Theory and Techniques of French Translation
A.Y. 2021/2022
Learning objectives
The course will focus on reflection on the basis of translated studies and ability to produce good quality, potentially publishable texts through translations with a gradual difficulty level.
Expected learning outcomes
The course includes a first part (Modules A and B) in which to reflect on the studies of translation, particularly literary translation. In this first part, from a translating and contrasting point of view, we will reflect on the context and the linguistic code, with particular attention to the Italian language. The second part of the course (Module C) will deal with the translation of some literary texts of gradual difficulty, with particular attention to the context and purpose of each proposed passage. The exam will consist of a written test (translation of a literary passage of about 3000 characters) and an oral test (discussion of the proposed translation) in French.
Lesson period: Second semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Lesson period
Second semester
Due to the Covid19 emergency, the course will be held in blended mode (remotely/in attendance) according to indications and the timing which will be communicated by the teacher to the students in due time.
Course syllabus
The course, whose title is The word and its context: practical translations applications, consists of the following three units:
A: Translation theory aspects. Reflections on the linguistic code and context (20 hours, 3 credits)
B: Context reflections from the perspective of translation. Interpretative hypotheses and translating as "négocier" (20 hours, 3 credits)
C: The choice of translator in the economy of the text. The context: an indispensable element for narrative translation (20 hours, 3 credits)
Students who want to acquire 6 credits should study units A and B; students intending to acquire 9 credits should study the whole program (units A, B and C).
Units A, B and C will be taught in the second semester.
Units A and B aim to initiate a reflection on the studies of translation, particularly in the field of translation for literature. In this phase, we will also reflect on the context and the linguistic code, with particular attention to the Italian language.
Unit C will deal with the translation of some literary texts of gradual difficulty, with particular attention to the context and purpose of each passage proposed.
The course program is accepted until February 2023. Since the summer session of 2023, students will have to study the 2021-22 course program exclusively.
A: Translation theory aspects. Reflections on the linguistic code and context (20 hours, 3 credits)
B: Context reflections from the perspective of translation. Interpretative hypotheses and translating as "négocier" (20 hours, 3 credits)
C: The choice of translator in the economy of the text. The context: an indispensable element for narrative translation (20 hours, 3 credits)
Students who want to acquire 6 credits should study units A and B; students intending to acquire 9 credits should study the whole program (units A, B and C).
Units A, B and C will be taught in the second semester.
Units A and B aim to initiate a reflection on the studies of translation, particularly in the field of translation for literature. In this phase, we will also reflect on the context and the linguistic code, with particular attention to the Italian language.
Unit C will deal with the translation of some literary texts of gradual difficulty, with particular attention to the context and purpose of each passage proposed.
The course program is accepted until February 2023. Since the summer session of 2023, students will have to study the 2021-22 course program exclusively.
Prerequisites for admission
The course, taught entirely in French, the course materials and the bibliography require a good competence both in French and Italian. Erasmus students and students participating in other mobility projects are invited to send an email to [email protected] in order to discuss any necessary adaptations of the course program.
Teaching methods
The course employs the following teaching methods: lectures, translation assignments, group reading and analysis of source and target texts, seminars on translation for literature.
Teaching Resources
The course has a website on the Ariel online teaching platform on which students can find all the texts and materials provided during the lessons.
The following list contains the bibliography for the three units of the course. Editions of reference are indicated.
Bibliography for attending students
Units A and B
Antoine BERMAN, Pour une critique des traductions : John Donne, Paris, Gallimard, 1995.
Antoine BERMAN, L'épreuve de l'étranger. Culture et traduction dans l'Allemagne romantique, Gallimard, 1984.
Umberto ECO, Dire quasi la stessa cosa. Esperienze di traduzione, Bompiani, 2003
Mathieu GUIDÈRE, Introduction à la traductologie, Penser la traduction : hier, aujourd'hui, demain, Bruxelles, De Boeck, 2010.
Yvon KEROMMES, De la source à la cible : la fidélité... aux principes, ou l'art du compromis. 2006, Mons, Belgique. CIPA, pp.177-188, 2007.
Jean-René LADMIRAL, Traduire: théorèmes pour la traduction, 1919, Petite Bibliothèque Payot
Georges MOUNIN, Les Belles infidèles. Essai sur la traduction, Cahiers du Sud, 1955 ; Presses universitaires de Lille, 1994.
Bruno OSIMO, Manuale del traduttore, Milano, Hoepli, 2003
Josiane PODEUR, La pratica della traduzione. Dal francese in italiano e dall'italiano in francese, Liguori, 2002
Josiane PODEUR, Jeux de traduction/Giochi di traduzione, Napoli, Liguori, 2009
Jean SOUBRIER et Christian THUDEROZ, Traduire, est-ce négocier ? In : Négociations 2010/2 (n°14), pp. 37-57, consultable en ligne https://www.cairn.info/revue-negociations-2010-2-page-37.htm
Unit C
Material available on the University platform.
Bibliography for non-attending students
Units A and B
Antoine BERMAN, Pour une critique des traductions : John Donne, Paris, Gallimard, 1995.
Antoine BERMAN, L'épreuve de l'étranger. Culture et traduction dans l'Allemagne romantique, Gallimard, 1984.
Umberto ECO, Dire quasi la stessa cosa. Esperienze di traduzione, Bompiani, 2003
Mathieu GUIDÈRE, Introduction à la traductologie, Penser la traduction : hier, aujourd'hui, demain, Bruxelles, De Boeck, 2010.
Yvon KEROMMES, De la source à la cible : la fidélité... aux principes, ou l'art du compromis. 2006, Mons, Belgique. CIPA, pp.177-188, 2007.
Jean-René LADMIRAL, Traduire: théorèmes pour la traduction, 1919, Petite Bibliothèque Payot
Georges MOUNIN, Les Belles infidèles. Essai sur la traduction, Cahiers du Sud, 1955 ; Presses universitaires de Lille, 1994.
Georges MOUNIN, Les Problèmes théoriques de la traduction, Gallimard, 1963 et « Tel » no 5, 1976.
Bruno OSIMO, Manuale del traduttore, Milano, Hoepli, 2003
Josiane PODEUR, La pratica della traduzione. Dal francese in italiano e dall'italiano in francese, Liguori, 2002
Josiane PODEUR, Jeux de traduction/Giochi di traduzione, Napoli, Liguori, 2009
Jean SOUBRIER et Christian THUDEROZ, Traduire, est-ce négocier ? In : Négociations 2010/2 (n°14), pp. 37-57, consultable en ligne https://www.cairn.info/revue-negociations-2010-2-page-37.htm
Samuel TOLEDO, Les Belles infidèles de Georges Mounin, In : Équivalences, 34ème année-n°1-2, 2007, pp. 121-128, consultable en ligne
DOI : https://doi.org/10.3406/equiv.2007.1322
www.persee.fr/doc/equiv_0751-9532_2007_num_34_1_1322
Unit C
Material for non-attending students available on the University platform.
The following list contains the bibliography for the three units of the course. Editions of reference are indicated.
Bibliography for attending students
Units A and B
Antoine BERMAN, Pour une critique des traductions : John Donne, Paris, Gallimard, 1995.
Antoine BERMAN, L'épreuve de l'étranger. Culture et traduction dans l'Allemagne romantique, Gallimard, 1984.
Umberto ECO, Dire quasi la stessa cosa. Esperienze di traduzione, Bompiani, 2003
Mathieu GUIDÈRE, Introduction à la traductologie, Penser la traduction : hier, aujourd'hui, demain, Bruxelles, De Boeck, 2010.
Yvon KEROMMES, De la source à la cible : la fidélité... aux principes, ou l'art du compromis. 2006, Mons, Belgique. CIPA, pp.177-188, 2007.
Jean-René LADMIRAL, Traduire: théorèmes pour la traduction, 1919, Petite Bibliothèque Payot
Georges MOUNIN, Les Belles infidèles. Essai sur la traduction, Cahiers du Sud, 1955 ; Presses universitaires de Lille, 1994.
Bruno OSIMO, Manuale del traduttore, Milano, Hoepli, 2003
Josiane PODEUR, La pratica della traduzione. Dal francese in italiano e dall'italiano in francese, Liguori, 2002
Josiane PODEUR, Jeux de traduction/Giochi di traduzione, Napoli, Liguori, 2009
Jean SOUBRIER et Christian THUDEROZ, Traduire, est-ce négocier ? In : Négociations 2010/2 (n°14), pp. 37-57, consultable en ligne https://www.cairn.info/revue-negociations-2010-2-page-37.htm
Unit C
Material available on the University platform.
Bibliography for non-attending students
Units A and B
Antoine BERMAN, Pour une critique des traductions : John Donne, Paris, Gallimard, 1995.
Antoine BERMAN, L'épreuve de l'étranger. Culture et traduction dans l'Allemagne romantique, Gallimard, 1984.
Umberto ECO, Dire quasi la stessa cosa. Esperienze di traduzione, Bompiani, 2003
Mathieu GUIDÈRE, Introduction à la traductologie, Penser la traduction : hier, aujourd'hui, demain, Bruxelles, De Boeck, 2010.
Yvon KEROMMES, De la source à la cible : la fidélité... aux principes, ou l'art du compromis. 2006, Mons, Belgique. CIPA, pp.177-188, 2007.
Jean-René LADMIRAL, Traduire: théorèmes pour la traduction, 1919, Petite Bibliothèque Payot
Georges MOUNIN, Les Belles infidèles. Essai sur la traduction, Cahiers du Sud, 1955 ; Presses universitaires de Lille, 1994.
Georges MOUNIN, Les Problèmes théoriques de la traduction, Gallimard, 1963 et « Tel » no 5, 1976.
Bruno OSIMO, Manuale del traduttore, Milano, Hoepli, 2003
Josiane PODEUR, La pratica della traduzione. Dal francese in italiano e dall'italiano in francese, Liguori, 2002
Josiane PODEUR, Jeux de traduction/Giochi di traduzione, Napoli, Liguori, 2009
Jean SOUBRIER et Christian THUDEROZ, Traduire, est-ce négocier ? In : Négociations 2010/2 (n°14), pp. 37-57, consultable en ligne https://www.cairn.info/revue-negociations-2010-2-page-37.htm
Samuel TOLEDO, Les Belles infidèles de Georges Mounin, In : Équivalences, 34ème année-n°1-2, 2007, pp. 121-128, consultable en ligne
DOI : https://doi.org/10.3406/equiv.2007.1322
www.persee.fr/doc/equiv_0751-9532_2007_num_34_1_1322
Unit C
Material for non-attending students available on the University platform.
Assessment methods and Criteria
The exam is made up of a preliminary translation test and of an oral test. The written test consists of the translation of a literary passage of about 3000 characters. The time allowed is 4 hours. Students can bring their laptops (for electronic dictionaries) or their paper dictionaries - both bilingual and monolingual. The oral test includes open questions and a critical discussion and analysis of the student's translation. bibliography. This part is carried out in French.
The written test aims at verifying the students' comprehension of French literary texts, as well as the lexical, terminological and rhetorical accuracy of their translations into Italian, and their rendering of the syntactic structure and cultural aspects of the source text. The mark is expressed in thirtieths. The results will be sent by email or uploaded on the course website within the date chosen for the oral exam. Students are free to reject the mark, by emailing their decision to [email protected] before the oral test. Candidates can check their revised test during the oral exam. The oral test is meant to verify the candidate's ability to contextualize authors and works, their terminological accuracy and their critical thinking about the topics addressed in the course. The final mark is expressed in thirtieths, and students are free to reject it during the exam.
Note for all students:
Due to the COVID-19 emergency and the fact that only distance learning will continue to be used for the 2020/2021 academic year, there will be no ongoing tests.
All students (attending or not attending) will take the same written test.
Non-attending students will also be assessed on the fundamentals of translation studies during the oral examination.
The written test aims at verifying the students' comprehension of French literary texts, as well as the lexical, terminological and rhetorical accuracy of their translations into Italian, and their rendering of the syntactic structure and cultural aspects of the source text. The mark is expressed in thirtieths. The results will be sent by email or uploaded on the course website within the date chosen for the oral exam. Students are free to reject the mark, by emailing their decision to [email protected] before the oral test. Candidates can check their revised test during the oral exam. The oral test is meant to verify the candidate's ability to contextualize authors and works, their terminological accuracy and their critical thinking about the topics addressed in the course. The final mark is expressed in thirtieths, and students are free to reject it during the exam.
Note for all students:
Due to the COVID-19 emergency and the fact that only distance learning will continue to be used for the 2020/2021 academic year, there will be no ongoing tests.
All students (attending or not attending) will take the same written test.
Non-attending students will also be assessed on the fundamentals of translation studies during the oral examination.
Unita' didattica A
L-LIN/04 - LANGUAGE AND TRANSLATION - FRENCH - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica B
L-LIN/04 - LANGUAGE AND TRANSLATION - FRENCH - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica C
L-LIN/04 - LANGUAGE AND TRANSLATION - FRENCH - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours