TRANSLATION AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

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TRANSLATION AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

• LINCOLN P. FERNANDES
• Barddal/ISES

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TRANSLATION AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

• Give you a general idea of how translation can be
  used as a useful tool for teaching English as a
  Foreign Language (EFL)
• Translation alone can be used to teach a foreign
  language, but when combined with other activities
  (i.e. vocabulary, reading, writing, etc.), they
  can offer better resources for teachers of EFL.

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OUTLINE

• Reasons for using translation in the classroom
• Translations fall from grace
• Jakobsons (1959) concept of translation
• Final remarks.

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TASK 1

• What are the reasons for using translation in the
  EFL Classroom?
• Why do you think the use of translation in ELT
  has been viewed unfavorably?
• What do you understand by translation?

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Reasons for Using Translation in the Classroom

• Influence of the mother tongue
• Naturalness of the activity
• The skills aspect
• The reality of language
• (Duff, 1989)

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Translations Fall from Grace

• Translation
• takes up valuable time which could be used to
  teach the 4 skills
• is unnatural
• misleads students into thinking that expressions
  in two languages correspond one-to-one
• prevents students from thinking in the foreign
  language
• produces interference
• is only appropriate for training translators.
• (Malmkjaer, 1998)

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Jakobsons Concept of Translation

• On linguistic aspects of translation, Jakobson
  (1959/2000), the Russo-American linguist makes a
  very important distinction between three types of
  written translation
• Intralingual translation translation within the
  same language, which can involve rewording or
  paraphrase
• Interlingual translation translation from one
  language to another (translation proper)
• Intersemiotic translation translation of the
  verbal sign by a non-verbal sign, or vice versa.

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Intralingual Translation

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's (U.S.
  Sorcerer's) Stone
• This lot were whispering excitedly, too, and he
  couldnt see a single collecting tin.
• This bunch were whispering excitedly, too, and he
  couldnt see a single collecting tin.
• It certainly seems so, said Dumbledore. We
  have much to be thankful for. Would you care for
  a sherbet lemon?
• It certainly seems so, said Dumbledore. We
  have much to be thankful for. Would you care for
  a lemon drop?
• Every year on Dudleys birthday, his parents took
  him and a friend out for the day, to adventure
  parks, hamburger restaurants, or the cinema.
• Every year on Dudleys birthday, his parents took
  him and a friend out for the day, to adventure
  parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies.

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Interlingual Translations

• HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHERS STONE
• CHAPTER ONE
• The Boy Who Lived
• Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive,
  were proud to say that they were perfectly
  normal, thank you very much. They were the last
  people you'd expect to be involved in anything
  strange or mysterious, because they just didn't
  hold with such nonsense.
• HARRY POTTER E A PEDRA FILOSOFAL
• CAPÍTULO UM
• O menino que sobreviveu
• O Sr e a Sra Dursley, da rua dos Alfeneiros, nº
  4, se orgulhavam de dizer que eram perfeitamente
  normais, muito bem, obrigado. Eram as últimas
  pessoas no mundo que se esperaria que se metessem
  em alguma coisa estranha ou misteriosa, porque
  simplesmente não compactuavam com esse tipo de
  bobagem.

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Intersemiotic Translation
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LANDSCAPE WITH THE FALL OF ICARUS by William
Carlos Williams
According to Brueghelwhen Icarus fellit was
springa farmer was ploughinghis fieldthe whole
pageantry of the year wasawake
tinglingnear the edge of the seaconcernedwith
itself sweating in the sunthat meltedthe wings'
wax unsignificantlyoff the coastthere was a
splash quite unnoticedit wasIcarus drowning.
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I. Intralingual Translation Activities

• Electric Chair
• Word Definition
• Call My Bluff.

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II. Interlingual Translation Activities

• Odd one out
• Be X Have
• Film titles.

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III. Intersemiotic Translation Activities

• Guessing mimes
• Find a twin picture
• Guess the song line.

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Final Remarks

• It is an activity which, by its very nature,
  invites speculation and discussion
• Translation develops at least 3 qualities that
  are essential to all language learning accuracy,
  clarity, and flexibility
• Depending on the students needs, and on the
  syllabus, the teacher can select material to
  illustrate particular aspects of language and
  structure with which the students have difficulty
  in English
• Translators will always be needed. Without them,
  there would be no summit talks, no glasnost or
  perestroika, no Cannes Film Festival, no Nobel
  Prizes, no advances in medicine, science, or
  engineering, no international law, no Olympic
  Games, no Hamlet, no War and Peace