vcc.ca
INTR 2140: Interpretation Theory and Practice 1: Translation
Effective date
September 2023
Department
Sign Language Interpretation
School
Arts and Sciences
Description
This course provides opportunities to practically apply a cognitive model of interpreting in which the interpreter actively constructs meaning based on cues provided by others. Students will develop skills in analyzing and translating ASL and English texts, exploring multiple parameters of discourse and message analysis. These may include speaker/signer intent, implied and explicit content, emotional affect, culturally-bound elements, and the impact of contextual factors.
Credits
3.0
Year of study
2nd Year Post-secondary
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Use contextual cues to predict discourse content and intent
- Use discourse mapping to represent meaning
- Analyze English and ASL texts to identify speaker goals, linguistic register, emotional affect and culturally-linked elements
- Prioritize text content, identifying main points and supporting details
- Identify both implied and explicit propositions in source texts
- Apply contextual factors to the process of meaning-based translation
- Compose equivalent messages in the target language
- Demonstrate the creation of culturally mediated translation texts
- Explain the steps involved in the processes of discourse analysis and translation
- Critically evaluate the relative success/effectiveness of a translation
Prior Learning Assessment & Recognition (PLAR)
None
Hours
Lecture, Online, Seminar, Tutorial: 60
Total Hours: 60
Total Hours: 60
Instructional Strategies
Lecture/seminars; small group work; translation practice tasks; course readings/videos
Grading System
Letter Grade (A-F)
Passing grade
B+
Evaluation Plan
|
Type |
Percentage |
Assessment activity |
|
Assignments |
35 |
English to ASL Translation Assignment |
|
Assignments |
35 |
ASL to English Translation Assignment |
|
Quizzes/Tests |
15 |
|
|
Assignments |
15 |
Written Reflection/Analyses |
Course topics
- Key linguistic differences between English and ASL: - Use of face and space; - Common sentence types, syntactical structures and discourse markers; - Time/tense markers; - Pronominalization; - Prepositional and adverbial information; - Pluralization; - Contextualization and topicalization
- Analysis parameters in English and ASL texts: - Variables of the cultural, situational, relational, psychological context(s); - Implied and explicit propositions, main points and supporting details; - Culturally-linked elements; - Linguistic register; - Speaker/signer characteristics and goals; - Emotional affect and tone; - Metanotative qualities/style of the speaker/signer; - Contextual force relative to target audience characteristics and goals
- Power and responsibility inherent in the tasks of translation/interpretation: - Meaning-making as a shared process of co-construction; - Linguistic and cultural mediation; - Awareness of positionality and bias; - Challenges in aiming for dynamic equivalence and impartiality
- Steps and sub-processes in translation/interpretation: - Predicting what to expect from the discourse; - Concentrating and attending to source message; - Representing meaning, dropping source language form; - Preparing to express meaning using target language form; - Producing target message; - Monitoring and critiquing one’s own process and results
Notes:
- Course contents and descriptions, offerings and schedules are subject to change without notice.
- Students are required to follow all College policies including ones that govern their educational experience at VCC. Policies are available on the VCC website at:
https://www.vcc.ca/about/governance--policies/policies/. - To find out if there are existing transfer agreements for this course, visit the BC Transfer Guide at https://www.bctransferguide.ca.