Varieties of English

TECHNICAL WORDS WITH INTERNATIONAL CURRENCY

CE marking (conformity marking for certain products sold within the European Economic Area

o (EEA))

ISO 9000 (set of quality management system)

o B2B (Business to Business).

o

People in business are likely to be familiar with these.

TECHNICAL WORDS WITH NATIONAL CURRENCY

words familiar by people within Italy but not abroad. if there is someone attempting to expand to a

different market, he won’t be able to understand those words.

UNI Ente Nazionale Italiano di Unificazione: provides standards for the industrial,

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o commercial and tertiary sectors

ISTAT National Institute for Statistics public organization that provides statistics

→ →

o Names of traditional foods like: Tortellini di Modena, Crescentina (Tigella) di Modena, Nocino

o di Modena and Sassolino di Modena liqueurs, Amaretti di Modena, Mirtillo nero

→

dell’Appennino modenese, etc. clarifies the type of food.

People less likely to be familiar with these acronyms / terms not understandable without

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explanations or code-glosses.

FROM THE WEBSITE

“‘Tradizioni e sapori di Modena’ – Traditions and flavours of Modena”

(The list of the typical products doesn’t have any additional explanations).

Name of the brand was translated for increased international comprehensibility.

«The typical products of local industry are: Traditional Balsamic Vinegar from Modena, Lambrusco,

Parmigiano Reggiano, Modena Ham and more generally all cold meats (especially zampone – stuffed

pig’s trotter – and cotechino – a pork sausage - as well as salami, coppa, mortadella, etc.) and canned

food (Modena Agro food industry)». ↓

There is no consistency some are translated, some others not the passage is not effective. It is

→ →

hard to attract potential business partners.

In this passage, two names of Italian products include a definition, but others do not → harder to attract

potential business partners.

NAMES OF PEOPLE AND PLACES

Local culture is expressed is also to be seen in the following examples:

As is well-known, the Parmigiano Reggiano area includes the provinces of Modena, Reggio

o Emilia, Parma and parts of the provinces of Bologna and Mantova to the left of the Reno river and

the right of the river Po.

Carpi, Sassuolo, Mirandola, Vignola

o ↓

Unless you are familiar to those areas, the list of those towns doesn’t have any sense. Something that

Poppy suggests was to add maps so people can visualize where those places are.

91

CULTURE-INDUCED EXPRESSIONS

Use of translation of words that have a specific meaning in Italian, namely ‘region’, ‘district’ and

‘province’:

Regione administrative division of the country not general definition of an area as this

→ →

o world is used in English

Distretto agglomeration of small- and medium-sized companies in an area, focusing on

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o specific stages of a production process. The use of the word ‘district’ does not clarify this

meaning.

Provincia administrative division of intermediate level not definition of principal

→ →

o administrative division.

Literal translation Poppi suggests again the use of maps to help define regioni and province.

→

CODE-MIXING

actual mixing of the 2 languages:

«The Modenese economy is characterized...»

Poppi defines ‘Modenese’ as code-mixing: Moden (from Modena) + English suffix –ese.

STRATEGIES

It is useful to use words that have an international connotation, but sometimes this can be always the

right solution in communication.

In addition to using words with international currency, it may be necessary to adopt other strategies to

promote the companies / services while ensuring comprehensibility to international readers, such as.

• Accommodation: rephrasing and explaining

• Adoption of a wider cultural perspective identifying the target audience is very important

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• Build rapport with readers by making reading as easy as possible

• Using local terms or concepts but explaining them verbally or non-verbally

PLURILINGUAL PRACTICES IN WRITTEN BELF

THE SAMPLE

I chose English-language websites from non-English-speaking European countries countries that ad

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to translate their websites to do business.

5 per category:

Spirits and liqueurs

o Wines

o Cheese

o Cured meats

o

In these websites, the analysis shows that localized concepts are expressed often in the language(s)

→

associated to the culture. 92

FUNCTIONS OF OTHER LANGUAGES IN THE WEBSITE

Localization (Poppi 2016) mot juste (Poplack, 1988), i.e. improving communication by providing an

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otherwise untranslatable term (Brunner and Diemer 2018).

ex. “Freschin” Italian word that has it’s particular meaning and can’t be translated exactly in the other

→

languages.

• L1(s)

• LN(s) tied to enhancing understanding

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Country-of-origin effect (Kelly-Holmes 2005) advertising purpose

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COUNTRY-OF-ORIGIN EFFECT

 COUNTRY OF ORIGIN (COO) is the country of manufacture, production or growth of a

product or service differentiates the product.

→

 COUNTRY-OF-ORIGIN EFFECT (COE) is a phenomenon that can influence brand image →

consumers' attitudes, perceptions and purchasing decisions are influenced by products'

country of origin labeling

“The COO of a product is an extrinsic product cue, that is, an intangible product attribute similar to

price, brand name or warranty, as none of these is directly based on product performance and therefore

distinct from a physical product characteristic or an intrinsic attribute (Peterson and Jolibert, 1995)”

(Aichner 2014)

 HALO EFFECT consumers can form an image of a country, very often also based on

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stereotypes projected on brands and products from that country.

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The impact of Halo effect is higher when customers are not particularly familiar with the products

of a company or of a country as they use their perceived country image as an indicator for quality.

LINGUISTIC FETISHISM

Linguistic fetishism is the symbolic use of a language in advertising is also tied to the COE.

→ →

Ex. Commercials of perfumes often use French words or accents.

It is more exploited when a particular country is known for a specific product.

“The presence of a word or phrase from the language associated with the country of origin reinforces

both the visual and/or aural texture of the advertisement, working with the paralanguage, the graphics,

the particular scenario, use of color and so on, to reinforce the message” (Kelly-Holmes 2008).

ENGLISH IN ADVERTISING

English in advertising fetishistic use (the language is used symbolically. It is not important what the

→

language says, but what the language means).

English is no longer associated with its communicative function and its content the symbolic English

→

significance is of “quality, modernity, and connection to western civilization” (Petzold and Berns 2000:

121).

In Italy, English words are well-received because they signify modernity, they are associated to

developments in science, technology, business, pop culture using English Is tied to prestige and

→

style. 93

Use of English in advertising is a conscious choice to evoke these associations in the reader's mind

well perceived languages are very often used.

PLURALINGUALISM IN WEBSITES

Ex. “Save the duck” name of an Italian brand, but they chose to entirely name it in English.

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LOCALIZATION (not always through mot juste)

Isidoros Arvanitis called the “heart of the heart” of his own distillate “adolo” instead. (GRSL)

o 100% Ibérico Abanico (fan-shaped cut that surrounds the ribs) (ESCM)

o Vinified using the traditional ‘ripasso’ method over dried grapes. (ITW) used the Italian

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o method so that people can understand it and to different it from the other methods.

Indispensable in ‘Cozido à Portuguesa’ (‘Portuguese Stew’). (PTCM)

o Following the wine tasting session, an introduction course to the art of “venenciar” (pouring

o wine with a long-handled pourer) (ESW)

ENHANCING UNDERSTANDING

Occurs through linguistic creativity, mixing of English and other languages, use of other language.

Bornzola: Bornholm + Gorgonzola localizes the product but also clarifies what type of product it is

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by associating it to something more popular (DKC)

Danish Brie / Danish Camembert / Fontina (DKC) addition of the Danish adjective to show people

→

what kind of product it is.

FOR TIRADITO (PERUVIAN DISH SIMILAR TO CARPACCIO) (ESCM)

COUNTRY-OF-ORIGIN EFFECT Y-OF-ORIGIN EFFECT

Coinciding with the redesign of the new bottle, we unified our global image through what best defines

the Spanish character: our pure passion. A core idea that summarises what’s inside each bottle of Licor

43: Pura Pasión. (ESSL)

Do you know #rasentin? (ITSL)

Coffee and Rasentin: the venetian ritual. (ITSL)

The “Grand Père” or Grandfather... (FRC)

TESTING WEBSITES

Choose a website from a smaller Italian company and check the ‘about us’ or ‘mission’ section in the

English version.

Do you think the website would be comprehensible to an international audience?

Identify the aspects that would hinder reading comprehension and re-write the passages following

Poppi’s strategies. 94

LINGUISTIC LANDSCAPE

CAN YOU DEFINE LINGUISTIC LANDSCAPE?

«The use of language in its written form in the public sphere» (Gorter 2006: 2)

«Linguistic objects that mark the public sphere» (Ben-Rafael et al. 2006: 7)

«Any sign or announcement located outside or inside a public institution or a private business in a given

geographical location» (ibid 14)

«Any written sign found outside private homes from Rd. signs to names of streets, shops and schools»

(Ben-Rafael et al. 2010: xiv)

• Institutional produced by local government

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• Commercial advertising billboards, awning signs, posters, graffiti, stickers, restaurant

→ →

menus. →

Non-institutional texts unconstrained by rules and norms of institutional written language

More informal speech.

In the linguistic landscape different aspects can be investigated:

1. How many languages are used

2. How prominent they are use of languages in the linguistic landscape, reflects power and

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status of language groups (Landry and Bourhis 1997)

In LL we see a reflection of multiple dynamics: local, global, and socio-political

Choice of language is influe