthermore; in addition
• Adversative —but; actually, nevertheless, however
• Causal — so; therefore
• Temporal — finally; to sum up

THEMATIC DEVELOPMENT
• linear theme: A (t1) —> B (r1) —> B (t2) —> C (r2) John ate an apple. The apple was red
• Constant theme: A (t1)—> B (r1) / A (t2) —> C (r2) John ate an apple. John is now full.
• Split rheme: A —> B+C / B… / C....
 ▪

18 ottobre
How does information in a text unfold?
Theme & rheme
How do writers/speakers move from one sentence to the next one in a coherent way? (Connect sentences)
How do they indicate continuity of topic?
How do they indicate a shift in focus? (Shifts of topic)

Theme: the point of departure of the message → starting point of my clause = what I’m talking about.
I live in Turin.
My sister likes travelling.
Our dog’s name is Buddy.

Rheme: what the speaker states about the theme (predicate) → the elements of the clause that are not part of the theme.
She is looking out of the window.
My friend has been here all day.
The advantage of having a dog is that you go out regardless of the weather.

THEME / RHEME, TEXT & GRAMMAR

Theme & rheme are elements that contribute to texture & coherence.
The grammatical element that constitutes the theme varies according to sentence grammar (to analyze elements in a text we
have to look at the sentences): declarative clauses, imperative clauses, passive clauses, exclamative clauses, interrogative
clauses, elliptical clauses, existential clauses (these clauses will have their own specific theme) .

Declarative clauses
Declarative clauses – theme corresponds to subject (to identify the theme, look for subj):
I like chocolate a lot.
Boars can be found living in many cities nowadays.
Hungarian is a very difficult language to learn.
These students passed the exam.

when a nominal group is the theme of a clause, it can be very extensive (complex clauses as a subject).
Plans to make sure London keeps moving during the 2012 Games and that athletes, officials, media and the Olympic family
can get to venues on time have been published today.

more than 1 nominal group may occur as theme (3 simple noun phrases occupying the subj. position).
Susan, Peter and Henry passed the exam.

Unmarked theme
Unmarked theme: subject is the expected point of departure for a declarative clause in English.
BUT speakers may make ≠ thematic choices using another clause element as point of departure (move elements) .

Marked theme: when point of departure is another clause element

 MAIN CLAUSe ELEMENTs: » subject: Ellen laughed.
» verb: She is looking out of the window.
» direct object: My question angered the crown (?).
» indirect object: Can I talk to you for a second? (Introduced by prepositions)
» complement: We were very happy.
» adjunct (= adverbial ): I’ve been here all night / I saw a few familiar faces among the crowd.
time, place, manner, reason…

Object, complement or verb in theme position

The position in the clause is standard, BUT sometimes they put it at the beginning of the clause to achieve a specific effect.
• Direct Object: I have a number of new books. This one, I found in a shop on the high street.
• Indirect Object: I’ve managed to buy a lot of different French cheeses, but some I just can’t get hold of.
indirect obj. split from its preposition + moved before subj → prep. remains after verb
• Complement: Silent, the night was. (only in poetry)
• Verb: They promised to publicise the book in China, and publicise it they did.
= you get special effects by changing the order.

Adjunct / Adverbial » adverbs (luckily, there) & AdvPs (very loudly)

» prepositional phrases (for 2 months, on the sofa, in the garage)
» noun phrases (everyday – indicating time)
» subordinate cl. (cause I’m happy; when we arrive; to improve ENG; having understood the instruct.)
sub. conjunction which introduces: – finite verb (who have a subj, modified in tense).
– infinite verb (infinitive constructions or -ing forms)

Adjunct in theme position

• Next to the common room, you will find the library → adverb phrase
• Out of all the flats that we looked at to rent, the first one was the nicest → prepositional phrase
• Because all the tennis courts were booked, you will find the library → subordinate clause (indicating reason)

Marked theme
Marked theme: when adjuncts, objects or complements become the point of departure of a clause.
marked theme = everything up to the verb, BUT not including the verb (not just the element who is being anticipated)

WHAT IS THE FUNCTION OF A MARKED THEME?

To foreground a particular element, giving it more prominence within the clause (to a particular info).
In common with many people, I object to sports which are cruel to animals.
SECCHIONE-Clever clocks

Activity 9
Theme in declarative clauses

Identify the themes in the following examples: (a) say if they are marked or
unmarked; (b) if they are marked, identify what clause element is being
foregrounded.

adjunct -
adverbial noun phrase indicating time

1. Every year, half a million visitors make their way to Loch Ness in Scotland.
-adjunct
2. The loch is a dark and mysterious expanse of water, 300 metres deep in some
places.
>
- adjunct :
Prepositional phrase indicating reason

3. With visitors constantly on the move, our employees need to know how to deal
with their needs.
>
- complement of subj.
4. Creative and active, those children were just a delight to have around.
>
- adjunct : adverbial non-finite clause indicating time

5. When playing bridge, Ann feels it is important not to feel intimidated by the level
of the opponent.
↑ subject

6. Sleeping less than six and a half hours a night is not good for you.
>
- subject >
-
subject
7. I know a lot of cities, but not these ones. I’ve never visited Tokyo, for example.
↑ direct object

Shanghai, I visited long ago, back in 1998.

- subject
8. There are too many plastic bags in the oceans.
EXISTENTIAL THERE-CLAUSE

1
Other ways of creating marked thematic structures
• cleft sentences: it + verb + subj. of an hypothetically unmarked theme → It was John who scored the goal.
• pseudo-cleft sentences: what + subj. + verb → What John scored was a goal. What John did was score a goal.

The implications of different declarative thematic patterns

What is being implied by choosing a ≠ thematic pattern.
1. The American president visited China → unmarked statement = giving info about what president did
2. China was visited by the American president → focus on who visited China
3. It was the American president who visited China → speaker is insisting on the context to avoid misunderstandings
4. It was China that the American president visited → focus on the country, avoid misunderstanding
5. What the American president did was visit China → underscoring the action
6. The country that the American president visited was China → highlight the place

Change the theme in the following clause to focus the attention on…
1. direct object: On his way to work he saw a black cat running away from him → It was a black cat he saw running away from him in his …
2. complement of the object: You are a true friend → What a true friend you are; A true friend, that’s what you are.
3. verb: The tourists visited the old cathedral → What the tourists did was visiting the old cathedral.

Theme in a range of clause structures

THEME IN PASSIVE CLAUSES
• In an active construction, the theme is the agent.
• In a passive construction, the theme is the patient.

The Normans introduced rabbits to Britain.

Rabbits were introduced to Britain by the Normans. (verb needs to be adjusted)

Rabbits originate from the western Mediterranea. The Normans introduced rabbits to Britain in the 12th to provide meat and fur. Rabbits are now
widespread throughout Britain and Ireland.
VS
Rabbits originate from the western Mediterranean. They were introduced to Britain by the Normans in the 12th century to provide meat and
fur. Rabbits are now widespread throughout Britain and Ireland. → subj. remains the same throughout the text = better cohesion.
 Theme in other clauses
Interrogative cl.: used for asking questions → theme = element that indicates what answer the speaker needs
Where do you live? (Theme = starting point of the question, what I wanna know)
types pf questions: » yes/no questions – theme = auxiliary verb + subj.
Are you Italian?; Do you know her?; Shall I close the window?; Could you move over?; Didn’t he tell you?

» Wh-questions – theme = wh-word alone OR together w/ following nominal group.

Where do you live?; Who do you want to talk to?; Why didn’t she pay for her meal?; How many eggs do you need? (Everything before DO)

Imperative cl.: starting point of imperative clauses is the action that you want smo to do
Open the door; Mind the gap; Give me the money
negative imperatives – since auxiliary verb has no meaning on its own, theme also includes lexical verb
Don’t take so long; Don’t leave me; Don’t rush. (theme = action you want smo to carry out)
inclusive imperatives – let’s: Let’s dance; Let’s go; Let’s play tennis tomorrow; Don’t let’s argue; Let’s not argue.

MARKED THEMES IN IMPERATIVE CLAUSES: – Come to see me after lunch → After lunch, come to see me.
– Put on these glasses to see it better → To see it better, put on these glasses.
– Go off! → Off you go!

Exclamative cl.: they feature a wh-word as point of departure → they are analysed like wh-questions
What a big boy you are now!; How lovely to see you again! (Theme = wh-word + following word)

Existential there as theme: theme = grammatical subject there.

There’s a cockroach in the kitchen; There are some leftovers to be eaten up; There was an earthquake in Turkey.

Elliptcal themes: in spoken language, we use the cohesive phenomenon of ellipsis

A: Would you like tea or coffee?
B: [I would like] Tea please. (theme dropped)
Theme = what is not featured in the language
in written language, elliptical themes often occur in coordinate sentence constructions
They sag and [they] danced all night; He writes music and [he] plays it on his guitar.
Activity 10
Theme in different sentence patterns

a) Theme in passive clauses. Rewrite the following examples using a passive

when needed in order to avoid unnecessary changes of theme.

1. A total of 80 participants were recruited at the University of Canterbury (51

participants) and from the general population (29 participants). The
researchers recruited participants from the general public in four different
malls of the local city. Participants from the general public where recruited in 4… > we don't need
-

the 'by clause

2. Where better for a bicycle enthusiast to live than within the boundaries of
one of the bike capitals of Britain: Oxford. People think that the city is home
to as many as a quarter of Britain’s bicycles. The city is thought to be home to… get ricoappl
>
-

3. The giving of gifts has been practiced in every civilization ever studied. It is a
basic human ritual that has a place in every culture and region. People give
gifts to mark occasions throughout life, such as birth, marriage and
retirement. Gifts are given to mark… >
-

keep the focus on topic of sentence

b) Identify interrogative themes in the passage below.

Philosophers have always been interested in art and aesthetic value. But what is
art anyway? How should we define the notion of art? And what is it that
distinguishes art from non-art? Is aesthetic value something that resides in the
object itself? Or does it have more to do with a kind of feeling, judgment, or
sense of satisfaction had by an observer? Do the intentions of the artist play a
role here? Should art have a purpose, such as evoking pleasure or conveying
truth?

1
c) Existential there, imperatives, exclamatives and elliptical themes. a) Identify
the theme in these sentences and say what type it is; b) identify marked themes

1. Don’t say those words to me! → Negative imperative

2. When you’re done, do exercise number 10. → Marked theme: time adjunct + imperative verb
3. Let’s go to the beach. → Let’s imperative
4. What a great surprise! → Exclamative
5. There are 18,000 parking lot attendants in the USA with college degrees. → Existential there
6. Don’t let's go to the gym tonight. I’m tired! → Negative let’s imperative
7. Why didn’t you tell me? → Interrogative
11
8. I get up around 5:30 to 6:00 in the morning and eat breakfast. → Declarative + elliptical theme
9. A: Are you British or American?
[Im) → Yes/no question + elliptical theme
B: American

2
 Themic develment
Thematic development: refers to theme-rheme sequences in texts (= how info unfolds in the text / develops)
The current economic situation means more young people are living at home for longer. Living at home can have its benefits – no bills to pay, no
washing to do and food prepared for you – if your parents are generous! (Theme of sentence 2 picks up rheme of previous sentence)
specific theme-rheme sequences determine the way information flow is created in texts.

3 patterns
1. Linear theme: when the rheme of 1 clause is taken up in the theme of the following clause.

not necessarily the whole rheme, BUT 1 element of the rheme: element about which we want to say something in the
following sentence (as if we are adding info little by little).

2. Constant theme: the topic of the text is reiterated through the text → always same concept in thematic position.

→ between 2 & 3 there is a shift in focus:

make sure the text is transparent by including
linking words that highlight logical connections.
3. Split rheme: occurs when a rheme includes more than 1 piece of info, each of which may be taken up as a
theme in subsequent clauses → always same concept in thematic position.

we can have different combinations

(split rheme + constant theme + split rheme…)

THEMATIC DEVELOPMENT
When the rheme is taken up as the theme of another clause/sentence, it may not be an exact repetition!
Reiteration of theme or rheme may take different forms, including – but not restricted to – the following:
• a pronoun → John / he
• a synonym → book / volume
• a hyponymy / hypernym → banana / fruit
• a word indicating a part-whole relations → brother / family
Lexical and grammatical cohesion play a role in thematic development.
 Activity 11
Thematic development

Identify the type of thematic development (linear theme, constant theme or split
rheme). Say whether there are any marked themes.

1. A flair for languages is a wonderful gift, n'est-ce pas? An ability to shift

seamlessly between Mandarin and English or French and Arabic is undeniably
impressive.
2. There are two methods you can use to feed your puppy: free feeding and
scheduled feeding. Free feeding is when dry food is left out all day and the dog
eats as it wishes. Scheduled feeding gives the dog food at set times of the day,
and then takes it away after a period of time, such as a half hour.
-

3. Writing instructors know that students need to understand the differences

between formal and informal language. This understanding can help students
make adequate choices in their writing.
-

4. Turin’s most memorable and remarkable sight is the Mole Antonelliana, which
Ambiguous ↑ adjunct subordinate
: clause as adverbial
theme & rheme towers over the city a few blocks from via Po. When construction commenced
have same concept

in 1863, it was intended to be a synagogue and rapidly assumed

white-elephant status within 10 years.
5. In many countries around the world, consumers provide gifts of money (called
↑ adjunct :
adverb

‘tips’) to the workers who have served them. However, the specific service
workers that are customarily tipped vary across nations.
Conceptually we are 6. LC-A (LOMO COMPACT-AUTOMAT) is a miniature scale camera with telescopic
insisting in the theme

viewfinder and automatic program exposure working. The camera operates in

.

continuity
=
of reference a

a temperature range from minus 15 to +45ºC, direct solar radiation and

precipitation excluded.

1
Proofreading+your+writing+
!

!!
 Checklist!

! Check&the&number&of&words&
! Use&paragraphs,&not&isolated&sentences!&
! Do&not&go&off<topic&
! Organisa>on:&plan&carefully&before&wri>ng&
!

&
! Grammar:!
! Subject*verb!agreement:!
- The!first!and!second!person!forms&refers!to!the!speech!
roles!of!speakers!and!addresser.!
- The!text!reflect!the!will!of!the!writer!to!be!clear.!

! Subject!omission:!!
- Of!course!many!excep;ons!exist!but!we!all!know!that&is&
not!so!difficult!to!find!people!who!very!o>en!complain!
about!their!jobs.!!
- The!second!sign!is!not!appropriate!because&is!too!long.!
! SVO!pa7ern:!!
- From!a!religion!point!of!view!we!all!know!that!in!the!Old!
Testament!was&wri3en&the&story&of!the!Virgin!Mary!and!
her!pregnancy![…].!
- This!type!of!text!can!be!seen!as!a!adver;sement,!because!
are&illustrated&all&the&news![…].!

! Verbal!pa7erns!
- !allow!!!to!allow!+!somebody!+!to&do&something!
- !consist!!!to!consist!+!in/of!something!
- !composed!!!to!be!composed!+!of&something!!
! Correct/appropriate!use!of!pronouns:!
- Text&A!is!wriIen!so!he!has!to!follow!specific!devices!to!be!
perfectly!understood.!
- A&writer!has!the!ability!to!unify!different!members!of!a!
community!just!by!discussing!shared!ideas!in!his!text.!!
- !A!writer!has!the!ability!to!unify!different!members!of!a!
community!just!by!discussing!shared!ideas!in!his/her!text.!!
- Writers!have!the!ability!to!unify!different!members!of!a!
community!just!by!discussing!shared!ideas!in!their!texts.!!
!
 ! Uncountable!nouns:!
!!
!Nouns!referring!to!generic!concepts!or!abstract!ideas!are!
!normally!uncountable!
Terminology!K>!I’ll!focus!on!terminology!NOT!I’ll!focus!on!the!
terminology!
Reference!K>!This!is!an!example!of!reference!NOT!this!is!a!reference!
Vocabulary!K>!One!item!of!vocabulary!NOT!one!vocabulary!
Research!K>!I!carried!out!research!online!NOT!I!carried!out!
researches!online!
!
Reference,&Ellipsis,&Subs>tu>on,&Conjunc>on,&Cohesion,&
Coherence,&Informa>on…&
! Lexis:!!
! Beware!of!false!friends:!e.g.!actually,!in!fact,!
argument!
! Do!not!use!loan!translaEons!from!your!naEve!
language!or!create!words!with!wrong!suffixes!–!
always!consult!a!dicEonary.!E.g.!pedons!for!
pedestrians;!adoptate!for!adopt;!concision!for!
conciseness;!considerated!for!considered;!
appropriated!for!appropriate;!
! Use!appropriate!terminology!to!demonstrate!that!
you!are!competent!!
! Spelling:!e.g.!addic;on!for!addi;on!(e.g.!in!
addi;on);!comunica;on!for!communica;on;!assent!
for!absent;!fase!for!phase;!american!for!American;!
italian!for!Italian;!english!for!English!!!

! Pay&aKen>on&to&the&spelling&of&terminology:&
antonymy,!synonymy,!hyponymy,!hyperonymy&
! Register:!your!texts/exam!answers!belong!to!
the!register!of!formal!academic!wriEng!
! Do!not!use!contracEons!and!abbreviaEons.!E.g.!
aren’t;!doesn’t;!‘cause!
! Do!not!use!colloquial!expressions!(e.g.!a!lot!of)!
or!general!words!such!as!thing!and!stuff!!
Academic Writing Activity
Proofreading your writing
Read the following sentences and rewrite them, correcting language and
punctuation mistakes.

1) Social networks have two sides, the first is very useful and full of informations, we
use it everyday for our works, studies and researches, but the other one is dark and
un-known.
2) Conjunction are important in texts, because they enrich it: for this reason I used
both Additive (item “And”) and Temporal Conjunction (line 12).
3) I am strongly in favour of distance learning and I will be clear, I would like it to
continue. Not that I don't like learning in presence, I prefer it. But the distanced one
gives you a sense of autonomy that is not indifferent.
4) Sometimes, a person who feels unconfident in real life tends to express his hate
online. This person is called “hater”.
5) As regards lexical cohesion, there’s a case of antonymy in the last line with the
opposites online/offline and also a case of hypernymy in which the word social
media includes the meaning of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
6) A collocation is a lexical cohesion, and it can be found in lines 14 and 15 with
‘oppressors’ and ‘absence’, that are two synonyms of ‘bullies’ and ‘lack’.
7) People may thinks that the liberty of expression consists in say whatever they want,
whenever they want.
8) Moreover, a lot of people are wondering: ''Distance learning really works? Depends.
For example, if the professor only release the material of the lesson it will be
ineffective.

1
Saxon genitive
• animated entities
• Indicate possession / belongings -> not specification
• Time expressions

Consist in = it’s essence is something

Consists of = composed by different parts

Site JTW = website for collocations ->

http://www.just-the-word.com
 BA degree in Modern Languages (L11)
University of Torino
Alessandra Molino
alessandra.molino@unito.it

Punctuation
FULL STOP
The full stop is a strong pause that signals the end of a sentence.

University students of English should be aware of different types of dictionary. First,

they should know the difference between monolingual and bilingual dictionaries.

COMMA
The comma is used to avoid misinterpretation.

● Use the comma before...

- coordinating (e.g., but, and, or, so) and subordinating (e.g., while, although,
whereas) conjunctions:

The two best-known accents in English are Received Pronunciation and General
American, but a great amount of variation exists across the world.

English has 11 vowel sounds, while Italian has 7.

● Use the comma after...

- constructions setting the circumstances in which the action occurs:

During the early Middle English period, English progressively recovered its
status of official language.

Having undergone the process of language levelling, English is now an SVO

language.

- adverbials enumerating information: e.g., firstly, secondly, thirdly, finally

- adverbials expressing attitude or feeling: e.g., unfortunately, surprisingly

Taken from Molino, A. (2018), "Introducing academic writing in English". In Pulcini, V. (ed.), A Handbook or Present-day English (2nd ed.).
Roma: Carocci.
 - adverbials commenting on the likelihood, expectedness or generalizability of a
proposition: e.g., obviously, surprisingly, generally
- adverbials marking a logical transition between sentences: e.g., moreover,
therefore, nevertheless

● Use the comma between...

- the items in a list:

In English, there are five types of phrases: noun phrases, verb phrases, adjective
phrases, adverb phrases and prepositional phrases.

● Use the comma to single out...

- parenthetical comments and non-defining relative clauses:

Low-prestige varieties, called basilects, are spoken by people with little formal
education and knowledge of the language.

The Norman Conquest, which took place in 1066 with the Battle of Hastings, is
traditionally regarded as the starting point of the Middle English period.

● Do not use the comma…

- before a defining relative clause:

Prepositions are function words*, that link words or syntactic elements expressing
the relationship between them.

- after such as or like:

Words such as*, Brexit or docutainment are examples of blending.

- between the subject and its verb:

Online dictionaries publishing updates of new words*, are becoming increasingly

widespread.

2
SEMI-COLON
The semi-colon is a shorter pause than the full stop and longer than the comma.

● Use the semi-colon...

- to separate two independent clauses in a sentence when no coordinating or

subordinating conjunction is present:

Widening is the extension of the range of uses of a lexical item; narrowing is the
opposite process.

- when two independent clauses are connected by a linking adverbial (e.g.,

however, furthermore, therefore, for example):

The typical function of interrogative clauses is to ask questions; however, they are
also used to make requests, suggestions, offers or to give orders.

- between items in a list when they already contain internal punctuation:

The main processes of morpho-syntactic change are analogy, or the mechanism that
models language based on already existing forms; hypercorrection, or the speaker’s
awareness of the social value of a given language variety; and backformation, or the
creation of a language form that is not attested historically.

COLON
The colon is employed to introduce an example, a list, an explanation or a quotation.

Morphology is divided into two main branches: inflectional morphology and

derivational morphology.

Present-day English is an analytic language: grammatical and syntactic relations

are expressed by word order.

Comment on the observation of John R. Firth: "Words keep company with other
words".

3
● Do not to use the colon...

- after the items such as, including or for example:

Words of Anglo-Saxon origin are, for example*: house, food, man and year.

- between a verb and its object or complement:

The two types of verbs in English are*: lexical verbs and auxiliary verbs.

- between a preposition and its complement:

In connected speech, similitude occurs in*: voice, tongue and lip position, vowel and
consonant proximity and nasality.

4
Punctuation
Insert the correct punctuation in the following sentences

1. Even though a systematic description of lexis is not an easy task the approaches
presented may contribute to explaining the linguistic and dimension of meaning
2. Some word-formation processes are no longer productive in English while
others show different degrees of productivity
3. The verbs wilan and cunnan which correspond to PDE will and can functioned in
OE as main verbs meaning respectively want and know
4. Social factors such as technological innovation the introduction of new concepts
and immigration are causes of language change
5. Most adjectives and some adverbs can be graded they are referred to as
‘gradable’
6. In the British Isles where the history of the language began one finds the largest
variety of regional accents
7. The main functions of intonation in spoken English are attitudinal grammatical
accentual and discoursal
8. In the last decades of the 16th century the number of mother-tongue speakers
of English was between 5 and 7 million.
9. Hyponymy is a fundamental principle of dictionary making moreover the best
way to define a lexeme is to use a hyperonym
10. The word paperback for instance is an exocentric compound

1
Insert punctuation and capital letters in the following texts, which are already
divided into paragraphs:

a)
the words foetus entitlement diversity transgender vulnerable evidence-based and
science-based were briefly seen beamed on the front of the building located near the
white house

the us centers for disease control cdc was told by president donald trump s
administration it could not use seven words in its 2019 budget last night those words
were projected onto the trump international hotel in washington dc

human rights campaign hrc a dc-based lgbtq advocacy group partnered with artist
robin bell for the temporary installation as a declaration from the lgbtq community the
group said

we will not be erased the lighted message read

a cdc analyst told the washington post those in the agency could not believe the limits
placed on it by the administration

(“The Seven Words Trump ‘banned’ a health agency from using were projected onto his
hotel”, The Independent, 20 December 2017).

b)
actual text will always be deviant with respect to structural rules of the conventional
kind some of the factors that lead to deviance have already been mentioned creativity
unselfconsciousness expediency inattention confusion and the need to express the
unusual another major factor is shared knowledge among communicators which leads
to the actual occurrence of many utterances which are proscribed by rule for example

2
an obligatory transitive verb without an object where the real-world thing that could
give rise to an expressed object is obvious

the grammarian s dilemma is this does he or she study actual instances knowing that
most of them are untypical or does he or she ignore actual instances and study a set of
instances which have not occurred including a high proportion that could never occur
the former choice characterized the field linguists in the first half of this century and
the latter choice has been evident in the linguistics of the last thirty years

the new option opened up by the computer is to evaluate actual instances and select
the most typical a complete set of typical instances should exemplify the dominant
structural patterns of the language without recourse to abstraction or indeed to
generalization
(From J. Sinclair, Corpus, Concordance, Collocation. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1991, pp. 102-103).

3
 Name Surname, matriculation number 000000

1 Travelling and going on holiday: are they different?

2 Going on holiday for two or three weeks is what most people look forward
-

3 to during the year while working. A holiday is regarded as a deserved

Near
SYNONYMS youcall
4 break when you finally can relax and spend some quality time with your
5 family and friends. There are different types of holidays such as beach SPLIT
RHEME
repetition

6 holidays, cultural holidays and activity holidays. Beach holidays are -

nominal ellipsis (presupposing holidays)

7 probably among the most popular, especially in a country like Italy which
CO-OCCURRENCE

8 has kilometres of seaside resorts. Cultural holidays allow you to discover

-

9 the culture of a city or country, visiting museums, art galleries and getting
Temporal Conj

acquainted with local customs and food. Finally, activity holidays involve
.

10
Demonstrative reference

11 sports activities, such as trekking, cycling or sailing. These types of

-

12 holidays imply paying for travel, accommodation, meals, and activities.

- -
CADJUNCT)
Promominal reference they crominal ellipsis) Marked theme subordinate
clause

They are normally planned ahead and can be expensive. [When coming
r
:

indicating time
13 mu
4 CO-OCCURRENCE

14 back home, people expect to feel restored and be ready for ‘normal’ life
15 again. I
16 Travelling, too, offers the possibility of discovering new cultures and
Adversative
17 traditions. However, travelling implies staying away for longer, from a
-

Pronominal reference

18 few months to a few years. It does not necessarily require much planning
-

Additive

19 or money; indeed, many young people taking a gap year often travel long
>
-
compensate brake in flaw

20 distances hitch-hiking or spend time in a destination doing seasonal jobs

21 in order to earn the money needed to move somewhere else.
22 The most important difference between going on holiday and
MARKED THEME : If clause
Adversative

23 travelling, however, is the motivation.2If people go on holiday to boost and

demonstrative references (pp) verbal substitution (replacing choose)

24 replenish their energy,I those who choose travelling do so as a form of self-

- -

they (nominal ellipsis(

25 discovery, and expect to come back home as different, better persons.

 Name Surname, matriculation number 000000
(prepositional phrase)

[While the idea of travelling seems quite exciting, in a blog called

place adverbial
MARKED THEME : Subordinate clause +
+
26 -- - - -0 -

27 “Victor's Travels:& Unusual destinations, unusual adventures”, the Dutch

Pronominal reference

28 explorer Victor Eekhof warns us against its clichés. He reports that

ANTONYMY

29 despite the initial excitement, long time travelling can be boring at -o -0 -

0

Additive

30 certain points; you may feel tired and lonely; and you may need to
31 redefine your ideas of comfort, which may simply be taking a warm
32 shower, eating a healthy meal and having a bed for the night. [345 words]

refer back

Grammatical cohesion is here realized by means of anaphoric ties.

Pronominal reference is used in lines 13 (they), 18 (it) and 28 (he),
while demonstrative reference appears in lines 11 (these types…) and
24 (those). Nominal ellipsis occurs in line 7 (the most popular,
presupposing holidays) and verbal substitution is present in line 24 (do
replacing choose).
Instances of conjunction are also noticeable in lines 10 (finally,
temporal), 19 (indeed, additive), 17 (however, adversative), and 30
(and, additive). However, most ties in this text are lexical. Many involve
reiteration through repetition (e.g., beach holidays, lines 5-6), but often
m e n

we find collocation: beach and seaside resorts (co-occurrence, lines 6 -

and 8); paying and expensive (co-occurrence, lines 12 and 13); boring -

and exciting (collocation, antinomy, lines 26 and 29); near synonyms

-
0
&
-
0 -o-

(relax, line 4; restored, line 14; replenish, line 24).

= DECLARATIVE CLAUSES

The text is composed of statements, so the unmarked theme is

there was variety
- in the choice of Subj

always the subject. It can be as simple as a personal pronoun (he, line

25) or as complex as a non-finite clause (going on holiday for two or
 Name Surname, matriculation number 000000

three weeks, line 1). Some marked constructions are also present. In line
12, the time adjunct when coming back home is placed before the
=> marked theme

subject to emphasise the situation in which people feel ready for

‘normal’ life again. In line 21, the if-clause foregrounds the contrast. In
lines 23-24, we have a complex marked theme, with a subordinate
clause (while the idea…) and a place adverbial (in a blog…) being
fronted.
already present in previous
>
-

The most evident patterns of thematic development are constant

sentelice

theme and split rheme. Constant theme is used at the beginning of

paragraphs 1 and 2 to introduce the topics. In par. 1, existential there
introduces three concepts, making a split rheme development possible.
Compensate interrection

In. par. 2 there is a break in flow which is compensated by indeed.

connection
(making logical
clear

suddenly theme introduced (not stated previously)

[305 words]
new is

CLAUSE STRUCTURE
point out if there questions
-

> are

MARKED /UN MARKED

THEMATIC
DEVELOPMENT (at least 1/2 structures
 Inttextualy
Intertextuality: the relation that each text has with other texts → every text has inevitable connection w/ previous 1s
firstly described by Julia Kristeva in 1966: literary critic, she worked in post-structuralism = every literary text has a specific
intention that the author wants to convey, the reader had to discover that idea.
texts were related to other types of products (art & multimedia products) → task of the interpreter: to recognise all
these intertextual connections + activate implied meaning (whether they are deliberate or not – even though the author didn’t
mean to imply that).

Roland Barthers: philosopher & critic → “a text is a tissue of citations” (text coming from old Latin word = tissue)

FORMS OF INTERTEXTUALITY: adaptation, allusion, pastiche, parody, satire, translation, plagiarism.

• Adaptation: occurs when a text is reused, reinterpreted or renewed → adapt text to a ≠ medium
ex. comic of Spiderman adapted to a movie, the to video game = recontextualized to make it suitable for new medium

• Allusion: consists in the reference to another text (character, event, place, concept) which bears a resemblance to the
topic in question – often subtle & implicit (resemblance between original and alluded text)
often undertaken by polysemy = word that has several meanings (it is up the listener/reader to catch implied meaning)

» ex. 20th anniversary of 9/11 tragedy: twin towers not

mentioned BUT alluded by using shape of towels as the 11)

» ex. reference to Pink Floyd: both in imgg. & headline of the cover page → title of the record
was “the dark side of the moon” > here “bright side of the moonshot”
development of vaccines: article is emphasising that the terrible situation was leading to
a positive outcome in terms of science (everything sped up, thanks to pandemic they reached
important results much earlier) → moonshot = impossibile plan
hidden or implied meanings that you don’t understand unless you know the original
source = you need background knowledge.

• Pastiche: respectful imitation of network work, written as a combination of many former styles, often paying
homage to the original(s) – reach communicative goals too.
» ex. The Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody: use of ≠styles (a cappella intro, piano ballad, guitar solo, opera, hard rock, outro)
lyrics: » recalls the German legend of Faust – decides to sell his soul to the devil
» connection w/ novel The Stranger (by Albert Camus) – suicidal murderer who is about to be executed
no intention of making a parody of these genres or bending their characteristics → associate band to all those traditions.
you understand the deep meaning if you understand these connections.
 • Parody (laugh): recontextualization of an existing text (video, music, art) for humorous purposes → relationship w/
the original may be of mockery or humorous way of paying homage – 2nd author is quire aligned w/ 1st one.
ex. Ep. 259 – Bart of Darkness (Simpson) = parody of novel Heart of darkness (by Joseph Conrad).
most exploitintertextualityrteztuality

• Satire (laugh & think): intent of ridiculing (criticising) an existing source w/ the purpose of raising awareness of a
particular social issue → goal: satire has an educational purpose & aims to bring about political change.
» ex. Political cartoons: you understand meaning if you can relate to the general idea they refer to

we understand irony because we are aware of how pandemic – blame game between US and China (who was
clergy is organised + it’s ideology → using pandemic responsible for pandemic) → create enemy for political purposes
to talk about neg reaction to the declaration. – as a tennis match = criticize political debate.

• Translation: from 1 language to another

» ex. Text from magazine ‘Nature’ – translated from ENG to ITA (machine translation + post-edited)
Target text
Source text Giorgio Parisi, a physicist from Sapienza Università di Roma and Istituto
Giorgio Parisi, fisico della Sapienza Università di Roma e dell'Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, and current vice- president of Accademia dei
Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare e attuale vicepresidente dell'Accademia dei Lincei, Lincei, has been awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics, along with
è stato insignito del Premio Nobel per la Fisica 2021, insieme a Syukuro Syukuro Manabe from Princeton University in the USA and Klaus
Manabe della Princeton University negli Stati Uniti e Klaus Hasselmann del Hasselmann from the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg,
Max Planck Institute for Meteorology di Amburgo, Germania. Germany.
Parisi è un fisico eclettico, le cui ricerche hanno riguardato aree come le Parisi is an eclectic physicist whose research work has covered areas such as
particelle fondamentali, la materia condensata, la fisica statistica e i materiali fundamental particles, condensed matter, statistical physics and disordered
disordinati. Il comitato del Nobel ha evidenziato i suoi contributi alla "scoperta materials. The Nobel committee has highlighted his contributions to “the
dell'interazione tra disordine e fluttuazioni nei sistemi fisici, dalla scala discovery of the interplay of disorder and fluctuations in physical systems
atomica a quella planetaria" from atomic to planetary scales”.

• Plagiarism: “the practice of taking smo else’s work or ideas & passing them off as one’s own” (Oxford Dictionary).
it is NOT a crime in Italy BUT in many legal systems & it may lead to serious consequences.
» ex. From a dissertation of this course (copy & paste).

Original source 2nd author’s text

“Trump was born and raised in the New York City borough of Queens, and Donald Trump is the current President of the United States of America. Born
received a degree in economics from the Wharton School at the University of and raised in New York, he took charge of his family's real-estate business in
Pennsylvania. He took charge of his family's real-estate business in 1971, 1971, renamed it The Trump Organization, and expanded its operations from
renamed it The Trump Organization, and expanded its operations from Queens and Brooklyn into Manhattan.
Queens and Brooklyn into Manhattan.” (Donald Trump, n.d.)
citation: cite surname of the author (n.d. = no date) +
link to the web site / page.
 Original source 2nd author’s text
“In this book I want to argue for a new theory of the lexicon, which amounts The aim of my dissertation is to argue that grammar is the result of the rules
to a new theory of language. The theory reverses the roles of lexis and that govern the complex but systematic ways in which lexis combines. I will
grammar, arguing that lexis is complexly and systematically structured and prove this hypothesis by providing examples from a range of different texts,
that grammar is an outcome of this lexical structure. The theory grew out of both spoken and written.
an increasing awareness that traditional views of the vocabulary of English
were out of kilter with the facts about lexical items that are routinely being students is pretending to create a new theory BUT this is not
thrown up by corpus investigations of text. What began as an attempt to
an idea of the student, it was took from another source.
account for collocation turned into an exploration of grammatical, semantic,
sociolinguistic and text-linguistic phenomena. This book is the story of my
intellectual journey. Accordingly it begins with my journey’s starting point –
the pervasiveness of Collocation.” (Hoey, 2005: 1)

to avoid the problem, reformulate or put it inside inverted commas “” + citation (cite surname of the author + link) -
acknowledge your sources.

Intertextual analisys
Intertextual analysis examines: » how texts rely on other texts
» how texts position themselves w/ respect to other texts = recognise if author is \
criticising, giving homage…
analysing intertextual connections helps us understand the meaning of a text more deeply – what forms are used and
why does the author decides to use those forms

“[...] nessun testo è compiutamente interpretabile senza tener conto dei rapporti che intrattiene con l’universo dei testi che lo hanno
preceduto e seguito [...]. Il termine intertestualità introdotto dalla semiologa bulgara Julia Kristeva nel 1966, è stato approfondito nell’ambito
della semiologia strutturalista da autori quali Barthes, Genette, Bachtin, i quali hanno evidenziato come mettere in luce i legami mediante i quali
un testo A riprende, richiama, si riferisce o allude a un testo B [...] non sia un lusso, un’operazione facoltativa con la quale il lettore esperto
arricchisce di ulteriori suggestioni la lettura; al contrario l’attivazione della rete intertestuale è un momento fondativo e insostituibile del
processo di interpretazione” (Palermo, 2013: 56)
6 novembre Techniques & uses of inttextualy
NEWS REPORTING
News reporting: the process of gathering, investigating & presenting info about current events to the public
• Key elements: » timeliness – it becomes news if it’s relevant to the present
» objectivity – base opinions on facts rather than personal feelings (in some cases there can’t be pure obj.)
» accuracy – facts have to be reported accurately),
» focus on significant or newsworthy developments
proximity = we tend to be more interested in facts that have to do w/ our community.
negativity = normally negative news become so (not so much the positive events)
news reporting can take many ≠ forms: broadcasting on TV, internet, social media…

• Ethical standards: fairness, balance & the protection of sources + guarantee anonymity
Journalists play a crucial role in verifying the accuracy & relevance of the info they cover

• Goal of news reporting: provide public with a well-rounded, unbiased (fair, no prejudices) & informative account of events,
enabling individuals to make informed decisions (form our own opinion) & engage in democratic processes.

NEWS REPORTING & bias (= expression of an opinion that prevents us to see the situation in a clear way – it’s prejudice)
» Editorial bias: editorial decisions may reflect the biases of owners, editors & journalists
» Journalist pov: personal beliefs & biases of journalists can influence news reporting (the way they report news)
» Commercial interests: corporate ownership can impact story selection & presentation
» Audience expectations: newspapers may cater to their audience's preconceived beliefs (ppl reading pay for the survival
of the newspaper, influences objectivity)
» Sensationalism: exaggeration & dramatic presentation may distort news neutrality (dig into dirty aspects = more money)
quality newspapers tend not to use this resource – VS tabloids = tend to report gossip, lighter facts
» Pressure from social & political forces: external pressure can influence editorial decisions + lead to bias
» Limited resources: constraints on resources can result in a narrow focus or lack of depth (lack of money implies lack
of depth in news reporting because of lack of forces & time)

The language of newspapers & intertextuality

— Media literacy & critical thinking: essential to gain a more balanced perspective on current events
— Focus on language choices to uncover point of view & bias (undercover through lenses of intertextuality)
Intertextuality → » protects us from being influenced by biases info
» helps us fully understand text (communicating news = using language)
» understand how lang. can influence our perception of phenomena
» understand how writers express their opinion + which techniques are used

— News stories (daily facts): factuality & objectivity → POVs & bias subtle identify (even in news reporting, if we read
attentively, we can understand writer’s pov)
— Opinion articles: stance is expressed openly (if opinion is well sustain they are not bias, they just express a pov)
 Main techniques of intertextual representation
1. Direct quotation: occurs when we report a source word verbatim (= with the exact same words)
– The report said that “the meeting was also attended by delegation from the Tibetan Parliament”.
– “Every day I cry” says the activist → if “reported clause” comes before the reporting clause there is no ‘that’
– Amnesty International has warned that the failure of world governments to tackle the crisis could amount to “one of the greatest
intergenerational human rights violations in history” → if reported element is far away from ‘that-clause’, 1st part paraphrased

Direct quotation is characterized by:

» use of reporting clauses → reporting verb = belonging to category of ‘saying verbs’ (believe, thought) + ‘…that- clause’
» use of attribution phrase → according to…, as stated by…
» use of quotation marks (inverted commas “ “) or other typographic features
» original words are reported verbatim
» BUT journalist have control over: 1. which words are quoted (= provide partial depiction of society)
2. where the text is cut (give ≠ light to original statement)
3. context in which direct quotation will be used

2. Indirect quotation: no inverted commas + words reported are reformulated by the journalist (their own words)
— In their study of energy drinks, Reissing et al. (2009) suggested that energy drinks may not be entirely safe.
— The average American household uses the same amount of energy it did in the early 1970s, despite significant improvements in the
efficiency of household appliances, according to a report in the Washington Post.

Features of indirect quotation:

» use of reporting clause → she said … + …that-clause
» use of attribution phrases → according to…, as observed by…
» reformulation of the meaning of the original text in the journalist’s own words
» original meaning is more easily infused w/ journalist’s understanding, interpretation or spin on original (his perspective)

3. Representation of speech events & speech acts:

— During the discussions, the groups agreed on several important steps to reduce racism and promote interracial understanding and
collaboration.
— Walmart announces return of corporate staff to office in November.
— Mr Putin threatened retaliation. (author is siding w/ country that is being threatened)

» use of nouns to represent speech events = verbal activity taking place outside text → talks, discussions, debates,
speeches + written events [products, books…])
» use of verbs to represent speech acts = v. indicates verbal activity → announce, promise, threaten, agree on… + noun
phrase (return, retaliation) [ppl compared ≠ ideas and reached an agreement]
» journalist has the opportunity to imply what he/she wants about the original or to rely on general beliefs about the original
 4. Using recognisable expressions or terms associated w/ specific sources: ex. ppl, groups of
people, documents, texts…

“A small step for women” – progress in the boardroom is only a start → reference to quote of
Neil Armstrong: “One small step for man, one giant leap for the mankind” = indicates we are
still far from achieving the ‘giant leap…”

» using recognisable expressions or terms associated w/ specific sources to evoke texts,

debates, pov, ideas or values for the journalist’s own discursive purposes.

5. Using forms & styles that echo certain ways of communicating: borrowing stylistic features,
registers, text types, genres that belong to certain fields to achieve certain communicative effects.
— ad to sell a car: 1971 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible. Owner over 30 years. 95,800 miles. Older restoration, complete engine, and
transmission runs great.
Needs paint job - has a little rust - fully loaded. Historical plates - insurance value approx. $30,000. Located in New York City. Price : $15,000.
Please call 212-873-5968.
— personal ad: CLASSIC LADY limousine, mint condition, excellent runner for years seeks gentleman enthusiast 45+ for TLC and excursions
in the Exeter area BOX 555L.(lady looking for company BUT borrowing style form car ad = stands out fro the rest)

Book describing baby as a machine → marketing strategy + communicative effect:

demystifying the task of raising a baby (it seems easier).
Attention!
Before beginning this manual, please inspect your model carefully and check for all of the standard parts
described on pages 16-19. If any of these parts appear to be missing or inoperational, it is
recommended that you consult the baby’s service provider immediately.

Programming the Baby’s Feeding Schedule

There are no definitive guidelines for how much food the baby should consume. Every model is unique
and has specific needs. However, extensive studies indicate that most newborns eat two to three ounces
(59–88 mL) per feeding, every three to four hours. These habits may fluctuate based on health, activity,
growth spurts, and even outdoor weather conditions. As the baby ages, she will require fewer feedings.

In journalism this technique is not frequent, BUT used when they borrow science terminology → it gives credibility and a
sense of objectivity to the things they are saying.
Air pollution cause ‘huge’ reduction in intelligence, study reveals – impact of high levels of toxic air ‘is equivalent to having lost a
year of education’
Air pollution causes a “huge” reduction in intelligence, according to new research, indicating that the damage to society of toxic air is far deeper
than the well-known impacts on physical health.
The research was conducted in China but is relevant across the world, with 95% of the global population breathing unsafe air. It found that high
pollution levels led to significant drops in test scores in language and arithmetic, with the average impact equivalent to having lost a year of the
person’s education.
 Main uses of intertextuality
• Source meaning is taken at face value: statements, beliefs, ideas from another source or simply common knowledge, are
taken as authoritative & reported as such in the news text (journalist believes that what is said in the original text is true)
journalists do this for many reasons: » to provide the background to a story / argument / study
» to support one’s opinions w/ authoritative sources
» to align w/ specific views / schools of thought (ex. Ideologies)

• Source meaning is reported critically: statements, beliefs, ideas from another source or simply common knowledge are
viewed w/ scepticism or disagreement.
reasons: » to distance oneself from the source info (unreliable, biased, inconsistent… = ideologically distant)
» to dissociate oneself w/ a specific view

• Conflicting sources are reported contrastively: journalist tries to be objective by reporting costraxing povs
» journalist brings views side by side
» intertextuality used to shape a story of a social conflict
» journalist may take a position & present statements in a positive or negative light (difficult to be entirely neutral)

• Recognisable phrases, styles, registers & genres from other texts:

» to claim membership (community) & identity the text (& the author) as part of the ‘world’ of the original text
» to parody or falsify a style, register or genre (irony in the use of intertextuality)
» to evoke certain communication styles, their purposes & their values for the journalist’s own discursive goals
ex. scientific style & register often exploited to convey objectivity, authority & credibility (used as face values)
Activity 13 I

~
Direct quotation
Indirect quotation

Interte uality in the news ·

↑
speech events/speech acts
Recognizable expressions/specific sources

:
Echo certain ways of
communicating (borrowings

Read the following text1 and identify all possible passages in which the author
seems to rely on other texts. Describe the intertextual techniques and uses and
explain how intertextuality supports the journalist’s opinion.

Student housing used to be affordable. Why has it become an ‘asset class’ to

borrowing terminology
enrich the already wealthy? from finance
detachment single inverted commos
Leilani Farha
,

University accommodation should be treated as a right. We need action to curb this

exploitation of young people

As the shorter summer evenings signal the start of a new academic year, a chilling wind
of anxiety will take hold for many university students. But it’s not necessarily
school-related stress or nerves about leaving home that is causing them to worry. It’s
something more fundamental: for an increasing number of students the question
↑> Direct quotation-generic source student' -
setting the scene
creating empathy & perspective
troubling them is “Where am I going to live?” Student housing – a residence room, a
,

shared house, a small flat – was once a given. It is no longer, with the issue now an
emblem of how our society is failing younger generations.

A global look at student housing conditions makes for bleak reading, as large financial
investors increasingly buy up purpose-built student housing for their next big win. In
recognizable phrase associated w/ the world
of
marketing & finance Cidea of ruthless
gains)
depict ruthless ppl
1
Willis, Simon. The subliminal message of San Pellegrino’s logo. Why stars make your water sparkle.
The Economist (APRIL/MAY 2019), at:
https://www.1843magazine.com/design/brand-illusions/the-subliminal-message-of-san-pellegrinos-l
ogo

1
 the UK, average student housing prices now outstrip the maximum
government-offered student loans. In Canadian cities like Toronto and Calgary, where
student residences are full and rents are soaring, some have little choice but to sleep in
their cars or in homeless shelters. Last year, dozens of Erasmus exchange students in
Italy, unable to secure housing, were forced to sleep on the streets.

dicainspeevent asasource indirect quotation Sparaphrasis ,

face value) - to report objective data authorityi

A 2022 survey from Scotland found that 12% of students had been homeless at some
,

point since the beginning of their studies. In Turkey, students, many homeless,
organised a protest movement called “We Can’t Shelter” to force the government to
take action. The lack of affordable housing for students in California has universities
scrambling to find other options, some resorting to the use of hotels as well as
considering the possibility of using offshore barges.

indirect quotation from an authority (facevalue) - to

streghtight
Steve West, the former president of Universities UK, warned last month that a lack of implicated
long-term risks
affordable housing could force students to turn down their top university choices and
stay closer to home. Those who do opt to live away from home may find themselves
living in poor conditions and having to work more hours at jobs to afford the rent. It’s
↑ speech event

little surprise that research has found a strong correlation between academic
using scientific register :
objectivity
achievement and a student’s housing situation.

The stakes are high. A university education can lay the groundwork for future success.
Conversely, massive student loans to pay for tuition and living expenses while studying
can burden students for the rest of their lives. The ideal is for universities to be places
where students learn how to harness their talent and energy for the common good.
Meanwhile, investors view universities as an opportunity to line their pockets with the
effect of immiserating students.
we can see opinion of writer

↑ Borrowing terminology from finance (clearly attributed to its world) >

-

indexing distance

Purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA), as it is called in the finance world, has

become one of the hottest asset classes in real estate, with forecasters predicting
“enormous returns” on investment – all at the expense of students and their paying
Direct quotation (generic Source 'forecasters' - detachment ,
distance

2
parents. Some of the largest investment firms and pension and sovereign wealth funds
have sensed an opportunity and are invading the space.

↑ Using scientific register :

objectivity
In 2022, Europe saw a 130% increase in investment in PBSA from the year prior. The
-

UK, home to one of the most mature corporate-driven student housing sectors, also
saw a record investment of £7.2bn – a 69% rise on the previous year.

Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset management firm, has been active too.
It paid nearly $13bn to acquire American Campus Communities in 2022, purchasing
what amounts to almost 112,000 beds, and becoming the largest owner of student
accommodation in the US overnight. The logic behind the purchase? “Student housing
offers some of the best risk-adjusted returns in any sector of real estate,” according to
Direct quotation Cattribution phrases)
the commercial real estate company Berkadia. - sense of detachment
teir words , their opinion

The results of this investor activity can include rapidly escalating rental prices, the
↑> Indirect speech -> to remark the irrelevance of investor activity
creation of luxury units with amenities that students say they don’t need and increasing
pressure on the cost of other student housing in the private rental market. In many
cases student debt load is as much about housing costs as it is about tuition.

The crisis of unaffordable housing for university students sits firmly within the broader
housing crisis, with the cost of housing relative to income rising in cities across the
globe. And just as with this broader crisis, there is no single policy that will fix student
housing. The one thing that is clear is that student housing, like all housing, must be
understood and treated by governments and universities as a human right, not an
asset class designed to enrich the wealthy. >
-
not intertexuality BUT we understand that journalist is siding w/ students

What choice do we have? The status quo is effectively a war on young people that
inhibits their ability to dream, develop and reach their full potential. Governments and
universities would be wise to understand the steps they must take to curb investor
practices in residential real estate – the future depends on it.

3
Facts reported:
• percentages from different sources of students nor having accommodation
• strikes, protests, students in the streets exposing the problems

Opinion of the journalist: she is siding with the students, she is denouncing all the real estate speculations that are
taking place + she is making a suggestion for how to face the situation
1 possible solution: governments should limit investments, limit what real estate firms are gaining

Style: she is expressive opinion but she is not biased

She reports a lot of facts in neutral languages but here and there she uses idiomatic expressions and she uses a bold
starmene the “we are failing younger generations”.

HOW HER OPINION IS CONVEYED THROUGH WITH INTERTEXTUALITY

 Rectextualizi
Recontextualization: “each time someone else’s words, or words from one document or another part of the same
document , are used in a new context, the earlier words are recontextualized, and thereby given new meaning in the new
context” (Bazerman, 2004: 90) → recontextualization applies to any form of intertexuality & intervisuality
intertextual analysis should explain how the original text was recontextualized and why

Recontextualization & intervisuality

• Intervisuality (visual intertextuality): reuse of an image in the original or modified form
• Recontextualization: when a visual element is used in a new or ≠ context & is interpreted differently as a result of
this change (= change of meaning – some elements need to be recognisable to understand relation w/ original source).

Rosie the Riveter: A case of study of intervisuality

TIMELINE
» 1940s: Ex. of intervisuality: reuse of the Rosie the Riveter image, modified according to the medium & use, BUT carrying
the same general meaning → personification of US women during WW2.
» 2nd half of 20th c.: Ex. of intervisuality w/ recontextualization: Rosie the Riveter becomes a feminist symbol.
» 21st c.: Ex. of intervisuality w/ recontextualization: symbol of rights movement (not only feminism) & paragon (= perfect
ex.) for pioneering figures.
» Covid19 time: Ex. of intervisuality w/ recontextualization: back to personification.

1. Rosie the Riveter by Norman Rockwell – in The Saturday Eventing Post (May 29, 1943).
Roșie the Riveter: fictional characters used by propaganda to recruit
women to work in factories to support US army during WW2.
img. by Norman Rockwell published in The Saturday Evenunf Post:
young woman, muscular, carrying sandwich + lunch box + riveter on her lap
(= tool used in assembly line to combine ≠ parts of a product) + she is
crushing w/ her foot the Mein Kampf by Hitler.

Intervisuality & recontextualization: same composition of a Michelangelo’s portrait of prophet Isaiah in Sistine Chapel (Vatican).
… the original Rosie: 1942 song (1st mention in a song) to praise women war employees who defended America by
working on the home front producing munitions & war supplies — song by Redd Evans & John Jacob Loeb.

Rosie the Riveter: img. nowadays associated w/ the character → symbol of feminism
Poster by J.H. Miller (1942) for the Westinghouse Company’s War Production Coordinating
Committee (commissioned by committee), as part of a series of posters supporting war.
Depicted as an indefatigable woman who rolled up her sleeves, flexed her arm muscles
& said, "We Can Do It!"
Used as motivational ad for female employees for internal use (found within the factory)

img. interpreted as a personification of the US, symbolising female part of population +

colours symbolise US flag (red, white, blue) → example of intervisuality (not recontextualization)
2. Second half of 20th c.: 2nd wave feminism (img. Reappropriated by feminine movement)
• Feminist movement: quest for historical imgg. inspiring female empowerment.
• Image comparison: » Rockwell’s img. copyrighted VS Miller’s free to use.
» Miller’s img. preferred: devoid (= privo di) of military associations.
» Miller’s poster featured more visually appealing, feminine figure.
» more neutral in terms of class identity (= more cross-cutting)
• Rediscovery: initiated by Connie Field’s 1980 documentary – “Life & Times of Rosie the Riveter”
• Empowering message: » women can excel in traditionally male roles
» evolution of slogan “We can do it” to symbolise women’s determination for success in any field.
Recontextualization: img. acquires new meaning in the context use.
recontextualization from a global symbol of feminism into one of rights movements (symbol of fight for human rights).

La Adelita: young woman described in a popular ballad, who joined the Maderista movement
in the early stages of Mexican Revolution.
Robert Valade, 2009 – ¡Sí, Se Puede!: “I paint her here with hopes that she may inspire a
New Mexican Revolution”.
Recontextualization: hair done in a plait (no bandana) ; wearing a rifle; traditional
dress’ colours of the Mexican flag; Mexican ethnicity (change facial traits).

clear reference to Rosie: same posture,

staring at the viewer, and same phrase

Rosie in a sari by Eli Neugeboren: against domestic violence.

Rosie as Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi by Eli Neugeboren & Chadwick Gray,
2008.

3. 21st c. (same period): A paragon for pioneering figures to inspire political change

moving away from pure feminism (Rosie transformer

in Michelle & Barak Obama) → Rosie indicating smo
who is capable to bring change.
2008 US election campaign, the supporters of Sarah
Palin, a right-wing politician who can hardly be seen as a
supporter of feminism.

Img. acquires new meaning thanks to its use in a new historical & social context (img used in a more flexible way, also
applied to men, sometimes even to objects & initiatives).
4. Covid time: back to personification of US citizens → to promote social distancing & use of face masks.
• Constitutive/recurrent elements: rolled-up sleeve, flexed arm & bandana.
• Recontextualixation: face masks, medical patch evoking flu vaccination
+ 3 Rosies reflecting ethnic diversity.

Paiting by Terrence Osborne

– an image to front line workers in New Orleans

• Recontextualixation: fleur-de-lis earrings, symbol of the city; face masks &

medical scrub; tattoo ‘front line'.
• Personification: Rosie the Riveter is a metaphor for front line workers,
especially doctors & nurser.

Posters to promote the vaccine campaign

• Recontextualixation: Vaccination metaphorically

constructed as a task that society expects from individuals
– like war effort – mobilisation of citizens (just like
contribution was expected in war).

most important recontextualizing element is medical

patch.

The success of Rosie the Riveter

» Rosie the Riveter allowed for vivid, emotional & concrete portrayals (already part of the culture) ensuring a strong
perceptual influence on the public (associated w/ special emotional & national feelings)
content that is given a human face attracts more attention

» By recontextualising iconic imgg., communicators can facilitate info processing (transmitting idea that it was a situation
of emergency) & elicit specific emotional responses
empathy, identification, dedication, resistance, change, mobilization.
8 novembre Inttextual distance or reach
Intertextual distance/reach: refers to how ‘far’ a text ‘travels’ for its intertextual reference.
how related of unrelated the original/cited source are

What kind of ‘border’ does the intertextual link cross?

» if the intertextual link connects 2 parts of the same text – distance is small
» if it collects different genres or different medias (from written words to visual imgg) – distance is greater

Intertextual reference: when a document refers to bits of text that appear earlier or later within the same text.
e.g. Introduction in a book providing a summary of the chapters contained in the book

Chains of related genres: intertextuality travels across a series of genres that are related in a chronological sequence
e.g. chain related to documents needed in
order to look for a job, apply, interview &
negotiate salary / working time 1 document presupposes existence of the other (CV needs to be aligned w/
letter of application)
Intermediality: intertextual reference moves from 1 medium to another → “original” text is the “source” of the newly
formed media product (from book to movie; parodic recontextualization of a famous painting).
Task 2 - 2023-2024
Guidelines
Aim
Task 2 is a group activity. Its aim is to gain a deeper understanding of intertextuality by
analysing authentic texts (written and verbal). The output of the activity will be a
slideshow presentation of the results of your analysis. You will be required to:
1. introduce and contextualise the chosen texts;
2. describe how intertextuality manifest itself using relevant theoretical concepts;
3. explain how intertextuality helps the author convey his/her intended meanings.

Creation and presentation of contents

D

Every member will be required to create at least one slide, and present it orally. The
presentation as a whole should last approximately 15 minutes.
3 min x 5 persone

Choice of texts for analysis

At least one written text (newspaper or magazine article) displaying the typical features
of intertextuality in writing (e.g., direct/indirect speech/representation of speech
act/event) must be selected. You may enrich your analysis by analysing intertextuality
in visuals and other semiotic modes. Examples include, but are not limited to, the
following:
● magazine cover pages and articles (e.g. from The Economist; Time)
● memes;
● emoticons;
● social media posts (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram);
● advertisements;
● political cartoons;
● promotional material related to specific campaigns (e.g., posters, leaflets);
● (animated) movies and TV series;

1
 ● song lyrics;
● public speeches - e.g. TED Talks (by politicians, celebrities, scientists, etc.)

Since this course is not focused on literary texts, which would require special
treatment, works of literature must be avoided.

Coherence
Your selection of texts should ensure the overall coherence of your presentation. There
needs to be a fil rouge connecting the texts and examples you choose.

E.g.
One theme (e.g., ‘Rosie the Riveter’) and how it has been taken up in subsequent
texts, by different groups, hence being recontextualised

A controversial social issue and its echoes on various media (social media posts,
memes, songs, a newspaper article)

See titles of past group presentations in the Appendix.

Slide presentation format

Your presentation should be saved as a *.ppt/.pptx/.pdf file (see examples on
Moodle). It will comprise the following:
● 1 title slide: title of the presentation;
● 1-3 slides introducing the text(s) (type of text chosen, topic, where it was taken
from, date of publication, communicative purpose) and stating the aims of the
analysis;
● 5-6 slides describing intertextuality;
● 1 conclusion slide summarising the main points/results of the analysis;
● 1 slide with the references used (e.g. websites consulted, articles, books);

2
 ● 1 slide with participant names and reference to slide presented (e.g. Name
Surname: slide 1 and 3; Name Surname: slide 2 and 4; ….).

What and when to submit

Upload your ppt presentation on Moodle by 26th of March 2023 at 23:59. If magazine
and newspaper articles are not reported in full in the slides, upload the complete text
too.

Some useful websites

The Economists’ cover pages and leaders (you need registration - for free):
https://www.economist.com/weeklyedition/archive

The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/international

Wired magazine: https://www.wired.com/

Ads of the World: https://www.adsoftheworld.com/

The New Yorker’s cartoon bank: https://cartoonbank.com/web/guest/home

Assessment
The mark for Task 2 will take into account the output produced by the group as a
whole. Every group member is responsible for the success of the activity. Attention will
be paid to overall coherence, selection of relevant examples, use of theoretical
concepts, correctness in their application, time management during presentation,
clarity of expression.

Suggestions for workflow

1. Kick-off meeting in presence or using a conferencing platform (e.g. Zoom) in
which you decide how you are going to manage communication (email,
WhatsApp group, other online meetings), start brainstorming for the choice of
topic and texts, and set milestones to reach your deadline (backward planning)

3
 2. Collect the texts (written, spoken, visual, etc.) for analysis.
3. You may plan a second meeting at this stage during which you decide on
labour division (who’s analysing what), and you choose the layout of the slides
(pictures, colours, fonts) to make your presentation catchy and effective.
4. Analyse your part, create relevant slide(s) and write a draft for your oral
presentation. Share your work with the other group members for feedback.
5. End-of-activity meeting for final check. It is strongly recommended that you
rehearse at least once as a group to ensure effective presentation and time
management.
6. Submit your work on Moodle (only one member).

The lead: 1st paragraph, to catch attention, give a brief summary of what is being talked about

4
Appendix: Examples of titles of past presentations

1. Rise and fortune of the phrase “Charlie Don’t Surf”

2. The Miwaukee Cannibal: Media representation of Jeffrey Dahmer and his trials
over time
3. Woman, life, freedom: How different media and the press depict the 2022 Iran
protests
4. Barbie: Still a beauty standard or a sign of emancipation? Analysis of newspaper
and social media posts
5. Are powerful women witches? an intertextual analysis of the representation of
powerful women as witches in the media.
6. When soup and mashed potatoes are thrown, can the Earth win? Intertextuality
and art vandalisms
7. The growing spread of second-hand fashion: Intertextuality in the description of
this phenomenon
8. Intertextuality in newspaper articles against toxic masculinity
9. No safe place: how intertextual analysis spurs readers’ reflections on climate
change
10. “Why won’t anyone talk about this?” Spreading the awareness of China’s
detention of Muslims through intertextuality in news articles
11. An Attack on Democracy: How intertextuality was used to report the Capitol Hill
riot
12. The ‘Zan bill’: A focus on an "anti-homophobia law" through intertextuality in
news articles and intervisuality

5
 AI COTEXTUALIZATION

As you may guess from both the title and the cute robot on the big screen we will be talking about AI.
I’ma give you just a brief contextualization of the topic in general and then we’ll dive deeper into the article and its
intertextuality as well, of course.
8 novembre The English in Italy project
The spread of Anglicisms in I talian
Title – English in Italy: Linguistic, Educational and Professional Challenges (website: https://englishinitaly.wordpress.com/)
How English facilitated communication in a multicultural linguistic landscape
» Film, jazz, hamburgheria, social network…
» ‘carta di credito’ comes from ENG (Credit card)
» FRA: ce n’est pas ma tasse de thé —> its not my cup of tea

English across European languages

The influence of English on European languages has attracted a lot of scholarly attention
Austria, Armenia, Denmark, France, Germany, GreatBritain, Italy, Norway, Poland, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland

• Remarkable & pervasive → we encounter Anglicisms on a daily basis, in many fields of knowledge
“Non si può trovare una lingua che parli ogni cosa per sé senza aver accattato da altri” (Machiavelli) → no language
can speak by itself w/out borrowing from other languages
in this historical period, ENG is main language for economy (language contact is a normal process).

• it is a highly controversial issue → borrowing arouses feeling of fear of losing cultural identity, threat to
multilingualism

• Sociolinguistic implications → related to accessibility & transparency (Anglicisms in finance is a problem for ppl
who don’t know ENG well).

Why study anglicisms?

— Lexical borrowings may take ≠ forms: it’s a challenging theme for language description (classification framework).
— Lexical borrowing differs across languages quantitatively & qualitatively: worth analysing how & why
— Lexical borrowing is an important factor of language change: worth monitoring it

Taxonomy – types of anglicisms

• Direct borrow.: the evidence of the SL (source language = ENG) is detectable in the RL (recipient lang = ITA)
ex. Computer → we immediately recognise it as an anglicism.
• Indirect borrow.: the SL model is reproduced in the RL through native elements = not immediately evident
ex. Carta di credito → ‘credit card’ acted as a model to come up w/ ‘carta di credito’

direct borrowings
» Loanwords - further divided in:
— Non-adapted: a word or multi-word unit borrowed w/out or minor formal & semantic integration (phonological
integ. always takes place to some extent) → ex. copyright, airbag, computer (spelled like ENG – no formal adapt. in ITA)
— Adapted: a word or multi-word unit borrowed w/ orthographic, phonological &/or morphological integration
(ENG root of the word is preserved + suffix is adapted (to form nouns, adj, verbs)
ex. monitoraggio (monitoring – suffix -aggio to create noun) / hackerare/hacherare (hacker – ending for infinitive)
» False anglicisms: a word or multi-word unit in the RL made up of ENG lexical elements which are unknown or used
with a radically ≠ meaning in the SL (look like anglicisms BUT either don’t exist in ENG or have ≠ meaning)
ex. ITA: telefilm (TV series); footing (jogging) ex. GER: handy (mobile phone)
SPA: míster (football coach) POL: trencz (trench coat)
» Hybrid: words or multi-word units combining a SL element w/ a RL one.
ex. ITA: volo charter (charter flight – partly maintain originalo word in ENG); FRE: top niveau (top-level)

indirect borrowings
» Calque:
— Loan translation: a word or multi-word unit which translates an ENG item into the RL
ex. ITA: carta di credito (credit card); FRE: courier électronique (e-mail); SPA: baloncesto (basketball)

— Loan rendition: a word or multi-word unit which translates part of a SL item + provides a loose equivalent for
the other item in the RL → ex. ITA: marchio di fabbrica (trademark: ‘marchio’ translated ‘mark’; ‘fabbrica’ is an
approximation of the meaning ‘trade’ [=commercio]); pallacanestro ?

— Loan creation: word or multi-word unit in the RL which freely renders the SL model using items of the RL.
ex. ITA: pallanuoto (waterpolo – introduced in ITA thanks to presence of the anglicism, used like a model to invent
new form in ITA to indicate that specific concept originated in the Anglo-American context)

» Semantic loan: an already existing word in the RL takes the meaning of the SL word (thanks to influence of the
other lang, new meaning is incorporated)
ex. ITA: realizzare = originally meant ‘to create smth concrete’ (realize = ‘become aware of’) –> keep ‘realizzare’+
borrow the meaning of ‘realize’
ex. SERBIAN: miš = animal ‘mouse’ (mouse, ‘computer device’) –> enlarging the field of meaning
 Reasons for the coinage & use of Anglicisms
• Necessary loan: an Anglicism adopted to introduce a new object or concept → cultural, scientific, technical knowledge
ex. Tennis, computer, tablet

• Luxury loan: an Anglicism adopted to refer to an object or concept already lexicalised in the RL in order to express it in
a more fashionable & attractive way
ex. Fashion, store (is becoming a necessary loan, slightly different from ‘negozio’, sfidante (calque from ‘challenging’
= stimolante)
ex. ’TikTok, un potenziale enorme per il mondo del food’ → food is what we see in social media (differenza tra ‘food’
e ‘cibo’ nei contesti d’uso
 Activity 14
Read the sentences on the left and rewrite them replacing the Anglicisms with an
equivalent Italian expression when possible.

All inclusive tutto incluso , tutto compreso

Giglio è un hotel tre stelle che sorge
->

direttamente sulla spiaggia di Rimini. Per

tutti gli ospiti offriamo pacchetti all
inclusive molto convenienti.
4 completi

Stand+> espositori
I visitatori della fiera possono Danchetti/bancarelle
scaricare
sul telefonino la mappa degli stand, Agenda - programma

l'agenda delle daconferenze/dibattiti, così

programina
da visita
Business card - biglietto
Diglietto
visita
come le business card dei relatori.

Dai primi accertamenti sembrerebbe che Stop -> arresto

uno dei due mezzi coinvolti

fermata
non abbia
rispettato il segnale di stop.
arresto -

compete
Shopping > acquisti ,
Vivi la tua esperienza di shopping in uno compere
-

store moderno, sempre aggiornato con

STORE negozio o
Collegatoad acquisto Store -
negozio
:
>

le ultime novità. linguaggio promozionale

>
-

attività fisica riposo Sport+ attività

Per i tuoi momenti di sport e relax nelle
fisica, movimento

immediate vicinanze si trovano campi da

Relax + riposo

Tennis + palla corda ( ?) vecchio nome del tennis

tennis, un campo da golf, possibilità di Golf- > palla in buca ( ?)

pesca, e le terme.
portatile Computer -
Allora non c'era il computer e i bambini
> calcolatore

giocavano per le strade

14 novembre History & nial policies
1. What has contributed to the influx of English lexical items?
» The establishment of a global market → Nowadays, the presence of a global economy is an important factor
» The status of English as a Lingua Franca → for international communication
» The established use of ENG in academic & professional settings → lang through which knowledge is disseminated
ENG taught from grade I in primary school = exposed to ENG from years of nursery + learn in a spontaneous way.
perceived as a bonus for working opportunities
» The growing number of non-native speakers: ‘Global appetite’ for ENG → everybody wants to learn ENG

67% of Europeans say that ENG

is the most useful lang for
personal development,
perceived as important asset
to have a successful
professional life.

For children, ENG remains

predominant choice to learn in
the future.
global appetite sustained
by empirical evidence

The historical background

18th century (stages in history when the foundation for this scenario were laid)
• Since the 18th c. ENG has gradually strengthened its status → gains international status & prestige:
» Colonial power – British empire expanded to Asia, North America & India + kept expanding in subsequent c.
» Political prestige (colonial power goes hand in hand w/ political prestige & power)
» long-standing literary & cultural tradition – ex. fascination for Gulliver’s Travels + Robinson Crusoe

• Western European countries (e.g. France, Germany, Italy, Spain): started intense commercial exchanges w/ England
18th c. is when we start witnessing presence of ENG words in these European culture.

19th century – tendency to import words from ENG started to consolidate + become evident.
• language contact between English & European languages through mediation of:
» French for western European languages (Spanish, Italian, Portuguese) → direct access to England, they import
words form ENG to FR + Europeans get in touch w/ FR and borrow ENG words (applies to Spanish, Italian, Portuguese).
ex. Beefsteak (ENG) > biftec (FR) > bistec (SP – borrowed by French = anglicism through mediation of French)
ITA: choc (anglicism coming from French) /shock (reborrowing from ENG – 1899), confort/comfort (1865),
cachemire/cashmere (1892) — 2 varieties = different ? of loan words

» German for northern European languages → for Danish, Swedish, Norwegian (more difficult to get direct contact):
ex. Budget (ENG) > budget [byˈdʒeː] (GER) > budsjett [buˈdʒɛtə](Norwegian)
• Extraordinary boost after the WW2 → borrowing lexical items directly from ENG:
fields that provide more words were: » Scientific & technological innovation – transistor (imported in 1947)
» Business & trade – partnership (1950)
» Popular culture – boogie-woogie (1949); rock and roll (1956)
influence of ENG was based to the United States: US lend their lexicon to other languages.

European political institutions:

— A de iure policy of multilingualism – placing all ≠ European languages to the same level (right to read in own lang)
» 27 countries & 24 official languages (w/ equal status): 522 possible translation combinations!
» Regional & minority languages (continuous phenomena of migration)
» Immigration & mobility (complex situation)

— A de facto privileged status assigned to English, French & German as procedural languages for internal business
to make communication possible — pick 3 procedural languages for internal communication

Post-brexit Europe: Will English lose its official status?

June 2016 – referendum Brexit — leaving EU: process accomplished in 2020.
article: chief of European Commission decided not to use ENG anymore = switch to French
ENG will lose its importance now that England is out of EU? → unlikely that ENG will disappear: there are legal reasons

• English: official language of the European Communities (EC, later the EU), after inclusion of UK & Ireland in 1973
• To remove ENG from list of official lang, the vote would require unanimous agreement → Ireland & Malta included
(still part of the EU – unlikely to vote in favour of the removal)
• ENG would continue to be used as 1 of the procedural languages:
Annexation of Eastern European countries: ENG most commonly used lang for internal communication & workflow
regulation (by including Eastern countries, presence of ENG will be maintained to allow integration of those countries).

2. The role of national policies

» The use of foreign words is a matter of great emotional & ideological concern → local lang is losing its identity
» Academies (Académie Française, Real Academia Española, Accademia della Crusca) may encourage the adoption of
translation equivalents (institutes to provide official terminology in local lang – protective attitude)
» They only partially influence speakers’ choices (often ppl just use anglicisms)

3. Factors affecting the form of Anglicisms

Genetic & typological similarity:
Germanic languages (e.g. Danish, German, Norwegian): often only semantic loans (genetic similarity in structure):
ex. ENG mouse – Danish mus – German Mause – Norwegian mus → ITA topo & mouse (non-adapted loanword)
[= Manually Operated User Selection Equipment]
Long-standing language contact:
About 60% of ENG lexical items have Romance (Latin-based) origins [ENG is a Germanic lang w/ a special status].
• Semantic loans: excited (ENG – happy, thrilled…= entusiasta, emozionato) > eccitato (ITA = sexually aroused)
• Calques: expressions in ENG which are translated = NOT recognisable as ENG origin
ex. Politically correct (ENG) > politicamente corretto (ITA); políticamente correcto (SP); politiquement correct (FR)
– you wouldn’t think it comes from ENG

4. Where can we find Anglicisms?

There are 2 ways that are preferred (different tools):
1. General & specialised dictionaries of individual languages → lexicographic resources: examine lemmas
included + concentrate on a given semantic field, historical period or particular form of non-adapted anglicism

2. Corpora: large collections of authentic texts that are stored in electronic form + are representative of a target
language or language variety (generalise the behaviour, make claims about lang as a whole) → empirical evidence
corpora only collect texts or transcriptions of spoken language + aim at representing + lang analysis

Searching dictionaries
» Monolingual Italian dictionaries: — Grande dizionario italiano dell’uso (GRADIT or GDU, edited by Tullio de Mauro)
— lo Zingarelli 2023
Eureka! > type: “Dizionari Zanichelli Online”

Identify 1st non adapted anglicisms

1st non adapted anglicism from music
15 novembre

How$to$read$a$research$paper$

! Introduc)on*
Or methodology = way research was carried out

! Methods*(not*always*applicable)**
if it’s not based on data, but on logic there is no methodology

! Results*or*main*points*
 Introduction$
! Any*research*paper*will*feature*an*
introduc)on*which*will*cover*one*or*more*of*
the*following:***
1. Presenta)on*of*the*topic*of*the*study*
2. Explana)on*of*the*mo)va)on*for*the*research*
3. Iden)fica)on*of*the*focus/perspec)ve*of*the*
study**
4. Statement*of*the*research*aims,*as*ques)ons*or*
objec)ves*
 Methods$(if$applicable)$
! DataNbased,*or*empirical,*research*will*report*on*
the*methods*chosen:*
1. Where*the*data*come*from**
2. Procedure*adopted*for*analysis*(how*and*with*what*
resources)*

! Some*studies*are*not*empirical*but*conceptual;*
logical argumentative/

they*don’t*have*a*methods*sec)on**
! important*concepts*are*defined**
 Results$or$main$points$
! Empirical*papers*present*original*findings*based*on*the*
applica)ons*of*specific*methodologies.**
! You*should*be*able*to*iden)fy*the*main*results* Summarize main
Findings
obtained*and*summarise*them**
obtained
by the author

! Conceptual*papers*provide*a*cri)cal*interpreta)on*of*
specific*phenomena*or*situa)ons*and*discuss*their*
implica)ons*
! You*should*be*able*to*discuss*the*main*points*of*the*
author’s*argument*
What is a research paper?
Fill in the gaps
A research paper is a piece of academic writing based on original research on a
particular topic. Any paper will open with an ______________,
introduction whose purposes are to
establish the context, define the topic of the study and explain its significance or value.
The introduction is a crucial part to read because it is there that the author presents
the ___________
aims of the investigation, the research ________________
questions or the hypotheses.

The papers which are based on original data are called ____________;
empirical they generally
describe the _____________
methods used, saying where the data come from and what ____________
procedures

was adopted. The papers which discuss concepts and synthesise knowledge from
finding/results /
previous work, without reporting new ___________,
data are labelled ___________.
conceptual They do not
feature a methods section but they present a phenomenon under a new light and
stimulate new research.

When summarising an empirical paper, we need to make sure we outline the

___________
methods used and the main ______________
results obtained, reporting them accurately. By
contrast, when summarising a conceptual paper, we should be able to discuss the main
____________
points of the author’s ______________.
argument
Based on the outline of Furiassi (2017) and Campagna’s (2017) chapters, answer
the following questions:

1) Which paper is empirical (i.e. data-based) and which one is conceptual?

2) In which section can we find information about the aim of the study? 2 & 3

3) In which section(s) are the main theoretical concepts defined and

explained?
4) Where can we learn about the methodology?
5) Where do the authors discuss the main findings, topics or points?

Furiassi, C. (2017), Pragmatic Campagna, S. (2017), English-mediated

borrowing: Phraseological Anglicisms Instruction in Italian universities: A cuckoo nest
in Italian. Empirical
>
-

scenario? conceptual
>
-

1. Introduction 1. Introduction
2. Anglicisms, phraseological 2. Englishising European universities: Threat
Anglicisms and pragmatic or opportunity?
Anglicisms 3. The state-of-the-art of EMI in Italian higher
3. Illocutionary Acts education
4. Methodology, tools and 4. Parallel Language Use in the Nordic
resources countries
wether he used corpora. . .

5. Quantitative and qualitative 5. Comparing language policies and EMI

analysis practices
6. Conclusion 6. Concluding remarks
No
methodology

2
Reasons
Aims

Prospectives . O

Active reading of introductions

1. Introduction

After the Brexit referendum in 2016, the received assumption that English is de facto
the lingua franca of the European Union has begun to falter. Unless its status is
recovered before the United Kingdom completes the exit process, English will no longer
be an official EU language. What this change implies for the European linguistic
scenario is difficult to predict. Yet, this political event is an important landmark for
scholars interested in the cultural and linguistic influence of English on European
languages (Filipović, 1996; Görlach, 2002; Pulcini, Furiassi & Rodríguez González, 2012)
because it may in fact mark the end of the momentum that the English language has
gained from the second half of the 20th century. >
-

information gap

In this chapter, the aim is to review English-induced lexical borrowing in the

Italian language, with special attention to the areas of lexis more intensely affected in
the course of time up to the new millennium – from the year 2001 to 2016. Being close
to the present, the latter is a rather unexplored area of English lexical input which
deserves consideration. The analysis is quantitatively and qualitatively based on the -

most recent electronic editions of Italian dictionaries, namely the Grande dizionario S
italiano dell'uso (De Mauro, 2nd ed. 2007), lo Zingarelli 2017 (2016) and il Devoto-Oli. i
Vocabolario della lingua italiana 2017 (2016), which have allowed the extraction of
Anglicisms according to different time spans and usage domains. -

This study is based on the principle that loanwords are markers of cultural
impact and provide a historical record of change in a language, integrating the
extralinguistic context – social events, cultural products, new concepts in science,
economics and technology – with internal changes in the language itself (lexical
innovation through borrowing). As Jespersen states: “Loanwords have been called the
milestones of philology, because in a great many instances they permit us to fix
 approximately the dates of linguistic changes” (as cited in Iamartino, 2001, p. 17).
Indeed, loanwords can reveal the amount of cultural contact (impact), the nature of this
contact (the affected fields) and the contribution of the donor culture to the receiving
one (the prestige and cultural superiority enjoyed by the donor language and culture).
In the contact history among speech communities, it is quite natural to witness
language borrowing in periods of greater social and cultural exchanges and, by
contrast, little or no language interference in periods of cultural distance and isolation.
In this chapter we will consider the influence exerted by English-speaking societies
(mainly the UK and the USA) on the Italian language and culture, although the reverse,
that is, the influence of the Italian language and culture on the English-speaking world,
has indeed taken place in the course of time but lies outside the scope of the present
study .
-

Section 2 of this chapter introduces the three dictionaries from which Anglicisms
have been taken. Section 3 presents a chronology of lexical borrowing from English into

e Italian divided into four main periods: early contacts up to the 18th century (3.1), the
19th century (3.2), the first half of the 20th century (3.3), the post-World War II period

· (3.4) and the new millennium years (3.5). In the conclusion we will sum up the periods
of more intense contacts between English and Italian and which areas of the Italian
*vocabulary have been more markedly affected.

2
FOCUS AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS
3 questions that guided her study:
• how many anglicisms were imported (quantitative
• Was the increase of decrease (qualitative aspect(
• mix between quantitative and qualitative

Oldest (lady), most recent (bitcoin)

She will identify the fields of borrowing

Draw connection between borrowings and cultural connections

Anglicisms imported in Italian between 13th and 18th

Strong fascination for English society and langauge

Language of fashion started penetrating Italian. Fumo di Londra (indicating fabric)

Anglomani areas conies by Arturo

Word used in a critical way —> language was in a state of decadence
Desire to turn to other languages I was against the period of golden age
 Anglicisms in Italian: By virginia pulcini

Moving on into the 3rd mil ennium

Focus & research questions
• English-induced lexical borrowing in the Italian language
• Chronology of influence w/ special attention on 2nd half of 20th c. + on new millennium (2001-2016)
RQ1: How many Anglicisms were imported into Italian throughout the centuries?
RQ2: Was the increase or the decrease connected to historical and cultural circumstances?
RQ3: Which areas of Italian vocabulary have been affected?

Dates of borrowing: lady (1668), whisky (1788 Zolli; 1829 De Mauro), business (1895), blues (1931), software (1970),
mountain bike (1983), laptop (1997), digital divide (2001), bitcoin (2011).

Theoretical principles: contact linguistics

» Loanwords are markers of language contact (markers of cultural impact + provide historical record of lang change).
» Loanwords signal the cultural prestige enjoyed by the donor language & culture
» Language borrowing is greater in periods of intense social & cultural exchanges
» Directionality: from ENG into ITA or from ITA into ENG.

The influence of Italian on English

(Oxford English Dictionary)
architect (1563), belvedere (1596), grazioso (1806),
graffito (1851), diva (1883)

What is the most suitable methodology?

— Lexicographic evidence → dictionaries (paper, electronic)
— Textual evidence → corpora

The current study – Methodological settings: 3 electronic dictionaries

» Grande dizionario italiano dell’uso [GDU] (De Mauro 1999/2007)
» lo Zingarelli 2017 (2016) [ZING]
» il Devoto-Oli. Vocabolario della lingua italiana 2017 (2016) [DO]

• Quantitative assessment of the input of Anglicisms in ITA: how many?

• Identification of the fields of borrowing: in what domains?
• Connection between borrowing & the cultural background of the time: In what circumstances?
 The GDU Entries retrieved from the GDU
Total number of Anglicisms in the GDU:
8,196 entries having ENG origins (out of a total of ca.
260,000 entries – ca. 3%).
2,319 entries not labelled “ES”: adapted, false,
hybrids, calques & semantic loans (28%)
5,850 entries labelled “ES”: non-adapted
Anglicisms (72% – majority)

Early loanwords between the 13th & 18th centuries (scares examples at the beginning)
— 1211 sterlino (wooden or copper coin) → obsolete
Lo Zingarelli 2023
— 1406 costuma ‘dogana’ (custom) → obsolete
— 1498 sceriffo ‘high officer of a county in Britain and Ireland’
— 1554 milord
— 1668 lady, pony
— 1674 yacht

18th century: “Anglomania”

Anglomania: fascination for ENG society & language (marks the beginning of this eras – word w/ ENG origin)
Politics: comitato (1790), costituzionale (calque from EN; 1768),
legislatura (1746-48), mozione (1789), sciogliere il parlamento ‘to
dissolve parliament’ (1769) [composed by ITA morphology]
Fashion: rendigotto ‘riding coat’ (1787), plaid (1757), fumo di
Londra ‘London smoke’ (1789), magazzino ‘giornale’ (attested in 1751)
In 18th c. more calques or semantic loans
Arturo Graf: L’Anglomania e l'influsso inglese in Italia nel sec. XVIII (1911 – www.opal.unito.it)
word Anglomania used by Graf in his document → label used to identify 18th c.

• The desire to turn to other cultures for inspiration was seen as a sign of decadence.
• In sharp contrast with the golden age of Italian Renaissance.

19th century
In 19th c. → many more anglicisms + covering a much wider range of fields.
— Politics: assenteismo (1836), leadership (1893), boicottare (1881).
— Fashion & life-style: dandy (1817), smoking (from ‘smoking jacket’ – 1891), snob (1897).
— Food & drinks: brandy (1829), rostbif (‘roast-beef’ – 1800), sandwich (1895), whisky (1829).
— Business: banconota (1849), business (1895), manager (1895), stock (1884), trade-mark (1895).
— Transport: schooner (‘goletta’ – 1801), tilbury (‘carrozza aperta a 2 ruote’ – 1817), cab (‘carr. pubblica’ – 1842), dining-car
(‘vagone ristorante’ – 1869) [some expressions have become very rare today = meaning has become obsolete]
— Sports: tennis (1828), sport (1829), foot-ball (1888), match (1895), polo (1895), record (1895).
— Culture: folklore (1884), college (1892), intervista (from ‘interview’ – 1877), reporter (1875), music hall (1894), revolver
(1862), detective (1891), cowboy (1890), Far West (linked to geographical place – 1892), totem (1828).
— Other: colonizzare (1828), di colore (1829), conforto (‘agio, comodità’ – 1824), rispettabile (‘considerevole’, semantic
loan – 1827) → difference in terms of form & category of anglicisms: in 19th c. more non-adapted anglicisms [they
can digest use of ENG words + more direct understanding & proximity of the 2 cultures

Italian education
1859 – Casati Law (favoured influence of ENG): by Gabrio Casati = Minister of Education (1859-1860)
reform of education: ENG is introduced as a curricular subject in vocational secondary schools for its
importance in the learning of technical & scientific vocabulary (provide competence for professional fields).

20th century
1st half of the century 2nd half of the century
Challenging time for Italy: • 2 World Wars Different historical & economical period:
Difficult attitude towards • fascist regime led to… • material & moral reconstruction of the country
anglicisms • … xenophobia • economic boom
• Neopurism • strong wave of ‘Americanization’

1st half of the century (1900 - 1949) 1st half of the 20th century:
» Decline in the influx of Anglicisms in the post- WW1 years: political Italianization
tensions between Italy & Great Britain (nº of Angl. drops after WW1)
— Federazione Italiana Foot-Ball (Torino 1898)
» Further decl. during purist campaign VS use of foreign words (1940s)
anglicism was used in the name
‘Neopurism’: movement led by Bruno Migliorini (linguist + founder) — Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (1909)
to contrast excessive ‘hospitality’ towards ‘barbarisms’ use of Italian equivalent
“Anglophobia”
• During Fascism (1922-1945): legislation promulgated to repress spread of anything that would “jeopardize not
only the concept of national language but the idea of nation itself” (fascist campaign agains use of foreign words)
• Regia Accademia d’Italia: appointed to invigilate the purity of the lang + provide Italian substitutes for
foreign words (translation – in some cases, both versions have remained, in others Italianism was dropped)
autorimessa (garage), albergo (hotel), arlecchino (cocktail), accordo (agreement), arresto (stop), obbligata (slalom), lista (menu).

Still, Anglicisms managed to enter Italian ...…

— Sports: basketball (1921), rally (1935). Most prolific domain
— Music & entertainment: charleston (1926), blues(1931),
spiritual (1936), night-club (1939).
— Cinema: sex-appeal (1929), cast (1942), western (1942).
— Business & trade: boss (1918), marketing (1932).
despite presence of institutions, it’s impossible to prevent
language contact (part of language evolution).
important phenomena is emigration of ITA to the USA
 2nd half of the century (1950 - 2000)
The situation was very different culturally speaking
— Sport (main field): mountain bike (1983), beach volley (1987),
windsurf (1979), pit stop (1997), pilates (2000).
Overall highest percentage
— Economy / Finance: sponsor (1963), turn over (1971), joint venture
(1973), holding company (1976), e-commerce (1992), start-up (1993)
— Music: cool jazz (1951), boogie-woogie (1949), shake (1966),
juke-box (1950), hi-fi (1963). Most prolific field in generating ENG
— IT: computer (1964), hardware (1970), floppy disk (1976), words

tablet (1993), username (1998), firewall (1998).

— Transport: terminal (1965), hostess (1950), airbag (1989),
cruise control (1992), car-sharing (1999).
Medicine is growing in importance
— Television: decoder (1990), reality show (1992).
— Medicine (new field emerging): check-up (1966), bypass (1974), screening (1979) – [medical terminology often in ENG]
— Social life: gay (1959), playboy (1964), status symbol (1971), teen-ager (1971).

What about the 3rd millennium?

Remains most important donor field

Concluding remarks
• The momentum that ENG has gained over the last 2 centuries in Italy (& Europe) is an unprecedented phenomenon
in the history of language contact. (Pulcini provides solid evidence)

• The general distribution into semantic fields is similar in the 3 dictionaries:

» a constant growth in the number of ENG loans throughout the centuries
» a peak in notable in 2nd half of the 20th century
» the primacy of IT (Information Technology), economy & sport as the most affected fields in the new millennium.
she demonstrated that anglicisms are closely related to specific historical periods, socio-cultural phenomena & to
the ability of cultures to communicate directly.
 Limits of the study
— Lexicographic evidence usually cannot provide info about currency & representativeness of words (dictionaries just
tell us that they were attested): how common and frequently used are Anglicisms? [now use corpora to study frequency]
— It cannot predict whether a word will pass the test of time: e.g. will stepchild adoption survive? [is it temporary?]

BUT: it can document language contact + in the case of obsolete words, it provides evidence of cultural landmarks of
different ages.
 [Ist
13th century 28th hal
-

century 20th century

28th half
century
29th
century

List of Anglicisms
The following list contains the Anglicisms that you are expected to locate in the
correct period of attestation in the Italian language (see Pulcini 2017)

Anglicism Attestation date

23th 28717
sterlino 1211
-

costuma 1406
milord 1554
lady 1668
pony 1668
yacht 1668
18717 legislatura 1746
plaid 1757
costituzionale 1768
comitato 1790
29th rostbif 1800
dandy 1817
tennis 1828
colonizzare 1828
brandy 1829
whisky 1829
sport 1829
di colore 1829
banconota 1849
reporter 1875
intervista 1877

1
19th boicottare 1881
folklore 1884
foot-ball 1888
cowboy 1890
smoking 1891
detective 1891
college 1892
Far West 1892
leadership 1893
business 1895
manager 1895
sandwich 1895
match 1895
snob 1897
boss 1918

Ist half basketball 1921

20th Century
sex-appeal 1929
blues 1931
marketing 1932
night-club 1939
cast 1942
western 1942

Ed hatury boogie-woogie 1949

juke-box 1950
hostess 1950
gay 1959
sponsor 1963
hi-fi 1963

2
End Latury computer 1964
playboy 1964
terminal 1965
check-up 1966
hardware 1970
status symbol 1971
teen-ager 1971
bypass 1974
floppy disk 1976
windsurf 1979
screening 1979
mountain bike 1983
beach volley 1987
airbag 1989
e-commerce 1992
reality show 1992
start-up 1993
tablet 1993
username 1998
car-sharing 1999
pilates 2000

3
 Bruno migliorini - founder of neo-purism

Anglophobia
22 novembre Pragmic borrowings: By Cristiano furiassi

Phraseological Anglicisms in I talian

In the title we can read 2 important concepts: — pragmatic borrowings → more general category
— phraseological anglicisms → more specific phenomenon (type of pr. borr.)

What are pragmatic borrowings?

Pragmatic borrowings: lexical borrowings (ITA expressions of ENG origin) capable of performing pragmatic
functions (employed to achieve a pragmatic effect): ex. Act upon listener; stimulate reaction; arouse emotions…
Pragmatic = branch of linguistics concerned with the way we use lang. to do things in the real world, to maintain
social relations, to act upon others

Pragmatic functions:
1. Signalling speaker attitude: interpersonal meaning is related to expression of one’s attitude, opinion or feeling
“Ma dai, come on! Poi con l'intervistato che sembra l'esperto di turno. Mai riso tanto per una pubblicità così smaccata,
ragazzi.” [itTenTen16 – forma a forum online] → anglicism signals attitude: indicates idea of surprise & disbelief

2. Performing verbal actions (giving orders, making promises, prohibiting): normally expressed by imperative verbs
“L'energia e la chiacchera non vi mancano, ma purtroppo non sono sufficienti per sistemare le cose come vorreste voi,
quindi keep calm e aspettate la fine del mese quando finalmente Sole e Venere entrano nel vostro segno e spazzano
finalmente le nuvole.” [itTenTen16 – oroscopo] → strong piece of advice, makes text more modern, trendy & catchy
Furiassi is mainly interested in Anglicisms that perform verbal actions

3. Marking discourse structure: indicating different points in a line of reasoning

“Lo avete corteggiato per settimane, l'avete incontrato – una o più volte – e alla fine il cliente ha firmato il vostro
preventivo. The end? No, adesso comincia il bello.” [itTenTen16 ] → to appear more modern

4. Expressing politeness: way of regulating social relationships

“Sorry, non era qui che volevo rispondere.” [itTenTen16 – from online world] → apology

What are phraseological Anglicisms?

Phraseological Anglicisms: units borrowed from ENG that are larger than individual words (multi-word
units – phraseology is a unit of meaning).
Gimme five: verb + complement – used as a sigle block (you can put in into a sentence)
Keep calm & take it easy (original message): so popular online; it was taken up again & again → elements changed to
achieve specific communicative functions (I can’t keep calm, I’m going to Disneyland).
 Phraseology:
» Catch phrases: phrase or full sentence which is taken as a unit.
Is that your final answer? – from tv program ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire?’
Eat my short! – Bart Simpson, ‘The Simpsons’

» Routine formulae: fixed phrases we use in specific circumstances

here you go; shut up!; stay tuned; shall we make a move? → don’t change elements of the strings

» Proverbs: a well-known pithy saying, stating a general truth or piece of advice

The pen is mightier than the sword; When in Rome do as the Romans; When the going gets tough, the tough get going
(Quando il gioco si fa duro, i duri cominciano a giocare)

Furiassi’s study
Aim of the study: To analyse the pragmatic function of a selection of phraseological Anglicisms in ITA
Little attention to pragmatic aspects in the literature on Anglicisms so far!

Data analysed: 15 phraseological Anglicisms in ITA potentially used as pragmatic Anglicisms.

(and) the winner is… — business is business — (don’t) try this at home — (doesn’t) make(s) sense — get down —give me/
gimme five — I love you (perceived as a unit) — it’s not my business — keep calm and… — make some noise — pay attention — take
it easy — (the) show must go on — welcome to… — you are welcome.
He selected these Anglicisms based on his perception of ITA (important limitation of the study)

Methods and tools: • Monolingual English dictionaries: Oxford English Dictionary (OED), Merriam-Webster,
Macmillan Dictionary Online & Urban Dictionary.
Are these phraseologisms attested as ‘phraseologisms’ in ENG? (He verified)

• Monolingual Italian dictionaries: Grande dizionario italiano dell’uso (GDU), lo Zingarelli,

Il Vocabolario Treccani (2003).
Are these phraseologisms recorded in ITA?

• Italian–English bilingual dictionaries: Hazon, Picchi, Il nuovo Oxford-Paravia (2006),

Il Sansoni Inglese (2006).
Do these phraseologisms have an ITA translation equivalent? (Verify translations available)

• Italian corpus – itTenTen10: web texts gathered in 2010, containing almost 2.6 billion words,
accessible through the Sketch Engine.
Are these phraseologisms commonly used in ITA? (Provide quantitative data)
 Identify : Motivation for the
study (knowledge gap + relevance- >
Anglicism are frequent)

Furiassi (2017) Focus/perspective

Aimhs (sentences that you can turn into REASEARCH
QUESTIONS)
Are there
any methodological indications & limitations mentioned ?
(sources used in the
study)
1. Introduction

With the exception of Andersen, Furiassi and MišićIlić (2017), phraseological and
pragmatic aspects do not seem to have been discussed jointly in the prolific literature
on Anglicisms (see Furiassi, 2015, pp. 263-277) published to date. Therefore, the aim of
this article is to bring together both analytical frameworks.
It is a fact that “phraseological Anglicims” (Pulcini, Furiassi & Rodríguez González,
2012, p. 13) may be encountered – most likely uttered and/or heard – in present-day
Italian. Indeed, the “Anglicization” (Pulcini, Furiassi & Rodríguez González, 2012, p. 1) or
“Anglification” (Gottlieb, 2012, p. 175) of Italian – and many other recipient languages –
has become so pervasive that units larger than words or compounds, i.e.,
phraseological Anglicisms, are borrowed from English alongside single lexical items,
namely Anglicisms. Due to their intrinsic idiomaticity, phraseological Anglicisms, more
likely than Anglicisms proper, seem to be capable of rendering illocutionary acts, thus
originating pragmatic Anglicisms.
↑ FOCUS
Consequently, the focus of this article is on the pragmatic function of English
>
- anticipation of the results

“phraseologisms” (Gries, 2008, p. 6) typical of the Italian language – none of them yet
>
-
limits of the study
recorded in Italian monolingual dictionaries. Although phraseological Anglicisms are
quantitatively limited, their frequency is measured, the typical context of occurrence is
presented and the “illocutionary act” (Searle, 1975, p. 344) performed is indicated in
order to look at how they are pragmatically situated in Italian, the recipient language
under investigation.
Examples of phraseological Anglicisms used pragmatically are gathered from a
web-based corpus of Italian, i.e., itTenTen. In addition, Italian monolingual, e.g., Grande
dizionario italiano dell’uso (De Mauro, 2nd ed., 2007, henceforth GDU) and lo Zingarelli
2017 (2016, henceforth Zingarelli), and Italian-English bilingual dictionaries, e.g., Grande
dizionario di inglese (Hazon, 2014, henceforth Hazon) and Grande dizionario inglese
(Picchi, 2014, henceforth Picchi), are consulted in order to track down plausible Italian

3
translation equivalents. English monolingual dictionaries, e.g., Merriam-Webster (online
edition) and Oxford English Dictionary (online edition), and dictionaries of English
idioms, e.g., Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms (1998, henceforth CIDI) and
Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms (Ayto, 3rd ed., 2009, henceforth ODEI), are also
investigated to check whether such phraseological units are present in the English
language.

4
 Illocutionary acts (Searle, 1975)
» Representatives: stating something is true, concluding, deducing, suggesting, proposing.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step — A picture is worth a thousand words. (Commit to truth)

» Directives: use lang for ordering, commanding, requesting, asking, questioning, begging, inviting, preying
Drop it! — Please, close the window (get the hearer to do smth)

» Commissives: promising, committing to something – when you utter certain words, you are accomplishing action
I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honour you all the
days of my life.– It has real world consequences (official formula of marriage, strong commitment) (commit the speaker)

» Expressives: thanking, congratulating, apologizing, welcoming – (utterances to express gratitude…)

I’m so sorry! — Congratulations! — Thank you! (Express psychological state)

» Declaratives: appointing, nominating, declaring, marrying, firing, resigning (used to assign roles).
Priest: I now pronounce you husband and wife – (they have consequences as soon as they are uttered)
Referee: You’re out!
Boss: You’re fired!
Judge: I sentence you to 6 months in prison! (Declaration has been successfully performed)

Concluding remarks
• Fields / sources → — Music: the Show must go on (Queen – 1991), take it easy (Eagles – 1972).
Grouping into fields — Movie industry & television: (and) the winner is… — don’t try this at home.
— African American English: gimme five.

• Extremely low frequency (have things changed?) → none reaching 1 occurrence every 100 million words

• Do Italians prefer calques (loan translations) when conveying pragmatic meanings? → he focuses on non-adapted
anglicisms (analysing adapted ones may be interesting – ‘Elementare Watson’; ‘Non è tutto oro quello che luccica’).

• This might be the beginning of the permeation in ITA of more complex ENG structures than single lexical items
Higher proficiency levels of younger generations + Internationalisation & globalisation (we can digest longer
units + include them in our own habits)

To recap & bare in mind

1. What are Furiassi’s aims in this study?
2. What methodology did he use?
3. What are the main findings of the study?
4. What are the main limitations? → Anglicisms selected based on his own intuition as a speaker
5. How could we extend the study?
“Pragmatic borrowings: Phraseological Anglicisms in Italian”, by
Cristiano Furiassi
Tasks:
● For each phraseological Anglicism, provide an Italian equivalent and identify the type of
illocutionary act;
● Based on your intuition, say which pragmatic Anglicisms are the three most frequent and
which ones the three least frequent in Italian;
● After filling in the table, check Furiassi’s paper to verify whether your answers are correct.

1
Phraseological Phraseologisms in English Italian equivalent Illocutionary Act Frequency
Pragmatic function performed

Anglicism dictionaries Definitions fromondlingual in Ha + verb acti

dictionaries

(and) the winner -

" "
e il vincitore e Declarative
Not perceived as phraseologism/
...

a
We use anglicism more
fixed expression
is…

lavoro
business is see business n. “business is business:
è lavoro Most
Representative (stating smth) frequent
Gi affari solo affari
192

business used to indicate that in financial and in It Tenten

(Zold
commercial matters one must not be
influenced by friendship, sentiment,
etc.” (OED)

Directive (inviting)
(don’t) try this at “Phrase often used in TV shows. When [positive]
Provateci a casa

home people in it do stupid, dangerous or

crazy things and show them to millions
[negative] Directive

of people and they don’t want to be

Advising against
Non fatelo a casa

responsible for injuries, deaths or any

doing smth
consequences that could happen to the
audience. They cover themselves from
any lawsuit, charge or accusation but
still do it, looking cool captivating the
audience” (UD)

2
(doesn’t) make(s) see sense n. “to make sense In [positive] Represntative:
da inglese
deducting smth
Ha senso+ calco

sense extended use: to be intelligible or Ci Sta

comprehensible, esp. in the context of from a situation

[negative]
pre-existing knowledge or expectations. Non la senso

Frequently in negative constructions,

and with non-referential it as subject”
(OED)

Zero ok.
get down see get v. “to get down […] intr. U.S. P
Directive:
scatellatevi, dateci dentro

slang (orig. in African-American usage). requesting an

[…] To behave in a relaxed and action
uninhibited way; esp. to dance
vigorously and uninhibitedly.” (OED)

give me/gimme see high five n. “orig. U.S. Sport. A

Batti
Damm
cinque
un 5
Directive:
five gesture of celebration, congratulation, requesting an
or greeting in which two people slap
action
each other’s palms, typically with their
arms raised high over their heads.
Hence: greetings, congratulations. In
earlier use freq. in to lay (also slap) high
fives, etc.” (OED)

3
 or representative

Commissive
Ti amo

I love you - Just a sentence

Third most
frequent
(promise of love)
Non è

it’s not my -
un mio

Declarative:
problema
Non solo affari miei
Non e affar mio

business concluding

Directive: advising
Stai calmos Zero
keep calm and… see calm adjective “not affected by
e ...
occurrences
tranquillo

Mantieni la calma
strong emotions such as excitement,
anger, shock, or fear […]
stay/keep/remain calm” (MDO)

Directive: requesting
Fate
make some noise -
rumore/casino Zero occ.

Directive:
Fate attenzione
pay attention see attention n. “The action, fact, or
state of attending or giving heed; Requesting
earnest direction of the mind,
attention, comment,
order
consideration, or regard; esp. in phr. to
pay or give attention. […]” (OED)

take it easy see easy adv. “colloq. At a leisurely

Shalla/Scialla
filosofia
Directive: advising Second most
Prendila con frequent

pace, comfortably, without much

Prendila con salina

trouble; in a comfortable position (also

transf. of a ship). In phr. to take it easy,

4
 to make oneself comfortable, to do no
more than one must; […].” (OED)

(the) show must see show n. “the show must go on:

Lo spettacolo deve continuare
Representative
go on things (orig. a circus or theatrical
performance) must carry on as planned
despite difficulty, calamity, etc.; […]”
(OED)

welcome to… -
Benvenuti
Expressive

you are see welcome adj. “you are (or you’re) Prego
Non c'è di che
Expressive (thanking)
welcome welcome: a polite formula used in
response to an expression of thanks.”
(OED)

see welcome adj. “you are welcome (to

No no

Sentiti
,
fai pure
libero di ...
Directive (inviting)
something): said ironically of something
one is glad to be without.” (OED)

5
4 dicembre Dect Anglicisms in dubbing in Italy: Vincenza minutella
State of the art
Audiovisual translation
» Source language: SL – the language a translator translates from
» Target language: TL – the language a translator translates into

• Dubbing (or lip sync): – oral output remains oral output, BUT the SL soundtrack is replaced by a new 1 in TL
– the target viewer can no longer hear original dialogues (or songs) – total replacement

• Subtitling: – oral output is transformed into written output in the TL

– the original oral output remains audible (we have access to original audio)
– the target text is written on screen

• Voiceover: – an oral translation in the TL (in real time – very frequent in Eastern Europe)
– the original spoken dialogue is still audible in the background
– the voice translated the dialogue lines (just reading lines, no acting, no emotion)

Anglo-American audiovisual products

» Anglo-American audiovisual products dominate the market Special register belonging to this field
» Standard audiovisual transl. practice in Italy: dubbing → – Italian audiences exposed to large amount of dubbed ITA
Now subtitles also common (watch movies in original lang.) – A vehicle for transmission of the Anglo-American culture
gives access to certain values
– A practice that may affect Italian

The language of dubbing

Dubbese (‘doppiaggese’): a register w/ its own peculiarities (theorised) → called a 3rd norm (hybrid between SL & TL)

Standard Technical contraints (lip synchronisation)

may enhance source language interference.

phenomena of calques → in other cases they are loan translations – SL causes language interference.
 Minutella’ study
Aim: To investigate the degree of Anglicisation of film titles & dubbed ITA (to what extent the audiovisual products
are influenced by anglicisms).
Focus: direct ENG borrowings → immediate & formally recognisable ‘fingerprints’ of ENG
all categories: loanwords (non-adapted/adapted), hybrid & false Anglicisms.

A conceptual paper – Resources: » Existing studies on dubbed ITA offering examples (analyse quantitative features)
» Lexicographic resources: il Vocabolario Treccani (2003), Grande dizionario italiano
dell’uso (GDU) (2007); lo Zingarelli 2017 (2016) [added new insight to the data]
» Corpora: itTenTen (Italian Web Corpus 2010 – 3.1 billion words); Perugia Corpus
(PEC – 26 million words of spoken & written contemporary ITA) [verify currency]

Audiovisual products analysed: Anglo-American films & TV series in ENG + their Italian versions.
Shark tale, High School Musical, Fame, Glee, Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries.

1. Anglicisms in film titles

Significant rise in nº of ENG titles in Italy (Viezzi, 2004) → 4,65% (1960), 18,40% (1980), 39,79% (2000), 2023 (Task 4)
Ex. – Movies: Revenant, Inception, Sliding Doors, The Arrival, Autumn in New York, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Descendants;
– Animated movies (children exposed to ENG): Sing, Pets, Up, Inside Out, Shark Tale, Bee Movie, Big Hero 6;
– TV series: Friends, Gossip Girl, CSI: Miami, Grey’s Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Lost, Sex & the City, Pretty Little Liars,
Supernatural, The Big Bang Theory, Scrubs, Peppa Pig [maintained original ENG title]

What adaptation strategies?

» Sliding doors → Sliding doors

» Lost in space → Lost in space – Perduti nello spazio

maintained BUT they provided translation as a
subtitle (way to make movie more accessible)

» The Mexican → The Mexican – Amore senza la sicura

added subtitle: you expect a romantic comedy BUT
it’s a dark comedy.

» Frozen → Frozen – Il regno di ghiaccio

give setting – transparency + attract audience

» How to train a dragon → Dragon Trainer

both ENG titles BUT reduces level of complexity – move from a clause to a noun phrase
 Sexual innuendos: references to sex when they are not present in the title
» Wild Things → Sex crimes: giochi pericolosi: implicit sexual meaning in ENG, made explicit in ITA

Poster of same movie adapted for ≠ audiences:

» UK → Made in Dagenham: comedy about woman who mobilize women
working for factory + defend rights to have equal pay as male colleagues

» Spain → Pago justo: very attractive & feminine woman

» France → We want sex equality: frame of the movie

» Italy → We want sex: completely misleading, in contrast w/ topic of equality

WHY ENGLISH IN FILM TITLES?

— Catchy & attract audience’s attention
— Italians’ fascination w/ ENG: considered more seductive, appealing, added value, symbol of good quality
— Prestige of ENG influences distributors’ choices of film titles
— Comprehensibility & accuracy less valued than appeal (when translating, comprehensibility less taken into account)
— Marketing & commercial reasons (e.g. Star Wars & its merchandising)

2. Anglicisms in dubbed film dialogues

• Direct borrowings are generally not very frequent (quite surprisingly) → the ones found were sport, music or
general terms (cocktail, ketchup, babysitter – well established words in ITA that don’t have an equivalent).

• BUT increase in recent years of discourse markers & interjections → easily transferable into ITA w/out adaption

• Higher nº of direct borrowings in films for younger audiences (Minutella was able to provide evidence).

Shark Tale (2004)

Characters: – Oscar (Will Smith): leading character; a fish who works at a whale wash; he dreams of being rich & famous
he got into trouble because he borrows money from Syeks (now Oscar can’t pay him back)
belongs to Afro-American culture (interjection “yo!”) → conflict of ethnicity & age

– Sykes (Martin Scorsese ): Oscar’s boss who lent him some money and wants it back

– Don Lino (Robert De Niro): head of mafia fam; disappointed in his son

– Lenny (Jack Black): son of Don Lino; vegetarian; he refuses to kill other fish
conflict of ideology
 The interjection yo in dubbed Italian
Yo: informal interjection → employed “in African-American usage as a greeting or in response to a greeting”
“an exclamation used to attract attention, to express warning, surprise… or to incite or encourage action”

principle of assimilation or accommodation

to interlocutor: when Oscar stars collaborating w/
Sykes, he adopts yo as an interjections (passage of
lang behaviour; way of signaling friendship).

Final scene
Happy ending: acceptance of the other
Sykes has adopted African-American culture
+ tries to teach Don Lino how to use yo
(mark of belonging to the community).

3. Anglicisms in dubbed tv series

• Diachronic approach → in order to verify whether more recent dubbed dialogues contain more direct Anglicisms
than older ones (amount of anglicisms was higher in recent products).
• Data from the following studies (that she consulted): — Meinero (2012); Calcagno (2014); Bassi (2016).
— Minutella (2015)
— Bruti & Pavesi (2008)

Comparison between Fame (1982) & Glee (2009)

Fame & Glee: compared 2 products w/ same topic (education setting) → 37 direct Anglicisms in Fame VS 142 in Glee.
in Fame : well-established ENG terms already present in ITA – bar, film, sport, dollaro (there is no equivalent).
in Glee : less common Anglicisms, not attested in ITA monolingual dictionaries – glee club, ballad, gay, cheerleader,
coach, musical, mash-up.

Main observations
• ENG loanwords are more frequent in recent TV series than in older ones (Meinero 2012; Calcagno 2014; Bassi 2016)
• They are often related to the setting & story → to better convey context-specific & cultural elements (Anglo-Am.)
• The most frequently employed direct Anglicism include:
1. discourse markers: okay & wow
2. field of technology – non-adapted: bluetooth, computer, drive, e-mail, hard drive, files, password, server, webcam.
– adapted: hackeraggio, criptato, decriptato, craccare.
– false anglicism: mail.
 Wow! : frequent primary interjection in (American) ENG (after oh, hey, huh) expressing the emotional involvement of
the speaker → “indicates that the speaker is surprised & impressed, perhaps even delighted” (also in negative sense)
it is attested in ITA monolingual dictionaries → GDU dates it back to 1959:
Treccani – “interiez. Voce onomatopeica, diffusa attraverso i fumetti e i telefilm per ragazzi, e adottata soprattutto nell’uso giovanile per
esprimere soddisfazione, entusiasmo, eccitazione intensa oppure un sentimento, per lo più positivo, di meraviglia o d’impressione.”
Minutella’s questions about wow → Do Italians use wow in spontaneous conversation?; Is wow a marker of dubbed?

Studies consulted (2 studies: by Bruti & Pavevi + by herself)

• Bruti & Pavesi (2008): » a corpus of dubbed ITA from American & British films (1996-2005) → wow is PRESENT
» Lessico di frequenza dell’italiano parlato – LIP (De Mauro et al., 1993) → NOT ATTESTED

• Minutella (2018): » Lessico dell’italiano televisivo – database (200 hours of audiovisual products aired on Italian televisions
in 2006) → wow is PRESENT (in the register we are targeting)
» Perugia Corpus (PEC) of spoken & written contemporary ITA (2014) → PRESENT (w/ high frequency)
some years later (after 2008), Minutella replicated the study using ≠ & more updated corpora
Due to exposure of audiovisual products, wow has entered the ITA language

To conclude (findings)
— A process of increasing Anglification, especially in dubbed TV series & peripheral elements such as titles
— The process is related to – Overt & covert prestige of the ENG language & Anglo-American culture
— The forces that influence the process are: Marketing & commercial factors linked to globalisation also play a role
— Spread of technology (technological development)
— Dubbese (esp. in pragmatic functions: discourse markers & interjections) seems to be affecting the way Italian speakers
speak (ITA lang is changing due to exposure to dubbed audiovisual products).

role of social media → ex. carry out study on TikTok: it is playing a similar role; influencing the way young ppl speak.
5/6 dicembre English-medied insuc in Italian univsies: Sandra campagna

A cuckoo nest scenario?

“The biggest challenge of the world today is English” (Linn 2015)
Language that holds a cultural capital → needs to be possessed as an ability
— School children: parental ambition (children soon invited to learn ENG) + requirement for entry into higher education
— Higher education: English-medium instruction in many disciplines (many contents) & countries
— Professions: ENG is indispensible for large businesses + small traders (e.g. tourism)
— (Private) language teaching: a big business
it all leads to booming of industry of language teaching → source of wealth for ENG speaking country

English-medium instruction (EMI)

Focus: tertiary education (ex. Uni level) in Europe & Italy → focus on the role of ENG in education
when we speak of EMI we refer to uni VS when ENG is implemented in secondary education it’s called CLIL

Why English in higher education? (What’s its role?) — increasingly used in:
» research & dissemination → need to establish an international research community
» internal & external communication (official communication of universities)
» teaching & supervision

The origins of emi – The drivers of EMI are:

1. Internationalization of higher education: unis are increasingly more connected to rest of the world
the Bologna Process: harmonisation of European higher education / common structural reforms / promotion of
international mobility (thanks to this we have Erasmus programs – allow students to travel across countries).
the “Bologna Declaration”: signed by the ministers of higher education from 29 European countries in June 1999
(stating that all unis in Europe would implement educational reforms to align themselves).

2. Globalization: (force that attracts students from outside Europe)

• to attracts foreign students from other continents (ex. African & Asian countries) for financial (positive impact for local
economies) & academic reasons.
• to prepare local students to compete on the global job market (make italian students more competitive) .

Reputation: world rankings

 Emi: threat or opportunity?
• Threat:
» ENG-only policies → fear of monolingual hegemony (worried ENG will become only 1 policy of education)
The Politecnico di Milano legal case: abandoned use of ITA all together in 2014 – creates a chaos; felt as an
imposition, they brought the case to court & won).
» ENG is not universally relevant
» ENG as a Lingua Franca is not a neutral means of communication → some groups have advantages from ENG and
others may be disadvantaged (ENG can reinforce some unbalanced power relations).
on the non-neutrality of ENG:
“Those who argue that English is now detached from its ancestral roots, and is ‘owned’ by all who use it, that English is free of its origins
and disconnected from the economic, political and military system that supports it, can be considered as seeing English as a lingua
nullius, a free-floating language whose expansion should be considered advantageous to all” (Phillipson, 2015, p. 23)

• Opportunity:
» if it accommodates w/ local (satisfy local needs), specific realities → ‘prevalence’ rather than ‘dominance’
“Locally appropriate solutions – English as opportunity rather than threat – can ensure that the increased use of English in new
territories, such as continental Europe, is additive rather than subtractive” (Phillipson, 2015, p. 29)

Cuckoos nest metaphor:

Cukoos “substitute their own eggs for those in place, and induce other species to take on the feeding & teaching processes” (Phillipson, 2008, p. 252).
cuckoos = ENG-speaking countries / Anglo-American culture
substitute their own eggs = ENG replaces ITA — language & educational values.
take on feeding & teaching process = use of local resources (financial, organisational, cultural) to reinforce global
status of ENG & power of ENG-speaking countries.
Activity 17
An introduction to EMI
a) Listen to this interview with Ernesto Macaro (Oxford University)
(https://soundcloud.com/british-council-southasia/episode-5-english-m
edium-instruction) [5:40-17:00] and answer the following questions.

1) What is EMI according to Macaro’s definition?

2) What are the two drivers of EMI in Macaro’s view?
3) Why do parents want their children to learn English at an early age?
4) What research evidence do we have so far about the language gains
offered by EMI?
5) What aspects contribute the most to EMI effectiveness?
6) What are the two main key messages for policy makers wishing to
implement EMI?
7) How should EMI lecturers/teachers be trained?

1
 Interview with Ernesto Macaro
1. What is EMI according to Macaro’s definition?
The use of ENG to teach academic subjects other than ENG in countries or jurisdictions where the 1st language of
majority of population is not ENG.

2. What are the 2 drives of EMI in Macaro’s view?

• Vertical driver (or pull) from universities – increasingly international = attracting foreign students.
This driver is also related to greater mobility of students (who enroll in foreign universities) + increasing use of ENG
as a Lingua Franca.
Offering courses in ENG gives prestige to universities, which in turn generates attractiveness for EMI among local
students. This way, a need is created for the use of ENG to teach disciplinary subjects (often as CLIL) in secondary schools.

• Horizontal driver: private schools advertise themselves as ENG-medium or ENG-only schools

that has an effect on state schools wishing to compete and retain high-quality students.

3. Why do parents want their children to learn ENG at an early age?

Because they believe that learning ENG at an early age will give them advantages in a globalized world.

4. What research evidence do we have so far about the language gains offered by EMI?
The studies available to date are based on teacher & student beliefs, BUT there is no empirical evidence that EMI improves
the ENG language proficiency of students.

5. What aspects contribute the most to EMI effectiveness?

» A sufficiently broad vocab knowledge (especially a passive 1) to adequately understand lectures & books in ENG.
» Interaction: designing (and participating in) interactive classes to enhance understanding.

6. What are the 2 main key messages for policy makers wishing to implement EMI?
— It is important to conduct an initial cost-benefit analysis to uncover potential benefits of implementing EMI (e.g.
increased ENG proficiency) + make sure there are no detrimental effects on content learning.
— Considering impact on local language – size of population speaking that lang does matter (The impact will be
bigger on small language communities).

7. How should EMI lecturers/teachers be trained?

They should undergo long-term professional development supported by language experts as well as content experts.
Training cannot be a top-down imposition → teachers should be involved + they should receive some form of
reward for engaging in EMI (because teaching through a foreign language is more demanding & time-consuming)
 Campagna’s study
Aim: to critically reflect on EMI policies in Northern Europe (Scandinavia) & Southern Eu (special reference to Italy).
to explore the bilingual education policy in place in the Nordic countries known as Parallel Language Use (PLU)
to reflect whether PLU can be sued as n European model to mitigate risk of linguistic & cultural dominance.

Parallel Language Use:

• 2007: official lang policy established w/ Declaration on a Nordic Language Policy signed by Nordic Council of Ministers
• To enhance student’s ability to use ENG and local language in parallel in their subjects (bilingualism)
• Against the risks of ‘domain loss’ (lose ability to fully express a range of meaning)
Phenomena where speakers lose proficiency or competence in specific linguistic domain
Technical vocabulary: if not used or practiced regularly
Academic & scientific register erosion (acquired only in ENG, lost in mother language)

PLU at universities – University of Copenhagen

Parallel Language Use: The use of parallel languages refers to a situation in which 2 languages are considered equal in a particular
domain, and where the choice of language depends on what is deemed most appropriate and efficient in a specific situation. (Copenhagen)

Principles inspiring Parallel Language Use

» Principle of addition & not subtraction: policy in favour of bilingualism → PLU covers the simultaneous use of 2 or
more languages within a certain domain. 1 lang will not displace the other but the languages are used parallel.
» Study programmes: academic literacy developed in both languages → teaching in scientific languages (in specific in
writing) should be offered in both ENG & Nordic languages. (its up to department to identify trajectories of learning)
» Medium of instruction based on needs: decision left to unis & professors → Unis should choose their teaching
languages based on principles of parallel language use & the “international classroom”

Interviews w/ EMI lecturers in Copenhagen: Do you have a language policy in class?

— “No. Well, when students come and ask me if they should write their bachelor in Danish or in English, I say: try and challenge yourself
and write in Danish because this will be the last time that you will write anything in Danish, whereas we often speak Danish with each other.
So it’s a good thing to make them think about this.” [Life Sciences – probably teaching medicine in ENG]

— “Not really, as I never teach in Danish. On very rare occasions I teach in Danish if it’s a small class, and all students are Danish” [Social
Sciences and Humanities]

— “I myself am very open to bilingualism, especially now that we do it in English, and two thirds of them are native Danish speakers, if I see
them struggle with the word, you know, I’d say it in Danish and then we’ll translate it.” (code-switching) [Social Sciences and Humanities]
 Historical & sociolinguistic differences
Campagna compares situation in Scandinavia & Italy → What has led to such flexibility and the PLU policy?
What is the situation in Italy?
Is there any place for such bilingual policy in Italy?

Scandinavia Italy

• In Scandinavia – since 1950s, ENG has been used... • 1950: less than 20% of Italian popul. spoke ITA in
— as a lang of research (materials in ENG) daily life → — large use of dialects
— as a lang of undergraduate reading — high rates of illiteracy (rural regions)
• An early development of EMI right after Bologna • In Italy EMI started slowly only after:
declaration (1999) [already had the right mindset] » Legge Moratti – fully implemented from 2010-11
• Practice has reached maturity – experience of pros & cons (education promoted 3I – inglese, informatica, impresa)
(already implemented strategy to face possible challenges) » Legge Gelmini – reform of uni system
• EMI: a recent phenomenon in rapid expansion

• 1990s: immigration → Transition from homogenous to • No official language policy in Italy

“il prevalente laissez faire è in larga misura legato al
multilingual/multicultural society
desiderio di rifuggire dalle politiche coercitive e dirigistiche
• Self-defensive protectionist policies: promotion of parallel
conosciute sotto il fascismo” (Mattarucco, 2020)
language use – official policy sanctioned by documentation
• No consolidated preference for bilingual orientation
• Scandinavian society: pride for high-level competence in ENG “language choices in higher education [are] connected with
• ENG used as a Lingua Franca (intelligibility is valued more what essentially remains a monolingual mindset” (Molino &
than accuracy – they need to be capable of mediating the info, Campagna, 2014, p. 169) – firm monolingual attitude
making themselves be understood) • Low(er) levels of competence in ENG
• Prevailing ENG native-speaker ideology (idea that
naive varieties are more prestigious – expectation of
becoming as proficient as native speaker)
Further issues
» Vagueness of policy documents: — Not clear which lang should be used for which purpose (open to interpretation)
— “Strategic ambiguity”: Flexibility of communication but difficult to regulate

» International students & lecturers: — issues of linguistic competence in ENG & local lang:
can they engage effectively in PLU?
— ethical concerns: is it fair for the international students who cannot use their L1?
 Teaching & learning issues
» Differences in learning strategies when changing from Swedish to ENG (Airey 2015)
— Lower levels of student classroom participation
— Students who take notes may have difficulties in following the lecture simultaneously
— Lectures risk becoming sessions for mechanical note- taking
— Success at exams means doing extra work outside class to make sense of notes

» Unclear guidelines for language support in both languages

concluding remarks
• PLU: an official policy to signal awareness that both ENG & national lang are at work within a given institution (EMI is
regarded as a model)
• Many issues deserve further attention: » Legislation & policy documents
» Lang competence levels
» Support
» Less ideological stance
6 dicembre Students’ Recep of EMI in Italian Univsies
Francesca Costa & Cristina Mariotti

EMI in Italy
• Most EMI programmes in Economics & Engineering EMI at Unito: list of courses offered
• Most courses at the graduate & doctoral levels https://en.unito.it/studying-unito/programs/degree-
• ENG-taught programmes mainly in Northern Italy. programs/degree-programs-english

Costa & Mariotti ’s study

Aim: to explore the opinions & experience of EMI students in Italy
Motivation: unexplored topic
Focus on: 1. students’ linguistic profile
2. their motivation for attending an EMI course
3. Students’ views on whether there is difference between learning subject-specific content in their L1 or ENG
4. their perceived improvement in both content & language

Methods: • Questionnaire: 17 closed, 4 open questions

• Sample: 160 students (129 Italians, 31 other nationalities)
• Disciplines: Economics (52 students) & Engineering (108 students)

Results
Profile of EMI Students in Italy:
» interested in the language although they are bound to become content specialists
» they have been abroad
» they had a positive experience of formal learning of the language
» they think they can read, listen, write & a bit less talk in ENG.

Motivation for attending an EMI course:

1. To learn the content better → 70-99% of ‘absolutely yes’ answers
2. To enhance language proficiency → 40-58% of ‘absolutely yes’ answers

Difference between learning subject-specific content in their L1 or in ENG:

» No differences
» Differences in lexis (as an advantage – some terminology is in ENG anyway)
» L2 makes it possible to focus on key concepts (prof cuts what is unnecessary = learning is more focused)
» Slower in L2 (as a positive aspect – slower pace)
» Future prospects
» More concentration / understanding less immediate (negative consequence – more concentration to understand)
Perceived improvement in both content & language:
» Students are generally convinced EMI works as regards the learning of the subject (satisfaction in content learning)
» If language learning occurs, it is more than anything in the area of vocabulary
» Speaking remains problematic

Study limitations & further research

• Unique exploration in Italy focusing on students (1st investigation on students’ opinions – large sample, but not huge)
• The study centers on understanding how students perceive EMI courses in their field & context
• Implications: — Students’ seeming lack of concern for content learning challenges worries about potential loss
— Important to actually measuring learning outcomes
— Enhancing students’ & lecturers’ lang-related skills through training can positiv. impact EMI courses.
TASK 3
35 minutes For 30 questions
 Lingua Inglese II
Alessandra Molino
alessandra.molino@unito.it
(A.Y. 2023-2024)

Task 4: guidelines for final essay

Task 4 is a short research report on a topic of your choice within Module 2 (Anglicisms in
general, in audiovisual products and EMI). You may write the essay individually or in pairs.

Types of projects

Type 1. Anglicisms in Italian over time and usage domains

Or in sistema bibliotecario di ateneo unito > dizionari Zanichelli online > visualizza adesso
Using Lo Zingarelli 2023 (https://www.ubidictionary.com/it/home), retrieve the Anglicisms recorded
within selected domains (direct and indirect) using the search term ‘ingl.’ (‘ricerca a tutto testo’).
Click on arrow , write ‘ingl’ (a tutto testo) search and there is list of anglicisms, select 20 anglicisms (according to field)

Analysis of selected items:

1. Check the etymology of each Anglicism, the date of first attestation and the field of usage;
2. Look them up in Il Ragazzini 2023 (https://www.ubidictionary.com/it/home) to check whether
they are also recorded in the bilingual dictionary. Identify a possible translation equivalents if
any and compare the definitions provided in the monolingual and bilingual dictionaries in terms
of content depth and breadth;
3. Check whether the selected Anglicisms are still in use (with that particular meaning) employing
the corpus Italian Web 2020 (itTenTen20, https://www.sketchengine.eu/) and reporting at least
one example;
4. Add any other relevant information.

Appendix:
Write a glossary including at least 20 of the entries found (per person).

Type 2. Anglicisms in audiovisual translation

Watch an audiovisual product originally broadcast or released in English and now available in Italy
through dubbing. Take notes of all the direct non-adapted Anglicisms that you can notice.

Possible audiovisual products:

● TV series (one or more episodes)
● Movies
● Documentaries

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Lingua Inglese II
Alessandra Molino
alessandra.molino@unito.it
(A.Y. 2023-2024)

Analysis of items:
1. Use the Oxford English Dictionary (OED, https://www.oed.com/) to check whether the Anglicisms
are recorded and what meaning they have in English;
2. Use Lo Zingarelli 2023 (https://www.ubidictionary.com/it/home) to check whether the Anglicisms
are recorded in Italian;
3. Use Il Ragazzini 2023 (https://www.ubidictionary.com/it/home) to check whether they are
included and to identify a possible translation equivalent;
4. Group the Anglicisms according to the domain of usage;
5. Comment on the reasons why, in your opinion, the Anglicisms were employed.
a. Take into account whether they are luxury or necessary loans;
b. Consider the airing date of your selected audiovisual product;
c. Examine the role of the target audience, the genre, the topic or the specific scene.

Appendix:
Write a glossary including ca. 15 Anglicisms (per person).

Type 3. The translation/adaptation of film titles Reflect and give explanation for the translation

Using the MYmovies.it database (https://www.mymovies.it/database/) you may retrieve the films
produced in a given genre and year (one or more years), find their original title in English and compare
the strategies adopted for their adaptation/translation (e.g. animated vs. fantasy films in 2020 or in
2000 vs. 2023). The inclusion of more fine-grained criteria is possible depending on your interests.

Analysis:
1. Comment on the Italian movie titles in detail, describing the strategy used and trying to explain
why that choice was made (consider date, target audience, genre and movie topic).

Appendix:

Include a Table with the original movie title in English, the Italian version and the adaptation strategy:
select a minimum of 10 representative titles (per person).

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Lingua Inglese II
Alessandra Molino
alessandra.molino@unito.it
(A.Y. 2023-2024)

Type 4. EMI: Attitudes and opinions

Using Google Forms (https://docs.google.com/forms/u/0/?tgif=c) create a questionnaire to explore the

attitudes to and opinions on EMI.

Target population:
● Friends/acquaintances/family members attending university;
● Friends/acquaintances/family members already on the job market;
● Friends/acquaintances/family members who are still in high school;

How many participants?

The more, the better!
Minimum 10 people

How to contact people:

● Via social media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)
● Via email, WhatsApp, ...

What to include in the questionnaire:

The choice of the specific questions will be evaluated as part of the assessment, as it reflects
your understanding of the issues related to EMI. However, you are required to fulfil the
following criteria in designing the questionnaire:

1. Profile of participants: Think about questions to better portray the target population (e.g.
age, discipline studied, type of job, educational qualifications, knowledge of English,
etc.). This information will allow you to make sense of the results. For instance, you may
want to verify whether there is a correlation between the degree course attended, age
or knowledge of English and the perception of EMI.

Number of questions: 2-5

2. Questions on EMI: One question that should be present regardless of the type of
participants is whether they are aware of the existence of EMI courses. You may also
ask them about the language competences they think EMI lecturers and students

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Lingua Inglese II
Alessandra Molino
alessandra.molino@unito.it
(A.Y. 2023-2024)

should have to succeed in EMI. Finally, you may inquire into the advantages and
disadvantages of EMI in their opinion.

The other questions will vary depending on the target population.

E.g.:
● University students: have you ever experienced attending a lecture in English?
How easy was it for you to understand the contents? Did you manage to take
notes effectively? How did you feel about asking/answering questions?
● Participants on the job market: Do you think EMI is an opportunity? Would
you have attended an EMI course? What do you think the advantages of EMI
are? What are the disadvantages?
● Future university students: Would you consider enrolling in an EMI course?
What skills would you need to have? How are you going to prepare for EMI?
Would you prefer an Italian-medium programme?

Number of questions: minimum 5

Types of questions:
You should have a mix of close-ended and open-ended questions. The close-ended questions
may be: 1) of the yes/no type; 2) they may use a 5-point Likert scale (Strongly disagree;
Disagree; Neither agree nor disagree; Agree; Strongly agree); 3) they may require participants to
choose among a range of options given.

Here you’ll find examples:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ipHTwZcPYYLCc90SPSoNTfpVN1ddfqFTkIeHI0N59jk/edit?usp
=sharing

Language:
You may write your questionnaire in Italian and/or any other language understood by the
respondents. Your report, however, will be in English.

Quantitative analysis (closed-ended questions):

Google Forms provides you with statistics and graphics related to the responses obtained. Your
task is to accurately describe them. If possible, try and formulate hypotheses about why you
obtained those answers.

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Lingua Inglese II
Alessandra Molino
alessandra.molino@unito.it
(A.Y. 2023-2024)

Qualitative analysis (open-ended questions):

Examine the answers received, trying to notice trends in them. Select representative answers to
cite in your report. If possible, try and formulate hypotheses about why you obtained those
answers.

Appendix: Report your survey questions.

If you wish to undertake a different project from the ones above, please write to
alessandra.molino@unito.it for approval.

Format

Text length and style (see Template)

➢ Whether you work individually or in pairs, each person should write around 1,000 words
(references and appendices excluded). Please, do not exceed the word limit given.
○ Single author: ca. 1,000 words
○ Two authors: ca. 2,000 words

➢ Set the page as follows:

Left margin: 3 cm
Right margin: 2 cm
Top margin: 2.5 cm
Bottom margin: 2 cm

➢ Use Times New Roman

pt. 16 for the title of your essay
pt. 14 for the main section headings
pt. 12 for subheadings and the main body of the text
pt. 11 for long quotations (more than 4 lines), footnotes and text in tables

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Lingua Inglese II
Alessandra Molino
alessandra.molino@unito.it
(A.Y. 2023-2024)

➢ Quotations in the text:

○ Short quotations (2-3 lines) should appear in the main body of the text; use rounded
double quotation marks (“ ”).

E.g.: Once Burge said of English: “Yes, English can be weird. It can be understood
through tough thorough thought, though” (2015, p. 18).

○ Longer quotations (above 3 lines) should have a line space before and after the
quotation; quotations should be full line without indenting left or right.

E.g.:

It is in the concluding paragraph of his Stanford speech that Steve Jobs made his
famous encouragement to young people:

"Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when
it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age.
On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country
road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous.
Beneath it were the words: “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” It was their farewell message as
they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And
now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.” (Steve Jobs, June 12, 2005,
Standford Commencement Address,
https://news.stanford.edu/2005/06/14/jobs-061505/)

➢ Tables and figures:

Information presented in rows and columns should be labelled as “Tables” and numbered
consecutively.

Graphs, screenshots, images should be labelled as “Figures” and numbered consecutively. A brief
caption of the figure is to be added above it.

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Lingua Inglese II
Alessandra Molino
alessandra.molino@unito.it
(A.Y. 2023-2024)

Structure

Essay title

Choose an informative title including important key words. The title should be short and concise. Any
details should go in the subtitle.

E.g.

Anglicisms in the field of the automotive industry over the centuries

The adaptation of film titles from English to Italian: what changed between 1960 and 2020?

What do you think about EMI? A comparison of the opinions of students and workers

Introduction

The introduction should provide a background to your analysis. Here, you may draw from the course
reading materials for the definition of theoretical concepts, and you may present the specific situation
or phenomenon that you are investigating. The introduction should explicitly describe what the aim of
your analysis is. You can formulate it as a research question, a hypothesis or a research goal.

E.g.

● Is there any difference in the number and usage domain of direct Anglicisms in the Italian
dubbed versions of Fame and Glee?

● The aim of this essay is to analyse how the Italian dubbed versions of Fame and Glee differ in
the number and usage domain of direct Anglicisms.

● The hypothesis put forward in this essay is that the number and range of direct Anglicisms is
higher in Glee than Fame.

Body of the text

The body of your essay should be organised logically in a way that allows you to answer your RQ.
Depending on the content, the body will be a single section or be divided into subsections with ad hoc
subheadings.

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Lingua Inglese II
Alessandra Molino
alessandra.molino@unito.it
(A.Y. 2023-2024)

Conclusion

In the Conclusion, you should answer the RQ posed in the introduction; confirm/disconfirm your
hypothesis; or say whether you managed to meet your goals and what you found.

You may also identify unresolved issues as well as lines for further inquiry.

References

➢ Report the full reference to the sources consulted, and the websites mentioned in your essay
(see Template)

Submission

Please submit:
➢ an electronic version (*.doc or *.docx);
➢ a PDF version of the essay.
Upload your files on Moodle using the application “Task 4: Final essay”.