Learning objectives
Knowledge and understanding:
as well as developing written and oral language skills and translation strategies, the course aims at providing students with solid general and specific knowledge of the methods of analysis of written and oral texts relating to various types of language, which also represent informal and formal everyday language.
Applying knowledge and understanding:
students will be able to: apply knowledge and comprehension skills useful for decoding and analysing authentic texts in the English language; recognise the pragmatic intent of various text genres; decode the primary and secondary meaning of an utterance in various text types; identify the forms of cohesion peculiar to a text genre; understand and analyse audiovisual and media texts in the original language, the complex nature of which is expressed in terms of formal and informal characteristics of the language. In particular, students will develop skills needed both to understand and translate written and audiovisual texts.
Making judgements:
students will be able to self-evaluate their knowledge of the language, to study autonomously, to re-elaborate the contents learnt during the course, to carry out research on the basis of the contents of the course, to solve problems related to the search of information and to the interpretation of oral and written texts, and to formulate reasoned judgments and opinions after a thorough analysis of the text, even with regard to complex phenomena.
Communication skills:
students will be able to communicate and discuss contents, analyses and theories in English at the level B1++, in a register appropriate to Language and Translation Studies, both in written and oral forms.
Learning skills:
students will develop learning skills useful to become more autonomous in the learning of the English language, by acquiring the necessary linguistic competence with a view to using receptive and productive skills in a future professional context.
Prerequisites
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Course unit content
The course, which will be partially taught in English, begins with a study of the important transformations that the field of Linguistics and Translation Studies have undergone during the last decades, focussing on the fundamental notions of these disciplines and their development and introducing various theoretical approaches to the study of English. The course will enable students to approach the disciplines of Discourse Analysis. In order to see how the theories at the basis of these disciplines are practically realised in the language used by English native speakers, we will make use of multimedia materials and we will carry out analyses of both spoken and written texts.
The introduction of these materials will constitute the starting point for the discussion of various translation issues. Bearing in mind Jakobson’s triadic model of translation, the course will focus on the notion of interlingual translation, thus introducing the discipline of Translation Studies. We will consider the translation problems presented by different text types, with a particular focus on audiovisual texts.
The course held by the lecturer is complemented by practical lessons given by English language assistants during both semesters, aimed at consolidating language skills in order to reach a minimum level of B1++.
Full programme
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Bibliography
- M. Canepari: Linguistica, Lingua e Traduzione vol. 1, Padova, Libreria Universitaria, 2016.
- M. Canepari: Linguistica, lingua e traduzione vol. 2, Padova, Libreria Universitaria, 2020.
- M. Beseghi: Multilingual Films in Translation, New Trends in Translation Studies, Oxford: Peter Lang, 2017 (Chapter 1).
- Lecture notes and power point presentations available on Elly.
- Optional: M. Canepari : “Corso di traduzione dall’inglese all’italiano” (Educatt, Milano, 2007), as far as translation practice is concerned.
A detailed bibliography will be given during the course and clearly indicated in the programme that will be available on Elly in digital form.
Texts for developing language skills will also be indicated by the English language assistants at the beginning of the academic year.
Teaching methods
During lectures, mainly held in English, the lecturer will present the main notions of Linguistics and Translation Studies using both the textbooks indicated in the bibliography and other materials that will be available to students on the Elly platform.
The course will also include interactive classes, during which students are stimulated to apply the key concepts and theories previously covered through the analysis and discussion of case studies. Moreover, the course will include classes devoted to practical applications of the theoretical notions through the translation of texts.
Further suggestions will be given during the course for individual study and analysis with a view to stimulating in the student a high level of independence in approaching text analysis.
The course held by the lecturer is taught in the second semester. Students will also attend practical lessons held by English language assistants throughout the whole academic year.
Assessment methods and criteria
Evaluation of the knowledge and skills acquired during the course will be carried out by means of a preliminary written language test and an oral exam at the end of the academic year.
The knowledge and competences that will be evaluated in the written test are as follows:
- written and oral competence in the English language corresponding to the level B1++ of the Common European Framework of Reference and, in particular the acquisition of all language skills (written and spoken) as well as translation strategies in a register appropriate to the text genre and which reflects the communicative functions of the source text.
The preliminary written text evaluation will be considered insufficient if the student is found lacking in any of the language or translation skills; an insufficient evaluation (less than 18/30) does not permit access to the oral exam.
The knowledge and competences that will be evaluated in the written test are as follows:
- ability to study independently, re-elaborate the contents imparted during the course, propose individual research complementary to the topics discussed during lectures, solve problems relating to the retrieval of information and decoding of complex texts, to formulate individual judgements and opinions.
With a view to verifying whether such knowledge and level of competences have been achieved, the aim of the oral exam is to evaluate the ability of the student to re-elaborate, reformulate such knowledge as well as his/her ability to apply the knowledge and skills gained to text analysis and also apply them at a contrastive level.
The final evaluation takes into account the competences gained in the preliminary written test.
A fail is determined by the lack on the part of the student: to demonstrate minimum knowledge of the contents of the course; to express him or herself adequately in English (expected level of B1++) on the topics of the course; to discuss and solve problems regarding the retrieval of information and decoding of complex texts, and to formulate independent critical judgements and opinions.
A pass (18-23/30) is determined by the student’s sufficient ability to master the basic notions and contents of the course and to express them, even simply, at a level of English that at least corresponds in part to the B1++ level. An average mark (24-27/30) is awarded to the student who can demonstrate he/she possesses a more than sufficient (24-25/30) or good (26-27/30) command of the language and theoretical knowledge according to the above criteria of evaluation. The highest marks (28-30/30 and merit) are likewise awarded on the basis of a very good to excellent command of the language and theoretical knowledge according to the above criteria of evaluation.
Other information
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