Japanese V: Practical Translation

On the successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• discuss some of the main translation theories, basic research methods of translation studies, as well as some practical issues related to the translation industry
• display deeper ability to use various translation techniques
• analyse various aspects of Japanese language register as used in different documents
• evaluate the quality of a translation.

In the course, both the theoretical aspects of translation studies and the practice of actual translation are covered, though the emphasis is more on the practice. For the theoretical part, some of the most important theories and research methods in translation studies are studied. For the practical part, the students translate excerpts of documents from various genres, mainly from Japanese into English, and learn about various issues related to the professional translation industry. The students practice discussing about their own and others’ translation work in order to learn a critical approach in collaboration with others, in addition to the feedback from the teacher.

The course is assessed through constructive participation in seminars and group discussions, and through a number of written assignments and a major written test.

The course consists of lectures and discussions based on the written assignments. The students work both individually and in groups. The main teaching languages are English and Japanese.

The Swedish grades A–F.

This course is a continuation of the course Japanese IV: Introduction to Translation.