Advanced Seminar in Japanese Linguistics and Translation

• Credit value: 15 credits at Level 6
• Convenor and tutor: Dr Michael Tsang
• Prerequisite: Japanese 3
• Assessment: a presentation (25%), 2000-word translation and commentary (60%) and continuous assessment of class participation and translation homework (15%)

In this module you will develop your sensitivity to linguistic structures and issues in the Japanese language and gain a broad knowledge of how Japanese linguistics reveals aspects of Japanese culture and society.

By further sharpening your Japanese proficiency via Japanese-English translation and learning basic translation skills and tips for translating specific genres, you will gain hands-on, transferable skills, particularly for a career in translation.

Indicative syllabus

• Syntax of Japanese
• Phonology of Japanese
• Japanese orthography
• Sociolinguistics of Japanese
• Gender and Japanese language
• Translating news
• Translating lyrics
• Literary translation

By the end of this module, you will be able to demonstrate:

• relevant, factual knowledge about Japanese language and linguistics
• sensitivity to how the Japanese language works, both theoretically and socioculturally
• understanding of basic translation skills and be able to apply them in Japanese-English translation contexts
• awareness of how different genres of texts should be translated
• the confidence and expertise to engage in Japanese at an upper immediate to advanced level.