Anleitungen rezipieren, Anleitungen produzieren: Empirische Befunde zu kognitiven Prozessen bei Übersetzungsnovizen und Übersetzungsprofis

The article presents results from the research project TransComp, a process-oriented longitudinal study which investigates the development of translation competence in 12 students of translation over a period of three years and compares it with that of 10 professional translators. The article focuses on the translation products and processes of six novices and five professional translators who had to translate operating instructions from English (their L2) into German (their L1). During the translation process, the participants had to think aloud. They were allowed to use any external reference resources they wished. Their think-aloud and all their activities on the computer were screen-recorded using CamtasiaStudio. In addition, their writing processes were logged using the keystroke-logging software Translog. Immediately after the experiments, they were asked to complete a questionnaire. The data gained in this multi-method approach are analyzed both from a product-oriented and from a process-oriented perspective. For the product-oriented analyses, an error classification was developed that combines a linguistic characterization of the mistakes with a functional approach of determining how detrimental these are with regard to the target text function. The process-oriented analyses are based on the subjects’ think-aloud, their activities recorded with CamtasiaStudio, their questionnaires and their log files. These process data are analyzed to determine the subjects’ problem awareness and their problem-solving competence. Based on the findings, implications for translation pedagogy and text production didactics are discussed

How Successful is the Mediation of Specialized Knowledge? - The Use of Thinking-aloud Protocols and Log Files of Reverbalization Processes as a Method in Comprehensibility Research

Since the publication of Ericsson’s and Simon’s book Protocol Analysis: Verbal Reports as Data in 1984, thinking-aloud has found its way into the exploration of (interlingual) translation processes. To gain deeper insight into translation processes, the method of thinking-aloud has been combined with the use of the software TRANSLOG developed by Jakobsen and Schou. This software records (logs) all keystrokes and mouse clicks during writing processes as well as the time intervals between them without the user of this programme realizing this.In my paper, I will describe how the method of thinking aloud combined with the use of TRANSLOG can be used to determine the comprehensibility of non-instructive texts. It focuses on an experiment in which five subjects were asked to optimize a popular science text using TRANSLOG. During this intralingual translation process, the subjects had to think aloud. The paper will focus on the method I used and present what it reveals about the comprehensibility of the popular science text

Writing Centres as the Driving Force of Programme Development: From Add-on Writing Courses to Content and Literacy Integrated Teaching

Academic writing courses and subject-matter courses have been taught independently to a large extent at many European universities following a ‘study skills model’ (Lea and Street 1998). An integrated approach, however, both in students’ L1 (or their language of instruction) and in English (if this is not their L1), in accordance with Lea and Street’s ‘academic literacies model’ has a number of advantages. Introducing an academic literacies model, however, is difficult to implement since it requires the joint effort of both subject-domain teachers and language teachers and involves deviating from familiar teaching methods. To implement the changes required, a three-level approach has been developed at Justus Liebig University (JLU), Giessen/Germany, as one of several measures in a university-wide project. In this approach, the university’s writing centre and teaching centre take over the role of ‘motors’ of literacy development in all disciplines. The macro-level of this three-level approach encompasses central services provided by these centres as well as university-wide literacy development policies. The meso-level addresses programme development, and the micro-level, curriculum and syllabus adaptations for individual courses. The article provides insight into the measures to be taken at each of these levels based on a review of prior research on Integrating Content and Language in Higher Education (ICLHE) (Gustafsson 2011, Gustafsson and Jacobs 2013 and Wilkinson and Walsh 2015) and the central role that writing centres and teaching centres can play in this process

The language-(in)dependence of writing skills: translation as a tool in writing process research and writing instruction

A pilot study was conducted in which 6 students with L1 German had to produce a German version of a text they had composed in their L2 English. The goals were to explore (a) in what respects the ability of advanced university English students to express themselves in their L2 English differs from their ability to do so in their L1 German, and (b) for which aspects of writing the implementation of translation exercises is useful as a tool to improve writing skills. The methods of data collection used were think-aloud and keystroke logging. In the analysis, special emphasis was placed on text-level errors as opposed to formal, lexical and grammatical errors. In their L1 versions, students were consistently able to avoid errors of implicitness and sense but displayed no improvements in other areas such as text coherence and functional sentence perspective. Though some of the errors could be attributed to the special requirements of the translation assignment, translation was also found to have certain advantages that make it a useful tool in writing didactics.In einer Pilotstudie mit sechs fortgeschrittenen Anglistikstudierenden, deren Muttersprache Deutsch ist, wurde untersucht, in welcher Hinsicht sich deren Ausdrucksfähigkeit in ihrer L2 Englisch von derjenigen in ihrer L1 Deutsch unterscheidet. Darüber hinaus wurde erhoben, auf welche Komponenten der Textproduktionskompetenz sich Übersetzungsübungen förderlich auswirken. Die Versuchspersonen waren aufgefordert, eine deutsche Version eines von ihnen verfassten englischsprachigen Textes zu erstellen. Als Datenerhebungsmethoden kamen lautes Denken und Tastatur-Logging zum Einsatz. Die Analyse konzentriert sich auf Fehler auf der textlinguistischen Ebene im Gegensatz zu formalen, lexikalischen und Grammatikfehlern. In ihren muttersprachlichen Versionen gelang es den Versuchspersonen, Implizitheitsfehler und Sinnfehler zu vermeiden; es waren jedoch keine Verbesserungen in anderen Bereichen, wie der Textkohärenz und der funktionalen Satzperspektive, festzustellen. Obwohl einige der in den deutschsprachigen Versionen aufgetretenen Fehler eindeutig interferenzbedingt sind, zeigte sich, dass das Übersetzen für die Entwicklung von Textproduktionskompetenz bestimmte Vorteile besitzt, die es zu einer nützlichen Methode in der Schreibdidaktik machen

Dynamische Verknüpfung zwischen Informationsarten über eine Begriffsorientierte Terminologiedatenbank – Bericht aus dem Projekt DAiSY der Daimlerchrysler AG.

The article is a report about the DaimlerChrysler technical documentation project DAiSY (Daimler Automotive Information SYstem), in which I worked during my sabbatical from March till August 2002. The aim of the DAiSY project is to develop a new authoring environment and content management system for workshop information such as repair methods and parts documentation. In the past, these different types of information were developed separately and made available in different systems which made their retrieval uncomfortable and time-consuming. In DAiSY, the various information types will be developed in a standardized and controlled manner avoiding redundancy by re-using functional units and a consistent terminology from a concept-oriented termbase, the Thesaurus, which is also used for linking the information types dynamically. The article focuses on the development of the Thesaurus and its contribution to the dynamic linking of the information types

Modifications in documentation processes and their impact on the work of technical communicators and translators and their training.

A number of factors, such as technological progress, globalization, the new media, stricter product liability directives, and increasing competition with regard to documentation quality and cost efficiency, force companies to optimize and streamline documentation processes. This article presents the measures a large automotive manufacturer has taken within the last five years to cope with this pressure and describes the impact of these measures on the task profiles of technical communicators and translators working in the automotive industry. Drawing on Kiraly’s social constructivist approach to translator education, the last section of this paper discusses how university programs in translation and interpreting can prepare students for these changing professional profiles

Analyzing LSP tekst types: From descriptive to prescriptive text (-TYPE) linguistics

In the last 15 years, numerous LSP genres have been analyzed and compared intralingually as well as interlingually and interculturally. The results of these analyses, however, have hardly been related to each other and consequently not been joined together to form a mosaic that gives us an overview over larger text-type systems. The methods of such an integration process will be the subject of the first part of this article. In the second part, I will raise the question whether the characteristics of specific genres which we find out on a purely descriptive basis actually contribute to the fulfilment of these genres’ communicative functions in an ideal way. Furthermore, I will discuss methods which may help us to answer this question and, thus, to develop guidelines for technical writers

Portfolios as a means of developing and assessing writing skills

Ballweg S. Portfolios as a means of developing and assessing writing skills. In: Göpferich S, Neumann I, eds. Developing and Assessing Academic and Professional Writing Skills. Forum angewandte Linguistik . Vol 56. Frankfurt am Main u.a.: Lang; 2016: 143-172