Translation (BA) part time

Year one

Alongside language classes in two languages (focusing on reading, speaking, listening and writing), you will begin practicing translation with dedicated practical seminars where you will learn to translate from your foreign languages into English.

You will also study translation theories and methods which will help you develop an understanding of the contexts and functions of translation. The idea here is to strengthen your linguistic and critical skills in a way that directly enhances your translation skills.

Optional modules

Module titleModule codeCreditsIntroduction to Translation TheoryML810120 creditsIntroduction to Translation Methods (French)ML810220 creditsIntroduction to Translation Methods (German)ML810420 creditsIntroduction to Translation Methods (Italian)ML810520 creditsIntroduction to Translation Methods (Spanish)ML810620 creditsFrench Language AdvancedML110420 creditsFrench Language BeginnersML619820 creditsModern FranceML619920 creditsGerman Language A (First Year)ML213620 creditsGerman B (First Year)ML213720 creditsIntroduction To German History And Culture For Advanced StudentsML710320 creditsIntroduction To German History And Culture For Beginners' StudentsML710420 creditsItalian Language (Year 1) AdvancedML310120 creditsItalian Language (Year 1) BeginnersML310220 creditsModern Italy: Birth of a Nation?ML810320 creditsSpanish Language (Year 1) AdvancedML510120 creditsSpanish Language Year One BeginnersML510220 creditsIntroduction To Hispanic Studies (Advanced)ML511020 creditsIntroduction To Hispanic Studies (Beginners)ML511120 creditsIntroduction to Translation Methods (Japanese)ML810720 creditsIntroduction to Translation Methods (Portuguese)ML810820 creditsJapanese HistoryML158120 creditsElementary Japanese (Autumn)ML158220 creditsElementary Japanese (Spring)ML168220 creditsYear two

You will specialise in the translation of different types of texts (technical, scientific, legal, administrative, cultural, media) and will be introduced to different translation software tools. You will also continue studying translation theories and reflect on important socio-political issues.

Among these, you will discover how translation can shape cultural and political relations between countries. For example, EU laws have to be translated into all 23 official languages of the EU before they come into force. You will also learn about the translators' dilemmas and their double allegiance towards their target audience but also towards the values fo the source culture.

Optional modules

Module titleModule codeCreditsIntroduction to Translation TheoryML810120 creditsIntroduction to Translation Methods (French)ML810220 creditsIntroduction to Translation Methods (German)ML810420 creditsIntroduction to Translation Methods (Italian)ML810520 creditsIntroduction to Translation Methods (Spanish)ML810620 creditsFrench Language AdvancedML110420 creditsFrench Language BeginnersML619820 creditsGerman Language A (First Year)ML213620 creditsGerman B (First Year)ML213720 creditsItalian Language (Year 1) AdvancedML310120 creditsItalian Language (Year 1) BeginnersML310220 creditsModern Italy: Birth of a Nation?ML810320 creditsSpanish Language (Year 1) AdvancedML510120 creditsSpanish Language Year One BeginnersML510220 creditsIntroduction To Hispanic Studies (Advanced)ML511020 creditsIntroduction To Hispanic Studies (Beginners)ML511120 creditsIntroduction to Translation Methods (Japanese)ML810720 creditsIntroduction to Translation Methods (Portuguese)ML810820 creditsJapanese HistoryML158120 creditsElementary Japanese (Autumn)ML158220 creditsElementary Japanese (Spring)ML168220 creditsModern FranceML619920 creditsIntroduction To German History And Culture For Advanced StudentsML710320 creditsIntroduction To German History And Culture For Beginners' StudentsML710420 creditsYear three

In the final year, we will explore the sociocultural dimension of translation and you will see how, in the context of today's global economy, languages and translation become political tools - in relation to minority cultures, multiculturalism but also situations of conflict and migration (see the work of the Cardiff Research Group on Politics of Translating).

While continuing to strengthen your linguistic and critical skills (with language and theory modules), we will also look at translation as a profession. A specialist module will introduce you to the different institutional contexts you may encounter in your future careers (government, media, multinational business) and through a series of case studies and real-life problems, we will develop your problem-solving skills but also alert you to some of the real challenges of the translation profession (time-management, managing resources, establishing and maintaining networks).

Core modulesModule titleModule codeCreditsPrinciples of Translation TheoryML229920 creditsOptional modules

Module titleModule codeCreditsIntroduction to Specialised Translation (French)ML229420 creditsIntroduction to Specialised Translation (German)ML229520 creditsIntroduction to Specialised Translation (Italian)ML229620 creditsIntroduction to Specialised Translation (Spanish)ML229720 creditsFrench Language Year 2 (Ex-Advanced)ML629920 creditsGerman Language Year 2 (Ex-Beginners)ML729820 creditsGerman Language Year 2 (Ex-Advanced)ML729920 creditsItalian Language Year 2 (Ex-Beginners)ML829620 creditsItalian Language Year 2 (Ex-Advanced)ML829920 creditsSpanish Language Year 2 (Ex-Beginners)ML029820 creditsSpanish Language Year 2 (Ex-Advanced)ML029920 creditsFrench Language Year 2 (Ex-Beginners)ML628720 creditsWomen and the Second World War in FranceML628620 creditsBusiness French IML629420 creditsAt the Roots of European CulturesML129520 creditsImaging the Islands: Francophone Caribbean CulturesML620020 creditsInnovations in European LiteratureML129820 creditsBusiness German IML728820 creditsStorm and StressML729120 creditsDrama in GermanML729620 creditsBertolt BrechtML729020 creditsNational Socialism in History and MemoryML729320 creditsHistory Of Art From Middle Ages To The RenaissanceML829220 creditsDante: The Journey And The MissionML829420 creditsMemories of FascismML829320 creditsIntroduction to Catalan Culture and LanguageML029420 creditsLandmark Films from Spain and Latin AmericaML029120 creditsBusiness Spanish IML028720 creditsMiguel de Cervantes, Don QuijoteML029620 creditsYear four

Core modulesModule titleModule codeCreditsPrinciples of Translation TheoryML229920 creditsOptional modules

Module titleModule codeCreditsIntroduction to Specialised Translation (French)ML229420 creditsIntroduction to Specialised Translation (German)ML229520 creditsIntroduction to Specialised Translation (Italian)ML229620 creditsIntroduction to Specialised Translation (Spanish)ML229720 credits