AJL19024 Developing Translation Skills

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2021
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 6 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Olga Zörnerová (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Lucie Seibertová, Ph.D.
Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek
Supplier department: Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Wed 18:00–19:40 G21
Prerequisites (in Czech)
AJL01002 Practical English II && AJL19000 Introduction to Translation
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 9 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/9, only registered: 0/9
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course is predominantly practical: it is designed to help students speed up the process of developing translation skills through focus on reflective practice in translation. This will be achieved through a series of translation-related and translation activities, but not necessarily always translation as such as experienced in the Introduction to Translation course. In order to foster motivation and improvement, attention will be on the translation process rather than product. Students will have obtained experience with texts taken from the non-literary, but non-specialized-language domain. The theoretical basis underlying the course is current research in the process of acquisition of professional translation skills but students will not be exposed to theory as such.
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course, students will be able to: - describe the main aspects of the translator's profession in the Czech Republic; - analyse the source text in detail and adjust their translation method to the findings; - describe the main features of audiovisual translation and consider them in translation; - use the basic functions of CAT tools.
Syllabus
  • (1) The concept of ‘skills’ in translation: what are they?
  • (2) Introductory translation – assessment and self-assessment; understanding the text – translation-oriented activity.
  • (3) Summary-writing as a form of translation; paraphrase in translation.
  • (4) Literal vs. free translation: students’ inclinations; What do the concepts actually refer to?
  • (5) The process of translation: use of resources, the time factor; experiment.
  • (6) Long-term acquisition of translation expertise; feedback to the experiment from Week 6.
  • (7) The process of translation and translation versions (pre-translation stage and post-editing); translation-oriented activity.
  • (8) Discourse and emotions; cultural translation; translation exercise.
  • (9) Psychological factors in translation; translation pace – experiment.
  • (10) Skopos theory in practice, practice-oriented activity.
  • (11) Skopos theory in practice – continued; feedback to the practice-oriented activity.
  • (12) Individual exercises aimed at developing particular translation skills – depending on the achieved level.
  • (13) The translator and the editor; editorial adjustments to the text; practice-oriented activity.
Literature
  • BAKER, Mona. In other words : a coursebook on translation. New York: Routledge, 1992, x, 304. ISBN 0415030862. info
  • ROBINSON, Douglas. Becoming a translator : an accelerated course. London: Routledge, 1997, xi, 330. ISBN 0415148618. info
  • KUFNEROVÁ, Zlata. Překládání a čeština. Vyd. 1. Jinočany: H & H, 1994, 260 s. ISBN 8085787148. info
Teaching methods
Weekly 90-minute seminars focusing on contextualizing translation decisions based on students' own work. Please note that during the online semester the seminars will be organised in MS Teams and the lessons will be recorded for study purposes. The video recordings will be saved and accessible in MS Teams and in IS. Using cameras and microphones for this purpose is not compulsory.
Assessment methods
The evaluation will be based on each student's progress during the semester (comparing their initial and final level of skills as established by a diagnostic and final translation) and on (the quality of their) participation in class discussions.
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught each semester.
Teacher's information
http://elf.phil.muni.cz/elf/course/view.php?id=2196
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2020, Autumn 2021, Spring 2022, Autumn 2022, Spring 2023.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2021, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2021/AJL19024