54
Spanish Language and Translation
UNIVERSITÀ DEGLI STUDI DI NAPOLI "L'ORIENTALE"
Overview
Date/time interval
Syllabus
Course Objectives
The course aims to provide students with the necessary tools for understanding theoretical frameworks and conducting applied analysis of various discursive typologies, with the objective of fostering critical reflection on contemporary social issues. It includes the study of major critical and theoretical approaches within the fields of Communication Studies, Discourse Analysis, and Pragmatic Linguistics, as well as Translation Theory and Practice.
The course seeks to promote the application of acquired knowledge through analytical work on texts—primarily journalistic—that will be presented during class sessions. At the same time, the observation of discursive construction dynamics and the use of specific linguistic strategies—both rhetorical and argumentative—are intended to support the development of competencies aimed at interpreting different textual modalities, with a focus on understanding how messages are constructed in relation to their communicative context and how this understanding informs the translation process.
In this regard, the course incorporates the use of translation technologies, including machine and computer-assisted translation tools, corpora, glossaries, terminological databases, and electronic dictionaries. Special emphasis will also be placed on textual analysis conducted through a linguistic and discourse-analytical methodology.
For these reasons, the course aims to strengthen students’ ability to observe and analyze the constitutive elements of discourse, enabling them to explore its internal dynamics and engage in individual reflection on relevant social phenomena. Students will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of communicative structures from both theoretical and practical perspectives, showing proficiency in identifying and linguistically analyzing the textual varieties under examination, as well as in appreciating the cultural and cross-cultural dimensions of specialized texts.
Course Prerequisites
To engage with the course content effectively, it is essential that all enrolled students have successfully completed three Spanish language examinations during their undergraduate degree program. Therefore, students are expected to possess advanced language proficiency.
Teaching Methods
The course aims to promote the acquisition of specific competencies focused on the analysis and translation of specialized discourse, with particular emphasis on journalistic models and socially relevant topics. The educational pathway is designed to encourage and support students’ autonomy in analyzing and translating various discursive models from a communicative, critical-discursive, and translation-oriented perspective.
The course will offer in-depth exploration of linguistic aspects of the languages studied, including their sector-specific varieties. It will also address theories and techniques of specialized translation, with a focus on technical languages and their stylistic particularities.
The assessment phase will evaluate the appropriateness of the competencies acquired through tasks that measure students’ analytical ability to describe, examine, and contextualize textual construction dynamics in relation to communicative and informational systems.
Particular emphasis will be placed on the ability to apply critical discourse analysis methods, integrating them with tools from pragmatic linguistics and translation theory. The objective is to understand the discursive structure of various journalistic genres and to produce well-founded translations and textual analyses.
Assessment Methods
The examination consists of a written and an oral component. In order to be admitted to the oral exam, students must first pass a language proficiency test covering the topics addressed throughout the academic year. During the oral exam, students are expected to demonstrate that they have acquired, in addition to linguistic competence, a solid understanding of the course content, with reference to the texts listed in the bibliography.
The entire examination will be conducted in Spanish.
The final grade will be expressed on a scale of thirty points. The evaluation criteria used to assess the knowledge and skills acquired include: completeness and coherence of information, linguistic accuracy and fluency, appropriate use of terminology, and the ability to apply acquired knowledge effectively.
It is also important to note that practical language sessions with the Spanish language instructors (CEL) will be held throughout the academic year and constitute an integral part of the course program.
Texts
- Salvador Gutiérrez Ordóñez (2015). De pragmática y semántica. Arcolibros: Madrid.
- Hernández Guerrero, María José (2006). “Técnicas específicas de la traducción periodística”, Quaderns. Revista de traducció (13), pp.125-139.
-T. Van Dijk (2005). “Ideología y análisis del discurso”. Utopía y Praxis Latinoamericana / Afio 10. N° 29 (Abril Junio, 2005) pp. 9 – 36.
Revista Internacional de Filosoña Iberoamericana y Teoría Social / ISSN 1315-5216
CESA - FCES - Universidad del Zulia. Maracaibo-Venezuela
-Martínez Nicolás, M., Saperas, E., & Carrasco-Campos, Ángel. (2019). “La investigación sobre comunicación en España en los últimos 25 años (1990-2014). Objetos de estudio y métodos aplicados en los trabajos publicados en revistas españolas especializadas”. Empiria. Revista de metodología de ciencias sociales, (42), 37–69. https://doi.org/10.5944/empiria.42.2019.23250
Additional references will be provided during the lectures.
Contents
Topics:
- Text properties. Context, text, and discourse;
- Elements of pragmatic linguistics;
- Linguistic acts and functions;
- Discourse analysis: methodology and tools;
- Specialized languages: varieties and models;
- Language and communication: theories and methods;
- Specialized discursive varieties;
- Medical, legal, journalistic, advertising, economic, literary, and tourism language;
- Theory and practice of translation;
- Specialized translation.
Course Language
Spanish