Teaching Specialised Translation into L2 - Standing the Pyramid on its Head.

Caterina Jeffcote
Senior Lecturer
SLAS, UK

Translating into L2 has always been considered a risky, if not
undersirable activity. For easy to comprehend reasons, translators
are usually trained, and employed, to work into their mother tongue.
As such, there is a sense of taboo surrounding any attemt to
translate into a language that a translator does not possess a native
or near native ability. In practice, however, it is a well known fact
that translators do work into L2.
This paper will attempt to demonstrate a tried and tested (in-class)
method that is aimed at helping students work into their second
working language, as well as revise their own work. It comprises a
list of exercises which, even though painstakingly slow to start with,
soon result to an effective way of constructing a text that reads
naturally to a native speaker of that language. Well...almost...
Takes from translations form Grrek into English, the exercises are
based on a process of elimination and employ active use of
collocations that guide students to a more appropriate choice. They
are also aimed at distancing the student from the source text
structures, by converting units of translation into separate units more
appropriate to TL structures. This technique enables trainee
translators to confidently tackle fuzzy areas of their text and produce
work that is free from linguistic interference.