Logo UAB
2020/2021

Inverse specialized translation (Spanish-English)

Code: 101310 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
2500249 Translation and Interpreting OT 4 0
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:
Fiona Megan Kelso
Email:
FionaMegan.Kelso@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
english (eng)
Some groups entirely in English:
Yes
Some groups entirely in Catalan:
No
Some groups entirely in Spanish:
No

Other comments on languages

A native or near native level of Spanish and a very high level of English are required for this course

Teachers

Deborah Jane Rolph Rolph
Laura Claire Trainor

Prerequisites

On starting the course students should be able to:

 

  • Demonstrate knowledge of the strategies and techniques for translation into a foreign language
  • Apply this knowledge to translate texts for the non-specialised inverse translation market
  • Collect and interpret information related to the specific problems of inverse translation and make judgements on the decision adopted to solve them
  • Use technological and documentation tools for inverse translation

This subject requires a native or near native level of Spanish and a very high level of English (e.g. level B2 of the CEFR)

Objectives and Contextualisation

Contextualisation

The purpose of this subject is to develop the ability to produce translations of specialised texts in a foreign language which are of market standard.

 

Objectives

On successfully completing this course students will be able to:

-          Demonstrate that they know the strategies and techniques involved in specialised translation into a foreign language

-          Apply this knowledge to translate texts for the specialised inverse translation market

-          Collect and interpret information related to the specific problems of specialised inverse translation and make judgements on the decisions adopted to solve them

-          Use technological and focumentation tools for specialised inverse translation

Competences

  • Applying topic-based knowledge in order to translate.
  • Mastering the main methodological principles of translation. 
  • Producing written texts in a foreign language in order to translate.
  • Producing written texts in language A in order to translate.
  • Solving translation problems from different specialisation fields (legal, financial, scientific, technical, literary, audiovisual texts, localization).
  • Solving translation problems of non-specialised texts.
  • Understanding written texts in a foreign language in order to translate.
  • Using technological resources in order to translate.
  • Using terminological resources in order to translate.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Applying lexical, morphosyntactic, textual, rhetorical and linguistic variation related knowledge: Applying graphical, lexical, morphosyntactic, textual, rhetorical and linguistic variation related knowledge.
  2. Applying technological resources in order to solve translation problems: Applying technological resources in order to solve translation problems.
  3. Applying terminological resources in order to solve translation problems: Applying terminological resources in order to solve translation problems.
  4. Appropriately following the different phases for the creation of a translation and carrying out the assigned tasks: Appropriately following the different phases for the creation of a translation and carrying out the assigned tasks.
  5. Comprehending the communicative purpose and sense of written texts of several fields: Comprehending the communicative purpose and sense of written texts of several fields.
  6. Finding the most appropriate translation solution in each case: Finding the most appropriate translation solution in each case.
  7. Identifying the specific translation problems of each field: Identifying the specific translation problems of each field.
  8. Implementing strategies in order to produce written texts of different fields and with specific communicative purposes: Implementing strategies in order to produce written texts of different fields and with specific communicative purposes.
  9. Implementing strategies in order to understand written texts from different fields: Implementing strategies in order to understand written texts from different fields.
  10. Incorporating topic-based knowledge in order to solve translation problems: Incorporating topic-based knowledge in order to solve problems of audiovisual translation and localisation.
  11. Producing written texts from different fields and with specific communicative purposes: Producing written texts from different fields and with specific communicative purposes.
  12. Producing written texts that are appropriate to their context and possess linguistic correctness: Producing written texts about personal and general topics from well-known areas that are appropriate to their context and possess linguistic correctness.
  13. Solving interferences between the working languages: Solving interferences between the working languages.
  14. Students must demonstrate they know the techniques and strategies needed to solve translation problems: Students must demonstrate they know the techniques and strategies in order to solve back translation problems of different types of non-specialised written texts and specialised texts addressed to a non-specialised public.
  15. Using the appropriate strategies and techniques in order to solve translation problems: Using the appropriate strategies and techniques in order to solve translation problems.

Content

  • Methodological principles governing the practice of specialised inverse translation.
  • Fundamental problems, techniques and strategies in specialised inverse translation.
  • Solution of translation probelms for specialised genres: medical, business, administrative, legal, financial, technical and scientific.
  • Use of advanced technological and documentation tools for specialised inverse translation.

Methodology

A range of active methodologies are used.

Possible methodologies:

  • Carrying out translation tasks
  • Carrying out translation projects
  • Exercises
  • Presentation of individual/group work
  • Debates (classroom or online forums)
  • Cooperative learning techniques

 

Teaching activities are organised in three blocks, according to the level of autonomy required by the students:

- Directed activities: these activities take place as a planned programme of activities within the timetable and require the presence of both students and teacher.

- Supervised activities: these activities may  require the supervision of a teacher from time to time e.g. tutorials.

- Autonomous activities: students organise their work in their own time individually or in groups.

 

Section 10 of this course guide, which is made available to students at the beginning of the course, sets out the teaching methodology and learning activities used by the lecturers.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Carrying out translation activities 25 1
Class exercises 20 0.8
Type: Supervised      
Debates and discussions about important aspects of translation 5 0.2
Preparation of a portfolio of work; preparation of translations and associated tasks 10 0.4
Type: Autonomous      
Documentation searches 15 0.6
Preparation of translations and translation tasks 40 1.6
Translation exercises 27.5 1.1

Assessment

A system of continuous assessment is used. Students must present evidence of their learning in the form of completed tasks and tests.

 

Possible assessment activities:

  • The production of real or simulated translations, or tasks related to important aspects of translation.
  • Carrying out translation projects.
  • Reports / forum discussions on translation or tasks related to important aspects of translation.
  • Logs/exercise sheets/ reports on the learning process ot on the process of carrying out the translations.
  • Student portfolio.

The information concerning student evaluation, namely the assessed tasks and their relative weighting in the final mark, is a general orientation only. The lecturer teaching this course will provide a detailed description and breakdown at the beginning of the semester.

 

Revision

Prior to formally entering final grades, the lecturer will publish the date / time for assessment revision and the final mark. The lecturer and student will agree on the day / time to revise any of the assessed course activities.

 

Students may retake assessment activities they have failed or compensate for any they have missed, provided that those they have actually performed account for a minimum of 66.6% (two thirds) of the subject's final mark and that they have a weighted average mark of at least 3.5. Under no circumstances may an assessment activity worth 100% of the final mark be retaken or compensated for.

 

The lecturer will inform students of the procedure involved, in writing, when publishing final marks prior to recording them on transcripts. The lecturer may set one assignment per failed or missed assessment activity or a single assignment to cover a number of such activities.

 

Classification as "not assessable"

 

In the event of the assessment activities a student has performed accounting for just 25% or less of the subject's final mark, their work will be classified as "not assessable" on their transcript.

 

Misconduct in assessment activities

 

Students who engage in misconduct (plagiarism, copying, personation, etc.) in an assessment activity will receive a mark of “0” for the activity in question. In the case of misconduct in more than one assessment activity, the students involved will be given a final mark of “0” for the subject.

 

Students may not retake assessment activities in which they are found to have engaged in misconduct. Plagiarism is considered to mean presenting all or part of an author's work, whether published in print or in digital format, as one's own, i.e. without citing it. Copying is considered to mean reproducing all or a substantial part of another student's work. In cases of copying in which it is impossible to determine which of two students has copied the work of the other, both will be penalised.

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Class presentation 20% 0.25 0.01 14, 7, 6, 15
Exercises related to important aspects of translation 20% 2 0.08 1, 8
Translations and translation projects: Translation 1 20% 1.75 0.07 1, 2, 3, 9, 8, 5, 14, 7, 10, 12, 11, 4, 13, 6, 15
Translations and translation projects: Translation 2 20% 1.75 0.07 1, 2, 3, 9, 8, 5, 14, 7, 10, 12, 11, 4, 13, 6, 15
Translations and translation projects: Translation 3 20% 1.75 0.07 1, 2, 3, 9, 8, 5, 14, 7, 10, 12, 11, 4, 13, 6, 15

Bibliography

References:

-      Alcaraz, E. & Brian Hughes (2002) Legal Translation Explained. Manchester UK & Northampton MA: St. Jerome Publishing.

-      Alcaraz Varó. E. (2000) El inglés jurídico. Textos y documentos. Barcelona: Ariel Derecho.

–      Bowker, L. and Pearson, J. (2002). Working with Specialized Language: A Practical Guide to Using Corpora. London/New York: Routledge.

–      Corpas Pastor, G. (2004). “Localización de recursos y compilación de corpus vía Internet: aplicaciones para la didáctica de la traducción médica especializada“. A García Yebra, V. i Gonzalo García, C. (eds.). 2004. Manual de documentación y terminología para la traducción especializada. (Colección Instrumenta Bibliologica). Madrid: Arco/Libros. pp. 223-506.

-      Hervey, S., Ian Higgins & Louise M. Hayward (1995) Thinking Spanish Translation. A Course in Translation Method: Spanish to English. London/New York: Routledge.

–      Johns, T. (2000). Tim John’s Kibbitzers <  http://lexically.net/TimJohns/index.html >

-       Maglie, R. (2009) Understanding the Language of Medicine. Rome:Aracne.

–      Pearson, J. (2000) “Surfing the Internet: Teaching students to choose their texts wisely”. In Burnard, L. and T. McEnery (eds.) Rethinking Language Pedagogy from a Corpus Perspective: papers from the third international conference on teaching and language corpora, Hamburg: Peter Lang, pp. 235-239.

–      Wilkinson, M. (2005a). "Using a Specialized Corpus to Improve Translation Quality". Translation Journal, 9(3). < http://translationjournal.net/journal//33corpus.htm >

–      Wilkinson, M. (2005b). "Discovering Translation Equivalents in a Tourism Corpus by Means of Fuzzy Searching". Translation Journal, 9(4). < http://translationjournal.net/journal//34corpus.htm >

–      Wilkinson, M. (2006). "Compiling Corpora for Use as Translation Resources". Translation Journal, Volume 10, No 1. < http://translationjournal.net/journal//35corpus.htm >

–      Wilkinson, M. (2010). "Quick corpora compiling”. Translation Journal, 14(3). < http://translationjournal.net/journal//53corpus.htm >

 

Online resources:

-          Acronymfinder < http://www.acronymfinder.com/ >

-          Cercaterm < http://www.termcat.cat/ca/Cercaterm >

-          IATE < http://iate.europa.eu >

-          Pubmed < http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed >

-       Medline Plus < https://medlineplus.gov/spanish >

-       Investopedia < http://www.investopedia.com/ 

 

 

Software:

-       Antconc < http://www.antlab.sci.waseda.ac.jp/software.html >

-       WordSmith Tools < http://lexically.net/wordsmith/index.html >

 -      Sketch Engine <https://www.sketchengine.eu/>

Further resources will be provided during the course.