FR 415 Workshop in Translation
Syllabus:
Description and Assignment schedule
Winter 2013
Professor Joanne Schmidt
Office: Business Development Center (BDC) 257A
Office phone: (661) 654-2317
Office hours: Mondays: 3:30-5:00PM and Wednesdays: 11AM-12PM and 3:30-5:00PM
and by appointment
Office fax machine: (661) 654-2017
Modern Languages and Literatures Department
California State University, Bakersfield
9001 Stockdale Highway
Bakersfield, CA 93311
(661) 654-2359
E-mail:
Fax: (661) 654-2017
PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE SYLLABUS CAREFULLY BEFORE SENDING DR. SCHMIDT THE COURSE CONTRACT AT THE END OF THE SYLLABUS. MERCI.
Course Description and Format
This course is an asynchronous web-based course offered in conjunction with the CSU-wide French Consortium. Syllabus, and supplementary course materials, will be posted on our Blackboard site, and all exercise assignments are in the textbook for the course. The instructor and students will also interact asynchronously (threaded discussions, group work) on the Blackboard site. THE STUDENT WILL COMPLETE EACH WEEKLY ASSIGNMENT AND E-MAIL IT TO THE INSTRUCTOR WITHIN THE Blackboard COURSE. PLEASE DO NOT SEND YOUR WEEKLY ASSIGNMENTS as Word attachments TO MY E-MAIL ADDRESS AT CSUB. I REQUEST THAT ALL OF YOUR ASSIGNMENTS BE SENT TO ME AND POSTED WITHIN THE Blackboard COURSE ONLY. Blackboard IS A WONDERFUL COURSE MANAGEMENT TOOL, AND IT IS MEANT TO BE USED TO HOUSE ALL ASPECTS OF STUDENT-INSTRUCTOR INTERACTION AND ASSIGNMENT DELIVERY AND RECEPTION. MERCI BIEN.
Instructor will hand correct your submitted assignments and return them to you by U.S. Mail, which will be addressed and sent to your French professor on your campus, i.e., for CSULA students, Dr. Gretchen Angelo, for example. The course entails 10 weeks of online instruction and feedback by the instructor. Students will receive all course instructions online via the syllabus. For those students NOT at California State University, Bakersfield, a French professor from your campus will serve as an on-site advisor: Gretchen Angelo at Los Angeles. The Blackboard website will be housed at: http://bb.csub.edu. Shiree Martinez, the Blackboard Coordinator at CSU-Bakersfield, will send you your individual Blackboard passwords as soon as classes begin on January 7, 2013.
We will be working principally from the manual entitled The Beginning Translator's Workbook which I will supplement with other materials that I will glean from different sources and post on our website. Warning! This is an independent web-based class: that is to say that you will work on your own without the support of a classroom environment. You must stay on schedule or your homework grade will suffer. Homework turned in after the due date will be graded down one whole grade and will go to the very bottom of my “things to correct” pile.
As a student in French 415, you will be required to complete 80% of the course, which means that you must complete the Pre-test, Assignments in Chapters 1-11 in your textbook, including the "Preface", and the posted translation assignments on the webpage, which will begin during the sixth (6th) week of the course, the Midterm, and the Final Exam. This course must be completed during Winter quarter 2013. Since our campuses
in the CSU have different start-up dates for Winter quarter 2013, I am allowing the 80%
of the course content, which must include Assignments 1-9 in your textbook, including the “Preface,” 8 of the posted translations in chronological order, the Midterm and the Final Exam, to be the minimum requirement to complete the course successfully. This requirement is a type of safety net for those students who cannot complete the entire course. In addition, this safety net is necessary for the Instructor to complete all grading, and delivery of grades to the students enrolled in the course, before departing overseas to complete research overseas.
A STUDENT-INSTRUCTOR CONTRACT WILL BE INCLUDED AT THE END OF THIS SYLLABUS. PLEASE READ IT CAREFULLY, WRITE YOUR NAME ON IT, THEN FAX IT TO ME, ATTENTION DR. SCHMIDT, AT THIS FAX NUMBER FOR MY DEPARTMENT : (661) 654-2017. Students must sign a contract stating that they have understood the terms of the syllabus. YOU WILL BE DROPPED FROM THE CLASS UNLESS YOU (a) sign and return this contract, (b) reply to my initial e-mail sent to your regular e-mail address, and (c) log on to the course website before the end of the ADD- DROP period for Winter quarter 2013. Last day to add classes at CSUB is January 14, 2013. Last day to withdrawal or drop classes is January 28, 2013.
Pre-test
A pre-test short text translation, posted in your Blackboard course, is included to help you gauge whether you should pursue French 415-Workshop in Translation. If you receive a grade of 70 or below, the instructor recommends that you drop this course.
Course objectives
On the theoretical level, this course introduces students to general principles and theories of textual translation. Please note! This is not a course to learn how to do simultaneous oral interpretation like at the U.N. On the applied level, students will practice the art of translation, working from French to English and, to a very limited extent, from English to French. Beginning with phrases and short sentences, the class will proceed to short passages adapted from various sources, and finally to short literary prose passages and newspaper articles. In addition to its emphasis on vocabulary building and recognition of grammatical structures, the class will also deal with cultural and semantic contexts as they affect levels of discourse in translation practice.
The goal, better known as “thème”, of this course is to learn the theory and techniques of French to English translation. This is a relatively advanced course and will require quite a bit of reading and writing. You will be required to master complex terminology and concepts. You will also have to be comfortable with working with rather advanced French and English grammar in order to successfully complete the course. At the end of the course you will be able to translate much more fluently from French into English. At the same time your command of the written grammatical structures (the “mechanics”) of both languages will improve greatly. You will also increase your appreciation for and use of the stylistic devices and nuances of both languages.
Course materials
REQUIRED TEXTS
The Beginning Translator’s Workbook or the ABC of French to English Translation
by Michele H. Jones, University Press of America, 1997
A full-size bilingual French to English, English to French dictionary (Larousse, Harrap’s, Collins, etc.)
You will also need a good English dictionary and an English thesaurus.
Our virtual “course packet” will consist of textbook written and reading assignments, and short texts to translate as well as short readings pertaining to translation . Please read the “Class Announcements” bulletin board actively throughout the course. The Instructor will not always be there to answer Blackboard e-mail messages sent by each student. The Instructor will be teaching two (2) classroom courses in French while teaching French 415. Please allow a day, or sometimes two days, for the Instructor to respond to your inquires.
RECOMMENDED
Monolingual dictionaries (French only) are available at your university library. The best for our purposes is Le Petit Robert.
TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COURSE:
It is recommended that students enrolled in French 415:
1. Own or have ample access to a computer (e.g., in CSU campus computer labs or at home or work).
2. Have an email account (available free of charge to all CSU students)
3. Have a basic understanding of how to use the Internet.
Participation
You are expected to actively participate on-line with your instructor (through e-mail and threaded discussion). Students are encouraged to contact the instructor on an individual basis at any time—by coming to office hours, by phone, or by e-mail within the Blackboard course site itself. Participation means doing your homework in a timely manner, contributing to online class interactions when appropriate, reading students’ and instructor’s comments and reacting to what they say, using the language actively, asking for help/explanations as soon as you need to, daring to make mistakes as you acquire new skills.
Format for homework
Homework is to be typed as a Word file, and DOUBLE-SPACED ONLY, FOR LEGIBILITY. Please send your work as an e-mail attachment. Students are expected to complete all assignments in a timely manner. Each week’s assignment will be due on the Saturday of the week it has been assigned. For example, the first week’s assignment, including your pre-test and your textbook written assignments, will be due on Saturday, January 12 in my regular email account: , for the first week only, in case you cannot
log into BlackBoard. After the first week of classes, all emails and completed assignments sent to me must be sent through BlackBoard.
Midterm and Final
The midterm and final examination will each consist of short unprepared texts to be translated with the use of a dictionary. There will also be an “identification” section where you will define and/or discuss key theoretical concepts from our readings. These exams will be OPEN BOOK and posted on our course’s website on the scheduled date for each exam. There is no need for your home campus departmental French advisor (Gretchen Angelo at Los Angeles), to administer either the mid-term or final examination.
Evaluation
Homework and Participation 50%
Midterm 25%
Final 25%
Assignment Schedule
All assignments are from our main textbook unless otherwise noted. AN EXCEL SPREADSHEET, AT THE END OF THE SYLLABUS, WILL FOLLOW THE WEEKLY ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTIONS below to summarize your reading assignments and your exact written assignments for the course from the textbook. Please use that spreadsheet summary to help you keep track of your written textbook weekly assignments. Merci bien.
Week 1 January 7 - 11, 2013
First take the Pre-test to make sure that you belong in French 415.
Translate the Pre-test article from Libération cold turkey before we start using our manual. I have posted this text to our website.
Read the Preface, Basic Terminology, and Preliminary Remarks (pp. ix-xviii) from our manual after you do your Pre-test translation.
Chapter 1 “Translation Units”, read pp. 1-7, THEN DO EVERY OTHER OF THE WRITTEN EXERCISES ON PP. 8-13, BEGINNING WITH THE FIRST EXERCISE, SKIPPING THE SECOND EXERCISE AND DOING THE THIRD EXERCISE, ETC. For example, 1, skip 2, 3 SEE EXCEL SPREADSHEET.
Week 2 January 14 - 18, 2013
Chapter 2 “Words in Context”, read pp.15-18, then do every other of the exercises pp. 19-24, SEE EXCEL SPREADSHEET
HOLIDAY - January, 21, 2013, Martin Luther King Jr Day
Week 3 January 22 - 25, 2013
Chapter 3 “Deceptive Cognates”, read pp. 25-32, then do every other of the exercises pp. 33-35, SEE EXCEL SPREADSHEET
Please Note: All concurrent enrollment completed forms are due no later than 12 noon on January 28, 2013 – CSUB Census day. THIS IS ALSO THE LAST DAY TO WITHDRAW FROM FRENCH 415.
Week 4 January 28 - February 1, 2013
Chapter 4 “Translation Devices”, read pp.37-39. No exercises included in this chapter.
Chapter 5 “Borrowings”, read pp. 41-48, then, do every other of the exercises pp. 49-51, SEE EXCEL SPREADSHEET
Week 5 February 4 – February 8, 2013
Chapter 6 “Calques”, read pp.53-55, then do every other of the exercises 56-58, SEE EXCEL SPREADSHEET
Chapter 7 “Literal Translation and Structural Obstacles”, read pp. 59-70, then do every other of the exercises pp. 71-74, SEE EXCEL SPREADSHEET
Midterm exam will cover terminology, and concepts from the Preface to Chapter 7 in our textbook, and also short texts to be translated with a dictionary. The test will be open book and posted on the courses Blackboard website. Midterm is due by Midnight, 12 a.m. February 9, 2013.
Week 6 February 11 - 15, 2013
Chapter 8 “Transposition”, read pp. 77-81, then do every other of the exercises pp. 82-88, SEE EXCEL SPREADSHEET
*First short text translation due as posted on Blackboard website.
Week 7 February 18 - 22, 2013
Chapter 9 “Modulation”, read pp. 89-98, then do every other of the exercises pp. 99-104, SEE EXCEL SPREADSHEET
Chapter 10 “Equivalence”, read pp. 105-110, then do every other of the exercises pp. 111-118, SEE EXCEL SPREADSHEET
*Second short text translation due as posted on Blackboard website.
Week 8 February 25 - March 1, 2013
Chapter 11 “Adaptation”, read pp. 119-127, then do every other of the exercises pp. 128-129, SEE EXCEL SPREADSHEET
*Third short text translation due as posted on Blackboard website.
Week 9 March 4 – March 8, 2013
Chapter 12 “Applying Translators' Devices to Literary Translation”, read pp. 131-145, then do every other of the exercises pp. 146-149, SEE EXCEL SPREADSHEET
Chapter 13 “Translating Titles”, read pp. 151-155, then do every other of the exercises pp. 156-158, SEE EXCEL SPREADSHEET
*Fourth short text translation due as posted on Blackboard website.
Week 10 March 11- 15, 2013
Chapter 14 “Guidelines for the Translation of Literary Prose”, read pp. 161-186 very carefully, then do literary text to translate posted on our website, SEE EXCEL SPREADSHEET
*Fifth short text translation due as posted on Blackboard website.
March 18, 2013 – Last day of classes at CSU, Bakersfield
Final Exam translation of a short prose texts (probably two short articles from Libération) and definition/explanation of selected key concepts from your book and supplementary readings. Whereby you will write the definition/explanation and illustrate each definition/explanation with a complete sentence. The final will be open book and posted on the scheduled date and time on the Blackboard web-site.
FINAL EXAM MUST BE SUBMITTED TO DR. JOANNE SCHMIDT AS A Blackboard E-MAIL ATTACHMENT NO LATER THAN MIDNIGHT, 12 A.M. ON FRIDAY, MARCH 19. NO EXCEPTIONS! A LATE FINAL EXAM WILL BE MARKED DOWN 20 POINTS.
GRADING PROCEDURE: The grading system in all French courses is identical to the one described on page 71 of the 2009-2011 CSUB General Catalog. Students will be given letter grades on all their Mid-Term tests, on their written assignments, and on their Final Exam.
The letter grades given will be as follows: A , A- , B+ , B , B- , C+ , C , C- , D+ , D , D-, F
INTEGRITY OF SCHOLARSHIP AND GRADES/ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
The CSUB rules regarding the integrity of scholarship will be strictly enforced. For your information, the rules, as they appear on page 81 of the 2009-2011 Catalog are as follows:
The principles of truth and honesty are recognized as fundamental to a community of teachers and scholars. The University expects that both faculty and students will honor these principles and in so doing protect the validity of University grades. This means that all academic work will be done by the student to whom it is assigned, without unauthorized aid of any kind. Instructors, for their part, will exercise care in the planning and supervision of academic work so that honest effort will be positively encouraged.