The design of a syllabus for translation students: learning outcomes in the subjects of spanish language

[EN]In the new design of educational programs in European Higher Education Area (EHEA), what defines a subject it is Learning Outcomes (LO). These LO, as explicit and precise declarations, turn into the center of teaching and learning process. Keeping this change is mind, our research examines the Educational Guides (EG) of Spanish Language (SL) through a list of verbs, according to the graduation of educacionational objectives of Bllom's Taxonomy (2014-2015)

RNA-Strukturen im Hepatitis-C-Virus und ihre Bedeutung für Translation und Replikation

Das Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) ist ein umhülltes Virus aus der Familie der Flaviviridae. Es besitzt ein Plusstrang-RNA Genom von ca. 9600 Nukleotiden Länge, das nur ein kodierendes Leseraster besitzt. Das Genom wird am 5’ und 3’ Ende von nicht-translatierten Sequenzen (NTRs) flankiert, welche für die Translation und vermutlich auch Replikation von Bedeutung sind. Die 5’ NTR besitzt eine interne Ribosomeneintrittsstelle (IRES), die eine cap-unabhängige Translation des ca. 3000 Aminosäure langen viralen Polyproteins erlaubt. Dieses wird ko- und posttranslational von zellulären und viralen Proteasen in 10 funktionelle Komponenten gespalten. Inwieweit die 5’ NTR auch für die Replikation der HCV RNA benötigt wird, war zu Beginn der Arbeit nicht bekannt. Die 3’ NTR besitzt eine dreigeteilte Struktur, bestehend aus einer variablen Region, dem polyU/UC-Bereich und der sogenannten X-Sequenz, eine hochkonservierte 98 Nukleotide lange Region, die vermutlich für die RNA-Replikation und möglicherweise auch für die Translation benötigt wird. Die genuae Rolle der 3’ NTR für diese beiden Prozesse war zu Beginn der Arbeit jedoch nicht bekannt. Ziel der Dissertation war deshalb eine detaillierte genetische Untersuchung der NTRs hinsichtlich ihrer Bedeutung für die RNA-Translation und -Replikation. In die Analyse mit einbezogen wurden auch RNA-Strukturen innerhalb der kodierenden Region, die zwischen verschiedenen HCV-Genotypen hoch konserviert sind und die mit verschiedenen computer-basierten Modellen vorhergesagt wurden. Zur Kartierung der für RNA-Replikation benötigten Minimallänge der 5’ NTR wurde eine Reihe von Chimären hergestellt, in denen unterschiedlich lange Bereiche der HCV 5’ NTR 3’ terminal mit der IRES des Poliovirus fusioniert wurden. Mit diesem Ansatz konnten wir zeigen, dass die ersten 120 Nukleotide der HCV 5’ NTR als Minimaldomäne für Replikation ausreichen. Weiterhin ergab sich eine klare Korrelation zwischen der Länge der HCV 5’ NTR und der Replikationseffizienz. Mit steigender Länge der 5’ NTR nahm auch die Replikationseffizienz zu, die dann maximal war, wenn das vollständige 5’ Element mit der Poliovirus-IRES fusioniert wurde. Die hier gefundene Kopplung von Translation und Replikation in der HCV 5’ NTR könnte auf einen Mechanismus zur Regulation beider Funktionen hindeuten. Es konnte allerdings noch nicht geklärt werden, welche Bereiche innerhalb der Grenzen des IRES-Elements genau für die RNA-Replikation benötigt werden. Untersuchungen im Bereich der 3’ NTR ergaben, dass die variable Region für die Replikation entbehrlich, die X-Sequenz jedoch essentiell ist. Der polyU/UC-Bereich musste eine Länge von mindestens 11-30 Uridinen besitzen, wobei maximale Replikation ab einer Länge von 30-50 Uridinen beobachtet wurde. Die Addition von heterologen Sequenzen an das 3’ Ende der HCV-RNA führte zu einer starken Reduktion der Replikation. In den hier durchgeführten Untersuchungen zeigte keines der Elemente in der 3’ NTR einen signifikanten Einfluss auf die Translation. Ein weiteres cis aktives RNA-Element wurde im 3’ kodierenden Bereich für das NS5B Protein beschrieben. Wir fanden, dass Veränderungen dieser Struktur durch stille Punktmutationen die Replikation hemmten, welche durch die Insertion einer intakten Version dieses RNA-Elements in die variable Region der 3’ NTR wieder hergestellt werden konnte. Dieser Versuchsansatz erlaubte die genaue Untersuchung der für die Replikation kritischen Strukturelemente. Dadurch konnte gezeigt werden, dass die Struktur und die Primärsequenz der Loopbereiche essentiell sind. Darüber hinaus wurde eine Sequenzkomplementarität zwischen dem Element in der NS5B-kodierenden Region und einem RNA-Bereich in der X-Sequenz der 3’ NTR gefunden, die eine sog. „kissing loop“ Interaktion eingehen kann. Mit Hilfe von gezielten Mutationen konnten wir zeigen, dass diese RNA:RNA Interaktion zumindest transient stattfindet und für die Replikation des HCV essentiell ist.

mRNAs translation and tumorigenesis

Translational control has a direct impact on cancer development and progression. Quantitative and qualitative changes of cap-dependent translation initiation contribute to neoplastic transformation and progression. However, the idea that “alternative” mechanisms of translation initiation, such as IRES-dependent translation, can be involved in the tumorigenesis is emerging. Because the relevance of this kind of translation initiation in cancer progression is not so well clarified, the purpose of my work was to study the impact of IRES-dependent mRNA translation on tumourigenesis and cancer progression with particular regard for breast cancer. The data obtained clarify the function of cap-independent translation in cancer. Particularly they suggested that the deregulation of IRES-dependent translation can be considered a sort of pro-oncogenic stimulus characterized by the inhibition of the expression of some proteins that block cell growth and proliferation and by the over expression of other proteins that contributed to cell survival. In addition, under stress condition, such as a hypoxia, in immortalized epithelial cell lines, changes in cap-independent translation are associated with an induction of expression of stem cell markers, and with the selection of a sub group of cells that have an increased ability to self-renewing and therefore in the acquisition of a more aggressive phenotype.

The central role of Fyn kinase in axon-glial signalling and translation of myelin proteins

During central nervous system myelination, oligodendrocytes extend membrane processes towards an axonal contact site which is followed by ensheathment resulting in a compacted multilamellar myelin sheath. The formation of this axon-glial unit facilitates rapid saltatory propagation of action potentials along the axon and requires the synthesis and transport of copious amounts of lipids and proteins to the axon-glial contact site. Fyn is a member of the Src family of non receptor tyrosine kinases and inserted into the inner leaflet of the oligodendrocyte membrane by acylation. Fyn activity plays a pivotal role in the maturation of oligodendrocytes and the myelination process. It was suggested previously that Fyn kinase can be stimulated by binding of a neuronal ligand to oligodendroglial F3/ contactin, a glycosyl-phosphatidyl-inositol anchored immunoglobulin superfamily (IgSF) member protein. It could be shown here, that neuronal cell adhesion molecule L1 binds to oligodendrocytes in an F3-dependent manner and activates glial Fyn. In the search for downstream participants of this novel axon-glial signalling cascade, heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP) A2 was identified as a novel Fyn target in oligodendrocytes. HnRNP A2 was known to be involved in the localisation of translationally repressed myelin basic protein (MBP) mRNA by binding to a cis acting A2 response element (A2RE) present in the 3’ untranslated region. Transport of MBP mRNAs occurs in RNA-protein complexes termed RNA granules and translational repression during transport is achieved by hnRNP A2-mediated recruitment of hnRNP E1 to the granules. It could be shown here, that Fyn activity leads to enhanced translation of reporter mRNA containing a part of the 3’ UTR of MBP including the A2RE. Furthermore hnRNP E1 seems to dissociate from RNA granules in response to Fyn activity and L1 binding. These findings suggest a novel form of neuron- glial communication: Axonal L1 binding to oligodendroglial F3 activates Fyn kinase. Activated Fyn phosphorylates hnRNP A2 leading to removal of hnRNP E1 from RNA granules initiating the translation of MBP mRNA. MBP is the second most abundant myelin protein and mice lacking this protein show a severe hypomyelination phenotype. Moreover, the brains of Fyn knock out mice contain reduced MBP levels and are hypomyelinated. Hence, L1-mediated MBP synthesis via Fyn as a central molecule could be part of a regulatory mechanism required for myelinogenesis in the central nervous system.

Vantaggi e limiti dell'integrazione tra sistemi di traduzione assistita e sistemi di traduzione automatica

Computer-assisted translation (or computer-aided translation or CAT) is a form of language translation in which a human translator uses computer software in order to facilitate the translation process. Machine translation (MT) is the automated process by which a computerized system produces a translated text or speech from one natural language to another. Both of them are leading and promising technologies in the translation industry; it therefore seems important that translation students and professional translators become familiar with this relatively new types of technology. Whether used together, not only might these two different types of systems reduce translation time, but also lead to a further improvement in the field of translation technologies. The dissertation consists of four chapters. The first one surveys the chronological development of MT and CAT tools, the emergence of pre-editing, post-editing and controlled language and the very last frontiers in this sector. The second one provide a general overview on the four main CAT tools that are used nowadays and tested hereto. The third chapter is dedicated to the experimentations that have been conducted in order to analyze and evaluate the performance of the four integrated systems that are the core subject of this dissertation. Finally, the fourth chapter deals with the issue of terminological equivalence in interlinguistic translation. The purpose of this dissertation is not to provide an objective and definitive solution to the complex issues that arise at any time in the field of translation technologies, this aim being well away from being achieved, but to supply information about the limits and potentiality that are typical of those instruments which are now essential to any professional translator.

A suggested translation of art related texts

The thesis is the translation of art related texts, translated for a sculptor of Bologna. The comment to the translation is based on functional theories.

Perceived difficulty and time effectiveness in translation: a comparison of machine translation post-editing and translation memory use

Con il presente studio si è inteso analizzare l’impatto dell’utilizzo di una memoria di traduzione (TM) e del post-editing (PE) di un output grezzo sul livello di difficoltà percepita e sul tempo necessario per ottenere un testo finale di alta qualità. L’esperimento ha coinvolto sei studenti, di madrelingua italiana, del corso di Laurea Magistrale in Traduzione Specializzata dell’Università di Bologna (Vicepresidenza di Forlì). I partecipanti sono stati divisi in tre coppie, a ognuna delle quali è stato assegnato un estratto di comunicato stampa in inglese. Per ogni coppia, ad un partecipante è stato chiesto di tradurre il testo in italiano usando la TM all’interno di SDL Trados Studio 2011. All’altro partecipante è stato chiesto di fare il PE completo in italiano dell’output grezzo ottenuto da Google Translate. Nei casi in cui la TM o l’output non contenevano traduzioni (corrette), i partecipanti avrebbero potuto consultare Internet. Ricorrendo ai Think-aloud Protocols (TAPs), è stato chiesto loro di riflettere a voce alta durante lo svolgimento dei compiti. È stato quindi possibile individuare i problemi traduttivi incontrati e i casi in cui la TM e l’output grezzo hanno fornito soluzioni corrette; inoltre, è stato possibile osservare le strategie traduttive impiegate, per poi chiedere ai partecipanti di indicarne la difficoltà attraverso interviste a posteriori. È stato anche misurato il tempo impiegato da ogni partecipante. I dati sulla difficoltà percepita e quelli sul tempo impiegato sono stati messi in relazione con il numero di soluzioni corrette rispettivamente fornito da TM e output grezzo. È stato osservato che usare la TM ha comportato un maggior risparmio di tempo e che, al contrario del PE, ha portato a una riduzione della difficoltà percepita. Il presente studio si propone di aiutare i futuri traduttori professionisti a scegliere strumenti tecnologici che gli permettano di risparmiare tempo e risorse.

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.

Bitext alignment: building and evaluating a bilingual corpus and translation memory of academic course descriptions

Following the internationalization of contemporary higher education, academic institutions based in non-English speaking countries are increasingly urged to produce contents in English to address international prospective students and personnel, as well as to increase their attractiveness. The demand for English translations in the institutional academic domain is consequently increasing at a rate exceeding the capacity of the translation profession. Resources for assisting non-native authors and translators in the production of appropriate texts in L2 are therefore required in order to help academic institutions and professionals streamline their translation workload. Some of these resources include: (i) parallel corpora to train machine translation systems and multilingual authoring tools; and (ii) translation memories for computer-aided tools. The purpose of this study is to create and evaluate reference resources like the ones mentioned in (i) and (ii) through the automatic sentence alignment of a large set of Italian and English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) institutional academic texts given as equivalent but not necessarily parallel (i.e. translated). In this framework, a set of aligning algorithms and alignment tools is examined in order to identify the most profitable one(s) in terms of accuracy and time- and cost-effectiveness. In order to determine the text pairs to align, a sample is selected according to document length similarity (characters) and subsequently evaluated in terms of extent of noisiness/parallelism, alignment accuracy and content leverageability. The results of these analyses serve as the basis for the creation of an aligned bilingual corpus of academic course descriptions, which is eventually used to create a translation memory in TMX format.

La localizzazione di videogiochi: fan-translation e proposta di traduzione

Di pari passo con l'espansione dell'industria dei videogiochi, la traduzione videoludica è andata evolvendosi con l'avanzamento tecnologico e l'impatto sempre più crescente di questo fenomeno culturale nella società. Questa recente tipologia di traduzione, chiamata localizzazione, combina elementi della traduzione di software con quella audiovisiva. In questo studio verrà analizzato il fenomeno della fan-translation, ovvero la traduzione autonoma di videogiochi da parte degli utenti, e verrà preso in esame il caso di Superfighters Deluxe, videogioco in fase di sviluppo dello studio indipendente MythoLogic Interactive.

Active Translation into English and Italian of Hosseini's adaptation of the Persian epic,"Shahname"

This thesis proposes a translation from Persian into Italian and English of an ancient Persian epic called Shahname, or literally “The Book of Kings,” by Ferdosi, first published in the 11th century CE. The translation proposed, however, is not based on the original book by Ferdosi, which is written all in verse, but rather, an edited, shorter, and simplified version written in prose, by Mohamad Hosseini, first published in 2013. Nonetheless, in his version, Hosseini included some of the verses from the original poems in order to show the value and the beauty of Ferdosi’s writing. Many translations of Ferdosi’s book have been made into English, but only one translation has been made into Italian, by one Italo Pizzi, in 8 volumes, all in verse, in 1886. This thesis analyses and discusses the choices made for the two translations presented into English and Italian. My project is not only to propose translations of Hosseini’s version, but to also introduce the reader to the Persian culture, and to the life of the most famous Iranian epic writer, Ferdosi, and his masterpiece, Shahname.

Trauma-induced coagulopathy in severely injured patients: knowledge lost in translation?

Many guidelines exist on how to treat patients with multiple injuries correctly in an accident and emergency setting. The aim of the present work was to find out how well patients are treated focusing on trauma induced coagulopathy (TIC), and what anaesthetists involved in trauma care think about their own experiences with TIC.

Lost in translation: the impact of publication language on citation frequency in the scientific dental literature

Citation metrics are commonly used as a proxy for scientific merit and relevance. Papers published in English, however, may exhibit a higher citation frequency than research articles published in other languages, though this issue has not yet been investigated from a Swiss perspective where English is not the native language.