Translation of Technical Texts (English)
Code
722121046
Academic unit
Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas
Department
Línguas, Culturas e Literaturas Modernas, Secção de Estudos Ingleses e Norte-Americanos
Credits
6
Teacher in charge
Susana Valdez Sengo
Weekly hours
3 letivas + 1 tutorial
Teaching language
Portuguese
Objectives
1) To develop linguistic, extra-linguistic and terminological proficiency in the area of specialisation with a view to carrying out technical translation.
2) To develop autonomous skills in technical translation and revision with the help of specific software, including CAT tools.
3) To become familiar with and develop quality-control techniques with the help of specific software.
4) To become familiar with and develop techniques in terminological research, documentation, creation and management of terminological resources with the help of specific software.
5) To develop critical thinking in both translation practice and research.
Prerequisites
None.
Subject matter
1. General introduction
1.1.Introduction to technical translation: basic concepts and translation competences
1.2. The phases of the technical translation project
2. Specialized language
2.1. Introduction to legal translation: law systems, the language and terminology of law, the translation of contracts and social services reports, and the creation of a specialized glossary
2.2. Introduction to hardware translation: technical language and constraints, the translation of manuals, and the creation of quality control reports
2.3. Introduction of software translation: technical language and constraints, the translation of websites and software with the use of CAT tools
3. Audiovisual translation
3.1. Introduction to audiovisual translation: categories
3.2. Introduction to subtitling: social assumptions and constraints
3.3. Subtitling practice for television (with SPOT)
Bibliography
1) Alcaraz, E. and B. Hughes (2002). Legal Translation Explained. Manchester: St Jerome.
2) Byrne, Jody (2006). Technical Translation. Usability strategies for translating technical documentation. Dordrecht: Springer.
3) Cao, Deborah (2007). Translating Law. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
4) Esselink, Bert (2009). A Practical Guide for Localization. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
5) Montalt i Resurrecció, Vicent (2005). Manual de traducció cientificotècnica. (Biblioteca de Traducció i Interpretació, 11) Vic: Eumo Editorial.
Teaching method
The postgraduate seminars are both theoretical and practical with a strong interactive component on the part of the students. The classes (theoretical and practical) will envolve the use of information and communication technologies, specific translation tools, academic and terminological databases and digital libraries, as support for research and practice in translation studies.
Evaluation method
Assessment will focus on three main areas: 1) a written test (35%); 2) an individual translation with comments (35%); and 3) a group terminological project (30%).