PSPTIS024
Read and analyse general purpose LOTE texts to be translated


Application

This unit describes the skills required to read and analyse a written message in a general purpose LOTE text for the purpose of later transfer to English. It requires identifying the key linguistic, cultural, societal and situational elements to be conveyed in the future language transfer process.

General purpose texts are those intended to convey information to a limited and known audience. The text is written in plain language, and the language and concepts expressed are accessible to the general public. There are limited equivalence problems between source and target text and limited requirement for research on the subject beyond client resources.

This unit applies to those working as translators of texts in any language.

The skills and knowledge described in this unit must be applied within the legislative, regulatory and policy environment in which they are carried out. Organisational policies and procedures must be consulted and industry codes and standards for ethical translating and interpreting adhered to.

Those undertaking this unit would work independently using support resources as required, while performing specific tasks in a range of contexts.

No licensing, legislative or certification requirements apply to unit at the time of publication.


Elements and Performance Criteria

ELEMENTS

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA

Elements describe the essential outcomes

Performance criteria describe the performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element. Where bold italicised text is used, further information is detailed in the range of conditions section.

1. Identify translating requirements and expectations of audience

1.1 Identify source, context and purpose of text, determining specific requirements and regional or specialist aspects.

1.2 Identify audience for translated text and confirm that translation requirements and expectations match those of client.

1.3 Identify social and cultural issues and plan solutions relevant to translation task.

2. Analyse language of source text

2.1 Identify source LOTE, including register and style.

2.2 Confirm and review resources to aid in understanding unfamiliar language.

2.3 Build, use and maintain assignment-specific glossary.

2.4 Recognise idiomatic and metaphorical expressions and foreign loan words in source language.

2.5 Analyse language and writing conventions, determining use of terminology and language.

3. Analyse grammar and cohesion of source text

3.1 Analyse function of source language punctuation and determine semantic and syntactic structure.

3.2 Apply subject and context knowledge to analysis, sourcing further assistance where required.

3.3 Paraphrase text to check plausibility of comprehension.

3.4 Restructure text as necessary to clarify meaning.

4. Resolve difficulties

4.1 Identify deficient source text and discuss with appropriate persons.

4.2 Suggest solutions and reformulate text as agreed for effective translation.

4.3 Use a range of techniques and resources to address and resolve difficulties identified.

Evidence of Performance

Evidence required to demonstrate competence must satisfy all of the requirements of the elements and performance criteria. If not otherwise specified, the candidate must demonstrate evidence of performance of the following on at least two occasions.

identifying the key linguistic, cultural, societal and situational elements in the source text

analysing source text language and writing conventions for meaning, including:

acronyms and eponyms

cause and effect relationships

cohesive and substitution devices

function of words and grammatical elements

idioms and idiomatic expressions

metaphor and simile

punctuation

register and style

terminology and jargon


Evidence of Knowledge

Evidence required to demonstrate competence must satisfy all of the requirements of the elements and performance criteria. If not otherwise specified, the depth of knowledge demonstrated must be appropriate to the job context of the candidate.

cultural knowledge to identify inherent cultural and socio-cultural concepts

language structure, metaphors and idioms in source language

techniques to parse sentences

subject specialist area and culture-specific knowledge relevant to topic of translation


Assessment Conditions

Assessment of this unit of competency must include use of translation source and target texts, examples of research and glossaries, and assignment experiences that illustrate diverse skills and strategies for analysing general purpose texts to be translated.

Consideration must be given to holistic assessment for this unit. Refer to advice in the Companion Volumes.

Assessors must satisfy the NVR/AQTF mandatory competency requirements for assessors.


Foundation Skills

Foundation skills are embedded within the elements and performance criteria of this unit.


Competency Field

Translating and interpreting