Translation Theory & Practice - LAN00116M

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Module summary

This core module will introduce you to the practical and theoretical components that underpin translation in professional settings. Throughout the module, you will learn a series of transferable skills that will empower you to become a critical and reflective translator.

Module will run

Occurrence	Teaching period
A	Semester 1 2025-26

Module aims

This is an introductory module designed to equip you with a series of transferable (soft) skills that will enable you to become a more competent and reflective translator. Through a series of theory-based, profession-oriented lectures, seminars and language-specific workshops, you will learn strong analytical skills and develop the linguistic judgement which will enable you to overcome translation challenges and provide appropriate solutions to both genre-specific and intercultural issues. Moreover, this module introduces you to some of the latest translation technologies commonly used in the language industry.

Module learning outcomes

After completing this module, you should be able to:

• effectively translate texts from various genres,
• make important translation decisions drawing on existing scholarship,
• evaluate and implement external research ideas,
• critically reflect on your role as an intercultural mediator,
• incorporate translation technologies into your workflow.

Module content

The following topics will be covered:

• Equivalence in Translation
• Functionalist Approaches & Skopos Theory
• Translation-Oriented Source Text Analysis (TOSTA)
• Translation Practice
• The Translator’s Ideology
• The Translator’s ‘(In)visibility’
• Machine Translation and Post-editing
• Localisation
• Transcreation

The following text types/genres will be covered in practical workshops:

• Journalistic
• Political literature
• Technical
• Literary
• Web and multimedia content

Indicative assessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	70.0
Essay/coursework	30.0

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	100.0

Module feedback

Assessment 1: You will receive formative and summative feedback from both your language-specific tutor (for the translation component of the assessment) and the course unit convenor (for the reflective report).

Assessment 2: You will receive formative and summative feedback from both your language-specific tutor (for the translation component of the assessment) and the course unit convenor (for the critical analysis).

Indicative reading

Baumgarten, S. & Tieber, M. (Eds.). (2025). The Routledge Handbook of Translation Technology and Society. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

Freeth, P. J., & Treviño, R. (Eds.). (2024). Beyond the Translator’s Invisibility: Critical Reflections and New Perspectives. Leuven University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.9827043.

Jiménez-Crespo, M. A. (2013). Translation and web localization. Routledge.

Kenny, D. (2017). Human issues in translation technology. Routledge.

Munday, J. (2012). Introducing translation studies theories and applications (3rd ed.). Routledge.

O’Hagan, M. (2020). The Routledge Handbook of Translation and Technology (M. O’Hagan, Ed.). Routledge.

Olohan, M. (2021). Translation and Practice Theory. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315514772.

Pym, A. (2014). Exploring Translation Theories (2nd ed.). Taylor and Francis.

Rothwell, A., Moorkens, J., Fernández-Parra, M., Drugan, J., and Austermuehl, F. (2023). Translation Tools and Technologies. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.