Preface

Preface to the 2017 Annals of the Department of Methods and Models in Economics, Finance,Territory and Economic History, involuding a presentation of all the contirbutions in the issue

An overview of future scenarios. Where are we going with English?

This contribution aims to present an overview of future predictions about the evolution and status of the English language, in particular as a global lingua franca. The paper considers recent events such as Brexit and the emergence of new economic powers, and the fact that other widely spoken languages could compete with the hegemonic longevity of English as a lingua franca. Although English will certainly remain globally dominant for a large part of the 21st century, new geopolitical landscapes may influence the role of English both in Europe and in the world. This overview is not exhaustive in reporting all the variables in the debate, but it wishes to examine the main issues of concern in the future standing of English

A multimodal corpus approach to understanding parliamentary debates: the role of gesture and institutional discourse

This contribution aims to contribute to current research on the effects of multimodality on ESP education, with particular reference to the situational context of the university language classroom. Changes in the way society interacts and accesses information as a result of the present move from language-centered texts to multimodal texts, have had a profound impact on education. As a result, in order to adapt and respond to the continuously changing educational landscape, higher education teachers are increasingly obliged to develop new or alternative conceptions of meaning and communication. For this purpose, the primary objective and impetus of this work is to demonstrate how multimodality and the multi-semiotic dimensions of digital communication may be incorporated into an academic ESP curriculum. The study also intends to illustrate how corpus linguistic retrieval of phraseology can be used to enhance ESP language acquisition through research-informed analyses of a multimodal corpus of video clips

The discourse of eco-cities as an ethical commitment: A comparative study in English specialized domains

This paper presents the methods and results of an integrated quantitative and qualitive analyses of texts related to contested environmental issues in the field of eco-city projects. The premise is that eco-cities are socially constructed entities, shaped by different voices, therefore the aim is to investigate how these voices are discursively constructed. Hence the study focuses on the exploration of specific rhetorical patterns which legitimize or delegitimize stakeholder claims about how to manage environmental issues in eco-city projects, empirically identifying grammatical and semantic clusters which uphold certain discourse processes such as evaluation, argumentation and ideological stance. The study pays particular attention to where the environment comes into contact with business and economic concerns, indicating the environmental-economic paradigm and ambivalent neoliberal frames. The methodological approach aligns itself within recent frameworks combining the in-depth contextual analysis of critical discourse analysis with corpus linguistic quantitative retrieval techniques, which can fine-tune the data and consolidate the qualitative analysis. In this way, two prominent clusters emerged throughout the corpus identified as lexical-semantic and syntactic patterns of authority and certainty

Enhancing Abstract Writing for Non-native English-speaking PhD Students: A Case Study of Italian PhD Students

This study explores the challenges faced by Italian PhD students in writing effective scientific abstracts, focusing on a collaborative academic writing workshop conducted in a university classroom. Recognizing the critical role of abstracts in academic communication, the paper highlights unique obstacles for non-native English speakers, particularly linguistic issues that hinder clarity, coherence, and conciseness. Drawing on literature and workshop findings, the study proposes targeted strategies and practical activities to enhance abstract writing skills, ultimately promoting better academic communication for PhD candidates, offering a framework which improves abstract writing skills. By fostering better academic communication, the study aims to enhance the professional development of PhD candidates and their integration into the global research community

Exploring the Future of Corpus Linguistics: Innovations in AI and Social Impact

This paper explores the evolving landscape of corpus linguistics, focusing on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and its social implications. Over the past two decades, the study of language through corpus linguistics has evolved significantly, prompting ongoing reflection on the field's transformation. These reflections naturally give rise to pressing questions related to how corpus linguistics will evolve in a world defined by rapid technological progress and changing societal priorities. To validate the suppositions and reflections addressed in this contribution, the study explores a corpus that comprises scholarly papers from scientific journals, and a collection of AI-related articles taken from the media. This dual corpus enables a comparative analysis of how AI-driven corpus linguistics is represented, in order to explore how the integration of artificial intelligence is transforming corpus linguistics, and hence the methodological, theoretical, and socio-political implications of this shift. The methodological framework combines quantitative corpus analysis with qualitative discourse analysis. Collocation and keyword frequency retrieval is applied to identify prevalent themes. As expected academic literature emphasizes methodological advancements and data-driven rigor, while media discourse highlights ethical concerns and societal implications. These findings support the overview and contribute to understanding how AI is shaping both the practice and perception of corpus linguistics in contemporary society

A multimodal corpus approach to understanding parliamentary debates: the role of gesture and institutional discourse

This contribution aims to contribute to current research on the effects of multimodality on ESP education, with particular reference to the situational context of the university language classroom. Changes in the way society interacts and accesses information as a result of the present move from language-centered texts to multimodal texts, have had a profound impact on education. As a result, in order to adapt and respond to the continuously changing educational landscape, higher education teachers are increasingly obliged to develop new or alternative conceptions of meaning and communication. For this purpose, the primary objective and impetus of this work is to demonstrate how multimodality and the multi-semiotic dimensions of digital communication may be incorporated into an academic ESP curriculum. The study also intends to illustrate how corpus linguistic retrieval of phraseology can be used to enhance ESP language acquisition through research-informed analyses of a multimodal corpus of video clips.

The discourse of eco-cities as an ethical commitment: A comparative study in English specialized domains

This paper presents the methods and results of an integrated quantitative and qualitive analyses of texts related to contested environmental issues in the field of eco-city projects. The premise is that eco-cities are socially constructed entities, shaped by different voices, therefore the aim is to investigate how these voices are discursively constructed. Hence the study focuses on the exploration of specific rhetorical patterns which legitimize or delegitimize stakeholder claims about how to manage environmental issues in eco-city projects, empirically identifying grammatical and semantic clusters which uphold certain discourse processes such as evaluation, argumentation and ideological stance. The study pays particular attention to where the environment comes into contact with business and economic concerns, indicating the environmental-economic paradigm and ambivalent neoliberal frames. The methodological approach aligns itself within recent frameworks combining the in-depth contextual analysis of critical discourse analysis with corpus linguistic quantitative retrieval techniques, which can fine-tune the data and consolidate the qualitative analysis. In this way, two prominent clusters emerged throughout the corpus identified as lexical-semantic and syntactic patterns of authority and certainty

But what’s so bad about inequality? Ideological positioning and argumentation in the representation of economic inequality in the British Press

The aim of this chapter is to explore the discursive construction and representation of economic inequality in the British press in the period 2016-2019. For this purpose, the corpus consists of selected newspaper articles from three online newspapers The Guardian (liberal and left-leaning), The Telegraph and Daily Mail (traditionally conservative). A comparative analysis shows not only how the newspapers differ on the lexico-semantic and grammatical level in the discursive construction of key clusters around economic inequality, but also on the ideological argumentative level, in the way journalists position their ideas and engage their readers in order to defend and legitimize arguments. In their representation of economic inequality, the newspapers show through linguistic and argumentation analysis, whether they are aligned with the government, and as such broadly welcome greater wealth inequality, or whether, they actually resist current government policies. Hence, the main objective is to show how UK national newspapers have a double function in both reporting information, and also in construing an argument and aligning the reader to accept that argument. The methodological approach combines Corpus Linguistics (CL) with Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), informed by theories on epistemological and ideological positionings as forms of pragma-dialectical argumentation (van Eermeen 2017; White 2006)

Circularity Indicators as a Design Tool for Design and Construction Strategies in Architecture

This study addresses the challenges and barriers associated with the implementation of circular economy principles in architectural design and construction practices. It highlights the fragmented knowledge and lack of a unified approach to circular design as a major obstacle hindering the adoption of circularity. The existing frameworks for assessing circularity, such as the Material Circularity Indicator (MCI) protocol and the Level(s) assessment protocol, are applied to two projects with a high degree of deconstruction to understand their applicability in the architectural design process and identify their limitations. The study emphasises the significance of considering structural connectivity and circularity strategies during the concept-design stage, advocating for the incorporation of circularity at various scales beyond the microscale of materials. Furthermore, it emphasises the need for early implementation of Design for Disassembly (DfD) strategies on circularity scoring to enable meaningful comparisons of alternative designs using circularity metrics. The findings reveal the variability of circularity indicators based on the hierarchy of disassembly and highlights an early-stage design approach to deconstruction strategies to achieve circularity in architectural design. Overall, this study upscales the significance of a comprehensive and integrated approach to circularity in architectural design practices