AJ69041 Translation of Technical Texts

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2008
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)
Ing. Mgr. Jiří Rambousek, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Věra Vystavělová (lecturer), Ing. Mgr. Jiří Rambousek, Ph.D. (deputy)
Guaranteed by
Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A.
Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek
Timetable
Thu 15:00–16:35 G21
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
Course objectives
Main objective of the course:
Acquisition of practical skills needed in technical translation, and practicing them on a wide scale of different texts.
Practically oriented course in translating technical texts. It presents technical translation on two scales: horizontal - by fields (elektronics/informatics, machinery, building/construction, chemistry and biotechnologies...), and vertical - by stylistic level (scientific paper, text for public with background in technology, patents, reports, popular texts...). Stylistic features of the individual text types in English and in Czech are investigated, especially the often neglected differences in presenting the material (structure of text, development of argument, level of formality, printing conventions). In the field of terminology, the course presents existing resources, concentrating on sample procedures of looking up terms (including practical compilation of glossaries). Basic rules of word-formation and terminological conventions in both languages are discussed. The possibility of using CAT tools is mentioned in the course, and students actually use them in some assignments. Other assignments are based on team work or peer-to-peer proof-reading. Students also produce äbstracts and check their understanding of technical texts empirically. In addition to short assignments from all fields, each student specializes in one of the main areas in order to master its basics and its terminology.
Syllabus
  • Main Topics:
  • - horizontal scale of technical translation (elektronics/informatics, machinery, building/construction, chemistry and biotechnologies...)
  • - vertical scale of technical translation (scientific paper, text for public with background in technology, patents, reports, popular texts)
  • - norms of presentation/structuring the text; development of argument; level of formality, publication and printing conventions
  • - terminology: searching for a term and using it; verification; glossaries; basic rules of word-formation and terminological conventions in English and Czech
  • - tools for computer assisted translation (CAT)
  • Overview of text samples for practical assignments:
  • "Omnius: The Mobile IP-Video Surveillance System"
  • "Non-Competition Clause" (from a commercial agreement)
  • "Industry Solutions" (Bar code technology)
  • "Shipping & Receiving" (business conditions)
  • "Article 1. Characteristics of Program" (from a legal agreement)
  • "Outsourcing"
  • "Global Europe: vision for a 21 century budget" (climate change)
  • "ROBOT 2002/FR - Self-propelled robot"
  • "Special Alloys"
  • "Overview and Definition of Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence Theory"
  • "The International Workshop on Design Support – IWDS 2006"
  • "General information: Usage policy"
Literature
  • Antologie teorie odborného překladu : (výběr z prací českých a slovenských autorů). Edited by Edita Gromová - Milan Hrdlička. Vyd. 1. Ostrava: Repronis, 2003, 104 s. ISBN 807329026X. info
  • MINÁŘOVÁ, Eva, Marie KRČMOVÁ, Jan CHLOUPEK and Marie ČECHOVÁ. Současná česká stylistika (Stylistics of the Contemporary Czech Language). 1st ed. Praha: ISV nakladatelství, 2003, 342 pp. none. ISBN 80-86642-00-3. info
  • NEWMARK, Peter. Paragraphs on translation. Clevedon: Multilingual matters, 1993, x, 176. ISBN 1853591912. info
  • BEČKA, Josef Václav. Česká stylistika. 1. vyd. Praha: Academia, 1992, 467 s. ISBN 8020000208. info
  • URBANOVÁ, Ludmila and Andrew BILLINGHAM. Gramatika anglického jazyka - štylistika. Vyd. 1. V Prešove: Filozofická fakulta v Prešově, 1986, 124 s. info
Assessment methods
Seminar with translation assignments handed in for each session.
Assessment: work in the course; final translation (home assignment)
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2009, Spring 2010, Autumn 2010, Spring 2011, Autumn 2011.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2008, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2008/AJ69041