Traduzione tecnica e internazionalizzazione d'impresa: Il caso di Technologica S.r.l.

This dissertation is part of the Language Toolkit project which is a collaboration between the School of Foreign Languages and Literature, Interpreting and Translation of the University of Bologna, Forlì campus, and the Chamber of Commerce of Forlì-Cesena. This project aims to create an exchange between translation students and companies who want to pursue a process of internationalization. The purpose of this dissertation is demonstrating the benefits that translation systems can bring to businesses. In particular, it consists of the translation into English of documents supplied by the Italian company Technologica S.r.l. and the creation of linguistic resources that can be integrated into computer-assisted translation (CAT) software, in order to optimize the translation process. The latter is claimed to be a priority with respect to the actual translation products (the target texts), since the analysis conducted on the source texts highlighted that the company could streamline and optimize its English language communication thanks to the use of open source CAT tools such as OmegaT. The work consists of five chapters. The first introduces the Language Toolkit project, the company (Technologica S.r.l ) and its products. The second chapter provides some considerations about technical translation, its features and some misconceptions about it. The difference between technical translation and scientific translation is then clarified and an overview is offered of translation aids such as those used for computer-assisted translation, machine translation, termbases and translation memories. The third chapter contains the analysis of the texts commissioned by Technologica S.r.l. and their categorization. The fourth chapter describes the translation process, with particular attention to terminology extraction and the creation of a bilingual glossary based on a specialized corpus. The glossary was integrated into the OmegaT software in order to facilitate the translation process both for the present task and for future applications. The memory deriving from the translation represents a sort of hybrid resource between a translation memory and a glossary. This was found to be the most appropriate format, given the specific nature of the texts to be translated. Finally, in chapter five conclusions are offered about the importance of language training within a company environment, the potentialities of translation aids and the benefits that they would bring to a company wishing to internationalize itself.

Comment (ne pas) devenir Parisien - Le guide ultime du parfait autochtone de la capitale: proposta di traduzione

L’objet de ce mémoire de maîtrise est la traduction du français en italien du guide humoristique Comment (ne pas) devenir Parisien – Le guide ultime du parfait autochtone de la capitale, écrit par la journaliste Caroline Rochet et publié en 2012 par Leduc.s Éditions. Ce mémoire a pour but de relier les aspects pratiques de la traduction avec ses principes théoriques et représente une piste de réflexion sur la nature complexe et fascinante de la traduction considérée comme médiation culturelle. Ce mémoire se compose de cinq chapitres : après une introduction illustrant la structure et les buts du mémoire, le premier chapitre présente l’œuvre originale, sa maison d’édition et l’auteur du guide. Le deuxième chapitre est dédié à l’analyse du texte : au genre textuel et à la typologie textuelle de l’œuvre, à son style, au profil socio-professionnel de la langue de l’auteur et au bagage de connaissances du destinataire. Le troisième chapitre expose le parcours d’approfondissement théorique suivi pour arriver au choix de la stratégie traductive convenable, c’est-à-dire la valorisation de la composante exotique. Le quatrième chapitre est consacré à la traduction du texte. Le dernier chapitre est constitué par deux sections : un commentaire sur les principaux aspects problématiques rencontrés pendant la traduction et sur les tactiques adoptées pour les résoudre (information invariante, information modifiée, information ajoutée et contenu éliminé) ; un commentaire dédié à la phase de rédaction d’un texte qui respecte le genre, le style et le fil conducteur du guide, c’est-à-dire l’ironie, ainsi que la formule d’interlocution la plus adapte à ce texte en langue italienne. Ces cinq chapitres sont suivis par une conclusion qui résume les différentes phases rencontrées pendant la traduction et est accompagnée par une réflexion sur la médiation interlinguistique considérée comme art d’écrire, liberté mais prise de responsabilité aussi.

Sicurezza stradale: Proposta di traduzione di un estratto del research report "The Nature of Errors Made by Drivers"

The aim of this dissertation is to provide a translation from English into Italian of an extract from the research report “The Nature of Errors Made by Drivers”. The research was conducted by the MUARC (the Monash University Accident Research Centre) and published in June 2011 by Austroads, the association of Australasian road transport and traffic agencies. The excerpt chosen for translation is the third chapter, which provides an overview of the on-road pilot study conducted to analyse why drivers make mistakes during their everyday drive, including the methodology employed and the results obtained. This work is divided into six sections. It opens with an introduction on the topic and the formal structure of the report, followed by the first chapter, which provides an overview of the main features of the languages for special purposes and the specialised texts, an analysis of the text type and a presentation of the extract chosen for translation. In the second chapter the linguistic and extralinguistic resources available to specialised translators are presented, focussing on the ones used to translate the text. The third chapter is dedicated to the source text and its translation, while the fourth one provides an analysis of the strategies chosen to translate the text and a comment on the solutions to problematic passages. Finally, the last section – the conclusion – provides a comment on the entire work and on the professional activity of translators. The work closes with an appendix, which contains a glossary of the terms extracted from the translated text.

Depliant informativo sul mercato tedesco dei biofarmaci: Proposta di traduzione

L'elaborato consiste nella traduzione di un un dépliant informativo sul mercato dei farmaci biotecnologici in Germania estratto dal sito ufficiale del gruppo vfa.bio. La traduzione è stata svolta simulandone la commissione per le seguenti finalità: informare i destinatari italiani che operano nello stesso tipo di mercato sul lavoro del gruppo vfa.bio; attirare finanziamenti esteri; informare e sensibilizzare il destinatario sulle scelte da operare in politica sanitaria a livello europeo per un miglior sviluppo di questo settore.

"Lisboa Misteriosa" di Marina Tavares Dias: una nuova prospettiva turistica sulla città di Lisbona; proposta di traduzione.

Questa tesi è incentrata sulla traduzione del libro portoghese Lisboa Misteriosa di Marina Taveres Dias e su come questo libro possa essere analizzato sotto una prospettiva turistica. Il libro è basato sulla capitale del Portogallo, Lisbona, e il suo scopo principale è narrare fatti storici e culturali riguardo la città, dove la realtà si perde nella leggenda. La tesi vuole mostrare come un simile libro storico-culturale può essere un valido strumento nella prospettiva turistica. Il primo capitolo fornisce una presentazione generale del libro, descrivendo i temi, lo stile, l’uso delle immagini all’interno del testo e una breve biografia dell’autrice. Il secondo capitolo presenta i principali aspetti della sociologia del turismo, che serviranno per meglio inquadrare le considerazioni successive. Segue una breve analisi di tra guide turistiche italiane e una comparazione tra queste e il libro tradotto. L’ultima parte del capitolo è dedicata ad illustrare come questo volume mette in luce questi aspetti sociologici del turismo e di come può creare una nuova prospettiva per il turista. Gli ultimi due capitoli presentano la traduzione del libro e l’analisi e il commento riguardo a quest’ultima.

Analisi e traduzione di "The family law" di Benjamin Law

The aim of this dissertation is to propose a translation from English into Italian of The Family Law, an autobiographical novel written by Benjamin Law, an Australian author of Cantonese origins. The present dissertation is divided into four chapters. The first chapter presents the author of the book, by providing his biography; in addition, the chapter contains an overview of the Australia immigration problem, which is an important issue in the book due to the fact that the author’s parents had moved from Hong Kong to Caloundra, Australia. The second chapter presents the book The Family Law, by focusing on its main themes and by paying special attention to the description of the characters; furthermore, it analyses the plot of the chapters which I decided to translate, and provides a selection of Italian publishers which might be interested in publishing the book. The third chapter consists of my translation of the chapters I selected. The final chapter analyses the strategies I adopted while translating and examines some of the problematic issues that I encountered during the translation process, in particular at the level of morphosyntax, lexicon, cultural references, and style.

Il dialetto nell'"Alpenrock": proposta di traduzione di alcuni brani di Hubert Von Goisern

Il tema del presente elaborato riguarda la traduzione dal dialetto, di alcuni brani del cantautore austriaco Hubert von Goisern. Viene inoltre presentata una breve storia del fenomeno musicale "Alpenrock", una biografia del cantautore e un commento alle traduzioni svolte, con relativa analisi di uno dei brani tradotti.

"Who Fears Death" di Nnedi Okorafor, una proposta di traduzione

This dissertaton deals with the translation of selected chapters from Nnedi Okorafor’s novel Who Fears Death. The novel, set in a post-apocalyptic Africa ravaged by inter-ethnic violence, narrates the tale of Onyesonwu, an Ewu, a half-breed born of rape, facing the rejection of her community. Growing up Onyesonwu realizes that the color of her skin is not the only thing that sets her apart from the other inhabitants of Jwahir, as she starts to manifest magical powers, and during an unintentional visit to the spirit realms she finds out that her biological father, a very powerful sorcerer, wants to kill her. At this point the only option left to her is to learn the secret arts of magic under the guidance of Aro, the sorcerer, and then embark on a journey to put and end to the menace posed by her biological father, stop the massacres between the Okeke and Nuru people, and rewrite history. This work is structured in five chapters. The first presents a brief retelling of the author’s life and works. The second chapter constitutes the theoretical frame according to which the novel will be described, and illustrates an analysis on the function of sci-fi literature. The third chapter introduces the novel itself, dealing with its setting and cultural peculiarities, the literary genre to which it belongs, and analysing the themes deemed most relevant, among which the racial and gender issues. The fourth chapter consists of the translation of some chapters from the novel Who Fears Death, and the fifth of a comment on the translation, presenting both a textual analysis, and notes on the choices deemed most interesting or challenging in a translation process perspective.

Revisione, Localizzazione e Traduzione del materiale dell'azienda Graziani Packaging

Il presente lavoro di tesi s’inserisce all’interno del progetto Language Toolkit, nato dalla collaborazione tra la Camera di Commercio di Forlì-Cesena e la Scuola di Lingue e Letterature, Traduzione e Interpretazione di Forlì, al fine di avvicinare il mondo dell’università al mondo del lavoro. In particolare, la tesi è frutto della collaborazione tra la laureanda e la Graziani Packaging, azienda italiana leader nel settore del packaging ortofrutticolo e industriale, e consiste nella revisione di una brochure, nella localizzazione del sito web www.graziani.com e nella traduzione di una presentazione PowerPoint, il tutto dall’italiano al tedesco. Il lavoro si compone di tre capitoli. Nel primo, che rappresenta un approfondimento teorico sul tema della localizzazione, si analizza nel dettaglio l’acronimo GILT, si espongono brevemente le tappe principali che hanno caratterizzato la nascita e lo sviluppo del settore della localizzazione e si esaminano le caratteristiche linguistiche, culturali e tecniche della localizzazione di siti web. Il secondo capitolo è dedicato al concetto di qualità in ambito traduttivo e al tema della revisione. In particolare, nella prima parte si analizzano gli standard di qualità professionali, i criteri di qualità proposti da Scarpa (2008) e la classificazione degli errori di traduzione sviluppata da Mossop (2001), mentre l’ultima parte riguarda il processo di revisione in concreto. Nel terzo capitolo, infine, vengono analizzati i tre testi di partenza forniti dall’azienda al traduttore (brochure, sito web e presentazione PowerPoint), e viene esposto e commentato il lavoro di revisione, localizzazione e traduzione degli stessi, ponendo una particolare enfasi sugli aspetti linguistici, culturali e tecnici più interessanti che lo hanno caratterizzato. La tesi si chiude con un glossario terminologico contenente i termini chiave, in italiano e in tedesco, relativi al dominio del packaging ortofrutticolo e industriale, individuati nel corso del lavoro di revisione, localizzazione e traduzione.

The Space Race di Alex Latimer. Traduzione del romanzo di un autore sudafricano.

In the following thesis I present the book The Space Race from South African author Alex Latimer and my translation of some chapters, from English into Italian. Alex Latimer is an illustrator and author based in Cape Town, known mostly for his picture books for children, although his works also appear in magazines and advertisements. The Space Race is his first novel, but it immediately had a good reception amongst readers and critics. The author, his work and his novel The Space Race will be presented in depth in Chapter 1 of the thesis. Then, an overview on the South African fictional production will follow in Chapter 2, focusing mainly on the contemporary trends and trying to understand if and how The Space Race fits. Before presenting my translation and my reflections on the translating process itself, I will outline in Chapter 3 my general approach to the text and its translation, as well as explain the reasons why I chose those specific parts of the book. The original texts and their translations are presented in Chapter 4, preceded by a short introduction to better understand the position of the chapter in the plot and the elements of interests contained in it. A commentary on the translating process will follow in Chapter 5, about problems or just remarks on aspects of interest; also, further elements of complication in the text are described and my solutions presented. The thesis ends with a conclusion on the work done.

Tradurre per le imprese. Analisi e traduzione in inglese della Nota integrativa al Bilancio consolidato 2013 di MNLG S.r.l.-Holding Sorma Group

The aim of this dissertation is to provide a translation in English of the Notes on the Consolidated Financial Statements of MNLG S.r.l., holding company of the Italian Sorma Group. This translation work is one example of the technical material produced in accordance with the project called Language Toolkit, set up by the Chamber of Commerce of Forlì-Cesena, to support the internationalization of the companies established in the territory. This initiative has represented a unique opportunity for me to put into practice the knowledge and abilities learnt in the translation field during these years at university. It also allowed me to give a concrete purpose to my dissertation, that is to provide a technical document translated into a foreign language. By making its Consolidated Financial Statement readily available in English, the company MNLG S.r.l. can in fact increase the number of possible investors and guarantee a more transparent financial informative to its shareholders. This translation work is divided into six chapters: the first one describes the project, its main objectives and the ways in which it was developed. The second chapter deals with the notions of Consolidated Financial Statements and presents the accounting documents of which the Financial Statements are made up as well as the norms according to which they are prepared. The third chapter, instead, focuses on the translation procedure applied and especially on the documentation process, analysing the differences between the International Accounting Standards and the accounting standards used in Italy. The fourth chapter provides a description of the translation resources built for the translation of this specific document. The fifth chapter includes the English version of the Notes on the Consolidated Financial Statements and, to conclude, the sixth chapter analyses the difficulties encountered in translating and the strategies adopted to overcome them.

Il linguaggio valutativo nel bilancio di sostenibilità: analisi trilingue basata su corpora

The aim of this dissertation is to analyze the language of evaluation in Italian, English and French sustainability reports in order to observe how firms build their corporate image and to investigate the kind of relationship they develop with their stakeholders. The analysis is carried out by applying Martin & White's Appraisal theory and corpus linguistics methods. For the purposes of this research, a multilingual specialized corpus of sustainability reports has been created, which is the result of two different levels of compilation. At the first level, three sub-corpora have been created with the aim of representing three different languages (Italian, English and French): at this level, the research on evaluative language will show that a standardization process of sustainability reports is underway. At the second level of compilation, each of the three sub-corpora has been split in two further sub-corpora, representative of two different business sectors: at this level, the research will show how the sector where firms operate directly influences the choice of the topics to be discussed. The first chapter of this dissertation introduces the concept of evaluative language, with a particular focus on the framework of Appraisal theory. The second chapter deals with corpus linguistics and describes different types of corpora, the search methods and the criteria for the compilation of corpora. The third chapter discusses the concepts of Corporate Social Responsibility and sustainability reports, focusing mainly on the reporting principles and the linguistic patterns of this genre, and provides an overview of the main guidelines and certifications for the reporting of sustainability actions. Chapter four is dedicated to the description of the methodology used for this research, while the last chapter presents and discusses the results of the analysis, in an attempt to draw generalizations on the use of evaluative language in this emerging genre.

Content and English Language Integrated Learning: The use of Moodle in Aircraft Maintenance Training Programs

The aim of this work is to develop a prototype of an e-learning environment that can foster Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) for students enrolled in an aircraft maintenance training program, which allows them to obtain a license valid in all EU member states. Background research is conducted to retrace the evolution of the field of educational technology, analyzing different learning theories – behaviorism, cognitivism, and (socio-)constructivism – and reflecting on how technology and its use in educational contexts has changed over time. Particular attention is given to technologies that have been used and proved effective in Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL). Based on the background research and on students’ learning objectives, i.e. learning highly specialized contents and aeronautical technical English, a bilingual approach is chosen, three main tools are identified – a hypertextbook, an exercise creation activity, and a discussion forum – and the learning management system Moodle is chosen as delivery medium. The hypertextbook is based on the technical textbook written in English students already use. In order to foster text comprehension, the hypertextbook is enriched by hyperlinks and tooltips. Hyperlinks redirect students to webpages containing additional information both in English and in Italian, while tooltips show Italian equivalents of English technical terms. The exercise creation activity and the discussion forum foster interaction and collaboration among students, according to socio-constructivist principles. In the exercise creation activity, students collaboratively create a workbook, which allow them to deeply analyze and master the contents of the hypertextbook and at the same time create a learning tool that can help them, as well as future students, to enhance learning. In the discussion forum students can discuss their individual issues, content-related, English-related or e-learning environment-related, helping one other and offering instructors suggestions on how to improve both the hypertextbook and the workbook based on their needs.

Translating food on the Internet: from American TV series dubbed for the Italian audience to subtitles on YouTube.

The aim of this dissertation is to analyze the adaptation of food realia and food-related terms from English into Italian in the world of screen translation. Food has always been at the heart of every human being’s life and is an essential lens of analysis when trying to understand culture. With the awareness of what has been done in the past in American TV series dubbed into Italian and looking at how translations have been changing in the last decade, my thesis demonstrates how strategies are more inclined to an overt approach, which leaves the audiovisual text deeply tied to its source language and culture. The work will also include a practical subtitling exercise of three episodes of the currently most famous YouTube cooking show: Nerdy Nummies by Rosanna Pansino. The fact that the show is published weekly on a YouTube channel gives me the opportunity to comment on the evolution of media in the third millennium and how this implies an improvement as far as the knowledge, the skills and the possibilities for audiovisual translators are concerned.

No(i)rthern Ireland: Crime fiction and the northern-irish scene. Proposed translation into italian of two short stories from "belfast noir"

The present thesis aims at proving the importance of cultural and literary contexts in the practice of translation: I shall show that, in the case of Northern Irish crime fiction, knowledge of both Northern Irish history and culture as well as of the genre of crime fiction are essential prerequisites for the production of a “responsible” translation. I will therefore offer a brief overview of the history of crime and detective fiction and its main subgenres; some of the most important authors and works will be presented as well, in an analysis that goes from the early years of the genre to the second half of the 20th century. I will then move the focus to Northern Ireland, its culture and its history, and particular attention will be paid to fiction writing in Ireland and Northern Ireland, with a focus on the peculiar phenomenon of “Troubles Trash”. I will tackle the topic of Northern Irish literature and present the contemporary scene of Northern Irish crime fiction; the volume from which the texts for the translation have been taken will be presented, namely Belfast Noir. Subsequently the focus will move on the theoretical framework within which the translations were produced: I will present a literary review of the most significative developments in Translation Studies, with particular attention to the “cultural turn” that has characterised this subject since the 1960s. I will then highlight the phenomenon of “realia” in translation and analyse the approaches of different scholars to the translation of culture-bound references. The final part represents the culmination and practical application of all that was presented in the previous sections: I will discuss the translation of culture-bound references according to the strategies presented in Chapter 4, referring to the proposed translations of two stories. Such analysis aims to show that not only expert linguistic knowledge, but also cultural awareness and a wide literary background are needed in order to make conscious choices in translation.