Course Title: Theoretical Bases of Translating and Interpreting

Part B: Course Detail

Teaching Period: Term1 2007

Course Code: LANG5397

Course Title: Theoretical Bases of Translating and Interpreting

School: 365T Global Studies, Soc Sci & Plng

Campus: City Campus

Program: C6067 - Advanced Diploma of Translating and Interpreting

Course Contact : Miranda Lai

Course Contact Phone: +61 3 99253523

Course Contact Email:miranda.lai@rmit.edu.au


Name and Contact Details of All Other Relevant Staff

Nominal Hours: 80

Regardless of the mode of delivery, represent a guide to the relative teaching time and student effort required to successfully achieve a particular competency/module. This may include not only scheduled classes or workplace visits but also the amount of effort required to undertake, evaluate and complete all assessment requirements, including any non-classroom activities.

Pre-requisites and Co-requisites

Nil

Course Description

This course provides students with the skills and knowledge to apply theoretical frameworks to translating and interpreting processes and to use appropriate metalanguage to analyse and evaluate aspects of practice.


National Codes, Titles, Elements and Performance Criteria

National Element Code & Title:

VBN933 Theoretical Bases of Translating and Interpreting


Learning Outcomes


On completion of this course you will be expected to be able to: 

  1. Apply appropriate metalanguage to describe strategies aimed at achieving equivalence in translation and interpreting. 
    • Apply effective metalanguage to describe strategies for translating and interpreting lexical items. 
    • Identify and describe collocations and collocational range, and use appropriate metalanguage to explain strategies for translating collocations and marked collocations. 
    • Identify and describe idioms and idiomatic utterances and use appropriate metalanguage to explain strategies for translating them. 
    • Apply appropriate metalanguage to analyse issues of grammatical equivalence in interpreting / translation between English and a LOTE. 
    • Apply effective metalanguage to describe strategies for achieving equivalence in the translation and interpretation of aspects of cohesion in texts. 
    • Recognise thematic information structures and explain strategies for translating them. 
    • Apply effective metalanguage to describe strategies for maintaining coherence and dealing with implicatures in translation and interpreting. 
  2. Apply principles of note-taking for consecutive interpreting, and demonstrate their relevance to seeking equivalence in consecutive interpreting.
    • Explain the Rozan / Henderson note-taking system used for consecutive interpreting. 
    • Analyse and describe the development of a personal note-taking system (based on the Rozan / Henderson system), including problems encountered and strategies for overcoming them. 
    • Analyse and describe linkages between note-taking principles and strategies aimed at achieving equivalence at and above the word level in consecutive interpreting.


Details of Learning Activities

In classroom situations, you will develop knowledge of theoretical aspects to assist you in performing complex interpreting and translating tasks. In particular, the instruction will aim to assist you to understand and apply:
• The Rozan/Henderson system of note-taking for consecutive interpreting, including the importance of recognising the main ideas in a text, noting / memorising ideas (rather than words), developing a system of symbols and abbreviations (intermediate symbolic language), and noting cohesive devices.
• Linkages between note-taking principles and strategies to achieve equivalence at and above the word level, including correspondence between the Rozan / Henderson principles of noting / memorising ideas rather than words and linking main points in consecutive texts, and certain areas of Linguistics (eg pragmatics / coherence and cohesion).
• Effective metalanguage.
• The Hallidayan approach and the Prague School position on information flow and the relevance of these differing approaches to the interpreting / translation process.
• Achievement of equivalence in the translation and interpretation of texts in aspects of cohesion.
• Effective metalanguage to describe strategies for achieving equivalence in the translation and interpretation of texts.


Teaching Schedule

Students are required to attend all classes and participate in learning activities as well as complete learning outcome assessment tasks in the final weeks of  semester(s).

Learning Outcome activiites will take place mid-semester as notified by teacher and in the final weeks of the semester as notified by teacher.

Part-Time Groups will complete one learning outcome in the final weeks of each semester as notified by teacher.


Learning Resources

Prescribed Texts


References

What will I need access to for this course?
You will need to purchase the following prescribed text:
Baker.M., In Other Words: A Coursebook on Translation, Routledge, London, 1999.


Other Resources

The following texts are recommended for further reading:


Gentile, A., Ozolins, U. & Vasilakakos, M., Liaison Interpreting: A Handbook, Melbourne University Press, 1996
Hatim, B. & Mason, I., Discourse and the Translator, Longman, UK, 1990
Larson, M., Meaning Based Translation, A Guide to Cross-language Equivalence, University Press of America, Lanham, New York, 1984.


Overview of Assessment

Two Learning Outcome activities.


Assessment Tasks

Your interpreting understanding and ability to apply knowledge taught in this course will be assessed by the following tests:
Learning Outcome 1:
A written class task, involving exercises on aspects of equivalence at and above the word level and issues arising out of these aspects in professional interpreting and translating practice. Achievement of this learning outcome will require you to:
• carry out two exercises on aspects of equivalence at and above the word level;
• examine the significance of these aspects in professional interpreting and translating practice;
• discuss any particular equivalence issues. (50%)
Learning Outcome 2:
A written class task, involving exercises on aspects of grammatical equivalence and cohesion and issues arising out of these aspects in professional interpreting and translating practice. Achievement of this learning outcome will require you to:
• carry out two exercises on aspects of grammatical equivalence and cohesion;
• examine the significance of these aspects in professional interpreting and translating practice;
• discuss any particular equivalence issues. (50%)


Assessment Matrix

Learning Outcome activities have been designed in accordance with competencies.

Course Overview: Access Course Overview