What is it about?
This paper aims at exploring the potentials and limits of translation and English as International Language as tools of inclusion in accessible tourism. Accessible tourism can be defined as a form of tourism that enables people with access requirements, including mobility, vision, hearing and cognitive dimensions of access, to function independently and with equity and dignity through the delivery of universally designed tourism products, services and environments. Full dimensions of inclusion and accessibility in tourism may be achieved not only by overcoming physical and architectural barriers, but also through a deeper understanding of the linguistic features, structural layout and textual contents employed in the promotion, supply and use of accessible tourism services and sites. As a matter of fact, even language can represent a sort of ‘intangible barrier’ in accessible tourism, particularly if the texts employed in the description, promotion and fruition of tourist sites and attractions fail to take into account important aspects of communicative accessibility.
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Why is it important?
This research aims at identifying the main linguistic, translational and multimodal features characterising a series of accessible tourism texts in English and Italian, in order to show how translation and English as International Language may increase, or sometimes hinder, the actual level of accessibility and promotional aims of these texts, raise awareness on disability issues and, mostly, contribute effectively to the development of a more inclusive and egalitarian society.
Perspectives
The main goal of this research is provide some evidence and points for reflection to raise awareness on the communicative modalities that should be applied in accessible tourism discourse and, in general, when dealing with disability-related themes, by demonstrating that language can be a powerful and effective tool of inclusion in the context of accessible tourism, whenever its informative and promotional texts are characterised by clear linguistic, stylistic and structural features, including pertinent and perceptible contents, standard language with alternative and multimodal communicative methods (such as intuitive symbols, sign language, braille, AAC, ‘easy-language’, tactile communication), accurate interlinguistic translations and a balanced employment of English as International Language, including also the employment of robust digital and multimodal communicative technologies, in order to ensure a higher degree of equitable and affordable use of accessible tourism resources, both for visitors and tourism operators. A further point for reflection that this study aims to suggest, is the urgent need to create and implement new didactic scenarios for the teaching of English as a foreign language and translation methods, particularly when considering the inclusive functions of language in disability-related discourse and, more specifically, in tourism discourse. Indeed, as recommended by the WTO, it is important to empower specialist training in the fields of disability management and communication, inorder to hire professionals able to respond to the requests of visitors with disabilities,develop a dequate promotional materials and work with the best and most innovative communicative methodologies and assistive technologies. This would also allow the creation of new, specialised jobs, thus giving rise to further socio-economic positive effects and, at the same time, increasing the real ‘accessibility’ of accessible tourism and the development of a more inclusive and egalitarian society.
Stefania Gandin
Universita degli Studi di Sassari
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Translation and EIL in accessible tourism, Translation and Translanguaging in Multilingual Contexts, March 2023, John Benjamins,
DOI: 10.1075/ttmc.00101.gan.
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