The media as an XL medium in translation training [CD-ROM]

incl. ref.

Nobody can deny the overwhelming presence of the media all around us in the 21st century. Due to their power and diversity, it is virtually impossible to avoid them. So why not harnessing all that powerful influence to profit from the variety they offer in favor of higher education? That was our question last year when we decided to devise a renewal proposal (Multimedia Approach to the Teaching of Journalistic Translation) for the university chair that I have recently become part of Journalistic Translation at Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina. Compared to other courses of our Translation training program, such as Scientific, Commercial, and Legal Translation, Journalistic Translation is probably one of the most complex and kaleidoscopic as this area comprises a wide range of topics, which have been organized and developed in a number of different genres. The translator's background knowledge is paramount at this stage. A good translator formation requires "theoretical learning and practical training" (Alves 2001: 47). But that is just a small part of the picture. Nowadays, the role of translators as cultural mediators imposes new and formidable challenges. On this matter, Snell-Hornby (1988) observes: "Knowledge of the world is a prerequisite for translation, the profile of our envisaged professional translator becomes bolder: he or she is not only a bilingual but also a bicultural (if not multicultural) specialist".