Translation Theory Class

Korean & Spanish Translation Skills students will be having joined sessions every Thursday. Some of the sessions will be run by Luciano other by Rosa, with Luciano's invaluable input!

• Today we would like you to look at the NAATI website (permanent link on the right sidebar). Explore some of its links to become familiar with it, which you may have done already, and complete the activity sheet your teacher will hand out.
  
• Have look at the NAATI Translator Test and start thinking of questions for Luciano's presentation on it at a later stage.
• Go to Luciano's SCE wiki (sidebar link) and explore it. Then have a look at the first post of this blog and try to answer the question about the picture in it.
• Check the T&I link in Luciano's wiki. Have a look at the resources already there.
• Visit our forum and write your answer to our first topic.
• Visit our new wiki, bridginggap, and ask me to invite you to join it. There is already some work for you to do.
• Write any suggestions for the forum or this blog in comments below

Text Types

Knowing how texts work in English is a useful skill for translators and interpreters doing sight translations. If you want to explore the differences between the most common text types (genres) in written English, visit the module Text Evaluation and genre Writing, prepared by the Department of Education NSW.

Oral Presentations

Soon you have to give an oral presentation in class. You can practice at home by visiting this Department of Education NSW materials: Deliver a Formal Presentation. It has many useful hits, video clips, listening excersices and more. You can print all the worksheets, and you can download the media files.

Topics Needs Analysis 2010

Koreans in Australia

"Lost In Translation" by tochis

Many of you have come from Korea to study Interpreting and Translating at Petersham College. It will be useful for you to get an idea of the history of Korean migration in Australia.

Check this text, Migrant experiences in Australia: sample reading in Korean and its English translation.

Another very interesting text, this time in English only, is Health and Medicine under Capitalism. Read it for information and practise translating some of it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/43217080@N00/3081093838

Translating from Spanish

Translators in Australia are often asked to translate informative brochures for government bodies and/or community institutions. The majority will be translations from English into Spanish. Nevertheless, you will also be required to translate documents from Spanish into English.

You can practise by searching the Internet, especially visiting governmental websites that have already been translated into community languages. For example:

• El Inicio de una nueva vida en Australia, Department of Immigration and Citizenship
• Hispanohablantes en Australia, Centro Virtual Cervantes (CVC)

Keeping in Contact with colleagues

There are many ways of keeping up with your profession. One of them is by using Internet social networks. there are many and it is a very personal choice which ones to use of using any at all.

I find twitter is a great way of sharing information with colleagues. You can follow professionals who twitters and check the links they post regularly. A wide variety of issues are dealt with: questions on terminology, reviews of new CAT programs, conference announcements, cultural discussions, etc.

I have found many interesting articles from the twitterers I follow. For example, Translation_, Spanish translating in the USA, posted links on these issues:

• Tips for Interpreters


• Uso Correcto del español


• Translation vs. transcreation
  

Bridging the gap

Bridging the Gap will provide students of Interpreting and Translating with information, links to relevant materials, and extra practice to improve their interpreting and translating skills.

You can also find original podcasts (Let's Talk) with interviews relevant to I&T that will allow you subscribe through itunes in order to practice anywhere you are from your ipod.

Keep an eye on us and enjoy the journey!

You can start working by doing the following:

• Click on the picture above
• Check the words for meaning
• Try to memorise as many as you can (you can do this by remembering their position on the picture, writing and grouping them by thematic subgroups, etc)
• Write as many as you can without looking at the picture
  
• Write a paragraph or two inspired by these words. What are these words about?
• This one is a challenge but will help you familiarise yourselves with this blog's navigation: Where is the text these words come from? Who wrote it? Did you write a good summary of it? Revise your paragraphs and correct any errors of content, grammar, etc.
• Finally, translate the paragraph into your target language (TL)

Indecipherably rude
Listen to this very informative Lingua Franca episode, Indecipherably rude, on cultural semantics. It deals with cultural mismatches produced when apparently similar words or expressions have very different meanings in different languages.

You can listen to the program online, subscribe to it through itunes, download it and also read the script.