LINGUISTICA INGLESE 1

THE TOURIST GAZE

5/4/22

Tourisms text and tourism as plural:

Tourism doesn’t exist anymore, it exists only in a plural form, we only have tourism segments: Sport
tourism, food tourism, heritage tourism, spa tourism ecc
Segmentation can be segmented, so we can find deeper levels of segmentation
Tourism is more and more specialized and specify, but we can see more trends.

One of the most famous segments is the heritage tourism. Heritage includes objects, places, and practices
(natural and cultural, tangible and intangible).

2003 UNESCO convention for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage

Intangible heritage tourism discourse: diverse yet hybrid tourism segments; Creative turn in cultural
tourism; Shift towards less tangible tourism assets; interest in popular cultural forms; Visibility of the
performing arts; Experiential content. (Richards; 2014)

The tourist gaze

Tourism is intended as a dynamic and segmented signifying practice <-> tourists looking for signs. (tourism
is a semiotic experience)
There are mechanisms of signification (in cross-cultural encounters) with which tourism is deeply
intertwined. When we travel, we produce signs (for example throwing a coin in a fountain). We are part of
a tourism game.
The tourist is interested in everything (objects and practices) as a sign of itself, an instance of a typical
cultural practice.
Tourists are agents of semiotics: All over the world they are engaged in reading cities, landscapes and
cultures as sign systems. (p.155)
Sites become sights through the attachment of markers→a marker represents a sight to the tourist (makes
it recognizable)

Sight-marker relation
sight-freezing process; sight-sacralization process (Culler 1989, p.5)
On-site markers, ex. plaque
Mobile markers, ex. brochure
Off-site markers, ex. souvenir

Tourism texts make sense within the discursive circuit of the tourist gaze.
A model of perception tourists adopt while performing the practice of ‘sightseeing’, the tourist gaze acts as
a lens which (de)codifies new images by working with pre-given and carefully planned filters.

Circularity:
The freezing role of the tourist gaze
Shaped by the tourist industry through various texts such as guidebooks, websites, brochures, pictures or
postcards, the tourist gaze crystallizes a tourist resort within the semiotic borders of its visual
representation. (site>sight)

The tourist gaze revised: In the last decade, Urry has extensively revised the concept, adopting a more
open, integrated, inclusive theoretical and analytical frame. Different sensorial experiences like the auditive
and tactile and various actors like tourers have been acknowledged as co-participating in tourism discourse
semiosis.

Multimodal reorientation:
verbal communication → visual communication → other sensorial experiences → performance turn

The performance turn: In this new light, the revised tourist gaze paradigm still offers fruitful insights into
tourism textuality.
- Performative gaze
- Multi-sensuous experience (flavours, touches, smells, sounds, action)
- Embodied gaze (sensations, affects)
- Relational gaze (social, plural, dialogic)

Vision as organizing sense: Vision is co-present with other sensorial experiences as the organizing sense. It
organizes the place, role and effect of other senses. (Urry & Larsen, 2010: 195)

Increasingly tourism events are organized to promote this kind of heritage.

LITERATURE REVIEW
6/4/22

Incredible India international branding campaign = launched in 2002 by the Government for global
tourism promotion, developed in two stages: 1) the first phase, entitled “incredible India”, was focused on
the destination, branded as exotic and wonderful.
2) in the second phase in 2012, “find what you seek” the focus switch from the destination to the visitors to
show what visitors to India could find, (they decided to use a female model).

Motivations:
1)The campaigned was launched in a particular context of crisis (we need to consider the context)
2001-2002 crisis: -attack on the world trade center -War in Afghanistan -Attack on Parliament House in
Delhi -Troop mobilization at the Indian border -Travel advisories leading to withdrawal of schedules by
airlines from India

2) Indian tourism lacked a meaningful identity. Until 2002 India had 18 tourism offices abroad. There wasn’t
a precise and common brand, there wasn’t a clear, unique image. (“spiritual India”, “cultural India”…)

→Results: The WTO (world tourism organization) reported a 22% increase in international tourism receipts
in the first nine months of 2012 = positive response to this new campaign.

Authentic texts: can be visual images or written (ex. Explore ancient Indian teples!)
*India video

Tourism studies and tourism discourse

• Tourism studies:
-interdisciplinary discourse= it keeps moving from different subjects ex economic, geographical concept…
-complex and fluid discourse: segments and genres= it’s dynamic it keeps changing (ex. massive tourism,
ethical forms of tourisms)

• The language of tourism= focuses on sociolinguistic and discourse analysis

• Tourism discourse in Italy: stereotyping, methodology, digital communication

Birth of tourism studies: 1960s and 1970s

Interdisciplinary discourse: first anthropological, sociological, ethnographic works
Tourism as search for authenticity: people want to have an authentic experience, according to McConnell
tourism is a search of authenticity. But the problem is that the tourism industry sells authenticity so in this
case the authenticity is not actually authentic.

Tourism studies, interdisciplinary discourse.

(The tourist gaze as a pre-codified form of perception)
Tourism is a social phenomenon, at the beginning was mainly a social studies interest, but then also
psychology started being interested in it: when you travel you meet different cultures, realities ecc and you
grow, you mature from the psychological point of view.
Push factors= motivations that people have to visit an attraction or destination, some reasons that push
people to travel are: research of authenticity, fun, freedom ecc
VS Pull factors= characteristics that attracts people to an attraction or destination.

→-sociology
-psychology
-History (It’s important because tourism keeps changing, historical developments.)

Tourism studies, complex and fluid discourse: segments (ex. food tourism, health tourism, heritage turism)
Where? Geography, tourism is global (The GLOBAL CODE OF ETHICS FOR TOURISM Article 1: 1. The understanding
and promotion of the ethical values common to humanity, with an attitude of tolerance and respect for the diversity
of religious, philosophical and moral beliefs, are both the foundation and the consequence of responsible tourism;
stakeholders in tourism development and tourists themselves should observe the social and cultural traditions and
practices of all peoples, including those of minorities and indigenous peoples and to recognize their worth;)
What? ex. Royal tourism, dark tourism, film-induced tourism, literary tourism…
Who? ex. Senior tourism, accessible tourism, gay tourism, family tourism…
How? ex. Slow tourism, sustainable tourism, backpacker tourism…

Present scenario: tourist reflexivity

- Institutionalization & Legitimation of critical debate
- Proliferation of specialized monographic volumes, journals, conferences
vv
Tourism discourse in Italy (Stereotyped discourse; Methodological concerns: frameworks, tools, toolkits
Genre analysis, Multimodal analysis, Corpus linguistics, Discourse analysis…; Text genres ex. printed guides,
audio guides, websites…; Digital environment) vv – guarda power point

CRITICAL GENRE ANALYSIS

12.04

In order to critically examine and effectively use pervasive tourism texts, instantiated into generic
configurations, students/ professionals/tourists/locals need to develop genre awareness and competence.
Genre as open and fluid notion:
Over the course of centuries, the notion of genre has undergone systematic (re)conceptualization and is
still an open concept. Ancient, medieval, renaissance, modern and contemporary models differently
defined and applied generic forms and classification systems. Different contexts have redefined genre, we
keep redefining it, is open as a concept, fluid not fixed.

Genre taxonomies:

Definition of genre: Genre refers to language use in a conventionalized communicative setting in order to
give expression to a specific set of communicative goals of a disciplinary or social institution, which give rise
to stable structural forms by imposing constraints on the use of lexicogrammatically as well as discoursal
resources.

Genre Analysis – GA (early eighties in the UK, related to the teaching and learning of ESP) -→ Critical Genre
Analysis – CGA (present day)
CGA: aim and focus
• aimed to demystify interdiscursive performance in specific academic and professional settings.
• attention to discourse and practice
• beyond linguistic and rhetorical analysis to the analysis of contextualization
• focuses on how discursive actions are made possible and pragmatically successful, the way professionals
reach their goals.

Key points
• Use within a discourse community (professional or institutional)
• Pursue a set of communication goals (composite, stratified, flexible, dynamic)
• Identified both by text-internal and textexternal features (Maci 2010: 42): o text-internal features
comprehend textual, intertextual and co-textual elements, o text-external features imply discursive
practices and procedures, as well as disciplinary culture.

Text-internal aspects
• a lexico-grammar level, focused on specific and recurring linguistic features;
• a textual level, concerned with the genre-specific use of linguistic features;
• a structural level, aimed at the identification of a set of rhetorical moves.
NB: MOVE: a textual segment fulfilling a specific function

Text- external features

Imply discursive practices and procedures, as well as disciplinary culture. (discursive practice of sightseeing)

Generic integrity
Generic integrity indicates the stable, conventionalized, and standardized structural, stylistic and linguistic
configuration of text genres. It allows to analyze individual texts and identify groups of texts with similar
properties. Accordingly, we can catalogue tourism text genres using Calvi’s framework.
Calvi’s multifunctional and multidimensional framework for the analysis of written tourism texts

Genre families
Texts in a given socio-professional context with a similar communication purpose, such as:
• editorial (travel guides, magazines),
• institutional (official brochures, websites),
• commercial (hotel brochures, travel agent websites),
• organisational (tickets, invoices),
• legal (regulations, norms),
• scientific and academic (volumes, essays),
• informal (travel blogs, travel chats)

Macro-genres
Defined by a common communication purpose and medium, examples for tourist macro-genres are:
• the guide book, • the travel post • the travel magazine, • the travel catalogue.

Genres
Determined by communication and pragmatic functions and by common language features:
• the practical guide, • the descriptive guide, • the itinerary, • the travel programme, • the travel report, •
the ticket • the travel post.

Sub-genres
Characterized on a thematic level (e.g. segmentation):
• art, • history, • food, • nature • sport • entertainment and • events

Generic description of a travel guide

Generic description of a website

Brochure
13.04

A brochure is the most traditional, stable, tourist text. It is mainly visual with some written captions, and it
relies on some particular traits, for example in the cover we can see some attention-grabbing techniques
such as warm and vibrant colors that picture the idea of a vibrant, nice place to visit.
Example – Malta Brochure: fireworks shape the idea of magic because tourism/holiday are usually
associated to the idea of extraordinary (= not the every day life, is different from the usual)

Verbal language
The language in a brochure should be:
-Accessible= easy and understandable, it can’t be difficult, obscure, it must be clear.
-Laudatory= euphoric, engaging, celebratory (rich in qualifying adjectives, superlatives forms, metaphors
and clichés)
-Formulaic= recognizable, with the use of clusters (=fixed formula)ex. crystal-clear water, breathtaking view
-Dialogic= interpersonal, it engages the reader with the use of modal verbs, interrogative, imperative
structures, and personal pronouns (the target is directly addressed with “you”.

→Functions of “you”:
1. Ego-targeting strategy= aimed to directly address the reader and to single him/her out from the crowd,
making him/her feel distinct from the undifferentiated mass of tourists. The tourism text wants to target
you, in order to make you feel special.
2. Interpersonal closeness and intimacy= once you have been ego targeted, the text tries to establish an
interpersonal relationship with the target. “You” is used to frame interpersonal closeness and intimacy.
3. Reassuring psychological function= after being involved you are reassured because tourism implies
visiting what is distant, unknown, so it helps readers to cope with the anxiety of facing the unknown,
distant, intangible destination. (very important aspect during the pandemic)
Target naming strategies
The reader can be addressed by using different names: Traveler, Explorer, Holiday-maker, Visitor, Guest.
However the name “tourist” is very rare and it is usually used to refer to other tourists. Generally, the
target tourist is named with the terms presented, or with more specific adjectives, such as: budget-
conscious traveler, the independent traveler, the adventurous explorer, sportlover ecc (segmentation)

Author (re)positioning
Generally we have a “we” pronoun that engages with “you”, the narrative voice is not hidden, ex. WE invite
YOU. It is used in order to frame the sender, establish interaction between we and you.
(“Addressee positioning implies a redefinition of sender status. Traditionally: ‘authorship anonymity’ and
‘lack of text sender identification.’ “ -Dann)

The use and function of the imperative mood

Imperative is another strategy that indicates interpersonality. This signals a pretended already existing
relationship of friendship and familiarity between the writer and reader. Is less an order than an invitation,
the imperative form lacks the sense of compulsion, while expressing enthusiasm for the suggested activity.
It increases the effect of dynamism already conveyed at the semantic level.

Modal verbs
These verbal structures de-construct the traditional concept of pre-packaging, based on the central role of
the tour operator. Instead they offer a new, open, fluid perspective of the travel experience, shaped
according to the tourist’s needs. Ex a place where you can recharge your batteries and rediscover yourself

Generic innovation
Shard= Made by Renzo Piano, brand new tower, very contemporary architectural item built new where there
was nothing before.
Tate modern= contemporary art gallery which used to be a gas station. It has been converted, transformed,
and reproposed into an art gallery.
Globe theatre= we still have innovation but a different process, it has been reconstructed, after a fire
destructed it, but in the same architectural structures it had before.
→We can see 3 different form of innovation= creation of something new and modern, converting a space
that already existed, recreating something that already existed in the same way (different time).
Innovation can be different, expressed in different ways, so innovation is fluid also in texts.

A fluid textual horizon

Tourist texts keep changing and evolve over time, they are never the same. Tourism communication is
contextually determined and dynamic. Genres, codes, styles, and registers are constantly (re)invented,
(re)defined, (re)contextualized.
2 types of variation:
Diachronic variation= changes in time.
Synchronic variation= at the same time different types are present (ex. electronic vs printed text).
2 types of innovation:
Spontaneous= natural transformation.
Induced= the tourism industry designs different texts.

Motivations
Genre innovation in tourism discourse is motivated by different interconnected reasons:
-economic factors: printed texts have a cost, financially and ecologic
-technological factors: not only we had the invention of the internet but also many developments and
invention of social networks, apps ecc
-authorial experimentation: a blogger might decide to use a new strategy, and englobe different
functionalities
-audience preferences: if you address a particular target audience they might be more inclined to prefer a
particular type of text
-communication purposes: based on the purpose/function I need, I use a different type of text

Word of mouth → word of mouse

Most important tourism text of all, the foundation text, is the “word of mouth” (passaparola) →Is a
spontaneous, oral, personal, authentic tourist text ex. suggestion, recommendation ecc
But what happen nowadays? It moved online, where we can find blogs, reviews ecc
Changes: communication becomes global because it can reach everywhere instantly, the potentiality is
related to the visibility of it but at the same time maintaining the idea of it being reliable because who
shares their “word” are people who have not been paid to promote something but people who talk about
their experience and opinion, so we take it as reliable. Many official and commercial tourist body use that
as a promotion system.
Example – the Australian tourism website: in their website they gave the possibility to tourists to share
their story, pictures ecc

Movement from B2B → C2C → H2H

-Business to Consumer= traditional textuality ex brochure. Is a vertical line from tourism authority to us.
-Consumer to Consumer= horizontal communication ex TripAdvisor. We don’t have a stakeholder
promoting a place but a tourist/guest that shares their history, not a technical piece of advice but a human
experience. (Tourism communication is becoming more and more the sharing of emotional experiences).
-Human to Humans= horizontal communication, these narratives are framed by potentially everyone,
(everyone could write something) polylogue, many voices ex. Vancouver website, platform that gives space
to everyone
= change in the number of speakers: monologue→dialogue→trialogue→polylogue
Even the web environment has been changing: Web 1.0 → Web 2.0 → Web 3.0 (different forms, users)

Innovation in genres
Communication purpose: Expert manipulation of generic resources in tourism texts allows to compete with
similar text instances (grabs and holds the attention, entertains, increases accessibility, visibility,
memorability), as well as to convey a positive and unique destination image.

Interdiscursivity (how)
Given such processes of proliferation and differentiation, texts constantly interact and engender hybrid
forms. Hybridization is the main factor that innovates genres. Genre innovation, in fact, doesn’t mean that
we invent a new genre but that we contaminate, make changes to one that already exists.
There are different strategies of this innovation:

• Embedding
A genre is used «as a template to give expression to another conventionally distinct
generic form». Nothing new is invented.
Example: Comics strip embedded in a postcard
 • Mixing
The genres involved in the process are no longer distinguishable. Different genres are being mixed.
Example: docufiction or advertorial. (The advertorial displays a number of text internal indicators of
advertising genres of visual, verbal nature like colorful and attractive pictures, logos, sub-headings, and
systematic nominalization. Similarly, content is expressed through a poetic style, avoiding negative
elements and only including positive descriptions.)

• Bending
Genre bending indicates a process of adaptation of an
existing genre, giving rise to a new genre with a different
communicative purpose.
Example 1: bag adapted to a tourism function, becomes a
souvenir bag.
Example 2: printed page adopting strategies coming from
the digital: a move that invites to go to a page to find more is a link. (is still
considered an innovation)

→Innovation in tourism communication is not a linear process but it’s a multiverse process where genres
are constantly reinvented.
(case study: Vancouver official website)

Conclusions: Tourism texts show a tension between integrity and innovation. While relying on integrity,
namely on structural and stylistic constraints, genre instances constantly experience innovations, both of
spontaneous and induced nature. New, often hybrid and sometimes creative genres access the tourism
discourse system and challenge taxonomic and cataloguing frames.

MULTIMODAL ANALYSIS
20.04

Presentation of multimodal analysis.

Traditionally, writing is considered to be the most important instrument for communication, over other
functionally subordinate semiotic modes. (Also in “Bedecked guide”, a fundamental tourism text, writing is
the most important).
Over the tourism discourse, however, we are experiencing a Multimodal reorientation= language has no
longer a central and dominant position, fully capable of expressing all meanings, but is seen as one means
among others for making meaning.
ex. Trento Erasmus poster: is a Multimodal shape concept= puts together language and vision

Interrelated semiotic systems

[T]here are many other modes of meaning, in any culture, which are outside the realm of language […]. Indeed we can
define a culture as a set of semiotic systems, as a set of systems of meaning all of which interrelate. (Halliday 1985, 4)
Multimodality= modes are combined
=/Intramodality = modes are intertwined in a network
(ex. TripAdvisor= pictures + written reviews + graphic system to see the ranking = perfect example
of interrelation between vision, verbal, and iconic system.)

Mode
What is a mode? Is a semiotic resource adopted in the communication process ex. Writing, images, music,
dance, speech, gesture, colors, layout… →each mode is a system, usually a message has more than one
mode.
Multimodality
Multimodality is a combined utilization of different semiotic resources within a single communicative
process→ a multiplicity of semiotic resources are used simultaneously for meaning-making purposes.
(For example, in a brochure the predominant, the most important, is the visual mode)
Multimodality= the use of several semiotic modes in the design of a semiotic product or event, together
with the particular way in which these modes are combined- they may for instance reinforce each other
(say the same thing in different ways), fulfil complementary roles or be hierarchically ordered.

Medium
Medium is the material support of communication. Ex. Digital, printed, audio

Semiotic modes make meaning

among different sensorial
modalities and give birth to
multimodal phenomena.

From the meaning making potential point of view, we need to know that multimodality is not an addiction
to a visual or verbal text, but we have a multiplied meaning making potential→ is not the addiction of every
single mode but it’s a multiplication, because multimodality in itself has a very significant potential, is a
multiplication of every mode. Simultaneously multimodality can capture different things.
Ex attention, emotions. It cooperates at the cognitive and emotional levels.

Communication functions
• captures the readers’ attention
• engenders a pleasant psychological attitude
• assists concentration
• places emphasis and leaves a lasting amnestic trace

Scientific approach to multimodality

All semiosis is multimodal, also communication relies on a multimodal system.
Multimodality is growing as a subject of study. It is a multidisciplinary subject.
• raise in the use of and interest in multimodality by general public, institutions and academics.
• critical attention to many domains: classrooms, homes, museums, and hospitals...
• multidisciplinary approach: linguistics, media studies, education, psychology, cognitive studies and
information technologies
• (more than a discipline), it is a ‘domain of inquiry’ (Kress, 2009: 54), a ‘field of application’ (Jewitt, 2009:
2), an area of scientific exploration.
Sequential and simultaneous design
The design of the tourism text genre relies on the deployment and combination of several semiotic modes.
Some genres follow the logic of time and make meaning sequentially, others follow the logic of space and
make meaning simultaneously. (ex. music vs image)

Multimodality and the tourist gaze

Multimodality is very important in the tourist gaze.
Ex. Incredible Indian campaign= visual and audio→makes possible to have a tangible idea of the destination
even if it’s not here, we get an impression of tangibility.
Static multimodality textuality expresses and reflects the complex and layered reality, thus gives tangibility
to the intangible destination. = static multimodality gives an impression of tangibility.
Dynamic multimodal textuality configures transitory and fluid reality and gives the viewer an impression of
visiting and exploring the (absent and distant) destination. =Dynamic multimodality doesn’t give an
impression of reality but of exploring.

Tourism as picture-taking
It seems positively unnatural to travel for pleasure without taking a camera along →travel becomes a strategy for
accumulating photographs. Is not important only the photo but also the process of taking pictures. Tourism
can equal the picture taking.
In tourism discourses a picture gives an idea of reality, an illusion, taken as an objective documentation. We
rely on sight as the most reliable of all senses. (Taken as objective, documentary, incontrovertible proofs of the
occurrence and/or existence of something ) But now it’s easier to make it fake, manipulate it ex photoshop.
(“ceci n’est pas une pipe” = it’s a representation, not a real one.)

What changed in the product of pictures over time? Now is more immediate, more accessible, travel
selfies, more personal.

Photography - the construction of reality via:

-Selection and omission: it’s a selection because we decide what to photograph, we take in something and
exclude something else.
-Composition: the order of the things we photograph
-Specific viewpoint: the picture changes based on the perspective we take.
-Framing
-Technical manipulation of light and color
-Technical manipulation of distance
→simple strategies to frame, compose a picture, a representation.

Tourist pictures as strategies of control: -The camera enables tourists to capture, mark, fix and take control of the
flowing time and of the ‘exotic’ space. It is not by chance that photography was invented during a tourist experience.
Tourism pictures are defined as a strategy of control because give the impression of stopping time and
fixing a moment. People feel the necessity to fix a moment and place to make it become a memory.

-A powerful medium of reality modification, the camera has been described as performing an aggression,
appropriation, control and even negation of the object. (Ibid.)
Pictures give the impression of control, predominancy, superiority over the thing we are photographing (ex
drone pics).
Digital images: When we move from the traditional pictures to the digital ones, sharing becomes part of
this meaning-making. Now we have infinite potential in terms of accessibility, storage, manipulation,
uploads, downloads, and transmission.

The 4 strata model of communication

-discourse (socially constructed knowledges of some aspect of the world)
-design (choice of mode, as semiotic resources for realizing discourse and interaction)
-production (choice of medium, intended for its material support)
-distribution (related to communication with the audience)

The grammar of visual design

1. The ideational metafunction
2. The interpersonal metafunction
3. The textual metafunction
(they overlap)

→ The three metafunctions in the process of taking pictures:

1. The ideational metafunction
in the ideational metafunction we are interested in what is there, what is happening, the representation of
human beings, their role, their interaction ecc

-interactive participants: real image-producer and viewer.

-represented participants: people, places, and things (concrete or abstract) depicted in an image.

Representational structures
-narrative: participants are connected by means of a vector and are involved in any kind of event, action,
process of change and transitory spatial arrangements. Narrative story, something is happening.
-conceptual: participants are represented in their “more or less stable and timeless essence”. Entity,
something is staying still.

Omission
Participant representation in tourism photography involves ideological acts of inclusion as well as exclusion:
poverty, waste and death are usually obliterated by the tourist gaze (Urry, 2002: 129), in favor of exotic,
tropical, unspoilt sites. Everything that is negative is not in the tourist gaze, the good parts are selected and
the negative aspects are not part of the pictures.

Human beings as participants

Crucially important elements to be evaluated are human beings. Dann outlines a framework of analysis and
invites observation of their (a) presence, (b) role and (c) interaction in tourist pictures.
a. Presence: we might or might not have human beings in a photo. Usually if there aren’t human
subjects the picture seems to be a message, an invitation, the visual shows inviting spaces (natural
or artificial) that seem to be waiting to be visited. Instead, if we have human subjects we have to
pay attention to which humans are represented, their role.
b. Role: we can have guests or hosts. When hosts are depicted, they always look happy and
welcoming and are busy in some local/traditional/indigenous activities to be appreciated by
visitors. When guests appear on tourist images, they are enjoying themselves, consuming spaces,
facilities, products, events. This invite for identification. We can also have both hosts and guests.
 c. Interaction: sometimes they’re staged together, but acting separately, fulfilling different functions.
Or they can interact, they play distinct roles of servant/guide/interpreter /facilitator/waiter/ bus-
driver VS master/to-be-satisfied-visitor…

2. The interpersonal metafunction

21.04

The interaction among elements takes place on different levels: contact, size of frame, social distance,
perspective, modality.

Contact
Is a very simple and important strategy, eye contact is fundamental with other participants.
the RPs (role players) can either look directly at the viewer or not:
-demand: contact is established through the participant’s direct gaze at the viewer, who is invited to
interact with the participant. Eye contact= functional demand.
-offer: no contact is made; the viewer becomes the subject and the represented participant the object of
the gaze. No eye contact= offer.
In the example picture we see local people talking, and one of them is looking at us at gazers, so we have
the impression that that woman is inviting us inside, to go there and visit.

Size of frame
Defined in relation to specific sections of the human body, how much do we see of a body or monument:
-close-ups= only head and shoulders.
-medium shots= the subject is cut off at the knees.
-long shots= fully represented human figure.

Social distance
Depending on the kind of the selected shot, different social relations can be distinguished:
-intimate social relations= the depicted object is close to the viewer, it creates intimacy. Ex close up.
-impersonal social relation= the depicted object is far from the viewer, no relations with the viewer, not
only a formal distance but also emotional.

Perspective
It’s the point of view, the physical position from where we observe, can be:
-subjective perspective= codification of a subjective, individual, unique perspective. (the viewer can look
only from the specific point of view). NB: tourist pictures systematically adopt subjective images.
-objective perspective= no specific viewpoint is adopted, the image reveals everything.

Angle
-oblique angle= images with an oblique angle encode detachment of the producer.
-frontal angle= images with a frontal angle encoded involvement of the producer.

-high angle= the interactive participants have power over the represented. The viewer is looking from
above.
-low angle=represented participants have power over the interactive ones. Is the opposite so we have an
inferior position, the viewer is looking up.
-eye level= the point of view is equal. The viewer is not dominating the place but not even admiring, we
have a relationship of equality.

Modality
-naturalistic= representation corresponds to the representation of the real world, authenticity, and which
can be recognized with the naked eye. Ex. unspoiled landscapes.
-scientific= represented from a generic, objective point of view and that go beyond the visual appearance
of things. Ex. map.

Modality markers (first type)

-color saturation= chromatic intensity and vividness.
-color differentiation= a scale which goes from the use of diversified colors to monochrome. (palette)
-color modulation= use of different tints and shades of colors to flat, unmodulated ones.
-contextualization= articulated and detailed representation of background or its absence.

→Colour as a semiotic mode

can be used to denote specific or classes of people, places, and things, as in the case of flags, brands and
uniforms; or to create coherence in texts through chromatic repetition, coordination or contrast; mainly
used to perform interpersonal meanings.
Colors in tourism are very important because they project emotions, they can catch our attention, colors
have a symbolic value.

Modality markers (other type)

-representation= a level characterized by the extreme representation of pictorial details to its maximum
abstraction.
-depth= a criterion related to maximally deep perspective to its absence. Frontground, midground,
background.
-illumination= represented participants can be depicted according to a specific source of illumination or not
-brightness= a scale which runs from many different degrees of brightness to two degrees.
(light with different degrees of intensity can produce different vibes. For example a soft sunset light shapes
the romantic tourist gaze.)

3. The textual metafunction

The way through which the elements in a picture are related to each other in order to create a meaningful
whole. The compositional nature of images is characterized by 3 interrelated systems: information value,
salience, framing

Information value
(The textual meta-function: it’s concerned with the texture of a text, of what makes a text coherent and
cohesive???)
Meaningful location of elements in a picture:
-on the left side= already given information.
-on the right side= a new message.
-on the top= the most salient and/or ideal part.
-on the bottom= more specific and practical information.

Visual composition may also be structured along the dimensions of center ad margin:
-center= the most crucial part of the image (See image on the cover of the presentation).
-margin= marginal elements are subordinated to the central one(s).

Salience
Elements are made in order to attract the viewer’s attention in different ways:
-size
-sharpness of focus
-tonal and color contrasts
-placement
-perspective
-presence of human figures or cultural symbols

Framing
The presence or absence of specific devices which connect or disconnect the elements of an image, what is
included and excluded, the organization. Elements in a picture can either be:
-connected through vectors, abstract graphic elements and repetition of colours.
-disconnected because of lines, empty spaces and so forth.

Conclusions: Tourist pictures are crucial markers; Tourist pictures fulfil ideational, interpersonal, textual
functions; Proper tools need to be mastered in order to decodify their meaning-making strategies; Critical
visual awareness needs to be developed in order to understand their ideological potential.

VISUAL-VERBAL INTERFACE
26.04

Forms and functions of intersemiosis= interaction of different modes, mode not as isolated but in their
interplay.
ex. London underground campaign
When? July 2003
Where? London Underground stations: Oxford Circus, Liverpool Street, Victoria, Piccadilly
By whom? Scottish Tourism Board and Highland Spring Mineral water company
What? Highland Spring Mineral water and Advertising Posters
→campaign of mineral water, during a hot period, with free samples and signs. Poster with verbal and
visual combined. First analyze the visual (tourist gaze starts from the visual which is the organizing system)
what we see in this image= natural landscape with water, idea of purity and clarification; regeneration idea
of Scotland. Then we read the text.

Van Leeuwen’s framework (promoters)

• Segregation= two segregated semiotics spaces and designated order. We don’t have any connection
between the two. (Verbal and visual are segregated, extreme separation between the two)
• Separation= disconnection between the two, not as extreme as the segregation but they are distant,
empty space between the verbal and the visual. (Maybe because they’re created by two different people).
• Integration= one semiotic system is integrated, absorbed, superimposed into another, more profound
interplay. Usually the verbal is integrated into the visual.
• Overlap= porosity is the overlapping of systems. Even more integrated.
• Rhyming= similarity between systems. They’re congruent, they express the same things (ex. By colors)
• Contrast= difference (valid for semantic contrast in humor). Contrast between the visual and written.

Examples:
Segregation: Separation: Integration: *

*Tuscany campaign images (integration): we have a huge image and a small verbal caption, in this
integration the verbal is part of the visual. In both cases we have human beings, but no contact is
established: in one the couple is gazing at the wonderful landscape, in the other the people are admiring
the statue. In both cases the human beings are looking at something, in the first image we have a calm,
intimate situation that wants to celebrate Tuscany as a tranquil place to go on holiday; in the second one
we have a social situation, a crowd, celebrating the art heritage that makes Tuscany an iconic destination
for it. Regarding the writing some quotes from the Divine Comedy are taken and gives name to the “Divine
Tuscany” campaign celebrating an iconic symbol of Tuscany.

NB: the degrees of framing in terms of thickness, neatness…

People who look at and the item who is looked at. Close up, they’re not
looking straight to the camera but they’re doing something. Visual text is
divided in two lines, in the upper one we can see the mountains and in
the other one two couples of young people, stereotyped people, young,
beautiful, happy… the tourist gaze is always stereotyped, it doesn’t show
differences or minorities. The idea of a peak experience is very effective,
they’re enjoying themselves. We can see the Trentino logo on the right down corner. Then we have a
caption “dolce vita” effective, easy, accessible, and recognizable.

Contrast= the visual shows a crowded Scotland but the verbal celebrates
the fact that Scotland is unspoiled ecc.

Contrast= rural landscape, relaxing vibes, free but in contrast with the opening
line of the Divine comedy (“lasciate ogni speranza voi ch’entrate”) →humorous
traits that catch attention.
The “Divine Tuscany campaign” was created for the bit (borsa internazionale del turismo), to reach more
visibility. When the president saw the campaign, he didn’t like the pictures because he thought that they
gave a fake idea of Tuscany since they were edited a lot with photoshop.
See how the verbal and the visual can cooccur on the page:

London t-shirt= rhyming, same colors

Official logo of Malta Gozo Comino= rhyming of

colors, with reference to the blue

Incredible India= overlap, the woman’s leg function as an “I” for India

Barthes’ framework for intersemiosis in static texts

(different functions:)
• Relay= The relay function is grounded upon a complementary relationship between words and images: the
verbal text can ‘extend’, ‘enhance’, the visual text, adding new and different meanings. The visual does
something and the verbal does something else. Ex. cartoons, comic strips, films.
• Elaboration= Elaboration takes place when the verbal text elaborates the image, or vice versa, restating the
same meaning. It can be further divided into illustration (performed by the image when the verbal comes
first) and anchorage (fulfilled by the verbal to fix the visual text, when the image comes first). One is
important and the other is semantically unnecessary, it would make sense anyway.

Illustration: the images are Anchorage: is the opposite,

added even if they’re not the images would make
semantically necessary, sense even without words.
it would make sense also
with only the written part.

Expansion: target position in destination ads

Expo campaign: Italian pictures and a label up on the right that looks like a clothes tag,
referring to Italian fashion tradition, the Italian landscape is made in Italy.

Conclusions: Tourism texts make meaning at the intermodal level, whereby different modes integrate;
Intersemiotic analysis should overcome an additive view and adopt an integrative perspective; Attention
should be given to forms (e.g. integration, overlap) and functions (e.g. relay, illustration) of intersemiotic
patterns, Multiplied meaning potential of intersemiosis works at the emotional and cognitive levels.

THE SOUNDSCAPE
27.04

The mode of sound= is a meaning-making system, semiotic resource.

What is sound?
The intrasemiotic resources of sound are those included in: speech, music, other sounds (=effect not
produced by humans or musical instruments). We have, again, an inclusive and open definition.

(From a multimodal point of view, you never have language, we’ve seen how language works on posters,
brochures ecc but this is considered by multimodality as written. In general language is produced by either
writing or speech, so in 2 different modes, but from a multimodal perspective we consider speech as a
sound system, different from writing which is a visual system. )

Sound materiality:
as a consequence of the fact that medium matters, materiality matters. (for example same written
brochure and used differently when used online or downloaded)
Materiality= concrete material ex. printed, digital ecc

From a socio-semiotic perspective, materiality implies the concrete material resources (human, musical and
non-musical instruments) used to produce sounds (p. 125). Materiality offers a range of semiotic choices
that “have semiotic value”, that is they have “a potential for semiosis, for making meaning” (p. 8).
→1. semiotic affordances of sound perspective, 2. sound time and rhythm, 3. Melody,
4.voice quality, 5. timbre.
=Codification
Sensorial experience of hearing (:we also have a cognitive dimension)
(different sensorial experiences in the decodification of texts or sounds (different organs are involved)

Auditory perception depends on the ability to detect sound vibrations through the ear. Vibrations are then
transformed into nerve impulses that are processed by the brain, primarily in the temporal lobe.
=Decodification

Sound and the logic of time

While the image signifies through the logic of space, sound unfolds in time and follows the logic of time.
Succession of elements in time can express narrative patterns and diegetic development.

Dynamism and sound

Rarely fixed and static, sound and sound systems are normally fluid and dynamic: the presence, relevance
and interaction of sounds constantly change over time, either spontaneously, a natural change(ex. birds
singing), or as a result of sound manipulation (ex. turns in dialogue, pauses in speech)

Soundscape
A number of sounds can co-occur, from different sources and different locations, and these different
sounds have different degrees of relevance to the listener. Their interaction forms a soundscape. It can be
described through the following:
1 sound perspective, 2 sound time and rhythm, 3 [interaction of voices], 4 melody, 5 voice quality and
timbre, 6 [modality].

1. Perspective
The system of perspective claims that different simultaneous sounds don’t have the same degree of
importance for the listeners. Sounds in a system are hierarchically organized based on the distances from
the listener:
-close distance= immediate (foreground)
-middle distance= support (mid-ground)
-far distance = background (background)
 Sound positions in a soundscape
simultaneous sounds can be positioned as:
Figure= most important sound or group of sounds, the sound which the listener must identify with and/or
react to and/or act upon.
Ground= part of the listener’s social world, but only in a minor and less involved way; in the middle
Field= existing not in the listener’s social, but in his/her physical world; the weakest ex. background music
→what changes is the degree of relevance for the listener

Ex. analyzing the “Incredible India” radio commercial

(Part of the official international marketing campaign launched in 2002. Focus on national culture and
history, from architecture to food, through spirituality. Called ‘Find what you seek’, the second stage was
launched in 2012. Focus on what international visitors can find in India, including heritage, spirituality,
wellness, adventure.)

Duration: 30 seconds
Soundscape: voice + instrumental soundtrack
Voice: -male, adult, Indian-English variety, vibrant, tense, smooth, clean
-figure position
Soundtrack: -interaction of flute, Indian drums (tabla) and bells
-ground position

→we analyzed it as a static sound, but if we had to look at the dynamic composition is different throughout
the video because we have change in the development:
Dynamic composition
1° part: mutual interaction of voice and music
2° part: more contrastive relation, since music calms down, while voice is still vibrant
3° part: (Indian chimes) sound interplay becomes harmonious again

The system network of social distance

In sound, loudness and distance combination suggests a set of possible social relations between sounds and
listeners: (the close-up??)

Sound of the voice

In order to establish a distance, we change some aspects of the voice (in fact actors modulate their voice):
-Personal distance= To indicate personal distance, the sound of the voice needs to include, other than low
volume, qualities such as a ‘relaxed’ voice […] and ‘low pitch’ that is, a low tone of voice resulting from a
relaxed voice.
-Formal distance= To indicate formal distance, a higher, tenser voice is needed, a higher tone of voice
(pitch) that results from tension in the throat muscles.
-Social distance= To indicate social distance, the sound of the voice needs to include qualities such as
tension and pitch as well as volume, referring to this sound as voice quality.
From social distance to voice quality
Amplification and recording have broken the links between social distance and actual proximity. They have
become independent semiotic variables. Under these circumstances, social distance is indicated by “voice
quality”.

2. Timing
Rhythm segments the stream of sound into discrete sound events: discrete moves (inter)act in the ongoing
sound; -The rhythmic structure of these phrases creates the pulse that mark the moments of greatest
communicative value (p. 93).
PHRASING + PULSING →PROVIDE FRAMES FOR SOCIAL ACTS

3. Interaction of voices
•Sequentiality= Adjacency pairs: two different interactive participants (initiator and reactor, both individual
or group):
- segregation between the initiator’s and the reactor’s move →symbolic distance
- overlap between the initiator’s move and the reactor’s move →symbolic closeness

•Simultaneity= Types of simultaneous interaction:

-unison: all participants produce the same sound
-plurality: different voices and instruments intertwine
-dominance: one dominant voice + supporting voices

4.Melody:
melodies are related to emotions, (emotions and feelings in a visual context are generally expressed with
colors: melodies and colors go hand in hand). Examples:
-joy: wide pitch range at high pitch level, lively tempo.
-tenderness: high pitch level, narrow pitch range, medium tempo, soft voice.
-anxiety: mid-pitch level, extremely narrow pitch range, breathy, tense voice.

Melodic patterns
The melodic phrase (or tone group, tone unit, tone) has been variously analyzed and classified in its
rhythmic structure: Ex: pre-head, head, nucleus, tail It is a combination of pitch movement, pitch range,
pitch level…

Gesture and texture

Pitch features can characterize:
-Environmental setting; texture= related to non-human environmental states and processes; more static,
repeated, and short melodic patterns.
-Social setting; gesture= related to human activities (beginning, middle, end). They can be isolated or
combined. If combined, they may be perspectivally foregrounded or backgrounded.

Pitch movement
Since this is not static, but we have a dynamic scene, and melodies are fluid and dynamic, we have to pay
attention to movements in melodies:
-Ascending melodies= raise in pitch (active and dynamic→ vocal effort)
-Static melodies
-Descending melodies= : fall in pitch (relaxing melodies→ relaxed voice)
 Pitch range and Pitch level
Melodies can move in large or small intervals, large strides, and energetic leaps, or restrained measured steps.
-Wide pitch range= emotive expansion excitement, surprise, anger
-Narrow pitch range=emotive confinement, boredom, misery
-High pitch level= vocal effort
-Low pitch level= relaxed voice

The relations of dominance and subordination can be articulated. Needs to be analyzed with social
distance, as context based, gender-determined..

5. Voice quality and timbre

Tense: tense/lax
Roughness: rough/smooth
Breathiness
Loudness: soft/loud
Pitch register: high/low
Vibrato: vibrato/plain
Voice adaptation
Professional speakers and actors change their voice according to the situation they are involved in. For
example newsreaders’ voices become higher and tenser while reading the news, while female voices
promoting a perfume in a commercial become lower, more whispery and breathy

6. Modality
1. Pitch range (from monotone to a maximally pitch range);
2. Durational variation (no or various degrees of duration);
3. Dynamic range (no or various degrees of loudness);
4. Perspectival depth (from flat to layered music);
5. Degrees of fluctuation (from steady to vibrato);
6. Degrees of friction (from smooth to rough);
7. Absorption range (from dry to spacious, reverberating, resonating);
8. Degrees of directionality (human voice on a stage vs ‘wrap-around” sounds).

Examples:
Video n1
Dynamic, change in pitch. It’s low at the beginning then we have an ascending melody. Particular music
with a symbolic meaning evoking a wedding. Conclusion is still dynamic and vibrant, not descending.

Video n2
Natural sounds, male voice, and music. Natural sounds different types: water, birds…; one male voice; one
music. The voice quality is low, soft, tense. Personal (in social distance). Music doesn’t start at the
beginning, initially we only have sounds effects.

Conclusions: Soundscape is a system; Meaning potential in aural system is expressed through choices;
Choices can be intentional or non-intentional; Sound and hearing are part of the tourist gaze, multimodally
conceived.

AUDIO-VISUAL ANALYSIS
03.05
Movement and language in the audio-visual
In the multimodal video artefact, a range of co-occurring modes and modal resources compose the visual
and audio tracks and are sequentially realized, that is, they unfold over time. =a preliminary definition.

Various integrated semiotic resources are articulated upon the unfolding in time to engender dynamic
instances. Rather than a static, fixed and still unit, the film is a dynamic text, a “system in flux”, governed by
“patterns of change”
(Logic of space makes meaning simultaneously ex. photo
Logic of time makes meaning over time ex. conversation)
Film and videos are Sequentially realized, unfold over time= not static, is dynamic.

Dynamic textuality and the tourist gaze

Together with multimodality, dynamic textuality reflects the complexity, plurality, and fluidity of reality,
and gives the viewer an impression of visiting and exploring the destination. →mobile gaze
We add movement, we transform the static tourist gaze into the mobile tourist gaze.
(Mobility is the actual visual experience that we do while moving.)

Motion and change on screen

The visual track that audiences see on screen encompasses dynamic images of participants and their
actions. Participants can act, move, change positions, or make gestures in the setting in which they are
immersed, which itself can be static or dynamic. Change can also occur in natural phenomena such as
snowfall or rainfall, which exhibit different rhythms, speeds, and durations. =movement can affect people
but also actions. (Movement is a system within the video and can affect participants on different levels.)

Movements on the screen

Participants can perform lateral movements on the screen. We need to pay attention to the type of
movement but also to their direction. According to Giannetti three direction of movement makes meaning:
-an upward motion: “aspiration, joy, power, and authority”
-a downward movement: “grief, death, insignificance, depression, weakness”
-movement to the right: natural feelings, values of determination and efficiency
-movements to the left: “tense and uncomfortable”

Depth movements on screen

Alternatively, participants may perform depth movements, by moving toward or away from the camera.
The effect of a depth movement depends on the kind of character who performs it:
-an attractive character moving towards the camera (and thus towards the audience) may look friendly,
-a negative character moving from the camera may seem menacing. In general, motion towards the camera
depicts an assertive and confident character, shows power, energy.

Film structure: terminology

Frame= the still of a shot
Shot= the basic meaningful video unit, an uncut video unit (SHOT = CLAUSE)
Scene= a one time–space unit
Sequence= embraces multiple space-scenes

Elements of dynamism in the film

We can have movements inside the shot (intra-shot), and out of the shot (inter-shot) which affects the shot
transitions. When we don’t have a clear cut that moves from a shot to another directly, we have an overlap
of the two and this gives a slower impression. For example to promote slow tourism we can use slow
motions and slow transitions, instead to promote active tourism we might use strong cuts.

Intra-shot dynamism:
-camera movements
-participants’ gestures and mouvements (action)
-participants’ voice
-colour changes
-light changes

Inter-shot dynamism :
-shot transition
-sound continuity via music
-sound continuity via voice-over

Motion within a shot: the static camera

We can have motion or not, if not we have a “static camera”. The camera could be static, and the
movements are performed by the participants, or we can have both participants and camera moving.
Motion within a shot can in fact relate to a represented participant (a human being running, a moving train,
falling rain) or to the camera itself. Thus, on-screen movement can be produced by either a static or moving
camera. Conveying a sense of stability and order, a static camera may be mounted on a tripod and then
moved either along the horizontal axis (panning) or the vertical axis (tilting) or, again, moving towards an
object or person (zooming).

Camera movement and the dynamic tourist gaze

A panning shot may be used to show the vastness of a natural landscape, or to express the connections
between people in a given situation. The tilt is often used to construct a low angle and highlight the vertical
orientation of a tree or a tower, or to trace the vertical trajectory in a point-of-view shot. A zoom may be
used to foreground a detail in a room, in a landscape, on a face or operate as a trigger for a flashback
sequence.

Motion within a shot: the moving camera/tourist

The camera can be mounted on a moving vehicle, a car, a train, or a bicycle, as a dolly. Used for more
dynamic effects, the dolly can move in, out, alongside a moving item. However, slow tracking a character
may suggest gradual psychological revelation or signal importance. Crane shots are airborne dolly shots:
cranes lift the camera in or out of a scene and can move up, down, diagonally, in, out, or any combination
of these. If a hand‐held camera is used, movements lose their smoothness; they are exaggerated, and
acquire a blurred effect that communicates instability and uncertainty, it can also project the value of
authenticity, on the road, authentic device.

Motion within a shot: slow or fast motion/travel

Not only does movement directionality make meaning; speed-related techniques such as slow or fast
motion affect narrative rhythm as they decrease or increase the pace of unfolding actions and events. Slow
motion can ritualize, solemnize the scene, suggest speculation, or indicate flashbacks. Fast motion can
intensify natural speed or create comic effects in the case of acceleration. (ex. mini Matera)
(Movement in videos also shows rhythm and speed. fast motion/slow-motion/time laps=speed techniques)

Intra-shot movement as part of the mise en scène

The staging of the action and the way it is shot by the camera films constitutes the mise en scene. (the
intra-shot movement is part of the mise en scène.)

Inter-shot movement as shaping editing

Scenes are sequentially organized though editing or montage. (The fact that we have fragments and cuts as
transition types derive from the editing/montage.)

Montage/editing: shot transition

Cut= very strong, immediate, basic transition
Cross cutting= slow transition, without a clear cut but movement from one action to another
Fade-in/out=
Crossfade= dissolve, fade between two shots

Narrator, focaliser and the tourist gaze

Size of frame, angle and movement, smoothness and speed are functional to the enactment of point of
view in a tourist video.
A point-of-view shot (PoV) enables spectators to see what a character sees (identification). The camera
assumes the spatial position of a character and operates as if it were the eye of the character, in order to
show what s/he sees. The character may be static or moving, and camera movement techniques express
this dynamic subjective. (it an show not only the Mulino Bianco family but also the pov of those who
explore ecc)

Language in audio-visual text

Voice control and editing

The spoken utterance “has been scripted, written and rewritten, censored, polished, rehearsed, and
performed.” The actual hesitations, repetitions, digressions, interruptions, and mutterings of everyday
speech have either been pruned away, or, if not, deliberately included. Alongside human processing,
technology is involved “all dialogue is recorded, edited, mixed, underscored, and played through
stereophonic speakers with Dolby sound
→In a video we might have voice, which is part of a video soundscape, and is never natural but it follows
the script, everything which might sound natural is actually an effect of authenticity, but it has been
scripted before, is not actually authentic. Then we have technology which gives manipulation, control, ex
added sound, voices ecc

Voice position: voice in/voice over (in campo/fuori campo)

Voice in= we see the speaker; voice out= we don’t see them
• Quantity of speech (frequency, duration and distribution)
• Number of speakers (ex. monologue/dialogue/polylogue)
• Voice quality (ex. soft, rough, plain) [lecture 8]
• Rhythm (ex. constant, slow, fast)
• Spoken text (icontent and form)
• The metafunctional value, related to ideational, interpersonal and textual metafunctions
• Intersemiosis (with music, noise and dynamic images)

Voice-in/over: functions
Can provide many different types of information
-place, time, character identification through naming,
-the provision of information related to past events, verbal events like secret revelation or love declaration
-storytelling
-characterization through dialect, accent, vocal qualities and skills,
-drawing the spectator’s attention to something and control mood, emotions, interpretation.

Voice in is internal, we can see who talks, the person who’s talking is the one who in the first place is living
the thing, we can trust them ecc
In the voice over we can’t see who’s talking, we might also have music accompanying it

Focus on music
• music composed especially for a video, film or TV series (score),
• existing music chosen to accompany the images on the screen. Attention should be given to the verbal
and non-verbal integration in a piece of music within a video, that is to the presence of lyrics and of
melody, of word and music.
Usually in tourist video we have a score that is composed for that video in particular
Melody is extremely important for the mood, emotions ecc if we have lyrics we have also a content being
expressed

Video music: Diegetic or not

• diegetic music (music within the narrative, is part of the fictional setting so presumably heard by the
characters) ex. when we have someone playing and we can see them, we see someone creating music.
• non-diegetic music: offers an emotional accompaniment, can evoke powerful emotions and create an
emotional connection, but also carries socio-cultural meanings. ex. classic music to celebrate a classic music
festival; Scottish music to promote the local heritage
(Metafunctional concern: here ideational and interpersonal)

Video music: dis/continuity

Music can be present within the video cinematographic narrative in a continuous, discontinuous, partial,
fragmentary way and operates at the textual level, in terms of video composition. Can be used in the whole
video or be fragmented.
(Metafunctional concern: textual metafunction)

Intertitles
• Semantics
• Lexico-grammar (ex rank, mood)
• Font (type, size, colour) → typography.
• On-screen position (ex central, marginal)
• Function: Intertitles may be used to provide audiences with necessary narrative information about time,
space, historical background; or to create connections and/or disconnections among sequences within the
narrative, thus operating at the level of cohesion and sustaining text fruition and understanding.
(In films we can have information about time, places, but this is not the case of tourist videos. We might
have key words in order to shape values. Functions: can be used for different purposes ex. naming a
destination but also for key words.)
Example: India video
30’= not static, we have movement. We have both humans and animals. Woman jumping= vibrant, energic
movement gives the impression of happiness. Animal participants= birds with an upper motion, they give a
message. Natural movement of people. In terms of depth the blonde girl moves away from the camera but
towards the monument= engagement with the monument, the heritage.
60’= zoom which is exceptional suggest a strategy of emphasis, celebration. Pun
90’ = over the whole video there are intra and inter movements
Intra-shot movement: is not the most important strategy but the most important is the editing or montage
which shows how a larger section of video is composed and what is the value given to a video. In this case
variety: they offer different activities, landscapes ecc this is expressed by a particular editing style.
Voice in-over: in the first part is a voice over but we see the people who are talking even if they’re not
actually doing it at the exact moment (direct experience, authentic, we can trust them) in the second part
we have a narrator, a different voice less direct, is a definitive voice over.

AUDIO-VISUAL TEXTS AND STORYTELLING

4.05

Storytelling starts from narrative.

Narrative is a perceptual activity that organizes data into a special pattern which represents and explains
experience.

Narrative is a way of organizing spatial and temporal data into a cause-effect chain of events with a
beginning, middle, and end that embodies a judgement about the nature of events as well as demonstrates
how it is possible to know, and hence to narrate, the events.

→Narrative is a perceptual activity but it’s also a strategy of organization , representation and explanation.
Organization= narrative is a way of organizing spaces and time, in tourism we visit a space and time which
are far, different; in a logic way, with a structure, events with a beginning-middle-end. Narrative is a way of
organizing the perception, the experience in terms of what comes before, in the middle, and at the end.
Besides this structure it adds an evaluation, judgment.

Narrative is the most important paradigm in tourist communication.

The difference between narrative and narration is the difference between story and storytelling which is
the difference between a product and process= Narration is what you tell (ex. a story) storytelling is the
process of telling that story.

Travel literature
Travel literature encompasses prose narratives, broken into chapters, visually and formally resemble novels
rather than guidebooks. Illustrative material, if present, is secondary to prose narrative and present in
much smaller proportion. (Narrative is inscribed in tourism promotion)
Storytelling is a very strong technique in tourism, but it is considered old.

Movement in space
• to travel is to make a journey, a movement through space. This means, one encounters difference.
• travel is the negotiation of self and other that is brought about by movement in space.
Normally the plot is given by the itinerary
“It was pleasant to wake up in Florence. […] It was pleasant, too, to fling wide the windows, pinching the fingers in
unfamiliar fastenings, to lean out into sunshine with beautiful hills and trees and marble churches opposite, and close
below, the Arno, gurgling against the embankment of the road. -Forster, A Room with a View, Ch. 2

Encounter between self and otherness

in travel we don’t only have movement in space but also this
• Travel writing is a record or product of this encounter and of the entailed negotiation between self and
otherness.
• reveals both the visited place, culture, and the world of the visiting culture
Encounter with otherness

Relation between fact and fiction: reporter or story-teller?

Generally written in the first-person, travel writing encompasses (non)fictional accounts of travel.
The travel writer negotiates the roles of reporter (simple record and accurate description of facts) and
story-teller (selects, organises material, present facts in an enjoyable, interesting way).
(Storytelling is very important I tourism communication, it has not been invented but there is a long story of
storytelling in the travel world, ex the grand tourism. In many travel texts or tourism texts we have the
notion of story being told.)
First-person narrative: traveller, explorer, author, storyteller
Travel stories
-Travel book -Travel diary
-Travel reportage -Travel picture
-Word-of-mouth -Souvenir
-Video (each of them tells a story, even a souvenir or a recommendation of a place visited)

Dynamic textuality and the dynamic tourist gaze

Dynamic textuality frames the temporal organisation of a tourism narrative and gives the viewer an
impression of visiting and exploring the destination →Storytelling
(dynamic textuality inscribes the dynamic tourist gaze and is able to perform the tourist storytelling)

Example, case study: The Basilicata project

Corpus of texts
-18 texts uploaded by young and international web-artists worldwide (2011-2013);
-average 4-minute length.
-about the Basilicata region and, more specifically about Matera, the 2019 European Culture Capital.
-“Can’t Forget Italy” contest, launched by the BDMO.

The Basilicata project lasted three years and was used as a pilot experience for a broader national project,
followed by a constantly growing number of creative digital travel diaries about numerous Italian regions.
Matera capitale della cultura 2019 →project to promote the city starting from the fact that Basilicata is not
very known.

Multimodality in the corpus

Videos are multimodal, and their not standardized. They’re very
different from one another.
(Di= dynamic images)
The contest: step 1
-In 2011, the BDMO launched a competition among young web-artists
-Within the broader Basilicata Cultura project, it developed the 2.0 web platform Can’t Forget Italy (a
cinematographic production start-up) welcoming original travel diaries, narrating the regional landscape,
history, art, culture, food and wine heritage.

Target
= very particular type of people
International, young video makers, bloggers, experts in animation and in the new media, invited to express
their fresh, spontaneous, and alternative gaze upon the region, using digital media and their creativity.
Requirements: -equipment and technical competence to produce video stories for the web.
-high familiarity with social networks, in order to guarantee a widespread diffusion of the material created.
-between 18 and 35 years of age, of all nationalities, with excellent written and spoken English.

Step 2
-In September 2011, selected participants spent 7 days in Basilicata, to explore and experience the land and
to do their shooting.
-By the end of the month, they were expected to send their edited video stories. The BDMO covered travel
and accommodation expenses and offered € 1.500 for each video posted online.
-A further amount of money was given, depending on the number of views each diary had received by 31
December 2011.

The digital travel diary as a genre

Innovative and hybrid webgenre emerging from a process termed ‘interdiscursivity’, deriving from a
contact between pre-existing forms (e.g., printed, digital, literary, promotional, narrative, descriptive)
It is hybrid because it evokes the traditional travel books but we also have the digital component so it
reminds of the digital genre. Is new but it derives from other genres.

The digital travel diary as multimodal

The diary deploys and combines several semiotic modes. (Multimodal composition= it involves different
modes)

Modes and modal resources (Kress & Leeuwen, 2006)

Visual track
• [Writing] • Represented participants • Actions
• Contact • Angle • Size of frame
• Light • Movement • Transition type

Audio track
• Speech • Music • Sound effects

Transcription
The transcription of multimodal data depicts:
-Synchronic modal co-occurrences (syntagmatic) along the horizontal axis. (in every intrashot)
-Diachronic modal co-occurrences (syntagmatic) along the vertical axis. (between shots)
Digital travel videos, how is storytelling audio-visually performed:
Video n°1 – mini Matera, Timmy Henning
We have a temporal unit= one day in Matera, the duration is of one day. This length is multimodally
expressed with music, the melody is a dynamic text that accompany the dynamic images. We have changes
in volume and melody, the beginning, middle and end of the day are expressed with changes in music:
increasing ascending melody and then decreasing and descending melody. It is also expressed by the light,
which shows the time of the day in terms of organization. Light changes in source (natural/artificial),
intensity (soft/bright), effects. It circularly frames the day as the temporal narrative unit of the video
(sunrise-sunset). (Light as multifarious and multifaceted, Light as layered and fluid.)
→Organizing structural devices expressing storytelling are music and light change.
Narrative and storytelling imply a particular structure, in this case is the day. Also, the speed of the
movement is very important= fast motion. Fast motion affects the storytelling technique because it allows
us to see a one day in a couple of minutes, it also gives an idea of vibrant, living city.

Video n°2 – Erica in Basilicata, Erika Kebron

It relies on movement, especially on camera movement + handheld camera to give the idea of authenticity,
on the road. Is not a traditional, perfect tourist video, but is new. It uses a strategy= the map, it creates the
itinerary which is a plot of a travel narrative. It’s useful because it tells us where we are but is also an
interpersonal strategy for the viewers that don’t know the place and in this way can feel involved because
the map tells us the place= strategy of storytelling, of structuring.
Metafunctional value of the map: -to locate various stops of the regional itinerary;
-to inform and involve viewers into the travel experience;
-as a storytelling strategy, to signal video sections and to make the text cohesive.

Comparing the two videos:

Video n°3 – M. Brown dreaming in Italy, Matthew Brown

Text external features in the digital travel video:
Text internal features in the digital travel video:

Visual track, what is represented:

Visual track, strategies:

Speech:
Move 1: I awoke in a dream, I had no idea where I was and what to expect. A sudden fear of the unknown creates an aura that
wraps me in darkness. →inter-semiotically shaped fear of the unknown with close ups images of the hands touching thigs
Move 2: But right as it envelops my eyes, I realize where I was.
Move 3: Trekking through the scenic landscapes and deepening vistas, I’m in a gathering of artistic characters. As we venture
through this astonishing place: ancient ruins, posh architecture, the untouched earth and the people. We meet the kindest, most
generous people, smiling faces gleaming as they prepare arrays of mouthwatering food and ply us with heart-warming wine.
→ inter-semiotically shaped warmth with images of local people smiling faces
→ inter-semiotically shaped hospitality with images of food and process of making it
Move 4: I don’t feel scared anymore. I feel embraced with these people in this gorgeous land, where good thoughts come to rest in
infinite wonder. I feel at home. I’m in Basilicata, Italy.

Storytelling
• Digital storytelling (medium)
• Multimodal storytelling (mode)
• Interdiscursive storytelling (genre)
• Travel experience (description > narration)
• Dynamism (structure and process)
• Diversity (style)

DOCU-TOUR - G. CAPPELLI (leggere saggio)

10.05

The discovery of tourism discourse

Before 1996 – focus on sociological and economic aspects
(Tourism was studied focusing only on these aspects)
Graham Dann – sociolinguistic approach “the language of tourism”
He said that tourism is grounded in discourse. This was a revolution because no one cared about tourism
from the language point of view before. The tourist experience is also matter of the discourse we do. He
also said that tourism is a cycle
• If tourism is grounded in discourse and a cycle, some products come from “the industry”, other
products come from “tourists”.

“Advertising doesn’t always mirror how people are acting, but how they are dreaming… In a sense what
we are doing is wrapping up your emotions and selling them back to you”

Three products of tourism discourse

How tourism discourse has changed over the years: from print to multimedia (mostly on social media).
Originally we had printed, written guides ecc now social media play a big role, Instagram is one of the most
important platform for advertising. “Insta rules” posts and mostly stories: intangible, temporary, literally
fading away in seconds/hours, everything is temporary because the stories last just a short period of time.

Three different videos about Pisa:

-guided tour
-documentary →these two do the same functions, they work as a spoken guide. (not the same genre)
-docutour (because brings together aspects of the two)

Common or distinctive features?

DOCUMENTARY DOCUTOUR
Voice over Where is the speaker? On camera
No, the speech is scripted Is the speech natural? Yes
No, is formal Is the register informal? Yes (slang terms)
No, never Is the viewer addressed? Yes, all the time

Three expressions of one genre or three genres?

The borders between these three genres are not clearcut. Not all documentaries are clearly documentaries
and so on.
*video examples – (vedi “analysis” nel testo)
(Second video – documentary but a different type, he’s the expert and shows us how things could be, it’s
not a step by step)

-Documentaries generally more formal than docutours

-Docutour speak on camera and address the audience directly
-Documentary text is written to be read, the montage is accurate, all multimodal resources are exploited
(they have more time to make it accurate and they can explore all sort of multimodal resources)
-Docutours share features of guided tours (ex. use of humor, anecdotes, situatedness (sort of visual tour)
-Sometimes speakers in docutours do not address the audience – then the cameraman becomes one of us

Strategies for culture-bound knowledge dissemination

-Leading function -Mediating function
The leading function of a tourist activity isa huge responsibility because you choose what is worth seeing
and the way it should be seen.

Mediation: when you choose what to visit you also have to make sure that turists understand and that they
cross the cultural differences. Reduce the cultural gap between tourist’s home culture and destination’s
culture.
Guidebook/tour guide= teacher VS tourist= child

Socialization and enculturation (instructions on how to interpret the foreign culture)

→you put someone in a different society and you teach them what is important to know.

You also have to make sure that terms and words you use are understandable by others, who might not
have the same cultural background as you.
Popularization: reformulation and recontextualization of expert discourse that meet the needs, tastes and
background encyclopedia of the readers.
In guidebooks and guided tours: history, art, geography, anthropology, science, popular culture…

Strategies to use to make someone understand:

-Explanation (denomination, description, definition, analogy, exemplification ecc)
-Anchoring to the reader’s background and time Verbal strategies
-Attribution (when you mention the source)
-Humor

-Interaction of semiotic codes (verbal and visual)

Multimodal strategies= images, gestures, graphic aids, labels, sounds, humor

*examples on guided tour, docu-tour, and documentary (vedi foto+testo)

(documentary: Some tourist might not be familiar with some of these words. So, when he pronounce these
difficult words the images are shown that make understanding easier.)

→after comparing data from the three different genres (guided

tour, documentary, docutour) these are the results regarding
different strategies used.

Conclusions
Some limitations:
-Overlapping genres= fuzzy, not discrete categories.
-Difficult classification of different types of explanatory strategies.
-Need to extend analysis to other genres of spoke tourism discourse (audio guides, non-professional videos,
video reviews, guided tours for children ecc)
-Need to enlarge corpus to include more tour guides to avoid idiosyncrasy.
Overall, the investigation of multimodal strategies for culture-bound knowledge dissemination seems to
show distinctive features of the three genres.

We need to expand the detailed contrastive analysis to other features (ex. speaker’s features, register ecc)

HYPERMODAL ANALYSIS & DIGITAL TEXTS

11.05

Hyper modal analysis is a type of multimodal analysis but in the digital field.

Introduction:
Syntagmatic and paradigmatic axes
In a hypertextual text, meaning may be projected both along the syntagmatic
and the paradigmatic axes. These two linguistic concepts indicate the various
juxtaposition of verbal items to construe semiotic units.

(A paradigmatic relationship refers to the relationship between words that are

the same parts of speech and which can be substituted for each other in the
same position within a given sentence. A syntagmatic relationship refers to
the relationship a word has with other words that surround it.)
Verbal syntagms and paradigms
Syntagms= Collocations and colligations are conventionalized syntagms, the first indicating lexical and the
second grammar cooccurrences. ex warm welcome, voice-in and contact, bright light and colors and joyful
melody.
Paradigms= Paradigms operate upon selection of one among possible realisations: sequential, paradigmatic
text organisation unfolds as the consequence of choice (SFL).
(*SFL= Systematic functional linguistics (SFL) is a theoretical approach that analyzes the relationship
between social contexts and linguistic aspects)

From SFL to hypertexts

Syntagmatic organization: the orchestration of different semiotic resources as modal copatterning within
the page (level: webpage).
Paradigmatic organization: modal sequential interaction unfolding as choice across pages (level: website).
→at the level of the webpage or at the level of the website= two sites, same distinction of the shot, same
logical mechanism.

Hypermodality= the conflation of multimodality and hypertextuality. Not only do we have linkages among
text units of various scales, but we have linkages among text units, visual elements, and sound units.

Hyper modal digital texts analysis:

-Hypertextual and multimodal meaning-making
-The orchestration of different modes along the syntagmatic and paradigmatic axes

The syntagmatic axis - cluster analysis

(syntagmatic analysis of a webpage)
Granularity
Granularity indicates the division of the page into graphically distinct functional units. Different textual
granularity indicates the different size textual units show. (How fragmented is the text.)
Different terms are used referring to textual segments: “lexias”, “clusters”, “modules”, “grains” (Garzone).
And they are described as graphically separated “block of signification” and “units of reading”.
Examples:
high granularity: mid granularity: low granularity:

Cluster description
Different criteria for describing/analyzing a cluster:
-number -mode
-size -shape
-placement -orientation (=reading trajectory)
-function (=what does it mean, we’re mostly interested in their functions)

Cluster shape
traditional rectangular framework of pictures, but 2 types:
-French style= longer vertical style (generally for portraits, domes)
-Italian style= longer horizontal style (generally for landscape)
(Some square p. are used, while the circle or oval are very rare, used to achieve special effects. -Dann)

Cluster functions
-grab users’ attention
-introduce topic
-provide detailed information
-summarise main points
-organise information in terms of relevance
-outline the reading path….

Example: the former Jamaica tourism board official website

List of clusters:
1. Jamaica slogan.
2. Island newsletter icon;
3. the search button;
4. the language option button;
5. the main picture;
6. the weather forecast;
7. the special event cluster;
8. the bottom cluster with contact, site map,
terms of use, privacy policy, press room…;
9. Hot travel deals;
10. The logo for the destination Jamaica blog;
11. Social network cluster;
12. The navigation menu.
→Focusing on the main cluster: Shows a big square image with superimposed smaller postcardlike images
of Jamaican scenes. Users can select the set of images by dragging a slider back and forth: several small
images appear. (element of innovation) = interactive entertaining cluster.

→Compositional strategy and its effect (superimposed plans: depth)

Superimposed plans: -the first layer is given by a shaded brown tint
-the second by a paper-like sheet with uneven borders
-a green banana leaf on the top left corner
- a warm-yellow bar traces a wide, horizontal line through the upper section
Effects of depth: positive and pleasant atmosphere (invites site visit and website navigation)

→Reading path: -main, central image as the entry point

-up to the title and to the top left logo + slogan
-to menu below
-again to the center
-to the social network cluster
-then to the lower section
=the non-linear pathway implies cluster hopping
(Cluster hopping= non-linear clusters, is the reading modality of an hypermodal text)
Reading trajectories
The reading trajectory can be horizontal, vertical, circular, diagonal, spiraling ecc

The cluster reading path is affected by different factors:

-cultural background
-age
-user’s motivation
-medium (digital environment involves more nonlinear reading, instead the printed one is more linear)
-mode
-text genre (ex.novel implies more linear trajectory, kids stories more open, instagram pages more hopping)
-text orientation

Meaning and RP’s

* RP=reading path
Linear and non-linear texts encode two modes of reading and two regimes of control over meaning.
Clustering, relative size, relative placement, chromatic sources, symbols disturb and subvert traditional
reading in terms of given attention and time and trajectory.

1. The horizontal RP ex. present in many magazines and brochure

The left side is often devoted to the written text, while the right side to one or more
large and salient images. Projecting given-new dynamics, the right seems to be the side
of the key information. The left is about something the reader knows already, as part of
the culture, of common sense.
Generally, no polarity: a sense of complementarity and movement is established, since
vectors, colours are used as integrating devices.
 2. The vertical RP ex. Present in many magazine advertisements and marketing oriented
websites (where you can easily scroll down)
The vertical RP projects an ideal vs real polarity: the lower section visualizes the product itself,
providing more or less factual information about it. The upper section visualizes the ‘promise of
the product’.
There is usually a sense of contrast between the two parts of the composition.

3. Multilinear reading path ex. webpages of some websites

Clustering, relative size, relative placement, chromatic sources, symbols imply an
open reading path (hopping).

The paradigmatic axis – the hypertextual link

Paradigms and digital texts
Paradigmatic choices are negotiated within medium based affordances. The main structural property of the
digital medium is the hypertext link
(Paradigmatic relies on links. The potentiality/constraints= what you can do or not with a mode.)

Links and reading path

The hypertextual link opens ‘traversals’ across clusters and, on a higher level, across pages. In
hypertextuality there is neither starting point, nor unifying narrative or sequential development.
(Link allows the reading path, making possible to move across clusters and pages. We have an homepage
from which we can move in different directions using links.)
Hypertext sematic
However, the trajectory is suggested by web-masters. The hypertext pre-codifies traversals establishing
meaningful cross-associations among clusters and documents and building a proper “hypertext semantics
=We’re not completely free, we have clusters that organize and pre codify the trajectory.

Cohesion chains
Cohesion chains reflect clause logicosemantic relations identified by Halliday for language. The website
system is seen as reflecting the sentence system, in terms of internal coherence and semantic sequentiality.
clause : webpage = sentence : website

Unit follow a logical progression

Makers create a map where you can see which type of logical progression they
chose. (links allow them to be free and organize the text in a personal way.)
-Relations are by categories
-Logical ties indicate expansion
-The website as a strictly interwoven textual system

Validity of hypermodal analysis

Hypermodal analysis enables to approach the digital genre as systemic meaning-making environment. If
multimodality challenges logocentrism and hypertextuality challenges linearity, hypermodality subverts
monologism. -Lemke

Hypermodal textuality and the tourist gaze

If multimodality suggests the existence of a destination, hypermodality gives the user an impression of
visiting and exploring the destination independently. We have a static tourist gaze in brochures ecc, and a
mobile tourist gaze in media, websites ecc.

WEBSITES – E. MANCA (leggere saggio)

12.05

Tourism discourse across cultures

Language as a dynamic interaction: language should not be seen as an isolated abstract phenomenon but
as dynamic interaction that takes place between participant in a given social and cultural framework and
for a given aim. Is not an isolated static phenomenon but it’s dynamic and used by people= first assumption

Language and tourism

-Tourist texts are mainly characterized by the vocative function which aims to induce a bhavioural response
on the addressee by working at the level of personal values and beliefs.
-Tourist texts persuade their reads to visit a destination or to book a holiday

These texts include strategies to make this persuasion more effective. These strategies are not the same,
they change based on the culture →verbal techniques of tourism language across different cultures
According to Dann (first scholar to talk about language of tourism) the techniques that characterize the
language of tourism are: comparison, key words an keying, testimony, humor, languaging and ego-targeting

In this study five official tourist websites are compared: Canada, USA, Australia, Great Britain, Italy.

1. Comparison through metaphors

comparison is expressed by means of smiles and metaphors (but we analyze only metaphors)
→six domains of metaphors were chosen to analyze the texts
1. Value and preciousness
2. Positive imaginary worlds
3. Discovery and adventure
4. Dream and magic
5. Tasting (absent in the Italian corpus)
6. Immersion (more frequent in the Italian one)
(result= different percentage for each country)

The metaphor of “immersion”

-In the Canada and Australia corpora the concept of “immersion” is mainly expressed by the imperative
“immerse yourself in” which invites readers to experience these destinations fully.
-In the Italian corpus the imperative form of the equivalent “immergersi” is never used, this source is
expressed by the past participle “immerse” and its declensions used to describe the location of
destinations. (This shows the tendency of the Italian language towards use of metaphors and the fact that
Italians do not like to be told what to do.)
ex “immerse nella natura”. This use of “immerso ne*” comes from the idea of getting purified by
immersion, metaphor deriving from religion. For this reason, it is not as meaningful in other cultures, as it is
in the Italian one. This metaphor, if translated literally, wouldn’t make sense in British culture for example.
(very frequent metaphor is green=nature ex “immerse nel verde”).
→this difference between the two cultures show the different tendency of the two: dynamic VS static (ita)

The metaphor of “positive imaginary world”

-In the four English corpora, but particularly in the USA and Australia corpora where the occurrence of this
conceptual metaphor is higher, when a place is metaphorically described as a paradise several activities
that can be enjoyed there are usually listed.
-In the Italian corpus the reference to the activities that can enjoys in the paradiso is more implicit:
paradiso” is described as a paradise for someone, not a place where you are invited to carry out an activity,
a park is described as a paradise for photography and birdwatching lovers and not as a parade where you
can “photograph «and “watch” the wilderness.
→The difference between static and dynamic is present also here. dynamic VS static --> doing VS being (ita)

Cultural features
Cultural orientations are a culture’s tendency towards a particular way of perceiving: reality within a
specific culture will be distorted, generalized and deleted to suit the cultural orientation. (We can’t define
cultures with a clear-cut definition, but we can find different tendency that characterize cultures)
These cultural features are: Action, Communication, Environment, Time, Space, Power, Individualism,
Competitiveness, Structure, Thinking.

• Action: being/doing
→Italy (being) VS English speaking countries (doing)
-Being= higher involvement, a less marked differentiation between public and private life space, an overlap
of identity and behavior, a tendency to convey more options and feelings than facts; circumstantial relation
processes and existential processes are preferred (ex. “paese immerso”).
(the Italian descriptions, even when describing an activity are more static, differently from the British ones)
-Doing= material processes (ex. “discover”) are much more preferred to existential or relational processes
by these countries.

• Adventure/uncertainty avoidance
The extent to which people feel threatened by uncertainty and ambiguity and try to avoid these situations.
The need for rules and formality to structure life is typical of cultures with high Uncertainty Avoidance.
Conversely, openness to change and innovation are typical of low uncertainty avoidance cultures.
(Adventure is linked to an unknown experience)
→Italy is the country with the higher score of uncertainty avoidance. (this could be an explanation of the
use of the “Discovery and adventure” metaphor)

Uncertainty and avoidance in language

Linguistically this dimension implies that there is a more or less prominent emphasis on the linguistic
expression of concepts such as expectation of assurance that is reflected in items expressing certainty, on
value conservatism and on traditional beliefs. These are expressed by items referring to history and
tradition, and on health aspects reflected n the attitude towards relaxation or activity or in the importance
of purity (ex in food and drink).

2. Key words and key semantic fields

Key words are those words which contribute to the persuasive aim of the tourist product in that, basing on
the audience’s and the advertiser’s shared knowledge, they emphasize those aspects of the holiday which
meet most the potential tourist’s requirements, or which guide the readers through the discovery of the
main features of a tourist destination.
(keywords can be identified by using particular programs ex. antconc, comparing the corpus with a corpora)

Key words and environment

Reference to the environment:
-for the Italian culture it is an entity to be admired and to be part of to get purified (immerse= keyword)
-for the Canadian culture is a landscape constantly changing according to seasons and weather conditions
-for the Australian culture is a setting for activities
-for the American culture is a place soaked with history
-for the British culture is one of the features which characterize a destination

3. Testimony
Testimony refers to tourist advertisements featuring famous or well-known people; their presence
contributes to a highly positive description of the destination. The links to dedicated social networks and
blogs that can be found on tourist websites are also an example of testimony, because they represent the
voice of the satisfied customer, that is to say the typical client.
This technique could be understood considering the dimension of individualism and collectivism

• Individualism/collectivism
This dimension reflects the degree to which individuals are integrated into groups.
-individualistic societies: everyone is expected to look after themselves and their immediate family. These
cultures are I-conscious and universalistic and tend to assume that their values are valid for the whole world.
-collectivistic societies: the relationships among individuals are very strong and people tend to be
integrated in strong cohesive in-groups that look after themselves in exchange for loyalty. These cultures
are we-conscious and their identity is based on the system they belong to.

Individualism and collectivism in language

-individualistic cultures adopt a more direct style of communication, placing more emphasis on facts and
concreteness.
-collectivistic cultures tend to adopt a more indirect style of communication, placing more emphasis on
how things are said. The direct style of individualistic cultures may even sound offensive to members of
collectivistic culture; and for this reason much care should be taken when dealing with communication
across cultures with different orientations.
-In advertising this difference is reflected in the dichotomy persuasion VS trust. In individualistic culture,
persuasion has to be direct and get to the point fast; in collectivistic cultures, a relationship of trust should
be created first in order to sell a product.

4. Languaging
-Languaging can be defined as the use of local language in order to attain important pragmatic effects.
Languaging adds some linguistic flavor to the tourist experience and may be used to show that language is
not a barrier but can help the tourist to mix with the locals. For this reason, languaging acts as an instance
of authenticity, reduces the cultural gap between two cultures and act as an in-grouping or out-grouping
device.
-In order to identify “foreign” words in the five corpora, the five wordlists have been considered and
analyzed. Interestingly, the phenomenon of languaging is visible only in the Italian corpus and is restricted
to terms referring to wine and food which are reported in the local dialect and explained through
paraphrase, literal translation in brackets, or without any kind of explanation.

• Tradition and uncertainty avoidance

The frequent reference to traditional and local food may be linked to the tendency of the Italian culture to
give more importance to past times and traditions.

5. Ego-targeting
Ego-targeting is a technique which aims to transform the persons who are targeted by the advertisement
into individuals and into subjects. This is mainly achieved by using personal pronouns (“we” and “you”),
possessive adjectives (“our” and “your”), and other expressions in which the individual is directly addressed
(ex. imperatives, “Visit England!”)

→in the Italian website the absence of imperatives and of verbs in the second person singular or plural
suggests the presence of a type of promotion mainly developed through descriptions where the persuasive
aim seems to be implemented more through the mental images that wordings are able to create rather
than through invitation to take action.

• Power distance
-Power distance (PD) is defined as the extend to which less powerful members of organizations and
institutions (such as the family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. Based on the level of
expectation, this distance can be defined as high or low.
-Cultures with high power distance: there is a strong sense of social hierarchy and of social status and
power is centralized.
-Cultures with low power distance: do not have a relationship of dependence on superiors and authorities
but rather a relationship of interdependence.

Conclusions
-Verbal techniques are culture dependent
-Language is influenced by the context of culture
-Verbal techniques vary from culture to culture

COVID 19 CRISIS & TOURISM PROMOTION TEXTS

24.05

Covid-19 pandemic crisis and tourism

“Within the space of months, the framing of the global tourism system moved from overturism to
nonturism.” -Gossling

Guiding tourism recovery: The UNWTO Global Tourism Crisis Committee has united the tourism sector to
formulate a sector-wide response to the unprecedented challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This crisis in an opportunity to rethink the tourism sector and its contribution to the people and planet; an
opportunity to build back better towards a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient tourism sector that
ensure the benefits of tourism are enjoyed widely and fairly.” -UNWTO Secretary-General

(Critical awareness: covid-19 pandemic representation in the video; destination image formation and
destination image promotion; tourism model.)

Dann’s 4 linguistic models

Graham Dann finds four linguistic models for tourism promotional texts: authentication, differentiation,
recreation, appropriation.

1. Tourism as a language of authentication

-Tourism as pilgrimage
-Push factors: search for authenticity and purity
-Effect of spiritual regeneration and physical recovery (distancing from the corruption of everyday life)
-ex. Highline Spring water: idea of a regenerating, pure water

2. Tourism as a language of differentiation

-Tourism as novelty and change
-Push factors: search for difference
-Idea of living an extraordinary experience (distancing from the ordinary everyday life)
-ex. Divine Tuscany: shapes Tuscany as unreal, something different, alternative.

3. Tourism as a language of recreation

-Tourism as play; tourist as child
-Push factor: search for fun
-The tourist lives a ludic, hedonistic experience
-Recreation as effect (distancing from the seriousness of everyday life)
-ex. fun tourist photos, “been here, done that” …

4. Tourism ad a language of appropriation

The rhetoric of appropriation enables tourists to control and dominate the lack of knowledge of distant
places and cultures through linguistic devices of oversimplification and stereotyping.

→these four models are not discrete frames, as they often co-occur, overlap and integrate in tourism texts.

Development
After 1996, we assist to a strong development: proliferation (instance); differentiation (new different
genres); interdiscursivity (ex. embedding); digitalization (medium, revolution of the digital world);
multimodality and intersemiosis (mode); engagement (actors, social dimension involving people);
experiential content (action); personal dimension (subjectivity); narrative → storytelling (time).

Language in videos: mode

Language in the four videos we will analize is:

1st video= no language
2nd video= voice-in
3rd video= intertitles

→(Language in video: human processing) “On or off screen, the spoken utterance in the video is not
spontaneous: far from that, it “has been scripted, written and rewritten, censored, polished, rehearsed, and
performed” -Kozloff

(Language in video: technological processes) “Alongside human processing, technology is involved in the
way characters and narrators speak “all dialogue is through stereophonic speakers with Dolby sound. The
actual hesitations, repetitions, digressions, grunts, interruptions, an mutterings of everyday speech have
either been pruned away, or, if not, deliberately included.” -Kozloff

Video n° 1 – 8D immersive video, Magenta: a moment of freedom (AU)

Natural sounds and music, colors, presence of human beings, idea of immersion shaped technologically but
also with the landscapes, attention to the visual.
Structure and visual analysis:
-multiple scenes= variety
-natural sounds= authenticity
-instrumental soundtrack= engagement
-8D technology= immersion
-no language= this absence is a meaningful and semantically full choice, not random.

First model is definitely significant here, holidays as a recharging ecc experience + notion of discovery.
Second model: diversity, diverse/alternative dimension

Video n°2 – There’s still nothing like Australia (AU)

Idea of immersion, high fracture= many scenes, music, presence of human beings, nature, animals.
Structure and content: 19 scenes. vvmodels

Focus on language: Voice-in

-Spoken genre (e.g. conversation, phone call, public speech)
-Number of speakers (e.g. monologue/dialogue/polylogue)
-Voice quality (e.g. soft, rough, plain)
-Rhythm (e.g. constant, slow, fast)
-Spoken text (i.e. content and form)
-Intersemiosis (with music, noise and dynamic images)
-Function
(Kozloff)

Language: 14 speakers (9 female/5male); multiple, different voices. All beginning with “There’s still…”
=form of repetition, alliteration. (Verbal items are very important)

Pandemic message and the tourist gaze:

-Natural, cultural and human heritage
-Tangible and intangible heritage
-Celebratory tone
-Interpersonal closeness
-‘Still’ temporal continuity
-COVID-19 negation

Canadian provinces (in Canada there isn’t an official organization of tourism but regions, like in Italy)
25.05 Video n° 3 – Dream of later, British Columbia (CA)

Natural elements, British Columbia as a place for regeneration, we might find a connection with the
presence of water and the pandemic situation from a symbolic point of view, presence of human beings
shown as isolated, authenticity is shown with multimodal repetition, animals are frequently depicted.
(Animals in 3/25 scenes (12%) - Human beings in 7/25 scenes (28%) - Urban landscape in 1/25 scenes (4%) -
Water in 12/25 scenes (48%) - Forests in 6/25 scenes (24%)) vvmodels

Focus on language: Voice-over

-frequency, duration and distribution of VO units
-voice quality, in terms of tension, roughness, breathiness, loudness, pitch range and vibration
-intersemiotic configuration of meaning with music, noise and dynamic images
-meta functional value, related to information (content), perspective and cohesion
Pandemic message and the tourist gaze:
-COVID-19 pandemic acknowledgement
-Security measures adoption
-Emotional and spiritual connections
-Resilience
-Present dream of future holidays

Video n° 4 – Adventure in Alberta is worth the wait (CA)

Presence of human beings, nature, sports, bright colors
Verbal language= written key words, no spoken language. Alliteration= repetition is memorable and shapes
a rhythmic thing.
Intersemiotic = visual and verbal correspondence, it reinforces the message (ex “climbing” key word we see
an image of people climbing)

Writing
-frequency and distribution of key words across the video and position within the frame
-graphic properties (font type, size, colour)
-intersemiotic configuration of meaning with music and dynamic images
-metafunctional value, related to information, perspective and cohesion

Pandemic message and the tourist gaze

-The COVID-19 pandemic is evoked : Title ‘worth the wait’ ; Parentheses across the slides
-The pandemic message is elusive
-The tourist gaze is confirmed

Analysis: the verbal language

• Multiple forms: presence/absence – spoken/written – voice-in, voice-over, intertitles, – ranks, mood
• Multiple functions: engagement – anchorage – cohesion

(Functions of voice in/over in these videos

→voice in is mainly engaging
→voice-over metafunction, message, celebrates nature)

The tourist gaze in the four videos

-All the videos realise promotional functions of destination image formation;
-Multiple sequential scenes suggest plurality and diversity
-Dynamic images celebrate unspoiled yet inviting landscapes
-Vibrant soundtracks add rhythm and a pleasant background
-The verbal language seems more flexible, what changes in the videos