Language and Discourse
Code: 106215 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2504235 Science, Technology and Humanities | FB | 1 |
Contact
- Name:
- Cecilio Garriga Escribano
- Email:
- cecilio.garriga@uab.cat
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Prerequisites
As a basic subject, it has no prerequisites.
Objectives and Contextualisation
To study language as an instrument of scientific construction.
To know the different linguistic, discursive, oral, etc. strategies involved in the process of constructing scientific knowledge.
To analyse the processes of metaphorisation that occur in scientific language.
Understand the procedures for the formation of scientific and technical vocabulary.
Recognise the history of the language of science as a driving force for scientific progress.
Conceive the dictionary as a legitimiser and disseminator of scientific and technical knowledge.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
Competences
- Construct discourse on scientific and technical knowledge using the linguistic resources of argument.
- Describe the interactions between art, literature and science as drivers of complex creative processes and in the dissemination of knowledge.
- Innovate in the methods and processes of this area of knowledge in response to the needs and wishes of society.
- Make critical use of digital tools and interpret specific documentary sources.
- Produce written papers and give effective oral presentations, adopting the appropriate register in different languages.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
- Take sex- or gender-based inequalities into consideration when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
Learning Outcomes
- "Situate psychological or medical categories like ""madness"" or ""monstrosity"" in their sociohistorical context. "
- "Study the processes by which biomedical categories like ""normal"", ""pathological"", etc. have been constructed, from the perspective of discourse analysis. "
- Analyse discourse from different perspectives and suggest ways to improve the construction of this discourse.
- Analyse discourse on scientific and technical knowledge throughout history, using the tools of the different traditions in discourse studies.
- Analyse the sex-/gender-based inequalities and gender bias in one's own area of knowledge.
- Communicate by making non-sexist, non-discriminatory use of language.
- Construct texts or other communicative tools for passing on ideas and concepts.
- Identify different linguistic and rhetorical resources used throughout the history of science and technology that have played a key role in the progress of the different disciplines.
- Identifying the main and secondary ideas and expressing them with linguistic correctness.
- Produce organised, correct discourse, oral and written, in the corresponding language.
- Recognise the different discourse genres in the field of scientific literature, together with their sociohistorical nature.
- Search for and select information sources, assess their importance, and use them in interpreting topics and issues of social interest.
- Situate different visions of the world, together with their influence on scientific practice, in their socio-historical context, on the basis of textual analysis.
- Use digital tools to collect, classify, analyse and interpret significant data related to language studies.
- Write text commentaries from a critical standpoint.
Content
THEME 1. The language of science
- Natural languages and terminology
- The words of science
THEME 2. The techno-scientific discourse
- Language, science and ideology
- Scientific communication: specialised and popularised texts
THEME 3. The history of the language of science
- History of discursive traditions in the field of science and technology.
- Origins and evolution of scientific language.
THEME 4. The dictionary and science and technology.
- Dictionary and legitimation of science and technology.
- Science and technology in modern lexicography.
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Classroom practice and text commentary | 16 | 0.64 | 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15 |
| Theoretical lessons | 33 | 1.32 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Tutoring and work supervision | 4.25 | 0.17 | 1, 6, 9, 11, 12 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Study and preparation of work | 84.75 | 3.39 | 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 12, 13 |
The detailed timetable with the content of the different sessions will be displayed on the day the course is presented. It will also be posted on the Virtual Campus where students will be able to find a detailed description of the exercises and practices, the various teaching materials and any information necessary for the proper monitoring of the subject.
The main focus of this methodology will be the directed activity, in which debate and student participation will be actively promoted. In addition, text commentary exercises will be carried out and a monographic work will be carried out to explore in depth the history of a key word. Finally, learning will be assessed through a final exam covering the subject matter explained during the course.
Development:
- Teacher's presentation: The class will be based on the teacher's presentation as the main means of presenting the topics. Through this modality, students will be provided with a solid theoretical basis and key concepts and relevant examples will be presented.
- Encouragement of discussion and participation: Student participation will be actively encouraged, either through open questions, group discussions or classroom debates. This dynamic will allow students to express their ideas, raise questions and analyse different perspectives related to the subject matter.
- Text commentary exercise: Text commentary exercises will be carried out with the aim of developing skills of critical analysis and comprehension of specialised texts. These exercises will allow students to delve deeper into the subject matter, identify relevant elements and formulate well-founded arguments.
- Monographic work: Students will be assigned an individual monographic work that will consist of researching and analysing the history of a word related to the subject. This exercise will promote individual research, the search for reliable sources and the ability to synthesise.
- Final exam: In order to evaluate the students' learning, a final exam will be held covering the topics and concepts discussed throughout the course. This exam will test the assimilation of the contents and the ability to apply the knowledge acquired.
This combination of approaches seeks to foster a deep understanding of the subject matter, critical thinking and the ability to express oneself. The final exam will be an opportunity to assess learning and consolidate the knowledge acquired. Through this methodology, the aim is to promote an active and participatory learning environment.
15 minutes of a class will be reserved, within the timetable established by the centre/title, for the complementation by the students of the assessment surveys of the teaching staff's performance and the assessment of the subject.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Assessment
Continous Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exam | 30 % | 1.5 | 0.06 | 1, 2, 4, 10, 11, 12, 13 |
| Exhibition and oral defence of the work | 30 % | 0.5 | 0.02 | 6, 7, 10, 12, 14 |
| Preparation of a written work | 40 % | 10 | 0.4 | 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15 |
Students will be assessed by means of a written assignment (40% of the mark each), an oral presentation and defence of the assignment (30%), and an exam (30%).
The evaluation process will take into consideration the mastery of oral and written expression (spelling mistakes and normative errors, if any, will weigh negatively in the grade).
All assessment activities are compulsory and will be carried out on the dates agreed at the beginning of the course (the dates will be indicated on the Virtual Campus of the subject during the first weeks of the course). The student will receive a grade of 'Not evaluable' if he/she has not completed more than 30% of the evaluation activities.
At the time of completion of each assessment activity, the teacher will inform the students (Moodle) of the procedure and date of revision of the grades.
Recovery: The work and the exam are recoverable tests if a median mark of no less than 3.5 points is obtained.
In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.
Single assessment:
- Written assignment (50%)
- Examination (50%)
The written paper will be handed in on the day of the exam.
The date of the exam for single assessment students will coincide with the date reserved for the continuous assessment exam.
Recovery procedure: The same assessment method as continuous assessment will be used.
Bibliography
Alberola, Patrícia et al. (1996): Comunicar la ciencia. Teoria i Pràctica dels llenguatges d’especialitat, Picanya, Ediciones del Bullent
Alcaraz, Enrique (2003): El inglés profesional y académico, Madrid, Alianza.
Alcaraz, Enrique et al. (2007): Las lenguas profesionales y académicas, Barcelona, Ariel lenguas modernas.
Auger, Pierre / Rousseau, Louis J. (2003): Metodología de la investigación terminológica. Málaga: Universidad de Málaga.
Bargalló, M. et al. (eds.) (2001): Las lenguas de especialidad y su didáctica. Actas del Simposio Hispano-Austriaco, Tarragona, Universitat Rovira i Virgili.
Cabré, María Teresa (1993), La terminología. Teoría, metodología, aplicaciones, Barcelona, Antàrtida-Empúries.
Clavería, Gloria (2016): De vacunar a dictaminar. La lexicografía académica decimonónica y el neologismo, Madrid, Iberoamericana.
Galán Rodríguez, Carmen (2021): "El discurso tecnocientífico", Loureda, O. / Schrott, A. (eds.): Manual de lingüística del hablar. Berlin: De Gruyter, pp. 657-676.
Garriga, Cecilio (2019): "La lengua y el tecnicismo en el siglo XX", en Silva Suárez, M. (ed.), Técnica e ingenirería en España, Zaragoza, Real Academia de Ingeniería / Institución Fernando el Católico, pp. 109-170.
Guerrero Ramos, Gloria (1995): Neologismos en el español actual, Madrid, Arco/libros
Gutiérrez Cuadrado, Juan / Garriga, Cecilio (2019): "El vocabulario científico y técnico del español entre los siglos XIX y XX: planteamientos generales", Revista de lexicografía, 25, 193-218. <https://revistas.udc.es/index.php/rlex/article/view/rlex.2019.25.0.6000>
Gutiérrez Rodilla, Bertha (1998): La ciencia empieza en la palabra, Barcelona, Ediciones La Península.
Gutiérrez Rodilla, Bertha (2005): El lenguaje de las ciencias, Madrid, Gredos.
Holmes, Frederic L. (1991): "Argument and Narrative in Scientific Writing".In: Dear, Peter, The literary structure of scientific argument: historical studies, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 164-181. <https://es1lib.org/book/2746663/0c2f83>
Lerat, Pierre (1997): Las lenguas de especialidad. Barcelona, Ariel.
Müller, Gisela Elina (2021): "El discurso científico-académico", Loureda, O. / Schrott, A. (eds.): Manual de lingüística del hablar. Berlin: De Gruyter, pp. 677-698.
Nieto-Galan, Agustí (2011): Los públicos de la ciencia, Madrid, Marcial Pons.
Software
No se requiere software específico.
Language list
| Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 1 | Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 1 | Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |