Tackling Nominal Chains in a Specialized Translation Classroom

Ondřej Klabal; Michal Kubánek

doi:10.18778/1731-7533.23.04

Authors

Ondřej Klabal Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
Michal Kubánek Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1731-7533.23.04

Keywords:

nominal chains, specialized discourse, translation training, English, Czech

Abstract

Nominal chains are regarded as a feature of specialized discourse in English and their disambiguation as a challenge for translators and translation trainees. They occur in all types of specialized discourse and include legal terms, technical terms or institutional terms. In Czech the relations between the constituents need to be expressed more explicitly. The chapter draws on an experiment aiming to test how well translation trainees can decipher the relations between individual constituents of nominal chains and identify types of nominal chains most susceptible to wrong interpretation. Based on these results, this chapter discusses how the analysis of nominal chains may be supported in a specialized translation classroom and proposes a series of specific activities to the effect.

References

Biber, Douglas, et al. 1999. Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Harlow: Longman.
Google Scholar

Biber, Douglas and Bethany Gray. 2010. Challenging Stereotypes about Academic Writing: Complexity, Elaboration, Explicitness. Journal of English for Academic Purposes 9 (1): 2–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2010.01.001
Google Scholar

Duběda, Tomáš, et al. 2018. Překlad do nemateřského jazyka. Prague: Karolinum.
Google Scholar

Garner, Bryan A. 2003. Garner's Modern American Usage. New York: Oxford University Press.
Google Scholar

Garner, Bryan A. 2014. The Winning Brief: 100 Tips for Persuasive Briefing in Trial and Appellate Courts. New York: Oxford University Press.
Google Scholar

Gile, Daniel. 1995. Basic Concepts and Models for Interpreter and Translator Training. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.8(1st)
Google Scholar

Guthrie, Neil. 2017. Noun-Fatigue. SlawTips. Last modified December 20, 2017. https://tips.slaw.ca/2017/research/noun-fatigue/
Google Scholar

Hyland, Ken and Jiang Feng. 2021. Academic Naming: Changing Patterns of Noun Use in Research Writing. Journal of English Linguistics 49 (3): 255–82. https://doi.org/10.1177/00754242211019080
Google Scholar

Klabal, Ondřej. 2024. Step-by-Step Approach to Teaching Legal Translation: The Case of Understanding English Legal Texts. The Interpreter and Translator Trainer 18 (2): 212–29. doi:10.1080/1750399X.2024.2345559. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750399X.2024.2345559
Google Scholar

Knittlová, Dagmar. 2010. Překlad a překládání. Olomouc: Palacký University Olomouc.
Google Scholar

Kościałkowska-Okońska, Ewa. 2016. Implications of Translation Competence in the Legal Context: A Didactic Perspective. Comparative Legilinguistics: International Journal for Legal Communication 27: 33–48.
Google Scholar

Pietrzak, Paulina and Filip Witkowski. 2024. Challenges in Translating Autopsy Reports. Research in Language 22 (4): 330–48. https://doi.org/10.18778/1731-7533.22.4.04
Google Scholar

Quirk, Randolph, et al. 1985. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. London/New York: Longman.
Google Scholar

R Core Team. 2022. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing. https://www.R-project.org
Google Scholar

Rogers, Margaret. 2015. Specialised Translation: Shedding the ‘Non-Literary’ Tag. Houndmills (UK)/New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Google Scholar

Ward, Raymond. 2005. Noun Plague: Breaking the Chains. For the Defense, (December): 74–81.
Google Scholar

Way, Catherine. 2016. The Challenges and Opportunities of Legal Translation and Translator Training in the 21st Century. International Journal of Communication 10: 1009–29.
Google Scholar

Wickham, Hadley. 2016. ggplot2: Elegant Graphics for Data Analysis. New York: Springer. https://doi.org/10.18778/1731-7533.22.4.04
Google Scholar

Williams, Joseph. 1990. Style: Towards Clarity and Grace. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Google Scholar

Wydick, Richard. 2005. Plain English for Lawyers. Durham: Carolina Academic Press.
Google Scholar