module specification

This module allows students to complete an extended translation and write a commentary on it. They will be expected to know how to find a text of appropriate level of specialisation and length for translation into the chosen target language. Students are shown how and where to search for appropriate texts in terms of difficulty, length and degree of specialisation, how to work independently on the choice of text, preparation of translation, production of commentary under the guidance of their language-specific lecturer, and they are expected to use feedback to improve and develop their project.  Students will at all times be expected to demonstrate the ability to work independently, seek advice from appropriate sources (supervisor, peers, colleagues, etc) and make constructive use of feedback. They are also expected to translate the text to a professional standard of accuracy, identify and make use of appropriate research, apply searching and documentation strategies and use appropriate translation tools. Students will analyse the text and write a commentary on it and the translation process.

The aims of the module are the following:

1. to provide students with opportunities to select and analyse a source text of a specific degree of specialisation
2. to place students in circumstances requiring them to work independently
3. to provide students with opportunities to make use of available sources (feedback, supervisor, peers) to produce a translation complying with professional standards
4. to enable students to reflect on the whole process in the form of a commentary to analyse challenges, justify solutions and discuss their implications.

In the first generic workshop with the module leader students will be introduced to the module, its aim and learning outcomes. The structure of the project will be discussed and criteria for choosing the source text will be presented. After the class, students will have to find and submit a choice of two texts of 2500 words which are of an appropriate level of difficulty. Before the first language specific supervision session takes place, the module leader will then advise which of these two texts is the most appropriate, or, if it is in a language which is not within her/his competence, will advise the student to discuss this with their language-specific tutor.
In the first meeting with the language specific supervisor, students will discuss their pre-translation analysis of the ST sent to the tutor prior to the meeting. They will have to analyse the approved text a) in terms of the features which have influenced the production of the text (author, intention, function, source of publication, text type, reader/intended audience) and b) in terms of its linguistic features (type, register, style, structure and cohesive devices, use of terminology and idioms) and anticipated translation difficulties. On the basis of this analysis, students will proceed to the task of translating their ST.
The translation of the first 1500 words will be discussed with the language tutor during the second and third supervision sessions (language-specific).
In the second generic workshop, the module leader will present how to deal with the translation problems encountered, how to describe the solutions and the impact of these solutions on the target readership. Based on the knowledge acquired during this workshop, students will have to then start writing their own commentary. The first half of the commentary (3 translation problems out of the total 6) will be discussed during their fourth and fifth language specific supervision sessions.
After each language specific session, students are expected to reflect on the feedback received by them in reflective reports (posted on WebLearn in their own individual journals) and apply it to the second part of their translation as well as the three translation problems not discussed with their language tutor.
Students are expected to make appropriate use of translation tools such as dictionaries, databases, Internet glossaries, terminology banks, parallel texts and document their usage and relevance in the commentary. Parallel texts have to be provided in the appendix.

The two generic workshops will be delivered to the whole cohort. However, use of WebLearn will be also made in order to share experiences and good practice with students. The rationale behind the use of WebLearn is that it has become common practice within the translation professional environment not only to exchange work but also feedback electronically. Students will be encouraged to use the WebLearn discussion forum for posting information about interesting resources and asking for help and feedback from peers. This is intended to emulate professional practice where translators often rely on the professional community for help and advice. Students will also be able to post passages from their translations for their peers to comment on readability, clarity and fluency.
Students will be required to post a discussion of one translation challenge (e.g. one of the three not checked by the language specific tutor) for other students to comment on the clarity of discussion, validity of the challenge, support for the solution, meta-language and awareness of relevant translation studies concepts, support provided (reference materials). Students will be required to provide constructive feedback on at least one peer’s translation challenge.

On successful completion of this module, students will be able to:

1. identify, select and use a source text meeting required criteria in terms of length, difficulty and level of specialisation
2. provide examples illustrating their independent work towards a specific translation-related goal
3. use various sources to improve the quality of their translation complying with professional standards
4. critically evaluate and discuss the overall translation process in the form of a commentary.

Coursework (2500 words translation + 2500 word commentary) to be submitted in Week 29, via Turnitin.

Students should refer to bibliographies given in previous modules. They should also be actively compiling their bibliographies, their own glossaries and web addresses and useful sites for parallel texts in their language pair. They should certainly consult the following key works:

General
Baker, Mona In Other Words, a Coursebook on Translation, (London: Routledge, 1992)

Hatim, Basil & Ian Mason, Discourse and the Translator, (London: Longman, 1990)

Munday, Jeremy Introducing Translation Studies (London: Routledge, 2001), chapter 5.

Nord, Christiane Text Analysis in Translation, Theory, Methodology, and Didactic Application of a Model for Translation-oriented Text Analysis (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1991), chapter 3.

Trosberg, Anna Text Typology and Translation, (Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing company, 1997)

Language Specific

French
Hervey, Sandor & Higgins, Ian Thinking Translation, A Course in Translation Method: French to English, (London: Routledge, 1992)

Adab, Beverley, Annotated Texts for Translation English French
(Clevedon, Multilingual Matters 1996 )

German
Hervey, Sándor, Thinking German Translation: a Course in Translation Method, German to English (London,: Routledge, 1995)

Spanish
Hervey, Sándor, Thinking Spanish Translation: a course in Translation Method, Spanish to English, (London: Routledge, 1995)

Italian
Hervey, Sandor & Higgins, Ian Cragie Stella and Gambarotta Patrizia
Thinking Italian Translation, (London: Routledge, 2000)

Russian
Visson, Lynn, Synchronised Translation from Russian into English, (Moscow: R.Valent,
1999)

For other languages, specific language tutors should be consulted.