The Language of Tourism From theory (3.00pm-4.30pm) to practice (5.00pm-6.15p.m.) Elena Manca...

The Language of Tourism

From theory (3.00pm-4.30pm) to practice (5.00pm-6.15p.m.)

Elena MancaUniversità del Salento

The Language of Tourism: a special language?

• Very similar to everyday language

however

• It is a very special type of communication (cf. Dann 1996)


• The language of tourism has successfully combined together components drawn from everyday language (cf. Sager, Dungworth & McDonald 1998) together with specifically-devised elements referring to the most specialised concepts.


• So it is special because:

• it is a subsystem of the general language

• it has its own lexical, morphosyntactic and textual rules

• it is used within a specific professional domain

• it is used by both experts and non-experts


• Calvi (2005: 43-44) identifies a range of domains that contribute to the overall content of the language of tourism:

• Geography (description of places, surroundings, and monuments etc.)

• Economics (tourist market, market strategies, etc.)• Sociology (definitions of pushing factors and types of

tourism)• Psychology (tourists’ perception of the environment)• Other domains are history, history of art, cuisine,

sport, architecture, archaeology, environment, religion, business. Each of these components constitute an aspect of tourism and creates a series of possible languages.


• The different components of the language of tourism are combined together and made homogeneous by the advertising function which contributes to the development of standard lexical, morphosyntactic and textual features (cf. Cogno & Dell’Ara 2001).

The language of tourism: special features

• Gotti (2006) identifies two levels of expression for the language of tourism. This language may be: 1) highly specialised discourse used by experts in the field of tourism to communicate to one another;

• 2) similar to general discourse when it is adopted in interactions between specialists and non-specialists.


• New concepts to avoid ambiguity:

• examples are tour operator and package holidays, created to refer to companies which organize holidays, tours and travels, and to refer to all inclusive holidays with a fixed price.


• Objectiveness (not appliable to this language):

• In tour operators’ brochures, for example, and other advertising materials the lexis used is emphatic and highly evaluative ‘usually extolling the positive features of the places described and the services offered’ (Gotti 2006: 27). Examples are: unique shopping centre, welcoming pubs, picturesque fishing harbour, luxuriant vegetation, idyllic golden beaches, breath-taking views. This type of texts often contain emphasisers and superlative forms.


• Transparency (with some exceptions)

• an example of non-transparency in the language of tourism is provided by the use of foreign words. This technique is defined languaging (Potter 1970:90-91; Dann 1996:183-184). Foreign words of which people have scant knowledge may induce a feeling of inferiority. For this reason, their use allows the author to win the tourists’ interest.


• Synthetic concepts: blending

• Examples of blending in the language of tourism include: campsite (camp + site), ecotourism (Ecological + tourism), motel (Motor + hotel), Travelog (travel + blog).

• Synthesis in the language of tourism is achieved through acronyms and abbreviations. Examples are (Gotti 2006): APEX (Advance Purchase Excursion Fare), ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival), GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), O/W (One Way), B&B (Bed and Breakfast).


• Syntactic features: simplification

• Examples are: Self-catering accommodation (= accommodation where you cook your own meals), Intercity sleeper (= an InterCity train in which you can sleep).

• Other devices are represented by the omission of agent and auxiliaries in passive forms, as in: Pre-arranged car rental (car rental which has been previously arranged). When the agent has to be expressed it is placed before the past participle, as in An AA recommended hotel (= a hotel recommended by the Automobile Association).


• Syntactic features: noun in adjectival function

• Tour operator, airline ticket, charter flight, travel agency, first-class fare, nature reserve.

The language of tourism: textual features

1. an easily understood title2. an indication of the geographical location3. directions on how to reach the place4. a mention of the climate5. a description of any scenic beauty6. a mention of any archaeological, historical or

artistic features7. cuisine8. accommodation options9. sports and entertainment facilities10.attractive illustrations11.shopping hints12.special events13.addresses for obtaining further information

The language of Farmhouse Holidays in English and Italian

• The data:

1. web sites of British farmhouse holidays and Italian agriturismi

2. The websites were downloaded in a period ranging from 2000 to 2006.

3. The British corpus currently have 700,000 running words while the Italian corpus has 600,000 words.

Analysis: procedure 1

• First step:

- considering all the adjectives appearing in the British corpus worldist

- identifying collocational profiles

- grouping collocates into semantic fields


• Second step:

- searching for similar collocates in the Italian corpus


• Third step:

- comparing and contrasting results

Discussion: procedure

• The results will be discussed with reference to:

1. Collocation and discourse patterns (Sinclair 1991)

2. Low vs. high context cultures (Hall 1989; Katan 2004)

Websites: structureBritish websites Italian websites

Home Home

Cottage/farm/room description

Descrizione

Activities/facilities Attività/Servizi

Attractions/Location Il luogo/I dintorni/Il territorio

Price and availabilities Prezzi e disponibilità

Map and directions Come arrivare

Booking/Enquiries/Contact us

Contatti

Similarities

• In terms of

1. Structure

2. Use of pictures

3. Colourful backgrounds

English adjectives: semantic fields

• Three main semantic fields:

1. Description of rooms

2. Description of surroundings

3. Description of food

Description of rooms

1. Spacious 2.Equipped 3.Large 4.Fitted 5.Furnished 6.Private 7.Converted 8.Comfortable 9.Small 10.Cosy 11.Decorated 12.Attractive 13.Beamed 14.Beautiful 15.Lovely 16.Pretty 17.Delightful 18.Charming

Description of rooms

• The adjectives mainly refers to:

1. Size

2. Equipment

3. Beauty

Descritpion of rooms

• Main collocates:1. Kitchen (particularly with fitted and

equipped)2. Lounge (particularly with beamed)3. Bathroom (particularly with private)4. Bedroom 5. Room 6. Sitting-room and dining-room

Italian translation equivalents

1. cucina 2. sala da pranzo 3. bagno 4. camera 5. stanza 6. soggiorno 7. salotto 8. salone

Description of rooms (Italian corpus)

1. Arredate/a/o 2. Dotate/a/o (di)

3. Ampio 4. Grande

5. Privato 6. Confortevoli/e

7. Accoglienti/e 8. Abitabile

9. Piccolo 10.Completa/i (di)

11. Spaziosa 12.Fornita

13. Personale 14. Luminosa

No beauty adjectives:hypotheses

1. Two different language systems?

2. Are they used to describe the whole structure and not the single room?

Description of farm buildings

1. Agrituristica/o 2. Agricola3. Antica/o/e 4. Biologica5. Tipica/o/e 6. Indipendente7. Rurale/i 8. Principale9. Ristrutturato/a/i 10. D’epoca11. Aziendali 12. Vecchi/e13. Padronale 14. Coloniche15. Comunale 16. Arredata17. Forniti 18. Ricavati19. Composti 20. Deliziosi21. Originaria/o

Extending the linguistic co-text: arredati (98 out of 186)

Extending the linguistic co-text: furnished (5 out of 122)

Ancient and period in the English corpus

• Ancient: 1. Entries: 892. Main collocates:

woodland, village, town, church an castle • Antique:1. Entries: 522. Main collocates: 3. Furniture (20 instances), shops, centre• Period:1. Entries: 712. It refers to furnishings in only 10 instances

Antico in the Italian corpus

• Very frequent: 544 times

• It collocates with:

• casale, casolare, borgo, castello, feudo, città, masseria, strada, torre, tradizione,tradizioni, casa,ricette, mobili, sapori, …

Extending the linguistic co-text: dotata di

Extending the linguistic co-text: fitted and equipped

Description of surroundings

• Main collocates in English:views, garden, countryside, towns, cities, villages, valley, lane, road, drive

• Main collocates in Italian:città, feudo, borgo, giardino, parco, boschi, spazio, uliveti, vigneti, panorama, paesaggio, vista, campagna, natura, verde, colline, valle, pace, quiete

Metaphor of the immersion

Description of food

• Main collocates in English:

food and types of food, restaurants, pubs

• Main collocates in Italian:

piatti, prodotti, types of food, sapori, metodi, ricette

Ancient tastes – Antichi sapori

Conclusion

• Do British and Italian owners use the same form of description and promotion to attract tourists’ interest?

• How strong is the influence of culture on the language used by farm owners to present and describe the holiday they offer?

Low and High Context Cultures (Katan: 2004)

Conclusion: British culture

• more content-oriented

• detailed and explicit descriptions

• the style is plain

• focus on the now rather than on the past

Conclusion: Italian culture

• more form-oriented

• what counts more is what remain unsaid

• explicitness and details do not leave much room to imagination

• main aim: creating a fairy aura and a dream atmosphere

• focus not on the now but on the past

From Lexis to Collocation …

…to understand how adjectives are used …

From Collocation to Culture

• …to understand why adjectives are or are not used

Translations on the web

• Examples of mistranslations and methods to avoid making English people laugh

Section devoted to map and directions

How to reach us

How to arrive

How to find us• Come arrivare/• Come raggiungerci

How to find us

Map and directions

(from corpus data)

The position• Posizione: very frequent in the Italian corpus

• Position in the English corpusThe property is set in a commanding position on the wn

is that the hill, which stands in a commanding position where all

The elevated position of Ardness windows open onto slate patios in unique elevated position overlooking Cotherstone, in a beautiful, rural, south facing position.

uildings and are set in an elevated south facing position on our farm.

bed and breakfast accommodation set in an idyllic position in the midst of green The house is in an idyllic position, just off the Situated in a rural position on the farm

We are in a secluded rural position

Set in a beautiful and secluded position

This cottage also benefits from a sunny position

The picnic table outside which is also in a sunny position

The position

• Position in the English translations

• central, convenient, excellent, geographical, happy, panoramic, peaceful, privileged, strategic

which translate the Italian

• posizione centrale, comoda posizione, posizione eccellente, posizione geografica, posizione felice, posizione panoramica, posizione privilegiata, posizione strategica.

Positions • But the English corpus suggests the following

translation equivalents:• posizione centrale: central location or centrally

located • comoda posizione, posizione strategica

posizione felice: the house is convenient to/for or ideally situated/located/placed for or ideal base for;

• posizione panoramica: it has beautiful panoramic views or with panoramic views

• posizione eccellente: excellent location

PositionAgriturismi Corpus

Agriparallel Corpus

Farmhouse Corpus

posizione centrale central position central location

centrally located

comoda posizione

posizione strategica

posizione felice

convenient position

strategic position

happy position

convenient to/for

Ideally situated/

located/placed

ideal base for

posizione panoramica panoramic position with panoramic views

to have panoramic views

posizione geografica geographic position set/situated/located/placed

posizione eccellente excellent position excellent location

Panorama and PaesaggioAgriturismi Corpus Agriparallel Corpus Farmhouse Corpus

(godere di) un panorama meraviglioso

(enjoy) wonderful views

wonderful landscape

(enjoy) wonderful views

wonderful scenery

paesaggio incontaminato

untouched landscape unspoilt area/countryside

paesaggio agricolo (translation not found) farming landscape

paesaggio collinare (translation not found) rolling landscape

landscape of rugged hills

views over the surrounding hills

Expressing distanceAgriturismi Corpus Agriparallel Corpus Farmhouse Corpus

a breve/poca distanza da

at a short distance (from)

within easy distance

within easy reach

within easy reach

within easy driving/travelling/

walking distance

a x km di distanza/da x km from/away

x km distance from

x km far

x miles/km away/from

facilmente raggiungibile in auto/con l’automobile

can be reached by car within easy driving distance

facilmente raggiungibile a piedi

can be reached on foot

within easy walking distance

Cottages and roomsAgriturismi corpus Agriparallel corpus Farmhouse corpus

restaurato accuratamente/

fedelmente/ rispettando lo stile originale

accurately / faithfully restored

sympathetically restored/renovated

restaurato con cura e con la massima attenzione

masterfully/meticulously/

skilfully restored

skilfully / carefully restored

completamente/totalmente restaurato

completely restored/ refurbished/restructured

extensively restored

completely refurbished

da poco restaurato

di recente restaurato

recentemente restaurato

recently/newly restored/

refurbished/renovated/

restructured

recently/newly restored

recently refurbished

recently renovated

Cottages and rooms

finemente/elegantemente ristrutturato

accurately/lovingly restored

beautifully/lovingly restored

beautifully refurbished/ refurbished to a high standard /

beautifully renovated

ristrutturato con gusto tastefully restructured tastefully renovated/refurbished/

restored

Conclusion

• languages should always been approached and studied phraseologically: as showed here, collocations and pre-fabricated sentences are at the basis of language and account for how language works

Conclusion

• a translator should be familiar with the language of tourism both of the source and the target language and, at the same time, s/he should be also familiar with both cultures in order to understand what may be effective and what needs to be changed in the transfer of information from a language into another language.

Conclusion

• Corpora are a valid tool for translators: starting from data means starting from actual evidence and reducing the risk of producing unusual collocations and culture-bound mistakes.

• A systematic corpus analysis of promotional material may help those who mediate across cultures to focus not only on register restrictions on language but also on those aspects that are relevant for the particular culture we want to address.

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The Language of Tourism From theory (3.00pm-4.30pm) to practice (5.00pm-6.15p.m.) Elena Manca...

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