Course syllabus

 

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TRANSLAT 713: Community Interpreting and Contextual Studies

SEMESTER 1, 2018

30 points

Room: 207-312 (Translation Studies Lab)

 
Course Convenor: Associate Professor Minako O’Hagan

Email: minako.ohagan@auckland.ac.nz

Office hour:  Tuesdays 4-5 pm

Office: Room 417, Arts 2, Bldg 207, 18 Symonds Street

 

Lecturers:

Weeks 1 - 4: Community Translation

Associate Professor Minako O’Hagan

Email: minako.ohagan@auckland.ac.nz

Office hour: Please see above.

Weeks 5-7: Medical Terminology

Dr. Wendy-Llyn Zaza

Email: w.zaza@auckland.ac.nz

Office hour (weeks 5-7): TBA

Office: Arts 2, Room 407

Weeks 8 – 12: Community Interpreting (Week 10 Guest Lecture)

Dr. Lydia Ding

Email: yan.ding@auckland.ac.nz

Office hour: Weeks 9-11: TBA

 

 

Course description:

This course aims to equip students with the linguistic, translational and cognitive skills that are necessary to provide community translation and interpreting. In particular, the course will provide: 1) an overview of and a theory-based introduction to community translation and interpreting; 2) an introduction to crisis community translation as an emerging area of intercultural practice and research; 3) an introduction to the essential subject areas of medicine that will be relevant for working in the healthcare sector in New Zealand and elsewhere; and 4) an introduction to consecutive interpreting, covering a range of fundamental skills.

The main objective of this course is to introduce students to community translation and interpreting in the context of cross-cultural communication. It seeks to raise students’ awareness of the increasingly varied roles played by community translators and interpreters and some of the consequences of their work. Secondary objectives include giving students an overview of different modes of community translation and interpreting, consideration of ethics in context, familiarising them with communication processes and the increasing impact of technologies.

Main topics:

  • Varied working environments for community translators and interpreters
  • Modes of community translation and interpreting
  • Cross-cultural communication and crisis communication
  • Domain-specific knowledge and terminology in medicine
  • Ethics for community translators and interpreters
  • Interpreting skills and techniques
  • Intercultural competence required for intercultural communication and mediation

The course is divided into three parts with a focus on: community translation in crisis communication scenarios such as major earthquakes; the domain knowledge of medical fields and terminology; and basic interpreting skills such as note-taking and public speaking in addition to professional ethics.

The aims of the crisis community translation section are to address the role of community translators in emergency scenarios relating to disaster management and to raise students’ awareness of the essential skills and knowledge enabling them to operate effectively and ethically under constrained circumstances typical of crisis communication.  Students will learn to:

  • Become aware of the critical role played by community translation in crisis communication;
  • Minimise the risk of miscommunication under various constraints of crisis communication;
  • Apply problem-solving skills, including the use of technology and cultural knowledge, to respond to time-critical translation demands and
  • Be able to make ethical decisions in acting as a translator in crisis communication

The aim of the medical terminology section is to give a solid grounding in how to approach medical terminology for translating and interpreting. Students will learn to:

  • Analyse words, by dividing them into component parts;
  • Relate medical terms to the structure and function of the human body;
  • Analyse medical terms specific to the structure, function, pathology, diagnosis and treatment of the digestive, respiratory and cardiovascular systems, and
  • Develop their critical reflection skills.

The aims of the interpreting section are to introduce students to basic interpreting skills such as note-taking and public speaking in addition to professional ethics. 

Assessment: 

1. Community Translation 35%: Project 30% and Presentation 5%

2. Medical Terminology 30%: Online test 10% and Project 20%

3. Community Interpreting 35%: Essay 20% and Presentation 15%

 

Weekly topics (provisional):

Week

Content

1

27 Feb

Introduction to community translation - crisis translation  

2

6 Mar

Organisation of crisis translation and interpreting, and consideration of intercultural issues 

Community Translation Assignment to be set - presentation (20 March) and project (6 April) 

3

13 Mar

Real-world cross-cultural constraints on crisis translation: The case of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake

4

20 Mar

Crisis Translation: Exploring technology applications

Student Presentation

5

27 Mar

Contextual Studies: Medicine - basic word structure; digestive system

6

17 Apr

Contextual Studies: Medicine - respiratory system

7

24 Apr

Contextual Studies: Medicine - cardiovascular system

8

1 May

Intercultural communication process; modes of interpreting; legal and court interpreting

9

8 May

Professionalization of community interpreting; interpreting competence (consecutive interpreting and note-taking)

10

15 May

Community translation and interpreting – Guest lecture (tbc)

11

22 May

Ethics and culture for interpreters; New Zealand slang

12

29 May

Group presentation on community interpreting

 

Indicative reading:

Angelelli, C. V. (2004). Medical Interpreting and Cross-cultural Communication. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Berk-Seligson, S. (1990). The Bilingual Courtroom: Court Interpreters in the Judicial Process. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Burns, A. (2001). “Analysing Spoken Discourse.” In Burns, A. and Coffin, C. (Eds.), Analysing English in a Global Context. London: Routledge. 123-148.

Colin, J. and Morris, R. (1996) Interpreters and the Legal Process. Winchester: Waterside Press.

Crooker, C. E. (1996). The Art of Legal Interpretation – A Guide for Court Interpreters.  Portland, USA: Portland State University Continuing Education Press.

Delisle, J. (1995). Translators through History. Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

Federici, F. (ed), (2016). Mediating Emergencies and Conflicts: Frontline Translating and Interpreting. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Gile, D. (1995). Basic Concepts and Models for Interpreter and Translator Training. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

Gillies, A. (2005). Note-Taking for Consecutive Interpreting - A Short Course. Manchester: St. Jerome.

Gentile, A. et al (1996). Liaison Interpreting. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press.

Ginori, L.and Scimone, E. (1995). Introduction to Interpreting. Sydney: Lantern Press.

Hale, S. B. (2004). The Discourse of Court Interpreting: Discourse Practices of the Law, the Witness, and the Interpreter. Amsterdam: Philadelphia: Benjamins.

Hale, S. B. (2007). Community Interpreting. Basingstoke: Palgrave.

Hurn, B. J. (2007). “The Influence of Culture on International Business Negotiations”. Industrial and Commercial Training, 39(7), 354-360.

Jones, R. (1998). Conference Interpreting Explained. Manchester: St Jerome.

Mikkelson, H. (2000). Introduction to Court Interpreting. Manchester, UK: St. Jerome.

Morris (ed), (1995). Translation and the Law. American Translators Association Scholarly Monograph Series, Volume VIII. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins. 263-279.

Schweda-Nicholson, N. (1990). “Consecutive Note-Taking for Community Interpretation.” In Bowen, M. (ed.) Interpreting – Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow. New York: State University of New York at Binghamton.

Sussman, L. (1993). “The Interpreted Executive: Theory, Models. And Implications”. Journal of Business Communication, V30(4), 415-434.

Sussman, L. and D. Johnson. (1996). “Dynamics of the Interpreter’s Role: Implications for International Executives”. The Journal of Language for International Business, 2 (2), 1-14.

Taibi, M. and Ozolins, U. (2016). Community Translation. London: Bloomsbury.

Tebble, H. (1998). Medical Interpreting: Improving Communication with Your Patients. Canberra, ACT: Language Australia.

 

Course materials:

Course materials will consist of academic articles dealing with each topic discussed. These articles will be provided to students in the form of electronic articles. Additional material, including PowerPoint presentations and other audio-visual material, will be put on Canvas.

Teaching format and methods:

Course contents will be taught through lectures and guided group discussions and activities dealing with different topics. Teaching methods will promote both individual work and team work for students to develop their own specialised knowledge, intellectual skills and interpersonal qualities. Students will be provided with opportunities to 1) actively participate in and reflect on their own learning processes, 2) structure their own learning experiences and relate them to the course syllabus, and 3) gradually become independent learners. Students will be most welcome to contact the academic staff outside class times (in particular during their office hours or by appointment), should they have any questions and/or learning difficulties regarding class contents, coursework, etc.

Inclusive learning

Students are invited to discuss privately any impairment-related requirements face-to-face (e.g. office hour) and/or in written form with the course convenor, lecturer and/or tutor.

Expectations of students:

Students will be expected to read a wide range of texts and recommended bibliography and submit additional class exercises your lecturer may give you. In addition, students will be expected to actively participate in class, be involved in their own learning experience and learning process, and cross-assess peer work. Please note that this is a 30-point course, and therefore students are required to devote 20 hours a week to their study.

Assessment:

  1. Project on Crisis Community Translation: 35% (Examiner: Minako O'Hagan)
  2. Medical Terminology: 30%: on-line test (10%) and project (20%) (Examiner: Wendy-Llyn Zaza)
  3. Community Interpreting: 35% (Examiner: Lydia Ding)

 

Requirements for presentation of work:

All coursework will be typed—i.e. no hand written work will be accepted—and submitted in electronic format via e-mail (see details below). In addition, please submit a hard copy of the essay using our own departmental cover sheet apart from the e-submission (downloadable from Canvas).

 

Procedures for submission of work:

Please send to the respective examiners

File names

Please name your files in the following way:

"LastName_StudentID_Essay#_CourseCode.doc"

Example 2: "OHagan_1234567_essay1_713.doc"

Layout

Please work on an A4 paper format (21 cm x 29.7 cm), portrait, with margins of 2.5 cm top and bottom, and 3 cm left and right.

Basic presentation

Use Times New Roman, 12 points, black, 1.5-spaced, as your basic font. Your text should be thus justified.

Name

Do not forget to add your name and student ID at the top of all MS Word document submitted.

Please also visit:

Student Learning Services for tutorials and consultations on academic writing skills.

(http://www.library.auckland.ac.nz/about-us/student-learning-services)

Assignments Policy: Extensions, Deadlines and Penalties:

TIME MANAGEMENT

Time management is essential to meet the learning objectives, and it is the responsibility of students to manage their time so all assignments can be submitted on or before the due dates.

 HOW TO SEEK/ REQUEST/APPLY FOR AN EXTENSION

In serious circumstances* beyond the student’s control (see below), s/he may request an extension from the course convenor. The request should…

  •  be made by email at least 2-3 days BEFORE the due date for the assignment
  • provide an explanation of the circumstances
  • be supported by a satisfactory medical certificate or other documentation

If an extension is granted, you will be given a new due date. Only ONE extension can be granted to a student per assignment. Only in extreme circumstances will late requests for extensions be considered.

*Serious circumstances means sudden illness (in the case of in-class tests etc.) or long-term illness (for essays etc. done over a week or more).  It does NOT mean time management difficulties, wanting to go on holiday, relatives visiting from overseas, computer breakdowns, etc.

SUBMISSION OF ALL ASSIGNMENTS

Unless indicated otherwise by the Course Convenor, hard-copies of assignments should be posted in the appropriate assignment box on 3rd floor Arts 1 building before 4 pm on the due date.  Assignment boxes are cleared at 4 pm and any assignment handed in after 4 pm will not be date-stamped till the next working-day. 

The Reception Area is not open on Saturday or Sunday or during public holidays.

 DEADLINES & PENALTIES FOR LATENESS

Any work submitted after the due date and without an extension form or permission in writing from the Course Convenor will be treated as overdue and penalties will apply (see below). 

The mark given to an overdue assignment will be reduced by up to 10 per cent (at the discretion of the Course Convenor) of the total possible marks for that assignment for each day that it is late up to 5 days (e.g. for an assignment marked out of 20, deduct up to 2 marks per day up to a total of 10 marks). Assignments which are due on Friday, or the day before a university holiday, but are not received until the next working day will be counted as TWO days late.

Overdue assignments that are submitted more than five days late will not be marked; nor will assignments be marked if submitted after the assignment has been marked and returned.  Unmarked assignments will be held by the marker until the end of the semester, and in cases where the final grade for the student is borderline (D+), the marker may choose to award a minimal completion mark.  For this reason, it is better to hand in an assignment late than not at all.

OUT-OF-CLASS ASSESSMENT (i.e. take-home essays/projects/assignments etc.)

When a staff member grants an extension they will set a new due date.  The completed assignment must be submitted on or before the new due date together with the medical certificate and other documentation.  If an assignment is submitted after the new due date, penalties for lateness apply as above.

IN CLASS TESTS, ELECTRONIC TESTS AND ORAL PRESENTATIONS ETC.

When serious circumstances (e.g. sudden serious illness or a car accident) cause a student to miss an in-class test/assessed presentations or electronic test it is expected that the student will notify the course convenor at the earliest possible opportunity, if possible before the scheduled test or presentation takes place.  If the student or their representative makes no contact within five days of the scheduled test/presentation, they will be awarded a zero grade for that piece of assessment. 

Extreme cases will be judged by the course Convenor on their own merits. Documentation may be required.

Plagiarism and use of Information and Communication Technology:

 PLAGIARISM

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence.  The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting his or her learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced.  This requirement also applies to sources on the world-wide web.  A student's assessed work may be reviewed against electronic source material using computerised detection mechanisms.  Upon reasonable request, students may be required to provide an electronic version of their work for computerised review.

Students may not translate work from another source without proper acknowledgment and referencing. The use of translation machines to translate and copy texts into the target language of an assignment constitutes academic dishonesty.

The penalties for plagiarism are severe and can range from gaining no marks for the assignment to disciplinary action under the terms of the Examination Regulations. 

For further information and advice on University regulations and how to reference appropriately, see:

https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/about/teaching-learning/academic-integrity/tl-about-academic-integrity.html.

All students entering the University are required to complete the Academic Integrity Module, see:

http://www.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/home/about/teaching-learning/academic-integrity/tl-about-academic-integrity

Information about third-party assistance in postgraduate coursework can be found here: http://www.auckland.ac.nz/webdav/site/central/shared/about/teaching-and-learning/policies-guidelines-procedures/documents/guidelines-third-party-assistance-ugpg-senate-appr-05112007.pdf

The Student Academic Conduct Statute can be found here: https://policies.auckland.ac.nz/policy-display-register/student-academic-conduct-statute.pdf  

Referen©ite, The University’s official academic referencing resource, can be found here: http://www.cite.auckland.ac.nz/

USE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY (E.G. CLASS FACEBOOK PAGES)

If students in any course wish to set up a Facebook page for the course or to use any other form of ICT, they need to be aware that the  University of Auckland Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Statute sets out rules governing use of any ICT hardware or software at or for University activities. It forbids using ICT “to store, display or communicate… files containing any text, image that is deceptive or misleading, is abusive or defamatory, contravenes anyone’s privacy… or that reproduces all or part of any work in breach of the Copyright Act 1994”.  The Statute refers students to the relevant University Disciplinary Statute and the penalties that may apply.  It can be found at: https://policies.auckland.ac.nz/student-undergraduate.aspx 

Students with impairments:

Are asked to discuss privately with the course convenor (face–to-face and/or by email) any impairment-related requirements regarding delivery of course content or course assessments. Please contact the Course Coordinator as soon as possible if you have any impairment-related needs.

Complaint procedures:

The University of Auckland seeks to encourage the prompt and informal resolution of all students’ learning and research grievances as they arise. Students should be aware that support is available through either their class or faculty representative, the Student Advocacy Network or their Students' Association. For detailed information on academic disputes and complaints, see http://www.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/home/for/current-students/cs-academic-information/cs-regulations-policies-and-guidelines/academic-disputes-and-complaints.

Course summary:

Date Details Due