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Translation Studies Requirements

Program Requirements Units

15 units overall, 6 of which may count towards both the Certificate and the Ph.D. degree, and 9 of which may only be allocated to the Certificate. Students earning the Certificate in Translation with the Ph.D. thus complete 81 units total, rather than the standard 72 units for the Ph.D. alone.

Course Requirements

Requirement 1

Two core courses, which may be taken in order of preference, and which also integrate translation practice:

  • Comp. Lit. 551. Methods of Literary Study: The Theory and Practice of Literary Translation I. A review of translation theories, with a study of translation practices of various literary forms (prose, poetry, drama) and media. Prerequisite native or near-native competence in English and another language. Also open to qualified students not in the Certificate Program.
  • Comp. Lit. 552 (new fall, 07). Methods of Literary Study: The Theory and Practice of Literary Translation II. A review of translation theories and the study of translation practices of various literary forms (prose, poetry, drama) and media. Prerequisite native or near-native competence in English and another language. Also open to qualified students not in the Certificate Program. A more general approach to translation and cultural exchange in a globalizing world than Part I, with specific examples to be drawn more from (East) Asian than from European literatures. Topics will include the ideological underpinnings of translation, the political uses of language in intercultural communication, and the multiple uses of translations of all kinds of literature in a multicultural world. We will consider not only written texts, but also film subtitles. Students will choose a text that has already been translated for critique in addition to producing their own translation; students will be expected to report orally on the process and the product of this project several times during the semester.

Requirement 2

Three 1-unit translation modules (CL. 5521: Translation Module 1; CL 5522: Translation Module 2; and CL 5523: Translation Module 3 [proposed courses]) to be conducted in conjunction with a 400-level or 500-level literature or theory class that the student takes in a national literature program. Students may elect to take no more than one translation module per semester. Students must take the translation module concurrently with a course; they may not sign up retroactively to do a module for a course already taken. Modules are designed for translation of Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Persian, Russian, and Spanish.

CL 5521: Translation Module 1, CL 5522: Translation Module 2, and CL 5523: Translation Module 3 are sequential versions of the same course, as outlined below.

a.  Requirements: The student will translate a published text of 20-30 pages (or, exceptionally, an unpublished text) from either literature, literary criticism, or literary theory related to the course material, pre-approved by the faculty member teaching the 400-level or 500-level national literature or theory class, due at the end of the semester in which the class is taught.

b.  Organization: At the start of the semester, the student will explain to the professor in charge of the national literature course that s/he is completing the Translation Certificate and wants to complete a 1-unit Translation Module (CL 5521, CL 5522, or CL 5523) in conjunction with the national literature course.

  • CL 5521 Translation Module 1: The first of a series of three 1-unit courses devoted to the practice of translation. The student will translate a published text of 20-30 pages (or, exceptionally, an unpublished text) from either literature, literary criticism, or literary theory related to the course material, pre-approved by the faculty member teaching the class, due at the end of the semester in which the class is taught.
  • CL 5522 Translation Module 2: The second of a series of three 1-unit courses devoted to the practice of translation. The student will translate a published text of 20-30 pages (or, exceptionally, an unpublished text) from either literature, literary criticism, or literary theory related to the course material, pre-approved by the faculty member teaching the class, due at the end of the semester in which the class is taught.
  • CL 5523 Translation Module 3: The third of a series of three 1-unit courses devoted to the practice of translation. The student will translate a published text of 20-30 pages (or, exceptionally, an unpublished text) from either literature, literary criticism, or literary theory related to the course material, pre-approved by the faculty member teaching the class, due at the end of the semester in which the class is taught.

The student will consult this professor about an appropriate text for translation that has bearing on the national literature course.  The professor must approve the student’s choice of text.  The student will request that the professor agree to read and grade the translation at the end of the semester (see section below)

c.  Registration: After completing all the steps in section b, the student will meet with the DGS in Comparative Literature, who serves as Program Director of the Translation Certificate, and who will verify that all is in order and will authorize the student to enroll in CL 5521, CL 5522, or CL 5523.

d.  Translation Guidelines
The translation for foreign language-based literature or theory classes will be organized as follows (for English Dept. classes, see section ii):

  • A native speaker of English will translate a text from the national (foreign) literature being studied into English.
  • A student whose native language is the national language being studied will translate an English text into that national language.
  • A student whose native language is neither English nor the language beingstudied will elect to translate either an English text into the national language being studied or a text written in that national language into English.  [An American student with native English abilities taking a German seminar would translate a German text into English. A student in the same German class whose native language is German would translate an English text into German. A Czech student taking the same German seminar could elect to translate either a German text into English or an English text into German.]

A student who enrolls in English literature or theory courses in conjunction with his/her Ph.D. training may also arrange to take translation modules as part of these classes. The translation in these instances will be organized as follows:

  • The student for whom English is the native language will translate a text from his/her principal second language into English.
  • The student whose native language is not English will translate a text into the principal language whose literature s/he is studying if it is his/her native language.
  • Students whose native language is neither English nor the language being studied have the option of translating either from an English text into the principal language s/he studies or from that principal language into English.  [An American student in the Ph.D. program in French who takes an English literature seminar would translate a French text into English. The Canadian student enrolled in the French Ph.D. program whose native language is French and who takes the same English course would translate an English text into French. And the Romanian student in the Ph.D. program in French who takes the same English class would elect to translate either an English text into French or a French text into English.]

e.  Evaluation: The evaluation of the translation will be done by the professor of the literature or theory class whenever possible. When such arrangements are not possible, the evaluation of the student's work will be performed by the appropriate professor from a list of faculty approved by the Translation Certificate Committee and available from the DGS of Comparative Literature. The Comparative Literature DGS (Program Director of the Translation Certificate) may also designate another member of the graduate faculty in the corresponding national literature program to certify the exam.

Requirement 3

Two electives (6 units) selected from the following list:

  • Comp. Lit. 402, Introduction to Comparative Literature
  • Comp. Lit. 4300 (proposed for future; currently unavailable), Seminar in Translation. Topics course organized of issues germane to translation; taught by WU faculty but featuring lectures conducted by invited speakers.
  • Anthro 412, Sociolinguistics
  • Anthro 4121, Language and Power
  • Anthro 4122 (WS 4122), Language and Gender
  • Anthro 4124, Language and Politics
  • German 456, History of the German Language
  • German 457, Structure of the German Language: Intro to Linguistics
  • Japanese 520, Practicum in Literary Translation
  • Ling 4171, Phonology and Second Language Acquisition
  • Ling 453, History of the French Language
  • Ling 4651, German Language Seminar
  • Ling 466, Second Language Acquisition
  • Ling 467, Grammar and Vocabulary Acquisition
  • Ling 469, Second Language Reading and Writing
  • Theory, Research and Practice
  • Ling 470, Language and Learning Instruction
  • Ling 472, History of the English Language
  • Ling 478, Topics in Linguistics
  • Ling 5013, SLA (Second Language Acquisition): Integrating Technology into Language Instruction
  • PNP 466, Second Language Acquisition
  • PNP 467, Grammar and Vocabulary Acquisition
  • PNP 472, History of the English Language
  • PNP 4060, Semantics
  • Psych 4081, Topics in Psycholinguistics
  • Psych 433, Psych of Lang (PNP 408/Ling 408)
  • Span 416, Introduction to Hispanic Linguistics
  • Fr/Span 501, ANELL 501, Language Teaching Methodology (Pedagogy)

A major translation project (50+ published pages) conducted under faculty supervision (3 units of Independent Study CL 500). Normally, this option would be available only as the last element in work for the Certificate; any student wishing to carry out a project of this scope would need the approval of the Translation Certificate Committee.

Selection of Candidates and Admission Criteria

  1. Offered to Ph.D. candidates only. While intended primarily for Ph.D. candidates in Comparative Literature (including joint programs), Romance Languages, ANELL, German, and English, the Committee on Comparative Literature welcomes applications from qualified candidates in other doctoral programs at the University.
  2. Students are encouraged to begin taking courses that count toward the program early in their studies here, prior to their acceptance in the program.
  3. Candidates will have demonstrated superior skills in coursework to date. Fr/Span 469, Reading and Writing in a Second Language
  4. Candidates will have native or near-native capacity in at least two languages. No one requiring remedial work in language will be admitted to the Certificate program.
  5. Students interested in the program must complete a separate application form. This form, available from GSAS, requires the approval of the student's home-based department.
  6. Candidates apply for admission to the Translation Certificate Program prior to their second or third semester of the Ph.D. Students should submit their applications to the DGS of Comparative Literature (Program Director of the Translation Certificate and Chair of the Translation Certificate Committee [TCC]) before the start of the spring term each year. Applications will be considered on a rolling admissions basis after that date.
  7. Once admitted to the Certificate program, the student will assume responsibility for conferring with the DGS of Comparative Literature (Program Director of the Translation Certificate) at least once annually to ensure that his/her progress toward the Certificate is satisfactory.

Administrative Matters

  1. Students may need an additional semester (9 units) to complete the Certificate. 
  2. If necessary, students admitted to the Certificate program are eligible to request both additional tuition remission (9 units) from the Graduate School and stipend support (TAship) from the home department.