Sumários

Practical 6 - Part I

28 Outubro 2024, 11:00 • Rui Vitorino Azevedo

We reviewed students' translations of the Boston guide, focusing on maintaining the original tone and style—informal, conversational, and persuasive. We examined whether each student's general strategy aligned with these goals and discussed possible adaptations needed for improvement. Most students applied a communicative strategy, though some opted for a freer translation approach. In these cases, we worked on aligning the target text more closely with the source text.

We only reviewed the first few paragraphs; the rest of the text was assigned for the next class. It was also announced that Practical 7 would be uploaded to Moodle for next Monday’s class.

Practical 6

23 Outubro 2024, 14:00 • Rui Vitorino Azevedo

In this practical assignment, we focused on translating consumer-oriented texts, specifically a 48-hour travel guide to Boston. Since these texts aim to inform and persuade audiences about products or services, we examined culture-specific elements in the ST and discussed how persuasive techniques effective in American culture might not resonate in Portuguese. The challenge was to adapt the source text not only linguistically but also culturally, ensuring the TT retains its persuasive and informative qualities in the TL. We conducted a pre-translation analysis, considering genre conventions and stylistic preferences in both cultures. Students were asked to discuss their strategic translation decisions, particularly regarding cultural references, style, and register, and apply at least two translation strategies from Hervey and Higgins.

The key strategies to be explored include:

  • Exoticism: Retaining ST cultural elements to highlight differences.
  • Calque: Direct translation of the ST's structure into the TL.
  • Cultural borrowing: Directly incorporating culturally specific terms.
  • Communicative translation: Balancing idiomatic language in the TL while maintaining key ST elements.
  • Cultural transplantation: Adapting the ST to a more familiar target culture setting.
  • Compensation: Balancing cultural loss by introducing references elsewhere.
  • Explicitation: Adding clarifications to make cultural references more accessible.

Students then began translating the text in small groups or pairs. They were asked to justify the use of the strategies they chose, ensuring that the text remains culturally and stylistically persuasive for the Portuguese audience.

Practical 6

23 Outubro 2024, 11:00 • Rui Vitorino Azevedo

In this practical assignment, we focused on translating consumer-oriented texts, specifically a 48-hour travel guide to Boston. Since these texts aim to inform and persuade audiences about products or services, we examined culture-specific elements in the ST and discussed how persuasive techniques effective in American culture might not resonate in Portuguese. The challenge was to adapt the source text not only linguistically but also culturally, ensuring the TT retains its persuasive and informative qualities in the TL. We conducted a pre-translation analysis, considering genre conventions and stylistic preferences in both cultures. Students were asked to discuss their strategic translation decisions, particularly regarding cultural references, style, and register, and apply at least two translation strategies from Hervey and Higgins.

The key strategies to be explored include:

  • Exoticism: Retaining ST cultural elements to highlight differences.
  • Calque: Direct translation of the ST's structure into the TL.
  • Cultural borrowing: Directly incorporating culturally specific terms.
  • Communicative translation: Balancing idiomatic language in the TL while maintaining key ST elements.
  • Cultural transplantation: Adapting the ST to a more familiar target culture setting.
  • Compensation: Balancing cultural loss by introducing references elsewhere.
  • Explicitation: Adding clarifications to make cultural references more accessible.

Students then began translating the text in small groups or pairs. They were asked to justify the use of the strategies they chose, ensuring that the text remains culturally and stylistically persuasive for the Portuguese audience.

Practical 5

21 Outubro 2024, 14:00 • Rui Vitorino Azevedo

Our focus was on Practical 5, translating children's literature. We emphasised key aspects of the source text that needed to be maintained, such as repetition, and paid particular attention to how the text should 'sound' appealing to young readers. This gave the translator some creative freedom to make adjustments that achieve this goal. However, students still tended to translate too literally, so we concentrated on the revision process, focusing exclusively on refining the target text and making any necessary changes. We encountered additional challenges, prompting another brainstorming session to resolve them using strategies we've covered so far.

Practical 5

21 Outubro 2024, 11:00 • Rui Vitorino Azevedo

Our focus was on Practical 5, translating children's literature. We emphasised key aspects of the source text that needed to be maintained, such as repetition, and paid particular attention to how the text should 'sound' appealing to young readers. This gave the translator some creative freedom to make adjustments that achieve this goal. However, students still tended to translate too literally, so we concentrated on the revision process, focusing exclusively on refining the target text and making any necessary changes. We encountered additional challenges, prompting another brainstorming session to resolve them using strategies we've covered so far.