This document discusses key concepts related to specialized discourse, particularly in the context of tourism. It defines discourse as language used in real-world contexts that is embedded within social and cultural institutions. Specialized discourse refers to language used within specific domains or fields, like tourism. Tourism discourse includes genres that range along a continuum from highly formal written texts to more spontaneous oral interactions. The frequency of certain linguistic features distinguishes specialized discourse from general language. Register also influences specialized discourse, including factors like communication mode and medium, topic or field, and the relationship between participants.
This document discusses key concepts related to specialized discourse, particularly in the context of tourism. It defines discourse as language used in real-world contexts that is embedded within social and cultural institutions. Specialized discourse refers to language used within specific domains or fields, like tourism. Tourism discourse includes genres that range along a continuum from highly formal written texts to more spontaneous oral interactions. The frequency of certain linguistic features distinguishes specialized discourse from general language. Register also influences specialized discourse, including factors like communication mode and medium, topic or field, and the relationship between participants.
This document discusses key concepts related to specialized discourse, particularly in the context of tourism. It defines discourse as language used in real-world contexts that is embedded within social and cultural institutions. Specialized discourse refers to language used within specific domains or fields, like tourism. Tourism discourse includes genres that range along a continuum from highly formal written texts to more spontaneous oral interactions. The frequency of certain linguistic features distinguishes specialized discourse from general language. Register also influences specialized discourse, including factors like communication mode and medium, topic or field, and the relationship between participants.
This document discusses key concepts related to specialized discourse, particularly in the context of tourism. It defines discourse as language used in real-world contexts that is embedded within social and cultural institutions. Specialized discourse refers to language used within specific domains or fields, like tourism. Tourism discourse includes genres that range along a continuum from highly formal written texts to more spontaneous oral interactions. The frequency of certain linguistic features distinguishes specialized discourse from general language. Register also influences specialized discourse, including factors like communication mode and medium, topic or field, and the relationship between participants.
Universit Ca Foscari di Venezia Facolt di Economia
CdL: [EM9] SVILUPPO INTER-CULTURALE DEI SISTEMI TURISTICI
1 Insegnamento di Lingua Inglese (6 CFU) English AND tourism. English FOR tourism [EM9015] Prof.ssa Daniela CESIRI CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSES KEY CONCEPTS
1. What is Discourse? The notion of discourse includes the use of spoken, written and visual/signed language and multimodal/multimedia forms of communication. It is a mode of organizing human knowledge, ideas, or experience(s) that is rooted in language and its concrete contexts (as history or institutions). And, indeed, discourses are aspects of culture, interconnected vocabularies and systems of meaning located in the social world (Merry 1990: 110). Discourse is not restricted to non-fictional (e.g. stylistics) nor verbal (e.g. gesture and visual) materials. Although early linguistic approaches judged the unit of discourse to be larger than the sentence, phenomena of interest can range from silence, to a single utterance (such as "ok"), to a novel, a set of newspaper articles or a conversation. Approaches that are commonly included under the term 'discourse studies' (or have overlapping concerns) include critical discourse analysis, critical linguistics, text linguistics, conversation analysis, ethnomethodology, discursive psychology, stylistics, genre studies, mediated discourse analysis, discourse theory, sociolinguistics, rhetorical analysis, argumentation theory, polyphony theory. A discourse is not individual and idiosyncratic but is part of a shared cultural world. Discourses are rooted in particular institutions and embody their culture. The analysis of discourse is necessarily the analysis of language in use. As such, it cannot be restricted to the description of linguistic forms independent of the purposes or functions which these forms are designed to serve in human affairs (Brown & Yule 1983: 1). [Discourse analysis] has its intellectual roots not only in linguistics but in the social sciences and in philosophy (Schiffrin 1988: 2). For this reason, discourse is seen as strictly linked and embedded in the social network of the speakers as well as in the specific domains it is used, either in written or in spoken form. It does not involve an ideal construction of linguistic features but deals with language used in real-use and everyday situations.
2. The notion of Specialised Discourse Specialised languages do NOT have a different grammar or lexis with respect to common language. The only difference is the FREQUENCY of usage of grammar rules and lexis. Texts written in a specialised language are in fact classified according to the similarities they have in common with other texts, taking into consideration: the setting where the text is produced or used (a written tourist text or a guided tour); the communicative intention of the producer (e.g. promoting a particular destination); Universit Ca Foscari di Venezia Facolt di Economia CdL: [EM9] SVILUPPO INTER-CULTURALE DEI SISTEMI TURISTICI 2 Insegnamento di Lingua Inglese (6 CFU) English AND tourism. English FOR tourism [EM9015] Prof.ssa Daniela CESIRI the addresser (the tourist operator or creator of a tourist text) and the addressee (perspective tourists) 1 ; the medium (the physical support such as a brochure, a travel guide, a promotional website, etc.); structural elements (surface elements, such as the right combination of colours, pictures and text); sometimes also content (what is described and how it is described, since it might have a direct effect on the persuasive power of the tourist text). Specialised discourse is then a discourse used in domain-specific languages which can involve technical and scientific registers as well as case-specific contexts of use. Several contextual factors contribute to the notion of specialised discourse (e.g. style, mode, level of formality, etc.). This awareness has led to the identification for each specialised language of textual genres linked to sets of consistent features. For example, in tourism discourse there are genres that combine highly informal features (guided tours, brochures, the web, ads) with traits typical of the written mode, such as guidebooks. Finally, some guided tours contain highly formal traits (museums, etc.) but are considered oral texts because they are performed orally. All share the characteristics of containing codified and standardised language, predictable sentences such as FORMULAIC EXPRESSIONS or METAPHORS which are essential in a promotional context. The following picture (Figure 1) illustrates the position of different genres of tourist texts along the Spontaneity-Formality Continuum:
FIGURE 1.
Indeed, some textual genres can be seen as being positioned along a continuum line ranging between high formal traits and the informality of a normal conversation. Some of these genres are also less predictable since they allow a for a greater degree of spontaneity and variation, both in content and expressiveness. They are usually oral and involve different levels of formality. In Figure 1, we have guidebooks which involve a higher degree of formality because they are written texts, have complex structures and deals with a variety of topics. This becomes lower in brochures, the web which combine an informal register with the written mode. The lowest degree of formality is found in guided tours because they are performed orally and are organised
1 In this particular case, the creator of a tourist text must be aware that he/she starts a direct relationship with the perspective tourist, for this reason particular attention must be paid to shaping the right language, e.g. avoiding aggressive language (in Italian it is better to use the imperative form in the second person plural, such as visitate, rather than visita as the latter might be perceived as an aggressive order and not as an invitation. In English, the use of you is acceptable as there is no difference in the second persons, either singular or plural. Universit Ca Foscari di Venezia Facolt di Economia CdL: [EM9] SVILUPPO INTER-CULTURALE DEI SISTEMI TURISTICI 3 Insegnamento di Lingua Inglese (6 CFU) English AND tourism. English FOR tourism [EM9015] Prof.ssa Daniela CESIRI in order to keep the tourists attention. In these cases, we have also oral conversations between the professional guide and the tourists themselves. Specialised discourse differs from general language not for its of special linguistic rules absent from the latter but for its quantitatively greater and pragmatically more specific use of such conventions. This stresses also the importance of the type of user, the domain of use AND the special application of language in specialized contexts. Specialised discourse can be considered as a restricted language but this definition is usually applied to restricted codes that use certain sentences of general language in specialized communication. In this case we are dealing with a restricted code rather than specialised discourse (as for example the language used in flight control communication, or AIRSPEAK). In addition, the definition of special language cannot be applied to the notion of specialised discourse it denotes languages with special rules and symbols deviating from those of general language. Ex: CODE Q used in the telecommunication sector where the code is non-linguistic. The term special language could be applied to languages sharing the communicative conventions of a particular language (either English or Italian) but that possesses other conventions which are not part of these languages as in the case of SEASPEAK. Also the term microlanguage is not appropriate substitute specialised discourse because it refers to microcosm which lack the expressive richness of standard language. The term specialised discourse reflects the specialist use of language in contexts which are typical of a specialised community stretching across the academic, the professional, the technical and the occupational area of knowledge and practice. Domain-specific languages, in fact, are exposed to the pressures of intercultural variation, as not only the socio-cultural factors inherent in a text but also interpretive culture-dependent sets of knowledge deeply affect its realization and interpretation within the host professional community. In linguistics, a register is a variety of a language used for a particular purpose or in a particular social setting. According to Halliday (1978) or Gregory/Carroll (1978) there are several registers which subordinate the specificity of SD to their topic. They are:
MODE = channel and medium of communication; FIELD = object of communication; TENOR = relationship between participants. In the field of tourism, all three registers are important in order to reach an effective, successful communication that persuades the tourist to choose the advertised destination instead of a competing one. The tenor, in particular, must be taken into account by a creator of a tourist text. He/she must be aware that he/she is in a dominant position since he/she is guiding the tourist into a particular choice, but the writer of a tourist text must also consider that this dominant position needs not to be stressed or evident as the tourist has the power of choice, thus determining the success of that destination AND of the tourist text which promoted the destination itself. However, these are not the only factors which determine the choice of specialised discourse. Other factors are involved such as the speakers profession and his/her knowledge of the discourse involved. Appropriate analytical tools needed for each discourse especially when some features are shared by more than one specialised language. In fact, several rules and features may coexist with Universit Ca Foscari di Venezia Facolt di Economia CdL: [EM9] SVILUPPO INTER-CULTURALE DEI SISTEMI TURISTICI 4 Insegnamento di Lingua Inglese (6 CFU) English AND tourism. English FOR tourism [EM9015] Prof.ssa Daniela CESIRI specific ones and which separate one variety from the other. This is because SLs use features present in general language. The mere presence of a specialist does not ensure a specialised use of a language which cannot be limited to peer-communication. In fact there are THREE situations in which a specialist may talk about his/her profession:
1. Debate among other specialists (High level of specialisation in his/her language) SCIENTIFIC EXPOSITION. In the tourism field, this is expressed at conferences or in debates about theories for tourism development: 2. Conversation with non-specialists to explain the notions of the discipline such as during lessons or in a textbook (medium level of use of specialised language) SCIENTIFIC INSTRUCTION, for example in courses for tourism or course for English and tourism; 3. Everyday conversation in which the specialist deals with laypeople and has to use everyday lexis in order to reach a wider audience (TV or newspapers and magazines) (Low degree of specialised language) SCIENTIFIC JOURNALISM (usually tourist texts meant for the wider public and promotional texts); 4. CONDENSATION INTO FORMULAE but it uses non-verbal language. Other specialised languages use symbolic formulations but they are usually explained and accompanied by general language (in the tourism field, this is especially true in the use of special acronyms, such as B&B for bed and breakfast). 5. Accuracy in the conveyance of the message (the success of a tourist text lies in the use of the right language, which must be appropriate to the kind of text used and to the type of tourist for the advertised destination).
The dominant criteria of specialised discourse are economy (use a concise language to describe your destination), precision (do not miss any important detail about that destination) and appropriateness (use the right language for the right kind of tourist, e.g. families with children, single travellers, groups, etc.) which should all be satisfied in order for a text to reach the maximum communicative effectiveness (the tourist will choose the destination you advertised instead of a competing one). They are common to general language but if they are balanced the speaker ensures maximum efficiency within the specialised communicative process (that is, promote the destination). If they are in conflict (especially economy and precision) the criterion of appropriateness is decisive for the communication to result successful, since it indicates and regulates the psychological intention behind the message.
The community which uses the language of tourism (tourist operators, theorists of tourism, tourists themselves) can be defined as a discourse community. Swales (1990) found that a discourse community can be recognized according to some specific characteristics. It must:
have a broadly agreed set of common public goals (promoting and visiting a destination); have mechanisms of intercommunication among its members (texts or multimedia tools); use its participatory mechanisms primarily to provide information and feedback; Universit Ca Foscari di Venezia Facolt di Economia CdL: [EM9] SVILUPPO INTER-CULTURALE DEI SISTEMI TURISTICI 5 Insegnamento di Lingua Inglese (6 CFU) English AND tourism. English FOR tourism [EM9015] Prof.ssa Daniela CESIRI utilize and hence possess one or more genres in the communicative utterance of its aims (the different supports through which a destination can be advertised, e.g. the Web, travel guides, brochures); have acquired some specific lexis (specialized terminology, acronyms, metaphors and semantic fields); have a threshold level of members with a suitable degree of relevant content and discoursal expertise (basically any perspective tourist and operators in the tourism industry).
4. English for Special Purposes (ESP), English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) and the phenomenon of Global English English for Specific Purposes (ESP) consists of English language which is: designed to meet specified needs; related in content (i.e. in its themes and topics) to particular disciplines, occupations and activities; centred on the language appropriate to those activities in syntax, lexis, discourse, semantics, etc., and analysis of this discourse; sometimes in contrast with General English because it modify language to serve its special communicative purposes within the specific discourse community. ESP includes: Business English, Technical English, Scientific English, English for medical professionals, English for tourism, English for the Arts, etc. Aviation English as ESP is taught to pilots, air traffic controllers and civil aviation cadets who are going to use it in radio communications. ESP is also a part of languages for specific purposes. We can identify different variables which help to define ESP in various contexts. These variables can be divided in two different categories: absolute and variable characteristics.
Absolute characteristics: 1. ESP is defined to meet specific needs of a discourse community; 2. ESP makes use of underlying methodology and activities of the discipline(s) it serves; 3. ESP is centred on the language (grammar, lexis, register), skills, discourse and genres appropriate to these activities.
Variable characteristics: 1. ESP may be related to or designed for specific disciplines; 2. ESP may use, in specific situations, a different methodology from that of General English; 3. ESP is likely to be designed for adult learners, either at a tertiary level institution or in a professional work situation; 4. ESP is centred on the language (grammar, lexis, register), skills, discourse and genres appropriate to these activities.
Universit Ca Foscari di Venezia Facolt di Economia CdL: [EM9] SVILUPPO INTER-CULTURALE DEI SISTEMI TURISTICI 6 Insegnamento di Lingua Inglese (6 CFU) English AND tourism. English FOR tourism [EM9015] Prof.ssa Daniela CESIRI The international dimension of our contemporary society and an easier sharing of knowledge and ideas in specialised contexts led to the need for a common language (lingua franca) which could allow experts from different nationalities and languages to share and spread this knowledge. The most useful language was English. The concept of English as a Lingua Franca means that systematically used to communicate between people who do not share a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues. English as a Global Language entered into action when English was used as a lingua franca and started to have a separate identity from the source language, either American or British English. It became a global language when such role was recognised worldwide and in every country. To reach this status English had to be taken up by other countries around the world as their working language (sometimes even supra-national language). But, why English? The explanation to this question might come from a quotation by the scholar Crystal (2003), who argues that English was there at the right time in the right place. This means that the emergence of English as a Global Language has some precise historical and cultural reasons. From the historical viewpoint, the spread of English from Britain to other territories was mostly through colonization. The first groups of settlers from England came to the American continent in search for a new land of religious freedom. The other groups of English-speaking people came to the continent for trading. Starting from this point, English reached the American continent which then also spread to the south, to the West Indies and to the southern part of the continent itself. The English presence in Australia and New Zealand started when prisons in England were overcrowded with convicts and the British rulers needed a new distant place for the freed prisoners. Besides, English spread to other parts of the world through colonization sprouting from trading between traders under the East Indies Company and native people in Asia and Africa. The trading changed into colonization when the British rulers supported the traders by sending them soldiers. The major parts of Africa (especially South Africa) and Asia (e.g. India, and Malaysia) were under the direct rule of Britain making the people to become bilingual. English was taught to native people in the territories they had occupied. Hence, it was taught not to educate but for the benefit of the British rulers because they needed people in distant places to speak English so that soldiers could understand their British officers and could maintain civil order under the leadership of British administrators. Similar to the propaganda spread by Great Britain, the US also plays an important role in promoting English worldwide. After the World War II, many countries lost its power. The United States, as an English-speaking country, was the only big Western power that remained undamaged educationally, scientifically and politically. Therefore, the United States, helped by its allies, had power in reorganizing the world through the creation of the United Nation. English was then one of the four official languages spoken in the UN. This made English gain stronger status in the world. It is a coincidence that when English gained better status in political world, the computer era came into being. The first computer programs were then written in English-like language and the output was also English or English-like. This, again, made English gain its status in science and technology in which computer was of important use in it. Nowadays, about 80% or 85% of all the scientific and technological information is written in English. Universit Ca Foscari di Venezia Facolt di Economia CdL: [EM9] SVILUPPO INTER-CULTURALE DEI SISTEMI TURISTICI 7 Insegnamento di Lingua Inglese (6 CFU) English AND tourism. English FOR tourism [EM9015] Prof.ssa Daniela CESIRI The Indian scholar Braj Kachru has been a leading scholar in the field since the 1960s and, in 1985, he developed the model of the Three Concentric Circles of English to explain the phenomenon of English as a Global Language. The model is illustrated in FIGURE 2 below.
FIGURE 2. The model is composed of three circles:
The Inner Circle: English functions as a native language; The Outer Circle: English is used as a second language besides native, national languages; The Expanding Circle: English is used as a foreign language
5. Why The Language of Tourism? As in other specialised contexts, English is used in the field of tourism as a lingua franca. Indeed, it is the language of communication especially when a tourist text is meant for speakers of a minority language. The Language of Tourism (LoT) constitutes a special type of communication which uses verbal descriptions AND displays of photographs, film footage, multimedia supports. It communicates the language of the largest industry in the world: tourism itself. Every country in the world allocates consistent shares of their budgets to tourism promotion. The language of tourism has successfully combined together everyday language and specifically- devised elements referring to the most specialised concepts. As any specialised discourse, it is a subsystem of the general language; as such it has its own lexical, morpho-syntactic and textual rules. The LoT can be considered a kind of specialised discourse because it is used within a specific professional domain and it is used by both experts and non-experts. In addition, it operates through a conventional system of symbols and codes, including also dialect and colloquial registers, especially when local culture and traditions are promoted. Universit Ca Foscari di Venezia Facolt di Economia CdL: [EM9] SVILUPPO INTER-CULTURALE DEI SISTEMI TURISTICI 8 Insegnamento di Lingua Inglese (6 CFU) English AND tourism. English FOR tourism [EM9015] Prof.ssa Daniela CESIRI Its language mirrors the complexity of this field, which is unquestionably hybrid: geography, art, history, architecture, sociology, business and economics, management, the law are among the disciplines which influence the language of tourism. The contemporary tourism industry is certainly globalised; for this reason, it needs a working language which can be used and understood by most (if not all) perspective tourist. It uses English as it is already the Lingua Franca and Global Language for many other fields As already stated, it is easier to use English also to address customers who speak minority languages. However, the current position of English as the main language used for international communication means that it is an essential working language for people dealing with tourists of any kind.
REFERENCES Crystal, David. 1985. A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics. 2nd edition. New York: Blackwell. Crystal, David. 2003. English as a Global Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Dann, Graham. 1996. The Language of Tourism. A Sociolinguistic Perspective. Wallingford: CAB International. Gatehouse, Kristen. 2001. Key Issues in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) Curriculum Development. The Internet TESL Journal, VII (10). Available at: http://iteslj.org/Articles/Gatehouse-ESP.html. Gotti, Maurizio. 2010. Investigating Specialized Discourse. Bern: Peter Lang. Gregory, Michael, and Suzanne Carroll. 1978. Language and situation: Language varieties and their social contexts. London: Routledge. Halliday, M. A. K. 1978. Language as social semiotic. London: Edward Arnold. Kachru, B.B. 1985. Standards, codification and sociolinguistic realism: The English language in the outer circle. In R. Quirk and H. Widdowson (eds.). English in the world: Teaching and learning the language and literatures. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 11-36. Searl, John. 1969. Speech Acts. Cambridge: Cambridge Unviersity Press. Swales, John. 1990. Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Settings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Rohmah, Z. 2005. English as a Global Language: Its Historical Past And Its Future. Bahasa Dan Seni, Tahun 33, Nomor 1, pp. 106-117.
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