Course description and programme

The main objectives are:

1 To improve your written English through the practice of translation from Catalan/Spanish.

2 To look at the basic problems of translation in general:

The course is divided into two sections: Theory and Practice.

In the Theory section the texts will be in both Catalan and Spanish, which assumes that everyone has a working knowledge of both languages. In the class we shall be dealing with the main grammatical and lexical problems arising in translation from either into English and looking at texts with particular kinds of difficulty, such as formal letters and instructions.

In the Practice section translation will be from one of the two languages only. There will be a variety of subjects and text types.

Assessment

There will be a global assessment for the whole course, covering both  Theory and Practice sections:

• A Theory assignment: 20%

• Two translations of about 300 words each (Practice): 20+20=40%

• A third translation of about 1000 words chosen by the student: 40%

• The assignments must be handed in on the date specified.

There will be no final examination

Bibliography

Dictionaries

Bilingual Catalan and Spanish        

Monolingual English, Catalan and Spanish

Reference

Style                                       The Economist Pocket Style Book

Translation Issues             A Translation Companion for Spanish Learners                                                                    of English, Brian Mott, EUB