DIDACTICS OF TRANSLATION & INTERPRETING STUDIES 2nd year MA

Seminar Outline R. Bontil

Seminar Debate:
Translation and Foreign Language Pedagogy. Polemic issues
Using translation in the classroom has been both contested and acclaimed. Think of some reasons
that do justice to the contesters and some others that do justice to the supporters.
By applying translation consciously and systematically, learners can be conditioned to monitor
their own code switching. So, how can translation, according to Danchev (1983), be like medicine?
Back-translation into the original language is a technique meant to point the students to some
areas in the text which are subject to loss and, consequently, in need of special attention. Furthermore, it
underlines the fact that no two translators will translate the same passage identically. Provide an example.
When a candidate fails a translation test, on whatever level, what, according to you, should the
prescription be? More language courses? More background knowledge? A more gradual approach to
translator training?
The Lasswell formula [Who uttered what to whom in which channel (written or oral) with what
communicative purpose in mind in which spatial-temporal setting by which linguistic means?] can turn
effective for building awareness of the problems of the text-oriented translation. What assumption does
this formula base on? What does it further reveal about texts?
As pointed out by Jean Darbelnet (1966), the translator can be seen as having a dual role in
society: on the one hand (inter-linguistically), he is responsible for informing his readers about the
content of an SL text; on the other hand (intra-linguistically), he is responsible for protecting his mother
tongue (i.e., the RL) from infiltrations from the SL. In light of the above-said, please translate the
following text into Romanian/English?
Fceam team-buiding-uri, ne petreceam timpul liber mpreun, chiar cu familiile. n alt ordine de
idei, nici desele vizite de business la Viena nu se pot termina fr o sesiune de shopping therapy. La
cel mai fancy theater din ora te invadeaz vulgaritile de mahala. Trebuie s lucrez la diplomaie
i la situarea pe poziia de driving seat. Pentru aceast locaie lum n calcul trei variante:
redeschiderea unei francize sau crearea unui joint-venture cu un lan internaional de retail. Dac
vrem ca piaa hotelier din Romnia s se dezvolte ns pe termen lung, avem nevoie s dezvoltm
segmentul de leisure.
(Alexandru Clineascu, Traducei n limba romn, Dilemateca, , nr. 9, 2007: 29)
Reflect on the benefits for such compilers of attending a translators course, or, at least, having
been given some practice in translating as a language skill in its own right (Attention: awareness and
control of interference is the main component of the skill of translating).
It is said that an excellent knowledge of the two languages and cultures does not make a
professional translator (remember, translational competence is a five asset composite: linguistic ~;
translation ~; methodological ~; disciplinary ~; technical ~). Then, what other abilities/ items of
knowledge does a translator need?
When Seidhofer (1999) says that bilingual ELT professionals teaching in their own countries are
somewhat like double agents, she certainly challenges the native speaker fallacy by admitting the local
teachers role of mediator between the different languages and cultures through appropriate pedagogy.
How does the translator feel about the double agent status?
Further Readings
Lee McKay, Sandra, Teaching English as an International Language: Rethinking Goals and Approaches, 2002, Oxford
University Press.
Weller, Georganne, Some Polemic Aspects of Translation in Foreign Language Pedagogy Revisited. In Translator and
Interpreter Training and Foreign Pedagogy. American Translators Association. Scholarly Monograph Series, Vol. III,
1989, pp. 39-51, State University of New York at Binghamton.