AJP69040 Cultivating Translation Skills

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2024
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 6 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Renata Kamenická, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Renata Kamenická, Ph.D.
Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek
Supplier department: Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Thu 8:00–9:40 G23, except Thu 18. 4.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 15 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 14/15, only registered: 1/15
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 8 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The aim of the course, which takes up to a more advanced level methods used in Developing Translation Skills (AJ19024), is to provide students with an opportunity to cultivate some of their key translator competences while working on translation of various types of non-literary texts, with focus on the process of translation and its reflection and feedback. The course uses the framework of formal education to transmit contents typical of this setting (conceptual apparatus, findings of research in translation training and the process of translation), but to a great extent also for activating non-formal and informal learning of students, both inevitable to their successful work in the translating profession. Students will set their individual objectives in the beginning of the course and we will jointly look for ways of achieving them. The course is largely based on the use of feedback, both from the teacher and from fellow-students.
Learning outcomes
The student will be able to:
- assess their existing abilities for translating a specific kind of document
- adjust their knowledge acquisition process (including terminology searches) effectively accordingly
- draw on a number of translation strategies with an increasing flexibility
- draw on translation technologies flexibly and efficiently
Syllabus
  • (1) Translation skills – assessment of one’s own strengths and weaknesses in translation. Theory on translation skills. Formal and non-formal/informal education/learning and translation. Pros and cons of the translatorial profession and working with them. Introductory translation assignment [Translation no. 1].
  • (2) Translation skills – peer feedback and feedback from teacher. Analysis of the completed translation. Setting individual goals for the term and strategies for achieving them. Individual consultations.
  • (3) Dividing students into groups by translation skills profile. Recommendations regarding individual skills from groups with a good level of these skills – discussion. Assignment – Translation no. 2 (Produce a translation using the recommendations from your colleagues.)
  • (4) Feedback to Translation no. 2. Translation as a process: What do we do when we are translating? (Theory.) Experiment using TransLog software – assignment. [Translation no. 3]
  • (5) Comparison and relating the results of the experiment to one’s own translator profile. Translation and use of sources (Theory.) Assignment – work with sources [Translation no. 4]
  • (6) Feedback to Translation no. 4 – comparison of efficiency of use of individual types of sources, generalization. Assignments for groups by skills [Translation no. 5].
  • (7) Groupwork by skills, feedback. Individual consultations.
  • (8) Free vs. literal translation, documentary vs. instrumental translation. Functionalist approach to translation. Modifying text function – work with a choice of texts.
  • (9) Joint translation analysis with focus on prediction of translation problems and planning coping strategies. Assignment – Translation no.6.
  • (10) Editing and text revision. Types of editing: copyediting, stylistic editing, structural editing, content editing. Translation revision and proof marks. On texts in source and target language.
  • (11) The time factor in translation. [Translation no. 7]
  • (12) Translation into English. The translation profession and translation out of language no. 1. [Translation no. 8] Feedback from a native speaker.
  • (13) Team translation. [Translation no. 9] Cooperative coping with translation problems. Evaluation of the process and reflection. Evaluation and reflection of the process of learning in the course.
Teaching methods
As specified in the syllabus.
Assessment methods
Compulsory seminars. Students are expected to work on week-to-week translation assignments and contribute to class discussion. The course concludes with a short final translation which should reflect an improvement of student's skills in line with their individual objectives set at the beginning of the term.
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2020, Autumn 2021, Spring 2023, Spring 2025.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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