rethinking translation in the second language classroom

Table 6: Cognitive activity #3
5. USE OF VOSEO
Focus: Cognition
Skills: - oral comprehension
- written comprehension and
production
Duration: 50 minutes
Material: source texts (poem &
dialogue)
Translation strategies:
analysis and awareness of register
intralingual translation in L2
paraphrasing
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Level: Intermediate
Advanced
Organization: Group work
Objectives:
Linguistics
- To internalize the dialectal use of voseo by
analyzing its use in L2.
Communicative
- To create a communicative adaptation of
the use of voseo into another dialectal form of
L2.
Cultural
- To learn about the Argentinean Spanish.
Students will reflect on different uses of Spanish according to genre. This activity provides
students with a broader conceptualization of a particular dialectal use of verbs.
Structure of the activity
Step 1 – Pre-analysis: Read both the poem and the dialogue. Underline vos pronouns as
well as verbs used in voseo form.
Step 2 – Analysis: Answer the following questions:
- What elements of discourse create cohesion and coherence? Take a closer look
at pronouns, adverbs, connectors, and verb tenses.
- How is the information structured? (old vs. new)
- Can you find an example of an adjacency pair? Is the turn-taking predictable? If so,
explain why.
- What makes the use of voseo different in each text? Consider register and genre.
- Why is the pronoun vos more used in the poem?
- Why are verbs in vos form preferred in the dialogue?
- How would you reflect this dialectal variation into L1?
Step 3 – Translate the poem and dialogue using all verbs in tú form.
Step 4 – What social and/or political values are implied in both discourses?
Project: Translate poem for a different audience (children) or genre (letter), or translate the
dialogue into a different register.