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考生将提交一份初步的项目建议书的模块负责人的第一个学期结束，其中一个监督员将分配的基础上。主管将与候选人的文本和项目合同的最终选择。监督将继续在整个第二学期，安排在暑假期间，提交已完成的项目在10月的第三个星期二，在这一年中的教授组成部分的模块完成。的考生可以预期大约四个小时的监督，会议通常持续约一个小时。
Aim and objectives
The aim of the MA Project is to enable the candidate a) to demonstrate that s/he is capable of managing a large translation project and b) to reflect on the experience and its application to vocational skills.
The objectives are:
a) to translate a substantial text to a professionally-acceptable standard;
b) to apply the knowledge, skills and techniques acquired during the taught part of the course to identifying and resolving the translation issues raised by the text;
c) to set out a rationale for translation decisions in a clear and scholarly manner;
d) to develop the time-management skills required to complete and submit a major piece of translation to a given timetable.
Supervision
Candidates will submit an initial project proposal to the Module Leader by the end of the first semester, on the basis of which a supervisor will be allocated. The supervisor will then work with the candidate on the final selection of a text and on the Project Contract. Supervision will continue throughout the second semester and, by arrangement, over the summer vacation period, prior to submission of the finished Project on the third Tuesday of October in the year in which the taught component of the module is completed. Candidates can expect around four hours of supervision, with sessions normally lasting about an hour.
Taught component of the module
The taught component of the module will take the form of a number of workshops designed to assist candidates through all the stages of the Project, from selection of a text through research skills to the skills required for annotating the TLT and evaluating the final translation. You will also attend a series of lectures on text analysis/linguistics which are designed to provide the theoretical underpinning for the Preface (also known as the Introduction) and Annotations.
Assessment
Assessment will be on the basis of a translated text of some 6,000-8,000 words plus a detailed Preface, a series of Annotations and a Bibliography. Please refer to the Guidelines for Assessment included in this pack. Thirty-five per cent of the marks for the Project will be awarded for the translation itself, 35% for the Preface and Annotations, and 30% for the mini-project. To pass the Project module, you must achieve an overall mark of at least 50%. You must also gain a mark of at least 50% in the translation component and the Preface/Annotations component separately. Candidates achieving and overall mark between 40% and 49% for the module will be referred, i.e. allowed to resubmit the relevant component after further work has been done, while candidates with an overall mark below 40% for the module will be required to retake the module.
MA PROJECT
CHOOSING A TEXT
The source text that you choose as the basis of your project should:
be 6,000 to 8,000 words long;
have been published fairly recently;
not have been translated before;
have been written for a specialist readership;
be challenging;
have some merit.
Libraries
University of Westminster libraries: Little Titchfield Street, New Cavendish Street,
Marylebone Road, Harrow
Other university libraries
Public libraries
British Library
French Institute
Cervantes Institute
Centre Pompidou, Paris
Other national cultural institutes
MA PROJECT
PREPARATION FOR THE PROJECT
Although a number of sessions will be organised to help you with the project, and your supervisor will help with the selection of the final text, you will need to think rapidly about the type of text you want to translate for your Project. Start thinking now about the subjects and types of text in which you are interested, and do as much reading around the subjects as possible. Talk to your course tutors and potential supervisors about the possibilities that your preferred topics offer and try to discover likely sources of relevant material. Make use of all the University’s libraries, not just the one at Little Titchfield Street, and think about using other specialist libraries in London. Remember that you will have to work on this topic for a lengthy period; you should therefore be sure that both the topic and the text itself can sustain your interest.
The taught part of the MA Project module runs concurrently with the teaching, and so you should plan carefully to allow enough time for both your regular coursework and the Project research and preparation. Remember, too, that the examinations in the second semester will take out a chunk of time and that your supervisor will be on leave at some point over the summer vacation.
Finally, remember that the Project is significantly different from the work you will be doing as part of your taught course. You should be taking a systematic and reflective approach to a major piece of translation and approaching it as an in-depth analysis of the transfer of a specific example of specialised source language into the target language. The Preface and Annotations contribute 35% of your final mark for the Project and so are vital parts of the Project. You should, therefore, already be thinking about the kinds of questions you will be tackling while searching for your source text:
As you search for a source text, consider the possible translation issues that could arise and the way you might deal with them in your Annotations. In making your choice, you should take into account both your translation abilities in a particular field (empathy with this area, previous experience, extensive reading or study) and the kind of interesting material it might offer for the Annotations.
Try to strike a balance in your choice between ease and difficulty. If the Project is to be a satisfying learning experience, you will need to be challenged but you should also, on the other hand, avoid the temptation to be over-ambitious. Choose according to your abilities, interests and what the text has to offer, in terms of both translation and language analysis.
The Annotations are more than just a collection of notes. You should use them to highlight and justify the stylistic and other linguistic choices you make in your TLT. You will also be required to analyse the language used and identify points of interest and any interesting major issues facing the translator. Here, you should use relevant input from your MA Project linguistics lectures.
You will need to be able to use basic linguistic terminology; your MA Project tutors will give you any guidance you may need for additional reading.
Bell (1994) describes ‘translator competence’ as “What [it is] that translators need to know and be able to do”, while de Saussure (1916) commented “Any old fool can learn a language... but it takes an intelligent person to become a translator”. What follows is a simplified assessment of some issues translators need to address in order to provide themselves with a viable framework for the MA Project.
When a text is chosen for translation, the translator needs to study it carefully and construct a framework or context within which the language used can be analysed. He/she then needs to locate an equivalent context in which to place the TLT, so as to produce (as accurately as possible) the same relationship between TL writer and reader as exists between SL writer and reader.
An acceptable and accurate translation is one that adheres to the principles of semantic and stylistic ‘equivalence’. This is important in terms of word and sentence meaning (propositional content, lexical relations and factual accuracy), style (the way in which the text is written) and register (the generally-accepted variation of language used for this type of discourse).
The translator needs to put him- or herself in the position of both writer and reader, in order to ensure that the TLT reflects both the intentions of the SL writer and the needs of the TL reader.
To do this, you will need to consider the following questions, among others:
SLT author
Who (exactly) is writing the SLT?
What are they writing it for?
Could it have been written differently? If so, why has it been written in this way and not in another?
How does the language reflect the technical or institutional background, aims, attitudes and mood of the writer?
What effect is the SLT writer trying to create on the reader? Will this effect be altered in any way if transferred to a different language?
SLT reader
Who (exactly) is the SLT reader?
Why are they reading this text?
How can you correctly identify the SLT readership?
Can you identify an equivalent TL readership? How will you choose this, if there is more than one possible readership - what are the criteria for choosing?
Context
What type of text is the SLT - conference paper, book, article in a specialised journal, internal report, instruction manual, or perhaps a mixture?
Can this context be closely reproduced in the TL? If not, what can the translator do? #p#分页标题#e#
And what are the pitfalls of ‘context-free’ versus ‘context-sensitive’ translation?
How does this fit linguistically into the framework for writing in the chosen subject area?
Are there ‘accepted rules’ for how texts should be written in the SL and TL? How can these be identified?
Are these rules obeyed in the SLT? If not, how can this be reflected in the TLT?
How does the translator ensure equivalence of context, content, aims, attitudes, mood and effect in the TLT?
Loss and gain
Sometimes, if there are cultural differences, ambiguities or no clearly equivalent context, or if parts of the SLT are idiosyncratically or badly written, then there may be considerable difficulty in rendering the SLT accurately in the TL, resulting in so-called ‘loss’ or ‘gain’ in the translation.
What precisely has been lost?
Can anything be gained?
If there is loss or gain to ‘improve’ the translation, is the translator justified in doing this?
What is the impact of this on the TL reader - is the TLT closer to the impact of the SLT on the SL reader or not?
Translator’s identification with the readership
Does the translator know enough about the subject area, the writer’s style and the accepted SL and TL registers to take the necessary decisions about lexis, syntax, style and register?
Are there apparent ambiguities in the text, identified by the translator, that would not exist for the appropriate TL readership?
Is there a danger of over- or under-translation, e.g. because of (over-) identification with a particular political or religious viewpoint?
You may find it useful to explore the following areas of linguistics: pragmatics; discourse theory; and textuality (cohesion, coherence, intentionality, acceptability, informativity, relevance and inter-textuality).
MA PROJECT
INITIAL PROJECT PROPOSAL
This form should be handed to Stella Cragie (for TST/TAL/TI) or Aline Cook (for BLT) for allocation of a supervisor.
YOUR NAME:
YOUR MOTHER TONGUE:
YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS:
PROPOSED TRANSLATION SUBJECT/TEXT-TYPE:
RECEIVED ON:
MA PROJECT
SUPERVISION GUIDELINES (STUDENTS)
1. You should expect to attend the MA Project lectures organised to give general guidance on preparing for the Project, text selection, and the Preface/Annotations. You should also expect to attend a series of lectures on text analysis/linguistics designed to provide the theoretical underpinning for the Project.
2. You will also be allocated a supervisor with knowledge of the academic area covered in your Project who will have one-to-one sessions with you. It is your responsibility to make appointments at regular intervals and to ensure that you take advantage of the supervision available; your supervisor will not chase you up. You can expect the following in these sessions:
a) you will be required to define for your supervisor's approval, in the Project Contract document and by the deadline given, the objectives and scope of your translation, your methodology or approach, and your proposed reading or other sources of information;
b) your supervisor will arrange sessions with you at mutually convenient times, to be fixed at the previous meeting. You should notify your supervisor in good time if you are prevented from attending and you may expect your supervisor similarly to notify you, provided you have given contact details. Make sure you know when your supervisor will not be available (e.g. vacation periods). You can expect about four hours of supervision in total, typically in 60-minute sessions, although this may vary slightly from case to case;
c) your supervisor will give you guidance on reading and general terminology or annotation issues. Do not expect your supervisor to solve the problems you encounter in your work or correct mistakes in the translation; this is your responsibility as the Project remains your work at all times, aside from properly-acknowledged expert input;
d) your supervisor will, therefore, read and comment on sections of your Project totalling about one quarter of the text plus the Preface and a selection of the Annotations, provided that this material is given to him/her in advance. The supervisor will not, however, comment on the final draft, nor will he/she give you assurances that the work will pass.
3. You must at all times remember that plagiarism is an offence under University regulations, and that all references or material that is not your own must be properly acknowledged. If in doubt, ask your supervisor for guidance.
4. It is your responsibility to meet the deadline for submission of your Project. If there are mitigating circumstances preventing you from doing so, these must be notified on the form available from the Postgraduate Office and supported by relevant independent evidence, e.g. doctor's letter, police statement etc. Supervisors have no authority to grant extensions.
5. Your Project will be assessed by your supervisor and one other internal examiner, and may also be moderated by an external examiner. In rare cases, you may be required to attend a viva.
6. If your Project is referred, you can expect to receive a summary of its strengths and weaknesses, but you may also consult your supervisor. The original is not returnable.
MA PROJECT
GUIDELINES FOR PREFACE AND ANNOTATIONS
What is expected in the Preface? And what are Annotations?
The Preface to your TLT is the part of your work in which you situate the work you have done: your reasons for choosing the SLT; your approach (both pragmatic and theoretical) to tackling the translation, bearing in mind the TL readership you have identified; the major issues posed by transferring this text-type into another language and culture; and your assessment of how successful you have been. The Annotations are a series of notes accompanying your TLT that highlight how you have actually dealt with the major issues highlighted in the Preface. There will be workshop sessions on Annotation technique, but this sheet gives an outline of what is expected. TST students should write the Preface and Annotations in English; BLT students may write in either English or their target language.
How long should the Preface [No fewer than 2000 words; see other documents to make sure]be? And how many Annotations should I produce?
There is no lower or upper limit on the number of words in the Preface or on the number of Annotations. The Preface should, however, set out in some detail the main issues posed by the translation task, and it is unlikely that you can do this adequately in fewer than 2000 words. Similarly, the number of Annotations will vary from text to text, but experience shows that a band of 30-100 [See other documents to make sure]will apply to most texts.
Issues that could form the basis for Annotations
Major discrepancies between the SL and TL readerships, e.g. with regard to cultural knowledge or assumptions, level of specialised knowledge, function of the text and so on, requiring translator intervention in the form of amplification, footnoting, glossing and so on.
Differences between SL and TL conventions for the layout of a text of this type.
Discourse conventions for a text of this type in SL and TL.
Differences in the SL and TL syntax and related issues in a text of this type, e.g. word order, sentence length, etc.
Specialised terminology in SL and TL.
Proverbs, puns, word-play, humour, idioms and other non-standard usages.
Ambiguity in the SLT.
Your TLT should be marked by means of numbers in the margin or above the relevant word/phrase which will refer the reader to a separately-bound and identically-numbered list of the Annotations, which should contain details not only of the issue identified but also of why it is an issue, how you have tackled it (integrating theoretical approaches, where appropriate) and why you have chosen this solution. Remember, however, that these notes do not replace a coherent and adequate TLT and that your translation must stand alone as a piece of TL writing. If the same issue occurs in more than one place in your TLT, you may refer back to previous Annotations for general discussion of the issue concerned but your Annotation should make clear why this particular term or construction is being discussed at this point in the text.
MA PROJECT
USE OF COMPUTERS
Some basics
You will not be able to succeed as a commercial translator nowadays without access to a computer and the ability to use at least one word-processing package to produce and print out work, so the Project is a good opportunity to acquire or improve these skills. This will include formatting, e.g. margins, pagination, spacing, footnotes, line numbering and so on. The computer is an indispensable, time-saving tool for the translator but learning to use it efficiently can take time.
You should get into the habit of keeping a back-up of everything you produce in case of problems with your Project, but also, later on, in case of difficulties such as a job getting lost, a dispute about accuracy or word count and so on. Back-ups will also enable you to save time if you regularly get jobs with special layout or a specific format changes very little from one job to the next.#p#分页标题#e#
The Project
The Project will involve producing a TLT, a Preface and Annotations and a Bibliography. These will involve different uses of the computer. For example, the TLT, Preface and Annotations will need to be page-numbered and the SLT, TLT and Annotations will have to be line-numbered; the Bibliography will need to be set out in alphabetical order and in the format indicated in the Instructions for Presentation and Submission; your SLT may contain figures, charts or tables that need reproducing in your TLT using graphics applications; you may need to include footnotes in your TLT; you may need to use a ‘search and replace’ facility as you change your mind about terminology; and the whole Project will need to be correctly line-spaced, spell-checked and edited.
Planning ahead
Don’t trust to luck or leave things to the last minute: like all machines, computers and printers can break down without warning, and making changes to your work almost always takes longer than you think it will. Work as much as possible ahead of the deadline; print out regularly, so that you can check layout; start the Bibliography now and add references as you go along; keep back-up copies of your drafts; and identify contingency plans in case the printer breaks down shortly before your deadline or you cannot get access to a University computer (remember other students will be working to the same deadline!). You should also build in time fully to proof-read a hard copy of the final version of all components of your Project; do not rely solely on the spell-checking facility as it is not designed to replace human attention! A visual check will also reveal any inconsistencies in layout or presentation, on which your Project will also be assessed (see Guidelines for Assessment).
MA PROJECT
INSTRUCTIONS FOR PRESENTATION AND SUBMISSION
1. Presentation
Length
The MA Project will comprise the translation of a source-language text of 6,000-8,000 words in length, a detailed Preface and translation Annotations, plus a Bibliography. The TLT, Preface and Annotations together should not exceed 15,000 words. Assessment for the module will also include a mini-project. Further information about this will be given to you during the linguistics lectures that make up part of this module.
Text style and page format
The MA Project must be word-processed using 1.5 or double spacing on A4 (297mm x 210mm) size white paper and on one side of the paper only. Adequate margins (at least 25 mm) must be left at both sides of the page. The Project must be properly paginated.
Short quotations should be incorporated into the text and contained within double inverted commas. Quotations of more than a few words must be indented and presented in single spacing. Footnotes must also be presented in single spacing.
Binding
The MA Project must be comb-bound. (This can be done in most large copy shops.) The source text, the target text, and the Preface, Annotations and Bibliography should be bound separately, i.e. three volumes.
2. General layout
The MA Project must be laid out as follows:
Title page of each volume
This must contain: the title of the MA Project; the candidate’s full name and registration number; the name of the award for which the Project is being submitted (expressed as “Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of ....); and the month and year of submission. The volumes should be numbered 1 (source-language text), 2 (target-language text) and 3 (Preface, Annotations and Bibliography).
Acknowledgements
If appropriate, you will need to include a simple statement of thanks to the people or organisations who have helped you carry out your work. It is common practice to thank your supervisor at this point. The Acknowledgements should precede the Preface.
Bibliography
This should follow the Annotations and should comprise a full reference list of all consulted and quoted publications and other sources (including Internet websites). It is helpful to subdivide this into: linguistics or translation reference works; dictionaries and glossaries; and other sources. Each list must be organised alphabetically by author. Two or more references to one author must be listed in chronological order of publication. Two or more references to one author within the same year of publication must be given alphabetical suffixes following the date, e.g. 1994a, 1994b, etc. Each entry must include: author(s)/editor(s), year of publication, title (with edition number where relevant), publisher and place of publication as set out below:
For a book: Newmark, P (1988), Approaches to Translation. Prentice Hall: Cambridge
For a dictionary: Collins Robert (eds.), Collins Robert French Dictionary (5th edition). Dictionnaires Le Robert/Harper Collins: Paris/Glasgow
For a journal article: Fraser, J E (1993), ‘Public accounts: using verbal protocols to investigate community translation’ in Applied Linguistics vol. 14 no. 4, pp. 325-343
Give full URLs for any websites listed, and note that book and journal titles should be italicised or underlined. The titles of journal articles or chapters in collected editions must be given in single quotes.
Textual references
All references given in the body of the text or in the footnotes should be made in abbreviated form, e.g. Newmark (1988). These are then traced back by the reader in the Bibliography. If you quote directly, include the page number(s), e.g. Newmark (1988:37).
Footnotes
Footnotes must be included on a page-by-page basis; all main word-processing packages include this facility.
3. Submission
You are required to submit two identical copies of your MA Project, keeping a third identical copy for yourself. Copies are to be submitted by the third Tuesday in October of the academic year in which you complete your taught programme. Projects should be submitted to the Postgraduate Office via the coursework bin at Wells Street. Projects arriving by post must be sent by recorded delivery.
Any problems in complying with the above submission requirements must be notified in writing to the Supervisor and the Module Leader at the earliest opportunity. Please note, however, that neither your Supervisor nor the Module Leader can grant extensions; these can be granted only by the Mitigating Circumstances Board, and only in serious cases involving illness or other major obstacle to completion of the Project. In such cases, a Mitigating Circumstances form must be completed and submitted to the School Office, accompanied by the appropriate independent evidence (such as a doctor’s letter, police statement, or death certificate for a close relative). If your application for mitigating circumstances is accepted, the Board may agree to give an extension or to defer submission of your Project for a further academic year, but it should be stressed that such cases are exceptional.
MA PROJECT
PROJECT CONTRACT
The following Contract should be completed and retained by your supervisor.
YOUR NAME
TITLE OF TRANSLATION TEXT
TRANSLATION ISSUES YOU WISH TO RAISE IN THE PREFACE
PROPOSED METHOD OF DEALING WITH THESE TRANSLATION ISSUES. Please specify here how you intend to account for such aspects as text-type and text-function, readership, cultural differences and specialised terminology.
TIMESCALE. Please indicate here when you plan to have completed specific sections of the Project, including research, various drafts, Preface and Annotations, and production of the final Project
BIBLIOGRAPHY. On a separate sheet, please give full details of six books/articles you have identified as relevant to your Project.
SIGNATURES. Both supervisor and student should sign this form, which will then be retained by the supervisor.
MA PROJECT
GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSMENT
General comments
Thirty-five per cent of the mark is based on the translation, 35% on the Preface and Annotations, and 30% on the two in-course assignments (known as the mini-project); candidates are required to pass the translation component and the Preface/Annotations component separately and achieve an overall mark of at least 50% to pass the module. Feedback will be given on the appropriate form, which is available to students after publication of results. The original Project is not returnable. The unmarked copy of distinction Projects may be placed in the library for consultation by future students. All Projects must comply with the formal requirements set out in the Instructions for Presentation and Submission and this will be taken into consideration alongside the criteria set out below.
Distinction (70% +)
The source-language text (SLT) will be linguistically and translationally challenging and an appropriate model target-language text (TLT) will have been clearly identified. At the higher levels of this band, the translation will be 100% accurate in all respects - content, register, style and so on - and the TLT will be fluent and adequate for its putative readership. The accompanying Preface will be well-structured and show that the candidate has a clear perception of the nature of the translation task, while the Annotations will identify all the translation issues posed by the SLT as well as demonstrating the candidate’s full and confident integration of appropriate linguistic theory in his or her handling of these issues. At the lower levels of this band, very minor flaws in terminology, syntax or layout may be present, but these will be of the kind a junior translator could be expected to make and will be very easily remediable. One serious error, in either comprehension or encoding of the TLT, such as to severely distort the transfer of the message, will render the translation unacceptable at a professional level, consequently a distinction cannot be awarded in these cases, even if the translation as a whole is of a high standard#p#分页标题#e#
Merit (60% - 69%)
The translation will be fluent and in an appropriate TL style, though with occasional minor translation errors or literal or awkward renderings. At the higher levels of this band, presentation, spelling, punctuation and TL grammar will be accurate, and the candidate will show evidence of being aware of the needs of the TL reader. The Preface will demonstrate a sound understanding of the translation task, but the appropriate theoretical framework will not always be fully integrated into the discussion of translation issues. Discussion of these issues in the Preface and Annotations will, however, be thorough, with all major and most minor issues covered. At the lower levels of this band, there may be some flaws in spelling, punctuation or presentation and/or some evidence of a lack of distinction between minor and major issues for Annotation.
Pass (50% - 59%)
At the higher levels of this band, the translation will be a broadly accurate rendering of the SLT but will contain a number of awkward or inappropriate translations and/or will tend to favour SL rather than TL syntax in places. There may be inconsistency in the translation of individual terms or lexical sets, in register and style, or only patchy coherence/cohesion, and it may not be entirely clear at whom the TLT is aimed. TL spelling, punctuation, grammar and layout may contain a number of errors. The Preface will highlight some, but not all, of the major translation issues and the Annotations will demonstrate some lack of confidence in illustrating them and in using linguistic theory as a framework for discussion.
At the lower levels of this band, the translation will contain inaccuracies and distortions of the SLT that do not, however, impede communication of the message; it is likely to rely heavily on SL syntax and, for example, leave cultural references unamplified for a TLT readership or to lack a clearly-defined TLT audience. It will be only adequately presented in terms of layout, spelling, grammar and punctuation. The Preface and Annotations will focus only on the most obvious translation issues, with some gaps in
the translator’s understanding of the needs of the TL readership, and the candidate will demonstrate a lack of confidence in using linguistic theory.
Fail (49% and below)
A Project at this level will demonstrate the candidate’s inability to benefit from supervision and will contain serious inaccuracies and major distortions of the SLT. The TLT style and register will be inappropriate or consistent, there will be errors of grammar and/or syntax, and the TLT will be poorly presented, spelled and punctuated. The Preface and Annotations will show a complete lack of awareness of translation issues and are likely to focus largely or exclusively on individual lexical difficulties. There will be no analysis of the SLT and no account of the adaptation process. References to linguistic theory will be unintegrated or absent altogether.
The mark given will indicate how much work a candidate is expected to have to do to retrieve the failure: a mark between 45% and 49% indicates relatively superficial shortcomings, while a mark under 45% indicates serious problems. Please note that candidates with an overall mark between 40% and 49% for the module will be referred (i.e. allowed to resubmit the same Project after improvement) while those with under 40% will be required to retake the module (i.e. attend the taught component again and submit an entirely new Project).
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