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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures : European Languages and Cultures - Hispanic Studies

Undergraduate Course: Literary Translation in Practice (Portuguese to English) (ELCH10056)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Literatures, Languages and Cultures CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThis course will offer students the opportunity to produce translations of a range of literary texts in Portuguese, including extracts of novels, poetry and complete short stories. Students will be required to produce original translations and write commentaries on these, as well as analyse and comment on published translations. They will be introduced to some of the core theories of translation practice, and the course will also make extensive use of peer reviewing processes and negotiated group translation as the students hone their skills. Assessment will consist of a portfolio of 2x translations with accompanying commentaries (50%) and a time-limited final translation and commentary (50%), scheduled during the exam period.
Course description This course offers students the opportunity to produce translations of a range of literary texts in Portuguese, including extracts of novels, poetry and complete short stories. Students will be required to produce original translations and write commentaries on these, as well as critically analyse and comment on published translations. The course will be delivered over 10 weeks, with 2-hour seminars each week. Students will be introduced to some of the core theories of translation practice, and the course will also make extensive use of peer reviewing processes and negotiated group translation to hone skills. Assessment will consist of a portfolio of 2x translations with accompanying commentaries (50%) and a time-limited final translation and commentary (50%), scheduled during the exam period.

Topics covered may include:
- What is literary translation? How to evaluate translations?
- Eugene Nida and the idea of equivalence
- Hans Vermeer and SKOPOS theory
- Lawrence Venuti and domestication/foreignisation
- Translating complex syntax
- Translating context
- The industry of literary translation
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements Entry to Portuguese Hons required
Course Delivery Information
Not being delivered
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate a detailed understanding of the process of translating literary texts from Portuguese into English.
  2. Apply a range of translation strategies and approaches which can be adapted to the needs of a given translation situation and to the demands of a given text.
  3. Discern nuanced shifts in register, genre, and tone in the practice of literary translation.
  4. Critically evaluate their own translation practice, as well as that of others.
Reading List
These texts which form the theoretical basis of the course are suggested readings. Compulsory readings will be available on Learn.

David Bellos, "Translating Literary Texts", in Is that a Fish in Your Ear? (London: Particular Books, 2001), pp. 302-311.
Jeremy Munday, "Translation variation and its link to attitude", in Evaluation in Translation: Critical Points of Translator Decision-making (New York: Routledge, 2012), pp. 131-154.
Susan Basnett, "Specific problems of literary translation", in Translation Studies, rev. edn. (London: Routledge, 1991), pp. 76-119.
Jeremy Munday. "Issues in translation studies", in The Routledge Companion to Translation Studies (Abingdon: Routledge, 2009), pp. 1-19.
Francis R. Jones, "Chapter 1: Introduction" in Poetry Translating as Expert Action (Amsterdam, Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing, 2011), pp. 1-15.
Recommended
J. Levý, "1.4. Literary methodology", The Art of Translation, trans. by Patrick Corness (Amsterdam, Philadelphia: John Benjamin Publishing Company, 2011), pp. 13-21; and J. Levý, "Original verse and translated verse", The Art of Translation, trans. by Patrick Corness (Amsterdam, Philadelphia: John Benjamin Publishing Company, 2011), pp. 189-203.
Juliane House, "Equivalence in translation" and "Views on evaluating translations", Translation (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), pp. 29-42 and pp. 47-57.
Federico M. Federici, "Introduction: Dialects, idiolects, sociolects: Translation problems or creative stimuli?", in Translating Dialects and Languages of Minorities: Challenges and Solutions, ed. by Federico M. Federici (Bern: Peter Lang, 2011), pp. 1-20.
Hans J. Vermeer, "Skopos and Commission in Translational Action", trans. by Andrew Chesterman, in The Translation Studies Reader, ed. by Lawrence Venuti (London: Routledge, 2000), pp. 1989-232.
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
KeywordsDELC Lit Translation
Contacts
Course organiserDr Charlotte Gleghorn
Tel: (0131 6)51 3237
Email: Charlotte.Gleghorn@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMs Bronwen Jones
Tel: (0131 6)50 4026
Email: bronwen.jones@ed.ac.uk
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