1. phrases

2. A phrase is a string of words forming a syntactic unit Named after the class of the most important word they contain (i.e. the ‘head’) Noun phrase Verb phrase Adjective phrase Adverb phrase Prepositional phrase

3. Noun phrase structure premodificationhead nounpostmodification Myhouse My beautifulhouse Thehouseon the hill (PP) Theman(that) I love (finite rel clause) Theladywaiting outside (non-finite rel. Clause) MytripBack home (AdvP) SomethingUnusual (AdjP) Test to identify the words belonging to a NP: replacing it with a pronoun

4. Identify NPs and their internal structure Thank you for your prompt return of a signed cheque for £43. Unfortunately, although this cheque is signed, it appears to be dated 14 February 2200. No doubt just an oversight on your part. Brompton's Store cannot accept post-dated cheques as payment, and I am therefore returning it to you with the request that you return to us a signed cheque, dated with the date of signature. Alternatively you can pay by cash or on the enclosed bank giro credit slip. A leaflet is enclosed for your information. I look forward to receiving your payment.

5. Translation problems I Italian>English Order of the pre-modifiers determinerAdjectives with an absolute or intensifying meaning opinionSize other qualities Age Shape Temperature Colour Pattern Origin/nationality Material Purpose/type Head noun Can be expressed by nouns with an adjectival function

6. Translation problems II Italian does not allow pre-modification to the same extent as English (post-modification is more common) The relation between the components of the pre-modification is often not explicit in English – Environment department air pollution report finding scandal – The scandal uncovered?/caused? by the findings of the Environment Department’s report on air pollution

7. You may well already recognise this fancy name. Bourne & Hollingsworth have been around for longer than a minute, serving up high- end cocktails to Londoners at their vintage-inspired Fitzrovia bar and Reverend JW Simpson bar.

8. Complex lexically dense NPs as a feature of specialized langauges Slightly dilated intrahepatic ducts A severe hepatic artery stricture An HTML editing programme Document file icon Private foreign investors Exchange-rate policies The continuing post-industrial transformation The inner city rioting

9. Equivalents in Italian: lack of sistematicity English Noun_Noun antibiotic resistance antibiotic treatment Host DNA Italian: resistenza agli antibiotici (N_prep_N) trattamento antibiotico (N_A) DNA ospite (N_N)

10. Effect of the lack of one-to-one correspondence Selectable marker > *Marcatore selezionabile? Tissue culture > dei tessuti? tissutale? Genome sequencing> Sequenziamento del genoma? Sequenziamento genomico? DNA sequencing > sequenziamento del DNA

11. Corpus check: selectable marker

13. Checking against the Web as a corpus Selectable marker: 1.630.000 results Marcatore di selezione: 78.600 results Marcatore genetico: 57.900 results Marcatore genico: 308 results

14. Noun_noun phrases Levi (1978) Noun_noun phrases are the result of two types of process: Predicate deletion – tear gas = gas that causes tears Predicate nominalization – Cell decomposition (cell decompose) – Birth control (to control births)

15. N_N Eng > ? Italian generalizeable ‘rule’: If a N-A (or more rarely N_N) pattern is possible in Italian, then that is the default option NpN as a “second best”

17. Why? Tentative explanation: N_A (or N-N) perceived as more lexicalized than N_prep_N As scientific discourse aims at precision and monoreferentiality, a higher extent of lexicalization resembles more closely the one- term-for- each-referent ideal

18. Also register differences testify in favour of this explanation In Italian if both N_A and N_prep_N are possible, N_A is (or is perceived) as more technical, hence more scientific – Nucleo cellulare vs nucleo della cellula – Latte vaccino vs latte di mucca – Carne avicola vs carne di pollo – Carne suina vs carne di maiale – Carne equina vs carne di cavallo

19. Other factors affecting N_A vs N_prep_N choice textual distribution: N_A in headlines and topicalised (thematized) position

20. Translation task Today is the first day of the European Flower Week, which will promote the EU's eco-label in nine European Countries. A wealth of different marketing activities aimed at consumers and events for children will take place, raising the profile of the Flower and showing people how to find products and services that have been awarded the prestigious European eco-label. Launched in 1992, the Flower certifies that a product complies with strict ecological criteria but also satisfies high performance standards. The Flower Week campaign is a co- operative venture involving retailers and producers, consumer and environmental groups and national authorities; activities range from competitions in schools to in-store advertising campaigns and fashion shows. (EU Commission press release)

21. Translation task: make hypotheses as to the equivalents of the following noun phrases Today is the first day of the European Flower Week, which will promote the EU's eco-label in nine European Countries. A wealth of different marketing activities aimed at consumers and events for children will take place, raising the profile of the Flower and showing people how to find products and services that have been awarded the prestigious European eco-label. Launched in 1992, the Flower certifies that a product complies with strict ecological criteria but also satisfies high performance standards. The Flower Week campaign is a co- operative venture involving retailers and producers, consumer and environmental groups and national authorities; activities range from competitions in schools to in-store advertising campaigns and fashion shows. (EU Commission press release)

22. Check them against reference texts Patricia Proia, dell’ Organismo Nazionale francese per l’Eco-label e presidentessa del gruppo di gestione del marketing (GGM), ci parla dell’evoluzione recente del Fiore e delle azioni che dovrebbero essere organizzate in futuro. Patricia, hai diretto il gruppo di gestione negli ultimi tre anni e hai contribuito all’affermazione del Fiore (con un aumento del 130% delle imprese con marchio di qualità ecologica in tre anni). Secondo te, quali sono stati gli eventi più significativi di questo periodo? Sicuramente l’evento di marketing più importante è stato la Campagna per la Settimana del Fiore europeo: per la prima volta in 10 anni è stata organizzata una campagna di comunicazione di tale portata, rivolta direttamente al consumatore europeo. […] Il progetto è stato realizzato con il coordinamento dell’Agenzia danese per la protezione dell’ambiente e in collaborazione tra le autorità nazionali, i produttori, le organizzazioni dei commercianti e dei consumatori.

23. Vs about 30.000 for ‘marchio di qualità ecologica’

24. Translation task: key EU eco-label > marchio europeo di qualità ecologica /ambientale; Marketing activities > Attività promozionali The Flower Week campaign > La campagna per la settimana del fiore Europeo High performance standards > Elevati standard di qualità