University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Department of Writing and Language Studies SYLLABUS SPAN/TRSP 4342 INTERPRETING FALL 2016 (As per AUGUST 29 TH 2016. Subject to changes upon contingencies) Meeting weekly on: Monday Hours: 4:40 PM-7:10PM Room: Main 1.524 Translation and Interpreting Lab UTRGV Brownsville Campus NO FOOD OR DRINKS ALLOWED! Instructor: Dorian G. Vázquez, M.A. Office: N/A Phone: (956) 589-2419 e-mail: dorian.vazquez@utrgv.edu No Blackboard messaging Office hours: By appointment GENERAL DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES The aim of this course is to provide a general overview and practical instruction of interpreting from English to Spanish and from Spanish to English, focusing on sight translation, consecutive interpreting, and some simultaneous interpreting. The course is designed to provide instruction and supervised practice in English <> Spanish interpreting, with emphasis on as-if real professional situations. Students will learn how to behave, listen, and talk as interpreters in multilingual conversations. Students will develop short-memory exercising and building strategies, décalage reading capabilities, and notetaking techniques for interpreting. At the end of the course students will be able to perform escort interpreting (short consecutive) at a quasi-professional level and will have established the basis for all interpreting modes. STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES The above objectives are aligned with the following program Student Learning Outcomes: 1. Students will meet the technological demands of the professional translation and interpreting market, by acquiring terminological research techniques, advanced word-processing capabilities, advanced use of Internet resources, and basic management of translation memories and terminological databases. 2. Students will reflect characteristics of professional interpreters and cultural mediators by developing short-memory building strategies, décalage reading capabilities for sight-translation, and note-taking techniques for consecutive interpreting. ASSIGNMENTS AND IN-CLASS WORK Readings Most of the take-home assignments will be in the form of readings. The readings will cover a range of topics. Expect a reading assignment every week. It is important to do the readings in order to partake in discussions and debate. 1/6
Quizzes There will be a quiz almost every other week (see schedule below). The quizzes will be based on the readings and in-class discussions. They may contain questions on specific bilingual vocabulary, general comprehension, and topic summarizing. In-class practice Every session will focus on the particular topics introduced by the readings. The particular topic to be dealt with during the session will be announced beforehand by the instructor and will require previous terminological research by the students, based on, but not limited to, the readings. At-home practice Practical sessions in the classroom are not sufficient to attain the skills needed to be an interpreter. It is essential that you practice at home. Ten minutes a day should suffice, but make sure you practice at least six days a week. Bear in mind that interpreting is a skill, not a theory. It is much like riding a bicycle. You can only learn it by doing it. So practice, practice, and practice! Please check the Translation and Interpreting Lab availability in order to record your interpreting practice sessions. You ll need a recording device for practicing. Glossaries Students need to prepare a list of specialized terms (glossaries) on the readings to be used for every class session. Glossaries count towards the final grade and they need to be edited and updated after practice sessions in class and submitted by the end of the semester. Failing to work out these materials in advance will result in a serious diminishment of individual performances during the interpreting sessions and will hinder the skill acquisition process, so please always prepare your glossaries before coming to class, memorize any new terms, and bring the glossaries to class! Please create your glossaries on a single word-processing file, with terms grouped by topic. Glossaries should have a column for the English term and another column for the Spanish term. Include a short definition below explaining the meaning of the term (either in English or Spanish as preferred). These glossaries will be printed and turned in on the date specified below (see Class Schedule). COURSE MATERIALS Required Textbook: Dialogue Interpreting, A Guide to Interpreting in Public Services and the Community, Rebecca Tipton and Olgierda Furmanek, ISBN13: 9781138784628. Ed. Routledge, 2016. Bilingual Dictionary: Oxford Spanish Dictionary (Revised), ISBN13: 9780199543403, 4 th Edition. Spanish Dictionary: Diccionario de la Lengua Española, Real Academia Española (1995 edition available at the library; 2014 edition available online at www.rae.es). The Diccionario RAE y ASALE (DLE) app by Real Academia Española is available for Android on Google Play Store) English Dictionary: Any good college level English dictionary. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary is highly recommended (2010 edition available online at http://www.merriam-webster.com/) NOTE: You will need more than a mere pocket dictionary. A good dictionary is a life-time professional tool for a translator. Please, make sure you acquire professional size dictionaries. (Low-priced, second-hand, good-quality dictionaries are available online.) 2/6
RECORDINGS, EXAMINATIONS, AND RESPONSIBILITIES During the course, individual interpretations will be consistently recorded using computer software. Students will be instructed during the first sessions on how to operate the interface and how to save and transfer files. Students are entitled (and encouraged!) to take home all in-class recordings for review. Files will be rather big but they can be transferred through the Digital Drop-Box utility in Blackboard or USB flash drives. Tests and the final exam will have the format of a recorded interpreting. It is thus very important that you learn how to operate the recording equipment properly: every student will be solely responsible for his or her recordings, including the quality of sound, file name and formatting, and final submission of the saved file. Sufficient testing time will be provided before the recording starts, so every student is responsible for checking the recorder, microphone, headsets, and the recording outcome in order to correct the settings or changing the workstation for another one in an orderly condition. A failing grade will be granted for any test or final exam where the recording does not take place, the file is not audible, or the file is corrupted or unreadable. Course description and objectives GRADING The final grade for the course will be determined as follows: 10% of the grade will be determined by attendance and in-class participation. Each exam will consist of multiple choice and comprehension questions covering equal amounts of information from the text. 20% of the grade will be determined by quizzes of the readings, which will be held one roughly every other week. There will be no make-ups for any quiz, so be there on time, every time. 10% of the grade will be determined by specialized glossaries. Please see instructions defined above. 30% of the grade: will be determined by three partial interpreting exams that will be administered during the semester. Sight Interpreting, Consecutive Interpreting, and Simultaneous Interpreting. 30% of the grade will be determined by the final exam, which will be held during finals week. 100% Total CALENDAR OF ACTIVITIES The UTRGV academic calendar can be found at http://my.utrgv.edu at the bottom of the screen, prior to login. Some important dates for Fall 2016 include: Aug 29 Fall classes begin Sept 1 Last day to add or register for Fall classes Sept 2 Last day to withdraw (drop all classes) for a 80% refund Sept 5 Labor Day Holiday, no classes Sept 14 Census day (last day to drop without it appearing on the transcript) Nov 17 Last day to drop (DR grade) a class or withdraw (grade of W) Nov 18 - Dec 8 Online course evaluations available Nov 24 - Nov 25 Thanksgiving Holiday, no classes Dec 8 Study Day, no classes Dec 9 Dec 15 Final Exams 3/6
CLASS SCHEDULE FALL 2016 SPAN/TRSP 4342 The following list of topics, exercises and exams is TENTATIVE and subject to change. During the semester the professor will announce: Details on required assignments Alterations to the schedule Exam dates and covered material Absolutely no make-ups for quizzes and exams. Week Topic Due 1(08/29) Course introduction Introduction to interpreting Dialogue Interpreting: Introduction 2(09/05) Labor Day Holiday 3(09/12) Quiz #1 Quiz #1 Taking care of your voice Basic exercises for interpreters Dialogue Interpreting: Chapter 1 SIGHT TRANSLATION 4(09/19) Quiz #2 SIGHT TRANSLATION Quiz #2 Dialogue Interpreting: Chapter 2 (Pages 35-51) 5(09/26) Intro to court interpreting SHORT CONSECUTIVE INTERPRETING Dialogue Interpreting: Chapter 2 (Pages 52-75) 6(10/03) Test #1 - Sight Translation SHORT CONSECUTIVE INTERPRETING Dialogue Interpreting: Chapter 3 7(10/10) Intro to remote interpreting SHORT CONSECUTIVE INTERPRETING SSA Disability Hearing Examples 8(10/17) Quiz #3 Intro to medical interpreting LONG CONSECUTIVE INTERPRETING Dialogue Interpreting: Chapter 4 9 (10/24) LONG CONSECUTIVE INTERPRETING Dialogue Interpreting: Chapter 5 10(10/31) Quiz #4 LONG CONSECUTIVE INTERPRETING Dialogue Interpreting: Chapter 6 11(11/07) Test #2 Consecutive SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETING Lessons from Nuremberg Etiquette 12(11/14) Quiz #5 SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETING Intro to conference interpreting Text preparation 13(11/21) SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETING Intro to audiovisual interpreting Interpreter ethics 14(11/28) Quiz #6 LIASION INTERPRETING Interpreter Certifications Dialogue Interpreting: Chapter 7 4/6 Partial Interpreting Exam #1: Sight Translation Quiz #3 Quiz #4 Partial Interpreting Exam #2: Consecutive Quiz #5 Quiz #6
15 (12/05) Test #3 Simultaneous Review 16 Final Exam (Exam date to be determined by the UTRGV Final Exam Schedule) FALL 2016 SPAN/TRSP 4342 Partial Interpreting Exam #3: Simultaneous Glossaries Final Exam UTRGV POLICY STATEMENTS NON-USE OF MACHINE TRANSLATION One of the purposes of this course is to help each student develop his or her own translation skills. This means that the translations of necessity must be to be carried out by each student individually. Consequently, students are strictly prohibited from running their source texts through machine translation engines such as Google Translate, Bing Translator, BabelFish, and others. Students who turn in a translation that has been partially or fully translated by a machine are in fact plagiarizing, cheating, and turning in someone or something else s work (see section on scholastic integrity below). If the professor believes that machine translation was employed in the process of translating a text, the student will automatically receive a zero for that assignment. Disciplinary measures may be initiated in the case of repeated violations. Exceptions to this rule prohibiting the use of machine translation will be clearly signaled by the professor, should there be any. STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: If you have a documented disability (physical, psychological, learning, or other disability which affects your academic performance) and would like to receive academic accommodations, please inform your instructor and contact Student Accessibility Services to schedule an appointment to initiate services. It is recommended that you schedule an appointment with Student Accessibility Services before classes start. However, accommodations can be provided at any time. Brownsville Campus: Student Accessibility Services is located in Cortez Hall Room 129 and can be contacted by phone at (956) 882-7374 (Voice) or via email at ability@utrgv.edu. Edinburg Campus: Student Accessibility Services is located in 108 University Center and can be contacted by phone at (956) 665-7005 (Voice), (956) 665-3840 (Fax), or via email at ability@utrgv.edu. MANDATORY COURSE EVALUATION PERIOD: Students are required to complete an ONLINE evaluation of this course, accessed through your UTRGV account (http://my.utrgv.edu); you will be contacted through email with further instructions. Students who complete their evaluations will have priority access to their grades. Online evaluations will be available: Oct 5 Oct 12 for Module 1 courses Dec 1 Dec 7 for Module 2 courses Nov 18 Dec 8 for full fall semester courses ATTENDANCE: Students are expected to attend all scheduled classes and may be dropped from the course for excessive absences. UTRGV s attendance policy excuses students from attending class if they are participating in officially sponsored university activities, such as athletics; for observance of religious holy days; or for military service. Students should contact the instructor in advance of the excused absence and arrange to make up missed work or examinations. 5/6
SCHOLASTIC INTEGRITY: As members of a community dedicated to Honesty, Integrity and Respect, students are reminded that those who engage in scholastic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the possibility of failure in the course and expulsion from the University. Scholastic dishonesty includes but is not limited to: cheating, plagiarism, and collusion; submission for credit of any work or materials that are attributable in whole or in part to another person; taking an examination for another person; any act designed to give unfair advantage to a student; or the attempt to commit such acts. Since scholastic dishonesty harms the individual, all students and the integrity of the University, policies on scholastic dishonesty will be strictly enforced (Board of Regents Rules and Regulations and UTRGV Academic Integrity Guidelines). All scholastic dishonesty incidents will be reported to the Dean of Students. SEXUAL HARASSMENT, DISCRIMINATION, and VIOLENCE: In accordance with UT System regulations, your instructor is a responsible employee for reporting purposes under Title IX regulations and so must report any instance, occurring during a student s time in college, of sexual assault, stalking, dating violence, domestic violence, or sexual harassment about which she/he becomes aware during this course through writing, discussion, or personal disclosure. More information can be found at www.utrgv.edu/equity, including confidential resources available on campus. The faculty and staff of UTRGV actively strive to provide a learning, working, and living environment that promotes personal integrity, civility, and mutual respect in an environment free from sexual misconduct and discrimination. COURSE DROPS: According to UTRGV policy, students may drop any class without penalty earning a grade of DR until the official drop date. Following that date, students must be assigned a letter grade and can no longer drop the class. Students considering dropping the class should be aware of the 3-peat rule and the 6-drop rule so they can recognize how dropped classes may affect their academic success. The 6-drop rule refers to Texas law that dictates that undergraduate students may not drop more than six courses during their undergraduate career. Courses dropped at other Texas public higher education institutions will count toward the six-course drop limit. The 3-peat rule refers to additional fees charged to students who take the same class for the third time. 6/6