Corpus-based translation studies

ltrad2302  2026-2027  Louvain-la-Neuve

Corpus-based translation studies
The version you’re consulting is not final. This course description may change. The final version will be published on 1st June.
5.00 credits
30.0 h
Q1
Teacher(s)
Lefer Marie-Aude;
Language
English
Main themes
The course introduces students to the different aspects of corpus-based translation studies, in particular: 
  • the relationship between corpus linguistics and translation/translation studies; 
  • the typology of corpora used in translation studies research; 
  • the objectives and theoretical frameworks of corpus-based translation studies; 
  • the creation of electronic corpora in translation studies; 
  • methods and tools for analysing electronic corpora in translation studies; 
  • quantitative and qualitative approaches in corpus-based translation studies; 
  • applications of corpus-based translation studies; 
  • introduction to corpus-based interpreting studies. 
Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

Contribution of teaching unit to learning outcomes assigned to programme 
This unit contributes to the acquisition and development of the following learning outcomes, as assigned to the Master's degree in translation: 
  • make effective use of search engines, corpus-based tools, text analysis tools, computer-assisted translation (CAT) and quality assurance (QA) tools where appropriate (16 – Technology). 
Specific learning outcomes on completion of teaching unit 
On completing this unit the student is able to: 
  • master the terminology and concepts required in studying translation utilizing corpus data; 
  • defend a critical perspective on corpus-based translation studies, particularly regarding its position within the wider translation studies field, and on the advantages and limitations of corpus data research in this area; 
  • produce written and oral summaries (demonstrating critical acumen) based on a series of publications from the field of corpus-based translation studies focussing on a specific issue; 
  • analyse e-corpus data with objectivity and rigour; 
  • using corpus data, identify the linguistic traits that characterize the translated language. 
 
Content
The course provides a theoretical and practical introduction to corpus-based translation studies. Students are expected to do the required readings before class and should be ready to participate fully in the discussions. A series of workshops in the computer lab are organized to familiarize students with corpus linguistic software tools (mainly the Sketch Engine) and the use of parallel corpora.
Teaching methods
Lectures, seminars and workshops in the computer lab
Evaluation methods
In January:
Continuous assessment: active participation in class (20% of the final grade), oral presentations (40%) and written assignment involving the analysis of translation (or interpreting) corpus data (40%)

For resits in September:
Written assignment to be handed in on 16 August 2026, made up of two parts: (1) 2,000-word summary of 3 CBTS articles of your choice (50%) and (2) analysis of translation corpus data (50%)
Guidelines re. the use of AI to write essays and complete written assignments: 
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) must be used responsibly and in accordance with academic and scientific integrity practices. If use is made of generative AI, students are required to systematically indicate the sections where AI has been used, for example through the use of footnotes, and specify for which purpose(s) AI has been used (for information retrieval, text editing, reformulation, etc.). Students remain responsible for the content of their work.
Other information
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Online resources
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Bibliography
Références / useful CBTS references:
De Sutter, G., Lefer, M.-A. & Delaere, I. (eds). (2017). Empirical Translation Studies: New methodological and theoretical traditions. Trends in Linguistics. Studies and Monographs. Mouton De Gruyter: Berlin.
Fatinuoli, C. & Zanettin, F. (eds). (2015). New directions in corpus-based translation studies. Language Science Press: Berlin.
Granger, S. & Lefer, M.-A. (eds). (2023). Learner translation corpus research. Special issue of International Journal of Learner Corpus Research, 9(1). 
Granger, S. & Lefer, M.-A. (eds). (2022). Extending the Scope of Corpus-Based Translation Studies. Bloomsbury: London.
Kajzer-Wietrzny, M., Ferraresi, A., Ivaska, I. & Bernardini, S. (eds). (2022). Empirical investigations into the forms of mediated discourse at the European Parliament. Berlin: Language Science Press.
Kruger, A., Wallmach, K. & Munday, J. (eds). (2011). Corpus-Based Translation Studies. Research and Applications. Bloomsbury: London.
Laviosa, S. (2002). Corpus-based Translation Studies. Theory, Findings, Applications. Rodopi: Amsterdam/New York.
Oakes, M. & Ji, M. (eds). (2012). Quantitative Methods in Corpus-Based Translation Studies. A practical guide to descriptive translation research. John Benjamins: Amsterdam/Philadelphia.
Olohan, M. (2004). Introducing Corpora in Translation Studies. Routledge: London/New York.
Saldanha, G. & O'Brien, S. (2013). Research Methodologies in Translation Studies. Routledge: London/New York.
Zanettin, F. (2012). Translation-Driven Corpora. Corpus Resources for Descriptive and Applied Translation Studies. St. Jerome: Manchester/Kinderhook.
Teaching materials
  • Available on Moodle
Faculty or entity
> LSTI


Programmes / formations proposant cette unité d'enseignement (UE)

Title of the programme
Sigle
Credits
Prerequisites
Learning outcomes
Master [120] in Translation
TRAD2M
5
Master [120] in Interpreting
INTP2M
5
Master [120] in Linguistics
LING2M
5