Translation Teaching Research Articles

Application of hybrid teaching mode in translation teaching from the perspective of ecological concept teaching

Blended teaching is a model of teaching that combines traditional classroom teaching with online teaching. The integration of blended teaching is not only the integration of carrier means but also the breakthrough of teaching mode and the expansion of teaching time and space. Based on the theory of education ecology, this paper first analyzes the mixture of college English translation teaching modes and indicates that the college English translation teaching system from the dimension of the language training system, cultivation system, and communication dimensions cultural dimensions of three parts, and communicative dimension culture contains three platforms, four interaction, five links. Then, the hardware and software of the hybrid teaching ecosystem are designed to realize translation teaching. In the test to verify the system performance in this paper, it was found that the overall iteration value of the system presented a rising trend with the increasing number of tests, and in 6 tests, the maximum iteration value of the system in this paper was always 3-12 higher than the maximum iteration value of the teaching system in the traditional protocol data test group. Therefore, the hybrid teaching ecosystem designed in this paper has obvious advantages in reliability and practicality.

Quelle méthode de traduction des métaphores de l’espagnol vers les langues camerounaises en contexte d’apprentissage ?

Translating Metaphors from Spanish to Cameroonian Languages: Which Method in a learning context?
 Metaphor, in its various forms, poses substantial constraints when one undertakes to translate it, given that it is a model of expression of a culture, a mode of thought, singularised through each language and in permanent construction. After clarifying some conceptual and theoretical points about the process of metaphorisation and the typology of metaphor, this study qualitatively analyses the way in which 29 students from a translation institute in Cameroon translated some forty metaphors from Spanish into Cameroonian languages. Given the difficulty of collecting metaphors in their diverse and unclear typology, the study is limited to the category of fixed metaphors, particularly idioms. It is found that because of the cultural connotations they carry and the acrolectal style they are supposed to convey; metaphors are difficult to translate by translator-learners who have not been introduced to a specific method for doing so. Most students make numerous errors (non- translations, lack of meaning, and loss of meaning) that betray the precariousness of their translation process. Following this observation, this study, which is both descriptive and prescriptive, recommends some specific methodological points that should be taught to translator-learners to enable them to translate metaphors from Spanish into Cameroonian languages effectively. The said methodological points are built on the basis of the work of Barnwell (1990), Misri (1990), Hagström (2002), Jamet (2003), and more around the seven strategies advocated by Newmark (1981) for metaphor transfer, namely reproduction of the same image (literal translation), replacement with a standard image, replacement with a simile that retains the image, replacement with a simile with explanation, conversion of the metaphor into an explanation of its meaning, omission, and reproduction of the original metaphor combined with an explanation. However, the study recommends that such a draft method, in order to be effective and beneficial, should be accompanied by didactic reforms in the teaching of Spanish translation in relation to Cameroonian languages. In this perspective, it would be appropriate for translator-learners to be more exposed to metaphors in Spanish, and that bridges and didactic "pretexts" be created to enable them to rub shoulders with experts in Cameroonian languages and cultures.

Problems of Translating Kurdish Legal Texts into English

جذبت المشاكل التي تحتويها ترجمة النصوص القانونية انتباه المحامين و المترجمين و اللغويين و الباحثين على حد سواء، و درس العلماء هذا الموضوع من نواح مختلفة في مختلف اللغات، تتشارك النصوص القانونية في مشاكلها و لكن صعوبتها قد تزداد حسب عوامل مختلفة. تهدف هذه الدراسة لتقديم التعاريف المتداولة للترجمة القانونية و تعريف اللغة القانونية و ميزاتها اللغوية، و بعد ذلك تحديد الطرق و التقنيات التي يوظفها المترجمون القانونيون المحترفون ثم التحقق منها في العينات المختارة لتقييم مدى فعاليتها. ولتحقيق الاهداف المذكوره اعلاه تم وضع الفرضيات التالية: اولاً، ان عدم وجود لغة كوردية موحدة تشكل عائقا للمترجمين عامة و للمترجمين القانونيين خاصة، ثانياً، ان اهمية الصيغة في النصوص القانونية قد يدفع المترجم القانوني الاستمرارفي اتباع الترجمة الحرفية حتى في اماكن غير مناسبة، ثالثاً، المصطلحات التقنية هي غالبا ما تشكل عائقا للمترجم القانوني بسبب ارتباطها بمجتمع و النظام القانوني في مكان معيين، رابعاً، المترجمون القانونيون لا يواجهون صعوبة في ترجمة تركيبات الجمل في النصوص القانونية الكوردية، خامساً، استخدام الطريقة او الاستراتيجية المناسبة يمكنها سد الثغرات التي تنشأ من الاختلافات في النظام القانوني و اللغة، سادسا، يرتكب اساتذة قسم الترجمة اخطاءاً قواعدية و املائية اقل من المترجمين المحلفين. وتشتمل عينة البحث على نصيين قانونيين باللغة الكوردية قام بترجمتهما الى اللغة الانجليزية اربعة مترجمين. وللتحقق من صحة الفرضيات، تم تطبيق النموذج المختار على العينات و تم اثبات صحة الفرضيات و كيف ان استخدام استراتيجيات الترجمة المناسبة يمكنها حل هذه المشكلات، و توصل الباحثان لاستنتاج ان ترجمة اساتذة قسم الترجمة اكثر احترافاً و تحتوي اخطاءاً اقل و لكنهم يواجهون الصعوبة ذاتها التي يواجهها المترجمون المحلفون عند ترجمة المصطلحات القانونية.

Urgent problems of teaching translation with the emphasis on actual sentence division

The paper is devoted to the description of the teaching process at the Foreign Language Faculty of Samara State University of Social Sciences and Education, concerning students of Linguistics, namely, the experience in teaching translation activities with the emphasis on the actual division of the sentence. The authors state the importance of taking into account the actual division of the sentence for correct rendering of the statement meaning in another language, relying on the experience of prominent scientists and specialists in the sphere of syntactic interference and syntactic calque, outline the existing common problem that arises in translation and teaching this subject, and point out the importance of paying attention to this complex aspect in a comprehensive manner, that is not only in translation classes, but also within both practical and theoretical grammar lessons. The authors present a number of exercises, which contribute to solving of the problem, provide examples of exercises aimed at the analysis and understanding of the thematic-rhemetic division of the sentence and, therefore, improving the quality of student translations. The paper also provides a number of typical translation models with different types of thematic division, using various morphological means and syntactic constructions, and analyzes students mistakes. The authors conception is based on authoritative sources in the spheres of linguistics, translation study, while the paper includes both the authors and authentic language material.

Retracted: Design and Exploration of College English Reading, Writing, and Translation Teaching Classroom Based on Machine Learning

Retracted: Design and Exploration of College English Reading, Writing, and Translation Teaching Classroom Based on Machine Learning

Application of improved image restoration algorithm and depth generation in English intelligent translation teaching system

Application of improved image restoration algorithm and depth generation in English intelligent translation teaching system

The Implementation of Formative Assessment in the Teaching of CET-4 Paragraph Translation

The Implementation of Formative Assessment in the Teaching of CET-4 Paragraph Translation

Implementing Holistic and Humanistic Approaches in a Remote Flipped English Translation Module

A holistic approach encourages meaningful learning, creativity, risk-taking, and mutual empathy within a learning environment and challenges the traditional pedagogical approaches based on mono-referential methods. Rethinking these approaches entails placing learners at the core of the teaching process, including their inner personal spheres. Grounded in a case study of an Italian university setting, this study underlines the contribution to learner centrality of holistic and humanistic approaches to flipped learning and suggests how to implement such an approach in a remote English translation module. The study was conducted via a structured questionnaire completed anonymously by 148 Italian students aged 18–19 at the end of their English module. The outcomes highlight the students’ appreciation of the holistic approach combined with a humanistic teaching approach (HTA), which they perceived as pushing the boundaries of formal, mono-referential teacher–learner relationships while maintaining these roles. The present study thus holds implications for the wider teacher community regarding the benefits and challenges of implementing flipped learning with an HTA in other translation courses or modules. Rather than simply guiding and assisting students in learning for themselves, teachers have a crucial role as holistic learning facilitators. By redesigning a typical flipped learning class, the study enhances teachers’ awareness of this role and provides insightful suggestions on how a holistic approach can be applied in remote English translation teaching.

Factors Affecting Learners’ Attitudes to Peer Feedback from the Perspective of Activity Theory -- A Case Study of Non-corrective Feedback in Translation Teaching

In the field of second language teaching, many studies have confirmed the effectiveness of peer feedback in promoting learning. However, the practical effect is also influenced by learners’ attitudes. The existing research conclusions in this regard are not consistent, and there are few studies on the factors that influence learners’ attitudes from the learners’ perspective. To fill the research gap, this paper focuses on non-corrective feedback in translation teaching with a feedback model of translating based on Activity Theory to investigate learners’ attitudes towards peer feedback and to explore influencing factors through questionnaires and interviews. The finding suggests that, overall, today’s learners have a positive attitude towards non-corrective feedback provided by peers. However, due to a series of factors in the feedback model, different learners hold different attitudes towards specific aspects of peer non-corrective feedback.

Discourse analysis of texts on Iraq-Iran War: A case study of Persian to English narrations

While critical discourse analysis has gained solid ground in war literature and narratives, few studies have used this analytical tool to scrutinize the translation of ideology in the literature relating to war. This study aimed to analyze how ideology was (re)produced and translated in the Iraq-Iran War narrations. To this end, a sample from a corpus of such narrations was selected and analyzed based on Farahzad’s (2012) CDA model. The results showed that ideologies produced in the proto-texts were rendered in the meta-texts with a few alterations at the textual level and with no change at the semiotic level. The findings indicated the role of ideology in shaping the translated text and revealed how language can be manipulated as a social practice to support ideologies, maintain power, and serve the interests of powerful groups in society. Such materials could also shape the reader’s mind about war. Parallel studies would shed more light on the function of ideology in war literature, narratives and translation processes. This research has implications for professional translators, translation educators, translation teachers and students as well as policymakers for publications of translated texts loaded with ideologies, raising their awareness regarding the importance of critical discourse analysis in translation studies to trace hidden ideologies in texts and meta-texts.

Application research on English Translation Teaching Quality based on Data mining

In the development of education informatization, in order to improve the quality of English translation teaching, universities and colleges, based on the accumulated experience of practical teaching, put forward the use of data mining technology to deal with massive data information, and dig out the main contents affecting the quality of college English translation teaching from a variety of influencing factors, in order to provide effective basis for the innovation and development of modern education. After understanding the basic concepts of data mining and decision tree algorithm, this paper deeply discusses the quality evaluation system of English translation teaching based on data mining according to the research status of English translation teaching in colleges and universities, and verifies and analyzes the system application combined with practical cases. The final results show that data mining plays an important role in the application research of English translation teaching quality in colleges and universities.

Teaching English for Legal Purposes to Undergraduate Translation Majors

To enable students majoring in translation at the College of Languages and Translation to read, identify the lexical and syntactic features of legal documents and hence comprehend their content, this article proposes an instructional module for teaching English for Legal Purposes (ELP). The module should be based on the assessment of the students’ proficiency level in English and analysis of their academic and professional need. It consists of the most common legal terms such as (alias, amicus, peosequi, res judicata, puisine, puis ne, estoppel fee, simple laches, quash); grammatical structures common in legal documents such as the use of long and complex sentences, conditional clauses, adverbial clusters, long complicated nominal groups, the modal auxiliary shall, and French word order (court martial, heir apparent, secretary general); reading legal documents such as insurance policies, wills, statutes, contracts and agreements between individuals, leases, petitions, investigations...etc. Global legal themes are integrated in the practice material. The students practice listening, speaking, reading, writing and translation. They learn the legal terms and grammatical structures in context (through the text). The instructor performs text analysis. Together with the students, she goes through a legal text, locates legal terms and syntactic structures, and explains and/or translates them. Then the students perform text analysis of new legal texts. Numerous technologies can be integrated into teaching and learning ELP. Assignments are posted on Blackboard LMS, a blog or a social media page. At the end of the instructional period, the students are tested, and the ELP module is evaluated by the students and legal translation instructors. The article recommends that ELP be student-centered. The students should have an active role in the learning process where they select legal topics to read, talk, write about and translate.

Research on innovative cultivation mode of English and American literature translation talents based on internet environment

Abstract English and American literature translation can help readers appreciate foreign cultures and deepen their interpretation and knowledge of English and American literature. There are more relevant contents involved in the teaching of English and American literature translation. Translation is a very important task for different countries to communicate and must be given enough attention, and the translation of English and American literature is very important for readers to deeply appreciate the cultural style of foreign countries. In order to solve these problems and find the appropriate strategies for translating talents from English and American literature. In this paper, we will analyze this specifically, meet the requirements of training translation talents, combine the development of our country and our own background, and create a new training mode according to the Internet environment, so as to strengthen the training of talents. At the same time, the idea of constructing the teaching and composite innovative talents cultivation model of environmental ecology courses under the background of Internet big data is proposed, and the characteristics and functions of the innovative teaching and talents cultivation model are analyzed. The ultimate goal is to cultivate outstanding talents with a sense of family, global vision, innovation and practical ability, and to promote their application through teaching salons and symposiums. With the use of this model, the current environment of the Internet has been innovated in the innovative mode of talent training, and the corresponding training methods have created the best learning space for students and improved their ability to read original English and American texts and translate their works.

Translation Quality Assessment in Translation Teaching

Translation quality assessment, an indispensable part of translation teaching, has drawn much attention in translationstudies. To get an overview of the topic, this study systematically reviews previous research on translation qualityassessment to summarize achievements and point out avenues for future research. Bibliometric analysis was used toanalyze relevant journal articles from the Web of Science, a publisher-independent global citation database. The resultsdemonstrated that existing studies mainly discussed translation quality assessment procedures, assessment methods, andassessment tools. The study can provide a reference for quality assessment in translation teaching and research.

Challenges of machine translation application to teaching ESP to construction students

The article deals with problems of translation teaching, namely machine translation for ESP students. The study aims to conduct a comparative analysis of machine and human translation of construction terminology, identify causes of errors, provide recommendations for improving quality of students’ translation via post-editing as well as developing their interdisciplinary skills using CAT tools. The main research methods include comparative and contrastive analysis as well as the quantitative method. The research material is presented by tittles of construction students’ qualification papers translated from Ukrainian into English. Quality of machine translation is affected by peculiarities of construction terminology due to harmonization of terms according to Eurocodes. The authors prove that application of software to translating construction texts without further proofreading or post-editing by students themselves entails errors including distortion of terminology and, consequently, meaning. There are presented reasons for lexical errors caused by peculiarities of translating multicomponent terms, discrepancies in translating prepositions. The article is intended for a wide range of specialists interested in translating construction texts and teaching ESP. Based on the results obtained, the authors develop recommendations for translating construction texts by using machine translation accompanied by students’ post-editing.

Cognitive and genre approaches in teaching cross-linguistic mediation

The article's main aim is to consider concept and genre text analysis in training professional interpreters and translators as well as students majoring in Publishing and Editing within the framework of complex interactions of theoretical and methodological practices. Theoretical considerations of cross-linguistic mediation, translation-oriented genre and concept analysis provided the basis for developing a set of learning practices. The main research question of this paper is how to exploit the above mentioned considerations in learning cross-linguistic mediation with the help of binary texts (the texts of the same genre considering alike problems in English and Ukrainian). Finally, the suggested methodology was verified and confirmed in the process of experimental teaching. The significance of the study lies in its cross-disciplinary approach to the problem of teaching translation: the mediation in teaching foreign languages, cognitive linguistics, translation-oriented genre analysis.

The Challenges of Teaching and Assessing Technical Translation in an Era of Neural Machine Translation

Teaching translation in higher education has undeniably been impacted by the innovations brought about by machine translation (MT), more particularly neural machine translation (NMT). This influence has become significantly more noticeable in recent years, as NMT technology progresses hand in hand with artificial intelligence. A case study supported by a questionnaire conducted among translation students (bachelor’s and master’s programmes at ISCAP) probed the degree of student satisfaction with CAT tools and revealed that they favour the use of MT in their translation practices, focusing their work on post-editing tasks rather than exploring other translation strategies and complementary resources. Although MT cannot be disregarded in translation programmes, as machine-generated translations make up an increasingly larger amount of a professional translator’s output, the widespread use of MT by students poses new challenges to translators’ training, since it becomes more difficult to assess students’ level of proficiency. Translation teachers must not only adapt their classroom strategies to accommodate these current translation strategies (NMT) but also, as intended by this study, find new, adequate methods of training and assessing students that go beyond regular translation assignments while still ensuring that students acquire the proper translation competence. Thus, as the use of NMT makes it considerably more challenging to assess a student’s level of translation competence, it is necessary to introduce other activities that not only allow students to acquire and develop their translation competence as defined in the EMT (European Masters in Translation) framework but also enable teachers to assess students more objectively. Hence, this article foregrounds a set of activities usually regarded as “indirect tasks” for technical translation courses that hopefully results in the development of student translation skills and competence, as well as provides more insights for teachers on how to more objectively assess students. It is possible, then, to conclude that these activities, such as different types of paraphrasing and error-detection tasks, may have the potential to encourage creative thinking and problem-solving strategies, giving teachers more resources to assess students’ level of translation competence.

A Study on Implementing Sydney School Genre Pedagogy in Teaching Translation of Instructional Texts

Translation, a key vehicle in spreading a country’s traditional culture, is an important skill for foreign language majors. For Chinese English majors, this means they should have the competence to translate traditional Chinese culture well in English. At present, there has been limited research on teaching translation of typical traditional Chinese culture, especially translating its food culture to the world. And recipe, a typical instructional text epitomizing features of its representative cuisine, plays an important role in this field. Given the situation, it is imperative to explore pedagogical possibilities in teaching translation of Chinese recipes to English. This paper details the implementation of Sydney School Genre Pedagogy (SSGP) in tandem with parallel texts. One translation lecturer implemented the pedagogy with one class consisting of 37 third-year English majors for 3 weeks. Translation pre-test and post-test were administered to the students before and after the intervention. Paired samples t-tests were applied to analyze the data generated from both tests. Comparison of students’ English translations of Chinese recipes before and after the intervention shows that students significantly improved their genre competence and produced better translations in terms of macro-structural and micro-lexical adjustments. These findings indicate the potential scaffolding effects of SSGP integrated with parallel texts in teaching translation, especially texts with distinctive generic conventions. The pedagogical efficacy observed may prove conducive to international communication of Chinese cuisine, and Chinese traditional culture at large.

The Application and Practice of Computer-Aided Translation in English Teaching

The Application and Practice of Computer-Aided Translation in English Teaching

The role of online learning in enhancing the performance of introverted female Saudi students in translation

PurposeThe purpose of the current study was to examine the role of distance learning in enhancing introverted students’ lack of communication and social interaction to improve their performance in translation class. Cain (2013) and Kuzeljevich (2017) agreed that identifying “introverted” and “extroverted” students is important for meeting their learning needs. While extroverted students have strong social skills that allow them to interact comfortably in different learning environments, introverted students tend to be more shy, quiet, and silent, thus, requiring more careful planning in classroom settings. Therefore, educators need to support introverted students in reaching their full academic and social potential.Design/methodology/approachThe present case study adopted a qualitative research method to explore the role of online/distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic in enhancing introverted students’ performance and communication abilities in translation classes. The researcher of the current study spent a considerable time observing and set herself as part of the group (i.e. translation students of level 6 class) to understand the phenomenon, events and the new situation of having translation students interact in online settings. Data collection was based on this observation, interviews with the participants and archival documents. To enhance the validity and credibility of this research, the researcher employed the method of triangulation.FindingsThe results (see Appendixes A, B and C) revealed the level of students interactions in translation classes and their attitudes toward online learning. Based on the observations made by the instructor, the researcher found that the involvement of the introverted students during online translation learning was remarkable, as they provided their translation outputs in the chat window of Microsoft Teams with no hesitation. Consequently, 65% of the students were providing their translation output through the chat window, which indicates that they are more introverted and preferred not to speak. Comparing this result to face-to-face translation class, the researcher found that 25% of the students provided their translation outputs through oral participation.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the field of translation and education. Previous studies have not sufficiently examined the role of distance learning in enhancing the performance and communication of introverted students in translation classes. The current study is also expected to provide insight into the field of technical translation in remote teaching and learning settings.