ADVANCED CHINESE LANGUAGE FOR THE HUMANITIES 1-MOD.1

This course is one of the core educational activities of the Master Degree Programme in Languages and Civilizations of Asia and North Africa (Chinese). It aims at strengthening students’ abilities to translate into Italian from Chinese, and vice versa, as well as developing methodological tools for linguistic analysis and interlinguistic comparison. Students will thus be able to apply their language skills to understanding and interpreting the main social and cultural transformations that occurred in modern and contemporary China. Conversation courses have the purpose of guiding students in the acquisition of the ability to discuss issues related to Chinese society and culture in the context of the ongoing globalisation processes.

To achieve a level of language proficiency equivalent to level B2+ of the CEFR (Common European framework of reference for language proficiency). In particular:

1. Knowledge and understanding
- Becoming familiar with the basic linguistic terminology of translation
- Acquiring skills for the analysis of language and of its rhetorical devices, as well as understanding its use in specific social and cultural contexts.

2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
- Knowing how to perform linguistic analysis on different aspects of your mother tongue and of the Chinese language

3. Judgement skills
- Knowing how to formulate and defend hypotheses, while developing a critical approach to the evaluation of alternative hypotheses as well.

4. Communication skills
- Acquiring the ability to discuss issues concerning Chinese culture using appropriate terminology.
- Being able to communicate the specificities of linguistic and textual analysis using appropriate terminology.

5. Learning skills
• Knowing how to relate the different contexts of study and apply your knowledge and skills for personal and professional growth.

Having a good command of the Italian language and a Chinese language proficiency corresponding to the level B1+ of the CEFR (Common European Framework of reference for language proficiency).

The course develops the ability to understand, analyse and translate Chinese articles concerned with contemporary Chinese society and culture. Specifically, it is structured as follows:
- 30 hours of reading comprehension, linguistic analysis and translation of Chinese texts. The texts examined will be extracted from academic essays and newspapers, allowing for a deep dive into the topics discussed and the refinement of linguistic skills related to complex grammatical structures in written Chinese. The topics covered will include: the acquisition of Chinese as a second language (汉语作为第二语言的习得); the importance of psychological well-being (mental health, 心理健康 xīnlǐ jiànkāng); work-life balance (工作与生活的平衡 gōngzuò yǔ shēnghuó de pínghéng); the rights and achievements of the LGBTQ community (LGBTQ 性少数群体 xìng shǎoshù qúntǐ).

- 60 hours of conversation training (A);
- 60 hours of training in Italian-Chinese translation (B);
- conversation tutoring (C);
- translation tutoring (D);
- supplemental translation training (E).

Texts to be used during classes
• The Chinese texts that will be used during the translation (Chinese > Italian) classes will be available on the website https://moodle.unive.it/ in the section “[LM005I] LINGUA CINESE 1 MOD.1 - Prof. A. Iurato”.
• For conversation training (A, C), the teaching materials will be made available by the lecturer on Moodle.
• Niu Guoqiang, Yi-Han fanyi jiaocheng. Dispensa di traduzione dall’italiano in cinese, Cafoscarina, Venezia 2005 (units 12-18; units 3-11 for training group E).

Suggested dictionaries
- Wenlin 3.x (www.wenlin.com) or later version.
- Pleco Software (for iPhone/iPad e Android), basic version available for free download from www.pleco.com; several add-ons available).
- Xinhua zidian, Beijing, Shangwu yinshuguan, 1971 or later edition.
- Casacchia G. and Bai Y., Dizionario Cinese-Italiano, Cafoscarina, Venezia, 2013.
- Han-ying da cidian - Chinese-English Dictionary, ed. by Wu Guanghua, Shanghai, Shanghai Jiaotong Daxue chubanshe, 1993 or later edition, 2 vols.

Further dictionaries for translation into Chinese:
- Dizionario cinese-italiano italiano-cinese, Hoepli, Milano, 2007
- Zhang Shi Hua, SFLEP Dizionario Conciso Italiano-Cinese Cinese-Italiano, Waiyu jiaoyu chubanshe, Shanghai 2006
- Dizionario italiano-cinese - Yi-han cidian, Beijing, Shangwu yinshuguan, 1985 e succ.

The verification of acquired abilities and skills is carried out through three tests:
- Written translation from Chinese to Italian: Students will independently translate an unpublished text from an academic essay or a newspaper on the socio-cultural topics covered during the course. A linguistic analysis part is also included.

- Conversation in Chinese;
- Italian-Chinese translation of sentences containing complex grammatical structures.
In order to pass the exam, the required score is at least 6/10 in each of the three components. The final grade will be calculated as the sum of the individual grades obtained and will be expressed on a 30-point scale.

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.

As for the grading scale, scores will be assigned according to the following criteria:

A. Scores in the 18–22 range will be awarded in cases of: sufficient ability to understand the proposed Chinese texts, to render them in translation, and to effectively translate Italian sentences into Chinese;
B. Scores in the 23–26 range will be awarded in cases of: fair ability to understand the proposed Chinese texts, to render them in translation, and to effectively translate Italian sentences into Chinese;
C. Scores in the 27–30 range will be awarded in cases of: good or excellent ability to understand the proposed Chinese texts, to render them in translation, and to effectively translate Italian sentences into Chinese;
D. Honors (lode) will be awarded in cases of: outstanding ability to understand the proposed Chinese texts, to render them in translation, and to effectively translate Italian sentences into Chinese.

Teaching is organized in:
a) translation classes;
b) writing and conversation practice aimed at building and consolidating the knowledge, skills and competences required to meet the goal of the course;
c) tutoring aimed at discussing and clarifying specific language problems that emerged during the classes.