Course syllabus
SO1211, Somali Text Reading and Translation 1
This course focuses on three competences: reading and understanding Somali texts; elaborate translation into English, Swedish, Danish, or Norwegian; analysis of difficulties in the translation process. The vocabulary is expanded to about 3000 words, phrases and constructions.
Term: Autumn 2022, starts 29 August, ends 15 January
Credits: 7.5 ects
Study Pace: 10 working hours/week
Teacher: Morgan Nilsson
Syllabus in English: SO1211
Kursplan på svenska: SO1211
Reading List: SO1211
All the reading materials needed for this course will be available online.
Register for the course
Activate your student account at University of Gothenburg approximately two weeks before the course starts.
If you need help, contact our Service center.
Register for the course between 22 and 25 August in the study documentation database Ladok.
If you don't manage to register in time, just let us know, and we'll fix it for you.
Study Pace
The study pace is 10 hours work per week. It is important to stress that this is an average. For some it will take a little bit less, and for others a little bit more time.
The course consists of 18 weekly modules. Each week consists of a number of things to do: texts to read, recordings to listen to, short videos to see, and exercises and translations to do. Therefore, it is important to work regularly and log in to Canvas practically every day.
Language Policy
This course is taught in English, and you are strongly encouraged to use English as much as possible, but if you sometimes feel that you can't express your thoughts precisely enough in English, you are also welcome to write, occasionally, in Swedish, Danish or Norwegian.
As your teacher, I will always write in English when I communicate with the whole group. If I write to an individual participant, I will answer in Swedish if you write to me in Swedish, Danish or Norwegian.
Obligatory Readings
- The main textbook is Intermediate Somali Reader supplemented with audio recordings.
- Paul, Gill (ed.). 2009. Translation in practice: a symposium. Champaign & London: Dalkey Archive Press. (Selected parts, appr. 40 pages.)
- There is also a test version of a Somali-Swedish-English electronic dictionary and a work-in-progress Somali-Swedish dictionary.
- For other reference books and dictionaries, consult the reading list: SO1211.
Presentation of Gothenburg University Library
In Swedish on Wednesday 31 August at 13:15-14:00 CET.
In Swedish on Wednesday 14 September at 17:00-17:45 CET.
In English on Monday 19 September at 17:00-17:45 CET.
You can find the links to Zoom here: https://gu.instructure.com/courses/26872/modules/items/702976
Logging in as a student you have access to a large amount of electronic resources, such as books, journals and databases.
A librarian will walk you through the most important resources for distance students studying online.
Exam and grading
This course is not divided into smaller parts. It ends with a final written exam.
You need to find a place and a person who is willing to administer you exam, e.g. a public institution such as a school, a library or your workplace.
Read more here: in English if you will be taking the exam abroad and in Swedish if you will be taking the exam in Sweden.
You are free to choose any day and time that suits you within these intervals:
Exam: 9-14 January; if you choose to take the exam at University of Gothenburg it takes place on Saturday 14 January at 10:00.
Retake: 13-18 February
Two different grades are available: a result of 70 % is required for G (Good) and 90 % is required for VG (Very Good).
Canvas, Zoom & Eduroam
- Canvas Learning Management System
- More about Canvas LMS
- Eduroam - free student wifi in many public spaces (universities, airports, libraries, city centres etc.) in Sweden and abroad
- Zoom - as a student you can set up your own free account and and invite others to your meeting room
Somali Radio and TV
It's a good idea to start listening to Somali radio and TV channels on the Web:
Radio stations in Somalia • SHB Somali Radio in Kenya • Ethiopian Somali TV • Horn Cable TV • Jubbaland TV • Kalsan TV • Puntland TV • SBC TV • Somali Cable TV • Somali National TV • Somaliland TV • Universal Somali TV • BBC • VOA • Most of these channels also publish video clips on YouTube
Somali Dictionaries, Reference Grammars, E-books and Databases
On this page you can find more information about further resources for Somali.
Somali Corpora
- Somali Korp at the Swedish Langauge Bank with 19 million tokens of edited & published texts + Wikipedia
- Somali WaC 2017 at project HaBiT with 79 million tokens of text from the Internet
Develop Sound Study Routines and Avoid Plagiarism
It is extremely important that you are clear and specific about your sources of information. Plagiarism means to "borrow" a piece of text from a book or an article or from the web without clearly stating the source. That is not allowed, and you must therefore learn how to handle citations and referencing. You can read more on the pages of our university library.
In English: https://studentportal.gu.se/english/help-and-guidance/search-read-write
In Swedish: https://studentportal.gu.se/handledning-och-stod/soka-lasa-skriva
Study Counselling
- Study counsellor: Ida Lindström, room: E413A, mail: studievagledning.afrikanska@sprak.gu.se, phone: 031-786 1795.
- Other courses in Somali, Swahili and African Languages.
- Courses in Arabic (only taught in Swedish).
- Guidance and support in your studies • Vägledning och stöd i dina studier
- Korta filmer om studieplanering
- FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions and our replies (in Swedish).
- If you wish to discontinue the course, please tell the teacher. The you will be able to apply for the course again in the future.
Don't de-registering yourself in Ladok. If you do, you will not be able to apply for the course again in the future.
Studenthälsa och studiemiljö
Nedan finns information och länkar till resurser och insatser kring studenthälsa och studiemiljö för att du ska få en så bra studietid som möjligt hos oss.
Skapa ett hållbart studieliv
Det hållbara studielivet handlar om allt från den fysiska miljö som du studerar i till det umgänge du har med dina studiekamrater och hur du blir bemött av dina lärare.
Läs mer på Studentportalen
Stöd- och hälsoinsatser för dig som student
Som student har möjlighet att få stöd när du upplever ohälsa som är orsakad av dina studier. På den här sidan hittar du informationen som du behöver när du vill söka stöd.
Läs mer om studenthälsa på Göteborgs universitet
Webbinarium och workshops kring hälsa
Göteborgs universitet erbjuder olika typer av webbinarium, workshops och utbildningar kring ämnen rörande hälsa och studiemiljö.
Information och anmälan (du behöver logga in)
Canvaskurser i hållbart studieliv
Feelgood har tagit fram kurser, videoklipp och inspelade webbinarium inom studenthälsa och studiemiljö som du kan ta del av i Canvas. Registrera dig själv på kursen så kommer du åt innehållet när och hur du vill. Du blir inte betygsatt eller bedömd på kurserna.
Till kurserna i Canvas
Likabehandling på universitetet
Studie- och arbetsmiljön vid Göteborgs universitet ska vara tillgänglig för alla och vara fri från alla former av diskriminering och trakasserier. Du som student ska känna dig trygg och säker när du studerar hos oss.
Läs mer om likabehandling
Studiemiljö – mer än den fysiska miljön
Med studiemiljö menas de fysiska, psykologiska och sociala förhållanden som har betydelse för hur du som student mår och fungerar i din studiesituation.
Läs mer om studenternas arbetsmiljö
Studerandearbetsmiljöombud
Studerandearbetsmiljöombuden (SAMO) har till uppgift att företräda dig som student i arbetsmiljöfrågor. Här hittar du mer information och kontaktuppgifter.
Kontakta ett studerandearbetsmiljöombud
Student- och doktorandombud
Om du som student eller doktorand stött på problem i din utbildning är du välkommen att kontakta Göteborgs universitets studentkårers student- och doktorandombud.
Kontakta ombuden
Studentpräst och stilla rum/vilrum
Oavsett anledning är du som student på Humanisten välkommen att kontakta en studentpräst för enskilda samtal. Det kan handla om någon enstaka gång eller flera samtal. Ett samtal med en studentpräst är alltid kostnadsfritt och konfidentiellt.
Kontakta en studentpräst
Här finns stilla rum/vilrum på Humanisten
Om något händer – hit ska du vända dig
Här finns kontaktuppgifter till vem du ska vända dig till vid till exempel hot och vad du ska göra vid utrymning mm.
Om något händer (länk till Medarbetarportalen)
Discrimination and harassment
What is classified as discrimination and who do you contact?
As a student at our University, you should feel safe and secure. Your study and/or work environment should be free from all forms of discrimination and harassment. If you have nevertheless experienced these things, we explain below what you can do about it and who you can contact for help.
When you study at the University of Gothenburg, you are covered by Sweden’s Discrimination Act, which means that all students have equal rights and opportunities. Despite the University’s preventive efforts in this area, if you have experienced what you suspect is discrimination or harassment of any kind, please inform us about this. Who to contact depends on the programme you are studying, that is, which department is responsible for you. Further down the page you will find a list of contacts. We recommend that you contact one of these people first. That said, you may contact any employee at your department about the matter, as all employees have a duty to inform the head of department of suspected cases of harassment or discrimination, and the head of department has the ultimate responsibility for the department.
What is classified as discrimination?
Discrimination is when someone is treated worse than someone else in a comparable situation and this treatment is related to one of the seven grounds of discrimination (protected characteristics) listed below. Not all incidents are classified as discrimination, for example private individuals cannot discriminate against each other. However, where private individuals behave inappropriately towards each other, this may constitute harassment or workplace bullying. It is therefore important that you report such incidents, even if not all incidents will be assessed as being instances of discrimination or harassment.
Grounds of discrimination (protected characteristics)
• Sex
• Transgender identity or expression
• Ethnicity
• Religion or other belief
• Disability
• Sexual orientation
• Age
Forms of discrimination
• Direct discrimination
• Indirect discrimination
• Inadequate accessibility
• Harassment and sexual harassment
• Instructions to discriminate
So that your experience of discrimination or harassment is clearly stated, it is a good idea to write down what happened and how it could be linked to one or more of the grounds of discrimination.
What happens after you report an incident?
When the head of department is made aware of suspected discrimination or harassment, they have a duty to investigate the circumstances. The head of department then decides whether or not it is possible to carry out an investigation. In some instances, you may need to be called to a meeting to provide more information before a decision to investigate or not is made. You have the right to receive an answer to whether or not the head of department has chosen to take your case further.
It is important that you know that no one at the University is permitted to do bad things to you just because you reported an incident. This is called the prohibition on reprisals under the Discrimination Act. If you feel that someone is subjecting you to reprisals, you should report this as well.
Who to contact at the Faculty of Humanities
Department of Swedish, Multilingualism, Language Technology: Sofie Johansson, Equal Treatment Representative, phone 031-786 42 03, sofie.johansson@svenska.gu.se
Department of Literature, History of ideas and Religion: Camilla Alvhage, Equal Treatment Representative, 031-786 45 80, camilla.alvhage@lir.gu.se
Department of Languages and Literatures: Chloé Avril, Equal Treatment Representative, 031-786 45 94, chloe.avril@sprak.gu.se
Department of Philosophy, Linguistics and Theory of Science: Ellen Breitholtz, Equal Treatment Representative, 031-786 11 76, ellen.breitholtz@ling.gu.se,
Department of Historical Studies: Lena Larsson Lovén, Equal Treatment Representative, 031-786 46 59, lena.larsson@class.gu.se
Department of Cultural Sciences: Lise-Lotte Gustafsson, Study Counsellor, 031-786 5321, lise-lotte.gustafsson@gu.se
You can also contact the main student health and safety representative at shamo.humsek@gota.gu.se or the Chair of the Göta Student Union's Humanities Section humsek@gota.gu.se. You can get help from the student union even if you are not a member.
More information: