Vocabulary 1

Read the definitions below and find the appropriate words and expressions from the text that you've just read. The numbers of the paragraphs are given in brackets. Then translate the expressions you've found from English into your target language.

1. the best or most extreme example of its kind (adj.) (Par. 1)

2. the high quality knowledge of any language (word combination) (Par. 2)

3. being not this and not that at the same time (grammar construction) (Par. 3)

4. not smooth or graceful; ungainly, abnormal and strange (adj.) (Par.3)

5. data that has no meaning or makes no sense at all (adj.+noun) (Par. 3)

6. sufficiently good, important, or interesting to justify the money being spent; deserving to be treated or regarded in the way specified (verb combination) (Par. 5)

7. people without professional or specialized knowledge in a particular subject (noun) (Par. 6)

8. used when a person has something more to say, or is about to add a remark unconnected to the current subject; by the way (adverb) (Par. 7)

9. unclear, slight or very delicate differences between things (adj.+noun) (Par. 8)

10. without any delay, immediately; at the scene of an action or event (phrase) (Par. 8)

11. the chances or likelihood of something happening or being the case (noun plural) (Par. 8)

Vocabulary 2

Now read the adopted part of the text dedicated to the common terms used in translation and interpretation and fill in the gaps with the appropriate words from the box below. Be attentive, there are more words than you need.

extensively / working / ability / bilingual / virtually / original / influence / / interpret / fluent/ desired / target / native / domains / externally / translated / non-specific // specific / extremely

Translation and Interpretation Terms

Source language - The language of the 1) __________ message.

2) _________ language - The language of the resulting translation or interpretation.

A language - 3) ___________ language

Most people have one A language, although someone who was raised 4) ________ may have two A languages or an A and a B, depending on whether they are truly used to speaking two languages from their birth or just are very fluent in the second language.

B language - 5) _________ language

It means near-native ability – understanding 6) ___________ all vocabulary, structure, dialects, cultural 7) _____________, etc. A certified translator or interpreter has at least one B language, unless he or she is bilingual with two A languages.

C language – 8) ___________ language

Translators and interpreters may have one or more C languages - those which they understand well enough to translate or 9) _________ from but not to. For example, here are my language skills: A – English, B – French, C – Spanish, A – English, B – French, C – Spanish.

So in theory, I can translate French to English, English to French, and Spanish to English, but not English to Spanish. In reality, I only work from French and Spanish to English. I don't work into French, because I recognize that my translations into French leave something to be 10) _________. Translators and interpreters should only work into the languages that they write/speak like a native or very close to it.

General translation/interpretation is just what you think - the translation or interpretation of 11) ____________language that does not require any specialized vocabulary or knowledge. However, the best translators and interpreters read 12)________________ in order to be up-to-date with current events and trends so that they are able to do their work to the best of their 13)____________, having knowledge of what they might be asked to convert.

Specialized translation or interpretation refers to 14) ___________ which require at the very least that the person be 15)____________ well read in the domain. Even better is training in the field (such as a college degree in the subject, or a specialized course in that type of translation or interpretation).

Translation

Perform the written translation of the first part of the article by Laura K. Lawles as a home assignment.

Speaking

Discuss the following questions in small groups:

1. What is more difficult from your point of view – to translate or to interpret? Make up a short list of advantages and disadvantages of oral and written type of translation.

2. Describe a typical translator and interpretor in your particular professional sphere. What qualities, knowledge and skills should each of them posses? Sum up presenting a short list of the qualities, knowledge, skills and abilities you've come to.

Project work – Conducting a research

How many names of famous interpretors and translators do you know?

Where are they from? What are they noted for?

If you don't know any names, please, investigate and conduct an individual research on the following issues:

• the names of renowned translators and interpretors;

• nationality;

• their working and native languages (A, B or C languages);

• their TL and SL;

• the specialized field they were operating at;

• the most prominent of their translation practices and their experience of work.

Then prepare a presentation in English on one or two of Russian or foreign interpreters and translators who are most noted for their work and contribution to translation theory and practice.

Module 2

Language aspects of translation and interpretation

Unit 3

The process of translation and interpretation

Starting up

Y ou are going to listen to a short BBC report on the issue of the first women only internet cafe in Khabul downloaded from the BBC site (http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2012/03/120312_witn_women_cafe.shtml). Before you listen, discuss the following questions in pairs:

• Where is Khabul situated?

• What is the religious confession of people in Khabul?

• What have you recently heard about the social, political and economic problems in this place? What do you know about the issue of gender discrimination in such countries?

Summary

Read the summary to the BBC report and translate it using the lexical and grammatical substitutions suggested in brackets. Then listen to the report and fill in the gaps.

BBC Learning English -Words in the News

Kabul's first women-only internet cafe 12 March 2012

An exclusive internet cafe for women has been opened in the Afghan capital of Kabul to mark International Women's Day (Topic-comment). A first of its kind (addition), the cafe has been named after Sahar Gul, a fifteen year old Afghan bride who was (specification) tortured and jailed by her husband a few months ago. She was held captive (Grammar – passive voice into active) in the basement of her house for several months after she refused to become a prostitute. The BBC's Bilal Sarwary (addition) reports from Kabul (word order).

The Sahar Gul internet cafe was opened in Kabul today by a group of _____ ________ _________ called the 'Young women for _________' - it is the first of its kind in the country. The group says that there are many internet cafes in Kabul but women do not go there because they _____ __________. The atmosphere in these cafes is not good for women.

This group of young women plan to open _________ cafes in several other ____________ across Afghanistan. A largely _______ _________, the opening of this cafe may _________ the morale of Afghan women. Millions of girls have returned to school, and women have ______ ______ to work and into _________ after the __________ of Taliban regime in 2001.

But the life of most Afghan women still remains ________with many hardships and ________. Millions of women, mostly in the _____ _______, are still _________ ___ their very basic rights. They are often forced into marriages by their families; others _______ the brunt of_________ at the hands of their husbands.

Women's rights have been a topic of ___ _________ lately after the country's top religious ______ advised women not to _____ ____ men and not to travel alone. Activists have _________the Afghan government ___ turning a ____ _____ towards the rights of women.

While many women will ___ ______ ____ enjoy some freedom inside Sahar Gul's all female cafe, most still_______ and like Sahar Gul they are _______ of domestic __________.

Translation

Stylistics in translation: texts by genres, types and styles - points for revision.

Introductory part:

1. According to Katharine Reiss's functional approach, texts are divided into: a) informative b) expressive c) operative

2. According to Christiane Nord's typology, the translation commission includes the analysis of: a) the intended function(s) of the text; b) the addressees (the sender/ author/ speaker/ writer – recipient/ reader/ listener); c) the time and place of the text production – reception; d) the medium (the specification of 'material' for translation: 1 – verbal elements - the language, the register, the style, fixed collocations, terms + 2 – nonverbal elements– pictures, photos, external links, handwriting, layout, organization of the text by paragraphs/ utterances etc.); e) the motive (Why the ST was written and why it should be translated?)

Multiple matching

Work in pairs. Match the common linguistic terms with their definitions on the right. There are several extra definitions you don't need to use. Check your answers with the whole class and specify the details.

Term	Definition
literary technique	a) a letter written in formal language, usually used when in correspondence between companies and their customers, clients and other external parties. The style is necessarily austere.
Tone	b) a conventional category of texts, determined by literary technique, tone, content, or even (as in the case of fiction) length.
content	c) whatever form of a language accepted as a national norm.
text	d) a particular syntax often used in large organizations. The tone is associated with managers of large corporations, business management consultants, and occasionally government, as well as with the use of long, complicated, or obscure words, abbreviations, or acronyms.
standard language	e) particular patterns of language often used to promote a product or service to a wide audience by seeking to create the impression that the vendors of the service possess a high level of sophistication, skill, and technical knowledge. It is characterized by its heavy use of buzzwords, neologisms, and terms appropriated from specialized technical fields.
An official language	f) a convention or structure that is employed in literature and storytelling literary, “moves” a writer might make that are defined not so much by functional or descriptive actions as by imitation and repeated use by many authors at times.
Business speak	g) a commonly accepted way of conveying emotions/feelings through words.
Legalese	h) a language variety used by a group of people in their public discourse.
literary genre	i) a letter written in formal/semi-formal language, usually used when writing from one organization to another, or for correspondence between such organizations and their customers, clients and other external parties. The overall style depends on the relationship between the parties concerned.
Legal Language	j) an English term first used in 1914 for legal writing that is designed to be difficult for laymen to read and understand. As a term, has been adopted in other languages. Written texts which are characterized by long sentences, many modifying clauses, complex vocabulary, high abstraction, and insensitivity to the layman's need to get the document's gist.
Marketing speak	k) a non-fiction written text, printed, or electronic matter that provides information or evidence or that serves as an official record. These texts are usually classified as secret, private or public, and characterized as draft or proof.
Corporate communication	l) the subject that any text deals with, the story that it tells, or the ideas that it expresses.
A document	m) the set of activities involved in managing all internal and external communications aimed at creating favorable starting points with stakeholders on which the company depends. It consists of the dissemination of information by a variety of specialists and generalists in an organization, with the common goal of enhancing the organization's ability to retain its license to operate.
A business letter	n) a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction.
	o) the style of a standard language used by lawyers and other legal professionals in the course of their work. It has particular relevance when applied to legal writing and the drafting of written texts.
	p) (within literary theory) a coherent set of symbols that transmits some kind of informative or affective message.
	q) a conventional age category of texts, by which they may be classified as either adult, young-adult, or children's.

Reading 1

You are going to read an article written by John Bukacek, a prominent technical translator from Japanese into English and consecutive interpretor in Japanese and English, a member of Japanese Association of Translator and American Translators Association (ATA). Read the article consisting of two separate parts and perform the tasks below:

Approaches to Translation by John Bukacek

Part I: Translation as a decision-making process.

1) Translation is essentially a decision-making process that requires a combination of language ability, subject-specific knowledge, intuition, research skills, and judgment. A proper translation expresses the meaning behind the use of written words in one language in the written word usage of a second language. Although the translator appears to be dealing with words, in actual practice the translator is dealing with units of meaning that may or may not be expressed by the words appearing on paper. Meaning is not contained in words, but is abstracted from words and interpreted within a context. The translator must rely not only on linguistic clues appearing in the document, but also on extra-linguistic knowledge. The translator must be able to understand and appreciate distinctions made in the "source language" of the document to be translated, and to make equivalent distinctions in the "target language" of the translation. This is not an easy task. In broad outline, the steps in the translation process are as follows:

• Text Analysis - Analyzing the structure of the text and its meaning;

• Research - Searching for meaningful "clues" within the text and outside of the text;

• Draft Translations - Preparing as many drafts as are needed, including tentative translations;

• Accuracy Checking - Comparing the source and target texts;

• Editing - Reviewing the target language text for appropriate style and jargon;

• Formatting - Putting the final text in printed and/or electronic form

2) Although the process of translation is essentially the same in all cases, a variety of approaches are in use, largely determined by the translator's personality and experience. The approach to translation can also depend on the type of document to be translated and its purpose. For example, when translating a patent document, I like to translate the Claims last, even though they appear first in a Japanese patent document.

3) While most translators keyboard their work, some translators prefer to dictate their translations, and some translators use "machine assisted translation" software in preparing their rough drafts. The reason given is that both of these approaches increase output speed and productivity. There are great advantages to dictating, especially when translating documents that are very familiar and that contain few ambiguities. But if not done properly, dictation can lead to things getting "lost" or misplaced in the translation. Haste makes waste. In any case, the accuracy checking step cannot be overlooked. "Machine assisted translation" can sometimes work for documents that are very consistent and very repetitive. Of course, there are various levels of "machine assistance" that can be provided by computer software, but in most cases, although some of the simpler aspects of translation (those that involve "code switching") can be speeded up, there is really no substitute for the careful and attentive human touch.

4) After all, the original text was prepared by human beings. Some translators like to prepare a rough "literal" translation first, then go over it later and make it more readable. Others assume that an "editor" will fix up anything that is inaccurate. I consider that a very poor approach, because elaboration of a poorly drafted text leads to the compounding of errors. It is better to do everything one can to get it right the first time so that whatever changes have to be made later will be minor Of course, it is sometimes necessary to include tentative translations. The meaning of a particular term, abbreviation, acronym, or eponym may not be obvious until one delves into the text and its extra-linguistic context more deeply. Research is sometimes required to determine the meaning, and consequently, the most accurate translation. The translator must also be familiar with the mode of technical writing in the particular field.

5) I believe that the subconscious mind plays a very significant role in the process of translation. I have often had the experience of trying to decide the best way to translate a troublesome passage, and having exhausted all available reference and research resources, I let the problem go from my conscious mind, turn it over to my subconscious mind, and focus my conscious mind on something else. Later, it will suddenly occur to me what the best choice is, or how to find out. That is because my subconscious mind was actively at work on the problem all along. It is often useful to step outside the conscious aspect of the translation process, let the subconscious work on it, and then return to the conscious aspect. Unfortunately, we do not always have that luxury because of deadline pressure! However, I have often found that when I have a problem, either professional or personal in nature, I can find the solution by releasing it to my subconscious mind. When faced with a difficult problem, I try to step back from it and ask myself, "What is really important here?" That is, of course, a question of judgment, and human judgment can very often be faulty.