CHINESE LANGUAGE 1 MOD.1

The Chinese language course 1.2 is one of the courses characterising the Master’s Degree Programme in Lingue e civiltà dell'Asia e dell'Africa Mediterranea. It aims to provide students with intermediate-advanced language tools and skills. The goal is to make them possible to apply their language skills and abilities in communicative situations and in reading texts that require knowledge of sectoral languages related to language, culture, literature. They will thus be able to make their linguistic competence a key tool to their future studies and career.

Achieve a level of language proficiency equivalent to level B2+ of the CEFR (Common European framework of reference for language proficiency). In particular:
1. Knowledge and understanding
• Know the key sentences necessary to interact in communication contexts that require knowledge of sectoral languages related to language, culture, literature.
• Have a solid knowledge of the grammatical system of modern Chinese.
• Know a lexicon of about 1800 words and 1200 characters, including terms of the cultural, literary and linguistic fields of study.
2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
• Be able to correctly use the key sentences necessary to interact in communication contexts that require knowledge of sectoral languages related to cultural, literary and linguistic fields of study.
• Be able to understand written texts on culture, literature and language.
• Be able to use a lexicon of about 1800 words and 1200 characters, including terms used in cultural, literary and linguistic studies.
• Be able to translate correctly into Chinese sentences including complex grammatical structures.
3. Judgement capacity
• Be able to assess the level of one’s language knowledge, skills and abilities.
4. Communication skills
• Be able to communicate the specificities of linguistic and textual analysis using appropriate terminology.
5. Learning skills
• Know how to relate the different contexts of study and apply your knowledge and skills for personal and professional growth.

An excellent command of the Italian language and a Chinese language proficiency corresponding to the level B1+ of the CEFR (Common European Framework of reference for language proficiency).

The course develops the ability to understand, analyse and translate Chinese articles concerned with contemporary Chinese society and culture. It consists of two parts
- in class: translation of 4-5 texts, identifying grammatical aspects, the characteristics of the different language registers, and major translation issues encountered;
- individual work (optional): press review roughly every two weeks, for a total of 6 times, in which students will be encouraged to look for a newspaper article (relevant to the course topics), summarise it in Italian (no more than 500 words), identify 4-5 keywords from the Chinese text, and propose an alternative title in Chinese. Students who carry out this optional assignment will be given 3 extra points at the exam.

Suggested dictionaries
- Wenlin 3.x (www.wenlin.com) or later version.

Chinese texts to be translated and analysed will be uploaded on the course's Moodle page.

- Pleco Software (for iPhone/iPad e Android), basic version available for free download from www.pleco.com; several add-ons available).
- Xinhua zidian, Beijing, Shangwu yinshuguan, 1971 or later edition.
- Casacchia G. and Bai Y., Dizionario Cinese-Italiano, Cafoscarina, Venezia, 2013.
- Han-ying da cidian - Chinese-English Dictionary, ed. by Wu Guanghua, Shanghai, Shanghai Jiaotong Daxue chubanshe, 1993 or later edition, 2 vols.

Further dictionaries for translation into Chinese:
- Dizionario cinese-italiano italiano-cinese, Hoepli, Milano, 2007
- Zhang Shi Hua, SFLEP Dizionario Conciso Italiano-Cinese Cinese-Italiano, Waiyu jiaoyu chubanshe, Shanghai 2006
- Dizionario italiano-cinese - Yi-han cidian, Beijing, Shangwu yinshuguan, 1985 e succ.

The verification of acquired abilities and skills is carried out through three tests:
- Reading comprehension and translation into Italian of a Chinese text dealing with cultural topics;
- Conversation in Chinese;
- Italian-Chinese translation of sentences containing complex grammatical structures.
Each test shall have a maximum score of 30/30. The final score shall be determined by making an average of the three scores.

- 30 hours of reading comprehension, linguistic analysis and translation of Chinese texts;
- 60 hours of conversation training (A);
- 60 hours of training in Italian-Chinese translation (B);
- conversation tutoring (C);
- translation tutoring (D).

Italian

written and oral