Reading materials

READING MATERIALS - LETTURE

(For theAudiovisuals / Per gli audiovisvi--›_.)

1. Optional reading: U.S. Accents Click-›__RP and British varieties below: Click-›__
From: www.ling.upenn.edu/phono_atlas/NationalMap/NatMap1.html

What does "optional reading" mean?
It means that this publication gives you background information

that you will not be responsible for (on the exam) but
that you can use to get a higher mark during the exam.

For example U.S. Accents gives you background information on American pronunciation. This will help you to understand and (if you so desire) imitate the pronunciation of the people you interview, if you happen to meet Americans.

On the exam, however, you will not be asked to imitate American pronunciation or to transcribe it. So the technical information in this publication will not be necessary to pass the exam. On the other hand, in writing your reports, you may be able to use some of the technical (phonological) information from this publication. If you do, you will get a higher mark.

2. Optional reading: Cultural Styles* Click here-›__
From: http://www.global-excellence.com

*con un'introduzione in italiano

This is a GUIDE TO SPEAKING ENGLISH AROUND THE WORLD, adapting your language and delivery style to the cultural context in which you find yourself.

The guide consists of a series of recommendations (do's and don't's... and what is behind them) for communicating effectively in a dozen or so cultures. The guide has been prepared for trainers but is useful for anyone who must deal with one of the cultures described.

The authors raise the following questions:

How do you adjust the delivery whilst staying 'on-message' with content?
How do different cultural learning and delivery styles impact effectiveness?
How and what do you modify of your English as the lingua Franca of training?
How do you gain the necessary 'buy-in' to what you are delivering and then manage to pass on these skills to other trainers and key personnel within the global organisation?

3. Optional reading:: An example of Intercultural Consulting Click here-›_
From: http://www.global-intercultural-training.com

In a richly detailed report, a young graduate in Intercultural Communication from a California university describes her first job as an intercultural consultant to a company making computer parts in Malaysia.
The report will give you an idea of what this kind of job entails but can also offer insights into similar work in government agencies, refugee programs, etc.

4. Optional reading:: Examples of

How cultural parameters translate into linguistic realizations.

(Materials discussed in class)

Click here-›

5. Slides presented in class

Organizing diversity: defining cultural parameters

Click here-›

6. Slides presented in class

Organizing discourse: from impulse to expression

Click here-›

AUDIOVISUALS -- AUDIOVISIVI

1. Optional* audio activity. RP** English

*For the meaning of the word "optional", see Optional Reading 1 above.

**Received Pronunciation - the accent that you cannot learn "in the street": you must receive from your (aristocratic or upper class) family.

Press the buttons below :

.‹-simple vowels*....

.‹-dipthongs*....

.‹-consonants*
(to work, your computer must have an audio player installed, such as MS Media Player, Sonique, etc.) *These files are too big to import directly. They will be downloaded as compressed files, for example, "consonants.exe". Just click on them to extract the audio files and click on the latter.

To learn the phonetic symbols as defined by the IPA (International Phonetic Association), use a dictionary that follows IPA conventions (not all do.) Read the table of IPA symbols given by your dictionary while listening to the sounds of RP ("Received Pronunciation") English. Then listen to them again while practicing writing them. Then practice writing out the phonetic transcription of any word that comes to mind and check your transcription with the one the dictionary provides. If it is a good dictionary, it will indicate various possible pronunciations for many of the most common words.

Finally, as a test of your ability to distinguish phonemes in connected speech, write out the phonetic transcription of the following RP reading of a

* ‹-weather report.

Again, check your transcriptions with your dictionary.

Then try to transcribe the working class Southern British English of the people you will hear in the recordings which follow. These are two excerpts from the original "Big Brother" program produced in 1970 by the BBC:

Tom and Mrs. W speaking together -›.*.
Heather and Mrs. W speaking together -›.*.

You will quickly see that the English spoken by ordinary people is quite distant from RP and that the small number of IPA symbols given by your dictionary are insufficient to transcribe it. You will need the full list of IPA symbols found in textbooks on phonetics.

*These files are too big to import directly. They will be downloaded as compressed files, for example, "consonants.exe". Just click on them to extract the audio files and click on the latter.

CSG.-.Comunicazione.nellaSocietà.della.Globalizzazione