Teaching Translation at University Level

James Dickins

Prof. of Arabic

University of Leeds

Four contexts in Britain

• Language and Literature BA: translation as a language-learning exercise

• Language and Literature BA: translation as a special skill

• Translation (also Translation and Interpreting) BA

• Translation (also Translation and Interpreting) MA

Context 1: Language and Literature BA: translation as a

language-learning exercise

• Historical development of language teaching:1. Grammar-translation method

2. Direct method

3. Audio-lingual method

4. Communicative method

• Grammar-translation method ‘officially’ disappeared by about 1960, but still in practice used in some university courses

Context 2: Language and Literature BA: translation as a special skill

• Some universities have only traditional Language and Literature BAs, but offer specific modules in:

1. (General) Translation2. Specialised Translation3. Interpreting4. Translation theory

Context 3: Translation (also Translation and

Interpreting) BA

E.g.

• Heriot-Watt University• University of Salford• University of Aston• University of Westminster• University of Surrey

Context 4:Translation (also Translation and

Interpreting MA)E.g.

• Edinburgh University• Heriot-Watt University• University of Durham• University of Leeds• University of Manchester• University of Salford• University of Aston• University of Westminster• University of Surrey

Context 3: Translation (also Translation and

Interpreting) BA – for Arabic

• University of Salford

• University of Westminster

Context 4: Translation (also Translation and

Interpreting) MA – for Arabic

• University of Durham

• University of Leeds

• University of Salford

• University of Westminster

Leeds MA in Applied Translation Studies (Arabic) as an example

• Compulsory modules:• Computer-Assisted Translation: Semesters 1 & 2• Methods and Approaches in Translation Studies: Semester 1

• Optional modules:• Six of the following modules (including at least 2 Specialised Translation modules)• Specialised Arabic-English Translation A. Semester 1• Specialised English-Arabic Translation A. Semester 1• Specialised Arabic-English Translation B. Semester 2• Specialised English-Arabic Translation B. Semester 2• Principles and Applications of Machine Translation. Semester 2 • Introduction to Screen Translation. Semester 2 • Corpus Linguistics for Translators.• English for Translators. Semester 1 • Introduction to Interpreting• Genres in Translation. Semester 1

• Summer• Dissertation or Extended Translations

Practical (Specialised) Translation thus ‘embedded’ within overall ‘translation theory and skills’ programme.

Materials for practical translation modules (Arabic)

• In Other Words, by Mona Baker (includes Arabic examples, but not specifically about Arabic)

• English-Arabic/Arabic-English Translation: A Practical Guide, by Basil Hatim

• Thinking Arabic Translation, by James Dickins, Ian Higgins, and Sandor Hervey

• In-house materials

In Other Words, by Mona Baker: organisation

• Based around equivalence:

Ch. 2: Equivalence at word levelCh. 3: Equivalence above word levelCh. 4: Grammatical equivalenceCh. 5: Textual equivalence: thematic and

information structuresCh. 6: Textual equivalence: cohesionCh. 7: Pragmatic equivalence

English-Arabic/Arabic-English Translation: A Practical Guide, by Basil Hatim: organisation• Based around text types:

Translating Legal Texts Translating Legal Texts      The Preamble      The Legal Article      Initial and Concluding Legal Articles

Translating Detached Exposition The Synopsis The Summary The Abstract The Report (Person-oriented/Entity-oriented) The News Report (Non-evaluative/Evaluative) The Report (Formulaic/Executive/Personalized)

Translating Argumentation The Less Involved Through-argument The More Involved Through-argument The Explicit Counter-argument The Implicit Counter-argument The Suppressed Counter-argument

Thinking Arabic Translation, by James Dickins, Ian Higgins, and Sandor Hervey: organisation

• Based around matrices, levels and ranks

Ch. 1 Preliminaries to translation as a processCh. 2 Preliminaries to translation as a productCh. 3 Cultural transpositionCh. 4 CompensationCh. 5 Denotative meaning and translation issuesCh. 6 Connotative meaning and translation issuesCh. 7 Phonic/graphic and prosodic issues in translationCh. 8 Grammatical issues in translationCh. 9 Sentential issues in translationCh. 10 Discourse and intertextual issues in translationCh. 11 MetaphorCh. 12 Language variety and translation: register, sociolect and dialectCh. 13 Textual genre as a factor in translationCh. 14 Translating technical textsCh. 15 Translating constitutional textsCh. 16 Translating consumer-oriented textsCh. 17 Revising and editing TTs

Other possible types of module organisation

• Subject-fields– Politics– Science– Religion– Business

• Genres (used at Leeds)– Journalistic texts– General and administrative texts– Scientific and technical texts– Literary texts

• Specific-problem based, e.g.– Compounds– Coordination/subordination– Sentence-length– Metaphors

Class organisation• Teacher-focused:

– leads discussion, esp. based on his/her own TT– students contribute as asked by teacher

• Student-focused– Simple individual

• E.g. one student writes up their version of TT on acetate / board– Multiple individual

• E.g. a number of students write up bits of their versions of TT on acetate / board

– Group• E.g. students work in groups to produce versions of TT / parts of TT

• Teacher- and student-focused– E.g. teacher puts up his/her TT on acetate, students put up theirs on

acetate / board

Student class preparation• No pre-class work

Advantage: spontaneity of class workDisadvantage: not much work is covered in class

• Pre-class work on key elementsAdvantage: students deal with key issues before classDisadvantage: class work can still be slow

• Full pre-class translationAdvantage: students have full TT to discuss before classDisadvantage: students don’t receive any pre-class guidance on

particularly difficult elements

• Pre-class work on key elements followed by full pre-class translation

Pre-class work on key elements followed by full pre-class translation: steps

1. Students receive ST (previous class)2. Students receive ‘key points’ questions relating

to ST (previous class)3. After a few days, students receive proposed

answers to ‘key points’ questions (via e-mail, etc.)

4. Students produce full TT (for next class)5. Students discuss their TTs with reference also

to TT produced by teacher in class6. Teacher hands out teacher TT, with translation

notes (‘strategic decisions’ and ‘decisions of detail’)

Pre-class work on key elements followed by full pre-class translation: Step 1 - students receive ST

(previous class)

Pre-class work on key elements followed by full pre-class translation: Step 2 - students receive ‘key points’

questions relating to ST (previous class)

Pre-class work on key elements followed by full pre-class translation: Step 3 - students receive proposed

answers to ‘key points’ questions

Pre-class work on key elements followed by full pre-class translation: Step 4 - Students produce full TT (for

next class)

• Either:– Students bring this work with them to the

class, for class discussion in comparison with TT produced by teacher

• Or:– Teacher marks the work before the class, for

further discussion in comparison with teacher TT in class

Pre-class work on key elements followed by full pre-class translation: Step 5 - Students discuss their TTs

with reference also to TT produced by teacher in class.

• TT (from Tutor’s Handbook to Thinking Arabic Translation)

Pre-class work on key elements followed by full pre-class translation: Step 6 - teacher hands out teacher TT,

with translation notes (‘strategic decisions’ and ‘decisions of detail’)

Step 6 – contd.

Thank you very much for listening!