Lingua Inglese 3 2011/2012

LINGUA INGLESE  III – LINFO

SSD. L-LIN/12 Lingue e traduzione-lingua inglese

a.a. 2011-2012

L. 270

(CFU 12; Ore di lezione frontale  60 ore)

Prof.  DIANE PONTEROTTO

Title:  Current topics in English Linguistics

The course is divided into two parts (A & B)corresponding to the two semesters and focuses on both linguistic theory and advanced communicative competence. Students engage in  empirical and textual analyses and applications related to the theoretical topics presented in the lectures. The course also aims at an in-depth knowledge and appropriate use of general and specialized vocabulary. In addition to the chosen scientific texts, assignments also include reading of contemporary texts (novels, newspapers, internet texts etc.)

Semester I - A : Current topics in English Linguistics: Introduction

In semester I, students are introduced to the basic objectives and methodologies of some current trends in linguistics (Cognitive Linguistics, Corpus Linguistics and Discourse Analysis) applied to the description of English.

Semester II- B: Current topics in English Linguistics: Applications

In semester II, some nodal questions in the scientific description of English are addressed, using the methodological tools introduced in the first part of the course. The course  pays  specific attention to:

·        specialized texts, with particular emphasis on the role of ideological meaning-making

·        corpus-assisted analysis of language structure and discourse use.

·        the question of figurative language and problems concerning Conceptual Metaphor Theory

·        related considerations on the cross-cultural/cross-linguistic differences between  English and Italian

Required Reading

Linguistic Theory.

1. Kövesces, Zoltán. 1990. Metaphor: a practical introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

2.McCarthy, Michael. 1991. Discourse Analysis for Language Teachers. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

3. Baker, Paul. 2006. Using Corpora in Discourse Analysis. London/NewYork: Continuum. Chapters 1 and 4.

4. Baker, Paul et.al. 2008. A useful methodological synergy: combining critical discourse anaysis and corpus analysis for examining discourses of refugees and asylum seekers in the UK Press. Discourse & Society 19: 273 – 306.

5. Semino, Elena. 2002. A sturdy baby or a derailed train: metaphorical representation of the euro in British and Italian newspapers. Text 22 (1): 107-139.

6. Ponterotto, Diane. (2007). Translating idiomatic expressions: a cognitive linguistic viewpoint. In: Baicchi, Annalisa ED. Voices on Translation. Linguistic, Multimedia, and Cognitive Perspectives. (pp. 317-335).  Rome: Bulzoni.

7. Partington, Allan. 2006. Metaphors, motifs, and similes across discourse-types. Corpus-assisted discourse studies (CADS) at work. In A. Stefanowitsch and S. Gries (eds.), Corpus-based approaches to metaphor and metonymy, 267-304. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

8Ponterotto,  Diane.   (2005).   Text,   context  and   cognitive   metaphor.   In:  Baicchi,  Annalisa; Broccias,   Cristiano;    Sansò,   Andrea   EDS.  Modelling   Thought   and   Constructing   Meaning: cognitive models in interaction.(pp. 156-169). ISBN: 88-464-6889-9. Milan: Francoangeli.

Communicative competence

10.   F. Scott  Fitzgerald  2007 [1925] The Great Gatsby  (Penguin Popular Classics)(Paperback)

11.  Shreve, Anita. 1999. The Pilot’s Wife. London: Abacus 11. Selection of 5 news broadcasts selected from the BBC

12. Selection of 5 news broadcasts selected from the BBC