Translation Theory

Recommended Prerequisites

Competences in reading, abstraction and formulation; knowledge of English and/or French and/or German

Teaching Methods

a) Theoretical and historical lectures aiming at conveying information as well as models of expression.

b) Individual and group analysis and discussion of texts to train reading comprehension and abstraction skills.

c) Text presentation and summary exercises aiming at improving expression skills as well as reflection on the topics of the syllabus, distinguishing essential from nonessential information. This exercise aims to improve synthesis skills, which are critical in translation practice.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the semester, students should

i) have internalized the meaning of translating. Having abandoned sterile ideas of fidelity, they should be able to gain awareness of source and target communicative situations in their historical and cultural dimensions;

ii) understand the concept of translation brief and evaluate the translation strategies to be used accordingly;

iii) be familiar with the metalanguage of translation;

iv) know the most recent currents and approaches in Translation Theory in order to make informed and appropriate decisions in their translation and research work;

v) know the critical milestones in the development of the thought about translation from Antiquity to the present;

vi) understand the role of translators in constructing the world from the first signs of cultural and linguistic mediation to the present;

vii) have enhanced their writing and oral skills.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

1. Concepts and modalities of translation.

2. Current market context.

3. Translator training. The role of Translation Theory.

4. James S. Holmes and his map of Translation Studies.

5. Milestones of translation practice and thought from Antqiquity to the 20th century:

5.1. First signs of translation activity until Rome; translation practice in Rome, the Middle Ages and Renaissance;

5.2. Thought on translation from Cicero to Schleiermacher.

6. Development of Translation Studies in the 20th century; translation as an interdisciplinary field.

6.1. Translation and Linguistics; meaning, equivalence, and equivalent effect; “The Science of Translation”;

6.2. Structural and stylistic correspondence;

6.3. Functionalist approaches. Text type and translation method; Skopos theory, translation oriented text analysis;

6.4. The Tel Aviv School and the Polysystem Theory; the Manipulation School;

6.5. Translation and Cultural Studies;

6.6. Translation and Gender.

Head Lecturer(s)

Cornelia Elisabeth Plag

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Synthesis work: 10.0%
In-class participation: 10.0%
Mini Tests: 40.0%
Research work: 40.0%

Bibliography

Baker, M., In Other Words, Routledge, 1992.

Baker, M. (ed), The Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies, 2001.

Ballard, M., De Cicéron à Benjamin, Pr. Univ. de Lille, 1992.

Bassnett, S., Estudos de tradução. Trad. V. Figueiredo, Calouste Gulbenkian, 2003.

Chesterman, A./E. Wagner (ed), Can Theory Help Translators? St. Jerome, 2002.

Munday, J., Introducing Translation Studies, Routledge, 2008.

Nord, C., Textanalyse und Übersetzen, Julius Groos, 1988 [Text Analysis in Translation, Rodopi, 1991].

Robinson, D., Western Translation Theory, St. Jerome, 1997.

Snell-Hornby, M. et al. (Hg), Handbuch Translation, Stauffenburg, 1998.

Steiner, G., Après Babel, Albin Michel, 1998.

Venuti, L. (ed) The Translation Studies Reader, Routledge, 2000.

Vinay, J.-P./J. Darbelnet, Stylistique comparée du français et de l'anglais, Didier, 1977 [Comparative Stylistics of French and English, John Benjamins, 1995].