Specialised Translation Project in International and European Affairs - Spanish

ltrad2644  2026-2027  Louvain-la-Neuve

Specialised Translation Project in International and European Affairs - Spanish
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
15.0 h + 15.0 h
Q1
Teacher(s)
Maubille Geneviève;
Language
French
Main themes
Translation of specialised and highly specialised texts in the field of international and European relations in its various aspects (geopolitics, geostrategy, diplomacy, foreign policy, international/European law, etc.). 
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: 
  • analyse a source document, identify potential textual and cognitive difficulties and assess the strategies and resources needed to reformulate it in line with communicative needs (1 – Translation); 
  • summarise, rephrase, restructure, and shorten a message and adapt it to market needs rapidly and accurately in at least one target language, using written and/or spoken communication (2 – Translation); 
  • implement the instructions, style guides, or conventions relevant to a particular translation (5 – Translation); 
  • translate general and domain-specific material in one or several fields from one or several source languages into their target language(s), producing a ‘fit for purpose’ translation (6 – Translation); 
  • translate different types of material on and for different kinds of media and target audiences, using appropriate tools and techniques (7 – Translation); 
  • check, review, revise and evaluate their own work and that of others according to standard or work-specific quality objectives and assess the appropriateness of using tools for the work at hand (11 – Translation); 
  • post-edit MT output using style guides and terminology glossaries to maintain quality standards in MT-enhanced translation projects (14 – 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: 
  • identify and employ documentation (in both French and Spanish) which is relevant and useful in dealing with a given source text (comprehension, translation, accurate reformulation); 
  • identify terminological and phraseological units in the Spanish text and select equivalents in French with reference to suitable sources; 
  • identify the genre, typology and nature of the source text with a view to adopting the appropriate discursive means in French to encompass all aspects of the translation process (register, style, codes, rules of protocol, etc.); 
  • translate a text pertaining to the domain of international/European relations in a professional manner respecting the particular specifications involved and observing the deontological code; 
  • adapt to a client's specific requirements in a given translation context (complete text, summary translation, rewriting, post-editing, etc.); 
  • translate a text pertaining to the domain of international/European relations employing documentary and terminological research and using the most appropriate computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools; 
  • establish strategies for transposing the historical, cultural, socio-political and ideological components underlying a political discourse in the most appropriate way. 
 
Content
The Specialised Translation Seminar in International and European Affairs is devoted to the translation (from Spanish into French) of texts focusing on EU topics written by experts. In the introductory section of the course, the main tools for the translation of EU documents (such as EUR-Lex, IATE or the Interinstitutional Style Guide) will be presented so that the students can use them in the translation exercises.
Students will have to tackle the various steps of a Spanish-into-French translation project with professionalism, from order to delivery (i.e. administrative tasks, documentary and terminological research, translation, revision). 
Where appropriate, use of CAT, corpus linguistics and MT tools.
Teaching methods
Lectures and exercise sessions.
Evaluation methods
January exam session : summative continuous assessment of the student's work during the term.
August/September exam session: summative assessment in the form of a written exam. Practical details of the assignment will be communicated on Moodle.
The use of machine translation (MT) and/or artificial intelligence (AI) is possible provided that the teacher explicitly authorises it in her instructions. At the teacher's request, the student may be asked to indicate the use of MT and/or AI and to specify the tools used as well as the parts of the text concerned by the use of these tools.
Bibliography
WAGNER, E., BECH, S. et MARTINEZ, J. (2002) : Translating for the European Union Institutions, Routledge.
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