Kennesaw State University
Department of Foreign Languages
I.
SPANISH 4460:
II.
INSTRUCTOR:
OFFICE:
Office hours: By appointment
Telephone: (770) 423-6366
III.
CLASS MEETING:
IV.
Texts:
Foundations of Legal Interpreting
De Jongh, Elena. An Introduction to Court Interpreting: Theory and Practice.
Lanham, MD: University of America, 1992.
Duenas Gonzalez, Roseann. Fundamentals of Court Interpretation.
North Carolina: Carolina Academic Press, 1991.
Mikkelson, Holly. The Interpreter’s Edge Set. Spreckels, CA: Acebo, 1992.
Penal and Civil Terminology. Santa Monica, CA: A-Lexis, 1990.
V.
Week
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE (Subject to change if necessary):
Week 1
Concepts of Translation and Interpretation
Week 2
Concepts of Translation and Interpretation
Week 3
Sight Translation in a Judicial Setting/ Bicultural Issues
Week 4
Courtroom protocol and “Court Interpreter Code of Ethics”
Week 5
Legal Terminology and Concepts
Week 6
Exercises on Translation of Legal Documents
Week 7
Exercises on Translation of Legal Documents/EXAM I
Week 8
Public Speaking Techniques/ Practice
Week 9
Public Speaking Techniques/ Practice
Week 10
Sight Translation of Legal Documents/Exercises
Week 11
Sight Translation of Legal Documents/Exercises
Week 12
Sight Translation of Legal Documents/Exercises
Week 13
Sight Translation of Legal Documents/Exercises
Week 14
Sight Translation of Legal Documents/Exercises
Week 15
Presentations
LAST DAY TO DROP WITHOUT ACADEMIC PENALTY:
FINAL EXAMINATION:
To be announced.
CATALOG DESCRIPTION: SPAN 4460. Foundations of Legal Interpreting.
Permission of department chair or program coordinator and SPAN 4455 (must be taken before
or concurrently with SPAN 4460).
Provides an overview of techniques and strategies for sight translation-the oral rendition of a
written document. Introduces basic Spanish-English legal terminology and concepts by
exposing students to a variety of legal and civil documents. Presents courtroom protocol and
practical implications of the “Court Interpreter Code of Ethics.” Stresses development of
effective reading comprehension and speaking in Spanish.
VII.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: Every KSU student is responsible for upholding the provisions of
the Student Code of Conduct, as published in the Undergraduate of Graduate Catalogs. Section
II of the Student Code of Conduct addresses the University’s policy on academic honesty,
including provisions regarding plagiarism and cheating, unauthorized access to University
materials, misrepresentation/falsification of University records or academic work, malicious
removal, retention, or destruction of library materials, malicious/intentional misuse of computer
facilities and/or services, and misuse of student identification cards. Incidents of alleged
academic misconduct will be handled through the established procedures of the University
Judiciary Program, which includes either an “informal” resolution by a faculty member,
resulting in a grade adjustment, or a formal hearing procedure, which may subject a student to
the Code of Conduct’s minimum one semester suspension requirement.
DISABILITY POLICY: Kennesaw State University provides program accessibility and
reasonable accommodations for persons identified as disabled under Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 or the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. A number of
services are available to help disabled students with their academic work. In order to make
arrangements, students must visit the Office of Disabled Student Support Services (770/4236443) and arrange an individual assistance plan. In some cases, certification of disability is
required.
VIII.
A) COURSE OBJECTIVES:
By the end of this course, the student will be able to:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
Understand the various modes of interpretation.
Demonstrate emerging ability for public speaking.
Understand bicultural issues in legal settings.
Understand courtroom protocol and practical implications of the “Court Interpreter Code of
Ethics”
(d) Handle general legal terminology and concepts in Spanish and in English.
(e) Develop ability to give oral renditions of civil and standard legal documents
in Spanish and in English.
B) LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY OBJECTIVES:
By the end of this course, the student will be able to:
Reading Comprehension:
Understand main ideas and most details of civil documents as well as standard legal documents
in Spanish and in English used in legal proceedings.
To achieve these objectives, the student will work with samples of birth certificates, plea
agreements, waivers, etc., from Hispanic countries as well as from the United States. The
student will also read personal letters and cards in Spanish and in English.
Listening Comprehension:
Understand main ideas and most details of speech in English and in Spanish used in the legal
setting.
To achieve these objectives, the student will participate in class discussions and listen to audio/
videotapes of legal proceedings.
Writing:
Translate main ideas and most details of civil and standard legal documents in Spanish and in
English.
To achieve these objectives, the student will translate samples of birth certificates, plea
agreements, waivers, etc., from Hispanic countries as well as from the United States. The
student will also work with personal letters and cards in Spanish and English.
Speaking:
Give oral renditions of civil and standard legal documents in Spanish and in English.
To achieve these objectives, the student will participate in class discussions, role-play and will
give oral presentations to the class.
Culture:
Understand the main cultural issues presented in civil and standard legal documents and audiovisual materials of legal proceedings.
Demonstrate an understanding of differences in cultural patterns of interaction in the legal
setting.
To achieve these objectives, the student will examine the sociopolitical background of birth
certificates, plea agreements, waivers, etc., from Hispanic countries and United States and will
discuss it in class. The student will analyze the behavior of legal proceeding participants in
audio/ videotapes and will discuss it in class.
XI.
FINAL GRADE:
There are 500 possible points to be earned in this course. They are distributed as follows:
1 Exam
3 Brief synopses
2 Oral presentations
Class discussions
Audio/ Videotape exercises
Final Exam
TOTAL
A:
B:
C:
D:
F:
90-100%
80-89%
70-79%
60-69%
< 60%
100
60
100
60
80
100
__________________
500