Translation with digital technologies language C: Russian 3200-L3-1PTCCR
The aim of the course is for the students to acquire competence in translation with the help of modern digital technologies and improve their source text analysis, translation, verification and evaluation skills.
Student’s time investment:
30 class hours and 30 hours of individual preparation; in sum: 60 hours, corresponding to 2 ECTS.
If classroom learning is impossible, the workshop will be conducted with the help of distance communication tools recommended by the University.
Course content:
1. Terminology and translation work with corpora: types and functions of corpora, evaluating their usefulness, identifying collocations;
2. Terminology and translation work with online dictionaries: types and uses of online dictionaries in comparison with traditional dictionaries, a critical evaluation of search results, limits of dictionaries, searching for equivalents in the target language and their evaluation;
3. Word as a basic tool in translation: improving skills in using the programme for translation, formatting, text verification, revision and proofreading, editorial requirements;
4. Machine translation software as an important tool in the translator’s work: its functioning, uses and limitations, working with a machine-translated text, post-editing;
5. The digital text in translation: hyperlinks and tags as a problem in translation;
6. Internet as a source of parallel and analogous texts: text search, evaluation and usage;
7. Techniques and strategies of translation (paraphrasing, syntactic transformations on sentence and paragraph levels, modifying word order to accommodate the theme-rheme structure, adequate means for providing cohesion; techniques for dealing with non-equivalent vocabulary, the problem of cultural differences – continuation;
8. Types and kinds of texts, identifying register, style and their indicators; ways of rendering them in translation – continuation;
9. The pragmatics of translation – problems specific for the subject matter, the target reader, text type and function – continuation.
Forms of work:
Source text analysis; analysis of translations, parallel and analogous texts; analysis of errors in source texts and translations; working with internet resources of various types; exercises in preparing and formatting an equivalent translation in Word; text editing and verification exercises; individual translation (at home, in class) and its discussion; exercises with online dictionaries and corpora, exercises preventing interference, exercises focusing on enhancing text cohesion and coherence; glossary work; project work (team work).
Methods of work:
Group discussion, group work, individual work, presentations, individual translation, error identification and correction, preparing glossaries, projects, etc.
Subject matter and types of texts:
Non-specialist texts on any subject, representing diverse forms and functions: for example, guidebooks, folders, websites, advertisements, press articles, leaflets, reviews, speeches, interviews, texts involving elements of specialist language.
Direction of translation:
A-C and C-A.
Credit requirements:
Presence and satisfactory performance in class (including exercises with the use of dictionaries, corpora and other internet resources, translation and verificatoin/editing tasks), systematic and timely preparation of tasks assigned for the class, satisfactory performance at mid-semester control tests and/or the final test.
The form and conditions of resits are the same as those for course credits obtained at the usual time, unless it is impossible due to organizational reasons (in such a case, the form of obtaining the course credit may change).
Mode
Prerequisites (description)
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
On completing the course, the student:
[knowledge]
KNOWLEDGE:
- is aware of the basic types of translation, has a certain knowledge of translation (written intercultural mediation) as a process, is familiar with and recognizes the role of the translator in an act of communication;
- knows and understands basic translation skills, is familiar with various strategies and techniques of translation and understands their specific character;
- has knowledge of information technologies as well as contemporary translation-enhancing technologies, and knows how to use a computer in the work of a linguist and of a written translation/interpreter;
- has knowledge of corpora, including the parallel ones, and understands the use thereof in research work as well as in translation practice;
- knows and understands the ethical principles of the translator’s and the interpreter's profession;
- is aware of the basic principles of the translator's work in various modes (freelance, translation agencies, etc.) - both in Poland and internrationally - and knows the basic principles of cooperation with institutions (publishing houses);
[skills]
The student:
- can use various sources, dictionaries, parallel texts, accurately assessing their suitability for finding equivalents;
- is able to carry out a comprehensive analysis of the sources text, determining the most important translation problems;
- is able to provide a satisfactory written translation of a text (both into Polish and into the foreign language; it applies to both studied languages);
- knows and applies, as widely as possible, the contemporary information technologies in research work, in translation, and in editing the text;
- uses corpora data in research work and to look for equivalents when preparing a written translation;
- has basic skills allowing to specialize in the selected domain of written translation as well as in interpreting, with the use of contemporary information technologies.
[social competences]
The student:
- is prepared to plan a small translation project - both individualy and in a team, assuming a role relevant for the current stage of translation;
- supervised by the teacher, is prepared to manage a small translation project – a project simulation in the didactic environment;
- is able to cooperate in a team, also working remotely and using modern translation technologies;
- can be a mediator in intercultural communication; considers cultural differences when working on a translation project;
- observes the ethical principles of the translation profession and the established good practices;
- is prepared to think and act in an resourceful way in translation projects; is able to negotiate with institutions carrying out translation activity; is prepared to start working individually in the translation market (both in Poland and internationally).
Assessment criteria
The detailed requirements and grading criteria are established by each teacher in the given semester.
Credit is given on basis of: grades for particular assignments; continuous assessment (on the basis of attendance, preparedness for the classes, participation in the discussions, individual translation work, written tests, final test, end-of-term translation assignment).
Each requirement, if assigned, must be fulfilled independently, hence their share in the final mark is not determined.
The criteria of grading translation assignments:
Assessment takes into account translational, pragmatic, linguistic and formal aspects.
99% – 100 – 5!
91% – 98% – 5
86% – 90% – 4,5
76% – 85% – 4
71% – 75% – 3,5
60% – 70% – 3
below – 2 (fail).
Two absences are allowed. (If the limit is exceeded, the student should ask the teacher for compensation assignments; in accordance with the Rules of Study, if the number of absences exceeds 50%, the student fails the course).
Bibliography
Recommended reading (texts on translation studies generally and sources focusing on the use of computer tools in translation):
Bogucki, Ł. (2009): Przekład wspomagany komputerowo. Warszawa: Wyd. Nauk. PWN.
Cronin, M. (2013): Translation in the Digital Age, London & New York: Routledge
Hejwowski, K. (ed.) (2005): Kulturowe i językowe źródła nieprzekładalności. Olecko: Wszechnica Mazurska.
Hejwowski, K. (2015): Iluzja przekładu. Przekładoznawstwo w ujęciu konstruktywnym. Katowice: Śląsk [particularly Chapter 2: „Proces tłumaczenia” and 9: „Błędy tłumaczeniowe”].
Kozłowska, Z.; Szczęsny, A. (2018): Tłumaczenie pisemne na język polski. Kompendium. Warszawa: Wyd. Nauk. PWN [particularly chapter 1: „Podstawy tłumaczenia pisemnego”].
Walczyński, M. (2013): „Editorial errors in translation: Translators’ computer skills and the implications for translators’ training”. In: Piotrowski, T.; Grabowski, Ł. (eds.) The Translator and the Computer. Wrocław: Wyd. Wyższej Szkoły Filologicznej, s. 123-138.
Piwko, Ł. (2012): Komputer w pracy tłumacza. Warszawa: Instytut Rusycystyki UW.
Somers, H. (ed.) (2003): Computers and Translation. A Translator’s Guide. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
In angle brackets there is information on where the sources
are available at UW (KH = Katedra Hungarystyki/the Department of Hungarian Studies).
The detailed reading list, including the recommended dictionaries and foreign corpora, is determined by the teacher in the given semester.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: