Professional Documents
Culture Documents
TOURISM
HAS ONLY RECENTLY STARTED TO BE INVESTIGATED FROM A LINGUISTIC PERSPECTIVE PROBABLY BECAUSE ITS LANGUAGE MIRRORS THE COMPLEXITY OF THIS FIELD, WHICH IS DEFINITELY HYBRID (geography,economics, sociology and psychology are among the disciplines which influence tourism)
AS A CONSEQUENCE,
THE NEED FOR LANGUAGE EXPERTS IN THIS FIELD IS GROWING STEADILY (the writing of effective promotional materials requires a high level of language competence and is vital to achieve success in a field characterized by keen competition)
AMONG THE TEXT TYPES AIMED AT NON-SPECIALISTS, NIGRO (2006) IDENTIFIES THE FOLLOWING 4 TYPOLOGIES 1) LEAFLETS 2) BROCHURES 3) TRAVELOGUES 4) TRAVEL GUIDES
HOWEVER, THE RANGE OF TEXT TYPES IS WIDER (consider tourist adverts, itineraries, unsolicited promotional letters, etc.) DANN (1996) CLASSIFIES TOURIST TEXT TYPES ACCORDING TO THE MEDIUM (AUDIO, VISUAL, WRITTEN, SESORY) AND TO THEIR STAGE IN THE TOURIST CYCLE (PRE/ ON,/POST TRIP)
TOURIST TEXT TYPES (AS TOURISM ITSELF) ARE HYBRID GENRES Different text types often share a number of linguistic and discoursive strategies, giving birth to hybrid texts which can hardly be classified as belonging to a particular genre. (Nigro, 2006:64)
LEAFLETS
IT IS USUALLY A SINGLE SHEET OR A FOLDED PIECE OF PAPER ALTHOUGH PRACTICAL INFORMATION IS SOMETIMES PROVIDED, THE MAIN COMMUNICATIVE PURPOSE IS TO PERSUADE POTENTIAL TOURISTS TO VISIT A PLACE OR FACILITY THE MESSAGE IS USUALLY SHORT AND CLEAR THE AESTETIC COMPONENT IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT (prevalence of pictures)
BROCHURES
HAVE TWO MAIN COMMUNICATIVE FUNCTIONS:
1) to provide practical information which visitors may use in their trip decision making and planning processes (informative) 2) to establish an image of the destination as a viable alternative when planning future trips (persuasive) (Fesermaier, 2000 in Nigro 2006)
BROCHURES
According to Mason (2004) brochures display an almost fixed set of moves:
A) evaluative claims about the place/facility to visit B) brief history of the resort/facility C) guided tour of the main attractions D) practical details (e.g. how to get there) E) regulations (e.g. restrictions concerning animals, food, photography, etc)
BROCHURES
EACH MOVE HAS ITS OWN COMMUNICATIVE FUNCTION WHICH IS BEST SERVED BY A SET OF LANGUAGE FEATURES TO EACH SHIFT OF MOVE CORRESPONDS A CHANGE IN THE PREVAILING LANGUAGE FEATURES e.g. evaluative claim: present tense, use of superlative forms, thematization of adverbials of place; brief history: past tense, thematization of adverbials of time; guided tour: use of imperative forms, increase in the use of personal pronouns
TRAVELOGUES
CAN BE ARTICLES WRITTEN BY (SPONSORED) JOURNALISTS AND PUBLISHED IN THE TRAVEL SECTIONS OF NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES CAN BE TRIP REPORTS WRITTEN BY INDEPENDENT TOURISTS AND POSTED ON TRAVELOGUE SITES IN THE INTERNET (e.g. www.travelhog.net)
TRAVELOGUES
THE PREVAILING FUNCTION IS NARRATIVE (they sometimes include negative comments on the places visited or on the facilities used; they often offer advice on how to best do things) TEXT IS USUALLY PREVALENT (and can be quite long) BUT THE ICONIC COMPONENT IS ALSO PRESENT THEY ARE OFTEN ORGANIZED INTO SECTIONS (like travel guides)
LEXICAL ASPECTS
Lexis is the most visible feature of specialized discourse. It is mainly through lexis that a particular specialized language can be set apart both from general language and from other specialized languages. General language is the mortar used to mix specialized lexis (Cortelazzo,1994)
LEXICAL ASPECTS
Hoffman (1998) proposes a breakdown of specialized lexis into three categories:
specific vocabulary (i.e. highly specialized terms) e.g. late-perpendicular architecture common specific vocabulary (i.e. common words which have been subjected to semantic restriction) e.g. package tour general vocabulary (i.e. common words which have not been subjected to semantic restriction) e.g. hotel
LEXICAL ASPECTS
Contrary to other fields, the language of tourism is not shared by a restricted group of specialists Its promotional and persuasive function makes it an accessible register (most of the time) However, all lexical choices are carefully made (use of selected keywords as away, adventure, dream, imagination, pleasure, escape to comply with the tourists expectations about holidaying)
LEXICAL ASPECTS
A further peculiar characteristic is the use of a technique called languaging (Potter in Dann (1996: 183), i.e. the use of foreign and invented words in tourist texts to induce a sense of inferiority in the tourist some examples:
If you are lucky, you may also see the world famous Sri Sri Radha Londonisvara (from: The London Discount Guide leaflet) Camden Town is the London smorgasboard par excellence (from: he Original London Walks leaflet)
LEXICAL ASPECTS
Another commonly employed technique is the use of key words referring to one of the following psychological themes: ROMANTICISM, REGRESSION, REBIRTH HAPPINESS, HEDONISM, HELIOCENTRISM FUN, FANTASY, FAIRY TALES SEA, SEX, SUN, SOCIALIZATION
LEXICAL ASPECTS
In the field of tourism the vast majority of specific vocabulary (in Hoffmanns sense) is ascribable to the many disciplines which characterize it (history, geography, art, etc) An example:
The Henry VII Chapel, in the easternmost part of the abbey, is an outstanding example of late perpendicular architecture, with spectacular circular vaulting on the ceiling. The wooden choir stalls are carved with exotic creatures and adorned with colourful heraldic flags. (From: Lonely Planet London, 2004: 126)
SYNTACTIC ASPECTS
THE SPECIFICITY OF MORPHOSYNTACTIC FEATURES IN SPECIALIZED LANGUAGES IS NOT A QUALITATIVE BUT A QUANTITATIVE MATTER
E.g. charming little towns which are surrounded by vineyards > charming little towns surrounded by vineyards
E.g. the three tiers of frescoes which represent the life of Mary > the three tiers of frescoes representing the life of Mary E.g. youll pass Adria, a sleepy little river town
E.g. Buried in the north aisle of the Chapel of Henry VII is Elisabeth Tudor Travelling north, well stop along the way to visit Pisa To taste genuine food, go to one of the local open-air street markets
Windsor Castle is the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world. (Windsor Castle leaflet) for old Westminster is London at its grandest (The Original London Walks brochure) Some of the towers most famous prisoners were held around Tower Green (The Tower of London . Brochure)