Recommended books on translation and interpretation for self-study.
Note: The links below are affiliate links (Amazon Services LLC Associates Program). That means these books won’t cost you a penny more, but I may receive a small commission to help keep the blog running.
Translation
Books on translation theory and practice.
  | Mona Baker Routledge (3rd edition), 2018 «In Other Words has been the definitive coursebook for students studying translation for nearly three decades. Assuming no knowledge of foreign languages, it offers a practical guide based on extensive research in areas as varied as lexis, grammar, pragmatics, semiotics and ethics. It thus provides a solid basis for training a new generation of well-informed, critical students of translation.» |
  | Juliane House Routledge, 2015 «Translation: The Basics is an accessible and comprehensive introduction to the study of translation. Combining traditional text-based views with the context of translation in its widest sense, it presents an integrated approach to methodology in order to critically address influences such as power and gender, as well as cultural, ethical, political and ideological issues..» |
  | Sonia Colina Cambridge University Press, 2015 «Clear and concise, this textbook provides a non-technical introduction to the basic and central concepts of translation theory and practice, including translation briefs, parallel texts and textual functions, cohesion and coherence, and old and new information.» |
Interpreting
Books on public service (dialogue), consecutive and simultaneous interpreting (to know more about the different types of interpreting you may also read this post.)
  | Andrew Gillies Routledge (2nd edition), 2017 «Note-taking for Consecutive Interpreting: A Short Course is the essential step-by-step guide to the skill of note-taking. The system, made up of a range of tried and tested techniques, is simple to learn, consistent and efficient. Each chapter presents a technique, with examples, tasks and exercises.» |
  | Andrew Gillies Routledge, 2013 «Conference Interpreting: A Student’s Practice Book brings together a comprehensive compilation of tried and tested practical exercises which hone the sub-skills that make up successful conference interpreting.» |
  | Rebecca Tipton & Olgierda Furmanek Routledge, 2016 «Drawing on recent peer-reviewed research in interpreting studies and related disciplines, Dialogue Interpreting helps practising interpreters, students and instructors of interpreting to navigate their way through what is fast becoming the very expansive field of dialogue interpreting in more traditional domains, such as legal and medical, and in areas where new needs of language brokerage are only beginning to be identified, such as asylum, education, social care and faith.» |
Miscellaneous
Interesting books (and one film!) on translation, facts and curiosities, etc. (for leisure.)
  | David Bellos Penguin, 2012 «Is That a Fish in Your Ear? by David Bellos asks: how do we really make ourselves understood to other people? This funny, wise and life-affirming language book shows how, from puns to poetry, news bulletins to the Bible, Asterix to Swedish films, translation is at the heart of everything we do - and makes us who we are.» |
… and one film recommendation:
  | Sydney Pollack; Nicole Kidman, Sean Penn 2005 «Oscar winners Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn shine in Sydney Pollack's riveting thriller about a translator who overhears a potentially explosive secret about a planned assassination attempt.»
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