18428 - Liaison Interpreting between Italian and English II (First Language) (CL2)

Learning outcomes

The aim of the course is to further develop the skills and competencies (lexical, translational etc) acquired during the previous two years to enable students to tackle, competenly and professionally, specific interlinguistic and intercultural communicative situations.  Community interpreting skills in particular will be developed, above all in a legal setting.  In addition to consolidating lexical knowledge and complex translational problems, students will also learn memorisation techniques for consecutive interpreting and the techniques for whispered simultaneous interpreting.

Course contents

The course will focus on interpreting in a legal setting (in the courts, at the police, during questioning by investigating magistrates etc).  Numerous translational problems will be tackled which arise as a result of differences that exist between the Italian legal system and the Anglo-Saxon legal system.  Students will acquire a basic knowledge of how these two different systems work, above all in those situations in which the services of an interpreter are normally required (hearings, interviews etc).  This knowledge will be acquired using exercises aimed at consolidating the interpreting techniques already developed (such as sight translation and memorisation) and specific exercises for the learning of new interpreting techniques (notetaking, whispered interpreting).  In addition to legal jargon, students will also learn other special languages used in legal settings (medical-legal terminology, the description of weapons and tools used to commit crimes etc).  Students will also be exposed to more colloquial language, as well as specific jargons.  Finally, problems relating to the professional code of ethics and intercultural communication that often arise in these settings and require specific competencies will also be tackled.

Readings/Bibliography

A specific bibliography will be provided during the course.

Teaching methods

The course attempts to combine a very practical approach to dialogue interpreting, with exercises involving sight translation, recorded or live interviews/lessons with professionals from the legal sector (lawyers, judges etc) and simulations of real life situations, with reflections of a theoretical nature, in particular with regard to problems concerning the professional code of ethics.  Students will be encouraged to produce specialised glossaries for the situations presented in class with the aid of electronic resources made available on the e-learning site, in addition to the material (printed, audiovisual etc) used in class, with the aim not just of broadening their vocabulary, but also of developing a methodology for preparing for real-life job situations, necessary for the future professional activity of the students.  Many of the activities carried out in the classroom and at home involve group work.  In the classroom, exercises will be presented aimed at developing concentration, listening and memorisation skills, and the use of specific translational/interpreting strategies during the reformulation of the text in the other language. The printed/audiovisual material used will gradually increase in difficulty and become more specific.

Assessment methods

For the exam at the end of the course, students will be assigned a specific situation relating to the situations tackled during the course.  The simulation will last around 15/20 minutes and will involve a part requiring consecutive interpreting and a part requiring whispered interpreting.  During this simulation students must demonstrate that they:

a. Know the typical techniques used in dialogue interpreting: consecutive and whispered interpreting;
b. Know and are able to translate the procedural language and specific legal language for the situation;
c. Know and are able to translate effectively in the specific situation the basic terminology for the specific type of crime (drug offences, violence etc);
d. Know how to handle in a professional way the three-party communication and efficiently solve all the unforeseen problems that can arise during the simulation.
In preparation for this simulation the students also have to prepare as a group a specific glossary for this working situation.  Finally, for the theoretical part, students will also have two engage in a group project on a aspect of dialogue interpreting, using the bibliography provided.

Teaching tools

In addition to the printed and audiovisual material used in class, corpora for the specific topics tackled in class will also be made available on the e-learning site.

Office hours

See the website of Isabella Preziosi