English Language and Translation II (mod B) Translation Theory and Practice Module B (6 CFUs): 5 lectures, 6 hours each  2 parts: Part 1: translation theory Part 2: translation practice (tourist texts, IT>EN) Lesson:Tuesday, /15-18 Office hours: Tuesday (when in italy) or by appointment Info on lecturer: Website:

English Language and Translation II (mod B) Translation Theory and Practice Part 1 (translation theory) Selection of scholars/ theories / trends / notions within TS Western point of view: development over time (1960s on) Links between theory and practice of translation Issue-based approach (e.g. “equivalence”, “quality”, “evaluation”) *TS is a very broad and complex field, impossible to cover it all! Part 2 (translation practice) Emphasis on translation into the L2 (IT>EN) for tourism Metalanguage and notions/translation strategies Practice (including vocabulary expansion activities, text analysis, etc)

Exam. English Language and Translation II (mod B) Translation Theory and Practice Oral component approximately 10 mins on theory of translation in English!!! Written component Translation IT > EN of tourism-related texts (1h) Only MONOLINGUAL English dictionary and thesaurus allowed (*)

Textbooks: English Language and Translation II (mod B) Translation Theory and Practice Munday (2001/2008) Pym (2010) Venuti (2000/2004) Baker (1992)

Anthony Pym (2010) The general view taken here is that what we say about translation has a performative value; this course is not just a matter of knowing who said what. In seeking to develop greater awareness about what translation can be, we enact confrontations between the paradigms.

Unorthodox examples Clip (1) R. Benigni, La vita è bella interpreting the rules of the concentration camp given by the Nazi officer (DE>IT) Clip (2) C. Tate playing Helen Marsh in the multilingual interpreter Sketch from the BBC comedy show (EN>7 different languages)

Some definitions… Translation [1] Translation is an operation performed on languages; a process of substituting a text in one language for a text in another [ consequently Catford concludes that ] The theory of translation is concerned with a certain type of relation between languages and is consequently a branch of comparative linguistics. (Catford 1964:20)

Some definitions… Translation [2a] Translation means ‘recodification’. Hence, a theory of translation is a set of propositions about how, why, when, where…coded elements are rendered into other codes. As such, translation is nothing short of an essential problem of semiosis: it is the problem of transfers of codes. (Frawley 1984:160)

Some definitions… Translation [2b] There is no meaning apart from the code. The fact that the semiotic element table is significant in English is attributable to its systematic relations to other semiotic elements in the English language, not the horizontal wooden object arbitrary labeled table. (Frawley 1984:164)

Some definitions… Translation [3] To translate means to produce a text in a target setting for a target purpose and target addressees in target circumstances. (Vermeer 1987: 29)

[translation] is a process by which the chain of signifiers that constitutes the source-language text is replaced by a chain of signifiers in the target language which the translator provides on the strength of an interpretation. (Venuti 1995: 17) Some definitions… Translation [4]

Some definitions… Translation Studies …is the academic discipline concerned with the study of translation at large, including literary and non-literary translation, various forms of oral interpreting as well as dubbing and subtitling. […] ‘Translation studies’ is also understood to cover the whole spectrum of research and pedagogical activities, from developing theoretical frameworks to conducting individual case studies to engaging in practical matters such as training translators and developing criteria for translation assessment. (Baker 1998:277)

Written translation Literary Non-literary Religious/sacred texts Multimodal translation Screen translation Comics, cartoons Web localisation Oral interpreting Mode: simultaneous, consecutive, liaison, chuchotage Context: conference, business, community, court Sign language interpreting Range of activities

Textual Products Social/Literary/Political Impact Agendas of Agents (inc. Institutions) Cognitive and material constraints History of Translator-& Interpreter-Mediated Events Scope

? Research questions Description (cfr prescription) Interdiscipline Long established translation practice vs recent academic discipline

The official birth of TS James S. Holmes ( ), Dutch-based US scholar 1972 paper (widely available in 1988) The Name and Nature of Translation Studies Founding statement in the field (Gentzler 2001: 93) TS described as the discipline concerned with “the complex of problems clustered round the phenomenon of translating and translations” discipline finally defined Translation Studies (cfr earlier “translatology”, “translation theory”)

The map of Translation Studies from The Name and Nature of Translation Studies (1972)

The map of TS – Applied branch Applied Translator training Translation aids Translation criticism Teaching evaluation methods Testing techniques Curriculum design CAT toolsDictionaries Revision Machine translation Translation software Online databases Use of internet Grammars Evaluation of translations Reviews

References Baker, M. (1998/2001) Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies, London & New York: Routledge Baker, M. (1992/2011) In Other Words: Coursebook on Translation. London & New York: Routledge Catford, J.C. (1964) A linguistic Theory of Translation, London: Oxford University Press Frawley, W. (1984) ‘Prolegomenon to a theory of translation’, in Frawley, W. (ed.) Translation: Literary, Linguistic, and Philosophical Perspectives, London & Toronto: Associated University Presses Gentzler, E. (2001) Contemporary Translation Theories, London & New York: Routledge Holmes, J. S. (1972/1988) The Name and Nature of Translation Studies, in Holmes, J. S. Translated! Papers on Literary Translation and Translation Studies, Amsterdam: Rodopi, 67–80. Munday, J. (2001) Introducing Translation Studies. Theories and Applications. London & New York: Routledge

References Pym, A. (2010) Exploring Translation Theories, London & New York: Routledge Shuttleworth, M. & M. Cowie (1997) Dictionary of Translation Studies, Manchester: St. Jerome Toury, G. (1995) Descriptive Translation Studies - and beyond, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Venuti, L. (1995) The Translator’s Invisibility, London & New York: Routledge Venuti, L. (2000/2004) The Translation Studies Reader, London & New York: Routledge Vermeer, H. (1987) ‘What does it mean to translate?’, Toury. G. (ed.) Translation Across Cultures, New Delhi: Bahri Publications