Thesis title: Linguistica e Green Deal: l'intercomprensione per la promozione dello sviluppo sostenibile
This research is situated within the field of applied linguistics, with a particular focus on the didactics of intercomprehension (IC). IC is recognised as a pluralistic and sustainable approach that contributes to the preservation of multilingualism, the promotion of plurilingualism, and the advocacy of sustainable development from a content and language integrated learning (CLIL) perspective. The primary objective of employing IC to promote issues related to environmental sustainability is pursued through the creation of resources and materials in the six target languages of the project (Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Romanian and English) aimed at learners and professionals within institutions, companies and enterprises. This objective is complemented by the aim of conducting a usage-based linguistic analysis to compare the linguistic uses of specific syntagmatic associations, N + Adj in Romance languages and Adj + N in English, related to the environmental discourse.
To achieve the stated objectives, the thesis is organized into two main parts: the first part is dedicated to the theoretical-methodological framework (Chapters 1, 2, 3), while the second part focuses on the implementation and practical application of tools and resources informed by the underlying theoretical approaches (Chapters 4, 5, 6). The initial three chapters delineate and examine the theoretical foundations of the approaches adopted to establish the research methodologies. The aim was to identify a point of interconnection among the various disciplines involved, to thereby facilitate the analysis of lexical features and the creation of educational materials designed to promote the sustainable development through IC.
In the last three chapters, the theoretical foundations and research methodologies outlined in the preceding section are revisited to inform the creation and practical application of tools and resources, as well as the execution of the linguistic analysis. In this context, particular attention is given to the development of the Linguistics and the Green Deal (LINeGD) corpus, which served as a preparatory step for the creation of the Multilingual Lexicon on the Environment and Sustainable Development (LeMASS) and the development of materials in integrated IC following the EuRom5 methodology. In this regard, twenty-four worksheets were created, four for each language of the project, with each language addressing one or more interconnected topics to ensure logical coherence within the sets of texts. Meanwhile, the usage-based linguistic analysis revealed the emergence of some conceptual differences in the use of specific N + Adj in Romance languages and Adj + N in English combinations.
In conclusion, this research contributes to consolidating the relationship between applied linguistics, intercomprehension didactics, terminology, lexicography and environmental sustainability. It provides innovative resources for content and language integrated learning while promoting plurilingualism within multilingual educational and professional contexts.