Professor Prosperi Porta’s lecture offered a diachronic analysis of English for Economics and Finance by focusing on the use and reception of three different specialized text genres (pamphlets, lectures, and reports), as well as on the language used in them. To this goal, both quantitative approaches to language analysis through corpora, and qualitative methodologies to investigate discourse and genre were discussed. For the analysis of the economic discourse, starting from 17th century pamphlets written by merchants such as William Petty and John Graunt, Prosperi Porta pointed out how the argumentative text figured as a preferred type, shaped according to codified patterns and rich in metaphoric language. Lectures were the second specialized text type analysed. As an example, Joseph Stiglitz’s Nobel Prize Lecture was considered. Finally, Prosperi Porta analysed the report text type, showing how reports from the European Central Bank are addressed both to governmental and financial institutions as well to the general public. The report is identified by a standardised structure and described as one of today’s most popular genres across several disciplinary fields.
19 gennaio 2023