Using corpora for awareness-raising purposes in translation, especially into a foreign language (Spanish-English)

Translating into a foreign language is no simple task, but, in Spain at least, it is not uncommon for professional translators to be asked to do so. Translation trainees in Spain therefore ought to acquire competence in translating into the foreign language(s) with which they work, a goal that most of the country's university translation programmes seek to fulfil. This paper presents a wide range of corpus-based language and translation exercises designed primarily to highlight issues that translating into English entails for non-native speakers of the language, but also to introduce the use of electronic corpora for guidance on language usage (natural equivalents, appropriate collocations, frequency data etc.). The exercises have been designed for native Spanish-speaking trainees translating into English, but are perfectly adaptable to other language combinations. © 2012 Taylor & Francis.