Miscellanea - 5 (2000)

Of the minority languages spoken in Spain (Catalan, Galician, and Basque), Catalan is the most widespread. Regarding the possibilities for employment that this language offers both translators and interpreters, it is useful to point out that, in the case of interpreting, this is almost always done into Catalan (and not from Catalan), and that simultaneous interpretation is the most frequently used mode. It should also be borne in mind that interpreters work mainly in national public bodies and in the sectors of banking, law, insurance and medicine. The most suitable fields for translation are, above all, medicine and publishing (mainly children's books are translated), although lately computer translation has gained considerable importance.

After its official institutionalization in 1990, the initial training of secondary- education teachers was implemented in Italy in the 1999/2000 academic year by the introduction of the so-called "Scuola di specializzazione per l'insegnamento nella scuola secondaria", a two-year postgraduate course leading to a final examination. This important step in the Italian educational system pointed to the necessity to define precisely the contents and the form of initial training for teachers. This paper deals specifically with the initial formation of German language teachers, as exemplified by the training provided in the Scuola di Specializzazione in Trieste. Far frorn proposing an ideal model to be applied, the author shows how this course has been applied at the University of Trieste (the observations refer to the academic years 1999/2000 and 2000/2001) and raises some crucial issues of initial training for foreign language teachers. In order to provide a basis for tackling these issues, several other training models that are offered in other European countries are presented.

Nowadays language centres are expected to provide high quality services not only in teaching foreign languages, but also in testing proficiency levels. This article describes the CERCLU project, which aims at certifying Italian language centres. Such certification is based on the Threshold and Vantage Levels established by the Council of Europe. Stress is laid on the evaluation of the ability to use the language communicatively. Much use is made of computerized systems in the preparation, administering and correction of the tests. The project is expected to last three years, and should lead to the drawing up of tests to evaluate the level of proficiency in two languages, English and Italian, as well as the creation of a data bank. In the future it is envisaged that such certification will be matched at the European level by a similar type of certification coordinated by CERCLES, the European Association of University Language Centres.

Against the background of the too often reiterated criticism of the unintelligibility of official EU texts, the present study sets out to analyze the main causes for opacity in EU documents. In order to do so, it presents a series of examples drawn from official documents written in several languages, and tries to discern those elements of ambiguity which seem to be peculiar to the experience of the European Union. In the second part of the article, a series of possible reasons for such a lack of clarity are examined; whereas some of them are seen to be linked to the political nature of the texts, others depend rather more on subjective features. The third part deals with some of the strategies - along with the reasons for their success or failure - put into practice at an official level and by the EU linguistic services themselves, with the aim of promoting more clarity in EU texts. Finally, the study examines the possible role of translators in helping to improve the readability of texts, not only translated but also original.

In this article the author discusses some problems related to the rendering of literary idiolects. The analysis of the linguistic peculiarities of some characters in this well-known novel by Dickens is followed by a comparison of three different Italian translations. The aim is to identify at the microtextual level the different translation strategies used to render the stylistic peculiarities of the original and to evaluate their artistic appropriateness in the context of the work as a whole.

The need for ever greater functionality and rapidity in professional translation requires the updating of didactic and operative tools. The introduction of CAT (Computer Aided Translator) systems into the professional translator's working knowledge calls for adequate computer training (provided for by the university reform). The CAT system can be divided into three operating subgroups, to be used as needed in accordance with the complexity of the translation task: a)electronic dictionaries; b) systems of automatic translation; c) systems of translating memory. If the first of these can be considered passive and the second depends on the dictionaries underlying the system, the third is a high- technology tool. In fact, it is based on the auto-generation of the translating memory produced by the actual work of translation, and on the system's remarkable capacity for continuous self-learning. Although the CAT systems are a useful working tool only in a relatively limited field of application (in the so-called "translation industry"), they can no longer be excluded from the basic training process of the professional translator.

This article sets out to describe some of the most recent trends in methods of teaching German as a foreign language. After a few general remarks regarding the concept of method, the author focuses on that radical change of perspective which began with the communicative approach, the effect of which is still felt. The communicative approach places the learner and the learning process at the centre of research on Language teaching, and much of the article deals with learner-oriented teaching and learner autonomy, two of the key concepts in communicative teaching. There is also some discussion of three subjects much debated in recent times: how to plan a specifically regional approach, intercultural communication, and plurilinguism. These too are examples of phenomena deriving from the communicative approach, each of which, in its own different way, shows that it is possible to 'venture beyond borders'. For this reason they are destined to play a fundamental role in a United Europe.

This essay is divided into two parts. The first part defines theatrical language from a theoretical point of view, while the second shows a practical application of the theoretical bases governing such language. The text chosen for this analysis is The Complaisant Lover (1959) by Graham Greene. The essay identifies not only the linguistic structures of dramatic discourse, but also other factors involved in communication, such as the context, setting, social and institutional constructs, power relations, ideology, and the possibility of change. In The Complaisant Lover special attention is given to three principles that, according to David Birch in The Language of Drama (1991), regulate the discourse strategies of communication, i.e. conflict, control and role. When systems of meaning compete with one another, they give rise to a conflict of systems; this shows that language is based on the struggle to impose one system on another, one idea on another, one linguistic classification on another. Every communicative act aims at influencing the thoughts and actions of others, and thus to keep others under control. The choices speakers make, both in linguistic terms and in discourse strategies, are determined by social and ideological situations that serve to keep others under control or to be controlled. Lastly, if we start from the assumption that, in every moment of life we enact an institutionally determined role, it is clcar that identity, and hence subjectivity, are not intrinsic to human beings, but are always realized in social and institutional discourse. According to the French linguist Emile Benviste, "man constructs himself as a subject only through language": when we say T or 'you' we are actually trying to create a discourse in which interaction can take place. Since, however, language is never innocent, the use made of it signals the presence of given ideologies.

The following article examines a little-explored field, i.e. the translation of personal letters, which actually have features that make them at times difficult to interpret. Induced, the main problem discussed, and the one that should be stressed in the teaching of translation, is the need to place the texts of the letters in their co-text and context, and to find all the information required in order to interpret, and thus translate, them correctly. In the second part of the article letters by Gramsci, Pasolini and Saba are taken into consideration, with comments on those aspects of them that may present difficulties for students of translation. Some general remarks on the art of translating conclude the essay.

This study analyses two cohesive devices, i.e. labelling and extended reference, in a corpus of German and Italian articles of sociology. The corpus contained original articles in both languages, as well as their translations. A comparison of the original articles revealed a quantitative difference between the two languages, with Italian showing a stronger preference for labelling compared to German. An analysis of the translations then showed that they are rather strongly influenced by the distribution patterns of the source language. However, a certain amount of adaptation was found in the translations from German into Italian, where in some cases an extended reference was replaced with a labelling device. This kind of substitution seems to fit in with a general tendency of translators to introduce a greater degree of explicitness in the target text. The last section of the article describes translation problems caused by both labelling and extended reference and stresses the importance of dealing with these cohesive devices in translation teaching.

The teaching of foreign languages in Italian schools, with particular reference to German. As to the teaching of foreign languages, many changes have occurred in the Italian school system since the Sixties. Especially since the eighties efforts have been made - particularly thanks to different forms of experimentation - on the one hand to ensure the teaching of foreign languages in primary schools (later on in nursery schools as well), and on the other hand to expand such teaching in secondary schools. Above all, besides leading to a better understanding of the role of the teaching of foreign languages in the present educational system, the history of this evolution within the general development of the Italian school system can serve to estimate its possibilities with reference to the enormous challenge of school autonomy, as well as to more surely determine the main targets of a common European culture.

The author accuses Arab glottodidactics of ideological compIicity with the political systems of the Arab countries and of a leveling of the cultural and linguistic reality, by adopting the archaic and anachronistic motto: "one nation, one language." Indeed, beneath the apparent linguistic homogeneity of Arabic, the fragmentation of the oral language should not be underestimated. In designing a possible project for the teaching of Arabic in the Italian schools, it is necessary, first of all, to define who the recipients are and what their needs are, in order then to be able to evaluate the adequacy of the variety or varieties of the language to be taught, of the teaching aids and methods to be used, the level and types of competence to be reached, and the tools to be developed for testing such competence. The author then draws up a profile of the teaching staff, illustrates and evaluates the French and American experiences in this field, and suggests creating a European Association of Teachers of Arabic (EATA), while expressing the hope that such a project will be realistic, secular and pluralistic in nature.

Il libro analizza il rapporto insegnamento–apprendimento, docente–studente rispetto all'interpretazione simultanea. Il tema dell'interpretazione simultanea è importante per gli studenti-interpreti che devono acquisire le abilità e gli automatismi necessari. Gli scritti raccolti in questo volume si occupano delle strategie interpretative, della formazione degli insegnanti e di come questa influenzi l'apprendimento degli studenti.