University of Liege | Version française
Study programmes 2013-2014Last update : 13/05/2014
TRAD0054-1  Spanish - general translation into French including elements of sight translation

Duration :  60h Th
Number of credits :  
Bachelor in Translation and Interpreting, 3rd year6
Lecturer :  Yves Counasse
Language(s) of instruction :  
French language
Organisation and examination :  
Teaching in the second semester
Course contents :  
Written Translation The course content is based on a wide variety of texts with difficulty levels ranging from 1 to 3 on a 9-point scale. All documents in this lower tier are genuine (i.e. originally written in) Spanish texts selected as per the following four major criteria : (i) the topic (one per week not be be repeated throughout the semester), (ii) the country (texts from major as well as minor Spanish-speaking countries), (iii) the type (opinion, editorial, press review, special report, feature article), and (iv) the relevance of each content with regard to translating (grammar issues, "sister language"-related traps, etc.)

Sight Translation The course is based on a multi-step approach: 1) Learning the basics of cross-reading so as to quickly grasp the key elements of each sentence. Use of a common visual support to progessively unveil the text structure (key => detail information). 2) Text rendering by limited chunks (50 to 100 words at this stage) in reading mode. Each student is invited to take the floor. 3) Same text rendering in memory mode (with no visual support). 4) Once the technique is understood and acquired, the same rendering exercise is performed off printed material. Note: at this point (Bac 3), the public speaking aspect prevails over the language considerations.
Learning outcomes of the course :  
Through a perfect understanding of the source language (a prerequisite unrelated to this course), the sudent is expected to learn and master a range of techniques designed to overcome difficulties when conveying a message from a source to a target language ; re/activate his/her passive vocabulary, and spontaneously use idiomatic expressions ; acquire strong writing skills, and, be capable, at the end of Bac3, to translate a text of average difficulty from Spanish into French.
Prerequisites and co-requisites/ Recommended optional programme components :  
Very good knowledge of the Spanish language, and perfect command of the mother tongue.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods :  
Weekly translation ; interactive teaching
Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning) :  
Face-to-face
Recommended or required readings :  
Students are expected to keep track of all text analyzes and translations (black list, stock-phrases, miscellaneous "recipes", etc.).
Assessment methods and criteria :  
Written Translation Final exam is based on a 550-word text to be translated in two hours. The student is allowed to use one French and one Spanish monolingual dictionary. This end of the year assessment focuses on four main criteria: a) meaning, b) grammar, c) style, and d) terminology.

Sight Translation No exam planned at the end of Bac3, as learning outcomes will be assessed at the end of M1. Note: Students are also required to take an exam in French made up of all the issues discussed in class. For instance, the June 2013 version contained about 100 questions. The overall grade of 20 for this course disaggregates as follows : 16/16 for the written translation, and 4/4 for the exam in French.
Work placement(s) :  
n/a
Organizational remarks :  
n/a
Contacts :  
For any further information, please click this link(yves.counasse@ulg.ac.be.)

Items online :  
Online Notes
Notes available on MyULg.


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