B6489 - Translation between English and Spanish

Learning outcomes

Students need advanced command in both English and Spanish, to be able to comprehend and produce complex written and oral texts. They should excel in information extraction, text editing, and revision for both languages, utilizing general digital tools (not CAT tools). The course targets improvements in text production and succeeding in managing and carrying out a semester-long, individual translation project.

Course contents

Students considering enrollment in this course should:

1. Have a strong command of English and Spanish (reading and writing at CEFR B2 or higher).

2. Be able to understand, analyze, and coherently draft complex texts across genres, including multimodal texts.

3. Be proficient in strategies, techniques, and digital tools for information retrieval, editing, composing, and revision.

The course focuses on freelance translation through class assignments and homework. Throughout the semester, students work on two types of translation activities running in parallel:

• Weekly rotating text production tasks translated from English into Spanish, involving different registers and varieties of language.
• A semester-long scientific translation project translated from Spanish into English.

For the semester-long project, students will translate a recent, untranslated quantitative research article from a social science journal. The aim is not to train scientific translation as a specialized niche, but to address recurrent challenges commonly found in scientific texts that also occur across many other genres. Each student will be assigned one of four source texts and will complete the full translation individually, with no CAT or MT tools. Using them in this class is a serious breach of ethics.

One class session per week (Mondays) is dedicated to the semester project, during which students work on their translation while the instructor provides in-class supervision and targeted feedback. Students are also expected to spend at least two hours per week working independently on the project to ensure timely submission. In weeks three, six, and nine, students will revise a peer’s in-progress translation based on a different source text. Dates and further details are provided on Virtuale.

Alongside the semester project, students will complete two full cycles of in-class weekly exercises on texts of approximately 400 words (Tuesdays). Each cycle includes the following tasks:

A. Translation furthering (translating the second half of a text)
B. News transediting
C. Infographic translation into plain text
D. Song lyrics, translation to be sung

Readings/Bibliography

Boxman, Raymond & Edith Boxman. 2017. Communicating science. A practical guide for engineers and physical scientists. World Scientific.

Byrne, Jody. 2006. Technical translation. Usability strategies for translating technical documentation. Springer.

Byrne, Jody. 2012. Scientific and technical translation explained. St Jerome/Routledge.

Departamento de Lengua Española. 2010. Manual de revisión. Comisión Europea.

Jiménez Jiménez, Antonio F. 2021. Introducción a la traducción: inglés < > español. 2^nd ed. Routledge.

López Guix, Juan Gabriel & Jacqueline Minett Wilkinson. 2021. Manual de traducción inglés-castellano. Gedisa.

Lunn, Patricia V. & Ernest J. Lunsford. 2021. En otras palabras: Perfeccionamiento del español por medio de la traducción. 3^rd ed. Georgetown University Press.

Martínez de Sousa, José. 2008. Diccionario de usos y dudas del español actual. 4a ed., corregida y aumentada. Ediciones Trea.

Martínez de Sousa, José. 2012. Manual de estilo de la lengua española (MELE 5). 5a ed., revisada y ampliada. Ediciones Trea.

Martínez de Sousa, José. 2014. Ortografía y ortotipografía del español actual. 3a ed., corregida. Ediciones Trea.

Mitchell, James Brian Alexander & Anca Irina Florescu-Mitchell. 2022. A practical guide to scientific and technical translation: Publishing, style and terminology. World Scientific.

Mugüerza Pecker, Pablo. 2012. Manual de traducción inglés-español de protocolos de ensayos clínicos. Fundación Dr Antonio Esteve.

National Academy of Sciences. 2017. Communicating science effectively: A research agenda. The National Academies Press.

Olohan, Maeve. 2016. Scientific and technical translation. Routledge.

Penet, J.C. 2024. Working as a professional translator. Routledge.

Rothwell, Andrew, Joss Moorkens, María Fernández Parra, Joanna Drugan & Frank Austermuehl. 2023. Translation tools and technologies. Routledge.

Russell, Nicholas. 2009. Communicating science. Cambridge University Press.

Sánchez Cárdenas, Beatriz & Clara Inés López Rodríguez. 2020. Retos de la traducción científico-técnica profesional. Teoría, metodología y recursos. Comares.

Valdeón García, Roberto A. 2022. Interdisciplinary approaches to journalistic translation. Journalism, 23(7), 1397-1410. https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849221074531

Walker, Callum. 2023. Translation project management. Routledge.

Teaching methods

Due to the didactic methods and activities in this course, attending it requires that students complete before, in e-learning mode, Modules 1 and 2 of the program on safety training in the workplace. More information, here.

 

This course is designed as a workshop, requiring active participation in most, if not all, assignments. Students will work on their article projects weekly throughout the semester, both in and out of class. Text-production exercises will be conducted in class once a week. All class sessions from both streams are interactive, and students are expected to ask about doubts and difficulties and later contribute to the course wiki by finding, compiling, and organizing further information. General issues raised in class will be discussed on the spot for up to half an hour, whenever possible.

Assessment methods

Students with specific learning difficulties (SpLD) or with disabilities that can affect their ability to attend courses are invited to contact the University service for students with disabilities and SLD at the earliest opportunity -- ideally before the start of the course: https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students. The University service will suggest possible adjustments to the course work and/or exam, which must then be submitted to the course leader so they can assess their feasibility, in line with the learning objectives of the course. Please note that adjustments to the exam must be requested at least two weeks in advance.

Important: This course requires a minimum CEFR B2 level in both English and Spanish at the beginning of the semester. Students with insufficient proficiency in either language are unlikely to meet the course’s formative goals.

Course grade

Students may opt for formative assessment (class grades) or summative assessment (exam only, 100%). Students who choose summative assessment will take the exam on the official date and at the official venue determined by the DIT. Students opting for this route must ensure they are available on the official exam date. Travel plans, including already purchased tickets, are not considered a valid reason for rescheduling or requesting an early exam.

All class and homework assignments are voluntary only for students choosing summative assessment. Students opting for formative assessment must complete all assigned tasks: selective submission is not permitted. Deadlines cannot be moved or negotiated. Timely submission is part of the work’s quality. One of the course goals is learning how to plan a long project and keep that plan under control.

Formative assessment consists of the cumulative score of:

• the semester project (40%)

• the in-class test in week ten (40%)

• the assessment of revisions of other students’ work (10%)

• class attendance and participation (10%)

Coursework grades apply only to the first call and only when no exam is taken. From the second call onward, assessment is based exclusively on a 100% final exam.

Learning assessment scale

30-30L Excellent. The candidate possesses excellent translation skills, and also very high source- and target language command.

27-29 Above average. The candidate makes only minor errors, and shows a solid command of the required skills.

24– 26 Generally sound. The candidate displays a number of shortcomings, indicating a reasonable command of the required skills.

21-23 Adequate. The candidate displays significant shortcomings and only an adequate command of the required skills.

18– 20 Minimum. The candidate only meets the minimum level required and shows a minimal command of the required skills.

< 18 Fail. The candidate’s does not meet the required standard and shows a wholly inadequate command of the required skills.

Teaching tools

Teaching tools

Lessons will take place in a classroom equipped with computer support and Internet connection.

Office hours

See the website of Ricardo Munoz Martin