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2020/2021

Spanish language for translators and interpreters 1

Code: 101282 ECTS Credits: 9
Degree Type Year Semester
2500249 Translation and Interpreting FB 1 A
The proposed teaching and assessment methodology that appear in the guide may be subject to changes as a result of the restrictions to face-to-face class attendance imposed by the health authorities.

Contact

Name:
Antonio Ríos Mestre
Email:
Antonio.Rios@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
spanish (spa)
Some groups entirely in English:
No
Some groups entirely in Catalan:
No
Some groups entirely in Spanish:
Yes

Teachers

Yolanda Rodríguez Sellés
Maria Ohannesian Saboundjian
Cristina Ortiz Rodriguez

Prerequisites

Understand and produce oral and written texts of a certain complexity of general topics from a wide range of fields and registers.

Objectives and Contextualisation

The function of the subject is to complete the grammatical competence of students in language A and train them to produce non specialized texts and understand texts of certain complexity in order to prepare them for direct and inverse translation.

At the end of the course students will be able to:

  • Demonstrate basic grammatical knowledge in order to translate and to interpret.
  • Produce non specialized texts of different types, in a clear way, well structured and with a style appropriate to the intended audience.
  • Understand complex texts, of a certain degree of complexity, of various typology.

Competences

  • Producing written texts in language A in order to translate.
  • Understanding written texts in language A in order to translate.
  • Using documentation resources in order to translate.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Applying lexical, morphosyntactic, textual, rhetorical and linguistic variation related knowledge: Applying graphic, lexical, morphosyntactic and textual related knowledge.
  2. Comprehending the communicative purpose and sense of written texts of several fields: Comprehending the communicative purpose and sense of a diverse typology of written texts with a certain degree of complexity.
  3. Formulating the appropriate informative needs in order to translate: Formulating the appropriate informative needs in order to translate non-specialised texts in standard dialect.
  4. Implementing strategies in order to produce written texts of different fields and with specific communicative purposes: Implementing strategies in order to produce a diverse typology of non-specialised written texts (narrative, descriptive, expository, argumentative, and educational text types).
  5. Implementing strategies in order to understand written texts from different fields: Implementing strategies in order to understand a diverse typology of written texts (narrative, descriptive, expository, argumentative and educational type texts) with a certain degree of complexity.
  6. Producing written texts that are appropriate to their context and possess linguistic correctness: Producing a diverse typology of non-specialised written texts that are appropriate to their context and possess linguistic correctness.
  7. Successfully interrogating the documentation sources in order to translate: Successfully interrogating the necessary (digital and analogue) documentation sources in order to understand an produce a diverse typology of non-specialised written texts and with a certain degree of complexity.

Content

1. Previous questions: Grammar, variation and norm. Descriptive grammar and normative grammar. Norm and standard language. Grammaticality, acceptability and correction.

2. The sources of documentation on the language: Grammars. Dictionaries. Style manuals. Digital resources.

3. The word: The internal structure of the word. The concept of neologism. Terms of use of words.

4. From word to sentence: Word groupings: the notion of constituent. Relations between constituents: grammatical functions. Punctuation marks and sentence structure.

5. The text: The notion of text. Textual coherence. Textual cohesion.

Methodology

The learning of this subject by the students is distributed as follows:

 

• 35% of directed activities

 

These directed activities must be guided by a predetermined time schedule, which requires the classroom management of a teacher.

 

• 10% of supervised activities

 

Supervised activity is understood as the one that the teacher schedules for students to work autonomously, under the supervision of the teacher. These activities help prepare and review the tasks that students perform throughout the course.

 

 

• 50% of autonomous activities

 

Such activities take account of the hours devoted to study and production of papers, in group or individually, by the students.

 

• 5% evaluation activities

 

The teacher will evaluate this subject on an ongoing basisby performing mandatory marked activities.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Realization of reading comprehension activities 25.5 1.02 1, 5, 2, 3, 7
Realization of writing production activities 13.75 0.55 1, 4, 3, 6
Resolution of exercises 25.5 1.02 1
Type: Supervised      
Supervision and revision of exercises 11.25 0.45 1
Supervision and revision of written activities 11.25 0.45 1, 4, 3, 7, 6
Type: Autonomous      
Expansion of knowledge 15 0.6 3, 7
Preparation of exercises 25 1 1, 3
Preparation of reading comprehension activities 20 0.8 1, 5, 2, 3, 7
Preparation of writing production activities 31 1.24 1, 4, 3, 7, 6
Search for documentation 35.5 1.42 3, 7

Assessment

The information concerning student evaluation, the type of evaluation activities and their relative weighting in the final mark is a general orientation only. This information will be specified at the beginning of the course by the professor responsible for the subject.

 

In order to pass the subject the student must carry out the following evaluable activities and achieve a grade average equal to or greater than 5.0:

 

1. Evaluation activity of the knowledge about the sources of documentation.

2. Evaluation activity of morphological and lexical knowledge.

3. Evaluation activity of syntactic knowledge.

4. Evaluation activity of written production.

 

Also, all non-evaluable activities that the teacher considers appropriate must be submitted on the scheduled date. These exercises, although not part of the summative evaluation of the course (reason why they have not assigned a percentage of the final grade), will be taken into consideration in the evaluation process of the subject. With them, it is intended to assess the demonstrated development of knowledge and aptitudes that the subject involves.

 

In the correction of the activities, it will be taken into account that a sufficient degree of skills acquisition has been obtained, according to the expected learning outcomes established in the Teaching Guide. In order to pass the subject, it is essential to master the rules; therefore, when evaluating the aforementioned activities, spelling errors, the incorrect use of punctuation marks, lexical and morphosyntactic errors will be penalized according to the following indications:

 

errors

deduction of points

 

errors

deduction of points

1

0,5

 

4

2,75

2

1

 

5

4

3

1,75

 

6

Automatic fail and the reading of the exercise is not to be continued

 

 

Review

 

At the time of giving the final grade, before publishing the acts, the teacher will communicate in writing a date and time of re-evaluation.  The revision of the various evaluation activities will be agreed between the teacher and the student.

 

Missed/failed assessments activities

 

Students who have submitted evaluation activities whose weight amounts to at least 66.6% (two thirds) or more of the final grade and who have obtained a weighted grade of 3.5 or more will have the right to be re-evaluated.

 

At the time of giving the final grade, before publishing the acts, the teacher will communicate in writing a date and time of re-evaluation. The teacher can both propose a re-evaluation activity for each activity suspended or not submitted or gather various activities. If the re-evaluation test is passed, the final grade of the course is 5, regardless of the grades obtained before.

 

 

Classification as “not assessable”

 

A "Not assessable" will be assigned when the evaluation evidence provided by the student equals a maximum of one quarter of the total grade of the subject.

 

Misconduct in assessment activities

 

In cases of irregularity (plagiarism, copying, identity theft, etc.) in an evaluation activity, a mark of "0" will be given. If such a case is detected over more than one of the evaluation activities then the student will be given a final mark of "0" for the subject.

 

Evaluation activities in which irregularities have occurred (such as plagiarism, copying, identity theft) are excluded from re-evaluation.

 

 

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Evaluation activity of morphological and lexical knowledge. 30 3.5 0.14 1, 5, 2
Evaluation activity of syntactic knowledge. 30 3.5 0.14 1
Evaluation activity of the knowledge about the sources of documentation. 10 1 0.04 5, 2, 3, 7
Evaluation activity of written production. 30 3.25 0.13 4, 6

Bibliography

Basic bibliography

 

■ Manuals

■ Description of the Spanish

 

DI TULLIO, Ángela (2005). Manual de gramática del español, Buenos Aires: Edicial.

This work, conceived as a textbook for a basic university course in Spanish grammar, provides the reader with a detailed and reasoned description of the functioning of the Spanish grammatical system. Despite using concepts and tools of grammatical analysis of the model of Rección and Ligamiento, the author always tries to avoid the formal complexity and the theoretical discussions that would be essential for the specialized works. Also, it includes exercises and their corresponding solutions.

HUALDE, José Ignacio (2010). Introducción a la lingüística hispánica, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

It is a work that is essential to know if students want to have an overview of the phonic, morphological and syntactic properties of Spanish. The reader will also find a chapter dedicated to dialectal variation. The expository clarity and the introductory level with which the work has been conceived turn it into an adequate manual for first-year students. In addition to offering data from Spanish, it offers data from other languages, especially English, Catalan and Basque, a very appropriate approach for students who take this course. It also includes exercises.

■ Norm of spanish

 

GÓMEZ TORREGO, Leonardo (2006). Hablar y escribir correctamente I y II. Gramática normativa del

español actual, Madrid: Arco Libros.

It is a basic work of consultation. In it students can find practically all the incorrect uses of the Spanish duly ordered and commented. It also includes a good number of exercises, very useful to influence the normative aspects that each one considers more conflictive.

■ Written language

 

CASSANY, Daniel (1995). La cocina de la escritura, Barcelona: Anagrama.

It is a writing handbook in which the author delves into the rudiments of writing, valid for all types of texts. This work talks about the strategies to search, order and develop ideas; about the structure of the text, as well as the tricks to dazzle the reader.

MONTOLÍO, Estrella (ed.) (2000). Manual práctico de escritura académica, Barcelona: Ariel (Vol. 1, Vol. 2 y Vol. 3).

This work combines the description and the norm of Spanish with great mastery. Being a book of eminently practical orientation, it invites the reader to reflect on the Spanish language from exercises. The work also includes the solution of the exercises and the explanation of the solutions. It is, then, a manual that can be used as a self-learning tool. Another of its attractions is that, in addition to dealing with the morphosyntactic and lexical level, it also deals with the textual level.

SÁNCHEZ LOBATO, Jesús (coord.) (2006). Saber escribir, Madrid: Aguilar.

It is a reference work essential for anyone who intends to consolidate the use of written language; since, as it says in the back cover of this work, “Saber escribir” has been created  with the intention of helping to write, to expand the procedures of generation and precision of ideas, to select the right elements of union, to relate  the topic with the expression, the register and the chosen style, and of learning to apply the techniques of revision and correction of any text ".

■ Other reference works

■ Grammar of Spanish

• ALARCOS, Emilio - REAL ACADEMIA ESPAÑOLA (1994). Gramática de la lengua española, Madrid: Espasa Calpe.

• ALCINA, Juan - BLECUA, José Manuel (1975). Gramática española, Barcelona: Ariel. • BOSQUE, Ignacio - DEMONTE, Violeta (1999). Gramática descriptiva de la lengua española, Madrid:

Espasa Calpe. • BOSQUE, Ignacio - GUTIÉRREZ-REXACH, Javier (2009). Fundamentos de sintaxis formal, Madrid: Akal.

• REAL ACADEMIA ESPAÑOLA (2009). Nueva gramática de la lengua española, 2 vols., Madrid: Espasa Calpe.

• SECO, Manuel (1972). Gramática esencial del español. Introducción al estudio de la lengua, 2a edición revisada y aumentada (1989), Madrid: Espasa Calpe.

■ Style manuals

• ABC (1993), Libro de estilo, 2a ed. (2001), Barcelona: Ariel. • AGENCIA EFE (1976), Manual de español urgente, 14a edición corregida y aumentada (2001), Madrid:

Cátedra.

• ARROYO, Carlos y GARRIDO, Francisco Javier (1997), Libro de estilo universitario, Madrid: Acento editorial.

• El PAÍS (2014) Libro de estilo, edición electrónica, Madrid: Ediciones El País.

• LA VANGUARDIA (1986), Libro de redacción, Barcelona: La Vanguardia.

• MARTÍNEZ DE SOUSA, José (2000), Manual de estilo de la lengua española, 5a ed. revisada (2015), Gijón: Ediciones Trea.

• MINISTERIO PARA LAS ADMINISTRACIONES PÚBLICAS (1990), Manual de estilo del lenguaje administrativo, Madrid.

• SOL, Ramón (1992), Manual práctico de estilo, Barcelona: Ediciones Urano.

Spanish dictionaries

• BOSQUE, Ignacio (dir.) (2004). REDES. Diccionario combinatorio del español contemporáneo, Madrid: SM.

• CLAVE, diccionario del uso delespañol actual (1996), dir. Concepción Maldonado González, 4a ed. (2000), Madrid: SM. [Edición en CD-Rom. Madrid: SM, 1997]

MOLINER, María (1998), Diccionario de uso del español, 2 vols., Madrid: Gredos, 2a edición. [Edición en CD-Rom. Madrid: Gredos, 1996; 2a ed., 2001]

• REAL ACADEMIA DE CIENCIAS EXACTAS, FÍSICAS Y NATURALES (1990), Vocabulario científico y técnico, Madrid: Espasa Calpe.

• REAL ACADEMIA ESPAÑOLA (2014), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23a edición. Madrid: Espasa Calpe. [Consulta en línea: http://www.rae.es]

• REAL ACADEMIA ESPAÑOLA (2005) Diccionario panhispánico de dudas, Madrid: Santillana [Consulta en línea: http://www.rae.es]

• SECO, Manuel (1961), Diccionario de dudas y dificultades de la lengua española, 10a edición renovada (1998), Madrid: Espasa Calpe.

• SECO, Manuel, ANDRÉS, Olimpia. Y RAMOS, Gabino (1999), Diccionario del español actual, Madrid: Aguilar lexicografía.

■ Spanish resources on the Internet

• REAL ACADEMIA ESPAÑOLA : http://www.rae.es/ • FUNDACIÓN DEL ESPAÑOL URGENTE: https://www.fundeu.es/