33104 - Computer-assisted Translation from English into Italian

Learning outcomes

The student knows the basics and can use CAT (Computer Assisted Translation) tools - s/he can apply her knowledge in a project examplifying their advantages in translation from English into Italian - s/he is able to acquire further knowledge and competences in the field of translation technology independently.

Course contents

The aim of the course is to offer a basic practical introduction to the tools used by professional translators. Two main areas are covered:

- Documentation and terminology
Specifically: use of reference corpora (monolingual, comparable, parallel); construction and use of specialised corpora (manual and with BootCaT); extraction of bilingual terminology from comparable corpora (with AntConc); cataloguing of specialized terminology (with MultiTerm).

- CAT tools
Creation of translation memories through alignment; creation of translation projects; concordance searches in translation memories; translation of different file formats, statistics. The software used is Trados Studio.

Readings/Bibliography

This reading list is intended for students who do not attend the classes:

Bersani Berselli, G. (a cura di) 2011. Usare la traduzione automatica. Bologna: CLUEB
Bowker, L. and J. Pearson 2002. Working with the specialised language. London: Routledge
Lecci, C. e E. Di Bello 2012. Usare la traduzione assistita. Bologna: CLUEB

Teaching methods

Lessons take the form of workshops, held both remotely via the Teams platform, and simultaneously in a computer lab.

Due to space limits there will be a limit to the number of students enrolled in the course and attending the lessons.

As concerns the teaching methods of this course unit, all students must attend Module 1, 2 on Health and Safety online.

Teacher presentations will be followed by individual and small group practice. Students will be also required to undertake group projects in class.

Assessment methods

Students who attend the classes:

The final exam consists in choosing a specific domain and realizing a group (or individual) project on information mining, terminology and computer assisted translation. The project must be delivered to the lecturer during the examination sessions, when it will be presented orally.

Moreover, students have the possibility to replace the computer assisted translation component of the project with the Trados Studio certification exam (Getting Started level) which can be taken during the last class of the course.

The project is worth 20 points (each error/omission will be penalized with one point), the oral presentation is worth 10 points. The evaluation criteria will be: correctness, completeness and clarity of the information presented. 10 points will be awarded for an excellent presentation; 7-9 points for a presentation with minor errors; 4-6 points for an incomplete presentation and partial acquisition of the required knowledge; 1-3 points for a sufficient presentation, but with evident limitations in knowledge; 0 points for an insufficient presentation.

The final marks are published a few days later through the Moodle platform.

Students who do not attend the classes:

Oral examination on the readings listed. The test will be assessed in marks out of thirty, according to the following grid:

30 – 30L excellent results, demonstrating an excellent understanding of the course content, as well as a good awareness of the contents.
27 – 29 above average results, with minor errors or balanced by a good knowledge of fundamental concepts and applications.
24 – 26 good results, with some errors or knowledge gaps that show a partial understanding of contents and required skills.
21 – 23 sufficient results, but with notable gaps in knowledge or skills acquired in the course contents.
18 – 20 results that only prove minimal knowledge of the course contents.
< 18 insufficient, basic concepts have not been understood or demonstrated, the students has to take again the test.

 

Teaching tools

Lessons will take place in a computer lab with internet connection and a beamer.

Teaching materials are made available on the Moodle platform.

Links to further information

https://moodle.sslmit.unibo.it/course/view.php?id=1528

Office hours

See the website of Claudia Lecci