LITERARY TRANSLATION AND TRANSLATION FOR PUBLISHING (ENGLISH)

The teaching of Literary Translation and Translation for Publishing (English) belongs to the activities defined as “affini/integrative” of the first year of this Postgraduate Degree.

The aim of the course is to provide students with the tools for an extensive analysis of a literary text in English in order to be able to propose an adequate translation into Italian.

The course consists of a semester-long module of 30 hours; the theoretical-methodological part will be delivered in a classroom-lecture mode, while the practical part will consist of translation workshops held in class, followed by discussions and debates on the activities carried out.

The texts to work on will be made available via Moodle platform; independent research and study, as well as subsequent classroom discussion and debate, will be strongly encouraged.

General objectives of the course are:

1) to provide an overview of different types of text, communicative and translation strategies, rhetorical and stylistic artifices
2) to sharpen awareness and skills in the field of translation, integrating theoretical knowledge with an improved ability to analyse and translate texts.

At the end of the course, students will be able to thoroughly analyse a literary text by focusing on its style, target audience, the historical-cultural context in which it is set, the rhetorical figures used and the literary references it contains and to propose an effective translation into Italian.

The course is intended for students whose mother tongue is Italian (or whose knowledge of Italian is at mother tongue level) and who have a good/advanced knowledge of English (C1/C2).
Autonomy in research, curiosity and interest in the world and a keen interest in literature will help students to achieve the course objectives.

The course will introduce students to a wide range of literary works, different from each other in type and target audience; the excerpts used will be taken from novels, short stories, graphic novels, illustrated books, essays, poems.

Particular attention will be given to the analysis of rhetorical figures, idiomatic expressions, puns and calembours, ciphers, literary references and cross-references in the text, in order to produce an adequate and effective translation into Italian.

Different translations of the same text will also be compared diachronically, considering not only linguistic and stylistic aspects, but also analysing translation choices in the light of the historical, cultural and social context. Different translation strategies (transposition, adaptation, compensation) will be presented and students will be encouraged to apply them through practical exercises.

Notes from the course

Eco U. (2003) Dire quasi la stessa cosa, Milano: Bompiani
Faini P. (2008) Tradurre. Manuale teorico e pratico, Roma: Carocci
Bricchi M. (2018) La lingua è un’orchestra. Piccola grammatica italiana per traduttori (e scriventi), Milano: Il Saggiatore

Other readings will be recommended during the course for further study of the topics covered

The examination will consist of both a written and an oral part:
The written part consists of the translation of a 4000 character-long text (including spaces), chosen from the texts analysed during the course (or similar texts).
The translated text will have to be sent to the professor within a set date that will be communicated before the end of the lessons; the translation will be then discussed during the exam.

Lectures for the theoretical-methodological part; workshops and exercises for the practical part.
Active participation in lessons, especially during discussions and workshop activities, is strongly encouraged.

Italian

written and oral