Introductory description

This module will introduce students to key concepts and practices in translation as influenced by technology. Language technologies are evolving at a rapid pace, and they constantly modify the nature of translation practices. As a result, the language industry requires translators who can quickly adapt to new environments, assess the needs and requirements of translation projects, and rely on efficient problem-solving abilities.
This module will expose students to different forms of translation that are mediated, enhanced, and required by technology and that are deeply embedded in the language industries. It will introduce computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools (such as translation memories, machine translation and corpus resources) and equip students with the skills to critically assess and implement these tools in complex translation processes.
Through a series of lectures, language-specific seminars and practical workshops, students will be introduced to multifaceted practices in the language industry (web translation, post-editing, subtitling) and an overview of the translation profession (translation competences, project workflows). In the second half of the module, students will work in teams to complete a collaborative project to translate a website into multiple languages (depending on their own language knowledge). In the project, students will review the source materials, set up a workflow model, assign roles and tasks, complete the project and deliver a fully functional multilingual website.

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

• Week 1: Translation competences, translators and technology-related skills
• Week 2: Introduction to translation memories and website translation
• Week 3: Project workflows and the translation industry
• Week 4: Collaborative translation and project meeting
• Week 5: Post-editing
• Week 6: Reading week
• Week 7: Subtitling and pivot translation
• Week 8: Collaborative translation and project meeting
• Week 9: Ethics, AI and sustainability / Formative assessment (group presentations)
• Week 10: Collaborative translation and project meeting

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Understand the professional contexts in which translators operate now
• Reflect on how digital technologies have transformed work practices in the language industry
• Appraise and test the efficacy of some of the main digital tools and computer-assisted technologies
• Acquire the ability to work in a team of translators
• Reflect on the opportunities offered by recent translation tools and technologies in their own source and target languages

Indicative reading list

Angelone, E., Ehrensberger-Dow, M., & Massey, G. (Eds.). (2019). The Bloomsbury companion to language industry studies. Bloomsbury Publishing.

EMT Board. 2017. “European Master’s in Translation Competence Framework 2017.” European Master’s in Translation (EMT). https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/emt_competence_fwk_2017_en_web.pdf

Cintas, J. D., & Remael, A. (2020). Subtitling: Concepts and practices. Routledge.

Gouadec, D. (2007). Translation as a Profession. Translation as a Profession, 1-429.

Jiménez-Crespo, M. A. (2013). Translation and web localization. Routledge.

Mitchell-Schuitevoerder, R. (2020). A project-based approach to translation technology. Routledge.

PACTE. (2003). Building a translation competence model. In F. Alves (Ed.), Triangulating translation: Perspectives in process oriented research (pp. 43–68). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Pérez-González, Luis. Audiovisual translation: Theories, methods and issues. Routledge, 2014.

International

All modules delivered in SMLC are necessarily international. Students engage with themes and ideas from a culture other than that of the UK and employ their linguistic skills in the analysis of primary materials from a non-Anglophone context. Students will also be encouraged to draw on the experiences of visiting exchange students in the classroom and will frequently engage with theoretical and critical frameworks from across the world.

Subject specific skills

This module will develop students’ awareness of the language industry and knowledge and understanding of recently introduced digital tools used by professional translators working individually or as part of a team. It will build on students’ capacity to engage with aspects of translation and transcultural studies through analysis of current working practices and through seminar discussion aimed at deeper critical thinking. In particular, students’ awareness of computer-assisted tools and their applicability will be enhanced through lectures and seminars focusing on the most recent scholarship in the field.

Transferable skills

All SMLC culture modules demand critical and analytical engagement with artefacts from target-language cultures. In the course of independent study, class work and assessment students will develop the following skills: written and oral communication, creative and critical thinking, problem solving and analysis, time management and organisation, independent research in both English and their target language(s), intercultural understanding and the ability to mediate between languages and cultures, ICT literacy in both English and the target language(s), personal responsibility and the exercise of initiative.