Module Directory

In this module, students will be engaged in weekly translation of texts belonging to different domains and genres, such as literary, academic, and scientific-technical texts, in order to familiarise themselves with the specific requirements of general and specialised translation.

Students will learn to analyse the source texts at various levels, identify translation challenges and overcome them by applying different strategies and translation techniques.

In line with current translation practices, they will be trained in both direct and inverse translation (B→A and A→B). This will ensure that they are equipped to enter the translation market and have an edge over their competitors. They will also be fully prepared to work both at home and in B-language countries.

The aims of this module are:

• To enable students to develop the practical ability to translate between English and the foreign language (French/German/Portuguese/Italian/Spanish/Arabic) and vice versa through a wide variety of tasks.


• To enable students to develop awareness of specialist fields of knowledge (medical, socio-political, promotional) and their characteristic text types.


• To introduce students to the multiple dimensions of meaning of written texts, representing different genres and text types, and to recognise their most salient features for the purpose envisaged both for the original text and for the translation.


• To enable students to refine and deepen understanding of both own and the target language and culture. Issues of cultural transfer will be addressed as they impinge on the translation process. Students will become familiar with a variety of strategies for dealing with mismatches between source and target languages and cultures.


• To enhance students’ skills as a professional translator in:

• Preparation for translation assignments


• Terminology management


• Quality Assurance


• Development and evaluation of their performance as a translator and that of their peers.


• Adoption of good professional practice

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to demonstrate:

1. An improved ability to translate effectively between English and the foreign language.


2. A deep understanding of the linguistic and sociocultural issues involved in the translation of a wide range of text types.


3. The ability to conduct textual analysis: identify and record the characteristic terminology, structure and stylistic features of texts from different fields of knowledge, recognising a range of general and specialist texts and devising a suitable strategy for translation, also taking into account translation purpose and intended audience.


4. Sensitivity to language structure, language function and the intricacies of intercultural communication, as well as sufficient understanding of core linguistic and cultural concepts to be able to recognise potential translation problems and adopt effective and creative solutions.


5. The ability to conform to different writing and textual conventions depending on genres and text types.


6. The ability to develop an effective method to prepare for translation assignments (e.g. background research on subject field and audience expectations, extensive use of parallel texts, terminology management, etc.)


7. The ability to run quality assurance checks.


8. The ability to think critically and evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies and techniques applied, using appropriate metalanguage and theory-informed arguments to justify specific translation choices.


9. The ability to recognise and adopt examples of good professional practice.

Syllabus information

Weekly translation practice of texts belonging to different genres and dealing with different topics such as: literary, academic, and scientific-technical texts.

Some of the topics to be covered in class include:

• Cultural transposition


• Translation Loss and Compensation


• Formal properties of texts (phonic/graphic, prosodic, grammatical, sentential, discursive and inter-textual issues)


• Literal and connotative meaning


• Language variety (register, sociolect, dialect, etc.)


• Textual genres


• Literary, academic, scientific and technical translation

This module will be delivered via:

• One 2-hour seminar per week
• One practical (lab / in-class test) per term

Students are expected to undertake the reading before classes and be prepared to engage in discussion. Students are also expected to complete weekly translation assignments before classes.