TRANSLATION FOR THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES - 2021/2

Module Overview

This module introduces students to the key critical considerations and creative and technical decisions faced by translators of works in the cultural/creative industries, such as the film, theatre, creative or publishing industries. By focusing on the repertoires and creative decisions that such translation entails, the definition of ‘translation’ will be examined rather broadly, namely, both as a form of interlingual transfer and as a creative platform for (re)writing texts. Examples are offered from the areas of advertising, cultural heritage, tourism, performance (drama translation) and entertainment/art (children’s literature, comic books, films). The module is suitable for students with different language backgrounds and it offers a creative practical component as well as insights into how the creative industries work.

Module provider

School of Literature and Languages

Module Leader

ASIMAKOULAS Dimitris (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

n/a

Module content

Indicative module content:
• Introduction to key concepts pertaining to semiotic and broader cultural or ideological aspects in translation of selected texts (such as advertisements, tourism texts, museum texts, plays, comic books).
• Practice in applying these concepts to their respective source text-target text language pairs.
• Practical source-text analysis exercises.
• Exploration of the transformative synthesis of micro-level features, macro-level organisation and pictorial elements in specific samples.
• Integration of cultural considerations and aspects of rhetorical organisation in translation.
• Audience requirements and marketing preferences.
• Translation and creativity/originality (“transcreation” in industry settings);
• Using Machine Translation to explore creativity in translation.
• Exploring professional roles and workflows in the creative industry

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

n/a

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate:

• Ability to analyse and interpret translated texts from the areas of advertising, cultural heritage, tourism, performance and entertainment/art.

• Ability to select and synthesise information in a principled, lucid and scholarly manner.

• Subject-specific knowledge relating to linguistic and semiotic aspects of translation.

• The development in their creative writing skills in selected areas.

• Their development of research and writing skills.

• Productive and informed critical reflection on both the creative process itself and the finished work that has resulted from it.

 

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

• A written reflective commentary (to be submitted in the first half of the semester). This takes the form of a reflection on a culturally adapted text, enabling students to explore and test subject-specific knowledge and develop research skills.

• A written assignment (to be submitted at the end of the module). This takes the form of an extended written piece reflecting on a transcreation project (new or existing) enabling students to develop research skills and subject-specific knowledge in a specialised area.

 

Formative assessment

Formative assessment will focus on student participation and class discussions throughout the module.

 

Feedback

Students will be provided with detailed written feedback following coursework assignments.

Verbal feedback will also occur in class and individual appointments if required.

Module aims

• Introduce students to key concepts and debates in translation for the cultural and creative industries
• Familiarise students with frameworks for analysis of texts in the fields of advertising, cultural heritage, tourism, performance and entertainment/art
• Equip students with the skill to (re)frame or (totally) recontextualise information in order to secure a similar/equivalent response in a different context of cultural consumption
• Familiarise students with translation as a creative process, a vehicle of building upon but also of creatively rewriting originals
• Expose students to the realities of the creative industries
• Offer students an overview of translation in the creative industries as a field of research

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to: • Equip students with research and writing skills and with the ability to assess the relevance of aesthetic, cultural and promotional features to translation practice, through reading, presenting findings to peers as well as in written assignments. • Enable students to acquire explicit knowledge of the creative potential of translation in texts from the cultural and creative industries through in-class discussion and individual study. • Enable students to develop their skills in analysing image-language relations, through attending classes and by engaging with practical exercises. • Assist students in uncovering patterns of creative, culturally-specific discourse though written assignments and writing exercises. • Encourage student participation and learner autonomy, through small group exercises/discussion and guided learning. • Facilitate in students productive reflection on both the creative process itself and the finished work that has resulted from it by enabling them to develop/make effective use of relevant concepts that will be transferable to other modules in their programme, and to practise problem-solving and priority-setting skills which will be useful for future employment.

The learning and teaching methods include: 
• Seminars will be interspersed with opportunities for group and whole class discussions 
• Contact hours will be complemented with materials for and activities for guided study posted on SurreyLearn 
• 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: TRAM503

Other information

n/a

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 2021/2 academic year.