scholarly journals POST-SCRIPT FROM FILM STUDIES: Whose choice? Watching non-English language films in the UK

Multilingua ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 619-624 ◽  
Author(s):  
Griseldis Kirsch

Abstract In a market dominated by Hollywood, it is easy to overlook that the number of films (and televised productions) which are not in English is actually by far greater than those in English. However, although some non-English language film industries are vast, only a comparatively small number of productions are screened outside of their country of origin. Therefore, before being translated and brought to screens for us to watch, already a filter applies, as the films are chosen by curators of film festivals or the industry. For that reason, films that are perhaps less representative but more interesting, or by a well-known director may be chosen over others that may have been more successful in their country of origin, but are made by a less-well know director or perceived to be less interesting for ‘foreign audiences’. The choice of what we watch is thus never entirely ours. Using Japan, Germany and the UK as example, I will offer some thoughts on what impact such a filter might have on the consumption, and therefore the perception, of a film outside of its country of origin and what challenges this poses for audiences and researchers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 12062-12062
Author(s):  
Paris A. Kosmidis ◽  
Christie Lagogianni ◽  
Thanos Kosmidis

12062 Background: Public health authorities advocate vaccinations for the general population, including cancer patients and survivors. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, its vaccine has been eagerly awaited, but the extent of cancer patients’ willingness to get vaccinated is not clear. As health promotion is crucial for these individuals, it is important to measure and analyze their willingness to receive the vaccine. Methods: A few days after the regulatory approval for the first COVID-19 vaccine, the CareAcross online interactive platforms were used to evaluate the willingness of patients to get vaccinated. Through an online survey, within a few hours, 1106 cancer patients selected either “Yes, I plan to get the vaccine” or “No, I will not get the vaccine”. The patients were from the UK, Germany, France, Spain or Italy; they had been diagnosed with breast, lung, prostate or colorectal cancer. Their responses were analyzed to determine how their cancer diagnosis (including date, metastatic status, and other aspects), and their country of origin, affected their reported willingness to get vaccinated. Results: Overall, 70.6% of patients indicated willingness to get the vaccine (WTV), and 29.4% reported the opposite (NWTV). The strongest determinant of WTV was the patient’s country of origin: patients in the UK, Spain, Italy, Germany and France reported WTV of 84.1%, 64.2%, 58.7%, 47.4% and 38.3%, respectively. The next strongest determinant was the time elapsed since the patient’s diagnosis: for the largest population with available diagnosis date (451 UK patients), the average time since diagnosis for patients with WTV vs NWTV was: breast, 3.5 vs 2.5 years; lung, 1.6 vs 1.4 years; prostate, 2.4 vs 3.3 years; colorectal, 1.9 vs 1.5 years. Among patients from other countries with available diagnosis date: as the time since diagnosis increased, among 148 Italian patients WTV gradually increased; among 94 Spanish patients, WTV substantially decreased; among 85 French patients, WTV gradually decreased; among 50 German patients, WTV substantially increased. There was no significant correlation of WTV percentages with cancer type; metastatic status; triple negative vs non-triple negative among breast cancer patients; non-small cell vs small cell among lung cancer patients. Conclusions: Despite long-standing efforts of the scientific community for health promotion through the COVID-19 vaccine, a substantial percentage of cancer patients reported no willingness to get vaccinated. This appeared to depend on each patient’s country of origin, and the time elapsed since their diagnosis. This patient input was collected shortly after the first vaccine’s approval. With increasing evidence of efficacy and safety through more vaccinations of citizens and patients, willingness is expected to increase. We are in the process of conducting a follow-up survey to track these changes and update the results to be reportable during ASCO.



2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Maconi ◽  
Mariateresa Dacquino ◽  
Federica Viazzi ◽  
Emanuela Bovo ◽  
Federica Grosso ◽  
...  

Objectives: The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how, while remaining within a specific field such as medicine, it is possible to use different languages depending on the target audience (doctors, professionals from other fields or patients) in order to improve its degree of health literacy. In particular, the aim is to show how even the definition of a disease, which should in principle be unambiguous, can in fact be linguistically adapted to the reader's basic knowledge. Methodology: Five definitions of mesothelioma are examined, analysed lexically, syntactically and graphically. Specifically, this comparison is made on three main levels, which in turn have different nuances: popular, including definitions from Wikipedia and the UK Mesothelioma patient portal; intermediate, corresponding to the Collins English language dictionary; and specialist, with definitions from the MeSH thesaurus and the Orphanet database. Results: At the end of the comparative analysis, it is possible to state that in linguistic and Health Literacy terms there is no single definition for this rare disease but as many definitions as there are targets. In particular, they vary in syntactic structure, graphic form and vocabulary, as they have to use technicalities typical of the medical field but have different nuances of complexity. Conclusion: A comparison of the definitions shows that the degree of readability does not always correspond to that of comprehensibility. The analysis demonstrates that it is difficult to explain complex medical concepts to practitioners and patients in a simple, clear and usable way and that this requires specific techniques of Health Literacy, related to both the linguistic and graphic aspects. The comparison of definitions is therefore a methodological premise for the creation of brochures dedicated to mesothelioma and the revision of the "Mai soli" site for mesothelioma patients.



2007 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 475-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lily Chen

An analytic model based on MAK Halliday’s System of Transitivity provides a powerful tool for decoding a journalist’s attitude to the events or individuals being written about. Chen (2005) showed how in the UK Times use of certain verbal processes rather than others to introduce direct or indirect speech could be an indicator that the journalist’s attitude towards the person being quoted was either negative or positive. In this study, using a model for the linguistic comparison of the British and Chinese press developed by Chen (2004), verbal process use in the UK Times and the English-language China Daily is contrasted for evidence of differences in the attitude of British and Chinese journalists towards political figures. The evidence is clear. Times journalists frequently use ‘negative’ verbal processes which indicate doubt or scepticism towards the person being quoted. China Daily journalists, meanwhile, more often use ‘positive’ verbal processes which enhance the authority of the speaker.



2020 ◽  
pp. 014272372093376
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Otwinowska ◽  
Marcin Opacki ◽  
Karolina Mieszkowska ◽  
Marta Białecka-Pikul ◽  
Zofia Wodniecka ◽  
...  

Polish and English differ in the surface realization of the underlying Determiner Phrase (DP): Polish lacks an article system, whereas English makes use of articles for both grammatical and pragmatic reasons. This difference has an impact on how referentiality is rendered in both languages. In this article, the authors investigate the use of referential markers by Polish–English bilingual children and Polish monolingual children. Using the LITMUS-MAIN picture stories, the authors collected speech samples of Polish–English bilinguals raised in the UK ( n = 92, mean age 5;7) and compared them with matched Polish monolinguals ( n = 92, mean age 5;7). The analyses revealed that the bilinguals’ mean length of utterance (MLU) in Polish was significantly higher than that of the monolinguals because the bilinguals produced significantly more referential markers (especially pronouns) which inflated their MLU. The authors posit that the non-standard referentiality used by the bilinguals in Polish is caused by cross-language transfer at the syntax–pragmatics interface. When producing narratives in Polish, Polish–English bilinguals overuse referential markers as cohesive devices in their stories, which is not ungrammatical, but pragmatically odd in Polish. Bilinguals tend to do this because they are immersed in English-language input, rich in overt pronouns. Thus, in the process of realizing the surface features of the Polish DP they partly rely on an underlying English DP structure.



Author(s):  
Andrea Reid ◽  
Beryl Leigh

When the British Library in London moves into its new building at St Pancras the reference collections for science, business and patents in the Science Reference and Information Service (SRIS), at present housed in three locations, will be united in a single reading room complex. Much information of value for planning future services and arrangement of stock has been obtained over the years by surveys of users and usage, most recently at the end of 1993. A variety of survey methods was employed. The largest category of users consists of students, whose proportion rose from 28% in 1983 to 40% in 1993, while the patent community fell proportionately from 23% to 13% over the same period. Nearly all users were based in the UK, 92% of them in London and the South-East; but 22% were carrying out work for clients, 38% of whom were based in London, 26% in the rest of the UK and 36% abroad. Patent searchers spent nearly twice as much time in the reading rooms as other readers. English language periodicals received most use (used by 44% of users), but monographs (34%) and foreign language periodicals (7%) also received substantial use. The average user consulted 24 items per visit, and the average number of enquiries per day was 561. These and other findings are being used in planning aspects such as reader admissions procedures, arrangement of open access stock and staffing rotas, to ensure that the SRIS reading rooms in the new building will fulfil the needs of users.



2002 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 550-557 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J Tait ◽  
Gary K Hulse ◽  
Suzanne I Robertson

Objective: To comprehensively review the validity of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) [ 1 ] with adolescents (aged 12–19). Although the GHQ has been extensively used and validated with adults and has been frequently used with adolescents, the validity data for this group are sporadic. Method: Systematic review of the English language peer-reviewed literature. Results: Eight studies were identified validating the GHQ with young people of which four included only adolescents and four studies involved young adults and adolescents. Of these eight studies, four used an English language version of the GHQ and four used a translated version. Conclusions: The GHQ has demonstrated validity with older adolescents (17 + years) from the UK and Hong Kong (Chinese translation) and with girls aged 15 in the UK, but there are few data for either gender, aged less than 15 years. Studies in Australia and Italy reported a high proportion of misclassified cases while the studies in Spain and Yugoslavia included some older subjects (20 + years). Therefore, the validity of the GHQ for adolescents in populations other than the UK and Hong Kong remains to be demonstrated. Implications: Psychiatrists and other mental health professionals need to be aware of the above limitations when using the GHQ as a screening instrument with adolescents. Further studies are required to: (i) determine the minimum age at which it can be employed, (ii) compare the use of adult versus adolescent criterion interviews, (iii) assemble relevant normative data, and (iv) establish the validity of translated versions.



English Today ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 3-8
Author(s):  
Kingsley Bolton ◽  
David Graddol ◽  
Rajend Mesthrie

ABSTRACTAs English Today notches up a century, it's high time to acknowledge Tom McArthur's inimitable contribution to the study of English worldwide.Tom McArthur's contribution to English language studies has been immense, and has had a powerful impact at a number of levels. Tom started his life as an educator, gaining crucial exposure to English across the globe very early in his career, when in one of his first jobs teaching English at the Cathedral School in Bombay (Mumbai). After a varied academic career, which included a post at the University of Quebec, Tom returned to the UK to start a new journal for Cambridge University Press, English Today. Tom's brief at that time was to be the founding editor of a journal that would inform a wide readership about the highways and byways of the English language, during an era when English was becoming a global language at an unprecedented speed.



2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 217-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Seleznyov

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the popularity of Japanese lesson study (JLS) beyond Japan and the challenges this translation might pose. It notes that there is not a universally accepted definition of lesson study (LS) and seeks to identify the “critical components” of JLS through a review of the literature. It then uses a systematic literature review of recent studies of the implementation of LS with in-service teachers beyond Japan to analyse the models of LS used against these seven critical components in order to explore the degree of fidelity to the Japanese model. Design/methodology/approach A broad review of the literature on JLS available in the English language identifies seven “critical components”. A systematic literature review of 200 recent English language studies of the implementation of LS with in-service teachers beyond Japan is then carried out. Articles published between 2005 and 2015 are explored, including peer reviewed articles, scientific journals, book chapters and PhD dissertations. This systematic review enables an analysis of the models of LS used in studies from beyond Japan against the “seven critical components” of JLS. Findings The analysis shows that there is not an internationally shared understanding of Japanese lesson study (JLS) and that many of the missing components are those which distinguish LS as a research process, not simply a collaborative professional development approach. It also reveals that UK LS models seem particularly far from the Japanese model in those critical components which connect teachers’ knowledge and understanding within groups, to knowledge and understanding that exists beyond it. The study discusses whether these differences could be attributed to structural or cultural differences between Japan and other nations. Research limitations/implications The search for descriptions of the JLS is limited to articles available in the English language, which, therefore, represent a quite limited body of authority on the “critical components” of LS. The systematic review is similarly limited to English language articles, and there is a clear bias towards the USA, with the Far East and the UK making up the majority of the remaining studies. The study suggests that future research on LS beyond Japan should consider teachers’ attitudes towards the research elements of the process as well as their skills and confidence in carrying out research into practice. Practical implications The study strikes a note of caution for schools wishing to implement JLS as an approach to teacher professional development in the UK and beyond. Japan’s systemic approach has embedded LS experience and expertise into the education system, meaning a uniform approach to LS is much more likely. In addition, other systemic challenges may arise, for example, UK professional development time and resources is not designed with JLS in mind and may therefore require a significant reworking. Originality/value Whilst several systematic reviews of LS have explored its growth, geographical spread, impact and key features, this study provides a different perspective. It analyses whether and to what degree the “lesson study” models these studies describe align with the literature on JLS, and the implications of this for researchers and practitioners.



2002 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Borland ◽  
Amanda Pearce

Abstract One of the challenges for English language medium universities today is their increasingly globalised student population, as students from around the globe join the members of existing resident ethnic and linguistic groups who have been accessing tertiary education in increasing numbers. In this context it is of growing importance for university policy makers and program developers to be able to identify and assist students who may be experiencing educational disadvantage associated with language and/or cultural factors. In identifying such students and reporting on their educational outcomes a range of terms are used. In the Australian context the term NESB (Non English Speaking Background) has had wide currency. In North America and the UK terms such students have been referred to more commonly as ethnic minority or ESL/EFL students. These broad categorisations are characterised by either partial or indirect focus on the underlying factors that affect students’ success. In this paper we will argue that such students’ academic needs and potential difficulties are best understood by focusing on particular parameters of two key dimensions of their life experience: English language acquisition history and cultural experience. Using some contrasting case studies from among the current student population at one university in Australia, we will illustrate how these dimensions enable us to conceptualise the broad range of experiences of university of these NESB students. We will demonstrate that designing support which effectively targets disadvantage of very different kinds entails a more sophisticated analysis of the sources of student difficulty than categorisations based only on years of schooling or length of residence in the country concerned.



2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (1-2-3) ◽  
pp. 59-73
Author(s):  
Will Straw

This article responds to a series of questions posed by Francesco Casetti to “Impact” conference panelists dealing with the fate of apparatus theory in film studies. I argue that the unravelling of apparatus theory has been a long, complex process, unfolding over four decades. A well-known feature of this unravelling within English-language film studies has been the assertion that spectators/subjects are not formal products of the functioning of an apparatus, but rather embodied individuals characterized by multiple forms of identity. This assertion has helped to detach the study of film spectatorship from theories of the apparatus, rendering the former more empirical and sociological. At the same time, difficulties in translation have resulted in a confusion, in English-language film scholarship, between the French termsappareilanddispositif, both of which have found themselves translated as “apparatus”. Drawing on the writings of Agamben and Vouilloux, I show how a key problem in apparatus theory is the extent to which the forces shaping spectator identity are themselves part of an apparatus or might be seen as external to the latter and as historical variables with which an apparatus interacts.



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