69427 - Translation from English into Italian I (Second Language)

Learning outcomes

The student knows the basic tools (grammar books, dictionaries and corpora) and basic translation methods (for the analysis of a source text and its transfer into a target text). S/he is able to employ these tools and methods applying them to the task of translating a variety of simple texts from English into Italian. S/he is able to identify and use the most adequate basic translation strategies, depending on the communicative functions of the texts to be translated.

Course contents

Students will be shown how to approach a variety of text genres (reviews, press releases, manuals) on different topics (tourism, entertainment, technology) corresponding to a variety of translation problems. The aim is to facilitate the acquisition of competences that can be then further developed and applied to more specialised areas. The lecturer will introduce basic tools and key theories in translation studies (e.g. equivalence, functionalist approaches, descriptive and cultural approaches). The latter will be used to perform comparative analyses of different source texts, aimed at improving the students' awareness of decision-making in translation.

Readings/Bibliography

The texts used in class will be made available on Moodle or distributed by the lecturer in class.

Reference text: Munday, J. 2016. Introducing translation studies. (4th edition). Oxford: Routledge. (selected chapters)

Teaching methods

Lessons take place mainly in workshop-like mode and include translation and text analysis exercises (individual or in small groups), the correction of (and reflection on) individual translations carried out as homework, and post-translation revision activities (peer-review). Lessons in which tools and key theoretical notions are presented take place in lecture mode.

Students are expected to attend at least 70% of the module lessons.

Assessment methods

Assessment is by written examination. Students are required to analyse and translate two short text extracts, using monolingual dictionaries and thesauri only. Previous years exams are made available to the students for individual exercise and used for a mock exam.

The final mark for the entire course is calculated as the average of the marks obtained in the two constituent modules.

Teaching tools

Networked PC and video projector. Texts are presented in digital or printed format. Online monolingual dictionaries and other Internet resources are used during the lessons (both lectures and workshops).

Office hours

See the website of Silvia Bernardini