Diversamente uguali: disabilità, turismo e nuove sfide per una comunicazione interlinguistica inclusiva

Mirella Agorni, Università Ca’ Foscari di Venezia

mirella.agorni(at)unive.it

Abstract: Disability Studies have not received the same attention in Italy as in other countries, particularly in English-speaking ones. However, topics related to accessibility issues are part and parcel of our life, both in terms of physical mobility and in more symbolic, social terms. People tend to forget that accessibility has to do with language and that there are barriers in intercultural communication which are as dis-abling as any other barrier. This article provides a brief and by no means exhaustive overview of the historical representation of disability and the development of Disability Studies as an academic field, and then analyses its impact in the fields of tourism and translation practices. The tourist experience is very often mediated by language, particularly when tourism travels across linguistic and cultural borders. Hence, providing accessible and inclusive language translation services is fundamental to create a new type of “for all” communication.