• Offered for Year: 2024/25

• Module Leader(s): Dr Dariush Robertson
• Co-Module Leader: Dr Ya-Yun Chen

• Owning School: Modern Languages
• Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus

Semesters

Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.

Aims

This module aims to give students:
•       An advanced understanding of both current academic theory and professional views of the practice of localisation.
•       The intermediate to advanced IT skills required for the translation stage of a localisation project, including TM related functions (pre-translate, alignment, and tags), TB related skills (including detailed structuring a TB, and term management), using existing TMs and TBs, running a QA, and post editing of documents.
•       Intermediate to advanced practical skills required to deal with key challenges in the localisation of interactive digital products (such as apps, videogames, and websites), and non-digital products (such as advertisements, brochures, and technical documents) that require various levels of localisation.
•       An understanding of how to apply theories and concepts more specific to localisation, such as skopos theory, user centred translation for products with interactive properties, the AVT theory of multimodality in connection to materials with multimedia content, and transcreation in the localisation of culturally sensitive materials.

Outline Of Syllabus

This module is divided into lectures and seminars.

The lectures cover the application of intermediate to advanced CAT tool functions in the localisation of interactive digital products (such as apps, video games, and websites), as well as non-digital products (such as advertisements, brochures, and technical documents). This includes the introduction of these skills, and then feedback on related practical tasks set as short homework tasks, which will involve consolidation via group work and class discussion. The existing and new skills will be integrated, demonstrated, and assessed in the practical component of the final assignment (localisation report).

The lectures will also cover theories and concepts used to explain key localisation challenges. This includes skopos theory, user centred translation for interactive products, the AVT theory of multimodality in relation to multimedia content, and transcreation for the localisation of culturally sensitive products. The theories will be connected to classic and current industry-relevant examples and will be used to theoretically frame both the practical homework tasks, as well as group activities, and discussion. This knowledge will be assessed in the theoretical component of the final assignment (essay).

The seminar will involve team presentations, where teams of students present PPTs on a group localisation task. The seminars will be broken into smaller groups, so each team has around 20 mins to present and then receive feedback from the lecturer and other students. This activity will enhance group learning and further develop team localisation skills.

Teaching Methods

Teaching Activities

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

In the lectures, students will:

1. Gain intermediate to advanced skills and knowledge of how CAT tools are utilised in localisation. This includes developing existing CAT tool skills, buy setting up a more complex project with multiple TMs and TBs, utilising more intermediate to advanced TM and TB skills, as well as more post localisation steps, such as QA, and post-editing.
2. Gain intermediate to advanced knowledge on localisation from the perspectives of academia and the industry. This will be delivered by the presentation of various case studies. This knowledge will be further consolidated through small group activities and class discussions.
3. Receive feedback on the practical homework tasks, which present various scenarios designed to contextualise the knowledge gained from the lectures, and develop the skills required to tackle more advanced localisation challenges in individual and group activities. These activities will simulate the localisation of various interactive digital products (such as apps, video games, and websites), and non-digital products (such as advertisements, brochures, and technical documents).

In the seminars, students will:
1. Give a group presentation on the localisation of an interactive digital, or non-digital product, using foundational CAT tools skills. The presentations will focus on industry-relevant skills and knowledge, and relevant academic theory (user centred translation, multimodality, and transcreation).
2. The opportunity to observe other group presentations and participate in the feedback of each presentation, and the resulting discussions - thereby enhancing group learning.

Assessment Methods

The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners

Other Assessment

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The advanced assessment has two components: 1. the localisation project report (reflecting practice) and 2. the essay (reflecting theory).

Part 1

For the localisation, students use a CAT tool to localise a single document (or multiple documents) reflecting industry practice, which could be relating to interactive digital product, or non-digital product. The focus is on (i) the steps and procedures taken before, during, and after the translation stage (in a CAT tool environment), and (ii) the demonstration of intermediate and advanced CAT tool skills as covered in the module. Translation (or transcreation) quality is not considered; therefore, the translation is not marked for this component. However, the translations (or transcreations) can be discussed in the essay, where relevant, with back translations into English.
Part 2

For the 1200-word essay, students can choose from topics on:

a)       The strengths and weaknesses of CAT tool functions (intermediate to advanced level) both covered in the module, and documented in the project report

b)       The application of the theory of skopos theory (and/or) user centred translation in relation to the localisation project

c)       The application of a multimodal analysis of key challenges of the localisation project

d)       The application of transcreation (to resolve specific cultural challenges or culturally sensitive content) in the localisation project

If there is to be any resits, they will be in the same format as the original assessments.

Reading Lists

• SML8027's Reading List

Timetable

• Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
• SML8027's Timetable