Corpus in Translation Classroom: A Case Study of Translating Economic Terms

Abstract

The article deals with the role of corpus in translation and translation studies. The paper focuses on different aspects which should be taken into consideration when compiling a representative corpus. The researchers focus on the role the corpus of professional texts plays when choosing translation equivalents for terms, including just created and not yet registered in terminological dictionaries. The aim of the research is to elaborate the approach to the use of corpus material in the course of translation in specialized and professional fields, with particular attention to some aspects of translation competence development. The analysis based on the comparative, definitional and contextual methods proved that parallel text corpora provide professional experts, as well as students of translation, with reliable knowledge of linguistic units functioning and semantic meaning actualization within certain contexts in the Language for Specific Purposes (LSP) domain. The studies have shown that a comparative statistical analysis of a corpus of professional texts might be recommended when looking for an adequate equivalent for a term. The scope of application of the methodology suggested is not confined to certain terminological systems or fields of knowledge. The translation competence development that includes compiling text corpora and making adequate choices by students dealing with appropriate instructions on the part of the teacher, as the task concerns with high level of knowledge acquisition as refers to both linguistic and translation expertise.