L0866 - LANGUAGE, MEDIATION AND TRANSLATION FROM ITALIAN INTO ENGLISH AND FROM ENGLISH INTO ITALIAN

courses

ID:

L0866

Duration (hours):

78

CFU:

SSD:

LINGUA E TRADUZIONE - LINGUA INGLESE

Located in:

PESCARA

Url:

Course Details:

LINGUISTIC MEDIATION AND INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION/CORSO GENERICO Year: 3

Year:

2025

Course Catalogue:

https://unich.coursecatalogue.cineca.it/af/2025?co...

Date/time interval

Annuale (03/10/2025 - 31/05/2026)

Course Objectives

In line with the CdS purposes, its professional profiles and employment opportunities, the course provides students with tools and methodologies enabling them to perform translation, interpreting and intercultural mediation tasks and to produce written texts in a foreign language.

The linguistic mediation module will focus on selective listening in order to increase student’s ability to concentrate and memorise and summarise information. Attention is also given to improving the production and reproduction of oral texts in both languages - in particular in relation to lexical variety and voice projection (adequate intonation), and the main features of speech and mediated speech.

EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students are expected to achieve a B2+ Level in the English Language, according to the European Framework of Reference for Languages. Furthermore, they must acquire the necessary linguistic and communicative skills, and be familiar with the key issues related to intercultural and interlingual mediation in different contexts. They will have to apply translation strategies in texts of different typologies, demonstrate competence in contrastive analysis and metalinguistic awareness.

Course Prerequisites

Students are required to have knowledge of English at B2 Level, according to the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages), in order to understand and assimilate the concepts introduced during the course.

In order to undertake the exam, students must have passed the English Language and Translation exam (2nd year) and English Mediation I.

Teaching Methods

The course includes the following activities:

1) Mediation classes (Module 2 ) held by Dr. Lia D'Antonio starting from October 2025
2) Lectures held by professor Emanuela Ettorre (Module 1) starting from January 2026

3) Teaching activities organized by the CEL of the University Language Centre (Dr. Jennifer Barbacane, Dr. Emma Booth and Dr. Mario Milione), based on oral and written skills.

It is highly recommended to attend the CEL classes in order to achieve the language proficiency levels set by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The final exams with the CEL (both written and oral) will take place concurrently with the language exams held by the professor.

All information regarding class schedules, exam procedures, and CEL office hours can be found on the University Language Centre’s website.

Assessment Methods

EXAM ORGANISATION

The final exam consists of a written test and of an oral one. The written part of the Language and Translation Module is structured as follows:

1) Translation of two brief literary texts, one from Italian into English and the other from English into Italian;

2) Open questions concerning the comprehension and linguistic analysis of a text belonging to one of the discourse types considered during the course.

3)Mediation module: exam consisting of a listening comprehension test and dialogue interpreting (from or into English).

4)Test of analytical skills, understanding and use of English at a B2+ level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) with the CEL.

METHODS OF ASSESSMENT

The written test is to be assessed in thirtieths, and the results will be published on the Department website. The final mark will be given after an oral test, to be taken in English, on the subject discussed during the course. To access the final oral test students must have passed the written exam. Online registration is mandatory for both tests (via the ESSE 3 online platform).
Written tests are held on a regular basis only once for each exam session; oral tests take place twice for each of the three sessions (summer, autumn, additional). Students who reach a solid linguistic and metalinguistic competence will obtain an excellent evaluation.

Texts

LANGUAGE AND TRANSLATION MODULE:
Meriel Bloor and Thomas Bloor, The Practice of Critical Discourse Analysis: An Introduction, London and New York, Routledge, 2007, chapters 1, 2.
Elena Semino, “‘Not soldiers, but firefighters’: Metaphors and Covid-19”, Health Communication, vol. 36, no. 1, pp. 50-58. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2020.1844989
Arran Stibbe, Ecolinguistics: Language, Ecology and the Stories We Live By, 2nd ed., London and New York, Routledge, 2021, chapters 2, 4, 5.
Paola Faini, Tradurre. Manuale teorico e pratico, Carocci, 2008, chapters 4, 5, 6
A file containing the chapters and articles listed above will be provided at the beginning of the course. Further material related to translation will also be provided during the course.

Oxford Collocations Dictionary, Oxford University Press;
Non attending students are invited to add the following text: Jean Delisle, Hannelore Lee-Jahnke, M.C. Cormier, Translation Terminology (ed. it. Terminologia della traduzione, a cura di Margherita Ulrych, Hoepli, Milano, 2002);

LINGUISTIC MEDIATION MODULE:
Texts to be used for listening and memory exercises and for vocabulary development to be completed as self-study preparation towards the written and oral exams:

Kennedy C.; Salandyk W.; Cowan A., Talent 3. Student’s Book/Workbook + eBook + webapp (B2), Cambridge University Press.
Badocco, L. (2006) “Dire, fare, tradurre. Terminologie tecniche per la mediazione linguistica. Inglese-italiano”, Hoepli.

Materials made available in digital format on Teams, Ricevimento Team (tutoring team) (folders Condivisioni -> 2025-2026 - > Materiale orale) to be used for the oral exam:

Dignen B., “Different Approaches to International Negotiating”, Business Spotlight, Volume 6 (2007), p. 67-70
Hof M. R. “Confessions of a Conference Interpreter”, aiic.net. September 20, 2011.
Mannix, K. (2022) “Listen : How to Find the Words for Tender Conversations”, William Collins, p. 63-73, 75-91, 221-238
Sandrelli, A. (2000) “Doppiaggio e sottotitolazione: il caso dei Fratelli Marx”. In C. Taylor (ed.) Tradurre il cinema, Trieste, DISLIT: p. 101-115.
Wadensjö, C. (2002) “The Double Role of a Dialogue Interpreter”, in F. Pöchhacker (ed), The Interpreting Studies Reader, London/New York, Routledge, p. 354-371.

The folder “2025-2026” also contains the texts with the exercises carried out in class.

MODULE 1 (7 CFU): LANGUAGE AND TRANSLATION [Prof.ssa Emanuela Ettorre]

This module offers an introduction to the theoretical framework of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and provides with some essential tools for investigating the relationship between language and ideology. Students will learn how to analyse a wide range of texts and domains, encompassing political discourse, news discourse, literature, advertising, and environmental communication. The latter will be looked at through the perspective of ecolinguistics, which is aimed at identifying and evaluating linguistic uses that result in negative or positive representations of the human/nature relation. Particular attention will be devoted to understanding metaphors and their pragmatic and textual functions in the different kinds of discourses considered.

Furthermore, this module aims to introduce students to some of the key concepts of translation theory (equivalence, functionalist and descriptive approaches, translation and culture). Students will be shown how to apply translation strategies, instrument and resources in translating literary texts from English into Italian and from Italian into English.

MODULE 2 (6CFU): LINGUISTIC MEDIATION [Dott.ssa Lia D'Antonio]
The module will comprise simulations of triadic exchanges characterising everyday private and professional contexts. Vocabulary development exercises will also address these contexts, including ethical considerations regarding the interpreter’s role. Exercises will also focus on oral production during presentations and speeches. Guidance on note-taking will be provided. Lessons will consist of various exercises, in pairs and small groups, primarily involving dialogue, role-playing, and debates. For the purposes of the written and oral exams, the topics covered include politics, sociology, commerce/economics, and tourism.