SPECIALIST TRANSLATION II - 2020/1

Module Overview

The module is aimed at acquiring advanced skills and strategies for specialized translation in a variety of professional settings and expectations, developing linguistic, thematic, intercultural, information-mining and technological competence in the translation-service-provision industry. Through a range of class-work exercises and homework assignments, the module will enable students to consolidate and expand the skills developed in Specialist Translation I and to apply them in a professional capacity. Critical reflection upon different translation situations will help students to prepare for professional practice in a wide variety of contexts.

Module provider

School of Literature and Languages

Module Leader

FRANKENBERG-GARCIA Ana (Lit & Langs)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

Near-native or native competency in English and another language offered in the programme, and attendance and submission of units of assessment of Specialist Translation I

Module content

Indicative content includes:
• Lectures on developing an extended translation project and analytical commentary, and on developing a topic-based study of translation.
• Practical, language-specific translation workshops taught by professionals. Texts of a more challenging nature are selected from a variety of sources that reflect the needs and demands of the market in selected sub-fields. The specific subject matter will vary depending on tutor expertise.
• Centre for Translation Studies (CTS) Seminars, focussing on professional development activities and invited talks by experienced practitioners and Translation Studies scholars.

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate the ability to follow instructions, cope with different aspects of translation (e.g. deadlines, research, drafting, editing, proofreading, layout and formatting) and to translate specialized texts to a professional level.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:
• A translation of a specialized text of circa 500 words and short commentary (40% weighting)
• A 2.5-hour examination at the end of semester consisting of an approximately 300-word translation and commentary

Formative assessment
Students will receive regular translation and translation-related tasks to practice and learn during the semester.

Feedback
Students will receive a combination of written and oral feedback for their classwork and homework during the semester, and will receive individual written feedback for the summative assessment assignments.

Module aims

• Provide students with professional-level competence in the translation of specialized language
• Provide experience with regard to activities that revolve around translation practice per se, including knowing how to
  o assess the suitability of using translation technologies for specific translation tasks
  o draft, rephrase, restructure, condense and post-edit texts
  o label, archive and retrieve electronic documents efficiently
  o extract and process relevant information for a given task (search for appropriate information to gain a better grasp of the thematic, terminological and phraseological aspects of a document, use search engines efficiently, evaluate the reliability of documentary sources)
  o produce professional-looking documents
  o work in a team performing different roles (e.g. translator, editor/proofreader, project manager)
  o manage time and meet deadlines
  o comply with professional ethics and standards
  
• • Familiarise students with terminology and style from selected sub-fields through practical work on texts of increasing complexity and enable students to produce a register appropriate to a given situation for a particular document
• Offer the opportunity for background reading in specialized domains as a basis for informed translation practice
• Encourage research into subject-specific topics in order to gain an insight into the complexities of specialized translation

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:
• Stimulate critical thinking and independent research
• Raise awareness to professional ethics and standards
• Provide opportunities for developing interpersonal skills
• Encourage student participation

The learning and teaching methods include:
• Lectures focusing on extended translation projects and thematic approaches to translation analysis (4 hours)
• Language-specific translation practice workshops (normally 14-18 hours)
• CTS Seminars (normally 12 hours)
• Contact hours will be complemented with materials and activities for guided study and self-study

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: TRAM489

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2020/1 academic year.