Trabajo del 12 al 19 de diciembre de 2011

Chicos:

Esta semana revisaremos la traducción pendiente con base al modelo traductológico de Bell.

Así también, explicaré el modelo de Holmes.

Tenemos que comenzar a recopilar las traducciones para poder hacer la antología de fin de curso.

No se les olvide que publicaré en breve los puntos que deben contener sus antologías.

Saludos

Prof. Pedraza

Semana del 5 al 9 de diciembre de 2011

Chicos:

Esta semana seguimos aplicando las teorías modernas de la traducción al trabajo que ejecuta un traductor.

La semana pasada aplicamos las teorías de Catford y, sobre todo, lo que Octavio Paz tomó de la misma para traducir la literatura.

Esta semana veremos la teoría de Bell y su proceso en la mente.

Así que el día martes trabajaremos con la interculturalidad, el miércoles y el viernes con la teoría de Bell.

Así que continuamos y casi terminamos nuestro temario.

Saludos

Prof. Pedraza

Semana del 28 al 2 de diciembre

Alumnos:

Esta semana seguimos trabajando con las teorías que nos han dado grandes traductores.

Esta vez nos toca hablar un poco de Octavio Paz y sobre su propuesta de traducción, además de aplicarla al trabajo que realizamos.

No se les olvide estar atentos para tomar notas.

El miércoles y jueves haremos una traducción.

Saludos

Prof. Pedraza

Folleto para entregar día del examen

Chicos:

Esta semana tenemos examen y les pido que ese día entreguen su folleto ya que es parte de la calificación de este parcial.

Recuerden chicos, que tienen que traer su diccionario para realizar el examen.

Saludos y seguimos trabajando

Prof. Pedraza

Proyecto: folleto

Chicos:

Como lo comentamos el viernes, tenemos un folleto que diseñar de acuerdo a la traducción a realizar. Recuerden que tiene que terminarla para revisarla y que no tenga errores.

Seguimos trabajando, vamos bien.

Saludos

Prof. Pedraza

Semana del 17 al 21 de octubre

Alumnos:

Como lo hemos platicado en clase, les gustó el trabajo realizado en clase y el resto del curso trabajaremos sobre textos aplicando la teoría.

Entonces, favor de traer diccionario los días de clase, Martes, miércoles y vieernes.

Saludos

Prof. Pedraza

Semana del 10 al 14 de octubre

Alumnos:

He calificado los exámenes y han obtenido notas no tan agradables, espero que las podamos mejorar para el siguiente parcial. En éstas se ve el trabajo que realizaron en el primer parcial.

Como les había comentado antes, nos falta leer mucho. Espero podamos seguir trabajando tan bien como lo saben hacer.

Hemos platicado sobre la clase y quedamos en un acuerdo:

Los martes será la clase en español sobre las lecturas asignadas.

El miércoles será de retroalimentación en inglés para empezar a dominar más la comprensión de la lengua.

El viernes será de ejercicios sobre temas de interés, como: arqueologia y medicina.

Espero mejoremos el trabajo y sigamos adelante.

Saludos

Prof. Pedraza

Temario para examen de primer parcial

Alumnos:

Les envio el temario para el examen de este viernes. Por favor, estudien mucho y traigan para hacer el examen diccionario inglés-español, español-ingles. No traigan diccionarios electrónicos y en computadora.

- Definiciones de traducción e interpretación
- Tipos de traducción e interpretación
- Proceso traductológico
- Historia de la traducción (Etapa preteórica y teórica)

Saludos

Prof. Pedraza

Trabajo de la semana del 3 al 7 de octubre

Hola chicos:

Esta semana tendremos nuestro examen, el cual sera muy importante ya que veremos que tanto hemos avanzado en nuestro programa.

Ya vimos los conceptos básicos de la traducción y la interpretación. Sus diferencias y lo que lleva hacer ambas técnicas. También, la historia de la traducción, desde sus inicios hasta los inicios de la época teórica.

Es hora de evaluar los conocimientos adquiridos en este periodo. El examen será el día viernes 7 de octubre. Esta semana tendremos dos días de trabajo sobre la filosofía del lenguaje.

Les pido que lean las copias que se asignarán ya que tenemos que tener previos conocimientos y dudas para entender el tema.

Estamos listos y seguimos trabajando

Prof. Pedraza

Semana de trabajo

Chicos:

Esta semana tenemos muchas actividades que hacer:

1.- Revisar las traducciones de sus conclusiones para su exposición de biología.

2.- Reporte de lectura de El papel del traductor asi que ya tuvieron que leer esta parte.

3.- Tenemos que realizar el temario para que nos vaya bien en el examen.

A trabajar,

Prof. Pedraza

No han hechos sus lecturas

Chicos:

Me he dado cuenta que nos les importa leer y es la parte medular de nuestra materia, tener el hábito de la lectura. Espero puedan hacer las lecturas y echarle ganas porque es parte de calificación los comentarios de las lecturas y sobre todo la participación.

El día de mañana revisó resúmenes de la historia de la traducción etapa preteórica, derechoa a examen.

Saludos

Prof. Pedraza

Cuarta semana

Chicos:

Esta semana seguimos aprendiendo sobre las aportaciones de la historia de la traducción. Ahora tenemos que seguir leyendo sobre las siguientes etapas de la época pre-teórica, estamos a punto de llegar a la época teórica donde hay muchas aportaciones.

Del libro de Introducción a los estudios sobre traducción que se encuentra en google books, tienen que leer sobre el renacimiento y barroco, primera revolución de la traducción que está en la página 4.

También la primera mitad del siglo XX, del mismo libro.

Recuerden que tiene que hacer resúmenes de los dos capítulos, los cuales serán derecho a examen junto con los dos anteriores.

Asi que tenemos tiempo para realizarlos y presentarlos.

Saludos y a seguir trabajando

Prof. Pedraza

Tercera semana

Chicos:

La tercer semana del curso comenzaremos en tiempo y forma ha hablar sobre la historia de la traducción para obtener las aportaciones hechas por los teóricos desde el inicio del proceso.

Asi que pueden entrar a google libros y busquen los siguientes libros:

- Introducción a los estudios sobre traducción: historia, teoría y análisis descriptivo de Eusebio V. Llácer. Ya que lo localicen  la página 2 que habla de: la traducción hasta 1950. La época pre-teórica. hasta la página 9. Antes de La primera mitad del siglo XX.

Favor de hacer sus anotaciones sobre los traductores y sus aportaciones.

Saludos y seguimos trabajando.

Prof. Pedraza

Lectura para realizar el lunes

Chicos:

Les envio las lecturas que haremos el día lunes. Espero las impriman y las lleven consigo las siguientes clases. Saludos

Prof. Pedraza.

Basic Aptitudes and Qualifications

            Before I attempt to describe the “Magic” aptitudes that a successful translator or interpreter must possess, a definition of both fields seems in order. This should also automatically clarify who should NOT try to enter these professions.

            Translation is the transposition of a text written in a source language into a target language. The translated version must be absolutely accurate in meaning, contain all nuances of the original, and must be written in clear, elegant language that can be easily understood by the reader. Needless to say, punctuation, spelling, and grammar must be flawless. In addition, translators have at their disposal dictionaries and reference material in both languages.

            Interpretation is the oral transposition of an orally delivered message at a conference or meeting from a source language into a target language, performed in the presence of the participants. This function can be performed simultaneously (at the same time as the speech is given) or consecutively (after the speaker has finished a part or the totality of the speech). At times, the interpreter has to go from the written medium (text) to the oral medium (interpretation). This is called sight translation.

            The important distinction is that the product of the translator is meant to be read, whereas that of the interpreter is meant to be listened to.

            It immediately becomes apparent from those definitions that translators have to be able to hold their own with the authors of the texts that they are asked to translate, and that interpreters need to be intellectually equal to the speakers whom they have to interpret.

This absolutely rules out any attempt to train these professionals at any level but the graduate level. This is particularly true for interpreters. No participant in any important meeting would trust a twenty-year-old to catch all the important details in speech.

Translation

Aptitudes for students

            Scholastic transcripts can be very helpful in determining a student’s aptitude for translation. Good grades in advanced composition and essay writing are a particularly good indication of aptitude. One might justifiably ask why a translator needs all these exceptional qualities to produce a translation of a highly technical nature. My answer to this question is that writing and stylistic exercises are exercises in intellectual self-discipline and flexibility – two extremely important aptitudes in a translator.

            Although they never express their own ideas in their work, future translators must be exceptionally creative in their native language in order to be able to convey the message contained in the original text in the most accurate and understandable, yet elegant, way possible.

            It would be fair to say that only students who receive straight A’s in their native language courses can aspire to the degree of perfection needed by a translator.

            As a professional translator are very rarely experts in the subject matter of the text they are asked to translate, the ability to absorb new ideas and processes and then explain them in the target language is of the utmost importance.

            Translators must also be able to convey complicated ideas accurately. Good training in their own language, which should always be the language into which they translate, is an absolute prerequisite. Technical writing courses as well as classes in editing and proofreading will be of great help to the future translator.

            Although technical experts who also translate will initially have a distinct advantage over general translators, who need training to become technical translators, the former will remain translators in their own field of expertise only, whereas the latter will be able to deal with any material that ends up on their desk. Moreover, most technical experts rarely possess outstanding writing skills.

            Experience has shown that graduates in translation can easily be trained to become technical translators. Many of them finish their careers in corporate managerial positions, which underscores their extraordinary flexibility.

            Finally, it is often argued that it is better to have a technical background for technical translation; however, there are not many engineers or technicians who would be interested in doing full-time translations as long as language personnel in the corporate world continue to receive the low salaries that they are paid today.

Aptitudes for Instructors

            Teachers of translation must possess the same basic aptitudes as the students. This statement might seem like a truism, but it must be made nonetheless, as there are far too many instructors of translation who (1) have never had one of their own translations evaluated by a professional or (2) have never even produced a translation of any significance.

            Translation is no accurate science that can be acquired in one step. It has to be practiced daily in order to improve one’s skills and to build up the kind of experience that is needed to teach the field. Each translation adds to one’s preparedness to deal with the next one.

            Knowledge of the source and target language and literature, not to mention a familiarity with linguistics, qualifies one to teach translation. Only the very experienced translator can instruct students how to avoid pitfalls and how to transpose a message written in one language to the genius of another language in such a way that readers of the translation are led to believe that they are actually reading a text drafted in their own language.

Interpretation

Aptitudes for Students

            As mentioned earlier, conference interpreters have to have the same level of intelligence as the person they are called upon to interpret. This does not imply, however, that all people possessing a high degree of intelligence and language fluency can become conference interpreters. What, then, are the aptitudes that distinguish the students with good potential from all others?

            Perhaps this is the appropriate time to consider aptitude test for future conference interpreters. I have administered aptitude tests at the University of Geneva, Switzerland; The United Nations European Office; NATO; the European Communities; and Georgetown University. Although the test used by these different institutions vary in their modalities of application and specific content, all attempt to test the following:

-          Intelligence

-          Ability to abstract and paraphrase

-          Reaction time

-          Memory

-          Poise and presentation

-          Voice

-          Understanding of and fluency in the foreign languages.

These aptitudes are normally tested in the following manner:

1. Candidates are asked to talk in their foreign languages about their studies, living experiences abroad, and general intellectual interests. This test gives a fairly good picture of the candidates’ way of thinking and of presenting their own ideas. The evaluation criteria are voice, presentation, accent, logical sequence of ideas, general attitude, and general knowledge.

2. The second part often consists of an exercise in abstracting and paraphrasing. A short exposé, compromising a section with dense information and one that is rather wordy but does not contain many concrete ideas, is either read and improvised in one of the students’ foreign languages by one of the examiners (there are usually two).

            The candidates are then asked to repeat orally in their native language as much information as they have been able to retain. The exposé is usually no longer than three or four minutes. Candidates are discourage from taking any notes (with the exception of numbers and proper names), as thus us also a memory test.

            3. The third and last part usually consists of a sight translation from both foreign language into the native language. The emphasis here is on the understanding and rendering of a somewhat higher language level. Evaluated are speed, accuracy, and technique of dealing with unexpected difficulties (it is important that candidates be given absolutely no time to look at the text beforehand).

            Most tests in consecutive interpretation are conducted with improvised exposes, including witty and humorous ones, which are particularly suited for testing the general interpreting skills of candidates. Incidentally, these tests are never terminology tests, but general skills tests.

            This kind of aptitude test has cut down the failure rate at final exams or successive tests during the training period to quite acceptable proportions. Students who do not exhibit the requisite aptitudes are either not allowed to enter the program or are encouraged to improve their language skills before taking the test a second time. Usually, they can take these tests only twice.

Aptitudes for Instructors

It can be said at this point quite emphatically that interpretation should be taught only by professional interpreters. As in the case of translators, someone who does not have the skills and aptitudes to interpret cannot teach interpretation effectively. Moreover, instructors have to keep up these skills through constant practice and must keep abreast of professional developments and innovations or changes.

            It is quite inconceivable for anyone to teach interpretation without being able to demonstrate the skills, just as it would be unimaginable for a choreographer to teach dance without having experienced all the movements. It would be professionally and morally dishonest to students to try and communicate to them extremely difficult art of interpretation without having been extensively exposed to the practice.

            While translation can sometimes be integrated into the mainstream of programs for language majors as an additional means for acquiring and perfecting language skills – but not to prepare professional translators, except in the literary field – interpretation needs its own well structured curriculum composed of many complex elements.

            The occasional “exercises in consecutive or simultaneous interpretation” for language majors, of which we see too many at present, are, in my opinion, complete nonsense. They are useless at best, and counterproductive and unethical at worst. The attempt to increase the enrollment in foreign language classes by offering courses in pseudo-interpretation is a sin against the whole profession!

Can Translation and Interpretation Be Taught?

            Although the profession of interpreting is as old as man´s ability to speak, and although the first translators performed their art when the first diplomatic notes and trade papers were exchanged, it is only since the end of the World War I and the international crisis that followed that these two professions have developed in their present form. Consecutive interpretation[1] was used exclusively until about 1945; when simultaneous interpretation was used for the first time at the war criminal trials at Nuremberg.

Good translators and good interpreters must possess an extraordinary array of qualifications. Just as an outstanding instrumental soloist or a perfect figure skater must have flawless technique, translators and interpreters must have a complete mastery of their working languages, including their native language.

            In order to answer the question asked in the chapter heading, I must first say something about the way in which people currently become translators and interpreters.

            Whereas one can still enter the field of translation with every imaginable background (and, in fact, all too often without the proper background at all), the access to the profession of conference interpretation is much more structured.

            The most recent statistical survey of the International Association of Conference Interpreters shows that 95 percent of the respondents between the ages of 30 and 45 were trained in a university program. There is a good reason for these statistics: one can be a poor translator for a long time before complaints arise, whereas a faulty interpretation is caught immediately, most of the time to the utmost embarrassment of all concerned. Moreover, the fact that interpreters work in teams assures a curtain quality control, for nothing is more painful for a conference interpreter than to work with a colleague who is doing a poor job.

            There are two important points to consider when attempting to answer the question whether translation and interpretation can be taught:

1. The first interpreters in our century were all self-taught. There were full-fledged diplomats, whose training and whose professional experience endowed them with extraordinary linguistic and communicative skills. They developed their skills on the basis of an unusually broad general knowledge, education, and perfect fluency in several languages.

2. It is sometimes said by members of our profession that “so-and-so would have made it even without a school” or that she or he “became a good translator/interpreter in spite of the school she or he attended.” Although remarks of this nature are heard less often nowadays and are based on a time when students were taught by the “sink-or-swim” method, the implication remains that teaching is not everything and – more important- not all the skills can be taught to everyone.

            It will come as no surprise to the reader that I am of the opinion that translation and interpretation must be taught, and taught properly.

            Only exceptionally gifted people (of whom I have only met one or two during my professional career) can hope to accede to these professions on their own without developing serious bad habits and making mistakes that will tarnish their professional performance for the rest of their careers.

[1] Although I address myself only to the profession of conference interpreters, I feel that all other interpreters – and in particular, court interpreters- should benefit from the same training.

Bienvenidos

Chicos:

Bienvenidos al curso de Introducción a la traducción, el cual será el inicio para entender la formación para el trabajo de traductor de inglés.

Esta materia tiene como fin dar las pautas para poder realizar una traducción, sobre todo al tomar en cuenta las aportaciones de importantes estudiosos quienes han dado mucho a está técnica.

Desde los griegos y romanos, San Jerónimo y escritores que han  hecho de la traducción una labor rica en tradición.

Para que hablar tanto de lo que estudiaremos, será mejor comenzar a trabajar.

Enhorabuena y adelante,

Prof. Enrique Cruz Pedraza