The Non-Standard in Translation 3301-JS2805
Of most importance here is understanding the role played by different dialects in literary texts and how those same roles can be transposed in the process of translation. Because there is no one answer to the problems translators face when confronted with this issue, the course is to facilitate students in understanding what really is involved and to help them come to their own translation decisions. Their historical, cultural and linguistic knowledge will be confronted with the actual task of translating selected excerpts from literary texts. Main topics of interest:
1. The understanding of dialect/variety and language.
2. Language and identity in their socio-cultural context.
3. Language and the speaking voice: accents, idiolects.
4. Standard varieties: their history and prestige.
5. Dialect and culture-specificity.
6. Translation strategies in the face of dialectal markers.
7. The functional approach in translation within the framework of Descriptive Translation Studies (Gideon Toury).
8. Communication and interpretation (Roman Jakobson and Eugene Nida).
9. Dialect and the notion of untranslatability (J.Catford and O.Wojtasiewicz).
10. The decision-making process (J. Levý).
Examples of authors taken into consideration:
English: W. Shakespeare, L. Carroll, A. Burgess, Z. Smith, A. Levy.
Scottish: R. Burns, J. Galt, L. Lochhead, J. Kelman, I. Welsh.
American: M. Twain, H. Lee, A. Walker, S. Bellow, T. Morrison.
Requirements: Regular class attendance, short translation assignments, and a final semester paper of not more than 1500 words.
Type of course
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
Knowledge:
1. gains/extends his/her knowledge of translation theory and awareness of the complexity of the translation process
2. becomes aware / extends his/ awareness of the complexities of the pluralism of cultures as systems
Skills:
1. knows how to interpret, analyse, hierarchise, and synthesise contents and phenomena in their linguistic, cultural, social, historical and economic dimension
2. knows how to assess the usefulness of different theoretical concepts for research purposes as well as how to differentiate their applicability in practice
Social competences:
1. recognises the nature of dilemmas, problems, conflicts, and searches for the best solutions
2. is tolerant towards otherness, is respectful towards different forms of behaviour, and also towards different opinions
Language education on the level of B2+.
Assessment criteria
On the basis of regular and active participation in class, written assignments (translations), and a semester paper of 1500 words.
Bibliography
Bailey, R.& J. Robinson (1973) Varieties of Present-Day English, New York: MacMillan.Bassnett, Susan (1991) Translation Studies, rev. ed. London & New York: Routledge.
Berezowski, L. (1997) Dialect in Translation, Wrocław: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego.
Catford, J.C. (1965) A Linguistic Theory of Translation, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Chambers, J.K. & P. Trudgill (1980) Dialectology, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Corbett, John (1997) Language and Scottish Literature, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Jakobson, Roman (1959) "On Linguistic Aspects of Translation" [in:] L. Venuti ed. (2000) The Translation Studies Reader, London & New York: Routledge, pp. 113-118.
Korzeniowska, Aniela (2007) "The Significance of Scots and Its Accents in Contemporary Scottish Literature, and Its Reflection in Translation", [in:] Literatura. Studies of Western Literature Beyond Postmodernism: Literature, Theory, Culture, 49 (5), Vilnius: Vilnius Publishing House, pp. 93-102.
Landers, C.E (2001) Literary Translation. A Practical Guide, Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Levý, Jiří (1967) "Translation as a Decision Process" [in:] L. Venuti ed. (2000) The Translation Studies Reader, London & New York: Routledge, pp. 148-159.
Munday, Jeremy (2001) Introducing Translation Studies. Theories and Applications, London & New York: Routledge.
Nida, Eugene (1964) "Principle of Correspondence" [in:] L. Venuti (2000) The Translation Studies Reader, London & New York: Routledge, pp. 126-140.
Toury, Gideon (1995) Descriptive Translation Studies and Beyond, Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Venuti, Lawrence ed. (2000) The Translation Studies Reader, London & New York: Routledge.
Wells, J.C. (1982) Accents of English, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wojtasiewicz, Olgierd (1957/1996) Wstęp do teorii tłumaczenia, Warszawa: TEPIS.
Additional information
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