Application
This unit describes the skills required to read and analyse a written message in a special purpose language other than English (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.
This unit applies to those working as translators of special purpose texts in any language.
Special purpose texts are texts for which the purpose is to convey information for a specific audience. The text is written using specific terminology and there may be significant equivalence problems between source and target texts. There may also be a need to undertake extensive research and translate complex language and concepts.
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 a broad range of support resources as required, while performing sophisticated tasks in a range of specialised 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 language, including register and style. 2.2 Identify complex areas of content and language requiring additional research. 2.3 Confirm and review resources to aid in understanding specialist or technical language. 2.4 Build, use and maintain assignment-specific glossary. 2.5 Recognise idiomatic and metaphorical expressions and foreign loan words in source text. 2.6 Analyse language and writing conventions, determining use of terminology and language. |
3. Analyse grammar and cohesion of source text | 3.1 Analyse function of LOTE punctuation and determine semantic and syntactic structure. 3.2 Apply subject and context knowledge and experiences in related texts to determine key elements and potential translation problems. 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
using advanced bilingual research skills and the ability to critically apply specialist resources, including style guides ,subject-specific or specialist bilingual glossaries and reference material
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.
discourse and complex source text analysis techniques
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 texts, examples of research and glossaries, and assignment experiences that illustrate diverse skills and strategies for analysing special purpose texts in a LOTE.
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
The foundation skills demands of this unit have been mapped for alignment with the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF). The following tables outline the English language performance levels indicated for successful attainment of the unit.
Further information on ACSF and the foundation skills underpinning this unit can be found in the Foundation Skills Guide on the GSA website.
Competency Field
Translating and interpreting