Course Catalogue

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This course offers training in advanced translation practice from English to Russian and the application of translation theories from functional theory of the 1970s to genre-based theories of the present day. Course materials include documents in a variety of registers and are drawn from an appropriate range of specialist fields such as journalistic and literary translation.

1 x 2-hour seminar per week over 10 weeks.

Mandatory Entry Requirements

■ Standard entry to Masters at College level.

■ Candidates for the course should normally be native or near native Russian speakers and have a good Honours degree (2.1 or better) or equivalent in English or be able to demonstrate competence in the English language equivalent to European Common Framework C1.

None.

None.

Assessment

Portfolio of work comprised as follows:

■ 3 translations of 500-700 words each, chosen from 8 submitted throughout the semester (all unrevised following class discussions). (20% each)

■ 1 revised translation of 500-700 words (also chosen from the 8). (20%)

■ A 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 three unrevised translations selected from weekly coursework (60%) and one revised coursework translation with commentary (40%). Students who do not achieve the satisfactory threshold will be offered reassessment of the revised translation and commentary component.

The course aims to:

■ provide students with a solid grounding and training in translating from English into Russian;

■ examine and situate a range of registers and varieties of English;

■ consider the application of translation methodologies and the use of translation theory to explain translation choices;

■ illustrate the use of language-area specific reference and support materials and support students' independent exploration of these materials.

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

■ recognise a range of registers, sociolects, specialist discourses and other varieties of English;

■ render these appropriately in Russian, considering the stylistic and linguistic differences between the languages;

■ apply translation strategies and concepts in stylistics relevant to English and Russian;

■ explore and employ standard reference tools, IT tools and other resources in ways appropriate to the course;

■ reflect critically upon their own translation practice.

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