Short description: This course focuses on the German to Greek translation of travel guides and travel brochures (including museum, exhibition and gastronomy guides and brochures), which pertain to the textual category of general texts and can be rather lucrative for the professional translator, for they are, amongst others, a frequent translation task. The students learn to deal with the linguistic, cultural and textual issues and problems that emerge from the translation of these particular text types and with this particular translational directionality and they get familiar with the basic principles of the translation of travel guides and brochures from German to Greek. The translational approach used in this course is a functional one.

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to: 

• understand the textual, linguistic and cultural particularities of the travel guides and brochures (including museum, exhibition and gastronomy guides and brochures)
• identify and deal with the linguistic, cultural and textual problems that arise when translating these particular text types
• have a sufficient command of the basic principles of the functional translation theory
• understand and apply the translational approach to text analysis
• effectively deal with challenges related to the translation of place names, first names, dialects, idioms. In particular, they will be able to choose the most appropriate techniques and justify their translation choices
• understand the cultural differences between German and Greek
• create bilingual term bases on issues that are central to travel guides and brochures.

Week 1: The main textual, linguistic and cultural particularities of these text types are introduced and the central principles for their translation are presented. The first source text to be translated by the students is analyzed in class (travel brochure 1).

Week 2: The translation (of the travel brochure 1) is presented by 1-2 students in class with the help of electronic means (computer, projector). Their translation is then discussed, analyzed and compared, contrasted with the translation of the other course participants and, as far as needed, corrected. Source text number two (travel brochure 2) is distributed to the student to be prepared for the next session.

Week 3: 

The translation (of the travel brochure 2) is presented by 1-2 students in class with the help of electronic means (computer, projector). Their translation is then discussed, analyzed and compared, contrasted with the translation of the other course participants and, as far as needed, corrected.

Source text number three (travel guide 1) is distributed to the student to be prepared for the next session.

Week 4: The translation (of the travel guide 1) is presented by 1-2 students in class with the help of electronic means (computer, projector). Their translation is then discussed, analyzed and compared, contrasted with the translation of the other course participants and, as far as needed, corrected. Source text number four (travel guide 2) is distributed to the student to be prepared for the next session.

Week 5: The translation (of the travel guide 2) is presented by 1-2 students in class with the help of electronic means (computer, projector). Their translation is then discussed, analyzed and compared, contrasted with the translation of the other course participants and, as far as needed, corrected. Source text number five (exhibition brochure 1) is distributed to the student to be prepared for the next session.

Week 6: The translation (of the exhibition brochure 1) is presented by 1-2 students in class with the help of electronic means (computer, projector). Their translation is then discussed, analyzed and compared, contrasted with the translation of the other course participants and, as far as needed, corrected. Source text number six (exhibition brochure 2) is distributed to the student to be prepared for the next session.

Week 7: The translation (of the exhibition brochure 2) is presented by 1-2 students in class with the help of electronic means (computer, projector). Their translation is then discussed, analyzed and compared, contrasted with the translation of the other course participants and, as far as needed, corrected. Source text number seven (exhibition guide 1) is distributed to the student to be prepared for the next session.

Week 8: The translation (of the exhibition guide 1) is presented by 1-2 students in class with the help of electronic means (computer, projector). Their translation is then discussed, analyzed and compared, contrasted with the translation of the other course participants and, as far as needed, corrected. Source text number eight (exhibition guide 2) is distributed to the student to be prepared for the next session.

Week 9: The translation (of the exhibition guide 2) is presented by 1-2 students in class with the help of electronic means (computer, projector). Their translation is then discussed, analyzed and compared, contrasted with the translation of the other course participants and, as far as needed, corrected. Source text number nine (gastronomic brochure 1) is distributed to the student to be prepared for the next session.

Week 10: The translation (of the gastronomic brochure 1) is presented by 1-2 students in class with the help of electronic means (computer, projector). Their translation is then discussed, analyzed and compared, contrasted with the translation of the other course participants and, as far as needed, corrected. Source text number ten (gastronomic brochure 2) is distributed to the student to be prepared for the next session.

Week 11: The translation (of the gastronomic brochure 2) is presented by 1-2 students in class with the help of electronic means (computer, projector). Their translation is then discussed, analyzed and compared, contrasted with the translation of the other course participants and, as far as needed, corrected. Source text number eleven (gastronomic guide 1) is distributed to the student to be prepared for the next session.

Week 12: The translation (of the gastronomic guide 1) is presented by 1-2 students in class with the help of electronic means (computer, projector). Their translation is then discussed, analyzed and compared, contrasted with the translation of the other course participants and, as far as needed, corrected. Source text number twelve (gastronomic guide 2) is distributed to the student to be prepared for the next session.

Week 13: The translation (of the gastronomic guide 2) is presented by 1-2 students in class with the help of electronic means (computer, projector). Their translation is then discussed, analyzed and compared, contrasted with the translation of the other course participants and, as far as needed, corrected. Conclusions are drawn with regard to the translation of the general text type of travel guides and brochures and to the translational directionality German to Greek. Furthermore, conclusions are also drawn by the students on the helpfulness of the theoretical tools of functional translation theory with regard to the translation of this particular text type.

Suggested reading:

Nord, C. (2014), Η μετάφραση ως στοχευμένη δραστηριότητα – Εισαγωγή στις λειτουργικές προσεγγίσεις. [Μετ. Σίμος Π. Γραμμενίδης, Δέποινα Δ. Λάμπρου]. Αθήνα: Δίαυλος.    

Seel, O. I. (2015), Εισαγωγή στη γενική μετάφραση. Μια λειτουργική προσέγγιση με βάση το ζεύγος γλωσσών ελληνικά/γερμανικά και τα κειμενικά είδη συνταγών μαγειρικής, διαφημιστικών κειμένων και τουριστικών οδηγών. (Ηλεκτρονικό βιβλίο στο πλαίσιο του προγράμματος «Κάλλιπος», Προσβάσιμο στο:  (https://repository.kallipos.gr/handle/11419/2568) ή απευθείας στο (https://repository.kallipos.gr/pdfviewer/web/viewer.html?file=/bitstream/11419/2568/7/00_master_document_interractive.pdf). 

Vermeer, H. J. (³1992) Skopos und Translationsauftrag - Aufsätze. Frankfurt am Main: IKO-Verlag für interkulturelle Kommunikation (thw; 2).

Face-to-face delivery/Electronic source texts and bibliography is offered by the instructor of this course through e-class. All work at home and in class is based on this material. The students are asked to produce the translations of the given source text(s) and to present their work in class by using the computer and projector. 

Use of ICT in teaching.

Final written exams.