Translation of Economic Texts

The course aims to familiarize students with the particular characteristics, specific discourse, and terminology of economic texts, and to develop the skills required for producing translations of economic texts from English, considering their functional relevance to the linguistic-textual conventions of corresponding Greek economic texts and their compliance with the expectations of the respective target audience.

The organization of the course is based on the following assumptions: a) the difficulty in understanding an economic text to be translated is not due to the text itself but to the adequacy of the translator's cognitive background, b) the difficulty in translating an economic text does not stem from the text itself but from the relationship that the translator develops with it, and c) terminological units function within specific pragmatic and conceptual frameworks, and their specialized content derives from the specific meaning attributed to them by the expert communities in the field of Economics.

The goal of the course is for students to understand that:

• finding terminological equivalents in the target language does not by itself guarantee the creation of adequate translations,
• terminology is for translators a means of acquiring knowledge in a specific field or, in other words, a means of acquiring the necessary cognitive background for translating an economic text,
• translating the source-text involves not only acquiring knowledge of its topic but also understanding its discourse,
• knowledge of textual specifications leads to the creation of texts that will comply with the rule of intratextual coherence, i.e., they will make sense in the communicative context in which they will function and will meet the expectations of their respective users/receivers,
• translation is a decision-making process determined by the specific purpose and the translation brief.

Upon completion of the course, students will:

• be able to analyze various types of economic texts and identify their linguistic-textual conventions,
• be able to effectively and systematically search for and document terminology and information from reliable sources (specialized dictionaries, terminology databases, official websites, parallel texts, etc.),
• analyze translation problems and make documented decisions based on the purpose of the translation and the characteristics of the target audience,
• have increased their awareness of how they translate through retrospective reflection on the problems they encountered,
• successfully apply their declarative and procedural knowledge in a targeted manner based on the assigned task,
• be able to produce functional translations that meet the purpose of the assignment and the translation brief.

Week 1: Course preview: a) detailed description of the assessment method, b) description of the source-text uploaded on the Open eClass platform, c) detailed presentation of the translation scenario and translation brief, d) discussion of the content of the source-text, e) assessment of students’ cognitive background, f) presentation of the basic assumptions of Skopos Theory, Translation Action Theory, and Functional Text Analysis.

The source text is approximately 2,500-3,000 words long and is selected from a branch of Economics (e.g., macroeconomics, international banking, economic crisis, etc.). The text is translated and evaluated in segments.

Assignment for the next lesson: a) analysis of the source-text and commentary on the feasibility of the assignment according to the translation brief, b) identification of translation problems, c) brief written presentation of the content of the source text.

Week 2: Presentation of students’ work according to the assigned tasks. Discussion of translation problems and the semantic rendering of the source-text. Provision of comparable parallel texts in Greek as well as bilingual online sources for terminological documentation, and guidance on their use and the cataloging of extracted terminology.

Assignment for the next lesson: a) terminology search (finding translation equivalents, identifying double or multiple terminology, neologisms, and understanding their semantic content, acronyms) from Greek parallel texts and bilingual electronic sources, b) search for more comparable texts in Greek and their evaluation according to their degree of ‘specialization’, c) proposal of appropriate translation macro-strategies.

Week 3: Presentation of students’ work according to the assigned tasks. Detailed discussion of the semantic content of the specialized terms and concepts of the source-text. Discussion of neologisms, double or multiple terminology, and acronyms as translation problems and ways to translate them depending on the communicative context and target audience. Discussion of the importance of macro-strategies for producing functional translations.

Assignment for the next lesson: a) addressing terminological problems that remained fully or partially unresolved, b) brief written presentation of the content of the source text.

Week 4: Presentation of students’ work according to the assigned tasks. Students compare their results with those from the second week. Discussion of any remaining unresolved translation problems. The translation diary as a tool for monitoring and evaluating students’ progress. Presentation of micro-strategies as a means of decision-making at the level of textual micro-structure.

Assignment for the next lesson: a) draft translation of the source-text and presenting it in class, b) recording in the translation diary the way they approached the source-text, the problems (pragmatic, intercultural, text-specific, and interlingual) they identified during its translation, and the reasoning behind the specific decisions they made.

Weeks 5-11: Weekly presentation of students’ work according to the assigned tasks. Evaluation of the intertextual coherence of their translations with the source-text. Evaluation and revision, if necessary, of the proposed solutions. Discussion and evaluation of the micro-strategies selected and applied based on the functional relevance of the target-text to its users/recipients. Presentation and discussion of various translation evaluation models.

Assignment for the twelfth week: evaluation of the intratextual coherence of the final target texts using an evaluation tool that takes into account
a) the functional adequacy of the target-text, i.e., accuracy in formulation, smooth readability, and its textual functions according to the translation brief, and
b) the linguistic adequacy of the target-text, i.e., compliance with the linguistic conventions of the target audience, use of appropriate discourse and terminology, and clarity of its non-specialized content.

The justification and conclusions of the evaluation are recorded in the translation diary.

Week 12: Students present and explain the evaluations of their translations. They then exchange their translations so that each translation is evaluated by another student and presented the following week. Here too, the justification and the conclusions of the evaluation are recorded in the translation diary.

Week 13: Students present and explain the evaluations of the translations distributed to them the previous week and submit their final translations and translation diaries.

In English

Cabré, Teresa (2005). Terminology: Theory, Methods and Applications, Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.

Colina, Sonia (2008). “Translation Quality Evaluation: Empirical evidence for a Functionalist Approach”. The Translator 14(1). 97–134.

Colina, Sonia (2009). “Further evidence for a functionalist approach to translation quality evaluation”. Target 21(2). 235-264.

Fox, Olivia (2000). “The Use of Translation Diaries in a Process-Oriented Translation Teaching Methodology”. Ch. Schäffner & B. Adab (Eds.). Developing Translation Competence. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Co. 114-130.

Gotti, Maurizio (2005). Investigating Specialized Discourse, Bern: Peter Lang AG.

Hönig, Hans G. (1997). “Position, Power and Practice: Functionalist Approaches and Translation Quality Assessment”. Current Issues in Language and Society, τ. 4, No 1.

Katan, David (2011). “Occupation or profession: A survey of the translators’ world”. R. Sela-Sheffy & M. Schlesinger (Eds.). Identity and Status in the Translational Profession. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Co. 65-88.

Kelandrias, Panagiotis (2008). “Towards a functional translation strategy for minor languages: the case of Greek”. Forum 6(1). 75-104.

Kelandrias, Panagiotis (2010). “The Role of the Translation Brief when Teaching Translation into Greek”. Walther von Hahn, Cristina Vertan (Hrsg./eds.). Fachsprachen in der weltweiten Kommunikation Specialized Language in Global Communication. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. 184–190.

Kelandrias, Panagiotis (2010). “Neologisms in LSP of Greek/Latin origin and their translation from English/German into Greek”. Dictio 3. Επιστημονική Επετηρίδα – Yearbook 2008-2009. ΤΞΓΜΔ. 191-199.

Kiraly, Donald (2012). “Skopos Theory Goes to Pracxis: Puerposeful Translation and Emergent Translation Project”. mTm. A Translation Journal 4. 119-144.

Meschonnic, Henri (2011). Ethics and Politics of Translating (transl.-ed. Pier-Pascale Boulanger). Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Co.

Mossop, Brian (³2014). Revising and editing for Translators. London/New York: Routledge.

Nord, Christiane (²2001). Translation as a Purposeful Activity. Functionalist Approaches Explained. Manchester: St. Jerome Publishing.

Nord, Christiane (2005a). “Training functional translators”. M. Tennent (Ed.). Training for the New Millennium. Pedagogies for translation and interpreting. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Co. 209-223.

Nord, Christiane (2005b). Text Analysis in Translation. Theory, Methodology, and Didactic Application of a Model for Translation-Oriented Text Analysis. Amsterdam/New York: Rodopi.

Parianou, Anastasia/Kelandrias, Panagiotis (2001). “Similarities and differences between common language and specialised language (with translation examples in English, German, Greek)”. Proceedings. 1^ST International Conference on Specialized Translation. Barcelona: Fundació “La Caixa”. 94-97.

Parianou, Anastasia/Kelandrias, Panagiotis (2001). “Translation of terms of Greek origin in LSP texts”. A. Barr/M. R. Martín Ruano/J. Torres del Rey (eds.). Últimas Corrientes Teóricas en los estudios de traducción. Salamanca: Universidad de Salamanca. 550-555.

Parianou, Anastasia/Kelandrias, Panagiotis (2001). “Interactions between common and specialised language and translation problems of the new scientific terms”. ACTAS-II. VII Simposio Internacional de Comunicación Social. Santiago de Cuba: Centro de Linguística Applicada. 126-131.

Parianou, Anastasia (2009). Translating from Major into Minor Languages. Athens: Diavlos Publishing Co.

Pym, Anthony (2012). On Translator Ethics. Principles for mediation between cultures (transl. from French by Heike Walter, ed. And updated by the author). Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Co.

Schäffner, Christina (1998). “Parallel Texts in Translation”. L. Bowker & M. Cronin & D. Kelly & J. Pearson (Eds.). Unity in Diversity. Current Trends in Translation Studies. St. Jerome Publishing. 83-90.

Stolze, Radegundis (2003). “Vagueness in Economic Texts as a Translation Problem”. Across Languages and Cultures 4(2). 187-203.

Tirkkonen-Condit, Sonja (2000). “Uncertainty in Translation Process”. S. Tirkkonen-Condit & R. Jääskeläinen (Eds.). Tapping and Mapping the Processes of Translation and Interpreting. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Co. 123-142.

Vermeer, Hans J. (1987). “What does it mean to translate?”. Indian Journal of Applied Linguistics 13(2). 25-33.

Vermeer, Hans J. (1989). “Skopos and commission in translational action”. A. Chesterman (Ed.). Readings in Translation. Helsinki: Oy Finn Lectura Ab. 173-187.

Williams, Malcolm (2004). Translation Quality Assessment: An Argumentation-centred Approach. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press.

Zanettin, Federico (2012). Translation-Driven Corpora. Corpus Resources for Descriptive and Applied Translation Studies. London/New York: Routledge.

In Greek

Κελάνδριας, Παναγιώτης (2003). “Τα μη γλωσσικά στοιχεία ως παράγοντες σχηματισμού και καθιέρωσης ειδικών όρων”. Ελληνική Γλώσσα και Ορολογία. Ανακοινώσεις 4^ου Συνεδρίου. Αθήνα: ΤΕΕ. 24-31.

Κελάνδριας, Παναγιώτης (2007). “Ο ρόλος των μεταφραστικών οδηγιών στη διαμόρφωση της ειδικής ορολογίας”. Ελληνική Γλώσσα και Ορολογία. Ανακοινώσεις 6^ου Συνεδρίου, Αθήνα: ΤΕΕ, 2007. 344-352.

Κελάνδριας, Παναγιώτης (2007). Η Μετάφραση των Οικονομικών Κειμένων. Μια Λειτουργική Προσέγγιση. Αθήνα: Δίαυλος.

Κελάνδριας, Παναγιώτης (2009). “Η ορολογική ασάφεια των οικονομικών κειμένων ως μεταφραστικό πρόβλημα”. Ελληνική Γλώσσα και Ορολογία. Ανακοινώσεις 7^ου Συνεδρίου. Αθήνα:ΤΕΕ,. 405-413.

Κελάνδριας, Παναγιώτης (2011). “Θεωρία της μετάφρασης ή μεταφραστικές στρατηγικές;”. Τ. Νενοπούλου & Ε. Λουπάκη (Επιμ.). Η μεταφρασεολογική έρευνα και η μεταφραστική πρακτική στον ελληνόφωνο χώρο. Θεσσαλονίκη: City Publish. 47-53.

Κελάνδριας, Παναγιώτης (2013).”Η ορολογική ‘σύγκλιση’ ως μεταφραστικό εργαλείο της ειδικής μετάφρασης”. Ελληνική Γλώσσα και Ορολογία. Ανακοινώσεις 9^ου Συνεδρίου. Αθήνα: ΤΕΕ, 2013. 416-424.

Παριανού, Αναστασία/Κελάνδριας, Παναγιώτης (1999). “Τεχνικές και διδακτική της μετάφρασης των ειδικών κειμένων”. Ελληνική Γλώσσα και Ορολογία. Ανακοινώσεις 2^ου Συνεδρίου. Αθήνα: ΕΛΕΤΟ. 263-271.

Παριανού, Αναστασία/Κελάνδριας, Παναγιώτης (2000). “Ειδική Μετάφραση και Ιδιωτισμοί”. Δ. Παντελοδήμος (επιμ.). ΜΕΤΑΦΡΑΣΗ. Πρακτικά Διεθνούς Συμποσίου. Αθήνα: ΕΚΠΑ. 261-271.

Παριανού, Αναστασία (2010). “Διδακτική της ειδικής μετάφρασης: λειτουργική προσέγγιση και περιφερειακές γλώσσες”. Ε. Λάμπρου & Γ. Φλώρος (Επιμ.). Η Διδακτική της μετάφρασης στον ελληνόφωνο χώρο: σύγχρονες τάσεις και προοπτικές. Αθήνα: Ελληνικά Γράμματα. 95-114.

Παριανού, Αναστασία (2011). “Έρευνες συμπεριφορών και μετάφραση – Μια κοινωνιοσυμπεριφορική προσέγγιση”. Τ. Νενοπούλου & Ε. Λουπάκη (Επιμ.). Η μεταφρασεολογική έρευνα και η μεταφραστική πρακτική στον ελληνόφωνο χώρο. Θεσσαλονίκη: City Publish. 139-152.

Παριανού, Αναστασία/Κελάνδριας, Παναγιώτης (2001).”Η συνωνυμία στην ειδική γλώσσα και η μετάφρασή της”. Ελληνική Γλώσσα και Ορολογία. Ανακοινώσεις 3^ου Συνεδρίου. Αθήνα: ΤΕΕ. 262-272.

Παριανού, Αναστασία/Κελάνδριας, Παναγιώτης (2002) “Ειδικοί όροι: προϋποθέσεις και απαιτήσεις για την εξέλιξή τους”. Γ. Ανδρουλάκης (επιμ.). Διεθνές Συνέδριο. Μεταφράζοντας στον 21^ο αιώνα: ΤΑΣΕΙΣ ΚΑΙ ΠΡΟΟΠΤΙΚΕΣ. ΠΡΑΚΤΙΚΑ. Θεσσαλονίκη: Φιλοσοφική Σχολή ΑΠΘ. 756-763.

Student-centered and process-oriented method, focusing on text analysis, recording of translation problems, decision-making, and documentation. Students are not evaluated only by the translation delivered but also by their weekly progress.

Use of ICT in teaching.

70% from their weekly progress as recorded in the translation diaries.

30% from the final assignment submitted at the end of the semester.