Project and Dissertation Guidelines
Guidelines for Translation Projects
General Guidelines
TRN4202/5202 is completed within one semester and is equivalent to 9000 words in length, consisting normally of an annotated translation of approximately 7,500 words, with a critical introduction of at least 1,500 words (written in English). TRN5201 is completed within two semesters and is equivalent to 15-18,000 words in length, consisting normally of an annotated translation of approximately 12-15,000 words, with a substantial critical introduction of at least 3,000 words (written in English). The actual length of each project may vary depending on the nature of the text chosen for translation. (The length must be agreed by the student’s supervisor and the course coordinator when submitting the “Application to Enrol” form mentioned below.)
Students should lodge an “Application to Enrol” form (available from the Postgraduate Administrator, Ms Sally Riley, or from the web site:
http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/lcl/pgrad-coursework/info.php#enrolresearch
After discussion with the coordinator of the course and a possible supervisor, students should lodge this application preferably well in advance of the start of the semester, or at the very latest, by the second week of the semester, with Ms Riley. Only after this application is approved by the School’s Postgraduate Coursework Committee, is the student permitted to enrol officially in the unit.
A supervisor guides the student’s work during the semester and advises on issues related to the presentation of the project (style, structure, etc.). Individual supervisors will make their own arrangements with the student. Normally, fortnightly meetings of around 30 minutes are expected.
The project will be submitted by the end of the semester, or at the very latest, the end of week 14. Adherence to this time frame is necessary so that the project can be properly examined. See below for detailed guidelines for supervision and examination.
Critical Introduction / Commentary for Translation Project
The critical introduction should include translation issues and approaches covered in TRN4030. Below are some suggestions of the kinds of questions which could be addressed (NB: this is not an exhaustive list):
- Word level: which lexical items are difficult (or easy!) to translate? What are their connotations? Are they specific to the genre in question? Are there neologisms/jargon? How have you coped with those?
- Above word level: are there restricted collocations to deal with? Are any collocations 'marked' in some way, by breaking with convention? Does this contribute to the 'style' of the text? How does this relate to its genre (poem versus newspaper article, for example)? Are there idioms, marked or unmarked? Clichés? How have you treated these? Are there syntactic infelicities in the ST, or in the existing TT?
- Cultural problems: how many of the translation problems you encounter crop up due to cultural incommensurabilities? How many of these are genre-related? What is the relation between convention and innovation in the text? Are there cultural problems based on difference in time as well as geography? What kind of knowledge is the addressee/reader expected to have? Does this differ wildly from those of the projected TL reader? What knowledge have you, as translator, had to attain in order to translate? What resources have you used in order to arm yourself with this knowledge?
- Textual level: (1) register (who is the addressee? politeness, technical language…), and how it relates to genre. Is there anything unexpected? Does the instruction manual address the reader very formally? Should this be retained in the translation? Are any language varieties (dialect, sociolect) in evidence? (2) genre and function (following Reiss): is this an informative, expressive, or operative text, or a combination? How is the genre marked? Is your TT in plain prose, identifying, or adaptive (i.e., following House, is it overt or covert?) Does the TT have different, or even, potentially, multiple function(s)?
- Cohesion and coherence: what strategies are used in the ST to hold the text together? How does the information flow (theme and rheme)? Does it correspond to SL norms? Are there different rules and expectations for this in the TL? Is there thematic coherence, or does the subject jump about? Is the literal meaning the same as the pragmatic meaning (i.e. do we as readers have to impose a coherence on the text based on our expectation of the genre? This would apply especially in the case of the poem).
- Phonic and graphic properties: in the case of adverts or concrete poems, how do the colours, fonts, images intensify or contradict or complicate the words? Is there rhyme or rhythm to consider? What is the function of these features? How does this complicate the translation process?
- The role of the translator: how creative / active / interventionist / faithful / accurate are you? Why?
Guidelines for Supervision and Examination
- Candidates should discuss the selection of a supervisor with the course or unit coordinator.
- Approval to enrol in the unit should not be granted unless there is a suitable supervisor and the proposed supervisor has a reasonable expectation that the student is capable of the tasks required.
- Clear guidelines must exist for each unit with regard to the process for the approval of a topic, the assessment, the expected organisational layout of the final paper, the approved language for the writing of the critical commentary, the word limit, and submission deadlines.
- The supervisor should be in regular contact with the students under his/her supervision, with a minimum of three consultation sessions, the first being no later than the first week of semester. Ideally, meetings would occur once every two weeks. For the most part, contact should be on a face-to-face basis, but, where circumstances do not permit, contact via email or by phone is acceptable.
- In providing guidance to a student, the supervisor should include advice on the scope and level of the translation project. S/he will direct the student to core resources, and provide advice on the background materials, the structure and presentation of the critical commentary and translation strategies for different text types. S/he will provide constructive criticism of work submitted by the student. At a later stage the supervisor is also expected to provide editorial advice on student drafts. However, the supervisor's help is limited to a discussion of ideas and work produced by the student. Supervisors do not write reports nor provide translations for students. The ultimate responsibility, for developing the project and ensuring that work gets done, rests with the student, not with the supervisor. The supervisor is not responsible for the content of the work, and s/he is not responsible for any grammatical, stylistic or typographical errors that it might contain.
- Students should be encouraged to make written submissions of the project aims, methods and outlines of the final translation at appropriate stages of the work, rather than only relying on discussion of progress with the supervisor.
- The supervisor should keep notes on conversations with his/her students so that student progress can be monitored.
- The supervisor should return corrected drafts promptly; with a turn around time not exceeding two weeks.
- A 12-point translation project will normally require only one examiner (who has not been involved in the supervision of the project). However the supervisor has the option of requesting a second examiner if the result is unexpected, or if the student has expressed the wish to proceed to further postgraduate study. Two written reports from examiners who have not been involved in the supervision may be requested. (If deemed necessary by the supervisor, an external examiner may be appointed).
- In the case of a 24-point translation project, the final paper should be examined by two examiners, at least one of whom has not been involved in supervision of the project. The final mark would normally be an average of the two unless there is a significant discrepancy. In this case, either negotiation between examiners or adjudication by a third member of staff is required, as determined by the course coordinator in consultation with the unit coordinator.
- Examiners' reports should give a balanced summation of the work and not labour the inadequacies of the paper.
Information for Students Writing a Dissertation
What is a dissertation?
Although much shorter than a thesis, it is still expected to contain original research and is written on a topic under the guidance of an academic supervisor.
Finding a Topic
Finding the right topic may take a little time. The following examples may help you to get started. Your topic may be:
- An aspect of translation theory about which you advance a thesis and defend your argument
- An aspect of translation history and a critical assessment of it
- A critical assessment of a translation
- A comparison and critical assessment of two translations
Note that your work should include a brief review of the literature relevant to your topic.
Presentation
You need to hand in 3 softbound copies of your dissertation.
Due Date
Dissertations must be submitted by the last day of Week 14 to the Postgraduate Student Officer, Ms Sally Riley, in Room S 425 of the Menzies Building, Clayton.
Short extensions may be granted by the Convenor of Translation and Interpreting Studies on medical or compassionate grounds. Formal application should be made by letter (with supporting documents) through your supervisor.
How will my dissertation be assessed?
Your dissertation will be assessed by two assessors; at least one will be an external assessor. Below is a list of assessment criteria that they will have in mind when they read your dissertation. While not every point of this list might apply to your dissertation, this is also a very good check-list for your own assessment of what you are going to present:
- Justification of topic, interest, relevance
- Definition of problem, basic hypothesis, aims
- Choice and justification of theoretical framework
- Presentation and justification of data
- Analysis and discussion of results
- Validity of conclusions, self-critical awareness of the work’s strengths and weaknesses
- Overall structure, stylistic aspects, academic conventions, clarity
- Originality, wider implications, significance
(Williams & Chesterman 2002:124)
Reference
Williams, Jenny and Andrew Chesterman (2002) The Map. A Beginners Guide to Doing Research in Translation Studies. Manchester: St. Jerome.