{"id":33659,"date":"2018-09-27T16:09:05","date_gmt":"2018-09-27T15:09:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/anglist.ffzg.unizg.hr\/?p=33659"},"modified":"2026-09-15T13:23:23","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T12:23:23","slug":"translation-and-intercultural-communication","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anglist.ffzg.unizg.hr\/?p=33659&lang=en","title":{"rendered":"Translation and Intercultural Communication"},"content":{"rendered":"

Course title: <\/strong>Translation and Intercultural Communication
\n<\/strong>Instructor:<\/strong> Dr. Snje\u017eana Veselica Majhut
\n<\/span>ECTS credits:<\/strong> 5
\n<\/span>Language: <\/strong>English and Croatian
\n<\/span>Semester<\/strong>: 3rd term of graduate studies
\n<\/span>Status: <\/strong>elective
\n<\/strong>Form of instruction:<\/strong> two  lectures and one seminar per week + e-learning
\n<\/span>Assessment: <\/strong>continuous assessment components  <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This course explores translation as a complex act of cross-cultural mediation rather than a simple linguistic substitution. Students will analyze how cultural values, societal power dynamics, and pragmatic contexts shape the transmission of texts across borders. Combining translation theory, intercultural pragmatics, and hands-on practice, the course prepares students for the evolving global language industry. Special attention is paid to emerging industry demands, including localizing digital media, transcreation, managing machine translation (MT), and navigating the ethics of AI in multicultural workflows.<\/span><\/p>\n

By the end of this course, students will be able to:Critically evaluate major translation and intercultural communication theories.Identify and resolve complex sociolinguistic, pragmatic, and cultural barriers in source texts.Demonstrate proficiency in advanced translation strategies, including transcreation and localization.Utilize and critically assess computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools and machine translation post-editing (MTPE).Apply ethical decision-making frameworks regarding cultural representation and language accessibility.<\/span><\/p>\n

Part I: Theoretical Foundations<\/p>\n

Week 1: Introduction to Intercultural MediationTopics: Defining culture, identity, and the “cultural turn” in translation studies. Readings: Excerpts from Susan Bassnett and Andr\u00e9 Lefevere.<\/p>\n

Week 2: Equivalence vs. Functionalism (Skopos Theory) Topics: Shifting focus from word-for-word accuracy to the purpose (Skopos) of the text in the target culture. Readings: Hans Vermeer and Christiane Nord.<\/p>\n

Week 3: Intercultural Pragmatics & Discourse Analysis Topics: Implicit meaning, speech acts, politeness strategies, and high\/low-context communication across cultures. Readings: Istvan Kecskes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Part II: Cultural Mechanics in Translation
\nWeek 4: Ideology, Power, and Censorship Topics: Postcolonial translation theory, linguistic hegemony, and the translator\u2019s visibility or invisibility. Readings: Lawrence Venuti (The Translator’s Invisibility).
\nWeek 5: Translating Idioms, Metaphors, and Humor Topics: Handling culture-specific items (CSIs), wordplay, and non-equivalence.Seminar: Interactive workshop mapping cultural metaphors. Part III: Specialized Fields & Applied Practice
\nWeek 6: Institutional and Legal Translation Topics: Asymmetry in legal systems, terminology management, and public service interpreting.
\nWeek 7: Audiovisual Translation (AVT) & AccessibilityTopics: Subtitling, dubbing, audio description, and cultural constraints in multimedia format constraint.
\nWeek 8: Marketing Translation & Transcreation Topics: Adapting global brand campaigns, slogans, and emotional resonances for localized consumer mindsets.
\nWeek 9: Software, Game, and App Localization Topics: Technical and cultural adaptation of user interfaces, text strings, variables, and regional imagery.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Assessment Components<\/strong>
\n20% Class Participation & Weekly Discussion Briefs: Active engagement in textual analyses, case studies, and peer-review workshops. 30% Translation & Commentary Portfolio (Mid-term): Practical translation of two contrasting text types (e.g., one legal document and one marketing ad) accompanied by an analytical commentary justifying choices based on Skopos theory. 15% Technology Lab Project: A localization exercise utilizing a CAT tool, including an error-typology report on a post-edited machine-translated text. 35% Capstone Research Project \/ Major Transcreation Project: An extensive, independent translation project (2,500+ words) with an accompanying 3,000-word theoretical framework paper, or a deep academic research paper exploring a specific intercultural communication bottleneck.<\/span><\/p>\n

OBLIGATORY READING:<\/strong>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Gambier, Y. 2013. \u201cGenres, text-types and translation\u201d in Handbook of Translation Studies. vol. 4: pp. 63\u201369 <\/span>
\nHatim, B. 2009. \u201c Translating text in context\u201c in Munday, J. (ed.) The Routledge Companion to Translation Studies. New York: Routledge.<\/span>
\nHatim, B. and Munday, J. 2004. Translation: An Advanced Resource Book. New York: Routledge. (selected chapters)<\/span>
\nKelly, D. 1998. \u201cThe translation of texts from the tourist sector: textual conventions, cultural distance and other constraints\u201d. Trans: Revista de Traductologia. no. 2 (1998) (DOI: http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.24310\/TRANS.1998.v0i2.2354<\/span>
\nTrosborg, A. (ed.) 1997. Text Typology and Translation. John Benjamins Publishing (selected chapters)<\/span><\/p>\n

ADDITIONAL READING:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Hatim, B. and Mason, I. 2005. The Translator as Communicator. London\/New York: Routledge<\/span>
\nKatan, D. 2009. \u201cTranslation as Intercultural Communication\u201d in in Munday, J. (ed.) The Routledge Companion to Translation Studies. New York: Routledge.<\/span>
\nKatan, D. Translating Cultures: An Introduction for Translators, Interpreters and Mediators https:\/\/www.academia.edu\/7397391\/14818510<\/span>
\nNord, C. 2000. \u201cTraining Functional Translators\u201d. Cadernos de Tradu\u00e7\u00e3o. ISSN 2175-7968, Florian\u00f3polis, Brasil. DOI: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.5007\/%25x<\/span>
\nTomozeiu, D., Koskinen, K. and D\u2019Arcangelo, A. 2017. (eds.) Intercultural Competence for Translators. New York: Routledge (selected chapters)<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Course title: Translation and Intercultural Communication Instructor: Dr. Snje\u017eana Veselica Majhut ECTS credits: 5 Language: English and Croatian Semester: 3rd term of graduate studies Status: elective Form of instruction: two  lectures and one seminar per week + e-learning Assessment: continuous assessment components   This course explores translation as a complex act of cross-cultural mediation rather than a simple linguistic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99,140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-7-semestar-smjer-prevoditeljstvo-2","category-9-semestar-smjer-prevoditeljstvo-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anglist.ffzg.unizg.hr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anglist.ffzg.unizg.hr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anglist.ffzg.unizg.hr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anglist.ffzg.unizg.hr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anglist.ffzg.unizg.hr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33659"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/anglist.ffzg.unizg.hr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33659\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49612,"href":"https:\/\/anglist.ffzg.unizg.hr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33659\/revisions\/49612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anglist.ffzg.unizg.hr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anglist.ffzg.unizg.hr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anglist.ffzg.unizg.hr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}