Modern Standard Arabic: Language for special purposes
Academic Year 2022/2023 - Teacher:
ROSA PENNISI
Expected Learning Outcomes
According to the Dublin descriptors, students, at the end of the course, will be able to understand and produce information in Modern Standard Arabic in contexts requiring the use of a sector-specific language.
In particular, be able to understand, distinguish and produce journalistic types of text using the appropriate technical terminology.
In particular, the following:
- Understand written and oral journalistic information;
- Identify lexical and morphosyntactic features of the Media Arabic language;
- Answer questions about a journalistic text in written and oral form;
- Summarize, in written and oral form, a journalistic information using appropriate vocabulary and connectors;
- Knowing and being able to use the sector-specific terminology relating to "Conferences and meetings", "Demonstrations";
- Produce, in written and oral form, a critical commentary on a news item.Course Structure
Class lectures, practical exercises
Required Prerequisites
Basic Arabic language skills
Attendance of Lessons
Elective participation
Detailed Course Content
The course is structured in two sections.
The first section aims at providing a theoretical and methodological framework to contextualize the sector-specific language of Media Arabic: historical contextualization of the development of media in Arab countries and morphosyntactic and lexical description of journalistic Arabic (Media Arabic).
The second practical section will focus on the linguistic analysis of (written and oral) texts in journalistic Arabic and in particular on two topics: "Conferences and meetings", and " Demonstrations".
Textbook Information
Introductory theoretical framework
- El Mustapha Lahlali, 2011, "Historical Development of the Arab Media", in Contemporary Arab Broadcast Media, Edinburgh University Press, pp. 9-50 (Ch. I, available on Studium).
- Effat Ragia M., Versteegh K., 2008, "Media Arabic", in EALL, pp. 199-204;
Practical section
- Elgibali, Alaa and Nevenka Korica, Media Arabic: A Coursebook for Reading Arabic News. AUC, Cairo, 2014. From the beginning to p. 62
Additional material will be provided by the lecturer in class and through the Studium platform.
Please remember that in compliance with art 171 L22.04.1941, n. 633 and its amendments, it is illegal to copy entire books or journals, only 15% of their content can be copied.
For further information on sanctions and regulations concerning photocopying please refer to the regulations on copyright (Linee Guida sulla Gestione dei Diritti d’Autore) provided by AIDRO - Associazione Italiana per i Diritti di Riproduzione delle opere dell’ingegno (the Italian Association on Copyright).
All the books listed in the programs can be consulted in the Library.Learning Assessment
Learning Assessment Procedures
There are two in itinere tests of comprehension and commentary on a text containing the features explored during the course. The in itinere tests will be averaged for the assessment of the final examination.
For the assessment of the in itinere tests, knowledge of the text type, text coherence, use of specific vocabulary, lexical property, use of logical connectors and linguistic accuracy will be taken into account.
Final oral test:
The oral test includes: the reading, translation and commentary of authentic passages containing the topics dealt with and the linguistic characteristics of the specific language analyzed.
The assessment of the examination will take into account the candidate's mastery of the content and skills acquired, linguistic accuracy and lexical propriety, as well as his or her ability to argue.
Examples of frequently asked questions and / or exercises
Features of Media Arabic.
Contextualising information (type of meeting, location, participants, content of statements or negotiations) and summarising.
Comment on lexical choices.
