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  • Writer's pictureAndrew Starr

UoP - Translation Theory and Practice (UG)

This page collects resources for the University of Portsmouth's SELL French General Language Class 2023-24.

A shortened link to this page is rebrand.ly/uoptt23



It is a page to gather links to all valuable content for me to have everything to hand.



Students will be able to access most of this directly in Moodle.


lundi, 22 avril

This is the last time I see you... You will have your in class assessment available on April 29th. May 6th is a Bank Holiday so there is no further class after that.

Semaine 10: Traduction vers l'anglais

Cette semaine, vous traduirez un extrait du livre de Claude Ponti 'Sur l'ile des Zertes'. 

Find out more about the author here.

Please upload your finished translations for feedback here.

What would say in your commentaries? Which theories could you cite?

Here is the book being read out loud...



If you have successfully completed the translation of l'île des Zertes, then there are some short stories from Mauritania for you to translate into English here.

Please upload your versions of l'île des Zertes here. If you have done any of the stories from Mauritania, please upload them here.


lundi, 15 avril

How did you manage with the task Claire gave to you for translation into English from French before the Easter break?


Today, we will do a mini half-mock assessment so I can give you some feedback during next week's session.

I will issue you one of two short texts in children's literature that you can complete during class today.

Pandemic Pete - short section - what can you achieve in 40 minutes from this excerpt?

Confinés - section - what can you achieve in 40 minutes from this excerpt?


lundi, 26 février

Firstly, this afternoon, I would like to discuss commentaries (again) and what to put in them...

I did this in December, too, for those who attended that seminar. Your lecture in December also covered this topic... voiceover


You should know from your lectures what you should put in a commentary; however, what would be worthy of comment when speaking about a subtitling task?


Remember, this book is available in print and as an ebook from the University Library. Chapter 7 covers the field of Audio-Visual Transition.


You will then continue to subtitle your clips and look at their function to ensure they match the video language as nearly as possible.


You may ask for peer reviews and tutor feedback during this session. After consolidation week, you begin with Claire and Children's Literature. I will next see you after Easter (after the Subtitling Assessment is due)


Your Assessment:

Set date: noon on Friday, 1 March 2024 (= Week 6, TB2) - Submission date: noon on Friday, 22 March 2024 (= Week 9, TB2) via Moodle.


lundi, 19 février

You should now be very familiar with the software Aegissub.

You have been working on a documentary on the English Channel (La Manche) or Wild Ireland. You will have been subtitling from the ST to TT in your L2 (your weaker language).


Today, you can show me your progress on your subtitles. You were asked to complete this week's video, taking the feedback you've received from your peer into account.


I have sourced two new videos for a final practice run before your assessment is set. Remember, you will subtitle into your L2 for this assessment.


lundi, 29 janvier


The idea here is to familiarise yourselves with Aegissub. 

Use this clip to test out Aegisub for yourselves... Remember the style guides for how subtitles generally work best. 



BBC Subtitling style guide (use for comparison of deals)


Normes arte (p.10) - A guide for the Franco-German Channel are.



lundi, 22 janvier

Today, we will look at the overview of the new module.

In this part of the module, we will look at subtitling using Aegissub an Open Source Software (mainly used for fansubbing).


Activity: Vous êtes le prof!

Voici l'exemple d'un examen donné il y a quelques années.

Vous trouverez le texte de source et les traductions du passé sur Moodle [ ici .]

[Voici deux exemples de traductions soumises par deux étudiants.]


Qu'en pensez-vous?

Identifiez ce qui est bien et ce qui est moins bien.

Maintenant, attribuez une note et un commentaire. 


END OF TEACHING BLOCK 1



lundi, 11 décembre

We will look at giving feedback on your translations, and we will look at the assessment you have to submit during the January exam session. (January 26th, 2024).

The library has a new ebook on 'Writing a Translation Commentary' - Published December 5th 2023. CH4 Contents PPT


What do people do in translating songs?

Compare these versions of fairly well-known songs sung at Christmastime; what has been done to make the song work in French compared to the English original or, in one case, the other way around?


La colombe de noël

Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Vive le vent - (I reckon you will not need an English Version)

Minuit Chrétien (this is an original French Christmas Song/Hymn)

O Holy Night


lundi, 4 décembre

You should have received some feedback from Claire.

From me (hopefully at 1pm) some emails were sent to your agency by my alter-egos requesting two new tasks to be submitted by Friday, so make the most of today's seminar to complete the main part of these two tasks.

You should send your quotes by the end of the class today, if you cannot send the final translations. Make the deadline of Friday for the submission and in the final seminar we will do a wash-up on the whole agency simulation and look at the assessment.


lundi, 13 novembre

Discussion des devoirs donnés lors de la colloque avec CR sur votre agence - les devis et les choses que vous avez chargées à partir de l'adresse mail.



lundi, 16 octobre

Discussion des devoirs donnés lors de la colloque avec CR ou du cours de traduction générale...

Discussion de traduction du texte touristique de Cormeilles dans l'Eure.


Pour la première colloque avec Claire, (après la semaine de relâche), il faut préparer un texte en français que vous trouverez sur Moodle - (ce sera le 30 octobre)


How was the translation?

How confident are you that yours would read like a text written for an Anglophone?

What were the difficulties?

What did you do to solve the issue?

What theory could relate to this?


If all is complete and we are happy with our 'top copy', how would you have translated the text from the original website (c.2014)?

or from this video (below), that surely has to have been done by someone who thinks they know English rather than a bonafide translator (I hope at least).


lundi, 9 octobre

Discussion des devoirs donnés lors de la colloque avec CR ou du cours de traduction générale...

Discussion de traction du texte touristique de Cormeilles dans l'Eure.



It's an oldie but goodie (How Google Translate does not always get things correct)






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