Promoting diachronic textual awareness through translation in an EAP collaborative workshop. Translating Aphasiology (1970) by M. Critchley - some theoretical issues

The starting point for the present study was the project of translating into Italian Critchley’s authoritative 1970 text in aphasiological research, Aphasiology and Other Aspects of Language. The project was set up in the Department of Cognitive Neurosciences (CogSci) of the Second University of Naples, and involved the participation of teachers of Language and Neuropsychology and Ph.D. students of CogSci, thus creating a stimulating translational context in which interest for the informational content and attention to the discursive aspects of this scientific text both took place. There were three the main teaching purposes: second-language (L2) awareness-raising through translation tasks, genre-consciousness-raising activities, and integrating content with academic language development (Content Based Instruction), which were undertaken through a collaborative workshop approach. At content level, a brief survey showed both the need for an abridged version of Aphasiology and/or a thematic selection from it – aimed at highlighting the state of the art in the 1960s, especially from a medical perspective – and the wish to revive topics no longer dealt with in CogSci. When translating a 1970 monograph for a contemporary, well-informed and web-wired specialised audience, it is not easy to decide what a responsible mediation or transaction would be. At the linguistic level, an interesting question is whether to preserve or simplify the high level of metaphorical/rhetorical expression. The paper will position itself on two levels: it will consider some theoretical issues, and it will evaluate implications for teaching, both illustrating teaching procedure and providing concrete examples.