CHINESE-ENGLISH TRANSLATION

This course provides students with:

• An introduction of professional practice of translation for Chinese-English language pair;
• Practical experience of translation in both directions (from English to Chinese, and from Chinese to English);
• Guidance in building research skills and preparation techniques.

Students will be able to have:

• Knowledge of common translation strategies for Chinese-English translation;
• Knowledge and ability of independent and reflective learning;
• Skills to complete Chinese-English translation tasks in a professional manner;
• Skills to translate some specialized subject areas in both directions.

Students should have intermediate skills of reading and writing in both Chinese and English.

This course is divided into several blocks of subject areas of Chinese-English translation. The details are as follows.

Class No. Theoretical knowledge Practice topic
Class 1 Fundamental knowledge of translation strategies and self-practice; Business (E-C)
Class 2 Fundamental knowledge of translation strategies and self-practice; Business (C-E)
Class 3 Business: sales letter Business (E-C)
Class 4 Business: sales letter Business (C-E)
Class 5 Business: product notifications Business (E-C)
Class 6 Business: product notifications Business (C-E)
Class 7 Business: product copies Business (E-C)
Class 8 Business: product copies Business (C-E)
Class 9 Tourism Translation Tourism (E-C)
Class 10 Tourism Translation Tourism (C-E)
Class 11 Tourism: signs Tourism (E-C)
Class 12 Tourism: signs Tourism (C-E)
Class 13 Tourism: Intro of tourist attractions Tourism (E-C)
Class 14 Tourism: Intro of tourist attractions Tourism (C-E)
Class 15 Tourism: Intro of tourist attractions Tourism (E-C)
Class 16 Tourism: Intro of tourist attractions Tourism (C-E)

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. 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.

Written examination (2 hours) is given to assess key skills introduced to and practiced by students in both directions (from English to Chinese, and from Chinese to English).

The teaching methods include:
• Teaching: Basic concepts, skills and practices in Chinese-English translation are introduced at the beginning of each class.
• Practice under time pressure in class: relevant translation exercise (small piece usually) with a reasonable turnaround time is given to students. Students are encouraged to comment on and review their own and peer’s works in class.
• Homework and feedback: Homework is assigned after each class. Feedback on homework is given by the teacher in the next consecutive class.

English

written