Translate and compare simple texts such as public signs, menus and advertisements in Spanish and English, noticing that it is not always possible to translate word for word
Elaborations
translating short texts such as public signs or community notices from Spanish to English and vice versa, identifying problems encountered and noticing similarities and differences in how the messages are formed, for example, the Spanish use of infinitive forms in signs compared to the English use of imperatives
using print and electronic dictionaries to assist in the translation of simple texts, noticing that single words can have different meanings, for example, ‘cricket’ (sport or insect) and the six possible translations of ‘you’ in Spanish (tú, usted, ustedes, vosotros, vosotras, vos)
collecting examples of ‘false friends’ encountered when translating between English and Spanish, for example, carpeta/‘folder’, contestar/‘answer’, pie/‘foot’
identifying cognates in Spanish texts that can be used to predict meaning (alto, stop, chocolate, patata), and considering reasons for the similarities
understanding the distinction between literal and non-literal translation, and identifying expressions in Spanish or English that make no sense when translated literally into the other language, for example, pasarlo bomba, tomar el pelo, meter la pata, costar un ojo de la cara, dar la lata, ‘she’ll be right’, ‘fair dinkum’, ‘a piece of cake’, ‘to cost an arm and a leg’
comparing and translating language used in Spanish and English text messages, for example, a2 (adiós), xq? (¿por qué?), kntm (cuéntame), tqi (tengo que irme), CU (‘See you’), LOL (‘Laughing out loud’), and considering the use and effects of abbreviations
