An Introduction to Translation: Chinese to English Translation中英翻译巴德高中，克利夫兰分校

(3 credits)

Prof. Ling-Ling Shih施玲玲教授Best contact me via Jupiter

My school email: lshih@bhsec.bard.eduOffice办公室: Classroom 教室#312

Class meeting times: M T W Th 6th period 12:50-1:40上课时间：星期一，二，三， 四 12:50-1:40

Course Description课程介绍This course is a practical introduction to the field of translation, which provides instruction and practice in Chinese-to-English translation. It is designed for second-language learners of Chinese. Students work with a wide range of Chinese materials, suitable for intermediate Chinese levels. This course is designed to familiarize students with translation theories and help students develop translation skills while developing a higher level of Chinese language skills. The emphasis will be on comprehension of written Chinese texts and ability to translate them into good English.

Pre-requisites: Intermediate Chinese Mid

Learning Objectives 学习目标By the end of this course, students will be able to:

Provide students with a basic introduction to translation theory and strategies. Provide practice in translating a variety of text types, including literary,

journalistic, business, financial, advertising, technical (owner’s manuals, user guide, etc.), media, medical translation, official documents (e.g., transcripts), etc.

Improve reading and writing skills in Chinese. Apply appropriate English vocabularies and structures to translation and improve

translation skills from Chinese to English. Give students experience in applying translation theories and strategies to a series

of concrete activities and assignments. Analyze texts and apply on-line dictionaries and internet resources to solve

translation problems and accomplish translation tasks.

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Required Texts/Materials

In Other Words: A Coursebook on Translation , Second Edition. Mona Baker. New York：Routledge.

Introduction to Chinese-English Translation: Key Concepts and Techniques. Zinan Ye and Lynette Xiaojing Shi. New York Hippocrene Books, Inc.

All reading materials will be distributed in class.

Suggested or Further Reading and Resources A course website will be created for this course. It is important you check

regularly to keep updated about daily homework, upcoming assignments. A list of translation tools and resources will be made available on my website.

Schedule 课程安排Please note that the following schedule may change to accommodate unexpected opportunities or unplanned events, as well as other needs.

Week第＃星期 Date日期 Learning Modules学习单元1 1/8- 1/12 1/8 PD Days—

(No school for students)Introduction. Definition of Translation. Communicative translation. Translation myths and basic concepts.

2 1/15-1/19 1/15 Martin Luther King Jr. Day (No School)

Translation Assignment # 1 Recipes

3 1/22-1/26Translation Assignment # 2 Technical Translation

4 1/29-2/2Translation Assignment # 3 Business Documents

5 2/5-2/9 Translation Assignment # 4 Advertising

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2/8InterimParent/Teacher Conferences (early release for student 12:30) Extended Day for Teachers

6 2/12-2/16 Translation Assignment # 5 Financial Reports

2/16 PD Day (No school for students)

7 2/19-2/23 2/19 Presidents’ Day (No School)

Translation Assignment # 6Comic Strips

8 2/26-3/2Translation Assignment # 7A short silent movie script

9 3/5-3/9Translation Assignment # 8Editorial

10 3/12-3/16Translation Assignment # 9Medical translation

11 3/19-3/23Translation Assignment # 10 Expository text.

3/19 Third Marking Period Grades Due 3/22 Parent Teacher Conference (12:30-7:00

pm) (No classes for students)12 3/26-3/30 Spring Break 春假13 4/2-4/6 4/2 Easter Monday (school closed)

Translation Assignment # 11Literary Translation (Children’s Story)

14 4/9-4/13Translation Assignment # 12Literary Translation (Poetry)

15 4/16-4/20

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Translation Assignment # 13 Humor

16 4/23-4/27Translation Assignment # 14 Simple legal text

4/25 Early Release for students (12:30-12:50 p.m.)Extended Day for Teachers

17 4/30-5/4 Translation Projects

18 5/7-5/11 Translation Projects.

19 5/14-5/18 Translation Projects.

20 5/21-5/25 Finals

5/23 Last Day for students 5/24 PD Day (No school for students)

Evaluation

This course evaluation is based on continuous assessment. Student performance is assessed on the basis of regular translation assignments, active in-class participation, active on-line discussion, and final project.

You will be assessed based on the following components and weighting:

Translation Assignments and Portfolio 45%Final Project 15%Class participation and Discussion (based on readings and assignments)

10%

Quizzes and Assignments 10% On-Line Discussion 10%Presentation 10%

Class Participation and DiscussionAlthough the weight of this course is on practice, there will be some mini-lectures on translation theory. Students are expected to prepare for class by reading the selections assigned (if any), by participating in discussions, and by asking questions when

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necessary. Whenever possible, translation samples will be presented to illustrate theoretical issues. As a result, the student should be able to apply theoretical notions to actual texts.

Quizzes and Assignments

There will be unannounced quizzes and assignments to assess understanding and application of theoretical concepts learned from the readings or presented in class. Some assignments will be given to develop your translation.

Presentation/DemonstrationWe will also have a number of presentations/demonstrations on various topics of interest to translators such as the usage of dictionaries, terminology, translation computer-aided translation (CAT) (e.g., Wordfast), and machine translation (MT), professional associations, translator education, and translation companies/bureaus/departments.

Translation Assignments and PortfolioThere will be a number of translation assignments representing a variety of text types and genres which may include news articles, recipes, ads, product instructions, comic strips, literary (e.g., poems, children’s story), business letters, financial reports, simple legal documents, among others.

A first draft of each translation assignment is due, sometimes collected, in class for participation and discussion (this will be part of the participation grade).

After the in-class discussion is completed, the student will be given a set time to revise the translation and turn it in for a grade. Translations should be annotated (they will be graded both on the product and the process) and delivered according to specifications, e-mail or hard copy.

Translation assignments should be turned in on time at the beginning of class. Turn in after class is considered late. Late assignments will receive a reduced grade. 10% if one day late, 20% if two days late, and so on.

All assignments will be due again at the end of the semester in a portfolio.

On-Line DiscussionDiscussions on line are a vital part of this communicative translation course. I will create a post for each assignment. It is a requirement for the successful completion of this course (10% of the final grade) that you provide and ask for feedback from other translation students by engaging in on-line discussion with one another. I will monitor your participation regularly. Discussions posted after the said time will not be graded and cannot be made up. You will not receive points for discussions submitted after the due date/time. You must post at least one original question or ask for feedback by the said due date/time and respond to at least two of your classmates the day before the assignment is due, failure to do so will result in a zero grade. If you do not respond to two

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students, you will receive zero points. (For each assignment discussion, five points for posting questions, and five points for giving feedback to two students).

Final ProjectStudents will select a brief text for an annotated final project. This final project should have a length of about four to five pages of translated text. It should be a complete piece or almost complete in itself (not a selection of paragraphs of a longer piece). It could be a short story, an act of a play, a TV drama episode, a brochure, anything within the student’s field of interest. A project must be selected in consultation with the instructor by March 22. The last two and half weeks of the semester the class will change to a format to allow students to work individually on their final project and they may help one another with their translation projects and ask the instructor for help when encountering some problems.

Final projects will be due sometime during finals week (date to be announced in class).

There will be no final examination.

Grading ScaleWe follow the Bard College (Annandale) grading scale:

A Equivalent to 4.0 or 100-94A- Equivalent to 3.7 or 93-90B+ Equivalent to 3.3 or 89-87B Equivalent to 3.0 or 86-84B- Equivalent to 2.7 or 83-80 C+ Equivalent to 2.3 or 79-77C Equivalent to 2.0 or 76-74C- Equivalent to 1.7 or 73-70D Equivalent 1.0 or 69-60F Equivalent 0 or 59 and below

Expectations and Policies1. Attendance : Attendance is mandatory. You are expected to attend classes on time.

Absences without valid reasons and tardiness will affect your participation grade. Regardless of the reason for your absence, it is the individual student's responsibility to find out the assigned homework for that day. Too many absences may result in a failing grade for this class.

2. Participation : I expect all students to participate in classroom activities. Those who pay attention in class and actively participate in class will do better than those who don’t and will receive a good participation grade. If you miss too many classes, you won’t get a good participation grade

3. Makeups . There are no make-up quizzes.

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4. Academic integrity . All work at BHSEC Cleveland must be original, used for only one class, and be written by the student being given credit. All work must correctly attribute all citations and sources. Failure to adhere to these standards will results in a zero for the assignment. Subsequent instances of plagiarism will result in an automatic “F” in the class. Please refer to the BHSEC Cleveland Student Contract for the full academic honesty policy for additional details.

Please refer to the Expectations and Policies Addendum for more detailed information.

Office Hours and Academic SupportYou should follow your progress through Jupiter and also feel free to come in for extra support if you need extra help or explanation.

Office Hours: 办公室时间Office Hours: M 11:00-11:50 & F 11:55-12:45 or by appointment

If you would like to discuss other academic support option, you are welcome to contact both me and/or the Dean of Studies.

好的开始就是成功的一半。希望你们都有好的开始，而且都能持之以恒！“A good beginning prepares you for success. Hope all of you have a great beginning and will be consistent and persistent in your learning until the very end!”

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