ENGLISH LANGUAGE 3

English Language 3 is a core course shared by all students of the BA programme in Language, Civilisation and the Science of Language (LCSL). It aims to deepen and complete the English language skills acquired in previous years. In particular, it further develops students' metalinguistic and textual analysis skills for the comprehension and translation of texts. The module addresses translation from English into Italian of texts of international political and institutional communication as a form of mediation between cultures, combining textual analysis with the use of corpora and the critical evaluation of machine translation and artificial intelligence tools. The course is intended for students of the International Politics curriculum.

English Language 3 is a year-long course consisting of the module taught by the course lecturer (second semester) and associated language classes, in the first and second semesters, taught by the Collaboratori ed Esperti Linguistici (CELs).
The lecturer (prof. Maci)'s module provides students with the metalinguistic, textual and intercultural skills needed to translate into Italian authentic texts of international political and institutional communication (resolutions, treaties, joint statements, speeches, press releases, news), approached as mediation between cultures and through a workshop-based method. A specific part of the module is devoted to the use of parallel and comparable corpora and to the development of "AI Literacy" applied to the translation of political and international texts: how neural machine translation and generative language models work and their limitations, quality evaluation, post-editing and ethical issues. In preparation for the lecturer's module, the language classes will develop the integrated language skills at C1 level (consolidated) needed for the written and oral comprehension and production of English-language material.

1. Knowledge and understanding: knowledge of the main models of cultural analysis applied to translation (Hall, Hofstede) and their limitations; of the features of political and institutional specialised languages; of text types and communicative functions, including Katan's vouloir / savoir / pouvoir model; of translation strategies at the lexical, grammatical, textual and pragmatic levels. In-depth study of the advanced grammatical, lexical and pragmatic features needed to understand complex texts to be translated from English into Italian. Understanding of the principles of corpus linguistics applied to translation, and of how machine translation systems and generative language models work and their limitations.

2. Applying knowledge and understanding: ability to analyse a source text in terms of function, audience and cultural context, and to translate it into Italian taking into account the contexts of production and reception in both languages; ability to query parallel (EUR-Lex, Europarl, OPUS) and comparable corpora to solve terminological and phraseological problems; ability to apply post-editing techniques to texts generated by machine translation systems and generative language models. In the language classes: ability to produce complex written texts in English and to discuss the topics covered orally.

3. Making judgements: ability to choose and justify one's translation strategies; to recognise the ideological and intercultural implications of translation choices, including those related to colonialism and decolonisation; to critically evaluate sources, published translations and machine translation output, validating or correcting the suggestions provided by artificial intelligence tools.

4. Communication skills: ability to produce Italian texts appropriate to genre and audience and to argue for one's choices in a translation commentary, using the terminology of the discipline. In the language classes: ability to use communicative strategies in English, both written and oral, at C1 level (consolidated) of the CEFR, expressing oneself clearly and in a well-structured way.

5. Learning skills: ability to use terminological resources, corpora and digital tools independently to deal with new texts and specialised domains, including in preparation for the final dissertation; ability to self-assess one's acquisition of translation strategies, one's English language proficiency and one's management of technology-mediated translation workflows.

C1 level (CEFR) obtained from successfully passing the English Language 2 course.

Module title: Translating International Politics: Cultures, Texts and Tools (EN>IT)

The course approaches translation from English into Italian as mediation between political cultures, with a strongly workshop-based approach: each class combines a short theoretical introduction with the translation and joint revision of authentic texts of international communication.
1. Translation and cultural mediation. The translator as mediator; culture as a model of the world; the cultural theories of Hall (high and low context, time, space) and Hofstede (cultural dimensions) and their limitations.
2. Specialised languages, text types and communicative functions. Review of the features of specialised languages; text types and functions; the vouloir / savoir / pouvoir model (persuading, informing, enabling to act); genres of international political and institutional communication (treaty, resolution, joint statement, speech, press release).
3. Translation strategies. Equivalence at word level, above word level, grammatical, textual and pragmatic equivalence; explicitation, generalisation, adaptation; domestication and foreignisation; news translation and transediting; cultural representations, colonialism and decolonisation in translated texts.
4. Parallel and comparable corpora. Querying parallel corpora (EUR-Lex, Europarl, OPUS) for terminology and phraseology; building and analysing a small comparable corpus of institutional press releases.
5. Artificial intelligence and translation. Neural machine translation and large language models; comparing machine output with human translation; post-editing, quality evaluation, ethical and confidentiality issues.
Texts to be translated include documents from the European Union, the United Nations, NATO, the G7, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UK Foreign Office.

The language classes with the CEL will focus on developing integrated language skills at C1 level (consolidated).

NB: students taking English Language 3 as a ‘single course’ (corso singolo) are advised that it is not equivalent to a preparation course for a language certification. The course is part of the LCSL degree programme and therefore aims to achieve the specific learning objectives of that programme. Students who simply wish to obtain a language level certification should contact the University Language Centre (CLA).

MODULE (MACI)

Compulsory readings:
• Katan, D. (2012). Translating the tourist gaze: From heritage and 'culture' to actual encounter. Pasos. Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural, 10(4): 83-95 (open access).
• Maci, S.M. & Spinzi, C.G. (2025). Translating Tourism. London/New York: Routledge. Cap. 2.
• Baker, M. (2018). In Other Words: A Coursebook on Translation. 3rd ed. London/New York: Routledge. Capitoli sull'equivalenza.
• Moorkens, J., Way, A. & Lankford, S. (2024). Automating Translation. London/New York: Routledge. Capp. 5 ("Machine Translation Evaluation"), 8 ("Machine Translation Post-Editing"), 10 ("Large Language Models and Multilingual Language Models: The Future of Machine Translation?") e 11 ("Sociotechnical Effects of Machine Translation").

Further readings
• Katan, D. & Taibi, M. (2021). Translating Cultures: An Introduction for Translators, Interpreters and Mediators. 3rd ed. London/New York: Routledge. In particolare capp. 1 e 10.
• Osimo, B. (2011). Manuale del traduttore. Guida pratica con glossario. 3a ed. Milano: Hoepli.
• Hall, E.T. (1976). Beyond Culture. New York: Anchor Books.
• Hofstede, G., Hofstede, G.J. & Minkov, M. (2010). Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind. 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
• Scarpa, F. (2020). Research and Professional Practice in Specialised Translation. London: Palgrave Macmillan. In particolare cap. 3, "Translating Specialised Texts".
• Kenny, D. (ed.) (2022). Machine Translation for Everyone: Empowering Users in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. Berlin: Language Science Press (open access).
• Granger, S. & Lefer, M.-A. (eds) (2022). Extending the Scope of Corpus-Based Translation Studies. London: Bloomsbury. Capp. 1 (Granger & Lefer), 8 (Verplaetse) e 9 (Kübler, Mestivier & Pecman).
• Schäffner, C. & Bassnett, S. (eds) (2010). Political Discourse, Media and Translation. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars.
I testi di laboratorio sono forniti a lezione e sulla piattaforma e-learning del corso.

PRACTICAL CLASSES (ESERCITAZIONI):
ESERCITAZIONI
- Close-Up C2 Student's Book by Angela Bandis and Diana Shotton, National Geographic Learning, ISBN: 978-1-4080-9833-2
- Close-Up C2 Workbook by Philip McElmuray, National Geographic Learning, ISBN: 978-1-4080-9838-7

DICTIONARY
The one that has already been in use since the second year, or:
- Collins Cobuild Advanced Learnes English Dictionary.
- Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

The expected learning outcomes are assessed in a final written and oral exam as well as through a portfolio-based continuous assessment.

The WRITTEN part, which lasts 2 hours, consists of a structured test: the English-Italian translation of an authentic text of international political or institutional communication (approximately 300 words), preceded by a pre-translation analysis of the source text (function, audience, cultural context) and followed by a translation commentary (approximately 500 words) in which students discuss the main translation problems and justify their strategies, using the concepts and terminology covered in the Professor's module. The exam assesses the student's competence in the contents of the Professor's module. Students are allowed to use a monolingual English dictionary and an English-Italian bilingual dictionary. Students whose first language is not Italian are also allowed to use a "Student's First Language-English" dictionary. Machine translation and artificial intelligence tools are not allowed.

The ORAL part with the Professor assesses the student's metalinguistic competence in presenting the contents of the module and in discussing their translation choices, using the appropriate terminology. It includes a discussion of the written commentary and a question on corpus use or on machine translation and artificial intelligence in translation. To take the oral exam, students are required to have successfully passed the written exam (the written and the oral exam have to be completed in the same appello).

The PORTFOLIO assesses the student's integrated skills at the (consolidated) C1 level (see Learning Outcomes in this syllabus). The portfolio includes the following tasks: two English-Italian translations, an argumentative essay from notes provided, a brief interview (this does not replace the actual oral exam with the Professor). The portfolio can be submitted in two different ways: (1) during the academic year, or (2) before each exam session (three slots, one for each session). In both cases, students have to meet specific deadlines, given at the beginning of the term. In any case, the portfolio has to be submitted BEFORE sitting the written exam with the Professor. The portfolio can be submitted only through Moodle; the assessment contributes (in due proportion) to the final mark. The mark will be kept for two academic years. The deadlines, instructions for submission, and further information on the portfolio are available on the Professor's Moodle page dedicated to the course. Students cannot submit their portfolio with different deadlines or procedures from those detailed in Moodle.

For further information, please contact Prof. Stefania M. Maci (stefaniamaria.maci@unive.it).

NB: at the beginning of the course, the Professor organises an online informative meeting with interested students. The event informs students about the organisation of the course and the final exam. The event is communicated and publicised in due time through the Professor's and the Department's pages. Students who will not be able to participate in the event will find information material on the Professor's Moodle page.

written and oral

The instructor is responsible for ensuring the authenticity and originality of all examinations and coursework. In cases of suspected academic misconduct, an additional on-site assessment may be required during the exams, which may differ from the standard format.

Evaluation grid:
28-30L: excellent knowledge of notions presented in class and in reference texts; excellent oral and writtin communicative skills; use of appropriate technical terminology;
26-27: good knowledge of notions presented in class and, to a lesser extent, in reference texts; fair oral and writtin communicative skills; familiarity with technical terminology;
24-25: not always thorough knowledge of notions presented in class and in reference texts; orderly oral and written exposition but with not always correct use of technical terminology;
22-23: often superficial knowledge of notions presented in class and in reference texts; oral and written exposition unclear and lacking in technical terminology;
18-21: knowledge of notions presented in class and in reference texts at times lacking; oral and written exposition confused, with little use of technical terminology.

The Professor's module will be delivered in blended mode (10 synchronous and 5 asynchronous classes) and follows a workshop-based approach: each class combines a short theoretical introduction with the translation from English into Italian of authentic texts of international political and institutional communication. Teaching includes lectures, group work, peer review of translations and cooperative learning, as well as hands-on activities with parallel and comparable corpora and with machine translation and artificial intelligence tools. Asynchronous classes, available on the Professor's Moodle page, include materials and individual translation tasks followed by revision. During the module, students will take mock written exams and discuss their translation choices in preparation for the oral exam.

The language classes with the Collaboratori ed Esperti Linguistici (CEL) will consolidate integrated language skills at C1 level (consolidated) in preparation for the Professor's module.

• The Professor’s module starting in the second semester will be held in English.
• Materials for the module’s part will be available on the Moodle Learning Environment (password protected).
• Language practice with the CEL will start in the first semester and will continue in the second semester.
• This programme is still provisional and slight changes could still be introduced.

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Human capital, health, education" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development