2. Translation / translator training systems

Transcription

1 2. Translation / translator training systems

2 Translation education / training systems Legal translation is regarded by some researchers as one of the most challenging endeavours, "combining the inventiveness of literary translation with the terminological precision of technical translation" (Harvey 2002). It is mainly due to the specificity of legal language and, in particular, the system-bound nature of legal terminology and differences between the common law and civil law systems. A good illustration of problems connected with terminological incongruity may be found in company law and classifications of business entities.

3 Principal stakeholders in translator education and training Translator educators Programme / course administrators Translation students?

4 Key issues in translator training systems 1 Needs analysis Aims and objectives Duration of courses Credits (ECTS) EU requirements & institutions National vs private systems Curriculum, sullabus Course design & planning Teaching and learning approach Pedagogy of translation & translation studies Meeting students expectations Facilities

5 Key Issues in Teaching Translation 2 National vs international requirements Profesional translator or legal expert TR: an interdiscipline and its affiliation TR into L1 or L2, when? SLT or TLT oriented translation Assessment & evaluation: testing achievement, translation error analysis, QA Specialised translation courses - legal

6 Duration of studies BSc (4 years; 3 years) MSc (1 or 2 years) PhD (min 60 semester hours) incl. research and diss.) full- and part-time sts (but limitations!) Writen examination in the field of specialization Detailed proposal for dissertation research Oral defense + acceptance by a diss. advisory committee = candidacy for the PhD degree Institute for appled Linguistics Univ of Edinburgh Student Handbook 2006/2007

7 Systems across Europe 2 High school education Higher education: graduate & post-graduate studies: Degree programmes: BSc, MSc/Dip and PhD in TR studies (majors) Part-time studies Faculty and staff Admission requirements Assessment requirements, Dissertation

8 Systems across Europe 2 Course details/structure balance among: TR theory, TR studies Basic language courses (1st, 2nd language) Culture studies Translation practice (basic & advanced) Specialised translation courses (a number of specialties) Knowledge of subject area in a specialty Other: Additional general courses (BSc: legal/business/technical writing; systems development, computer litaracy, computer programming) TR technology & IT Research in translation studies - project optional courses Study abroad

9 Systems across Europe 2 EU UK Italy Germany small states ( limited diffusion ) Croatia

10 EU "Commission launches cooperation with universities in translator training 2005: the European Commission s Directorate-General for Translation (DGT) hosted in Brussels its first ever conference with universities offering a translation curriculum. Experts from all EU Member States plus Bulgaria and Romania, representing around 70 higher education institutes involved in translation teaching, as well as international organisations (UN, NATO, OECD among others) and professional associations, have been invited to the conference Towards a European Master s in Translation (EMT).

11 EU The purpose of the EMT conference: promote multilingualism by strengthening DGT s ties with universities involved in translation research and teaching; promote the development of a European Master s in Translation curriculum among the key universities in the EU Member States and acceding countries; create a network of universities and other experts to collaborate in the framework of the EMT; enhance dialogue with the universities and encourage them to develop their teaching programmes in line with the EMT standard curriculum proposed by DGT.

12 EU The proposed standard curriculum can be adopted by universities wishing to participate in the EMT project. The Commission provides advice, but the responsibility for the translator training rests exclusively with the universities. The EMT degree is meant to be an intensive programme lasting one to two years and open to all university graduates. It should focus primarily on the translation component, and not on the language skill/language acquisition aspect of the training. The programme is, however, flexible in order to take into account the requirements of the European institutions, including the need for specialists in a number of policy areas with language skills, as well as specific national conditions and developments in the translation profession.

13 The need to establish a standard comparable curriculum for a Master s degree in translation in Europe became a crucial issue with the 2004 enlargement when the Commission faced some difficulties in recruiting translators in several of the new official EU languages. The main objective is to produce highly qualified translators with all the basic skills required of a professional translator who could be employed both by the national market and by the EU institutions. The conclusions of the conference will provide a basis for an action plan suggesting further steps towards a European Master s in Translation.

14 Comment the following statements: «Despite the prevailing belief that translators have problems grasping complicated legal concepts, translation graduates in the programme have done exceedingly well in the basic law courses offered to them by the Faculty of Law. [ ] Over half of the law graduates who apply for admission fail the entrance exam because of inadequate language skills» (Roberts 1987 : 9).