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Chapter 11. Do translators need a different knowledge of their target language?

Extrapolations from an empirical study of linguistic interference in English translations by native Spanish speakers
  • Kim Schulte
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Instrumentalising Foreign Language Pedagogy in Translator and Interpreter Training
This chapter is in the book Instrumentalising Foreign Language Pedagogy in Translator and Interpreter Training

Abstract

This chapter aims to identify areas in which students of translation can benefit from specific language teaching geared towards their needs as future translators who will normally be expected to translate from as well as into their second language. Drawing on data from translations by several hundred students at a Spanish university, it is shown that general English teaching as it is currently conceived is not sufficient to prepare these students for the job, mainly because they require specific knowledge and contrastive awareness to be able to produce linguistically, stylistically and formally correct translations of the written texts they will be confronted with as professional translators. The data allows us to distinguish several types of frequent mistakes caused by linguistic interference, providing insights into the specific language teaching needs of translation students and setting a starting point for establishing a cross-linguistically valid inventory of the most common types of interference-based errors in translation.

Abstract

This chapter aims to identify areas in which students of translation can benefit from specific language teaching geared towards their needs as future translators who will normally be expected to translate from as well as into their second language. Drawing on data from translations by several hundred students at a Spanish university, it is shown that general English teaching as it is currently conceived is not sufficient to prepare these students for the job, mainly because they require specific knowledge and contrastive awareness to be able to produce linguistically, stylistically and formally correct translations of the written texts they will be confronted with as professional translators. The data allows us to distinguish several types of frequent mistakes caused by linguistic interference, providing insights into the specific language teaching needs of translation students and setting a starting point for establishing a cross-linguistically valid inventory of the most common types of interference-based errors in translation.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. List of abbreviations viii
  4. Introduction 1
  5. Part I. Theory-oriented approaches
  6. Chapter 1. Basic translation competence 12
  7. Chapter 2. Advantages of cognitive linguistics in the teaching and learning of foreign languages in TI programmes 23
  8. Chapter 3. Foreign language teaching in translator and interpreter training 40
  9. Part II. Practice-oriented approaches
  10. Chapter 4. Free voluntary reading as a language and knowledge enhancement tool and its impact on interpreting students’ self-perceived B language fluency 54
  11. Chapter 5. Listening comprehension in translation and interpreting programs 76
  12. Chapter 6. Combining subtitle creation and subtitle alignment in foreign language teaching 97
  13. Chapter 7. Redefining English language teaching in translator training through corpus-based tasks 112
  14. Chapter 8. The scaffolded language emergence approach in translation programs 138
  15. Chapter 9. Teaching contrastive legal grammar for translators 156
  16. Chapter 10. Task-based L2 skill development for TI trainees 177
  17. Chapter 11. Do translators need a different knowledge of their target language? 196
  18. Chapter 12. Foreign language acquisition writing exercises fostering translation trainees’ language and translation competence 215
  19. Chapter 13. Using action-oriented methods in foreign language classes to enhance translation competence 240
  20. Chapter 14. Developing translation sub-competences by implementing Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) 263
  21. Index 287
https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.161.11sch

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. List of abbreviations viii
  4. Introduction 1
  5. Part I. Theory-oriented approaches
  6. Chapter 1. Basic translation competence 12
  7. Chapter 2. Advantages of cognitive linguistics in the teaching and learning of foreign languages in TI programmes 23
  8. Chapter 3. Foreign language teaching in translator and interpreter training 40
  9. Part II. Practice-oriented approaches
  10. Chapter 4. Free voluntary reading as a language and knowledge enhancement tool and its impact on interpreting students’ self-perceived B language fluency 54
  11. Chapter 5. Listening comprehension in translation and interpreting programs 76
  12. Chapter 6. Combining subtitle creation and subtitle alignment in foreign language teaching 97
  13. Chapter 7. Redefining English language teaching in translator training through corpus-based tasks 112
  14. Chapter 8. The scaffolded language emergence approach in translation programs 138
  15. Chapter 9. Teaching contrastive legal grammar for translators 156
  16. Chapter 10. Task-based L2 skill development for TI trainees 177
  17. Chapter 11. Do translators need a different knowledge of their target language? 196
  18. Chapter 12. Foreign language acquisition writing exercises fostering translation trainees’ language and translation competence 215
  19. Chapter 13. Using action-oriented methods in foreign language classes to enhance translation competence 240
  20. Chapter 14. Developing translation sub-competences by implementing Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) 263
  21. Index 287
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