Translation commentary: A happy medium between translation curriculum and EAP

Abstract

In this article, Translation Commentary refers to an English composition written by a learner of both English and translation, submitted together with his or her translation output. In an academic setting combining English-to-Chinese translation and English as a second language, this article deals with both the issue of translation and that of second language writing. By analysing student compositions with respect to a model of translation problem space (TPS) proposed in this article, the author hopes to show that some Chinese learners writing in English lack the ability to generalise from details to principles or vice versa. This situation, however, could be improved by referring students to the proposed model, where there is a hierarchy of concepts, from the more abstract to the more tangible, entangled in the problem space of translation. In this article, a first model of TPS leads to a second model of second language writing in the context of English for academic purposes. A software prototype is then proposed based on these two models, which is designed not only to clarify students’ concepts in translation but also to improve their writings in English as a second language.