Specialized texts
• How do we identify them?
– External parameters (elements of the
communication process)
– Internal parameters (formal structure; knowledge
structure; linguistic structure)
External Parameters
• A specialized text must be written by a
specialist
• Those who want to translate specialized texts
should get familiar with their specialized
context, and should know the domain
conventions and lexical/structural peculiarities
Internal Parameters
• Formal structure
• Knowledge structure
• Linguistic structure:
•
•
•
•
Morphological level
Lexical level
Syntactic level
Textual level
• Specialized texts are precise, more concise, and more
systematic.
• Precision is a discreet feature. Only experts can
control it.
Modality and Scientific Discourse
•
•
Modality concerns with the speaker’s
assumptions or assessment of possibilities;
It indicates the degree of confidence (or lack
of confidence) the speaker has in his/her
statement.
• Modality is “matter of knowledge, belief or
opinion rather than fact”.
• Modality is to be interpreted as “showing the
status of the speaker’s understanding or
knowledge.”
• Strong, weak, and intermediate modality
Hedging
• “absence of certainty”,
• the “lack of commitment to the truth value of
a given proposition”,
• the desire not to be too categorical.
How to detect hedging in scientific
discourse?
• by surface textual features
– Cognitive verbs
– Lexical modifiers (verbs, adjectives, etc.)
– Adverbial forms, etc.
EATING DISORDERS
Disorder (med.): disturbo, indisposizione, malattia, male (liver d. mal di
fegato; mental d. disturbo psichico,mentale)
Eating disorders: disturbi alimentari
Treatment: terapia, cura, cure
Long-term treatment: terapia a lungo termine
Which include: tra cui (che includono)
Severe: grave
To diagnose: diagnosticare
To treat: curare
Recovery: guarigione
Incidence: incidenza
May be increasing: sembra in aumento, è apparentemente in aumento
Impulsive: impulsivo
at high risk: a rischio elevato
substance: sostanza (chimica)/farmaco
abuse: abuso
co-occurring: concomitante
EATING DISORDERS
Eating disorders often are chronic in nature
and, as a result, may require long-term
treatment. The medical consequences of
anorexia, which include death in about 10
percent of the cases, usually are more severe
than bulimia. The earlier these disorders are
diagnosed and treated, the better the
prospects are for full recovery.
Statistics show 95 percent of those who have
eating disorders are women between the ages
of 12 and 25. However, the incidence of eating
disorders among people who are older and
men may be increasing. Studies have found
that women who have bulimia nervosa are
often impulsive and are at high risk for other
disorders such as substance abuse.
Many people with eating disorders also
appear to have co-occurring depression.
to starve to death: morire di fame
to exercise: allenarsi
to gorge: ingozzarsi, rimpinzarsi
to make someone vomit: indurre il vomito
laxatives: lassativi
diuretics: diuretici
to purge: purificare, purgare
binge: abbuffata (binge eating: attacco bulimico)
binge/purge cycle: ciclo binge-purge
preoccupation with weight: l’assillo del peso
trait: tratto, caratteristica
Symptoms
Anorexia nervosa
People who have this disorder often develop
elaborate rituals around food, continue to lose
weight, and can literally starve themselves to death.
They also may exercise excessively.
Bulimia nervosa
Those who have bulimia gorge themselves, then
almost immediately make themselves vomit or use
laxatives or diuretics to purge their bodies of food.
This often is referred to as the “binge/purge” cycle.
Preoccupation with weight is a primary trait of both
disorders.