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Translation B-A 1 (English-Spanish)

Code: 101341 ECTS Credits: 6
2024/2025
Degree Type Year
2500249 Translation and Interpreting OB 2

Contact

Name:
Mariana Orozco Jutoran
Email:
mariana.orozco@uab.cat

Teachers

Amaya Gomez Goicoechea
Oscar Aznar Alemany
Irene Hermosa Ramírez
Ana Carmen Alcaina Pérez
Maria Carmen Bestue Salinas

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

In order to take this subject, students must be able to:

  • Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the basic methodological principles that govern translation, including professional, instrumental and problem-solving aspects, as well as of the main problems of contrastivity between English and Spanish.
  • Use their knowledge to solve basic translation problems in texts from non-specialised genres in standard language.

Language skills required:

  • CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) level C1.3 in English.
  • International exchange students: a minimum of CEFR level B2 in both Spanish and English.

Objectives and Contextualisation

The aim of this subject is to introduce students to solving translation problems in different types (narrative, descriptive, conceptual, argumentative, instructive) of non-specialised texts in standard language.

 

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

  • Demonstrate knowledge of the basic methodological principles that govern translation, basic professional and instrumental aspects, and basic problems of contrastivity between English and Spanish.
  • Apply their knowledge to solve basic translation problems in different types of texts from non-specialised genres in standard language.

Competences

  • Mastering the main methodological principles of translation. 
  • Producing written texts in language A in order to translate.
  • Solving translation problems of non-specialised texts.
  • Understanding written texts in a foreign language in order to translate.
  • Using documentation resources in order to translate.
  • Using technological resources in order to translate.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Applying lexical, morphosyntactic, textual, rhetorical and linguistic variation related knowledge: Applying graphical, lexical, morphosyntactic and textual basic knowledge.
  2. Applying lexical, morphosyntactic, textual, rhetorical and linguistic variation related knowledge: Applying graphical, lexical, morphosyntactic, textual, rhetorical and linguistic variation related knowledge.
  3. Applying the documentation resources in order to solve translation problems: Applying the documentation resources in order to translate different types of non-specialised written texts in standard dialect.
  4. Finding the most appropriate translation solution in each case: Finding the most appropriate translation solution in each case.
  5. Formulating the appropriate informative needs in order to translate: Formulating the appropriate informational needs in order to translate different types of non-specialised written texts in standard dialect.
  6. Identifying the existing (digital and analogue) information sources in order to translate: Identifying the existing (digital and analogue) information sources in order to translate different types of non-specialised written texts in standard dialect.
  7. Identifying the specific translation problems of non-specialised texts: Identifying the basic translation problems of different types of non-specialised written texts in standard dialect.
  8. Identifying the textual and dynamic nature of the translation equivalence: Identifying the textual and dynamic nature of the translation equivalence.
  9. Identifying the translation as an act of communication that is addressed to a recipient: Identifying the translation as an act of communication that is addressed to a recipient.
  10. Implementing strategies in order to produce written texts of different fields and with specific communicative purposes: Implementing strategies in order to produce different kinds of non-specialised written texts in standard dialect.
  11. Implementing strategies in order to understand written texts from different fields: Implementing strategies in order to comprehend different kinds of non-specialised written texts in standard dialect.
  12. Solving interferences between the working languages: Solving interferences between the working languages.
  13. Students must demonstrate they know the technological resources needed to translate: Students must demonstrate they know the basic technological resources needed to edit different types of non-specialised written texts in standard dialect.
  14. Students must demonstrate they know the technological resources needed to translate: Students must demonstrate they know the technological resources needed to translate.
  15. Using the appropriate strategies and techniques in order to solve translation problems: Using the fundamental strategies and techniques in order to solve basic translation problems of different types of non-specialised written texts in standard dialect.

Content

  • Solving basic translation problems in non-specialised narrative texts in standard language: children’s books, biographical encyclopaedia entries, excerpts from history books, personal letters, newspaper articles describing events, etc.
  • Solving basic translation problems in non-specialised descriptive texts in standard language: tourist brochures, personal letters, short newspaper articles describing situations, people or objects, etc.
  • Solving basic translation problems in non-specialised expositive texts in standard language: brief encyclopaedia entries, excerpts from handbooks (of translation studies, linguistics, philosophy, etc.), etc.
  • Solving basic translation problems in non-specialised argumentative texts in standard language: letters to newspaper editors, letters of complaint, brief film reviews, short articles about current issues, etc.
  • Solving basic translation problems in non-specialised instructive texts in standard language: recipes, everyday instruction manuals, etc.
  • Using technological documentation tools for translating different types of non-specialised texts in standard language: all the tools seen in the first year (introduction to translation) + dictionaries of analogies, of synonyms and antonyms, of collocations, of difficulties, etc. Encyclopaedias. Style guides. Parallel texts. General corpora. Forums and blogs. Distribution lists.

Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Exercises and problem-solving 10 0.4 1, 11, 6, 12
Lectures 2.5 0.1 9
Translation tasks and assignments 40 1.6 1, 2, 3, 11, 10, 13, 14, 5, 8, 7, 9, 6, 12, 4, 15
Type: Supervised      
Debates and discussions about students' submitted translations 5 0.2 8, 7, 9, 4, 15
Preparation for assessment activities 10 0.4 1, 2, 3, 11, 10, 13, 14, 5, 8, 7, 9, 6, 12, 4, 15
Type: Autonomous      
Preparation of exercises 5 0.2 1, 11, 6, 12
Preparation of translations and associated tasks or assignments 40 1.6 1, 2, 3, 11, 10, 13, 14, 5, 8, 7, 9, 6, 12, 4, 15
Searching for documentation 30 1.2 3, 5, 6

Learning activities are organised into three categories based on the degree of student autonomy involved:

  •  Directed activities: carried out according to a set timetable and in the presence of a lecturer.
  •  Supervised activities: carried out under the supervision of a lecturer or tutor.
  •  Autonomous activities: carried out by students without supervision, requiring them to organise their own time and work (either in groups or individually).

Autonomous activities:

  • Searching for documentation
  • Preparation of exercises
  • Preparation of translations and associated tasks or assignments

Directed activities:

  • Lectures
  • Translation tasks and assignments
  • Exercises and problem-solving

 Supervised activities:

  • -Debates and discussions about students’ submitted translations .

 To achieve the established objectives, this subject involves both lectures and practical classes. The work students carry out mainly consists of:

-  Work on problem-solving techniques for different assignments

-  Translation tasks

-  Work on problems and difficulties in the different exercises

-  Individual/group presentations in class

 Students will be instucted on how to prepare exercises, assignments and translations before reviewing them with their fellow students in class.

 All translations must be submitted and will not be accepted after their deadlines.

 Important:

-  All activity deadlines are indicated in the subject's schedule and must be strictly adhered to.

-  The schedulemay vary depending on the group’s work pace and needs.

-  The subject’s learning activities – and, thus, assessment – may be changed if the lecturer and most of the students who follow classes regularly agree to do so.

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.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Final exam 40% 2 0.08 1, 2, 3, 11, 10, 13, 14, 5, 8, 7, 9, 6, 12, 4, 15
Tasks related to relevant aspects of translation 30% 2.5 0.1 1, 2, 3, 11, 10, 13, 14, 5, 8, 7, 9, 6, 12, 4, 15
Translation assignments (individual or group assignments) 30% 3 0.12 1, 2, 3, 11, 10, 13, 14, 5, 8, 7, 9, 6, 12, 4, 15

Continuous assessment

Assessment is continuous. Students must provide evidence of their progress by completing tasks and tests. Task deadlines will be indicated in the course schedule on the first day of class.

 Final exam: a translation of a general text (of approximately 250 to 300 words) from English to Spanish, to be performed individually. The types of reference works students can use will depend on the nature of the exam.

 Translation assignments: various translation tests performed, individually and/or in groups (at the lecturer’s discretion), over the semester. The nature of each task (individual or group activity) and its deadline will be specified in the schedule. Work received after deadlines will not be accepted. Work must be submitted in the format established in class. The number of tasks will vary depending on the dynamic of the course.

 The lecturer will specify special conditions related to the submission of work for students studying at a foreign university as part of an exchange programme.

All information on assessment, assessment activities and their weighting is merely a guide. The subject’s lecturer will provide full information when teaching begins.

 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. 

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. Under no circumstances may an assessment activity worth 100% of the final mark be retaken or compensated for. 

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 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.

Single assessment

This subject may be assessed under the single assessment system in accordance with the terms established in the academic regulations of the UAB and the assessment criteria of the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting.

Students must make an online request within theperiod established by the faculty and send a copy to the lecturer responsible for the subject, for the record.

Single assessment will be carried out in person on one day during week 16 or 17 of the semester. The Academic Management Office will publish the exact date and time on the faculty website.

On the day of the single assessment, teaching staff will ask the student for identification, which should be presented as a valid identification document with a recent photograph (student card, DNI/NIE or passport).

Single assessment activities

Single assessment will include a minimum of three assessment activities of different types, as stated in the assessment guidelines.

Grade revision and retake procedures for the subject are the same as those for continual assessment. See the section above in this Study Guide.


Bibliography

1. Monolingual diccionaries in Spanish

  • Casares, Julio, Diccionario ideológico de la lengua española, Barcelona, Gustavo Gili, 1999.
  • Diccionario general de la lengua española (DGLE), Barcelona, Biblograf, 1999, 1ª reimpr.
  • Moliner, María, Diccionario de uso del español, 2 vols., Madrid, Gredos 2007, 3ª ed.
  • Real Academia Española, Diccionario de la lengua española, Madrid, Espasa-Calpe, 1992, 21ª ed.
  • Real Academia Española, Diccionario Panhispánico de Dudas.
  • Seco, Manuel, Olimpia Andrés y Gabino Ramos, Diccionario del español actual, 2 vols., Madrid, Aguilar, 1999.

 

2. Bilingual diccionaries 

  • New Oxford English Dictionary, 20 vols., Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1989.
  • Onelookhttp://www.onelook.com .
  • The New Shorter Oxford Dictionary, 2 vols., Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1994, 4ª reimpr.
  • Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Springfield (Mass.), Merriam-Webster, 1993.

 

3. Grammars, dictionnaries and other Spanish reference books

 

4. Dictionnaries and other reference books in English

  • Alexander, L. G., Longman English Grammar, Londres, Longman, 1988.
  • Collins Cobuild English Grammar, Londres, HarperCollins, 2006, 2ª ed.
  • Michael Swan, Practical English Usage, Oxford/Nueva York, Oxford University Press, 2005, 3ª ed.
  • Quirk, Randolph, y Greenbaum, Sidney, A University Grammar of English, Harlow (Essex), Longman, 1993, 28ª reimpr.
  • Thompson, A. J., y A. V. Martinet, A Practical English Grammar, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1996, 4ª ed.

 

5. Grammars, dictionnaries and other Spanish reference books

  • Agencia Efe, Manual del español urgente, Madrid, Cátedra, 1998, 12ª ed.
  • Alarcos Llorach, Emilio, Gramática de la lengua española, Madrid, Espasa Calpe, 1994.
  • Bosque, Ignacio (director), Redes. Diccionario combinatorio del español contemporáneo, Madrid, SM, 2004.
  • Corripio, Fernando, Diccionario de ideas afines, Barcelona, Herder, 2000, 7ª ed.
  • García Yebra, Valentín, Claudicación en el uso de las preposiciones, Madrid, Gredos, 1988.
  • Gili Gaya, Samuel, Curso superior de sintaxis española, Barcelona, Vox, 1993, 15ª ed.
  • Lázaro Carreter, Fernando, El dardo en la palabra, Barcelona, Círculo de lectores, 1997.
  • —, El nuevo dardo en la palabra, Madrid, Aguilar, 2003.
  • Lorenzo, Emilio, El español de hoy, lengua en ebullición, Madrid, Gredos, 1994, 4ª ed.
  • —, Anglicismos hispánicos, Madrid, Gredos, 1996.
  • —, El español en la encrucijada, Madrid, Espasa Calpe, 1999.
  • Martínez de Sousa, José, Diccionario de usos y dudas del español actual, Barcelona, Biblograf, 1998, 2ª ed.
  • —, Manual de estilo de la lengua española 3 (MELE 3), Gijón, Trea, 2007, 3ª ed.
  • —, Ortografía y ortotipografía del español actual, Gijón, Trea, 2004.
  • —, Diccionario de uso de las mayúsculas y minúsculas, Gijón, Trea, 2010, 2ª ed.
  • Marsá, Francisco, Diccionario normativo y guía práctica de la lengua española, Barcelona, Ariel, 1994.
  • País, El, Libro de estilo, Madrid, Aguilar, 2002.
  • Real Academia Española, Nueva gramática de la lengua española, Madrid, Espasa Calpe, 2009.
  • Real Academia Española, Ortografía de la lengua española, Madrid, Espasa Calpe, 1999.
  • Seco, Manuel, Diccionario de dudas y dificultades de la lengua española, Madrid, Espasa-Calpe, 2000, 10ª ed. 2ª reimpr.
  • Torrents dels Prats, A., Diccionario de dificultades del inglés, Barcelona, Juventud, 1989.

 

6. Translation textbooks

  • García Yebra, Valentín, Teoría y práctica de la traducción, Madrid, Gredos, 1982.
  • López Guix, Juan Gabriel, y Jacqueline Minett Wilkinson, Manual de traducción inglés/castellano, Barcelona, Gedisa, 2006, 5ª ed.
  • Newmark, Peter, A Textbook of Translation, Londres/Nueva York, Prentice Hall International Ltd, 1987. (Existeix versió castellana: Manual de traducción, trad. Virgilio Moya,Madrid, Cátedra, 1992).
  • Orozco Jutorán, Mariana, "Metodología de la traducción directa del inglés al español", Granada, Comares, 2016.
  • Stockwell, R. P., J. D. Bowen y J. W. Martin, The Grammatical Structures of English and Spanish, Chicago-Londres, University of Chicago Press, 1965.
  • Wandruska, Mario, Nuestros idiomas comparables e incomparables, trad. Elena Bombín, Madrid, Gredos, 1976.

Software

None.


Language list

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 2 Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 3 Spanish first semester morning-mixed