Cultural Awareness through Translation 3301-L3PA-CAT
The course is part of the practical English programme organized for third year students. It is meant for those who would like to learn about the role and significance of cultural awareness in the translation process, and also, through practical translation, to strengthen their own awareness as regards similarities and differences between the English and Polish cultural contexts. The course centers around the issues of translatability and translation equivalence in relation to culturally marked elements appearing in written texts of various kind. Its aim is to let the participants decide for themselves about the degree of difficulty involved in rendering a range of culture-specific items, concepts and situations across the two languages, and about the most feasible translation strategies and techniques to be employed to deal with those elements in the process of translation. The students will be presented with a varied selection of source texts containing cultural elements, written both in English and in Polish, and asked to translate them into the other language, preceded and followed by a discussion concerning the loss and/or gain of meaning and connotation, and the shift concerning respective reader reactions as results of the translation. Focus will be given to the existence of many possible ways of solving one and the same translation problem, depending on the kind of element in question, the context, the type and purpose of the text, the intention of the source author and that of the translator, and the characteristics of the target reader, thus emphasizing the nature of translation as a decision-making process. The activities will also stress both the vitality of treating the text to be translated as a whole, and the fact that texts are usually embedded in the source culture even if they lack overt traces of cultural markedness. Additionally, the classes will attempt to address the issue of dealing with target culture and third culture elements present in source texts.
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the classroom is governed by the rules set forth in Resolution No. 16 of the Teaching Council for the programs English Studies, English Studies – Linguistics, and English Studies – Literature and Culture of 9 December 2025
https://ia.uw.edu.pl/fileadmin/ilustracje/dokumenty/2026/RD_IA_2025_UCHWALA_nr16_narzedzia_AI_nowelizacja_ZAL2_EN.pdf
Course coordinators
Term 2024Z: | Term 2025L: | Term 2026Z: | Term 2025Z: |
Type of course
Learning outcomes
Knowledge: the graduate will be able to
K_W05 list and discuss the characteristics of English grammar, syntax, phonology, phonetics, morphology and pragmatics on an advanced level, specifically when it comes to translating texts from English into Polish and from Polish into English
Abilities: the graduate is able to
K_U03 analyze linguistic, literary and cultural phenomena and draw generalizations on their basis with respect to the social, historical and economic context
K_U05 collect information from various sources, critically assess a source and usefulness of information; analyze and draw generalizations on the basis of information so obtaine
K_U07 employ modern technology for the sake of obtaining information and using various communication channels and techniques
K_U09 present knowledge and communicate in a cohesive, precise and linguistically correct manner in the English language at level C1 as defined by the Common European Framework of Reference for Language
Social competences: the graduate is ready to
K_K02 undertake life-long learning and personal development, applying skills and competences to select subjects and projects optimally suiting one’s personal interest
K_K03 value responsibility for one’s own work and respect the work of others, adhering to the professional and ethical norms in various projects and other activities undertaken at work, voluntary services, etc.
K_K04 apply the skill to critically assess communicated content to think and act independently in various social situations
K_K05 function effectively in social and cultural interactions, through various forms and media, thanks to the ability to express oneself in a cohesive and lucid manner
Assessment criteria
Verification of outcomes W, U, K.
The student's performance is assessed on the basis of six home assignments (translations from English into Polish and from Polish into English).
The retake consists in translating new extra texts equal in number to the translations the students failed to submit and/or for which s/he received negative grades. The submitted translations must obtain positive grades.
Bibliography
Baker, Mona (1992) In Other Words. A Coursebook on Translation, London / New York: Routledge.
Baker, Mona ed. (1998) Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies, London / New York: Routledge.
Bassnett, Susan (2002) Translation Studies, 3rd ed. London / New York: Routledge.
Hatim, Basil - Jeremy Munday (2004) Translation. An advanced resourcebook, London / New York: Routledge.
Hejwowski, Krzysztof (2007) Kognitywno-komunikacyjna teoria przekładu, Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.
Korzeniowska, Aniela (1998) Explorations in Polish-English Mistranslation Problems, Warszawa: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego.
Korzeniowska, Aniela - Piotr Kuhiwczak (2005) Successful Polish-English Translation. Tricks of the Trade, 3rd ed. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.
Lefevere, André ed. (1992) Translation / History / Culture. A Sourcebook, London / New York: Routledge.
Newmark, Peter (1981) Approaches to Translation, Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Newmark, Peter (1988) A Textbook of Translation, Harlow: Longman.
Shuttleworth, Mark - Moira Cowie (1997) Dictionary of Translation Studies, Manchester: St Jerome Publishing.
Venuti, Lawrence ed. (2000) The Translation Studies Reader. London and New York: Routledge.
Wojtasiewicz, Olgierd (1996) Wstęp do teorii tłumaczenia, 2nd ed. Warszawa: TEPIS.
Notes
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Term 2026Z:
Three absences are allowed. |