DIPLOMA IN TRANSLATION 2014 EXAMINER S REPORT ON CANDIDATE PERFORMANCE

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1 DIPLOMA IN TRANSLATION 2014 EXAMINER S REPORT ON CANDIDATE PERFORMANCE LANGUAGE COMBINATION: ENGLISH INTO GREEK * UNIT 01: GENERAL TRANSLATION General report on candidate performance: This year s paper proved challenging for many candidates, even though it did not present serious difficulties. Nonetheless, many candidates had problems in decoding the source text (ST) and/or encoding the message in the target language. As a result, the majority of the candidates who sat this paper did not pass it. The ST was an opinion piece on multilingualism and political unity in the EU, published in a high quality weekly magazine. It was therefore crucial for the translated text (TT) to give a clear account of each step in the argument in a coherent manner, to follow the same style and be precise as well as fluent. Instead, there was a tendency amongst candidates to stay too close to the text rather than reorganize sentences for the sake of fluency and in some cases; this led to distortion of the original meaning. In general, style and register was appropriately transferred by most candidates, but many scripts contained quite a few awkward renderings and/or inappropriate lexical choices, distorting the overall message. As regards expression and organisation of work, there were some awkward and stilted expressions in the target language, especially in cases where candidates were not familiar with the terminology and attempted to paraphrase the original. There were also some instances of verbosity and overelaboration. There was a considerable number of spelling mistakes as well as some grammar mistakes, most of which could have been avoided with thorough proofreading. ASPECT 1: Comprehension, accuracy and register Very serious: * Serious: πληγές παράπονα στα πλαίσια του νόμου νόμιμες καταπιέσεις προβλήματα δικαιολογημένα παράπονα λογικά παράπονα Incorrect decoding because of lack of comprehension of the original. Incorrect decoding, which results in distortion ([complaints within the law] instead of legitimate gripes). * 1

2 Σεμιτικής Ανατολίτικης Εβραϊκής βιτρίνα παρουσίασης βιτρίνα έκθεσης σωστής παρουσίας μέσου προβολής μικρογραφία προτύπου προθήκη μετάφραση μέσω μηχανημάτων μεταφραστικά εργαλεία αυτόματης μετάφρασης ηλεκτρονικά μεταφραστικά εργαλεία μετατροπές από τη μία γλώσσα στην άλλη μέσω υπολογιστή μετάφραση μέσω υπολογιστή μετάφραση με μηχανικά μέσα μετάφραση μέσω μηχανημάτων τεχνολογική μετάφραση Η Ευρώπη πρέπει να ποντάρει στο παραδοσιακό σχέδιο της Το καλύτερο για την Ευρώπη είναι να ποντάρει σε κάτι παλιό και γνωστό Η Ευρώπη πρέπει να ποντάρει στο παραδοσιακό σχέδιο της σημιτικής καθρέφτη Incorrect decoding, which results in distortion ([legal oppression] instead of legitimate gripes). Incorrect decoding, because of lack of comprehension of the original. A few candidates totally mistranslated this lexical item, completely distorting the meaning of the ST. Many candidates translated literally this term without taking into account its metaphorical use in the ST. μηχανική μετάφραση Misleading renderings. * Η καλύτερη πιθανή λύση για την Ευρώπη είναι παρωχημένη Most candidates translated this sentence literally, producing a variety of inappropriate renderings which distort heavily the intended meaning of the ST. * * 2

3 Το μεγαλύτερο στοίχημα για την Ευρώπη είναι παλιομοδίτικο Το καλύτερο στοίχημα της Ευρώπης είναι μια παλιομοδίτικη λύση Το καλύτερο στοίχημα που μπορεί να βάλει η Ευρώπη με τον εαυτό της Το καλύτερο στοίχημα για την Ευρώπη είναι αυτό που θυμίζει άλλες εποχές Examples of good performance: Nowhere is this truer than in Europe was very successfully rendered as Αυτό ισχύει ακόμη περισσότερο στην Ευρώπη with nearly all the vigour of the original language lost: χάνοντας έτσι σχεδόν όλη τη ζωτικότητα του νοήματος της αρχικής ομιλίας Technology is making cross-linguistic communication much easier, but even with all of the recent strides in machine translation, quality is still choppy and remains impossible for the kind of spontaneous conversations that start friendships: Η τεχνολογία καθιστά τη διαγλωσσική επικοινωνία πολύ ευκολότερη, αλλά ακόμα και με τις τελευταίες εξελίξεις στη μηχανική μετάφραση, η ποιότητα είναι ακόμη ασταθής, και παραμένει αδύνατη εκείνη η αυθόρμητη επικοινωνία με την οποία ξεκινούν φιλίες. Institutions was correctly rendered as θεσμικά όργανα. Omissions that led to a Fail: There were a couple of omissions but none led to fail on its own. ASPECT 2: Grammar (morphology, syntax, etc.), cohesion, coherence and organisation of work Very serious: Serious: έκαναν ότι μπορούσαν Έκαναν ό,τι μπορούσαν Grammar mistake αποτελεί μια τεράστια αιτία για το γεγονός ότι έχει υπάρξει τόσο δύσκολο να δημιουργηθεί Αποτελεί σημαντική αιτία της δυσκολίας στη δημιουργία... Verbosity, which also results in stilted expression. The suggested solution is more concise and fluent. 3

4 το μυαλό μπορεί να αποσπασθεί όταν είναι δύσκολο να παρακολουθηθεί το μυαλό μπορεί να αποσπαστεί εφόσον διαφεύγει η συγκέντρωση Ο νους ταξιδεύει όταν δεν μπορεί να συγκεντρωθεί To μυαλό αφαιρείται και δεν μπορεί να συγκεντρωθεί Stilted expression with unclear meaning is it difficult to pay attention to the message or to the mind? The original states: The mind can wander when it is hard to pay attention. Unnatural expression * ταυτοποιούμαστε ταυτιζόμαστε Grammatical error * (δυτικοί) Γερμανοί (Δυτικοί)Γερμανοί (Δυτικο)Γερμανοί Although this rendering allows the reader of the TT to guess the intended meaning of the ST, it does not conform to TL conventions. επικοινωνία ανάμεσα σε διαφορετικές γλώσσες διαγλωσσική επικοινωνία An unnecessary paraphrase with related words which however does not render succinctly the style and register of the ST. αδέλφια Γερμανοί σύντροφοι Γερμανοί συμπατριώτοι Γερμανοί συνάνθρωποι αδελφοί-γερμανοί συμπατριώτες A variety of inappropriate renderings in terms of grammar, register or collocational restrictions. * Additional comments: Many candidates translated the ST literally and quite a few SL structures are found in the TTs which often contain several awkward renderings and/or unnatural collocations. Some shifts in register were also observed. ASPECT 3: Technical points relating to spelling, accentuation, punctuation and the transfer of dates, names, figures, etc. Very serious: * Serious: διαχείρηση διαχείριση Incorrect spelling * Ρωμανικής, Γερμανικής, Σλαβικής ρωμανικής γερμανικής, σλαβικής Languages, as other national adjectives, are not spelled with a capital letter in Greek. 4

5 Κρύνιτσα Κρινίκα Κρυνίκα Κρίνιτσα or even Krynica Many candidates transliterated this proper name either using incorrect spelling or phonemes. Given that under exam conditions there was no possibility to carry out research, transferring the item using the Roman alphabet would have been acceptable. * τρείς τρεις As a general rule, monosyllabic words are not stressed in Greek. την διαγλωσσική τη διαγλωσσική TL conventions regarding the use of final v in articles should be followed. * Additional comments: Despite the simplicity of the current stressing system in Greek, most scripts contained mistakes relating to the use of stress marks. Many candidates failed to stress two syllable words while others failed to double stress, when necessary, words followed by enclitics. Some scripts also contained mistakes in the use of the final -ν in definite articles. Last but not least, some candidates used instead of. A couple of candidates also forgot to transfer the number of India s official languages, which was in brackets (22). One candidate made a mistake in transferring the number of official languages in the EU («28» as opposed to 23), which had an impact on accuracy. Recommendations to candidates: Proofread carefully your translation and make sure that the TT always makes sense. It is always better to paraphrase and reduce to meaning unfindable terms rather than produce a nonsensical or very misleading rendering. A good preparation for the exam is to familiarise yourself with the register and jargon of the papers you intend to attempt by reading amply both SL and TL parallel texts. If you must transliterate a place name into your native language, please be extra careful and make sure that the transliteration is correct. Familiarise yourself with common expressions, colloquialisms etc. by reading a variety of texts in your source language. Translating an expression word-forword will most probably result in an awkward expression in the target language, which in turn may also distort the overall meaning. Unit 01: Pass Rate 28% (2014); 22% (2013) 5

6 UNIT 2A: TECHNOLOGY General report on candidate performance: Overall, candidates performance was not entirely satisfactory because of considerable problems with regard to meaning transfer, terminology, transliteration and spelling. The source text was an edited extract from a press report on new carbon films used for solar energy devices, which was published by an academic. It was therefore crucial for the translated text to be precise in terms of technical terminology, as well as fluent in terms of phraseology and expression in general. Instead, there was a tendency amongst certain candidates to use the correct terminology but make grammar and spelling mistakes and use awkward expressions. Others provided well-written and well-organised translations, but with terminology errors and other inaccuracies. There was a considerable number of spelling mistakes as well as some grammar mistakes. Some of these could have been avoided with thorough proofreading. Despite this, a few candidates made some good terminology choices. ASPECT 1: Comprehension, accuracy and register Very serious: * Serious: Ηλιακοί συλλέκτες Ηλιακά κελιά Ηλιακές κυψέλες Terminology error Register * Βοηθός καθηγητή Επίκουρος καθηγητής Terminology error, possibly due to word-for-word translation διευθύνων ερευνητής κεντρικός ερευνητής κύριος ερευνητής Terminology error * Μονοκρυσταλλική σιλικόνη Μονομερή κρυσταλλικού πυριτίου Μονοκρυσταλλικό πυρίτιο Terminology error Wrong sense and term Examples of good performance Υψηλής αποδοτικότητας τεχνολογίες ηλιακών κυψελών πυριτίου Το πυρίτιο, ένα στοιχείο που βρίσκεται σε αφθονία στη φύση, είναι το ιδανικό υλικό για την κατασκευή ηλιακών κυψελών διότι οι οπτικές ιδιότητες που διαθέτει το καθιστούν έναν πραγματικά αποδοτικό μετατροπέα ενέργειας. 6

7 ll4-6: Σε δύο πρόσφατες επιστημονικές εκθέσεις τους, οι επιστήμονες του Γέιλ καταθέτουν έναν καινοτόμο και συμφέροντα οικονομικά τρόπο βελτίωσης της αποτελεσματικότητας των ηλιακών κυψελών κρυσταλλικού πυριτίου, μέσω της εφαρμογής λεπτών, λείων φιλμ νανοσωλήνων άνθρακα. ASPECT 2: Grammar (morphology, syntax, etc.), cohesion, coherence and organisation of work Very serious: * Serious: βοηθά διάνοιξη του δρόμου προς δημιουργία της νέας γενιάς Βοηθά να ανοίξει ο δρόμος για τη νέα γενιά... Stilted expression από ότι έχει αναφερθεί από ό,τι έχει αναφερθεί Grammatical error * έχει εμποδίσει μιας ευρύτερης εμπορικοποίησης : Έχει εμποδίσει την ευρεία διάθεση στο εμπόριο Or Έχει εμποδίσει την ευρεία εμπορευματοποίηση Lack of agreement between verb and noun in terms of case used, as well as awkward expression. λιγότερο κόστος χαμηλότερα κόστη Χαμηλότερο κόστος Stilted expression * ASPECT 3: Technical points relating to spelling, accentuation, punctuation and the transfer of dates, names, figures, etc. Very serious: * Serious: Ενέργεια και Περιβαλλοντική Επιστήμη / Νανο-Γράμματα Ένερτζι εντ ενβαϊρονμένταλ σάιενς / Νανο-λέτερς Energy and Environmental Science / Nano-Letters Titles of academic journals were transliterated or translated into Greek. Since these constitute titles, they should be left untranslated, so the translation should have kept the original titles in English. Ξιαοκάι Λι Σιαοκάι Λι Transliteration. Candidates were confused about the pronunciation of X in the beginning of a name. * 7

8 νανουλικών Γεϊλ Γιέιλ Γιέϊλ νανοϋλικών Punctuation: the incorrect versions result in a mispronunciation of the term. Γέιλ Incorrect transliteration * Recommendations to candidates: If you must transliterate a place name into your native language, please be extra careful and make sure that the transliteration is correct. Please remember that in English, the pronunciation of X changes if it is placed in the beginning of a word. Familiarise yourself with common expressions, colloquialisms etc. by reading a variety of texts in your source language. Translating an expression word-forword will most probably result in an awkward expression in the target language, which in turn may also distort the overall meaning. Accuracy is as important as fluency, even in semi-specialised texts. Your text should read as an original text, without any awkward or stilted expressions. If a sentence or term does not make sense in the translated text, revise it. You will be penalised for poor expression, grammar, syntax, even if your accuracy and terminology are good. Always proofread your work after you have finished. Look out for: spelling mistakes, grammar mistakes and typographical errors. They have no place in a professional translation and they count as mistakes. Ambiguity or awkwardness in meaning and expression in your translated text. Over-elaboration of originally concise terms/statements. Unit 2A: Pass Rate 20% (2014); 14% (2013) UNIT 2B: BUSINESS General report on candidate performance: Even though the source text was relatively straightforward, most candidates performed inadequately. This was mainly due to a failure to fully understand the source text and to render the English terms in an appropriate manner. Candidates who performed adequately showed a good and/or excellent command of the subject matter and seemed to be familiar with the semi-specialised terminology of the text. With few exceptions, the overall performance of the candidates in terms of grammar, syntax and technical points relating to spelling, punctuation and accentuation was good. 8

9 ASPECT 1: Comprehension, accuracy and register Very serious: * Serious: οικονομικής κρίσης εθνικού χρέους / κυρίαρχης κρίσης χρέους κρατικής πιστωτικής κρίσης κρίσης δημόσιου χρέους Some candidates misunderstood the ST term for which there is an established term used in the TL and produced inaccurate and at times nonsensical renderings. ομόλογα ομόλογα αναφοράς Omission of important information τον προηγούμενο Μάιο του περασμένου Μαΐου προγνώστες για να δανείσουν παράταση ισχύος έγκριση για τη διάρκεια των δανείων Examples of good performance: στα τέλη Μαΐου Incorrect decoding * αναλυτές έγκριση για παράταση της διάρκειας δανείων έγκριση για παράταση της λήξης δανείων Many candidates translated this term literally opting for inappropriate lexical choices for this register. Some even decoded it incorrectly. Incorrect decoding * Η απόδοση των δεκαετών ομολόγων αναφοράς της Πορτογαλίας εκτινάχθηκε στο 6,6% Η Πορτογαλία, βυθισμένη ακόμη σε βαθιά ύφεση, αναμένεται να ολοκληρώσει το πρόγραμμα ύψους 78 δισ. ευρώ μετά από έξι μήνες bailout programmes was rendered as προγράμματα διάσωσης mired in a deep recession was rendered as βυθισμένη σε βαθιά κρίση Omissions that led to a Fail: There were a couple of omissions which, however, did not lead to fail on their own. * Additional comments: Many candidates rendered Oli Rehn s title as they may have encountered it in the press and not according to the ST. 9

10 ASPECT 2: Grammar (morphology, syntax, etc.), cohesion, coherence and organisation of work Very serious: * Serious: Κινήθηκαν υψηλότερα Κινήθηκε ψηλότερα που ακολουθούν πακέτο διάσωσης είναι προγραμματισμένο να εξέλθει το πρόγραμμα διάσωσης θέτει επίσης την μεγαλύτερη απειλή Κινήθηκαν ανοδικά Που βρίσκονται σε πρόγραμμα διάσωσης αναμένεται να εξέλθει από το πρόγραμμα διάσωσης αποτελεί επίσης τη μεγαλύτερη απειλή Erroneous collocation Erroneous collocation / expression Erroneous collocation and grammar Erroneous collocation / expression * * Additional comments: Many candidates translated the ST literally and quite a few SL structures are found in the TTs which often contain several awkward renderings and/or unnatural collocations. Some shifts in register were also observed. ASPECT 3: Technical points relating to spelling, accentuation, punctuation and the transfer of dates, names, figures, etc. Very serious: * Serious: για το πως οι δυο χώρες για το πώς οι δυο χώρες Incorrect spelling ,5 Incorrect use of the decimal sign. περεταίρω περαιτέρω Incorrect spelling. * Ευρωπαϊκές χώρες ευρωπαϊκές χώρες Incorrect spelling. * 10

11 Additional comments: Despite the simplicity of the current stressing system in Greek, most scripts contained mistakes relating to the use of stress marks. Many candidates failed to stress two syllable words while others failed to double stress, when necessary, words followed by enclitics. Some scripts also contained mistakes in the use of the final -ν in definite articles. Last but not least, some candidates used instead of. Recommendations to candidates: Candidates should familiarise themselves with the type of texts they choose to translate. It is advisable that candidates read the entire text before starting the translation to make sure they understand the overall meaning of the text. Candidates should revise their translation in order to eliminate any incoherencies or punctuation and spelling errors. Unit 2B: Pass Rate 44% (2014); 27% (2013) UNIT 2C: LITERATURE General report on candidate performance: The overall performance was average. In Aspect 1, many candidates gave clumsy or incorrect renderings in the transfer of information, which, in some cases, distorted the message to the reader. There were also some cases in which there was unnecessary over-elaboration, which made the translation vague and less effective, showing at the same time a weakness to translate with precision, clarity and a sense of economy. In Aspect 2, most of the candidates gave translations with a sound sentence structure even though there was some awkwardness, and lapses of grammar at certain points. Some candidates rearranged the long sentence sequence of the first paragraph in more sentences and that was not a very effective option as it slowed down the flow of the narrator s interior monologue. In a few other instances, relatively short sentences were joined together and again, this option did not make justice to the source text. Concerning Aspect 3, there were some mistakes in the transfer of names, accentuation and punctuation or spelling but not too serious. ASPECT 1: Comprehension, accuracy and register Very serious: * Serious: Ευγνώμων για αυτή την αίσθηση δέους που νιώθει κάποιος που είναι τόσο σημαντικός ώστε να έχει το προνόμιο να γίνει αποδέκτης προσωπικών στοιχείων. Ευγνώμων για την αίσθηση σημαντικότητας που απορρέει από τη λήψη πολύτιμων πληροφοριών. incorrect decoding and over elaboration * 11

12 Έχω παρατηρήσει ότι υπάρχει μια κουραστική αγανάκτηση, η οποία και έχει αρχίσει να μειώνει την ικανοποίηση που έπαιρνα. Υπήρχε κάτι θυμωμένο μέσα μου που ήθελε να παίξω το παιχνίδι μέχρι τέλους Κοίταξα τα τσακισμένα δέντρα που πλαισίωναν τον δρόμο. Παρατήρησα ότι η ικανοποίησή μου μετριάζεται από κάποια βαριεστημένη αγανάκτηση. Κάτι έβραζε μέσα μου και ήθελε να το αφήσω να εξελιχθεί Κοίταξα τις ανεμοδαρμένες δενδροστοιχίες. incorrect decoding, over translation * incorrect decoding and accuracy clumsy rendering Examples of good performance: No candidates were awarded a Distinction. Two examples of good practice have already been mentioned above: grateful for the frisson of importance that comes with receiving privileged information, was translated as ευγνώμων για την αίσθηση σημαντικότητας που απορρέει από τη λήψη πολύτιμων πληροφοριών. There was something angry in me that wanted to play the thing out was translated as Κάτι έβραζε μέσα μου και ήθελε να το αφήσω να εξελιχθεί. ASPECT 2: Grammar (morphology, syntax, etc.), cohesion, coherence and organisation of work Very serious: * Serious: Εκμυστηρεύονταν Κάνουν εκμυστηρεύσεις Confide - tense που δεν διατρέχουν έτσι κανένα κίνδυνο ώστε να μην αποτελώ καμία πιθανή απειλή To be defused of any possible threat - subordinate clause in which another conjunction should be used with the subjunctive of the verb Προσποιώντας προσποιούμενη Pretending - present participle * * Έγερναν εξαιτίας του και καθώς έγερναν έκαναν θόρυβο Λύγιζαν τρίζοντας στον άνεμο They were bending creakily in the wind - incorrect rendering of the present participle and over elaboration * 12

13 ASPECT 3: Technical points relating to spelling, accentuation, punctuation and the transfer of dates, names, figures, etc. Very serious: * Serious: Σέμπα, Μπακς Σίμπα, Μπανγκς Sheba, Bangs - transfer of names Οτι, ποιά Ότι, ποια Missing or wrong accentuation accent Ελλαττώνεται ελαττώνεται Spelling Τα τελευταία χρόνια όμως Τα τελευταία χρόνια, όμως, Missing punctuation * Recommendations to candidates: Read the Diploma in Translation Handbook and always double-check meanings found in dictionaries. Candidates should bear in mind that the translation should read like an original piece without reference to the source text. The ordering of the sentence in the source text could be modified in the interests of clarity and authenticity in the target text. Avoid over-elaboration and be faithful to the original text. Unit 2C: Pass Rate 23% (2014); 32% (2013) UNIT 3D: SCIENCE General report on candidate performance: Overall, candidates performance showed considerable problems with regard to terminology, transliteration and spelling. The source text was an edited extract from an article published in the Science section of the BBC website. It was therefore crucial for the translated text to be precise in terms of scientific terminology, as well as fluent in terms of phraseology and expression in general. Instead, there was a tendency amongst certain candidates to describe key terms instead of translating them, often using awkward expressions. Comprehension was also a problem in some cases. There was a considerable number of spelling mistakes as well as errors in transliteration. Some of these could have been avoided with thorough proofreading. Despite this, a few candidates made some good terminology choices and produced well-organised translations. 13

14 ASPECT 1: Comprehension, accuracy and register Very serious: * Serious: μία μεγάλη σε έκταση βιβλιογραφία σώμα λογοτεχνίας καθιερωμένες θέσεις των έντυπων υλικών αποδεδειγμένη σειρά γραπτών κειμένων καθιερωμένο σώμα γραφής φιλολογίας δικτύων που μοιάζουν με κλωστές σπειροειδών δικτύων δικτύων με λειτουργική αλληλουχία που κάποιος θα μπορούσε να παρομοιάσει με κλωστές ένα πλέγμα από νήμα τα οποία φαίνεται να αποτελούν απειλή Καθιερωμένη βιβλιογραφία Νηματοειδή δίκτυα Comprehension error, resulting in distortion ([high volume] instead of established bibliography). Decoding error (word-for-word) Comprehension error ([printed material] instead of literature) Comprehension error ([proven written texts] instead of established literature) Decoding error (word-for-word) Terminology error ([philology] instead of literature) Description rather than translation Decoding/terminology error Comprehension error, resulting in distortion Description rather than translation Description rather than translation Terminology error, because of incorrect comprehension of the term thread (understood here as [threat]). χημική πανοπλία Χημικό οπλοστάσιο Decoding error, due to confusion of the term armoury with the term [armour]. επαναστατικό ρόλο εξελεκτικό ρόλο Εξελικτικό ρόλο Decoding error, because of confusion of the term evolutionary with the term [revolutionary]. * Examples of good performance: Καθώς οι ερευνητές επέτρεψαν σε μεμονωμένα φυτά των πεντάδων να προσβληθούν από αφίδες, ανακάλυψαν ότι όταν το προσβληθέν φυτό ήταν συνδεδεμένο με κάποιο άλλο μέσω της μυκόρριζας, το μη προσβληθέν φυτό άρχιζε να οργανώνει τη χημική του άμυνα 14

15 Θα μπορούσε να οριστεί ένα συγκεκριμένο φυτό που θα θυσιαστεί και το οποίο θα είναι πιο ευπαθές στις αφίδες, έτσι ώστε όταν απειληθεί από αυτές, το δίκτυο να μπορέσει να ειδοποιήσει εκ των προτέρων την υπόλοιπη καλλιέργεια. ASPECT 2: Grammar (morphology, syntax, etc.), cohesion, coherence and organisation of work Very serious: * Serious: επιτίθονται επιτίθενται Grammar mistake * τα φυτά καλύφθηκαν από σακούλες χωρίς να καταπονείται συνεχώς το φυτό δεν καταπονούμε το φυτό να το κάνει πάντα μόνο του Όχι με την πίεση το φυτό να το κάνει όλη την ώρα τα φυτά καλύφθηκαν με σακούλες Awkward expression, wrong preposition (because of word-for-word translation) Χωρίς να πιέζουμε το φυτό να το κάνει συνέχεια Awkward expression and syntax in all examples. * ASPECT 3: Technical points relating to spelling, accentuation, punctuation and the transfer of dates, names, figures, etc. Very serious: * Serious: Εκόλοτζι Λέττερς Ικόλοτζι Λέττερς Οικολογικά Γράμματα Άμπερντιν Αμπερντέεν Ρόθαμστεντ Ρισέρτς Ρόδαμστεντ Ροθάμστεντ Ecology Letters The title of the academic journal was either transliterated or translated into Greek. This should have been left untranslated, so the translation should have kept the original title in English. Αμπερντίν Transliteration of a place name Ερευνητικό Ινστιτούτο Ρόθαμστεντ Rothamsted Research Error in transliteration. In the first case, the candidate also transliterated the term research. * 15

16 The term could have been left untranslated, in its original form. BBC News ΜπιΜπιΣι ΜπιΜπιΣι Νιουζ ειδήσεις του BBC νέα του BBC BBC should not have been transliterated, but the term news should have been translated. Recommendations to candidates: If you must transliterate a place name into your native language, please be extra careful and make sure that the transliteration is correct. Please remember that you do not always need to transliterate names of organisations etc., as these are used in their original form in the target language (e.g. BBC ). Fluency is crucial. Your text should read as an original text, without any awkward or stilted expressions. If a sentence or term does not make sense in the translated text, revise it. You will be penalised for poor expression, grammar, syntax, even if your accuracy and terminology are good. Register is also crucial. Some scientific terms have equivalents in everyday language (e.g. αφίδες/μελίγκρα ), however the more colloquial terms will not be suitable for high-register publications. Register is an important element of Aspect 1. Always proofread your work after you have finished. Look out for : Spelling mistakes, grammar mistakes and typographical errors. They have no place in a professional translation and they count as mistakes. Ambiguity or awkwardness in meaning and expression in your translated text. Over-elaboration of originally concise terms/statements. Unit 3D: Pass Rate 14% (2014); 20% (2013) UNIT 3E: SOCIAL SCIENCE General report on candidate performance: Although there were some accurate translations and all of them were complete, the majority of the translations did not reach a professional standard. The main weaknesses were rendering out of context the term turnover. Candidates mistranslated the term within an Accounting context, meaning Revenue, the amount of money that a company gets from sales during a particular period. In the light of that error, the whole meaning was distorted. That was a very serious inaccurate encoding. The right context here was in HR, meaning the rate at which employees leave a company and are replaced by new employees. A number of candidates chose accurately when they looked up the term. See: Candidates also restricted the meaning of the term labor-intensive. The term refers to labor, the cost of which outweighs the capital cost. It indicates that the production process is labor-intensive e.g. mining, hotels, restaurants, where the majority of production costs are related to paying workers. (Όταν μια τεχνική παραγωγής χρησιμοποιεί συγκριτικά περισσότερη εργασία από κεφάλαιο (π.χ. 10 μονάδες εργασίας και 2 κεφαλαίου), θεωρείται ως εντάσεως εργασίας. See: The term cost-effective was also rendered in a restrictive meaning without combining the two concepts together. 16

17 ASPECT 1: Comprehension, accuracy and register Very serious: * Serious: χειρωνακτικές κουραστικές έντονες με μόχθο εντατικού μόχθου που απαιτούν μόχθο Με υψηλό κύκλο εργασιών Με υψηλούς τζίρους Με υψηλό τζίρο με υψηλούς τζίρους-αποδόσεις οικονομική / αποτελεσματική / ολιγοδάπανη / με μειωμένο κόστος / αποδοτική / επικερδή ο αριθμός των φοιτητών από διάφορες χώρες της ΕΕ που προέρχονται από χώρες της ΕΕ Examples of good performance: δραστηριότητες εντάσεως εργασίας με υψηλό ποσοστό ανανέωσης προσωπικού / εναλλαγής / αντικατάστασης / με υψηλό δείκτη κίνησης προσωπικού. οικονομικά αποδοτική, αποδοτική ως προς το κόστος To keep up with the demands. Most candidates encoded accurately here using authentic collocations. Να αντεπεξέλθουν / να ανταποκριθούν στις απαιτήσεις. The incorrect renderings mean merely intense, intensive or refer to manual work and restrict the meaning of the term. Candidates who did not look up the term encoded it inaccurately. There were also some too general renderings: με υψηλές απαιτήσεις σε ανθρώπινο δυναμικό / εντατικές meaning [intensive], [highly demanding]. It was also accurately translated descriptively με μεγάλο εργατικό κόστος / των οποίων το κόστος οφείλεται σε ακριβά εργατικά. Explained in the overall performance box * The incorrect renderings covered one aspect of the meaning only, the effectiveness, or they restricted it to meaning merely [cheap], [at low / reduced cost] / or [lucrative] The sense of the sentence was misunderstood ο αριθμός των διεθνών φοιτητών στις χώρες and taken to mean that the students were from της ΕΕ the EU rather that they were international students studying in EU countries * 17

18 In a similar way, in aligned with the needs, there were some very accurate and appropriately formal renderings, such as συνάδουν / συμβαδίζουν με.. In terms of register and lexical accuracy, the choice of καταδεικνύουν, point to... was excellent. Additional comments: There was a tendency to interpret work and workers as manual work and workers. Skilled workers was incorrect: εξειδικευμένους εργάτες. The context in the ST suggests professionals with high education, training, scientific knowledge and talent. Candidates who did not follow the argumentation of the text, restricted the meaning to labourers and the hardships of manual work instead of encoding ειδικευμένους εργαζόμενους. ASPECT 2: Grammar (morphology, syntax, etc.), cohesion, coherence and organisation of work Very serious: * Serious: Οι αναδυόμενες... οι αναπτυσσόμενες... η αξία... στις αναδυόμενες / σε αναδυόμενες... This is a long stretch of speech and in some cases the structure of the parenthetical sentence emerging...alike was misunderstood and translated as if the words economies and nations are the subjects of the verb recognised. The incorrect syntax had an impact on meaning. Ο αριθμός των φοιτητικών βίζα / ο αριθμός της φοιτητικής βίζας. change sentence structure and move away from the ST syntax στους οποίους χορηγήθηκε φοιτητική βίζα The word βίζα forms some cases but not the genitive plural which would be syntactically accurate here, i.e. the number of... On the other hand, it sounds awkward if the word is treated as if it has no other cases than nominative. It needed to be used within the manageable grammatical cases of the word βίζα. Plural genitive though, is not used. * ASPECT 3: Technical points relating to spelling, accentuation, punctuation and the transfer of dates, names, figures, etc. Πως Very serious: * Serious: Πώς Πώς is an interrogative adverb in these sentences and it needs a stress. Candidates * 18

19 1.7 million 1,7 εκδώθηκαν εκδόθηκαν. Περεταίρω περαιτέρω. omitted the stress as if it were the unstressed conjunction πως. Decimal numbers in Greek are written with a comma, not a dot. Some candidates retained the ST writing 1.7. The active voice in the past tense of the verb δίνω and its compounds is formed with an -ω stem, whereas the passive past with an -ο. Εξέδωσα / εκδόθηκα. Because of its etymology, the word is spelled περαιτέρω. * * Additional comments: Transfers of numbers were accurate. Recommendations to candidates: Be familiar with terminology relevant to workforce and Human Resources. When you consult dictionaries for a term in English, be aware of the different Greek terms depending on the context, e.g. accountancy or HR and choose to encode accordingly. Allow time for performing logical checks and be mindful of contradictions. Be aware of adjective - noun and noun - noun constructions in Greek using the right grammatical agreement in number, gender and cases and its impact of changes in meaning. Avoid translations that restrict the meaning of the ST into a part of the original meaning of the item in English. Encode each item in the light of the ST as a whole. Be aware of the importance of stresses in the monotonic system. Try not to omit them or misplace them. Allow time for proof reading. Spelling lapses and minor problems such as typos can be easily corrected that way. Unit 3E: Pass Rate 28% (2014); 28% (2013) 19

20 UNIT 3F: LAW General report on candidate performance: The Source Text posed some fair challenges as regards the rendering of legal terms and the use of the appropriate legal phraseology and therefore some degree of acquaintance with this kind of terminology was pre-required. In general, the decoding of the Source Text was not successful. On a number of occasions, there were misinterpretations, the choices in terminology were inaccurate and the overall structure of the sentences in terms of grammar, syntax and organization of work was inappropriate. ASPECT 1: Comprehension, accuracy and register Very serious: * Serious: αστικό εθιμικό δίκαιο πεδίο του αστικού δικαίου κοινό δίκαιο Incorrect decoding * ανθρωποκτονία εξ αμελείας βαριά ανθρωποκτονία εξ αμελείας διαχειρίζων νους νοητικός ελεγκτής κυρίαρχος νους συγχωνευμένα σώματα συγχωνευμένους οργανισμούς ανθρωποκτονία από βαριά αμέλεια Incorrect decoding * ιθύνων νους Incorrect decoding * εταιρείες Incorrect decoding * Examples of good performance: Identification principle was successfully rendered as αρχή της ταυτοποίησης. Controlling mind was successfully rendered as ιθύνων νους. 20