a.a. 2010-2011 – II semestre
Lingua e traduzione inglese II
modulo A:
LINGUA E TRADUZIONE
TURISTICA
Dott.ssa Chiara Carlini
E-mail: [email protected]
Lezioni settimanali II semestre: Martedì 10-13 15-18
Ricevimenti settimanali II semestre: Martedì 14-15
Pagina docente: http://docenti.unimc.it/docenti/chiara-carlini
Lingua e traduzione inglese II - modulo A
Lingua e traduzione turistica
 PREREQUISITI
Aver superato l’esame del corso di Lingua e traduzione
Lingua inglese I.
 OBIETTIVI FORMATIVI
Il modulo intende fornire agli studenti gli strumenti linguistici,
analitici e traduttivi necessari per poter affrontare testi
attinenti all’ambito turistico.
Lingua e traduzione inglese II - modulo A
Lingua e traduzione turistica
 PROGRAMMA DEL CORSO
Il modulo si propone di favorire l’acquisizione degli strumenti linguistici,
analitici e traduttivi necessari ad affrontare dal punto di vista lessicale,
sintattico e stilistico varie tipologie di testi turistici in lingua inglese. Le
esercitazioni permetteranno agli studenti di acquisire familiarità con il
lessico, la struttura e la sintassi di tali testi e di elaborare adeguate
tecniche per un’appropriata resa in lingua italiana. Verrà inoltre sviluppata
la capacità di produrre testi pragmaticamente efficaci.
Nello specifico, durante le lezioni frontali verranno approfondite varie
tematiche linguistiche relative alle tipologie testuali di ambito turistico,
prevedendo la partecipazione attiva degli studenti all’analisi e alla
discussione di materiali autentici. Le lezioni saranno basate su
esercitazioni pratiche, individuali o a gruppi.
L’esame di fine corso consisterà nella traduzione verso l’italiano di testi
appartenenti alle tipologie affrontate durante il modulo.
Lingua e traduzione inglese II - modulo A
Lingua e traduzione turistica
 TESTI (A)DOTTATI, (C)ONSIGLIATI
1. (A) S. Bassnet La traduzione. Teorie e pratica Bompiani
1993
2. (C) M. Jacob & P. Strutt English for International Tourism:
Upper Intermediate Level – Students’ Book and Workbook
Longman 1997
3. (C) S. Laviosa & V. Cleverton Learning by Translating
Edizioni dal sud 2003
Tourist texts consist of a variety of
publications produced by:
 Tourist Boards
 City councils
 Private enterprises
to promote a given locality, its tourist attractions,
services and facilities.
They may be sent abroad or made available in the
host countries.
Examples of tourist publications:
 Visitor guides available in booklet and brochure format
 Multilingual and monolingual magazines
 Periodicals and leaflets giving information about
cultural events and describing places of historical, artistic
and geographical interest
 Flyers advertising trips and events
 Posters advertising events and artistic performances
 Descriptive panels placed near monuments, areas of
geographical interest or places of worship
Tourist texts fulfil two communicative
functions:
 Informative
 Appellative
 In the translation of INFORMATIVE texts […] the aim is
invariance of content and the translation is deemed
successful if the information has been transmitted in full.
 The translation of APPELLATIVE or operative texts
types […] aims to provoke in the target readers identical
behavioural reactions to those of the reader of the source
text and the translation method called for is
ADAPTATION.
Routledge encyclopedia of translation studies
edited by Mona Baker, assisted by Kirsten Malmkjaer
London/New York: Routledge, 2001
p. 116
Language domains:









Architecture
History of art
History
Geography
Gastronomy
Economy
Sports
Customs and traditions
Music and dance
Some English and Italian
sub-genres differ significantly with
regard to CONTENT and STYLE
CONTENT
ENGLISH VISITOR
GUIDES
include information on:
 places of cultural and
historical interest
 shopping facilities
 car and street parking
 bus, coach and train
services
ITALIAN VISITOR
GUIDES
focus mainly on:
 art
 architecture
 history
 gastronomy
GLOSSY PICTURES AND
PHOTOGRAPHS
STYLE
ENGLISH TOURIST
LANGUAGE
 personal and informal style:
imperatives used to invite the
reader to visit, explore and enjoy
the attractions of a given town,
city or village
 Impersonal: passive
constructions
ITALIAN TOURIST
LANGUAGE
 impersonal and formal style,
often rendered by passive
constructions.
 personal style reserved to texts
with a dominant appellative
function and even then, the
reader is usually addressed in
the formal second person plural
pronoun “Voi” or in the first
person plural pronoun “Noi”
 florid descriptions and
evocative, figurative language
Examples of agentless passive clauses
taken from an Italian visitor guide
 (…) la tranquillità è garantita a chi la cerca
tra pinete e ville (…).
 Tutto questo è ben protetto e ben dotato di
attrezzature ricettive.
 L’Abruzzo è mille altre cose che però non si
possono né scrivere e neppure raccontare,
ma vivere e credere.
from “Viaggio in Abruzzo”
Examples of appellative imperatives
taken from an Italian tourist brochure:
 Pensate alle Terre di Siena e dimenticatevi
tutto il resto.
 Lasciatevi catturare dall’essenza di questa
terra (…).
 Preparatevi ad una sensazione di
benessere (…).
Examples of appellative imperatives
taken from an Italian tourist brochure:
 Apprestiamoci a visitare quei monumenti e
quei palazzi che custodiscono il segreto dei
secoli passati.
 Giunti a piazza Nettuno possiamo notare al
centro la fontana con l'imponente statua del
Nettuno, il dio marino, nell'atto di placare i
flutti del mare.
Examples of appellative imperatives
taken from English tourist brochures and
leaflets
 Share with us the legacy of ancient people.
 See the remarkable Iron Bridge itself and
explore seven museums.
 Travel from the small seaside town of Tywyn
through the beautiful scenery of Snowdonia
National Park.
Examples of passive constructions taken
from an English Visitor Guide
 Sites which feature in the Chronicles can be
discovered all around Shewsbury – like
Shewsbury Castle and St. Mary’s Church.
 Great outdoor activities can be enjoyed
across Angus and Dundee with golf, fishing,
birdwatching, and other outdoor pursuits.
Examples of florid descriptions and
evocative, figurative language
Terra di conquista, terra che conquista, da
sempre nel Mediterraneo angiporto e landa
ospitale, preludio d’Oriente e sintesi di
religioni, di pelli, di dialetti, e di diversità, il
Salento è sempre più metafora di una felice
adesione della storia e della natura alle
esigenze e ai desideri del viaggiatore.
TRANSLATING TOURIST TEXTS
FROM ENGLISH INTO ITALIAN
IMPERATIVES
 Visit a truly unique
Scottish destination.
 Share with us the
legacy of ancient
peoples.
 Absorb dramatic and
breath-taking scenery.
IMPERSONAL
EXPRESSIONS
 La Scozia è una meta
veramente unica.
 Qui è possibile
condividere l’eredità
degli antichi popoli.
 In Scozia è possibile
ammirare scenari
maestosi e mozzafiato.
TRANSLATIONS OF
CULTURE-BOUND WORDS
 MONUMENTS
Westminster Bridge
The Tower of London
Il Ponte di Westminster
La Torre di Londra
 MUSEUMS
National Museum of
Scotland
Museo Nazionale Scozzese
 PLACES OF WORSHIP AND HISTORICAL
INTEREST
St Alfege’s Church
Glamis Castle
La Chiesa di St Alfege
Il Castello di Glamis
the
THEMATISATION OF
PLACE AND TIME ADVERBIALS
is a textual feature common to both English
and Italian geographical and historical
descriptions
of local beauty spots contained in tourist
guides
TYPICAL STRUCTURE OF AN
ENGLISH DECLARATIVE CLAUSE
THEME:
the starting point of the communication chosen by the
speaker/writer. The theme is what the clause is about.
RHEME:
the remaining part which develops the theme. The rheme is
what the speaker says about the theme. It is the
communicative goal of a clause because it represents the
very information that the speaker/writer wants to convey to
the hearer/reader. The rheme fulfils the communicative
purpose of an utterance.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF THEME
different information focus
The theme-rheme organization and the information
structure of a sentence are semantically
interconnected. In the normal case, the speaker
chooses the theme from what is given in a communication,
i.e. from the parts of a communication which the hearer can
reconstruct and which are accessible in his store of
knowledge. The speaker also places the emphasis, or
information focus, of his communication on the part reserved
for the communicationally-new, i.e. positionally for the rheme.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF THEME
different information focus
 A halfpenny is the smallest English coin
THEME
RHEME
(I will tell you about a halfpenny)
 The smallest English coin is a halfpenny
THEME
RHEME
(I will tell you about the smallest English coin)
ENGLISH LANGUAGE FEATURES
English has a fairly fixed word order:
Subject + Verb + Object/Complement + Adverbial
THEME
You
RHEME
will discover the magnificent west front
of the Holy Trinity Church within a short
stroll
ENGLISH LANGUAGE FEATURES
THEMATISATION (OR FRONTING) OF:
 PLACE AND TIME ADVERBIALS (slightly
marked)
 OBJECT OR COMPLEMENT (highly
marked)
THEMATISATION OF
PLACE AND TIME ADVERBIALS
(slightly marked)
Fronted adverbials fulfil two textual functions:
 They act as points of orientation by
connecting back to previous stretches of
text.
 They act as points of departure by
connecting forward and contributing to the
development of later stretches.
(Baker 1992)
THEMATISATION OF
PLACE AND TIME ADVERBIALS
(slightly marked)
 Downstream is a valley of pleasant
meadows and wooded banks.
 In the space of a few miles you can find not
only one of our leading stately homes, but
also major collections of historic aircraft and
cars.
 On Christmas day, 1066, William, Duke of
Normandy, was crowned in Westminster
Abbey.
THEMATISATION OF
OBJECT OR COMPLEMENT
(highly marked)
PREFERRED STRUCTURE (UNMARKED
THEME):
The part of Montepulciano that has developed
outside the city walls ever since the 15th century is
well worth a visit.
MARKED STRUCTURE:
Well worth a visit is the part of Montepulciano that
has developed outside the city walls ever since the
15th century.
PREDICATED THEMES
A highly marked structure in English declarative
clauses is produced with predicated themes.
Predicating a theme involves using an it- structure
(or a cleft structure) in order to place a given element
of a clause near the beginning.
The theme of a cleft clause is the element which
occurs after the verb to be. Like all marked themes,
predicated themes often imply contrast. Another
important function of predicated themes is to signal
information structure by presenting the element
following it + BE in the main clause as the new
information.
EXAMPLES OF CLEFT
STRUCTURES
 It was the first race between the Universities of
Oxford and Cambridge that took place in 1829 at
Henley.
 It was between the Universities of Oxford and
Cambridge that the first race took place in 1829 at
Henley.
 It was in 1829 that the first race between the
Universities of Oxford and Cambridge took place
at Henley.
 It was at Henley that the first race between the
Universities of Oxford and Cambridge took place
in 1829.
ITALIAN LANGUAGE FEATURES
THEMATISATION (FRONTING) OF:
 PLACE AND TIME ADVERBIALS
Nei pressi di Codroipo ci accoglie la residenza
dell’ultimo doge veneziano, Ludovico Manin.
Nel 421 a.C., l’intera zona flegrea cadde sotto il dominio
delle popolazioni campane.
ITALIAN LANGUAGE FEATURES
THEMATISATION (FRONTING) OF:
 OBJECT AND COMPLEMENT
Un occhio di riguardo merita anche la Montepulciano
sviluppatasi fuori dalle mura già a partire dal ‘400.
Di notevole importanza naturalistico-ambientale è il lago di
Montepulciano.
The thematisation of
 PLACE AND TIME ADVERBIALS
 OBJECT AND COMPLEMENT
can be reproduced naturally in Italian, so that
it will be possible to maintain the same point
of orientation in the target text
HOLIDAY BROCHURES
Usually published by travel agencies,
sometimes in cooperation with local
authorities and tourist boards, they give
information about holiday packages
HOLIDAY BROCHURES
include:
 illustrations and descriptions of towns,
villages, local attractions
 information on accommodation
 indoor and outdoor activities
trekking, walking, mountain biking,
railway trips on scenic routes,
often with expert guides and skilled instructors
 guided tours and itineraries
ENGLISH LANGUAGE FEATURES
FRONTED NON-FINITE TEMPORAL CLAUSES
-ING FORM
PREP. +
-ING FORM
 Starting at sea-level at
Llandudno, this single track line
winds and climbs its way up the
beautiful Conwy and Lledr
valleys.
 After leaving the historic town of
Shrewsbury, with its castle and
Elizabethan houses, the train
passes through Church Stretton
before turning south-west and
crossing the river Theme into
Wales.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE FEATURES
FRONTED NON-FINITE TEMPORAL CLAUSES
AS + SUBJECT +
PRESENT TENSE
 As the visitor nears the
end of the VeniceTrieste motorway, after
many kilometers of flat
terrain the landscape
suddenly changes.
ITALIAN LANGUAGE FEATURES
FRONTED NON-FINITE TEMPORAL CLAUSES
PAST
PARTICIPLE
PREP. +
INFINITIVE
GERUND
Lasciata Sassari, si prosegue verso Osilo
ammirando massicci calcarei a strapiombo.
Prima di far tappa a Tempio arriviamo a Bortigiadis.
Partendo dalla stazione di San Benedetto del
Tronto e costeggiando il litorale adriatico si transita
per Pescara.
FRONTED ADVERBIALS
 On the left before Piazza
della Borsa is the great
square building called the
Tergesteo.
 Sulla sinistra, prima di
giungere in Piazza della
Borsa si incontra il grande
edificio quadrato del
Tergesteo.
 Opposite the Old Stock
Exchange the green
building of the Casa Bartoli
houses shops and flats.
 Di fronte alla Borsa
Vecchia l’edificio verde
Casa Bartoli, che si
configura come unità
commerciale e abitativa.
FRONTED COMPLEMENTS
 Worthy of note are the
fountains decorated
with statues by
Giuseppe Pokorny and
Ugo Hardtl.
 Degne di nota sono le
belle fontane con
sculture di Giuseppe
Pokorny e Ugo Hardtl.
FROM SUBJECTS TO COMPLEMENTS
 The richly decorated
exterior contrasts with
a soberly functional
interior, designed by
the architect Geiringer.
 Alla ricchezza
decorativa esterna fa
da contraltare l’interno
sobrio e funzionale
dettato dall’architetto
Geiringer.
FROM SUBJECTS TO ADVERBIALS
 Palazzo Dreher stands at
the beginning of Via Cassa
di Risparmio.
 Da Palazzo Dreher si
diparte via Cassa di
Risparmio.
 The triangle marked out by
these buildings contains a
column surmounted by a
bronze statue of Habsburg
Emperor Leopold I.
 Nello spazio triangolare
definito da questi edifici è
inserita la colonna
sormontata dalla statua
bronzea che ritrae
Leopoldo I d’Asburgo.
OBJECTS:
FROM FRONTED TO UNMARKED
POSITION
 The castle owes its
charm to the white
Istrian stone it is built
with.
 Gran parte del suo
fascino il castello lo
deve al biancore della
pietra bianca d’Istria
con la quale è stato
realizzato.
FROM PERSONAL TO
IMPERSONAL STYLE
 To describe the
Triestine Carso we
need only say that it is
a unique territory,
without equal in
Europe, a land of
charm and mystery
shrouded in fantasy
and myth.
 Per descrivere il Carso
triestino è sufficiente
affermare che è un
territorio unico, senza
uguali in Europa, un
territorio di fascino e di
mistero, sospeso tra la
fantasia e il mito.
FROM PERSONAL TO
IMPERSONAL STYLE
 In the summer, Viale
XX Settembre offers a
pleasant environment
for walkers to linger at
the tables placed
outside between the
rows of trees.
 D’estate è piacevole
sostare ai tavolini
all’aperto inseriti tra la
doppia fila di alberi del
Viale XX Settembre.
FROM PERSONAL TO
IMPERSONAL STYLE
 What awaits us at the
bottom? A onceploughed patch of
grass, a chaotic mass
of stones, or a cave
whose gaping
entrance invites our
hesitant steps to
venture inside.
 Cosa ci sarà sul
fondo? Un praticello un
tempo coltivato, un
ammasso di pietre o
una grotta che
spalanca il suo
ingresso invitando il
passo esitante a
entrare.
THE “PASSIVE SI”
 Departure leaves the
guest with a feeling of
regret, a delicate
nostalgia.
 Further up Via Mazzini
is the junction with Via
Imbriani, along which
is the Morpurgo
Museum.
 Allontanandosi da
questi luoghi, non ci si
può impedire di
provare un rimpianto,
una delicata nostalgia.
 Salendo lungo la via
Mazzini si incrocia la
via Imbriani in cui trova
sede il Museo
Morpurgo.
HISTORICAL-ARCHITECTURAL
DESCRIPTION
 illustrated with pictures and photographs of
notable monuments and buildings
 communicative function: INFORMATIVE
 rhetorical functions: NARRATIVE and
DESCRIPTIVE
 archaic and literary CITATIONS: unusual (or
marked) collocation or unusual metaphor
tension between ACCURACY OF MEANING and
NATURALNESS
HISTORICAL
DESCRIPTIONS
ENGLISH LANGUAGE
FEATURES
ITALIAN LANGUAGE
FEATURES
 USE OF SIMPLE PAST
 USE OF “PASSATO REMOTO”
The name of this splendid bay is
Il nome di questa splendida
linked to the legendary Ulisse who
insenatura è legato al
buried his companion Bajos here.
leggendario Ulisse che qui
seppellì il suo compagno
Bajos.
 USE OF “PRESENTE
STORICO”
Ma il dardo sibilante tra i rami
But the whizzing arrow became
all’improvviso si blocca e
suddenly entangled in the branches
cade innocuo ai piedi del
and fell at the Saint’s feet.
Santo.
DESCRIPTION OF A PLACE OF
WORSHIP
descriptions of chapels, churches, abbeys,
cathedrals, often printed in multilingual
leaflets on display in the place of worship
itself or the church shop
DESCRIPTION OF A PLACE OF
WORSHIP
They usually include:
 history of the building narrative rhetorical function
 description of its architectural features
illustrated by a drawing of the plan
 times and days of worship
 contact numbers
 programmes of artistic and charity events
DESCRIPTION OF A PLACE OF
WORSHIP
 linear and paratactic syntax, fairly short
sentences
 use of simple past, “used to…”, present
tense
translated either with the imperfect or the
simple past
DESCRIPTION OF A PLACE OF
WORSHIP
 From this point the
 Da questo punto la
Romanesque church
chiesa romanica si
extended for 60 metres
estendeva ancora per
to the east. It was
60 metri, ma nel 1540
destroyed by Henry
questa parte venne
VIII in 1540. Three
distrutta da Enrico VIII.
walls used to close the
Gli archi orientali erano
eastern arches.
chiusi da tre muri.
WORKING WITH LANGUAGE
SOURCE TEXT
 SYNTACTIC
RESTRUCTURING
 LEXICAL
SEMPLIFICATION
 STYLISTIC
ADJUSTEMENTS
 CULTURAL
ADAPTATION
TARGET TEXT
 ACCURACY
 COMPLETENESS
 CONSISTENCY
 FLUENCY
 ACCEPTABILITY for the
communicative situation
it is intended for