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  5. Business and Commercial Translation Practice (English to Portuguese)

Business and Commercial Translation Practice (English to Portuguese)

Objectives

1) To know the basic terminology of commercial and labour law, accounting and finance, corporate structure, marketing, advertising, localisation, HR management and import/export;
2) To be able to organise a glossary of key business English terms in the above areas;
3) To know the cultural differences between British, North American and Portuguese business communication standards (business correspondence, minutes, circulars, press releases).
4) To translate correctly business correspondence (formal letters, e-mails) respecting Portuguese norms and conventions, both formal and stylistic;
5) To be able to translate a job description, a cover letter, an employment contract and a notice of termination;
6) To know the basic principles of localisation and apply them to marketing and advertising strategies;
7) To be able to translate an English-speaking company website.

General characterization

Code

711121057

Credits

6.0

Responsible teacher

Marco António Franco Neves, Margarida Gouveia Esperança Pina Saraiva de Reffoios

Hours

Weekly - 4

Total - 168

Teaching language

Portuguese

Prerequisites

N/A

Bibliography

1. Andrade, Maria Paula Gouveia de (2008). Dicionário Jurídico (Português-Inglês; Inglês-Português). Lisboa: Quid Juris.
2. Cao, Deborah (2007). Translating Law. Cleveland: Multilingual Matters.
3. Chartrand, Marcella et al. (2009). English for Contract and Company Law. 3rd edition. London: St. Jerome.
4. Costa, J. A. Ferreira da (2008). Direito de Negócios: Dicionário Inglês/Português Direito Financeiro e Bancário, de Mercado de Capitais, de Torts e Corporate Finance). 3ª edição. Coimbra: Almedina.
5. MacKenzie, Ian (2006). English for Business Studies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
6. Moreira, Isabel (2010). Correspondência Comercial. 2ª edição Lisboa: Edições Técnicas e Profissionais.
7. Parkinson, Dilys (ed) (2005). Oxford Business English Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
8. Sager, Juan C. (1990). A Practical Course in Terminology Processing. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
9. Soares, José Carlos (2011). Dicionário de Gestão. Lisboa: Plátano.

Teaching method

Despite its indispensable theoretical component, this course is eminently practical. Three strategies will be used in the introduction to each point on the syllabus: firstly, a presentation (by the teacher) of the basic information and (contextualised) meaning of the key concepts that make up the specific terminology of business affairs in English; secondly, the resolution of a sequence of exercises through which students can better grasp the essential terminology and, in a third phase, the joint search for an equivalent term/expression in Portuguese. In the practical aspect, the methodology will centre on the students, who will be assigned translation tasks (to be done individually or in pairs, at home or in class) of a variety of texts. Each translation will then be analysed and corrected.

 

Evaluation method

Continuous assessment - class participation (10%), written assignments (30%), written tests (60%)

Subject matter

1. Basic principles of how a company works: company organisation and hierarchy (departments, functions, positions).
2. Communication in the company: formal correspondence, e-mails, minutes, circulars, protocol documents.
3. Human Resources Management: CVs, cover letters, job descriptions, responding to job applications and legal documents (terms and conditions, employment contracts, termination notices).
4. Finance and accounting: taxation, account reports, balance sheets, financial transactions.
5. Company image: website, marketing, advertising, localisation and PR (press releases).