Prospectus

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Translating Cultures

Course
2023-2024

Admission requirements

Students should be sufficiently proficient in English and Dutch. This course is part of the minor Translation and cannot be taken separately.

Description

Why do Albanians have 27 different words for moustache? Why is there no word for “understatement” in the Dutch language? Whatever the answer to these questions may be, it can surely not be denied that language is inextricably bound up with culture. There are countless examples of concepts in one language that simply do not exist in the other, such as the British phenomenon of “opting-out schools”, or concepts that have no exact equivalent in other languages, like the Dutch word “notaris”, or the American word “ranger”. The above are just a few examples to illustrate the problems a translator has to tackle every day. In order to be able to produce correct and readable translations, a translator must have a comprehensive knowledge not only of the source and target languages themselves, but also of the cultures of both the source and target language. In this course, you will not only learn many things about the United Kingdom and the United States, but you will also learn how to apply your knowledge about the cultures of the Netherlands, the UK and the US to translation problems that may result from cultural differences between these countries.

Course objectives

  • Comprehensive knowledge of American and British culture

  • Insight into the differences between source and target cultures

  • Ability to apply the above knowledge and insight in translations, and tackle translation problems resulting from differences between source and target cultures

Timetable

The timetables are available through My Timetable.

Mode of instruction

Seminar

Assessment method

Assessment

Two take home assignments

Weighing

Assignment 1: 30%
Assignment 2: 70%

Resit

Take home assignment: 100%

Inspection and feedback

How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will be organized.

Reading list

  • Reader Culture Studies for Translators. Brightspace

  • Oakland, John. American Civilization. New York: Routledge. (latest edition)

  • Oakland, John. British Civilization. London: Routledge. (latest edition)

Registration

Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.

General information about MyStudyMap is available on the website

Contact

  • For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.

  • For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Arsenaal

Remarks

Routledge, the publisher of American Civilization and British Civilization, regularly publishes new editions. You are recommended to buy the latest edition available.