The Interpreter and Translator Trainer Volume 6, Number 2, 2012

Now available to online subscribers
https://www.stjerome.co.uk/tsa/issue/2556/

Contents

Training Translators in the European Higher Education Area. A Model for Evaluating Learning Outcomes

Pages 138-69

Author: Marisa Presas

 

The creation of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) has served as a catalyst of pedagogical change in European tertiary education. The adoption of the ‘meaningful learning model’, articulated around sets of learning outcomes and their corresponding curricular objectives, is a good example. This new model requires reliable assessment instruments to evaluate the students’ attainment of the relevant curricular objectives and provide them with meaningful feedback. This paper reports on the adaptation of the Translation and Interpreting degree programme run by Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona to comply with the requirements of the EHEA framework. After examining the impact that the meaningful learning model has on the assessment of students, this article illustrates the difficulties arising from the shift towards the ‘assessment for learning’ framework. A proposed assessment tool - consisting of a task (commented translation), assessment benchmarks and assessment instruments (rubric) - designed for a specific course unit is then explored in detail. Evidence is provided that the assessment tool fulfils quality criteria for validity and transparency and suggestions are made on how to develop this instrument further.

Keywords: European higher education area, Bologna process, Learning outcomes, Meaningful learning, EHEA, Assessment for learning, Rubrics

Second Language Writing Anxiety and Translation. Performance in a Hong Kong Tertiary Translation Class

Pages 171-94

Authors: Jackie Xiu Yan and Honghua Wang

 

The acquisition of foreign language and translation skills exposes learners to tasks and pressures that the literature defines as anxiety-provoking. But whilst a large number of studies have investigated the impact of second language anxiety on the classroom performance of foreign language learners, few empirical studies have been conducted to examine the problems derived from second language anxiety in translator training contexts. To fill this important gap, this study investigates the impact of second language writing anxiety in a Chinese-to-English translation class. Drawing on the data provided by a sample of 50 translation major students in a Hong Kong university, the analysis shows that there are significant correlations between second language writing anxiety, translation performance, and language ability (real and perceived). A number of factors provoking second language writing anxiety in the translation class are identified. Among these, the fear of being evaluated and the general apprehension of writing in English have been found to contribute significantly to predicting success in translation learning. The findings suggest that, in a translation class, it is important for teachers to be aware of anxiety-provoking practices, help learners reduce anxiety levels, and encourage student translators to form correct and positive self-perceptions about their language abilities.

Keywords: Individual differences, Translation performance, Second language learning, Translation learning, Foreign/Second language anxiety, Writing anxiety, Chinese-to-English translation

Split Loyalties. The Translator between Translating Institutions’ Norms and Translation Theories

Pages 195-217

Authors: Omar Atari and Abdul Gabbar Al-Sharafi

 

This paper investigates the conflict between institutional and translation theory norms. It analyzes an English translation of the publishing policy of a refereed journal in an Arab university and contrasts it with comparable English texts belonging to the same genre, i.e. contributor guidelines and style sheets from a number of refereed English journals. The analysis reveals the conflict in expectations and standards between translation institutions and translation theories and the need for translator training classrooms to open up to professional norms operating in the marketplace. A multi-layered approach to text analysis, motivated by the complex and dynamic nature of the translation process, is adopted here. The analysis - which examines translational choices, the text type, the client, the commission and the relevant institutional norms - gauges the impact of institutional norms on translators’ decisions and the relevance of such norms to translator training and pedagogy. The data drawn from this case study shows that institutional norms in this academic setting do exert pressure and constrain translators’ decisions, generally leading towards a literal and foreignized target text. The study also shows that the current state of translator training in the institution under scrutiny has not been responsive enough to the role of these norms.

Keywords: Foreignization, Hegemony, Functionalist approaches, Institutional translation norms, Translator’s loyalty, Linguistically-oriented approaches

Electronic Reference Resources for Translators. Implications for Productivity and Translation Quality

Pages 219-35

Author: Natasa Hirci

 

This article examines the impact of electronic reference resources on the quality of translated texts, particularly when translators work into their language B. To test the impact of electronic aids on the quality of translated output, an experimental study involving twenty student translators was conducted. Participants, who had to translate two texts from Slovene into English, were divided into two 10-member groups (Group One and Group Two). Different conditions regulating access to paper and electronic resources during the translation task were set for each group. Pre- and post-experiment questionnaires to elicit views on the contribution of electronic reference resources to the translator’s work, both from trainee translators and external evaluators, also informed the analysis. This article reports on two aspects of the study: the external evaluators’ assessment of a sample of translations produced by trainee translators into their language B; and the extent to which the (un)availability of electronic resources influenced the participants’ approach to translation difficulties. Although the findings suggest that the use of electronic resources enhances both the productivity of translators and the quality of their translations, such aids can also be detrimental when used uncritically.

Keywords: Translation quality, Translation tools, Translation evaluation, Electronic reference resources, Translation into language B

FEATURE ARTICLE

Playing With(out) the Dictionary. Using Constrained Literature in the Development of Transferable Skills for Translators

Pages: 237-65

Author: Carol O’Sullivan

 

This article argues that translation exercises involving formally constrained texts offer a fruitful way of releasing students’ creativity and facilitating a shift from source-language-based to target-language-based decision-making in their approach to the mediation of written texts. Given that form is the salient feature of these texts, students must privilege the reconstitution of formal constraint as the primary criterion of adequate translation. As a result, they cannot draw on the dictionary for solutions and must turn to other resources in their target language repertoire. The article begins with a review of literature on constraint and creativity, exploring their potential contribution to the development of translation competences in pedagogical settings that have traditionally favoured semantic approaches to textual mediation. Drawing on the premise that translation and creative writing are two aspects of the same activity, a pedagogical proposal for the use of constrained translation tasks in translator training programmes is outlined next. Translation activities used as source material in a workshop-based module on the MA Translation Studies at the University of Portsmouth are used to illustrate the contribution of constrained translation tasks to develop students’ translation skills. Where appropriate, the discussion draws on student responses and explores the problems of teaching constrained translation in a multilingual classroom that includes students who work with non-alphabetic languages.

Keywords: Wordplay, Creativity, Oulipo, Constrained translation, Materiality of language, Lipograms

 

REVIEWS

Kelly Washbourne. Manual of Spanish-English Translation

Pages: 265-67
Reviewed by Anna Jankowska

Mona Baker. In Other Words: A Coursebook on Translation, 2nd editionPages: 267-70
Reviewed by Sara Laviosa

Mathieu Guidere. Introduction a la traductologie: Penser la traduction hier, aujourd’hui, demain (Introduction to Translation Studies: Thinking about Translation Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow), 2nd editionPages: 270-73Reviewed by Renee Desjardins

Ann Corsellis. Public Service Interpreting: The First StepsPages: 273-77

Reviewed by Leo Hickey

 

 

Thesis Abstract

Lukasz Kaczmarek. Modelling Competence in Community Interpreting: Expectancies, Impressions and Implications for Accreditation

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