Module Catalogue 2024/25

Pre Requisite Comment

N/A

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

•       To develop students' ability to reflect on their practice as translators and translation as a norm-based process as it relates to translation theory;
•       To develop students' knowledge of institutional translation and their awareness of the challenges of translating for a big institution such as the European Commission from an ethnographic and social perspective;
•       To develop students’ critical understanding of the latest research on institutional translation by exploring and evaluating different approaches (empirical, ethnographic, sociological and corpus-made), making them relate to wider research in Translation Studies as seen on SML7001/8012 and by applying them to the specific case study of EU translation.

Outline Of Syllabus

•       The European Union, its institutions and its translation services
•       Key Issues in Translating for the EU's Institutions: multilingualism, language versions and/or transition
•       The Voice(s) of the Institution: EU translation services and what they translate
•       Workflow, organisation and translation tools in a big institution such as the European Commission
•       Challenging the Notion of Source Text: (re)drafting, hybrid texts and interference
•       Institutional Culture and Institutionalising Culture: culture and/of the European Union in translation
•       Speaking with One Voice: challenges of institution translation
•       Shaping a Big Institution fit for the future – challenges ahead for multilingualism and translation at the EU's institutions

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

By the end of this module, students should have a good (and, where appropriate, critical) knowledge of:
•       The characteristics and challenges of institutional translation as a norm-based process;
•       The challenges of multiculturalism as a policy for a big institution such as the EU and its implications in terms of language combinations, culture, cultural specificity, a-cultural communication;
•       The challenges of working with 'hybrid' texts such as the ones produced by a big multicultural institution such as the EU and the means to overcome these;
•       The importance of tools, processes and resources to create a consistent voice for the institution – terminology translation memories, style guides, QA, etc.;
•       The implications of such challenges and processes on translators' sense of professional identity in a big institution such as the EU;
•       The expected professionalism and ethics when translating for a big institution such as the EU.

Intended Skill Outcomes

By the end of this module, students should have the skills to enable them to:
•       Critically evaluate and reflect on the communicative context and purpose of translation tasks assigned to translators in a big institution and the translation strategies that are appropriate for such tasks;
•       Demonstrate the professional ability to revise and edit translations in a critical and constructive way to ensure that they are both adequate and accurate;
•       Critically evaluate and reflect on the tensions between loyalty to one’s institution and readers as end-users, time management (productivity) and quality and to situate/justify translation decisions within such professional constraints.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

This is a blended learning module that encourages situated learning. Indeed, the translation industry has undergone huge technological changes in the last decade and it is increasingly becoming the norm for translators to work exclusively online. Working online does not necessarily mean working in a void, though. This blended-learning module allows students to become more self-regulating and to learn to manage their workloads and solve problems online through tutor and peer support. The scheduled learning and teaching activities of the module gives them the opportunity to solve any remaining difficulties with the module leader. Lectures involve lecturer input, directed research and reading, independent study and online discussions on the syllabus. Each lecture requires one or two key reading tasks and students are asked to post reflective summaries of their reading on the VLE so they can further their knowledge and understanding of the identified themes (see knowledge outcomes). Practicals enable students to practice and discuss the specifics of translation work in a big institution such as the EU, thus building up their ability to apply their knowledge and skills to practical professional contexts. As a preparation for the practicals, skills practice tasks require students to translate texts routinely translated by the European Commission’s translation service (DGT) into their mother tongue along with a short critical commentary of the translation and/or of some specific translation points/difficulties. Whenever possible, the translations are then peer-evaluated so students can work on their professional ability to revise and edit translations. The commentary is also peer-reviewed and discussed as a group in the seminars in light of the lecture materials (thus serving as input) and students are encouraged to reflect on the challenges faced by an institutional translator in light of their own and their peers’ work.
The four seminars also provide an opportunity for students to discuss lecture materials with their peers and the
module leader if required. Swapping experiences across languages, this peer work enables students to confront the practical issues involved in translating EU-specific sources, to develop theoretical and critical skills and insights by sharing experiences, strategies and translation solutions with peers and to develop a range of key skills such as communication, oral presentation, teamwork, initiative etc.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

In the spirit of this module that encourages self-regulated and situated learning, students can choose between
working on a case study or an essay. It is expected that the case study will best suit students who want to reflect on institutional translation from a constructivist perspective as they are encouraged to situate their own translating experience in – and test it against – existing knowledge and theories on institutional translations in general, and translation at the EU institutions in particular. Similarly, it is expected that the essay will best suit students who would like to further develop their research skills by looking critically and analytically into a specific aspect of institutional translation and testing these theories against their own or others’ institutional translation work wherever possible.
Whether students choose to go from practice to theory (case study) or from theory to practice (essay), both forms of assessment test the students’ theoretical knowledge of institutional translation and of the issues/challenges associated with it while feeding on the work carried out for and during both lectures and practicals. It also tests their understanding of the relevant professional principles and ethos when translating for a big institution and their ability to reflect critically on them.

General Notes

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