Bilingualism and Translation: A Teaching Proposal

Abstract

In Italy the teaching of translation as a specific skill for bilingual speakers is normally not included in the programs of Russian special schools, the so-called subbotnie školy, where the development of language skills (especially listening, writing and grammar accuracy) in heritage speakers generally takes top priority. As already pointed out in other works (Perotto 2020, 2022), the activity of translation exerts an important influence on the cognitive development of the child, especially if bilingual. It helps him/her not only to differentiate and develop two parallel linguistic and cultural systems, but to approach them with a greater metalinguistic and cultural awareness. On the basis of translations made by bilingual participants to the international Cultural Bridge competition, Russian-Italian an Russian-English parallel corpora were created for the analysis of translation difficulties of heritage speakers living in Italy and USA. These difficulties will be analyzed separately or comparatively on the Sketch engine platform, providing some basic indications for a more targeted teaching of translation. The use of corpora can be an important teaching tool to improve heritage speakers’ linguistic competence and translation awareness.