Giving Nature a New Voice: Translating BioRia from Portuguese to German

As part of the 3rd year of the Bachelor’s Degree in Translation at the Department of Languages and Cultures of the University of Aveiro, a collaborative translation project was conducted during the second semester of the 2022/23 academic year with students from the Portuguese-German Translation course at the University of Mainz, Germany. This project aimed to deepen intercultural dialogue between Portuguese and German students while equipping undergraduate students from both universities with essential academic and professional skills. The project focused on BioRia, a nature conservation and biodiversity initiative in the Aveiro district. Since 2005, BioRia has transformed environmentally degraded areas into a network of walking and cycling trails, offering direct contact with nature. Given the ecological significance of the Ria de Aveiro and the lack of German-language information on the official website, the team proposed a collaboration with Estarreja’s City Council to translate a tourism brochure into German. This effort aimed to enhance the visibility of the BioRia project for German speaking audiences. This study describes and analyzes the translation project, highlighting the challenges of translating ecotourism materials and the project-based work methodology. The bilingual brochure's publication was financially supported by the Center for Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (CLLC) at the University of Aveiro and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).