Skip to main content
Unit of study_

CHNS3610: Chinese Translation

Semester 1, 2020 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

This unit aims to develop written fluency in Chinese and English through translation practice. The unit is designed to further develop students' advanced writing and translation skills. Practical tasks will include translation from English into Chinese and vice versa, using a wide range of texts, including newspaper reports, advertisements, product package text, film subtitles, tourist brochures, web pages, and relatively simple technical, legal and official documents.

Unit details and rules

Unit code CHNS3610
Academic unit Chinese Studies
Credit points 6
Prohibitions
? 
None
Prerequisites
? 
(CHNS1303 and CHNS1304) or 12 credit points at 3000 level units in Chinese Studies
Corequisites
? 
None
Assumed knowledge
? 

None

Available to study abroad and exchange students

Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator Wei Wang, wei.wang@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s) Wei Wang, wei.wang@sydney.edu.au
Tutor(s) Samantha Xu, zhan.xu@sydney.edu.au
Jessica Zuo, wenjing.zuo@sydney.edu.au
Type Description Weight Due Length
Presentation group assignment Group presentation
Oral presentation
10% Multiple weeks
Closing date: 21 May 2020
500 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7 LO8
Online task Online discussion
Discussion board online
10% Multiple weeks
Due date: 01 May 2020 at 16:00
500 words
Outcomes assessed: LO2 LO8 LO7 LO5 LO3
Assignment Translation assignment 1
Translation task 1
10% Week 03
Due date: 12 Mar 2020 at 16:00
500 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO3 LO4 LO6
Assignment Translation assignment 2
Translation task 2
10% Week 05
Due date: 26 Mar 2020 at 16:00
500 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO3 LO4 LO6
Assignment Translation assignment 3
Translation task 3
10% Week 07
Due date: 09 Apr 2020 at 16:00
500 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO3 LO4 LO6
Assignment Translation assignment 4
Translation task 4
10% Week 09
Due date: 30 Apr 2020 at 16:00
500 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6
In-semester test In-class test
Written translation test
20% Week 13 500 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO4 LO3 LO2
Assignment group assignment Mini practicum project
Group translation project
20% Week 13
Due date: 26 May 2020 at 16:00
1000 words per student
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO8 LO7 LO6 LO5 LO4 LO3 LO2
group assignment = group assignment ?

Assessment summary

  • Translation assignments: You have to submit via Canvas for online submission and at tutorials a hardcopy of your assignments. Each translation assignment will include two pieces of translation, covering different genres and topics: one from English into Chinese and the other from Chinese into English with approximately 250 words or equivalence for each text. Please be noted that you must bring a hardcopy of the bi-weekly assignments to the tutorial for discussion and submit it after the tutorial for teacher’s marking. The online submission is just as proof of completion on time and for plagiarism check.
  • Online discussion: A discussion board will be made available on the LMS for students to discuss translation difficulties and reflect on the assignments. Your discussions and reflections will form a very important part of this translation unit. The discussion board is used to share (1) your response to the translation practice; (2) the strategies you adopted in addressing the difficulties; (3) your reflections on the difficulties you encounter. You may use either English or Chinese to record your thoughts and ideas.
  • Group presentation: Each group of students is required to do a 15 minutes presentation in Weeks 11 and 12 tutorials to (1) report on the development of their project (e.g. what the project is about, who is doing what in the project, etc.); (2) talk about the problems and difficulties encountered in doing the project; (3) discuss the ways that they handle the problems; (4) seek suggestions and feedback from lecturers and peers. Each group is required to prepare 10-15 slides, which have to be submitted online after the oral presentation.
  • Mini practicum project: Students will participate in a mini practicum project in Weeks 9-12. This project tends to be carried out by group of three to four students, who are required to complete a mini translation project of approximately 3,000-4,000 English words (or equivalence) with 1,000 English words for each student. Each project will be reviewed and assessed by both the peers and the teacher. Detailed methods and criteria will be provided in the class. The project has to be submitted online via Canvas and the hardcopy submission will be due in the lecture. A coversheet should be attached for this project.
  • In-class test: Students have to complete two texts within 100 minutes (50 minutes for each direction). This test is paper-based and students are allowed to use any hardcopy resources that they need. No mobile devices (i.e. laptops, iPad, smart phones, etc.) and Internet access are allowed for this test. The text length is about 250 words each. The texts for the test will be drawn from subject areas that have been covered in the unit of study. Please be advised that the students in different tutorial groups will be taking different test papers with the same language level.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a High distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a Distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name

Mark range

Description

High distinction

85 - 100

 

Distinction

75 - 84

 

Credit

65 - 74

 

Pass

50 - 64

 

Fail

0 - 49

When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see sydney.edu.au/students/guide-to-grades.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

  • Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
  • After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website  provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.  

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

WK Topic Learning activity Learning outcomes
Week 01 Unit introduction Lecture (1 hr)  
Introduction to assessment tasks Tutorial (2 hr)  
Week 02 Basic issues in translation Lecture (1 hr)  
Tutorial 1 Tutorial (2 hr)  
Week 03 Key rhetorical differences between Chinese and English Lecture (1 hr)  
Tutorial 2 Tutorial (2 hr)  
Week 04 Basic translation skills 1 Lecture (1 hr)  
Tutorial 3 Tutorial (2 hr)  
Week 05 Basic translation skills 2 Lecture (1 hr)  
Tutorial 4 Tutorial (2 hr)  
Week 06 Basic translation skills 3 Lecture (1 hr)  
Tutorial 5 Tutorial (2 hr)  
Week 07 The question of equivalence Lecture (1 hr)  
Tutorial 6 Tutorial (2 hr)  
Week 08 Genre analysis and translation Lecture (1 hr)  
Tutorial 7 Tutorial (2 hr)  
Week 09 Cultural issues in translation Lecture (1 hr)  
Tutorial 8 Tutorial (2 hr)  
Week 10 Professional translation and ethics Lecture (1 hr)  
Practicum projects Tutorial (2 hr)  
Week 11 Teamwork and peer-review Lecture (1 hr)  
Practicum projects +Group presentations Tutorial (2 hr)  
Week 12 Editing and formatting Lecture (1 hr)  
Practicum projects + Group presentations Tutorial (2 hr)  
Week 13 Review of the unit and Unit Evaluation Lecture (1 hr)  

Attendance and class requirements

  • Attendance: According to Faculty Board Resolutions, students in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences are expected to attend 90% of their classes. If you attend less than 50% of classes, regardless of the reasons, you may be referred to the Examiner’s Board. The Examiner’s Board will decide whether you should pass or fail the unit of study if your attendance falls below this threshold.

  • Lecture recording: Most lectures (in recording-equipped venues) will be recorded and may be made available to students on the LMS. However, you should not rely on lecture recording to substitute your classroom learning experience.

  • Preparation: Students should commit to spend approximately three hours’ preparation time (reading, studying, homework, essays, etc.) for every hour of scheduled instruction.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. translate texts in a variety of genres and topic areas
  • LO2. identify and analyse translation problems in a variety of text types
  • LO3. devise appropriate translation strategies to tackle the problems
  • LO4. apply the principles of translation to the solution of the problems
  • LO5. record and evaluate the translation strategies adopted
  • LO6. conduct background research and teamwork for translation
  • LO7. understand professional ethics issues
  • LO8. conduct self-reflection, critical analysis, and problem solving for translation practice.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1 Depth of disciplinary expertise

Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.

GQ2 Critical thinking and problem solving

Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.

GQ3 Oral and written communication

Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.

GQ4 Information and digital literacy

Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.

GQ5 Inventiveness

Generating novel ideas and solutions.

GQ6 Cultural competence

Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.

GQ7 Interdisciplinary effectiveness

Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.

GQ8 Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity

An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.

GQ9 Influence

Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes Graduate qualities
GQ1 GQ2 GQ3 GQ4 GQ5 GQ6 GQ7 GQ8 GQ9

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

No changes have been made since this unit was last offered

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.