This course is a practice-based training designed to help students learn the skills necessary for translating Chinese texts dealing with laws and regulations mainly into English. Students will study and learn language of a higher register necessary for translating formal texts, official documents and legal texts.
選課要求
(1) Must have completed the course: Basic Chinese into English Translation.
(2) Priority will be given to students in the MA Translation Program.
(3) Please bring proof of having earlier completed Basic Chinese into English Translation (grade report or official transcript of records) on the first day of classes.
(4) This is a difficult and challenging course. If you tend to be lazy, and/or faint-hearted, or have short attention span, this course is not for you.
Classes will be conducted as follows:
(1) A weekly translation exercise of about 500-700 Chinese characters long. At least 14 exercises during the term.
(2) Source-language texts will include select articles dealing with laws and regulations, such as contracts, charters, etc. In the first few weeks, students will learn more formal language expressions and legalese necessary to handle law texts.
(3) Weekly translation projects submitted by students will be discussed in class, including analysis of mistranslations, corrections and improvements.
(4) Emphasis of student-work analysis: textual content, grammar, diction, vocabulary, language register and format.
(5) Every now and then, students will be assigned to study and comment on the work of their classmates as a means to learn others’ adopted techniques, as well as consider their pros and cons, in comparison with their own work.
(6) Towards the latter part of the term, students will be assigned inter-textual comparison of existing translations with their original, to pinpoint weak points and to offer possible improvements.
(7) As a way to develop speed, students will at times be required to do translation of short passages on-site, to be followed by a review of their work.
(8) Students will sit for their mid-term and final exams.
(9) Students will be required to compile a glossary of terms based on the assigned exercises, to be submitted by the end of the semester.