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2022/2023

Foreign language and translation C1 (Chinese)

Code: 101411 ECTS Credits: 9
Degree Type Year Semester
2500249 Translation and Interpreting OB 2 1

Contact

Name:
Leonor Sola Comino
Email:
leonor.sola@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:
No

Other comments on languages

The subject is taught in Spanish and Catalan, 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 2.

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.
  • Understand, distinguish between and correctly pronounce the phonemes, syllables and tones of Standard Chinese.
  • Read and correctly use the Pinyin transcription system.
  • Master basic rules for writing: identify the structure of characters, decompose them into their different components (radicals, phonetic parts and symbolic parts), stroke order, number of strokes and types.
 

Objectives and Contextualisation

All the subject’s credits correspond to language and translation.

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

  • Understand simple texts about everyday life (MCRE-FTI A2.2.)
  • Produce simple texts about everyday life (MCRE-FTI A2.2.)
  • Translate simple texts referring to topics they have studied
  • Understand information in short, simple, oral texts about a specific, immediate environment (MCRE-FTI A1.2.)
  • Produce short, simple, oral texts about a specific, immediate environment (MCRE-FTI A1.2.)   

Competences

  • Producing written texts in a foreign language in order to translate.
  • Understanding written texts in a foreign language in order to translate.
  • Working effectively in teams.

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. Comprehending the communicative purpose and sense of written texts of several fields: Comprehending the communicative purpose of basic written texts about general topics.
  4. Implementing strategies in order to produce written texts of different fields and with specific communicative purposes: Implementing strategies in order to produce simple written texts about general topics.
  5. Implementing strategies in order to understand written texts from different fields: Implementing strategies in order to comprehend written texts about general topics.
  6. Producing written texts that are appropriate to their context and possess linguistic correctness: Producing simple written texts about general topics with linguistic correctness.
  7. Working effectively in teams: Working effectively in teams.

Content

The subject’s content is intended to develop a number of competences that are not only linguistic but also grammatical, textual and sociocultural, as well as skills for learning autonomously and in groups.

The content can be categorised as follows:

Phonetic content

  • Refinement of pronunciation of Standard Chinese sounds
  • Refinement of use of the Pinyin transcription system

Lexical content

  • Reinforcement of vocabulary acquired previously
  • Study of 500-600 new words
  • Writing: character components, radicals and strokes (simplified and traditional characters)
  • Character formation and etymology
  • Cooccurrence (collocations)

Grammatical content

  • Direction complement (来, 去)
  • Conjunction and emphasis structures (虽然 ...... 但是, 除了 ...... 还 / 都, 越 ... 越 ..., 越来越 ...,)
  • Particles: 过, 着, 了
  • Immediate future
  • Adverbs: 再, 又
  • 把 – sentence
  • Potential complement
  • Passive sentence
  • Parallel structures with interrogative

Communicative and sociocultural elements:

  • Buying clothes: asking for and giving information about clothes, colours and prices; bargaining
  • Colours and their cultural significance: asking about preferences
  • Hobbies: expressing likes and opinions
  • Celebrating a birthday
  • Talking about health

Methodology

To achieve the established objectives, this subject involves both lectures and practical classes. 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.

The work students carry out mainly consists of:

Directed activities:

  • Lectures
  • Listening and speaking exercises
  • Grammar exercises
  • Practice of grammar and vocabulary use
  • Role play
  • Correction of homework

 Supervised activities:

  • Grammar and translation assignments to be performed outside class
  • Listening and speaking exercises to be performed outside class

 Autonomous activities:

  • Practice of writing new characters
  • Reading and preparation of texts and grammar points
  • Language and translation exercises
  • Listening and speaking exercises
  • Study and revision of content

 Assessment activities:

  • Vocabulary tests
  • Written exams
  • Compositions and translations

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Exercises 7 0.28 2, 1, 5, 4, 3, 6
Lectures (grammar, vocabulary, writing, Chinese culture, etc.) 42 1.68 2, 1, 5, 4, 3, 6
Oral comprehension activities 7 0.28 2, 1, 5, 4, 3, 6
Oral production activities 6.5 0.26 2, 1, 5, 4, 3, 6
Reading comprehension activities 13 0.52 2, 1, 5, 4, 3, 6
Written production activities 7 0.28 2, 1, 5, 4, 3, 6
Type: Supervised      
Correction of exercises 6 0.24 2, 1, 5, 4, 3, 6
Oral comprehension exercises 5 0.2 2, 1, 5, 4, 3, 6
Translation and composition exercises 12 0.48 2, 1, 5, 4, 3, 6
Type: Autonomous      
Character writing exercises 28 1.12 2, 1
Reading comprehension activities 10 0.4 2, 1, 5, 3
Speaking exercises 13 0.52 2, 1, 4, 6
Study of new characters and lexical and syntactical structures 44 1.76 2, 1
Writing exercises 13 0.52 1, 4, 6

Assessment

 Assessment is continuous. The  information on  assessment activities and their weighting is  a guide. The subject's lecturer will provide full information when teaching begins. Students will be assessed on the basis of:

a) A portfolio (30%), comprising vocabulary tests (10%) and oral and written assignments (20%).

b) Exams (70%), specifically a mid-term exam (35%) and a final exam (35%).

 Review

When publishing final marks prior to recording them on students' transcripts, the lecturer will provide written notification of a date and time for reviewing assessment activities. Students must arrange reviews in agreement with the lecturer.

Missed/failed assessment 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.

In this case, the final mark will not be higher than 5.

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 thecase of misconduct in more than one assessment activity, the student involved will be given a final mark of “0” for the subject. Assessment activities in which irregularities have occurred (e.g. plagiarism, copying, impersonation) are excluded from recovery.

 

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
First exam 35 3 0.12 2, 1, 5, 4, 3, 6
Oral and written assignments (portfolio) 20 4 0.16 2, 1, 4, 6
Second Exam 35 3 0.12 2, 1, 5, 4, 3, 6
Vocabulary tests (portfolio) 10 1.5 0.06 2, 1, 7

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.

Dictionaries:

Students do not need to buy a dictionary at this level, but must be familiar with them.

  • 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.

Reference works:

Students are advised to consult at least two of the following reference works:

  • Álvarez, José Ramón. 2000. La pronunciación del chino hablado (putonghua) para hispanohablantes. Taipei: Lanbridge Press cop.
  • Casas-Tost, Helena; Rovira-Esteva, Sara (Eds.). 2015. Guía de estilo para el uso de palabras de origen chino. Adeli Ediciones: Madrid. ISBN: 978-84-940818-7-3. En línea: https://ddd.uab.cat/record/180644
  • Casas-Tost, Helena; Rovira-Esteva, Sara (Eds.). 2015. Guia d’estil per al tractament de mots xinesos en català. Generalitat de Catalunya. Departament de Cultura. Biblioteca tècnica de política lingüística, 2. ISBN: 978-84-393-9241-5. DOI: 10.2436/15.8040.02.1. En línia: https://ddd.uab.cat/record/133473
  • López Calvo, F.; Zhao, Baoyan. 2013. Guía esencial de la lengua china. Madrid: Adeli Ediciones.
  • Ramírez, Laureano. 1999. Del carácter al contexto: Teoría y práctica de la traducción del chino moderno. Bellaterra: Servei de publicacions de la UAB. (Materials, 74).
  • Rovira-Esteva, Sara. 2010. Lengua y escritura chinas: Mitos y realidades. Barcelona: Edicions Bellaterra. ISBN: 978-84-7290-511-5.

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:

Software

  • Youdao app