Linguistic, Literary and Translation Studies

Erasmus students should contact me at the start of the course. The recurring theme of British and American characters in ‘face to face’ linguistic interaction in the same story, which highlights their different cultural and linguistic backgrounds, is one of the most exploited in Western cinema and television. Stories containing this opposition often represent a social as well as a linguistic commentary: Americans are typified as less educated, ‘coarser’ types, while British characters are often members of the upper classes and are consequently posh snobs with little human empathy (Ranzato 2018, 219-23). In linguistic terms, the interaction between the two types involves an ample use of the typical misunderstandings provoked by the lexical and phonological differences between the two varieties. This contrast is frequently reinforced by the stereotype of the British character as ‘the villain’ in a mostly American linguistic context (ibid., 223) The course examines the varieties of British and American English and aims to strengthen students' linguistic and translational skills through the analysis of films and TV series in which US and British accents and culture are clearly foregrounded and juxtaposed. The course is complemented by the second-year magistrale course (see CLA website pages for details).

A level of English suitable to understand lessons given in English. However, please see "Programme" for specific information.

Testi: 1) Pulcini, Virginia (ed.). 2025. A Handbook of Present-day English. Roma: Carocci. Selection of chapters. Ranzato, Irene. 2016. Queen’s English?: gli accenti dell’Inghilterra. Roma: Bulzoni. Selection of chapters. Ranzato, Irene. 2018. “The British Upper Classes: Phonological Fact and Screen Fiction”. In Irene Ranzato and Serenella Zanotti (eds) Linguistic and Cultural Representation in Audiovisual Translation. London and New York: Routledge, 203-207. Ranzato, Irene. 2025. “Linguistic Prejudice and Regional Pride: US Voices for Austen’s Classic”. In Irene Ranzato and Luca Valleriani (eds) English Classics in Audiovisual Translation. London and New York: Routledge, 203-207. Tamasi, Susan and Lamont Antieau. 2014. Language and Linguistic Diversity in the US. Taylor & Francis, 2014. Selection of chapters. Trudgill, Peter. 2000. The Dialects of England. London: Blackwell. Selection of chapters. Trudgill, Peter. 2001. Dialects. London & New York: Routledge. Selection of chapters. 2) Testi e slides caricati sulla Google Classroom. L’esame è integrato dalla prova di lettorato con il lettore madrelingua (vedi rispettive pagine CLA) STUDENTS OF OTHER COURSES (Editoria ecc.) can choose to take the lettorato test OR to follow the bibliography included in the EAAS course programme.

attendance is recommended

Written test with open questions on the texts included in the bibliography and translation and/or linguistic/translational analysis of a short text. For the lettorato test please see the respective lettore CLA pages.

on-site lessons

Erasmus students should contact me at the start of the course. The recurring theme of British and American characters in ‘face to face’ linguistic interaction in the same story, which highlights their different cultural and linguistic backgrounds, is one of the most exploited in Western cinema and television. Stories containing this opposition often represent a social as well as a linguistic commentary: Americans are typified as less educated, ‘coarser’ types, while British characters are often members of the upper classes and are consequently posh snobs with little human empathy (Ranzato 2018, 219-23). In linguistic terms, the interaction between the two types involves an ample use of the typical misunderstandings provoked by the lexical and phonological differences between the two varieties. This contrast is frequently reinforced by the stereotype of the British character as ‘the villain’ in a mostly American linguistic context (ibid., 223) The course examines the varieties of British and American English and aims to strengthen students' linguistic and translational skills through the analysis of films and TV series in which US and British accents and culture are clearly foregrounded and juxtaposed. The course is complemented by the second-year magistrale course (see CLA website pages for details).

A level of English suitable to understand lessons given in English. However, please see "Programme" for specific information.

Testi: 1) Pulcini, Virginia (ed.). 2025. A Handbook of Present-day English. Roma: Carocci. Selection of chapters. Ranzato, Irene. 2016. Queen’s English?: gli accenti dell’Inghilterra. Roma: Bulzoni. Selection of chapters. Ranzato, Irene. 2018. “The British Upper Classes: Phonological Fact and Screen Fiction”. In Irene Ranzato and Serenella Zanotti (eds) Linguistic and Cultural Representation in Audiovisual Translation. London and New York: Routledge, 203-207. Ranzato, Irene. 2025. “Linguistic Prejudice and Regional Pride: US Voices for Austen’s Classic”. In Irene Ranzato and Luca Valleriani (eds) English Classics in Audiovisual Translation. London and New York: Routledge, 203-207. Tamasi, Susan and Lamont Antieau. 2014. Language and Linguistic Diversity in the US. Taylor & Francis, 2014. Selection of chapters. Trudgill, Peter. 2000. The Dialects of England. London: Blackwell. Selection of chapters. Trudgill, Peter. 2001. Dialects. London & New York: Routledge. Selection of chapters. 2) Testi e slides caricati sulla Google Classroom. L’esame è integrato dalla prova di lettorato con il lettore madrelingua (vedi rispettive pagine CLA) STUDENTS OF OTHER COURSES (Editoria ecc.) can choose to take the lettorato test OR to follow the bibliography included in the EAAS course programme.

attendance is recommended

Written test with open questions on the texts included in the bibliography and translation and/or linguistic/translational analysis of a short text. For the lettorato test please see the respective lettore CLA pages.

on-site lessons