Course Catalogue

View Specification Document | Reading List

Contributing chiefly to the SMLC Translation Studies programme, this course offers training in advanced translation practice from Czech to English across a wide range of text types and genres. These include technical (legal, medical, manuals) and marketing and literary texts (advertising, prose, poetry, theatre).

10 x 2 hours of seminars.

Mandatory Entry Requirements

■ Standard entry to Masters at College level.

■ Candidates for the course should normally have a good Honours degree (2.1 or better) or equivalent in Czech Studies or be able to demonstrate competence in the Czech language equivalent to European Common Framework C1.

None

Time-limited translation exercise of 600 words (50%)

Portfolio of work comprised as follows:

■ 2 translations of 500-700 words each, chosen from 7 submitted throughout the semester (all unrevised following class discussions). (10% each)

■ Revised translation of 500-700 words (also chosen from the 7). (10%)

■ 1,500-word translation commentary to accompany the revised piece (20%).

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. For non Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

The portfolio consists of two unrevised translations selected from weekly coursework (20%) and one revised coursework translation with commentary (30%). Students who do not achieve the satisfactory threshold will be offered reassessment of the revised translation and commentary component.

■ provide students with advanced training in translating independently from Czech into English;

■ examine and situate a range of registers and varieties of Czech expanding on the range covered in ATLS 1;

■ critically review and apply a variety of translation methodologies to specialised texts, and use translation theory to reflect on translation practice;

■ support students' independent use of language-area specific and specialised reference and support materials.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ analyse a range of registers, sociolects, specialist discourses and other varieties of Czech;

■ render these in English to a professional standard, considering the stylistic and linguistic differences between the languages;

■ apply translation strategies and concepts in stylistics relevant to English and Czech in contextually and culturally appropriate ways;

■ critically assess and employ specialised reference tools, IT tools and other resources to a professional standard;

■ reflect critically upon their own practice to an academically rigorous standard.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.