30085 - English Language (LM)

Learning outcomes

Students will develop a good knowledge of linguistic and discursive structures of the English language, in both synchronic and diachronic terms, and will be able to apply them profitably to textual analysis and translation.

Through classroom practice, their communicative skills (both active and passive) will progress towards the C2 level of the Common European Framework.

Course contents

Translation Studies: Theory and Practice

The course aims at introducing the contemporary debate about Translation Studies, and providing the students with the methodology and the tools necessary to translate different text-types. Both the theoretical approach and its practical application aim at showing how translation is not only a linguistic operation, but also a cultural one.

The course combines a theoretical and a practical approach. Lectures will provide an overview of scholarly research on translation, with particular attention to contemporary cultural-linguistic perspectives – especially those of Anglophone scholars. Such approaches will then be tested in the translation of literary and audiovisual texts.

Considering aspects such as the translators' identity, their role, their “visibility” and the main translation strategies, the lectures will be strongly connected to the practical activity of translating. Methodologies will be suggested in order to solve problems arising from cultural differences and linguistic varieties.

Students will be asked to translate short authentic texts and to discuss all translation problems they encountered, as well as the strategies they employed.

The “esercitazioni” part of the course (language workshop) consists of lessons held by a native speaker of English (or a non-native with equal skills). Language classes aim to provide the student with communicative language skills by means of various activities focussing on academic writing skills, as well as on translation, to produce texts of both an argumentative and expository nature. Students' work should demonstrate their ability to describe issues and topics as well as to express their position and ideas on issues together with reasoned argumentation.

During the current academic year, this course is structured to deepen the themes of identity, alterity, difference and diversity together with the other courses of the same teaching area.

Readings/Bibliography

MUNDAY, Jeremy (2012), Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications, 3rd ed., London/New York, Routledge.
The text will be available for students at the main library of the Department of Languages, Literature, Translation and Interpreting as well as at Feltrinelli International, in Via Zamboni 7, Bologna and online websites, such as Amazon, Ibs, BookDepository and similar ones.

Further bibliographical information will be provided during the course and a final reading list will be online by the second week of the course.

The authentic texts to be translated will be made available online 

Teaching methods

The course involves the following activities:

a) Lectures;

b) Individual study of course texts;

c) other group activities involving the translation of short texts (both fictional and non-fictional texts) in small groups or individually, and the discussion of translation problems encountered and the problem-solving strategies adopted.

Pre-requirements:

As all course activities involve the constant switching between both working languages, all students are required to possess at least B2 (English) and CELI3 (Italian) skills, according to the Common European Framework.

Assessment methods

All students, those who attend language classes and those who do not, are required to go through the same assessment procedure, consisting in:

1. a written exam on translation studies and translation practice;

2. a written exam on “esercitazioni” module;

3. an oral exam, which must be taken after both written parts are passed.

The written exam on translation studies and translation practice consists of three different exercises: a multiple choice / open questions test on translation theory; the translation from English into Italian of an excerpt of 300-350 words chosen between the two proposed and a commentary in English on such translation according to J. Malone's translation strategies. Students are allowed 45 minutes for the test and 3 hours for the translation and the commentary.

The written exam ("lezioni frontali" module) aims to assess the knowledge on translation studies acquired during the course; moreover it focuses on both translation abilities and students' skills on writing a translated text that could be considered enjoyable and pleasant to be read, and corresponding to the translation task assigned. The correct use of Italian grammar and lexis, as well as a good rendering of cultural specific elements of the text will be positively valued; on the other hand, evident mistakes in comprehension of the source text, grammar mistakes and uncertain Italian forms will be valued negatively. The commentary is to be written in English and students are required to produce a coherent, cohesive and correct text which analyses in detail some of the translation strategies employed.

The written exam on “esercitazioni” module consists of a 500-word essay on a theme relating to topics dealt with during the course. Students are allowed 90 minutes.

The essay will be assessed at the C1 level of the Common European Framework from various aspects: appropriateness of argumentation relating to the topic; presentation (layout, spelling, punctuation); structure/organization (application of academic writing criteria, cohesion/coherence), and lexico-grammatical and discursive accuracy of the standard academic English required.

Both written exams are held once per exam session and students are required to pass both of them before attending the oral exam. It's not compulsory to take both written exams in the same session, thus students are free to take them separately. Students who fail one of the two written exams are required to take again only the failed one.

The oral exam consists of the discussion of some articles dealing with translation studies and translation practice, four of which are chosen by the teacher and two of which are chosen by the students (from two lists of three articles each). The oral exam is worth 0-3 points (4 only in case of students or performances particularly brilliant), which will be added to the mark of the "lezioni frontali" written exam. The oral exam is held twice per exam session.

As the mark on the written exam on “esercitazioni” module accounts for 25% of the final mark of the Lingua Inglese LM exam, the final mark is calculated as follows:

1. by adding the mark received in the oral exam to the one received in the "lezioni frontal" module;

2. by multiplying the resulting mark by 3;

3. by adding the resulting mark to the mark received in the "esercitazioni" module;

4. by dividing the resulting mark by 4.

Teaching tools

Lectures will involve Power Point presentations.

Office hours

See the website of Valentina Vetri Graziosi