96707 - TRANSLATION FOR PUBLISHING (GERMAN)

Academic Year 2021/2022

  • Docente: Bruno Persico
  • Credits: 5
  • SSD: L-LIN/14
  • Language: Italian
  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Forli
  • Corso: Second cycle degree programme (LM) in Specialized translation (cod. 9174)

Learning outcomes

The student knows the strategies, techniques, traditional and state-of-the-art tools and methods used in specialized translation tasks; s/he is able to apply them to the translation of texts for the publishing industry from different genres and text types, from German into Italian, meeting specific translation briefs and respecting the communicative functions of the source texts; s/he knows the main techniques required for information mining, drafting, editing and revising texts, including the overall quality evaluation of the translated text.

Course contents

The aim is to achieve a broad awareness of rhetorical and expressive strategies typical of essay writing, journalistic commentary, business communication and literary and theatrical writing.
In a first preparatory phase, students will be guided to achieve strategies of critical analyse of editorial translations that have already been carried out, highlighting canonical translation strategies and related theoretical assumptions. The student will then practice conducting an in-depth analysis of the source text and producing texts with a high formal and rhetorical level, aiming to achieve awareness of publication standards. In particular, focus will be laid on processes of argumentative reconstruction of texts and on the typical problems of creativity in translation. Among the text types, importance will be given to the historical and scientific essay and to the narrative strategies of contemporary literary production.

Readings/Bibliography

Eco, U., (2003) Dire quasi la stessa cosa, Milano, Bompiani

Jiři Levy, (1969) Die Literarische Übersetzung, Athenäum, Frankfurt/M

Meschonnic H., (2007) Éthique et politique du traduire, Lagrasse, Verdier

Kautz, Ulrich (2002): Handbuch Didaktik des Übersetzens und Dolmetschens. München: Iudicium.

Nord, Christiane (2009): Textanalyse und Übersetzen.Theoretische Grundlagen, Methode und didaktische Anwendung einer übersetzungsrelevanten Textanalyse. Heidelberg: Groos.

Stolze, Radegundis (2011): Übersetzungstheorien. Eine Einführung.Tübingen: Narr.

Menin R., (1996 ) Teoria della traduzione e linguistica testuale, Milano, Guerini, (per uno studio specifico della coerenza discorsiva applicata alla traduzione)

Beaugrande, Dressler, (1984) Introduzione alla linguistica testuale,Bologna, Mulino,

Snell-Hornby, Mary et al.(2003) Handbuch Translation, Tübingen Stauffenburg-Verl.

Teaching methods

Principally workshops, but lectures as well.

Lectures will deal with theoretical and methodological aspects of translation and will be held by each students.

Workshops will focus on individual and collective practice. After an in-depth analysis of the source text, translations will be carried out individually at home, as well being monitored by the lecturer in small groups of two to four students. Classrooms will be equipped with print and electronic resources for technical translations, as well as dedicated software programs and translation tools (word processing programs, text analysis tools, CAT-tools). 

Compulsory course attendance: 70%.

As concerns the teaching methods of this course unit, all students must attend the online Modules 1, 2 on Health and Safety [https://www.unibo.it/en/services-and-opportunities/health-and-assistance/health-and-safety/online-course-on-health-and-safety-in-study-and-internship-areas].

Assessment methods

Learning progress and translation habilities of specialized texts will be assessed by a mock test (translation of a text of 200 words, with 1 hour and 30 minutes available) towards the end of the course; this text will be assessed with a note, yet it will not count towards the final note. All students will undergo a final exam having the same goal of the mock test (translation of a text of 300-350 words, with 3 hours available). The final mark will be the average between the mark obtained in the second part and the mark obtained in the first part of the course (Specialized Translation from Italian into German). During all translation tests into Italian (which will be carried out in classrooms equipped with print and electronic resources), students may use all the resources that they are familiar with. The test texts will be the same text types that were explored during the course.

 

Learning assessment table

30-30 Lode: excellent paper demonstrating excellent acquisition of the expected knowledge as well as language rendering skills demonstrating complete mastery of the target language.

27-29: above average paper, with minor errors or otherwise compensated for by more than adequate demonstration of the knowledge and skills to be acquired.

24-26: good test, but with some issues regarding linguistic performance, completeness of content and management of the communicative situation.

21-23: sufficient test but with noticeable limitations and inaccuracies of form and content in the management of linguistic material, interlingual and intercultural communicative situation and contents of the source text; knowledge and skills to be acquired.

18-20: barely sufficient proof which meets the minimum criteria for the conscious handling of the source text, but shows serious linguistic and communicative gaps and a poor ability to handle the interlingual and intercultural communicative situation; a great deal of knowledge and ability to acquire.

< 18: Insufficient evidence of adequate acquisition of the expected knowledge, skills and abilities. The examination should be retaken.

Teaching tools

Personal computers, beamers.

Internet, search engines.

Online resources: electronic dictionaries and encyclopedias, terminological data bases, comparable texts, corpora

Printed resources: handbooks, printed dictionaries and encyclopedias.

During the collective practice, students will carry out their translation work in classrooms equipped with the above mentioned print and electronic resources, as well as dedicated software programs and translation tools (word processing programs, text analysis tools, CAT-tools).

Office hours

See the website of Bruno Persico