1.
COURSE TITLE
Media Translation
2.
COURSE CODE
TRA2270
3.
NO. OF UNITS
3
4.
OFFERING DEPARTMENT
Translation Programme
5.
AIMS & OBJECTIVES
This course aims to enable students to be familiar with the operations involving texts
related to the media such as newspapers, magazines, radio, television, cinema, and public
relations literature. Emphasis will be placed on the knowledge, skills and professionalism
required for serving clients in those fields in local and international markets. There will be
extensive practice in producing translations and bilingual versions of media texts.
6.
COURSE CONTENT
The course is built around a number of topics to provide thematic coherence. The list of
topics is to be negotiated with the class, and may include some or all of the following in
any given semester:
 How language is used in the media (e.g. newspapers, magazines, radio, television)
 How to translate media texts
 How to produce bilingual versions of media texts
 How to become a more resourceful, reflective and professional translator
7.
COURSE INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES (CILOS)
CILO
Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
CILO 1
Discuss and assess the use of language in the media [aligned with HKBU
Graduate Attribute # 1, 2, 3, 4]
CILO 2
Translate and produce bilingual versions of media texts [GA# 1, 2, 3, 4]
CILO 3
Critically discuss and evaluate the operations involving texts related to the
media [GA# 1, 2, 3, 4]
8
TEACHING & LEARNING ACTIVITIES (TLAS)
Students will be engaged in learning activities that allow them to present and discuss
written and oral reports relating to topics under discussion, and to tackle translating tasks
that require the application of ideas investigated in class.
CILO No.
TLAs
CILO 1, 2, 3
Close reading: Students will be asked to read closely originals
and translations to identify potential problems for the translator
and possible strategies for dealing with the problems. Students
will be encouraged to ask and answer questions concerning style,
type of text, audience design and other linguistic or cultural
issues.
CILO 1, 2, 3
Lectures: Students will be introduced to issues about how
language is used in media texts to enable them to think and talk
about translations and bilingual versions with precision.
CILO 1, 2, 3
Class discussions: Students will be asked to work on and discuss
assigned texts in small collaborative groups.
CILO 1, 2, 3
CILO 1, 2, 3
9
Presentations: Students will be asked to share ideas and
suggestions in small collaborative groups, present their views to
the rest of the class, and answer questions arising from their
presentations.
Translation assignments: Students will be asked to produce
translations and bilingual versions of assigned texts between
Chinese and English.
ASSESSMENT METHODS (AMS)
Type of
Assessment
Weighting CILOs to
be
(The
addressed
percentage
Description of Assessment Tasks
may vary.)
Translation
assignments
(30%); term
paper (20%);
discussions
70%
(percentage may
vary)
1, 2, 3
i. The translation and writing assignments are
given to drill students’ skills in producing
and rewriting media texts.
ii. The paper is designed mainly to give
students an opportunity to do in-depth
and
presentations
(20%)
analysis of the problems of, and approaches
to, media translation.
iii. The group discussions and presentations,
based on assigned readings, are designed to
encourage active student participation in
class for development of students’ critical
thinking and ideas sharing skills.
Final Exam
30%
1, 2, 3
The final examination is designed to see how
far students have achieved their intended
learning outcomes in acquiring the skills and
professionalism in translating and creating
bilingual versions of media texts.
10 Textbooks / Recommended readings*
DeFleur, Melvin L. 2002. Understanding Mass Communication: A Liberal Arts
Perspective.
Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin.
Delabastita, Dirk. 1995. “Translation and mass communication”, in Chan Sin-wai and
David. E. Pollard (eds.). An Encyclopedia of Translation: Chinese-English, EnglishChinese. Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press.
Dominick, Joseph R. 2002. The Dynamics of Mass Communication: Media in the Digital
Age. Boston, MA.: McGraw-Hill.
Gottlieb, Henrik. 1995. “Subtitling”, in Chan Sin-wai and David. E. Pollard (eds.). An
Encyclopedia of Translation. Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press.
Ho, Wai Kit. 1995. “Media translating”, in Chan Sin-wai and David. E. Pollard (eds.). An
Encyclopedia of Translation. Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press.
Jamieson, Kathleen Hall. 2006. The Interplay of Influence: News, Advertising, Politics, and
the Mass Media. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
McQuail, Denis. 2005. McQuail’s Mass Communication Theory. London: SAGE
Publications.
McQuail, Denis (ed.). 2002. McQuail’s Reader in Mass Communication Theory. London:
Thousand Oaks.
Rayner, Philip, Peter Wall and Stephen Kruger. 2001. Media Studies: The Essential
Introduction. London and New York: Routledge.
Taylor, Lisa and Andrew Willis. 1999. Media Studies: Text, Institutions and Audiences.
Oxford and Malden, Mass.: Blackwell Publishers.
周兆祥，1996，《專業翻譯》，香港：商務印書館。
* The references will be updated as necessary with the working syllabus.