One of the main aims of this Course of Study is the acquisition of competences in two foreign languages, which is based on the development of the four active and passive written-oral skills, to analyse the study of intercultural and transcultural phenomena through the tools and methodologies of linguistic and philological analysis, as well as the theory and practice of translation.
English Language and Translation II is amongst the distinguishing activities of the "Language and translation" area. The aim of the module is to provide students with level B2 language skills and strategies (based on the CEFR). It also aims to develop the ability to ponder on both the cultural context and the language structures (phonetic and morphological), as well as initiating the student to the analysis of the linguistic varieties with an in-depth study of the theoretical, methodological and socio-cultural problems inherent to literary and educational translation (English/Italian and vice versa).
Students will be able to put into practice the acquired linguistic and communicative skills (active, passive and mixed); rewrite and readjust the text from a transmedia point of view; they will also possess increased communicative skills and intercultural competences.
Pre-requisite: English Language and Translation I
English Language and Translation II is amongst the distinguishing activities of the "Language and translation" area. The aim of the module is to provide students with level B2 language skills and strategies (based on the CEFR). It also aims to develop the ability to ponder on both the cultural context and the language structures (phonetic and morphological), as well as initiating the student to the analysis of the linguistic varieties with an in-depth study of the theoretical, methodological and socio-cultural problems inherent to literary and educational translation (English/Italian and vice versa).
Students will be able to put into practice the acquired linguistic and communicative skills (active, passive and mixed); rewrite and readjust the text from a transmedia point of view; they will also possess increased communicative skills and intercultural competences.
Pre-requisite: English Language and Translation I
teacher profile teaching materials
Several text typologies will be taken into consideration (e.g. journalism, academic writing, literature, film scripts, manuals, spoken language, etc.), which differ at the level of discourse both in terms of their pragmatic purposes and their lexicogrammar features (e.g. the connections between different language registers and the choice of words, lexical phrases, idioms and morpho-syntactic structures, etc.).
The programme will also take into account the use of advanced tools for translation, e.g. online dictionaries and language corpora.
Programme
The main focus of this programme is on translation studies, particularly on the development of different theories and approaches to translation and their applications. The aim of the course is a) to provide students with the essential theoretical background; b) to make students carry out practical sessions and translate a variety of authentic texts from English into Italian; and c) to reflect on translation as an intercultural mediational process and discuss its implications.Several text typologies will be taken into consideration (e.g. journalism, academic writing, literature, film scripts, manuals, spoken language, etc.), which differ at the level of discourse both in terms of their pragmatic purposes and their lexicogrammar features (e.g. the connections between different language registers and the choice of words, lexical phrases, idioms and morpho-syntactic structures, etc.).
The programme will also take into account the use of advanced tools for translation, e.g. online dictionaries and language corpora.
Core Documentation
- Munday, J. 2016. Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications. 4th edition. London & New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-91255-7 (pbk)Type of delivery of the course
Lectures and classroom activities. In case of the continuation of the health emergency from COVID-19, all the University indications that regulate the teaching activities and student assessment will be implemented. In particular, teaching will be carried on-line, via University-provided platforms like Teams and Moodle.Type of evaluation
Part 1: • Translation from English into Italian of an abstract from a newspaper article. • Maximum grade: 20/30 (10/30 assigned to Part A and 10/30 to Part B). The assessment of the test follows these descriptors: A - Understanding the source text (ST) and relevance of the target text (TT) 1. Very unsatisfactory (1-2/30) The translation differs almost entirely from the ST; the meaning of the ST is misunderstood almost completely and/or substantial parts of the ST have been omitted. 2. Unsatisfactory (3-4/30) The translation partially reflects the meaning of the ST; the meaning of some essential parts of the ST is misunderstood and/or short parts of the ST have been omitted. 3. Satisfactory (5-6/30) The translation reflects the meaning of the ST but the meaning of some non-essential parts was misunderstood and/or short sections of the ST have been omitted. 4. Good (7-8/30) The translation reflects the meaning of the ST, omitting a few elements. 5. Excellent (9-10/30) The translation totally reflects the meaning of the ST, without omitting any element. B - Target text language (TT) 1. Very unsatisfactory (1-2/30) The TT is inadequate in terms of cohesion and coherence; it contains grammatical and/or spelling mistakes; it does not take into account the textual typology of the ST and the various linguistic registers; it contains totally inadequate lexicogrammar translations. 2. Unsatisfactory (3-4/30) The TT is partially inadequate in terms of cohesion and coherence; it contains some grammatical and/or spelling mistakes; it does not always take into account the textual typology of the ST and the various linguistic registers; it often contains unsuitable lexicogrammar translations. 3. Satisfactory (5-6/30) The TT is cohesive and coherent; it does not contain relevant grammatical and/or spelling mistakes; it takes into account the textual typology of the ST and its linguistic registers, even though the translation is sometimes inadequate from the lexicogrammar point of view. 4. Good (7-8/30) The TT is cohesive and coherent; it does not contain any grammatical and/or spelling mistakes; it takes into account the textual typology of the ST and its linguistic registers. 5. Excellent (9-10/30) The TT is fully cohesive and coherent; it does not contain any grammatical and/or spelling mistakes; it takes into account the textual typology of the ST and its linguistic registers; it contains effective translation of complex constructs. Part 2: • Description, in English, of the strategies used in the translation of a selection of complex cases from the ST. • Maximum grade, 10/30 (5/30 assigned to Part C and 5/30 to art D). The assessment of the test follows these descriptors: C - Language competence in English 1. Very unsatisfactory (1/30) Serious lexicogrammar errors, which affect the comprehensibility of the text. 2. Unsatisfactory (2/30) Lexicogrammar errors sometimes affect the comprehensibility of the text. 3. Satisfactory (3/30) Lexicogrammar errors, which do not affect the comprehensibility of the text. 4. Good (4/30) Rare lexicogrammatical errors. 5. Excellent (5/30) Absence of any lexicogrammatical errors. D - Description of the translation process 1. Very unsatisfactory (1/30) Selection of not particularly complex cases and/or incorrect description of the translation process. 2. Unsatisfactory (2/30) Selection of not particularly complex cases and/or approximate description of the translation process. 3. Satisfactory (3/30) Selection of quite complex cases and/or satisfactory description of the translation process. 4. Good (4/30) Selection of quite complex cases and/or good description of the translation process. 5. Excellent (5/30) Selection of complex cases and/or excellent description of the translation process. The final grade of the exam may be rounded up or down by the teacher also in consideration of the outcome of the language test for B2 level, which students take at the language laboratory. In case of the continuation of the health emergency from COVID-19, all the University indications that regulate the teaching activities and student assessment will be implemented. In particular, oral exams will be held remotely, via audio-video conferences on Microsoft Teams. - All the activities carried out by the students and uploaded to the Moodle platform will be taken into consideration for the final exam. Students who will have completed their portfolio will present one of their papers. - For students who will have not attended the lessons assiduously and who will not have built their own portfolio, the exam will focus on some of the topics covered in the textbook and on the comment of some complex cases of translation, which will be shown by the teacher. The student has to translate these examples into Italian, explain what procedures they have used, and mention the topics and authors they will have studied. - ERASMUS students will not be required to translate into Italian. The student will have to comment on some particularly complex examples of texts, explain what translation procedures they would use, and mention the topics and authors they will have studied.