69433 - Translation from German into Italian I (Second Language)

Learning outcomes

The student will get to know how to correctly use all tools (grammars, dictionaries and text corpora) and basic translation methods (analysis of the source text and its translation into the target text). She/He will be able to apply them in the translation of a variety of simple texts from German into Italian, as well as to identify and apply the most appropriate translation strategies based on communication / operational functions of the texts to be translated.

Course contents

The first part of the course includes two stages of approach to the translation of texts from German. In the first stage, some preliminary notions of textual analysis technique and theory of translation will be introduced. Starting from the analysis of the textual functions in which a text can be articulated, the concept of text typology will be introduced on the basis of concrete examples of texts that will be briefly analyzed in their typological, functional, structural and linguistic features, highlighting the need to recognize the kind of linguistic register used as well as elements of the author's style, the kind of target reader of the translation and the final location of the translated text.
In the second stage, structural, lexical, prosodical and cultural problems in the transposition of a text from German into Italian will be discussed, with particular attention to the use of modal verbs, compound words, subjunctive, idiomatic forms, cultural elements and the use of punctuation.
The second part of the course will be dealing with the analysis and the translation into Italian of non specialized texts with increasing difficulty. The texts will be analyzed under the supervision of the teacher and the analysis with be carried out based on the previously identified categories, and the major structural, grammatical and thematic problem of the source text will be highlighted. At this stage, some guidelines for a proper use of lexicographical sources, monolingual dictionaries and bilingual and any other reference tools (web pages) will be introduced.

Readings/Bibliography

Theoretical studies:

Siri NERGAARD, Teorie contemporanee della traduzione, Milano, 1995

Peter NEWMARK, La traduzione: problemi e metodi, Garzanti, Milano, 1988

SUSAN BASSNETT-McGUIRE, La traduzione. Teorie e pratica, Milano,

P. Pasotti, L. Sartirana, Tradurre senza tradire. Guida alla traduzione dal tedesco, Sansoni, Firenze, 1993

Dictionaries and grammars:

U. ENGEL, Deutsche Grammatik, Heidelberg, Julius Groos, 1988.

U. ENGEL, Kommunikative Grammatik. Deutsch als Fremdsprache, München, Judicium Verlag, 1993.

W. KOLLER, Einführung in die Übersetzungswissenschaft, 4. Auflage, Wiesbaden, Quelle & Meyer (UTB 819), 1992.

L. RENZI, Grande grammatica italiana di consultazione, Bologna, Il Mulino, 1988

L. SERIANNI, Grammatica italiana, Torino, UTET, 1988

G. WAHRIG, Deutsches Wörterbuch, Gütersloh, Zanichelli/Bertelsmann, 1997

W. MACCHI, Dizionario delle lingue Italiano e Tedesco, voll. I e II, Firenze/Milano, Sansoni, 1998

G. DEVOTO/G.C. OLI, Dizionario della lingua italiana, Firenze, Le Monnier, 1971

B.M. QUARTU, Dizionario dei sinonimi e dei contrari, Milano, Rizzoli, 1994

Texts to be translated

Texts to be translated will be handed out in class.

Teaching methods

The translation of each text will be prepared by students individually and will be discussed in the following lesson. The Italian text will be finally analyzed as a whole in order to assess textual macrostructures consistency and functional adequacy. Lectures will alternate with work sessions in groups, within which short translation projects will be carried out. Assessment methods

Assessment methods

Mid-term test: a translation test will be carried out some weeks before the end of the course and is meant to assess the degree of acquired skills. It just a mock test.

Translation of own choice: a text up to 250 words will be chosen by the student, translated into Italian and delivered to the teacher before the exam at the end of the course.
Final exam: written translation of a text in line with those carried out during the course, with the help of monolingual dictionaries (Italian and German).

Teaching tools

Paper and digital dictionaries, web pages, projector, text processing programs

Office hours

See the website of Bruno Persico