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2020/2021

Foreign language C for translators and interpreters 2 (Chinese)

Code: 101466 ECTS Credits: 9
Degree Type Year Semester
2500249 Translation and Interpreting FB 1 2
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:
Mireia Vargas Urpi
Email:
Mireia.Vargas@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
catalan (cat)
Some groups entirely in English:
No
Some groups entirely in Catalan:
Yes
Some groups entirely in Spanish:
No

Other comments on languages

The subject is taught in Catalan and Spanish, but since it is about the Chinese language, Chinese will also be used as much as possible in classes

Prerequisites

This subject requires prior knowledge obtained through the following subject: Chinese C for translators and interpreters 1.

Students must be able to:

  • Recognise the basic graphic and lexical system, and understand basic written expressions referring to a specific, immediate environment.
  • Use the basic graphic and lexical system to produce basic written expressions referring to a specific, immediate environment.
 

Objectives and Contextualisation

The objective of this subject is for students to learn basic structures of Standard Chinese. Their study of Chinese is aimed at preparing them to translate from the language into their mother tongue. Therefore, even though this is a language subject, it will also raise their awareness of aspects concerning translating Chinese, as well as of Chinese culture.

On successfully completing this subject, students will be able to:

  • Correctly pronounce the words they have studied
  • Correctly and fluently read the texts they have studied
  • Understand and orally participate in short conversations related to the topics they have studied
  • Recognise the basic graphic and lexical system
  • Understand basic written expressions referring to a specific, immediate environment
  • Apply strategies to solve comprehension problems concerning matters related to their specific environment
  • Apply linguistic, cultural and thematic knowledge to communicate about matters related to their specific, immediate environment, orally and in writing, using Standard Chinese
  • Use autonomous work strategies

Competences

    Translation and Interpreting
  • Producing written texts in a foreign language in order to translate.
  • Understanding written texts in a foreign language in order to translate.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Applying lexical, morphosyntactic, textual, rhetorical and linguistic variation related knowledge: Applying graphic, lexical and morphosyntactic basic knowledge.
  2. Applying lexical, morphosyntactic, textual, rhetorical and linguistic variation related knowledge: Applying graphic, lexical and morphosyntactic knowledge.
  3. Applying lexical, morphosyntactic, textual, rhetorical and linguistic variation related knowledge: Applying graphic, lexical, morphosyntactic and textual related knowledge.
  4. Applying lexical, morphosyntactic, textual, rhetorical and linguistic variation related knowledge: Applying graphic, lexical, morphosyntactic, textual and linguistic variation related knowledge.
  5. Comprehending the communicative purpose and sense of written texts of several fields: Comprehending information of short and simple written texts about subjects related to the immediate environment.
  6. 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 about general topics from a wide variety of fields and registers.
  7. 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 about general topics of well-known areas.
  8. Comprehending the communicative purpose and sense of written texts of several fields: Comprehending the communicative purpose and sense of written texts of a certain complexity about personal and general topics of well-known areas.
  9. Comprehending the communicative purpose and sense of written texts of several fields: Comprehending the essential information of written texts about general topics.
  10. 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 written texts of a certain complexity about general topics of well-known areas.
  11. Implementing strategies in order to produce written texts of different fields and with specific communicative purposes: Implementing strategies in order to produce really short and simple written texts about topics related to the immediate environment.
  12. Implementing strategies in order to produce written texts of different fields and with specific communicative purposes: Implementing strategies in order to produce written texts about general topics.
  13. Implementing strategies in order to produce written texts of different fields and with specific communicative purposes: Implementing strategies in order to produce written texts about topics related to the immediate environment.
  14. 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 a certain complexity about personal and general topics of well-known areas.
  15. Implementing strategies in order to produce written texts of different fields and with specific communicative purposes: Implementing strategies to use the basic graphic and lexical system in order to produce simple written expressions related to the immediate environment.
  16. Implementing strategies in order to understand written texts from different fields: Implementing strategies in order to comprehend a diverse typology of written texts about general topics of well-known areas.
  17. Implementing strategies in order to understand written texts from different fields: Implementing strategies in order to comprehend a diverse typology of written texts of a certain complexity about general topics from a wide variety of fields and registers.
  18. Implementing strategies in order to understand written texts from different fields: Implementing strategies in order to comprehend information of short and simple written texts related to the immediate environment.
  19. Implementing strategies in order to understand written texts from different fields: Implementing strategies in order to comprehend verbal texts of a certain complexity about personal and general topics of well-known areas.
  20. Implementing strategies in order to understand written texts from different fields: Implementing strategies in order to comprehend written texts about general topics.
  21. Implementing strategies in order to understand written texts from different fields: Implementing strategies in order to understand basic written expressions related to the immediate environment.
  22. Producing written texts from different fields and with specific communicative purposes: Producing simple academic texts, following standard models of discourse.
  23. Producing written texts that are appropriate to their context and possess linguistic correctness: Producing a diverse typology of written texts about general topics of well-known areas with specific communicative purposes and following standard modes of discourse.
  24. Producing written texts that are appropriate to their context and possess linguistic correctness: Producing basic written expressions related to the immediate environment with linguistic correctness.
  25. Producing written texts that are appropriate to their context and possess linguistic correctness: Producing really short and simple texts about topics related to the immediate environment with linguistic correctness.
  26. Producing written texts that are appropriate to their context and possess linguistic correctness: Producing written texts about general topics that are appropriate to their context.
  27. Producing written texts that are appropriate to their context and possess linguistic correctness: Producing written texts of a certain complexity about personal and general topics from well-known areas and with specific communicative purposes, following standard modes of discourse.
  28. Solving interferences between the working languages: Solving interferences from the language combination with a certain degree of control.

Content

The course is organised into three thematic units. Its content can be categorised as follows:

Phonological and graphic content:

  • Pronunciation of and distinction between Standard Chinese phonemes, syllables and tones
  • Pinyin transcription system
  • Basic writing rules:
    • Identification of the structure of characters
    • Decomposition of characters into their different components (radicals and phonetic parts)
    • Identification of stroke order, number of strokes and types.

Lexical and morphological content:

  • Study of approximately 30 frequently used radicals
  • Writing and recognising 200 new characters
  • Understanding and using approximately 360 new words
  • On completing this subject, students will have studied about 400 characters in total, which form 760 words overall.
  • Using and understanding basic vocabulary: very frequently used words related to everyday life and the immediate environment

Grammatical content (morphological level):

  • Interrogative [什么，什么时候，为什么，怎么,  几, 多少]
  • Demonstrative [这么, 这里, 那里, 这样]
  • Numerals [零～十), 两, 一～九十九, 第, 半]
  • Approximate numbers [几, 多, 左右]
  • Measure words for nouns and verbs
  • Sentences using consecutive verbs
  • Auxiliary verbs [可以, 能, 应该]
  • Verbal aspects [perfective, progressive, duration, inchoative]
  • Negative adverbs [ 别]
  • Time and frequency adverbs [ 正在, 正, 就, 才, 又, 从来, 往往, 先, 以来, 赶快]
  • Degree adverbs [ 最, 才, 真]
  • Emphatic adverbs [差(一)点 ]
  • Prepositions for time and place [到, 在, 离, 当, 从]
  • Structural particle [ 地] 
  • Aspectual particles [了, 着]    
  • Subordinated sentences (因为……，所以……;的时候 and 以后)

Grammatical content (syntactic level):

  • Verbal modification
  • Verbal complements: complement of quantity, degree complement, resultative complement, potential complement

Grammar:

  • Comparative sentences [跟/和……一样, 有/没有, 早/晚/多/少 + c. quantity]
  • Existence sentences
  • Coordinated sentences [copulative: 一边……，一边……, 又……，又……; successive: (一)……，就…… , (首)先……，然后/再/又/还……, ……，又……; disjunctive: ...… ，还是……]
  • Conditional structure: [要是……(的话)，就…… , ……，others: 除了……以外，还/也/都…… ]
  • Emphatic structure [是……的,  就, 一  + M + (N) +  也/都  + adv. negation,连……， 也/都……, 难道]

 

Communicative and sociocultural content:

  • Greetings
  • Introducing oneself (name, nationality, age)
  • Describing one’s family
  • Talking about studies
  • Asking about who, how, when and why
  • Suggesting someone do something
  • Inviting someone to do something
  • Asking or ordering someone to do something
  • Buying
  • Asking for directions, giving directions
  • Asking and explaining where something is
  • Expressing one’s opinion and arguments
  • Expressing cause-effect relationships
  • Expressing actions in perfect and progressive aspects
  • Expressing actions in the present and future
  • Talking about a past experience
  • Expressing the duration or time of an action
  • Expressing the direction of an action
  • Expressing the possibility (or otherwise) of doing something
  • Expressing likes and preferences
  • Making comparisons

 

Encyclopaedic and instrumental content:

  • General knowledge about Chinese
  • Basic knowledge about certain aspects of Chinese culture, directly or indirectly related to the Chinese language
  • Looking for characters in a Chinese dictionary
  • Mastering Pinyin transcription

Methodology

Methodology

- Directed activities (70h):

 - Lectures about each unit’s most important content

- Reading aloud

- Reading comprehension exercises 

- Listening and speaking exercises

- Grammar exercises

- Practice of grammar and vocabulary use

- Sight translation exercises

- Revision of previous content

 

Supervised activities (25h):

-      Grammar and translation assignments to be performed outside class

-      Listening and speaking exercises to be performed outside class

 

Autonomous activities (130 h):

 

- Practice of writing new characters

- Study of new characters

- Reading and preparation of texts and grammar points

- Language and translation exercises

- Listening and speaking exercises

- Study and revision of content

 

Each teaching unit will involve around 43 hours of student activity, including supervised and autonomous activities. It is important that students attend classes on a regular basis, and vital that they spend time each week studying new content, performing exercises and reviewing lessons in order to keep up with the pace of the subject.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Reading comprehension, writing, oral comprehension, speaking exercises and lectures 70 2.8 3, 4, 1, 2, 18, 14, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 5, 24, 27, 23, 25, 26, 22, 28
Type: Supervised      
Supervision and revision of various kinds of exercises 21 0.84 1, 11, 25
Type: Autonomous      
Grammar and vocabulary exercises, reading and oral comprehension, speaking and writing 100 4 2, 4, 1, 3, 21, 18, 19, 17, 16, 20, 11, 5, 9, 8, 7, 6, 25

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment will be formative and summative, the main objective being to monitor each student’s learning process and provide them with constant feedback.

Students will be assessed on the basis of:

a) A portfolio (35%), comprising vocabulary tests and written assignments.

b) Exams (65%), specifically a mid-term exam (30%) and a final exam (35%).

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Final exam 35% 2 0.08 2, 3, 4, 1, 21, 18, 19, 17, 16, 20, 14, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 5, 9, 8, 7, 6, 24, 27, 23, 25, 26, 22, 28
Mid-term exam 30% 2 0.08 2, 3, 4, 1, 21, 18, 19, 17, 16, 20, 14, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 5, 9, 8, 7, 6, 24, 27, 23, 25, 26, 22, 28
Portfolio 35% 30 1.2 2, 3, 4, 1, 21, 18, 19, 17, 16, 20, 14, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 5, 9, 8, 7, 24, 27, 23, 25, 26, 28

Bibliography

Bibliography

Textbook:

Casas, Helena; Rovira, Sara; Suárez, Anne-Hélène. 2007. Lengua china para traductores: 学中文，做翻译 (Vol. II). Bellaterra: Servei de Publicacions de la UAB. (Materials, 188). 

The textbook’s audio files and OMandarin, a downloadable app for smartphones and tablets, are available from www.uab.es/xuezhongwen.

Online resources:

1. About Pinyin transcription:

  • http://pinyin.info/readings/index.html

2. To practise pronunciation:

3. To practise writing characters (simplified and traditional):

4. Other resources:

 

Electronic dictionaries:

Dictionaries:

  • Sun, Yizhen. 1999. Nuevo Diccionario Chino-Español. Pequín: Shangwu Yingshuguan.
  • Zhou, Minkang, Diccionario de chino y español y del español al chino, Ed. Herder, Barcelona 2006.
  • Zhou, Minkang, Diccionari Català-Xinès, Xinès-Català. Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana, 1999.