| Unit name | Translation Practice and Analysis |
|---|---|
| Unit code | MODLM0089 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Fricker |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School of Modern Languages |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences |
Why is this unit important?
Language informs every part of life. Linguists can improve the quality of processes and decisions involving language everywhere. This requires us to be aware of the needs and interests of our stakeholders as well as the textual and communicative strategies which we can employ to serve them.
The focus of this workshop-style practical unit is on translation projects requiring creativity, a proactive approach to linguistic interventions, and terminological accuracy and precision, even in environments where equivalent terms are not readily available.
Based on your understanding of your target audiences, you will carry out in-depth research into the discourses of selected specialist areas and, by extension, these areas themselves. You will produce texts in your target language(s), present analyses of your own work, and participate in group discussion on projects and outcomes.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
The programme is characterised by a balance between practical and research-intensive elements, allowing you to chart a course that is either industry-focused or preparing you for a career in the study of translation. The unit simulates real-world translation projects and tasks. With its additional emphasis on strategy, analysis and reflection, the unit highlights that the craft of translation is enhanced by ‘knowing what you are doing.‘ You are able to draw on knowledge you are gaining in all other units as well as your undergraduate studies and, if applicable, professional experience.
An overview of content
You will translate texts and multimodal artefacts selected from a variety of genres and domains, including literature, politics, medicine, the sciences, engineering, finance, and the law. You will also critically analyse your translation/communication methods and articulate what your texts are supposed to ‘do’ in the real world.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
The main challenge for human linguists today is to become confident practitioners of a craft whose functions, status markers and therefore also practices are evolving at a rapid rate. The unit is designed to instil in you the confidence that language and communication specialists have considerable agency in today’s world; to enable you to identify, create, modify, use, and evaluate subject-specific materials; and to produce contextually and functionally appropriate translations.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the unit, you will be able to
Each new topic will be introduced in an in-class mini lecture and then explored in either multilanguage or language- specific groups, or both, depending on the nature of the topic. The learning group of tutor and students will model authentic professional tasks of translators, editors and project managers. These tasks will include analyses of more general aspects of interlingual work, more specific analyses of a translation task briefs, the target audiences and stakeholders of a given project, your approach to it, resources at your disposal, as well as your own translation together with literal/interlinear translations of non-English texts. The aim is for you to develop your linguistic imagination in translation, and find your own voice in producing contextually and functionally appropriate texts.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
The unit’s practical tasks, outlined below under “How you will learn,” are each geared towards a skill or deliverable that is relevant to your assessed translation project.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
A 15-minute recorded group discussion exploring a translation brief, focusing on client interests and resources to be used (30%) [ILOs 1, 3]
Assessed translation project (70%) [ILOs 1-4]. Projects are comprised of source materials to be translated as well as elements of original client-commissioned writing, client-facing communications, and analytical writing to explain your approach and decision-making process, totalling 3,000 words.
When assessment does not go to plan
When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the form or number of reassessments required.
Details of reassessments are normally confirmed by the School shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the academic year.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. MODLM0089).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
