1.
COURSE TITLE
Theories and Philosophies I
2.
COURSE CODE
TRAN4005
3.
NO. OF UNITS
3
4.
OFFERING DEPARTMENT
Translation Programme
5.
AIMS & OBJECTIVES
This Course introduces to students the various views and ideas on translation that have
emerged within the Chinese and Western traditions of translation. It encourages students to
reflect on past and present theories and philosophies of translation, build up for themselves
a historical data-bank about translation scholarship, and thus construct a basis on which to
develop their own thoughts and ideas about the art and profession of translation, and about
how they can best formulate strategies to tackle translation in their daily practices.
6.
COURSE CONTENT
This Course is built around a number of topics (each lasting two to three weeks), which
provide coherence to the central theme of the course. The main topics include the
following:
(1) Basic issues of translation studies
 The principles and methods of translation
 The practice vs. the theory of translation
 Concepts in translation theory
(2) Translation theory in China
 Eastern Han to Sui and Tang Dynasty Period (東漢至隋唐, 148-1127)
 Late Ming to Early Qing Dynasty Period (明末清初, 1500-1700)
 Post-Opium War Period (近代, 1840-1930)
 Post-1949 Period (當代, 1949- )
(3) Translation theory in the West
 Roman Times (250B.C.E. –500A.D.)
 Middle Ages (800-1350)
 Renaissance (1400-1650)
 Modern Times (1700-1914)
 Contemporary Period (1945 - )
(4) Critical and comparative discussions of Chinese and Western translation theory
 Comparative overview of Chinese and Western translation theory
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


Similarities
Contrasts
Insights to be gained
(5) Looking ahead to future development in translation studies
7.
COURSE INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES (CILOS)
CILO
Upon successful completion of this Course, students should be able to:
CILO 1
Describe what is involved in the process of translation; [aligned with HKBU
Graduate Attribute #1, 4]
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CILO 2
Explain and discuss key aspects of translation theory, past and present,
Chinese and Western; [GA #1, 2, 3, 4]
CILO 3
Critique the views of practitioners and theorists on the art and profession of
translation; [GA #1, 2, 4]
CILO 4
Analyse translation problems with enhanced critical skills; [GA #1, 2, 4]
CILO 5
Formulate their own views and strategies in everyday translating practices.
[GA #1, 2, 3, 4]
TEACHING & LEARNING ACTIVITIES (TLAS)
Students will be engaged in extensive reading assignments on various aspects of
translation theory, as well as in discussing and writing about its relevance to translation
practice and its correlation with other disciplines.
CILO No.
TLAs
CILO 1, 4, 5
Students study the basic concepts of translation ranging from
translation principles to translation methods and strategies, to
operational skills and techniques; discuss the meaning of these
concepts and their references; and apply their understanding of
these concepts to the practice of translation and to the discussion
of translation problems and issues.
CILO 2, 3, 5
Students study the major developments in Chinese translation
discourse and identify major ideas/theories and historical
figures/theorists in the Chinese tradition; discuss the meaning of
these ideas/theories and their historical significance to the study
of translation in China; and reflect on the relevance of these ideas
to contemporary translation and translation theory, and relate
them to their own translation practices and their own views on
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translation.
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CILO 2, 3, 5
Students study the major developments in Western translation
discourse and identify major ideas/theories and historical
figures/theorists in the Western tradition; discuss the meaning of
these ideas/theories and their historical significance to the study
of translation in the West; and reflect on the relevance of these
ideas to contemporary translation and translation theory, and
relate them to their own translation practices and their own views
on translation.
CILO 2, 4, 5
Students compare Chinese with Western ideas/theories of
translation, and identify major differences and similarities
between them; discuss the broad cultural contexts of development
in Chinese and Western translation and analyse how such
differences and similarities have arisen; and reflect on what
insight they can draw from Chinese and Western translation
theory and how they can formulate their own ideas on translation.
ASSESSMENT METHODS (AMS)
Type of
Assessment
Weighting CILOs to be Description of Assessment Tasks
(The
addressed
Essay
20%
Test
20%
1, 3
The test is given about mid-term. It will
require the students to (i) discuss the basic
issues of translation covered in the first few
weeks of the semester; and (ii) translate a
given text and providing a follow-up
discussion on the principles and strategies
they have applied in the translation. The test
is designed to assess students’ understanding
and application of the basic concepts of
translation.
Group
10%
2, 3, 4
Students will participate in discussions in
percentage
may vary.)
1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Students will be given topics on translation
theory, and write a paper on one of their
choice. They are required to reflect on
translation and translation theory. They will
need to make special reference in their
writing to the various views and ideas on
translation that are found in the Chinese and
Western traditions of translation, and
demonstrate the ability to develop their own
thinking about the art and profession of
translation.
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discussions
small groups on various given topics on
linguistics. A written report on points
discussed in each session will be submitted
for marking by the teacher.
Group
project
20%
2, 3, 4, 5
Students will be divided into groups and
each group will be assigned a topic on
translation theory. They will conduct
research on that topic and discuss their
research findings within their group. They
will then submit their work for marking by
the teacher, and give a presentation in class.
Both the research and
presentation/discussion are designed to
assess students’ critical thinking about
translation theory.
Final exam
30 %
1, 2, 3, 4, 5
The exam will address various areas of
translation theory, involving major
translation theories and theorists in the
Chinese and Western traditions. It is
designed to assess how far students have
achieved their intended learning outcomes
ranging from the acquirement of translation
knowledge to the ability to reflect on
translation and develop their own strategies
in everyday translation situations.
10 TEXTBOOKS / RECOMMENDED READINGS*
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Baker, Mona (ed.). 2010. Critical Readings in Translation Studies. London and New York:
Routledge.
Bassnett, Susan. 2002. Translation Studies (3rd edition). Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign
Language Education Press.
Gentzler, Edwin. 2001. Contemporary Translation Theories. (2nd revised edition).
Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.
Hermans, Theo. 2007. The Conference of the Tongues. Manchester, UK and Kinderhook,
NY: St. Jerome Publishing.
Munday, Jeremy. 2001. Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications.
London; New York: Routledge.
Robinson, Douglas. 2007. Western Translation Theory from Herodotus to Nietzsche.
Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and research Press.
Shuttleworth, Mark and Cowie, Moira. 1997. Dictionary of Translation Studies.
Manchester: St. Jerome Publishing.
馬祖毅，1998，《中國翻譯簡史(增訂版)》，北京：中國對外翻譯出版公司。
陳福康，2000，《中國譯學理論史稿(增訂版)》，上海：上海外語教育出版社。
陳德鴻、張南峰編，2000，《西方翻譯理論精選》，香港：香港城市大學出版社。
羅新璋，1984，《翻譯論集》，北京：商務印書館。
譚載喜，2004，《西方翻譯簡史(增訂版)》，北京：商務印書館。2006/2008/2009 年重
印。
Journals
《中國翻譯》(北京)
《翻譯學報》(香港)
《翻譯季刊》(香港)
《外語教學與研究》(北京)
《外國語》(上海)
《外語與外語教學》(大連)
Across Languages and Cultures (Hungary)
Babel (Belgium)
Meta (Canada)
Perspectives: Studies in Translatology (Demark)
The Translator (UK)
*The references will be updated as necessary with the working syllabus.
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