CONSECUTIVE INTERPRETATION FROM ENGLISH INTO CHINESE

The course falls within the basic curriculum of the MA degree in Interpreting and Translation for Editorial and Specialised Purposes, and aims to provide students with sound skills in English-Chinese and Chinese-English consecutive interpreting in a variety of specialised fields.
The course aims to: develop the knowledge of the criteria and principles of consecutive interpreting, as well as of interpretation theories and their practical application; build a technical lexicon in Chinese and English with reference to various specialised fields; develop memorization and note-taking techniques and communication skills.

By attending and taking part in the activities of the course, the students will be able to achieve the following results:
1. Knowledge and understanding
1.1. Knowing the basic vocabulary of a variety of specialised fields in English and Chinese (and the processes that such lexicon describes) and the syntactic structures of Chinese and English, as well as understanding the oral texts that use them
1.2 Knowing the cultural norms that govern the practice of Chinese-English and English-Chinese consecutive interpreting and the importance of intercultural communication
2. Applying knowledge and understanding
2.1 Being able to correctly use the specialised vocabulary and syntactic structures of Chinese and English employed in a variety of specialised fields in all the processes that require the application and communication of the knowledge acquired
2.2 Being able to apply intercultural competence to the practice of Chinese-English and English-Chinese consecutive interpreting
3. Making judgements
3.1 Being able to formulate and justify hypotheses in the Chinese and English delivery, developing a critical approach to the assessment of alternative hypotheses
4. Communication skills
4.1 Being able to conduct a Chinese-English and English-Chinese consecutive interpreting using the appropriate vocabulary and linguistic structures
5. Learning skills
5.1 Being able to critically use specialised Chinese-English and English-Chinese glossaries and independently expanding them according to specific needs

Knowledge of the Chinese language (vocabulary and syntactic structures) achieved thanks to the language courses attended in the first year of the MA degree programme in Interpreting and Translation for Editorial and Specialised Purposes, especially the course in Chinese-Italian Consecutive Interpreting 1. A sound knowledge of the basic principles of consecutive interpreting and note-taking is required.

During the main course we will continue to explore the basic principles of translation and interpretation, the challenges and problems involved in rendering both written texts and oral statements from Chinese into English without losing the basic ideas, intent and stylistic level, and linguistic register. Illustrations and discussion of a variety of short modern texts in the fields of political/social science, economics, literature, and journalism. Possible careers in translation and interpretation will be also discussed.
The language practice course will focus on the preparation of a multilingual show, whose aim is to strengthen the interpreter's basic skills (not limited to language proficiency, but also including public speaking skills, individual and teamwork organizational skills etc.).

Due to the nature of the course, most of the material will be derived from topical sources such as the press, electronic media, and government publications, in both English and Chinese. Pre-recorded audio and video of speeches, dialogue, interviews, TV shows, etc. as well as live presentations, may also be used. Further recommended readings will be indicated in due time.

The exam for the main course consists in the Chinese-English and English-Chinese consecutive interpreting of a short (ca. 2 minutes) text falling into the text types discussed during the main course and focusing on one of the topics addressed in the classroom. The exam for the language practice course is based on the multilingual show or on an English-language paper, focusing on a topic to be agreed upon with the teacher. For assessment purposes, the ratio between the main course and the language practice course is 50:50, with each part being allocated 15/30 points.

[REMOTE EXAM]

Following health emergency measures, some changes have been made to the exam mode previously indicated in the syllabus.

The final exam of the main course will be held remotely on either Google Meet or ZOOM. The final exam of the language practice course remains unchanged.

The final exam of the main course will be the Chinese-English and English-Chinese rendition of a number of short oral texts, either spoken by the instructor (on Google Meet) or played as audio files by using the “share audio” feature (on ZOOM).

Additional practical information will be provided shortly.

The course is taught through stand-up lectures and simulated consecutive interpreting sessions, and also involves a language practice course.

English

Due to the nature and focus of the course, English and Chinese will be largely used as working languages besides Italian.

oral

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Climate change and energy" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development