In a recent article published in this journal, Moscati and Crain (M&C) showcase the explanatory power of a learnability constraint called the Semantic Subset Principle (SSP) (Crain et al. 1994). If correct, M&C's argument would represent a compelling demonstration of the operation of an innate, domain specific, learning principle. However,…

In the present scientific era which prefers evidence-based educational research and methodological gold standards, 'rigour', 'discipline' and the 'systematic' serve as standardising and homogenising concepts and as powerful identifiers of 'normal science' in the context of historical and cultural contingencies. These concepts serve to construct…

Insults are prototypical means to express impoliteness in social interactions. In film they are prime ways of staging conflict or jocular abuse, reflecting everyday communicative practices while contributing to the emotionality of dialogue, characterisation and plot advancement. Both original and dubbed films offer a privileged perspective to…

This paper considers how an increased awareness of translation in the language classroom might impact the instruction of Comparative Literature, and literary studies more broadly. Despite the arguments for translation's centrality to the study Comparative Literature (Apter, 2006; Bassnett, 2006; Newman 2017) translation pedagogy is still…

This paper provides information about a multilingual (Portuguese, English, Spanish, Italian, and French) virtual card game for computers and smartphones. Facing the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, this game allows students to play remotely or face-to-face with friends in a fun and cooperative environment and review the topics related…

Recent developments in machine translation (MT) might have led some people to believe that soon professional translation will not be needed, but most translator trainers are aware of the high demand for the quality that MT systems cannot deliver without human intervention. It is thus important that professional translators, trainers and their…

Aimed at fostering student engagement using remote communication tools to restructure language teaching, the "Newcastle Calls" project was piloted in early 2020, providing Newcastle University's Italian language students at intermediate level with a chance to be involved in the production of authentic material. Thanks to technology, they…

Literacy plays such an important role in our lives that being able to know who we are as literate individuals is paramount to live and thrive in a complex literate society in the 21st century. Understanding the relationship between an individual's background (cultural, linguistic, social, political, familial, educational, communal and economic)…

Throughout her career, Nancy Huston has both accepted and transgressed the limits of bilingualism. "Limbes"/"Limbo" (1998), "L'empreinte de l'ange" (1998), "The Mark of the Angel" (2000), "Danse noire" (2013), and "Black Dance" (2014) are five texts that demonstrate Huston's diverse use…

This paper aims to explore the reasons behind the limited dissemination of Adamczewski's Metaoperational approach to language beyond the French academic sphere. The theory, which developed in and by contrastivity between 1976 and 2005, is built on the basic assumption that utterances exhibit on their surface observable traces of the utterer's…

Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) is a modality of interpreting where the interpreter interacts with the other parties-at-talk through an audiovisual link without sharing the same physical interactional space. In dialogue settings, existing research on VRI has mostly drawn on the analysis of verbal behaviour to explore the dynamics of these…

This paper analyzes the Spanish appropriation of one of the great French eighteenth-century best-sellers, the "Spectacle de la Nature" (1732-1750) by the "abbe" Antoine Noel Pluche. In eight volumes, the "abbe" discussed current issues in natural philosophy, such as Newtonianism, the origin of fossils, artisan…

In this contribution I present an overview of Italian in Malta, the third language of Malta, focusing on the role of this language within educational institutions and other domains of society. Italian was one of Malta's official languages till 1936 and, historically, it was used mainly within administrative and cultural spheres of society. Contact…

Foreign accent syndrome (FAS) is an acquired neurogenic disorder characterized by altered speech that sounds foreign-accented. This study presents a British subject perceived to speak with an Italian (or Greek) accent after a brainstem (pontine) stroke. Native English listeners rated the strength of foreign accent and impairment they perceived in…

This study aimed to investigate cognate/noncognate processing distinctions in young adult bilinguals and examined whether the previously reported cognate facilitation effect would also be demonstrated in older adult bilinguals. Two groups of Italian-English bilingual participants performed lexical decisions in repetition priming experiments.…