LLAS Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies

Enhancing the community of practice: training provision for PSIT
Event date: 5 December, 2012
Location: Aston University

The Translation Classroom: Technology, Strategies and Employability
Event date: 20 April, 2012
Location: Room Peel 10, Peel Park Campus, University of Salford

Texts in translation
Event date: 31 January, 2008
Location: Humanities Research Institute, Douglas Knoop Centre, University of Sheffield, 34 Gell Street, Sheffield, S3 7QY

Glossary production for interpreters, translators and others (Birmingham, 27 June 07)
Event date: 27 June, 2007
Location: Rm 2118, Handsworth Campus, City College, Birmingham

Glossary production for interpreters, translators and others (London, 29 June 07)
Event date: 29 June, 2007
Location: City University, Northampton Square, London

Pedagogy and translation (26 Jan 07)
Event date: 26 January, 2007
Location: University of Salford

Teaching translation (20 Jan 06)
Event date: 20 January, 2006
Location: Callaghan Lecture Theatre, James Callaghan Building, University of Wales, Swansea

Set texts? New approaches to the teaching of literature in languages and related/area studies
Event date: 6 June, 2003
Location: CILT, London

INTERNATIONAL TRANSLATION DAY 2011 at the Free Word Centre
Join English PEN and other leading translation organisations for a full day of events focused on literary translation.

CILT draft national standards in translation now available

CILT's SSDA-funded project to develop new National Occupational Standards in Translation is completed.

The Times Stephen Spender prize for poetry translation 2005
Translate a poem from any language, classical or modern, into English. The competition is open to British residents of any age. There are two categories: Open, and 18-and-Under. All winning entries will be published in a booklet and there are cash prizes. Last posting date for entries 27 May 2005.

BBC launches Vocab, an online Welsh translation tool
Readers of Welsh-language websites will be able to get instant English translations with a new computer program developed by BBC Wales.

The Times Stephen Spender prize for poetry translation
The Times and the Stephen Spender Memorial Trust have just launched the Times Stephen Spender Prize. It is a poetry translation prize for young people (entrants have to be 30 or under on 31 December), who are invited to translate a poem from any language, classical or modern, into English.

The diversity of language services

Every year the schools in the two national networks, translation and interpreting (NNT and NNI), receive representatives from various agencies who are looking into recruiting our postgraduate students not just for work in translation but in jobs classed as ‘translation projects’ where linguists are expected to fulfil such functions as project managers, terminologists, translators, localisers, revisers, editors and publishers. The interpreting services of international organisations talk to our students about remote and ‘chat room’ interpreting, where interpreters reproduce a verbal exchange on a computer screen. And if subtitling used to be exclusively the job of the translator with knowledge of specialised software, nowadays subtitling agencies are keen to recruit simultaneous interpreters. The discussion in this presentation will focus on the diversity of language services.

Languages and war
'Foreign Affairs are no longer really foreign. What happens elsewhere increasingly affects us at home' (Jack Straw). This paper argues that there is a (so far) hidden languages history in international events. Using material on wars and occupation from 1943 up to Iraq today, the paper examines how foreign languages have been (and are being) represented in international conflict situations, looking at such questions as: how are participants in a conflict prepared linguistically? What importance do languages have in the process of occupation/regime change? What role do interpreters/translators have 'on the ground'? The paper concludes that the ways in which languages are represented in conflicts are key to our understanding of international relations today, and have important public policy implications.

Translation, theory and practice: an interactive approach
In this article, the development and assessment of a web-course in translation specifically designed for online collaborative learning will be analysed. It will investigate how Modern Languages students at Northumbria University reacted to this problem-based electronic platform. It will discuss the pedagogical considerations behind online collaboration, why the field of translation lends itself particularly well to this constructivist mode of learning, the impact of this project on students' critical thinking, their understanding of translation practice and theory and the application of key skills and finally the merits and potential pitfalls of online collaborative work.

Marking students’ written work: principles and practice
This practical guide to marking MFL and EFL students’ written work covers continuous writing and translation. Marking is considered as one stage in an integrated, collaborative process of teaching and learning, requiring awareness of the tutor’s dual role as coach and assessor, and consultation and calibration among tutors. Issues discussed include: How much to mark; making appropriate comments; using symbols for the nature and seriousness of errors; consistency and fairness; giving positive feedback through ticks; converting quantitative scores into marks. The guide concludes with three illustrated case studies: a marked copy of a piece of first-year writing in French; suggested criteria for assessment of Year Abroad projects; a marked copy of a final-year English to French translation. Reference is made to surveys of research findings on marking.

Conducting successful translation classes
Translating can be taught with a number of different methods so as to meet all of the students' needs. This article reviews some of these methods, and highlights ways in which they can be applied in the translation classroom.

Translation Studies in the UK

Translation Studies in the UK is a small but expanding field of study. Programmes are primarily at postgraduate level though some elements of translation studies are included in first degree programmes in ancient and modern languages. The cultural approach to translation is the most recent development in a field that has been growing steadily since the 1970s. What distinguishes Translation Studies from translating is the emphasis on cultural history and the role and function of translation in the broader socio-cultural context.

Using parallel corpora in translation
Parallel corpora are large collections of texts in two languages. They can be used for teaching and research in translation, bilingual lexicography, and linguistics.

Hidden merits of the translation class
This paper discusses a unit of a BA course at Birkbeck College, London in 'translation from and into French’. It considers what transferable skills and knowledge can be developed through such a course, as well as the many issues that translators have to deal with.

Principles of assessment
This article contains a brief introduction to the main principles which should be followed by the constructors of tests and assessments. It briefly introduces the key concepts of test validity, reliability and washback, and provides guidelines for pre-testing. It gives the addresses of three other language testing web sites and has bibliographical pointers to more detailed discussion of language testing, in particular. A comprehensive glossary of testing terms is also provided.

Translation from and into the foreign language
Beginning with a brief look at some of the issues highlighted by translation studies in recent years, the article covers the following practical matters: the place of translation in the FL course; discussion of some excercises involving translation (parallel texts, retranslation, summary translation); sample demonstration and teaching sequences (on parallel texts and translation from L1 to L2); assessing translation. Finally there are glossary items and a short bibliography.

Interpreting
Interpreting can be taught both as a language exercise and with professional training in mind. This article reviews the modes and types of interpreting, as well as of the institutions and organisations providing interpreting courses.

German: verbs with dative objects
This is a grammar exercise aimed at first year Undergraduate German students. It provides practice in the use of German verbs with dative objects. A list of 50 verbs is provided. The user is given a random selection of 20 sentences in English (from a library of 48) to be translated into German. Some vocabulary help is provided and the user can have up to three attempts at each question before the correct answer is displayed. This exercise was created using Question Mark for Windows. Institutions with a licence for Question Mark for Windows can copy the .qdt and .qdl files into their folder with Question Mark Presenter. Others must copy these files into a folder with Question Mark Testview (provided). Clicking on Testview (or Question Mark Presenter) should bring up a menu; select the programme and click 'Run'.

French: Online language resources for intermediate/advanced learners
The French language exercises available on this site consists of sentences for translation, grammar and vocabulary exercises which were originally designed for students on a second year French language course at the University of Portsmouth. They contain grammar difficulties and a variety of vocabulary and idiomatic expressions drawn from articles studied in class. They enabled students to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses. The external links are grouped by the following categories: Grammaire, Dictionnaires/Glossaires, Traduction and Liens Utiles.