NOTE: This is a tentative outline of the material to be covered during the semester, subject to change according to student orientation, background, and needs.
Please check Moodle daily for homework assignments and handouts.
Week 1 (September 5 - September 7)
Introductions – What is translation? What does a translator do and why is it important? Basic terminology.
Watch video: “Nota del traduttore, episodio 1, Marco Rossani”
Read p. 7-11, Thinking Italian Translation, do p. 12, Practical 1, 1.1, and 1.2
Read "What is Translation" and "Translation Competence" (in Translation, the Basics, by Juliane House)
The Satanic Verses: What happened to the translators who have worked on the controversial book?
Harry Potter English vs American versions
Read “Why Mistranslation Matters” by Mark Polizzotti
Week 2 (September 12 - 14)
Translating idiomatic expressions
The Amanda Gorman translation controversy
Read "Translate meanings not words" by Tim Gutteridge
Thinking Italian Translation: read Ch. 2, “Preliminaries to translation as a product” (p. 15-22) do p. 22 Practical 2, 2.1 Assignment 1 and p. 23 2.2 Assignments (i) and (ii).
September 12, 6:30 pm, Secchia Top Terrace, Translation Talk with Claudia Durastanti: attendance required
Read Thinking Italian Translation Ch. 3 Cultural Transposition (p. 25-31); do p. 31-32 Practical 3, Assignment 1
Read "The Odyssey translated by Emily Wilson review – a new cultural landmark" by Charlotte Higgins (The Guardian)
Listen to the podcast: "Il doppiaggio e il doppiaggese"
Graded translation one, due September 14
Week 3 (September 19 - 21)
Thinking Italian Translation, read Ch. 4 "Compensation” (p. 34-39) and do Practical 4.1
Read "The Translator Relay-Adam Morris"
Graded Translation II: Due September 26: "Social Detox" (short story by Sara Vannelli)
Week 4 (September 26 - 28)
September 26: Guest translator Gioia Acon
Thinking Italian Translation: read Ch. 10 "Language variety" (p. 90-96) and do Practical 10.1
Re-translating Gone with the Wind into Italian: Read “La nuova traduzione di Via col vento” (interview with Annamaria Biavasco and Valentina Guani)
Thinking Italian Translation, read Ch. 11 "Textual genre and translation issues" (p. 100-105). Do Practical 11.1, p. 105
Read "What Makes a Translation Great?" by Katy Derbyshire Which of the many definitions of what makes a translation great do you like best?
Week 5 (October 3 - 5)
Watch video: “Nota del traduttore - Episodio 2 - Monica Pavani”
Thinking Italian Translation, read "Scientific and technical translation" (p. 108-113) and do Practical 12.2
Graded Translation 3
Read "Can Poetry be Translated?" by Emma Bowman, "The Art of Poetry Translation" by Thea Voutiritsas, and"Tradurre in Metropolitana" by Damiano Abeni
On October 17 each student will give a 5-10 minute presentation on their midterm translation project discussing:
· genre and style of the source text;
· description of how you approached the translation/any research that you did to help you with the translation;
· main challenges/difficulties presented by the text, with a few examples of the solutions that you found
Week 6 (October 10 - 12)
Comparing two Italian translations of “One Art” by Elizabeth Bishop
Comparing three translations of “L’infinito” by Giacomo Leopardi
Read the bio of poet Piergiorgio Viti and translate the poem "Ti piace questa poesia"?
Week 7 (October 17 - 19)
Hand in/present midterm translation project
Prepare questions for poet Piergiorgio Viiti
October 19 - Guest speaker: poet Piergiorgio Viti
Optional: make any adjustments to the poem from "Vita da prof" that you translated and submit it.
Read and translate "La poesia: difficile da definire, una sfida da tradurre" by Ilenia Gradinello
Graded translation 4: due on October 26
Choose another poem from "Dentro al petto mi si muove un canto" by Piergiorgio Viti and translate it
Week 8 (October 24 - 26)
Watch documentary: Tradurre by Pier Paolo Giarolo
Write a 300-400 word review of the documentary Tradurre. You can choose to write it either in English or Italian.
Read “Some like poetry” by Wislawa Szymborska
Thinking Italian Translation, read p. 116-125 "Official, legal and business translation"; p. 125, Practical 13.1, Assignment 1
Week 9 (October 31 - November 2)
Common errors in translating websites into English
Translation fails in advertising
Differences between translation, localization and transcreation
Watch video: “Note del Traduttore Episodio 3 - Gianni Pannofino”
Thinking Italian Translation, read "Translating consumer-oriented texts" (p. 129-133) and do Practical 14.1
Read "Doing Business and Crossing Borders in Translation" in Found in Translation by Nataly Kelly and Jost Zetzsche
Read "Slang: cos'è e come si traduce? (Eurotrad blog)
Read "La difficoltà di tradurre una battuta" (interview with Giulio D’Antona)
Translate excerpt from the novel Meridian by Alice Walker into Italian
Week 10 (November 7 - 9)
Corpus of Contemporary American English
Translate into Italian the excerpt from “Boxes” by Raymond Carver.
Graded Translation 5 (due Wednesday, November 16)
Translate into Italian paragraphs 1-5 of the excerpt from All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.
New translation of Manzoni's I promessi sposi by Michael Moore
Video: Interpreter Breaks Down How Real Time Translation Works
Week 11 (November 14 - 16)
Guest translator: Lauren Sunstein (specialist in art translations)
Graded Translation 5
Read "Waging War and Keeping the Peace in Translation" (in Kelly and Zetzsche)
Getting started with Ted Translators/Subtitling a Ted talk: “Il potere e la responsabilità di fotografare vite umane”
Read "How to Write Subtitles: Tips to do it properly" by Sara Galluccio
Read (and listen to video): ‘Squid Game’ Fan Says Some Nuances of Thriller Lost in the Translation — Literally” by Althea Legaspi
Continue translating subtitles from "Il potere e la responsabilità di fotografare vite umane"
Week 12 (November 21 - 23)
Subtitling Tips from TED
Thinking Italian Translation: read 136-140, Revising and editing translations,” p. 142, do Practical 15.2
Graded Translation 6 (optional): Translate "Fare un film" by Federico Fellini (due November 28)
Each student will give a brief presentation on an article assigned to them regarding translation.
Week 13 (November 28 - 30)
Guest translator Mattia Maglione: Translating Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens and “Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll
Read "Polemiche all'amatriciana. Quelli che... Zerocalcare? Troppo romano" by Paolo di Paolo
Week 14 (December 5 - 7)
Optional Graded Translation 7:
Translate "Spaventose le fiabe? No, sono una terapia?" by Friday, December 9
December 12 - 16: FINALS WEEK Students will present Final Translation Project