92977 - German Language (C Language) For Interpreters

Learning outcomes

Students learn the basic concepts to analyse the structure, functions and textual organisation of the German language. They learn to analyse, comprehend, and produce oral speech (and written text) of different text types. They also become able to express themselves spontaneously in a fluent and accurate manner, even in complex communicative situations.

Course contents

The course deals with theoretical and practical aspects of analysis, comprehension and production of German spoken discourse, drawing on authentic materials, such as celebrative speeches, interviews, or short documentations. Lexical aspects of spoken German involve the use of specific corpora and other terminological resources. Focus is also put on the analysis of stylistic features and the communicative structure of political discourse, while identifying recurring formulas and phraseology.

Practical exercises and activities include listening comprehension, discourse outlining, oral summarising, and group discussions on topical issues, such as energy transition, migration, and education policy. Moreover, the course deals with selected aspects of German grammar relevant to interpreting students: German syntax, indirect speech, modal verbs.

Readings/Bibliography

Aston, Guy (2018) “Acquiring the Language of Interpreters: A Corpus-based Approach” in Russo M, Bendazzoli C, Defrancq, B (eds) Making way in corpus-based interpreting studies. Singapore: Springer Nature, 83-96.

Aston, Guy (2016) „How corpora can help the interpreter walk the tightrope” in Corpas Pastor G, Seghiri M (eds.) Corpus-based Approaches to Translation and Interpreting. Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 219-238.

Bukies, Gudrun (2018) Dolmetschen Deutsch-Italienisch: eine Einführung. Berlin: Frank & Timme.

Burkhardt, Armin (ed) (2019) Handbuch Politische Rhetorik. Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter.

Mack G, Leibbrand M P (2021) “Interpretare tra tedesco e italiano”, in Russo, M. (ed) Interpretare da e verso l’italiano: didattica e innovazione per la formazione dell’interprete. Bologna: BUP, 313-333.

Mack, G. (2021) “L’interpretazione simultanea”, in Russo, M. (ed) Interpretare da e verso l’italiano: didattica e innovazione per la formazione dell’interprete. Bologna: BUP, 19-39.

Ruetten, Anja (2007) Informations- und Wissensmanagement im Konferenzdolmetschen. Frankfurt: Peter Lang, pp. 95-110, 148-153.

Setton R, Dawrant A (2016) Conference interpreting – A complete course. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, chapter 4.

Teaching methods

Interactive lessons give room for discussion, while pracital exercises based on authentic text and discourse material allow interpreting students to enhance their listening, speaking and analytical skills as well as their linguistic and cultural competence. Moroever, students are asked to prepare presentations on assigned topics.

Assessment methods

Mid-course assessment:

• oral presentation (10-12 minutes) in German language with multimedia support on a previously assigned topic (verification of abilities in presenting and reformulating)
  

Final exam:

• listening test aimed at assessing the comprehension of the German language (on a topic covered during the course)  
• oral exam: assessment of the comprehension of lexical and grammatical structures of the German language, and the analytical ability of a proposed text
  

Grading scale:

30 – 30L the student has an excellent command of the required skills and language competencies and makes virtually no mistakes

27 – 29 the student has an very good command of the required skills and language competencies and makes only minor mistakes

24 – 26 the student has a decent command of the required skills and language competencies and makes some significant mistakes

21 – 23 the student has only an adequate command of the required skills and language competencies and makes significant mistakes

18 – 20 the student has barely sufficient command of the required skills and language competencies and makes a significant number of serious mistakes

< 18 the student does not possess the required skills and language competencies and should repeat the exam

Teaching tools

Audio and video files, didactic materials, and instructions for exercises are available on the e-learning platform "Virtuale".

Recommended use of the following online resources:

DWDS
https://www.dwds.de/

Duden online - Wörterbuch
https://www.duden.de/woerterbuch

Deutsche Welle
https://www.dw.com/de/themen/s-9077

bpb
https://www.bpb.de/

Office hours

See the website of Sandra Nauert