31304 - Portuguese and Brazilian Linguistics and Language 3

Learning outcomes

At the end of this module, students should be able to reach Level C1 of the Portuguese language proficiency levels described in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

Course contents

This course (Translating Portuguese) considers theory and practice of translation from Portuguese to Italian. It considers translation not only from a linguistic point of view but also from a cultural one, in order to familiarize students with some theoretical concepts central to the practice of translation. This course also deals with analytical tools that reflect on the process of translation with particular emphasis on issues concerning the Target culture. Particular attention will be given to translation between related languages, such as, exactly, Portuguese and Italian, highlighting difficulties rather than advantages. Part of this course will be devoted to a critical comparative analysis of professional translators' translations in order to reflect on the strategies adopted in each text and problems connected with the Italian transposition. At the end of this course, students will be required to undergo a translation of different varieties of text (burocratic, journalistic, literary etc.) from different Portuguese-speaking countries. Students will attain in this way a good knowledge of the main linguistic varieties of Portuguese including European, Brazilian and African Portuguese.

 

Readings/Bibliography

The final exam will cover the following course readings, which will be made available to students at the beginning of the course:

- Umberto Eco, Quase a mesma coisa: experiências de tradução, São Paulo, Record, 2007;

- Araújo Ferreira - Pereira de Sousa - Gorovitz (orgs.), A tradução na sala de aula. Ensaios de teoria e prática de tradução, Brasília, Editora UNB, 2014

Further readings will be suggested and provived during classes. Student not attending classes will contact the teacher to agree upon a special programme.

Teaching methods

The course will be delivered through lectures and workshops, including translation exercises. This course provides participants with ample opportunities to apply techniques and skills through a series of translation assignments which form the basis for class discussion.

 

Students are also expected to attend language practice classes given by a native-speaker lector.

Assessment methods

The final exam will be articulated in different parts. As concerns the linguistic part taught by the coordinator of the course, students will have to do a two hour literary translation from Portuguese to Italian. This will be scheduled immediately after the end of the course. Students can use a bilingual dictionary. The oral exam that follows will be a discussion of the written exam; students are expected to lead a discussion that shows that they are able to connect theory and practice of translation beyond the mechanical application of rules. The final mark is an average of the marks for each component. This mark will be integrated with the other ones obtained in the practical language classes ("esercitazioni linguistiche") component of the course.

The practical language classes exam is made up of a written and an oral that test all the four abilities. The written exam is four hour long and includes interpreting and translation; the oral part is a conversation on linguistic and cultural issues.

Teaching tools

Electronic corpora and dictionaries.

Office hours

See the website of Roberto Mulinacci