LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL EXPERT FOR INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Function in a professional context:
A language and cultural expert for international relations may find openings in various professions connected with international relations, collaborating with top-level managers or technical professionals in the field of communications between languages and between cultures.
Main functions:
- Coordinating international communications at a senior level, managing the inter-linguistic side to economic and cultural relations and the need for specialist communications in a foreign language;
- Planning and running international events;
- Top-level coordination of cases where communication/relation patterns between cultures are studied and interpreted;
- Helping to design and manage socio-cultural projects to implement European language policy and protect the languages of immigrants;
Competencies associated to the function:
Excellent command of two foreign languages and Italian, so as to be able to communicate in written and oral form in a range of differing multicultural situations;
interdisciplinary expertise in international economics/politics and business management/law, as well as familiarity with cultural sociology, communications, the history and geography of the chosen language areas, and an ability to apply this know-how to the furthering of communications;
practical and theoretical language skills (both in Italian and in the chosen languages) facilitating the writing and interpretation of wide-ranging specialist texts to do with international communications;
ability to analyse an argument and weigh the points at issue, to produce effective business communications, and to facilitate problem-solving processes with international interlocutors;
ICT skills, especially in inter-linguistic and inter-cultural relations;
ability to analyse and judge for oneself when tackling complex issues in the field of linguistic communication;
ability to distinguish between registers in the chosen languages and adopt them appropriately in various real-life scenarios;
active listening skills: a language and cultural expert for international relations is fully attentive to the interlocutor's needs, and can question and probe to the heart of an issue;
use of intercultural know-how to interpret information, weigh various viewpoints and arrive at a shared conclusion;
ability to choose the right oral/written language strategy to perform the task assigned.
Career opportunities:
Administration, organization and public relations in private enterprises (e.g. companies specializing in putting on national and international events, the publishing and communications world, advertising), public and service sector institutions, as well as international organizations including NGOs (e.g. the field of international cooperation, development aid, social and cultural integration policy).
EDITOR AND SUB-EDITOR in multiple languages
Function in a professional context:
An editor and sub-editor of texts in different languages will find various professional openings above all in international relations and the world of multi-language/multimedia communications. His/her language and meta-linguistic skills will be of valuable assistance to the technicians or managers of editing and textual revision.
Main functions:
- to revise texts in either of the two chosen foreign languages and in Italian (technical/scientific, essays, literary criticism, journalism), ensuring an appropriate choice of terminology and faithfulness to the textual genre in question. This expertise extends to specialist fields;
- to edit texts (technical/scientific, essays, literary criticism, journalism) in Italian and in the chosen foreign languages, ensuring an appropriate choice of terminology and faithfulness to the textual genre in question. This expertise extends to specialist fields;
- to write up notes or tapescripts (e.g. from meetings) in Italian and the chosen foreign languages, to polish the text so that it flows as a connected piece of writing;
- to liaise with other professionals in lexical and website research serving to transpose one language into another.
Competencies associated to the function:
Excellent command of two foreign languages and Italian;
interdisciplinary expertise in international economics/politics and business management/law, as well as familiarity with cultural sociology, communications, the history and geography of the chosen language areas, and an ability to apply this know-how to the texts to be revised or recast;
practical and theoretical language skills (both in Italian and in the chosen languages) facilitating the writing and interpretation of wide-ranging specialist texts of various kinds;
ability to analyse an argument and weigh the main features and differences between spoken idiom and written idiom (both in Italian and in the two foreign languages), as well as to transcribe texts;
ability to translate texts of various styles from and into the foreign language (L2), bearing in mind their linguistic features, the purpose of translating them and the linguistic/cultural implications in the L2 language;
ICT skills, especially as applied to the word search needed for translation/collocation of texts of various kinds;
specific skill in writing for the Web (in the two foreign languages and in Italian), in handling web contents and dynamics, as well as in business, association and institution settings;
ICT and technical skills of use in searching for, checking and recasting sources, and in producing original content suited to the target audience;
ability to adjust the linguistic style and register of oral, written and digital communication; ability to handle direct contact with the target audience on the social networks and other web platforms;
ability to analyse and judge for oneself when tackling complex issues in the field of linguistic communication;
ability to distinguish between registers in the chosen languages and adopt them appropriately in various real-life scenarios;
ability to choose the right language and textual strategy to perform the task assigned.
Career opportunities:
Administration, organization and public relations in private enterprises (e.g. companies specializing in putting on national and international events, the publishing and communications world, advertising), public and service sector institutions, as well as international organizations including NGOs (e.g. the field of international cooperation, development aid, social and cultural integration policy).
