Translation Theories and Practices

Course title: Translation Theories and Practices           Full marks: 100

Course No.: Eng. Ed. 336 (Elective)                                      Pass marks:  35

Nature of the course: Theory Period per week: 6

Level: B.Ed. Time per periods: 55 minutes Year: Third Total periods: 150  

1. Course Description

This is a basic course on translation which aims at providing an introduction to both theoretical as well as practical aspects of Translation Studies. The course is divided into seven units. Unit one deals with the basic concepts of translation and translation studies. Unit two includes the classification of translation. Similarly, unit three entails the tools and techniques of translation. Unit four incorporates the concepts of editing the translated texts. Likewise, unit five deals with the evaluation of translated texts and unit six includes the practical activities on translation of various types of texts. The last unit deals with the role of translation in language teaching.

2. Course Objectives

The general objectives of the course are as follows:

• To familiarize the students with basic concepts of translation.
• To acquaint the students with the various ways of classifying translation.
• To expose the students to various tools and techniques of translation.
• To involve the students in editing in the process of translation.
• To provide the students with the practical knowledge in evaluating translated texts.
• To involve the students in practical works by providing samples of various types of texts.
• To develop students’ understanding on the role of translation in language teaching.

3. Specific Objectives and Contents

Specific objectives	Contents
Define translation and Translation Studies with brief historical accounts. Discuss the scope of translation and types of text in translation. Explain basic concepts of translation equivalence and units.	Unit I: Basic Concepts of Translation                   (22) Defining translation A brief history of translation Scope of translation The Translation Studies Text types in translation: Source and target texts Equivalence in translation Units of translation
Classify and discuss translation from different perspectives such as text-based, language based, mode based and agent-based.	Unit II: Classifications of Translation                  (17) 2.1 Text-based classification 2.1.1 Technical translation 2.1.2 Academic translation 2.1.3 Literary translation 2.2 Language-based classification 2.2.1 Intralingual translation 2.2.2 Interlingual translation 2.3 Mode-based classification 2.3.1 Written translation 2.3.2 Oral translation (interpretation) Types of interpretation: consecutive vs. simultaneous Differences between translation and interpretation 2.4 Agent-based classification 2.4.1 Human translation 2.4.2 Machine translation
Define and use various translation tools. Distinguish literal vs free approaches to translation. Exemplify the types of gaps in translation. Apply appropriate strategies to compensate gaps in translation.	Unit III: Tools and Techniques of Translation   (22) 3.1 Tools for translation 3.1.1 Monolingual dictionary 3.1.2 Bilingual dictionary/multilingual dictionary 3.1.3 Thesaurus 3.1.4 Glossary of technical terms 3.1.5 Term bank      3.1.6 Computer 3.l.7 Sample texts 3.2 Approaches to translation 3.2.1 Literal translation 3.2.2 Free idiomatic translation 3.3 Meaning transfer and gaps in translation 3.3.1 Linguistic gaps Sound level gaps Word level gaps Sentence level gaps 3.3.2 Text level gaps 3.3.3 Cultural gaps 3.3.4 Other gaps 3.4 Compensating gaps in translation 3.4.1 Borrowing 3.4.2 Defining 3.4.3 Literal translation 3.4.4 Substitution 3.4.5 Paraphrasing 3.4.6 Using footnotes 3.4.7 Naturalization 3.4.8 Lexical creation
Edit the translated language following the steps given in the course.	Unit IV :  Editing the Translated Texts               (17) 4.1 Defining editing 4.2 First steps of editing 4.3 Editing the content 4.4 Achieving structural and linguistic flow 4.5 Accuracy 4.6 Brevity 4.7 Clarity 4.8 Beyond ABC 4.9 How technology can help you 4.10 Practical activities in editing translated texts
Discuss different approaches to evaluating translation. Evaluate the translated text from different perspectives.	Unit V: Translation Evaluation                              (16) 5.1 Different approaches to translation evaluation: anecdotal, text-based and response-based 5.2 Samples of bilingual texts 5.3 Samples of multiple translation 5.4 Practical activities in translation evaluation
Translate English word/phrase/texts to Nepali and vice versa. Translate academic texts such as school textbooks. Discuss the translation strategies and apply them in translating technical texts.	Unit VI: Translating Different Kinds of Texts     (40) 6.1 Translating word/phrase level units 6.1.1 Translating proper names 6.1.2 Translating idioms 6.1.3 Translating proverbs 6.2 Translating text level units 6.2.1 Translating descriptive  and narrative texts 6.2.2 Translating essays 6.2.3 Translating novel extracts 6.2.4 Translating drama extracts 6.2.5 Translating poems 6.3 Translating academic texts: school textbooks 6.4 Translating non-literary/technical text Application forms Bills Statements Cheques Leaflets Citizenship Invitation letter Manuals Brochures Notices Advertisements Signboards Menus Medical texts Insurance documents Legal documents Administrative documents
Explain the role of and relationship between translation and language teaching. Explain how translation could be exploited in a language classroom.	Unit VII:  Translation  and Language Teaching    (16) 7.1 Needs of translation in language teaching 7.2 Role and place of translation in foreign language teaching 7.3 Translation activities in a language classroom

Note: The figures in the parentheses indicate the approximate periods for the respective units.

Sample Translated Texts

• The Present (2010) English translation Shyam Dash Vaishnav's poems Upahar by Mahakavi Laxmi Prasad Devkota. Kathmandu: Ratna Pustak Bhandar.
• Deji Milar (2010) Nepali translation of Henry Jame's novella Daisy Miller by Toya Nath Koirala. Kathmandu: Oriental.
• Muglan (2010) English translation of Govind Raj Bhattarai's novel Muglan by Lekhnath Sharma Pathak, Kathmandu: Oriental.
• Tewnty First Century's Sumnima (2008). English translation of Pradeep Nepal's Ekkaisau Satabdiki Sumnima, by Rajan Ghimire.
• Beyond the Frontiers: Women Stories from Nepal. (2008)(Ed.) Padmawati Singh, translation of 25 women writer short stories by different writers.  
• The Country is Yours (2010) English Translation of Nepali Short Stories and Poems, by Munjushree Thapa.
• Muna Madan. English Translation by a) Michael Hutt  (2004) b) Ramesh Shrestha (2000)
• Sani's Valour (2010) a translation of Sharmila Khadka's Saniko Sahas by Sampurna Dewapatey

4. Instructional Techniques

The instructional techniques for this course are divided into two groups.  First group consists of general instructional techniques applicable to most of the units. The second group consists of specific instructional techniques applicable to specific units.

4.1. General Instructional Techniques

• Lecture and discussion
• Demonstration
• Self- study

4.2. Specific Instructional Techniques

Units I, II & III: Presentation

Units IV, V, & VI: Project work

Units I –VII: Group and individual work

Unit VI: Practical work

5. Evaluation

The course is for one academic year and it carries 100 marks. The distribution of marks for each unit is as follows:

Units                              Marks

I: Basic concepts of translation 14

II: Classifications of translation 12

III: Tools and techniques of translation 15

IV: Editing the translated texts 13

V: Translation evaluation                                   10

VI: Translating different kinds of texts     25

VII:  Translation and language teaching 11

This is a theory course. Hence, the learning of the students will be assessed through annual examination held by the Office of Controller of Examinations. The types and number of questions in the annual examination are given in the following table:

Nature of questions	Total questions to be asked	Number of questions to be answered and marks allocated	Total marks
Group A: Multiple choice items	20	20 x 1 mark	20
Group B: Short answer questions	8 with 3 ‘or’ questions	8 x 7 marks	56
Group C: Long answer questions	2 with 1 ‘or’ question	2 x 12 marks	24

6. Recommended books and references

Recommended Books

Awasthi, J. R., Bhattarai, G. R. & Khaniya, T. R. (eds.) (2009). Across the language: beginning translation. Kathmandu: Editors. (For all units)

Billingham, Jo (2002). Editing and revising text. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (For unit IV)

Newmark, P. (1988). A textbook of translation. New York: Prentice Hall. (For all units)

References

Catford, J .C. (1965) A linguistic theory of translation. Oxford: OUP.

Gentzler, A.(1993). Contemporary translation theories. New York: Routledge.

Mukherjee, S. (1994). Translation as discovery. India: Orient Longman Limited.

Nida, E. A. (1964) Towards science of translating. Leiden: E. J. Brill.

Wilss, W. (1982). The science of translation: Problems and methods. Tubingen: Gunter Narr Verlag.