AJ69039 Translation-specific tendencies

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2011
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 2 credit(s) (plus 3 credits for an exam). Recommended Type of Completion: zk (examination). Other types of completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Renata Kamenická, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A.
Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek
Timetable
Mon 12:30–14:05 G32
Prerequisites (in Czech)
! AJ29083 Universals in Translation && SOUHLAS
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 15 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/15, only registered: 0/15
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 6 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The course replaces Universals in Non-Literary Translation and is aimed at students of the Master’s Degree in Translation studies programme, and therefore consistently focuses on translation universals in non-literary translation. Are texts created as translations in any way different from original, untranslated texts (in the same language)? If so, how can these differences be described? It is these questions that a branch of Translation Studies dealing with the so-called translation universals, i.e. phenomena with a higher distribution in translated texts than non-translated texts, disregarding the source language, is trying to answer.
Translation universals will thus be understood as phenomena with a higher distribution in translated texts than non-translated texts, disregarding the source language. Potential translation universals include on the one hand simplification, conventionalization, lexical phrases untypical of the target language, lower distribution of lexis specific to the target language (all that compared with non-translated texts in the same language) and on the other hand text lengthening, interference, standardization, explicitation, dialect normalization, narrative point of view simplification, use of more conventional collocations, reduction of repetition (compared with source texts).
The main objective of the course is to make students learn to identify these phenomena and acquire skills and knowledge relevant for studying them in texts translated from English. Students will also develop a basic orientation in the methods and results of research in this branch of Translation Studies.
Students' own translations as well as public corpora and corpora developed in the Department of English and American Studies will be used throughout the course. Each student is going to use both her/his own translations and the corpus of non-literary translations and texts gradually developed in the Department which the students will help to build, too.
The study of translation universals will be presented as an exciting point of view for contemplating translation, touching upon the very essence of this process.
Syllabus
  • (1) Goals and methods of the course, introduction to the field, basic concepts. Wrok with the introductory text – conceptualizing universals using a bottom-up approach. Literature: Chesterman (2004).
  • (2) S- a T-universals. Individual work with the introductory text (by sections) – joint discussion. Universals and descriptivism in translation studies. Literature: Klaudy (1998). Comparison of terminologies. (Chesterman vs. Routledge).
  • (3) The explicitation hypothesis and its testing. Linn Overas: „In search of the third code“ (1986). What, how and why do we explicitate in translation? Explicitation from the speaker’s point of view and explicitation from the point of view of depicted reality.
  • (4) Universals and use of corpora in translation studies. Application of the terminology on other texts.
  • (5) Translation universals in students’ own texts – analysis and feedback. Type/token ratio; lexical density. Preparation and organization of collection of texts for the corpus of non-literary texts – practical instructions.
  • (6) Simplification in non-literary texts. Literature: Laviosa (1996) a (1998). Comparison of research results. Simplification in students’ own texts.
  • (7) Normalization / conventionalization; shift towards more conventional collocations. Literature: Kenny (1999). To which extent is normalization relevant to non-literary texts? Manual analysis of text samples.
  • (8) Employing WordSmith software for analysis in translation studies. Illustrations and tips application tips.
  • (9) Explicitation of text cohesion. Literature: Pápai (2004), Puurtinen (2004).
  • (10) The lower frequency of TL-specific items. Literature: Tirkkonen-Condit (2004).
  • (11) Length of translated text. Interfence. Literature: Mauranen (2004).
  • (12) Presentations of final projects I. Survey of supplementary literature. Methodological analysis of a sample student project.
  • (13) Presentations of final projects II. Third code vs. translationese. Literature: Tirkkonen-Condit (2002). Conclusions from the course, course evaluation.
Literature
  • BAKER, Mona and Maeve OLOHAN. Reporting that in Translated English: Evidence for Subconscious Processes of Explicitation? 2002, 141-158. Across Languages and Cultures 1(2). info
  • BLUM-KULKA, Shoshana. Shifts of Cohesion and Coherence in Translation. Tübingen: Gűnter Narr, 1996, 17-35. Interlingual and Intercultural Communication. info
  • KENNY, Dorothy. Lexical Hide-and-Seek: looking for creativity in a parallel corpus. Manchester: St. Jerome Publishing, 2000, 93-104. Intercultural Faultliness. info
  • KENNY, Dorothy. Lexis and Creativity in Translation. A Corpus-based Study. Manchester: St. Jerome Publishing, 2001, 260 pp. ISBN 190065038X. info
  • LAVIOSA-BRAITHWAITE, Sara. Investigating Simplification in English Comparable Corpus of Newspaper Articles. Szombathely: Daniel Berzsenyi College Printing Press, 1996, 531-540. info
  • LAVIOSA, Sara. Corpus-based Translation Studies. Theory, findings, applications. Amsterdam & New York: Rodopi, 2002, 138 pp. ISBN 9042014873. info
  • MAURANEN, Anna and Pekka KUJAMÄKI. Translation universals: do they exist? Amsterdam, Philadelphia: J. Benjamins Publishing Company, 2004, 224 pp. info
  • OVERAS, Linn. In Search of the Third Code. 1988, 571-588. Meta, XLIII, 4. info
  • Routledge encyclopedia of translation studies. Edited by Kirsten Malmkjaer - Mona Baker. London: Routledge, 1998, xviii, 654. ISBN 0-415-09380-5. info
Teaching methods
Seminars combining group discussion of theoretical issues and activities mediating acquisition of specific practical translation and research skills. Students contribute to the joint discussion, work in pairs, analyze tendencies in their own translations, provide feedback on each others' translations, evaluate methodologies, develop research questions, and prepare and carry out a small research project of their own. Students are encouraged to critical thinking and relating the discussed issues to their own translation work.
Assessment methods
The evaluation will include the result of a course-unit credit test to be written in the end of the course (30%) and a final essay in the form a student's own empirical research covering a topic formulated by the student towards the end of the course (70%).
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2008, Autumn 2009, Autumn 2010, Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Autumn 2019, Spring 2020.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2011, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2011/AJ69039