Attachment 7
Course Title
:
Understanding Language in Film
Course Code
:
CLB9020
Recommended Study Year :
Any
No. of Credits
:
3
Mode of Tuition
:
Lecture and Tutorial
Teaching Hours
:
2 hours Lecture/week
1 hour Tutorial/week
Category in Program
:
Humanities and the Arts Cluster
Prerequisite(s)
:
Nil
Co-requisite(s)
:
Nil
Exclusion(s)
:
Nil
Exemption Requirement(s) :
Nil
Brief Course Description
The course is designed as an introduction to understanding how language operates within films
and how verbal language connects with different aspects of the visual narrative of films. The
course is conceived with the aim of raising students’ interest and awareness of linguistic, literary,
aesthetic, and cross-cultural issues by exploring various aspects of language as a theme in films.
The course encourages students to consider the roles that language plays in narrative films by
fostering students’ critical and analytical skills from a wide range of perspectives. With an aim to
develop as many opportunities for meaningful communication in English, the course will help
students appreciate the nuances of language within the context of films as literary and cultural
texts.
Mar, 2015
Dept. of English, Lingnan University
1
Aims
The course aims to enable students to:
1) demonstrate an awareness of the interrelatedness between language and film
2) identify various social and cultural aspects of the language use in films
3) develop an awareness of basic conceptual tools to analyse language in narrative films
4) cultivate an interest and appreciation of the significance of language in films as literary
and cultural texts
Intended Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:
1) define key issues regarding the relationship between language and film
2) identify various aspects and functions of verbal language used in narrative film
3) employ analytical skills to critically evaluate the use of language in and across films
4) generate a dialog and discussion on the role of language in film within literary and
cultural frameworks
Indicative Content
The content provides students with an understanding of a variety of concepts related to viewing
and appreciating films from a linguistic, literary, and cultural perspective. The course content
aims to help students distinguish ways of approaching and analysing language in films. The
indicative content varies with the films selected for the semester, but they generally include:
1) Describing, analysing, and interpreting language in the narrative of films
2) Approaching aspects of language such as interaction in dialogues, emotional tone, irony,
humour, metaphor across film genres
3) Textual qualities of the structure and form: title, plot, motifs
4) Meaning-Making in filmic text: recurring themes, tropes, symbolism, subtext and context
5) Critical reading of films through language: representation of voice, identity, crosscultural exchanges, reinvention of cultural idioms, stereotyping
Mar, 2015
Dept. of English, Lingnan University
2
6) Subtitling and dubbing: processes of interlingual and multi-signifying (visual, aural, and
linguistic) transfer
Indicative List of Films:
1) Nell dir. Michael Apted Language: English (United States, 1994), 113 min
2) The King’s Speech dir. Tom Hooper Language: English (United Kingdom, 2011), 118
min
3) Words and Pictures dir. Fred Schepisi Language: English (United States, 2014), 111 min
4) The Terminal dir. Steven Spielberg Language: English, Russian, Bulgarian (United States,
2004), 128 min
5) The Interpreter dir. Sydney Pollack Language: English, Ku (United Kingdom, United
States 2005), 128 min
6) Bride and Prejudice dir. Gurinder Chadha Language: English, Hindi, Punjabi (United
Kingdom, United States, India, 2004), 111 min
7) English Vinglish dir: Gauri Shinde Language: Hindi, English (India, 2012), 133 minutes
8) Lost in Translation dir. Sofia Coppola Language: English, Japanese (United States, 2003),
102 min
9) Spanglish dir. James L. Brooks Language: Spanish, English (United States, 2004), 131
min
10) Chan is Missing dir. Wayne Wang Language: English, Cantonese (United States, 1982),
80 minutes
Teaching Methods
The course adopts an interactive approach to understanding concepts and topics related to
understanding of language within the context of film. Classes will be conducted in Lecture and
Tutorial modes. There will be a common time slot at which the film of that week will be shown.
Students are required to attend the screening before the lecture begins. Students will actively
engage individually, in pairs, and in small groups in a variety of classroom activities, and handson exercises. Students will also have an opportunity to reflect on their own work and give
Mar, 2015
Dept. of English, Lingnan University
3
feedback on their peers’ work. Students will be expected to engage in a variety of learning
modes including the university’s e-learning platform.
Measurement of Learning Outcomes
The learning outcomes will be measured through continuous assessments which will be both
administered throughout the course and at the end of term. Students’ progress will be measured
on the students’ engagement with the lectures, tutorial discussions, readings, presentations and
written assignments. Students’ knowledge and understanding of the selected films/topics will be
assessed by a final term paper at the end of term.
Assessments
No.
Assessment Method
Type
Outcome
Percentage
1.
In-class Test
Individual
1
10%
2.
Group presentation of analysis of an excerpt
Group
2,3
20 %
Individual
2,3
20%
from a film
3.
A written close analysis of language used in
an excerpt of a film based on a chosen concept
4.
Group presentation on an analysis of film/s
Group
3,4
20%
5.
Final Term Paper – A critical evaluation of
Group
1,4
30%
the use of language in a film or films by
applying linguistic, social, cultural framework
Mar, 2015
Dept. of English, Lingnan University
4
Core Readings
Kozloff S., Overhearing Film Dialogue, University of California Press, 2000.
Recommended Readings
Barsam, R., & Monahan, D., Looking at Movies: An Introduction to Film, 4th Edition, New York,
WW Norton & Company, 2012.
Cronin M., Translation Goes to the Movies, Oxford, Routledge, 2009.
Fong, G. C. F., & Au, K. K. L., Dubbing and Subtitling in a World Context, Hong Kong, Chinese
University Press, 2009.
Giannetti, L. D., Understanding Movies, 13th Edition, New York, Pearson Education, 2013
Monaco, J., How to Read a Film: Movies, Media, and Beyond. USA, Oxford University Press,
2009.
Nelmes, J., Introduction to Film Studies, 5th Edition, Oxford, Routledge, 2012.
Piazza, R., Bednarek, M., & Rossi, F., Telecinematic Discourse: Approaches to the Language of
Films and Television Series, John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2011.
Pramaggiore, M., & Wallis, T., Film: A Critical Introduction, 3rd Edition, UK, Laurence King
Publishing, 2011.
Wildfeuer, J., Film Discourse Interpretation: Towards a New Paradigm for Multimodal Film
Analysis, New York, Routledge, 2014.
Supplementary Readings
There will be lecture notes and directed readings from the media and internet sources plus a
selection of articles and reviews that are appropriate to the level of the course which will be
Mar, 2015
Dept. of English, Lingnan University
5
made available on the university intranet. Students are encouraged to make use of accessible
resources and websites concerned with films in English.
Mar, 2015
Dept. of English, Lingnan University
6