SPAN 410-000: Topics in Spanish Linguistics (Spring 2010)

Translators are both skilled writers and, equally important, excellent readers. The translation process involves textual analysis, interpretation and creativity. The process is much more complex than its final product and requires choices at every step that have important political and cultural implications. Context is of utmost importance - Who is the intended audience? What is the purpose of this particular translation? This course will examine these issues, challenge your knowledge of syntax, and compel you to consider multiple linguistic nuances in both English and Spanish.

Over the semester you will become acquainted with the history and many of the theories of translation, as well as basic methods/techniques and problems of translating between English and Spanish. While the main focus of the course will be on Spanish as the source language (SL) and English as the target (TL), you will also do a limited amount of translation into Spanish, as well as some English to English translation. A great deal of class time will be devoted to translation practice, the comparison of multiple translations of a single text, and discussion of translations done both by students and professional translators. As the course progresses, you will become more involved in your final project, and after Spring Break, we will begin workshops to help each student with the specific problems encountered in her text.