Apropos translator training aggro: A case study of the Centre for Continuing Education
Mohammad Ahmad Thawabteh, Al-Quds University
ABSTRACT
Translator Training (TT) is considered a crucial part of translation activity in many translator-training institutions. In the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OTPs), however, TT has been a neglected area until quite recently. As a result of recent developments in the field of translation, and in technology, TT has gained a place all over the world; the OTPs are no exception, but unfortunately here TT remains scarcely adequate. This paper aims to explore the status of professionally-oriented translation versus the academisation of translation; it will examine laying the groundwork for TT in the OTPs, based on a case study of the Centre for Continuing Education's (CCE's) Welfare Online Translation Project (WOT). The paper argues that TT in the OTPs still lags behind most countries, although there have been some attempts to initiate TT.
KEYWORDS
Pedagogical translation; professionally-oriented translation; vocational translation; translation technology; translator training; WOT project.
Introduction
Although a relatively new phenomenon, Translator Training (henceforth TT) has become an integral part of Translation Studies, and has aroused the interest of translation theorists, as shown in the seminal work of Kiraly (2000a), among many others. Holmes (1988/2000: 78) places TT within applied translation studies, hence the rising number of translator-training institutions worldwide (Caminade and Pym 1997). It is therefore true that translator training is seen as important all over the world.
There has been a myth that the mastery of two languages is all the translator needs. Consequently, too much emphasis has been placed on linguistic approaches to translation at the expense of more specialised translator-training dealing with professionally-oriented translation. Venuti (1998: 1) claims that "translator training [has] been impeded by the prevalence of linguistics-oriented approaches that offer a truncated view of the empirical data they collect." This myth has already been debunked to some extent. TT has shifted somewhat towards lifelong training on account of the rapid expansion in market demand for qualified translators. That is to say, translators must now be trained in discourse analysis, they must be culture omniscient, subject specialists, information scientists and technology experts as only then can the task of translation be best fulfilled. Toury (1995: 256) states that ''the pedagogically most appropriate key concepts are those associated with experiencing, exploration and discovery.''
According to Stewart (2008), professionally-oriented translation is derived from vocational translation whereby trainee translators are prepared for the translation market. It follows that without further training, the translator may be expected to face significant challenges, especially in a world of rapid technological change. In most countries, the introduction of pedagogical translation into university teaching aims to prepare established translators for their prototypical profession, and to train non-fully fledged translators to be as competent as possible in translating a particular text from a SL into a TL.
Many translator-training institutions have been established throughout the world. In the OTPs1, translation has been given due attention either formally, as is the case in the creation of translator-training programmes in some Palestinian universities, or informally, as with the Palestinian labour force where translation functions as a medium of communication between Palestinian workers and their Israeli employers.
In terms of the academisation of translation, established university departments of language and literature offer translation training both at undergraduate and postgraduate level. For instance, in Birzeit University and Bethlehem University, English majors (or occasionally Arabic majors) can minor in Translation, with a total of 18-24 credit hours (see Birzeit and Bethlehem university websites in references). Two Master's degrees in Translation have been established at An-Najjah University and Al-Quds University. Compared with the only sister Master programme in Translation at An-Najjah University, Al-Quds University offers information technology-based courses (e.g., Audiovisual Translation, Translation Technology and Term Management etc.); and Al-Quds University introduces new concepts in the translation market in Palestine such as Déjà Vu, Wordfast, Trados, subtitling, dubbing etc., so far untouched in academic circles at any of the Palestinian universities, either at undergraduate or at postgraduate level.
Attempts to introduce (non-)academic training courses have also occasionally been made. However, it should be mentioned that such attempts are unfortunately clumsy and ill-starred. One recent training course was Simultaneous Translation, which took place on the fringes of Bethlehem University, namely in the Institute for Community Partnership (ICP, see their website listed in references for information). The name of the course speaks for itself—showing as it does the status quo of translator training in the OPTs. A one-of-a-kind attempt by the Centre For Continuing Education (CCE), affiliated with Birzeit University, was a project entitled Welfare Online Translation (WOT), which has given translator training a jump-start.
Rationale Behind the WOT Project
Knowledge-Based Industries (KBI) has resonance with the WOT project2. KBI says that three elements are necessary for any economic, political, social and educational development, as shown in Fig 1 below.
Figure 1. KBI
As far as translator training is concerned, the WOT project argues that human resources (e.g. translators, interpreters, subtitlers etc.) should be included in the estimation of an entrepreneur's worth. Thus translators should be involved in training courses to become leaders; equipped with sufficient training savvy, they are then able to enter the job market. Based on KBI, the CCE has co-operated with Ta'beer, a translation company in the UAE, on the project to pool ideas and knowledge and to enlist Palestinian freelancers to work in the Gulf States. Ta'beer provides the job market in the Gulf States with freelancers and translators.
The objectives of the WOT project are threefold: academic, economic and political. Academically, it aims to qualify Palestinian translators as freelancers to compete with peer translators in the Arab world. Economically, it aims to help translators who are university teachers or high-position employers in public and private sectors in the OTPs, to enhance their salaries through part-time jobs. Politically, the trend of Palestinian migration started in the aftermath of the Israeli occupation of Palestine whereby Palestinians were dispossessed of their land—many have become émigrés all over the world. In view of this, WOT encourages Palestinian translators to do in-house translations from their homeland,3 so the migration of Palestinians to different countries might be reduced to a minimum. This political agenda more or less pervades Palestinian social milieux.
Methodology
The WOT project is phased over a year, and provides both training and consultancy. In the first phase, more than 300 translators sat a translation exam with a view to evaluating the examinees' competence to translate given texts. The directionality of translation was from English into Arabic, reflecting market demand for Arabic translation in the Gulf States. Translation professionals then rated the translations, reducing the number to 40.
In the second phase, Ta'beer sent the participants six English passages—400 words on average. Two local translation professionals, who are affiliated to Al-Quds University and are currently teaching MA translation courses, evaluated the translations in tandem with other professionals working for Ta'beer— there is safety in numbers. Thus it became possible to sort out the trainees. The trainees were then divided into two groups: Group A and Group B. Group A had shown a sufficient level of competence. The translations were up to standard, hence minor consultancy was given to the trainees. However, Group B had not shown a sufficient level of competence. The quality of the translations was very poor. Consequently, the latter group was given intensive training for about two months (see Appendix 1 on the topics tackled during the training sessions).
In the last phase, all the trainee translators (in the two groups) were given another six passages, and were evaluated again by the professionals working for Ta'beer and Al-Quds University to further select the good translators. Then the time had come to sign contracts with companies in the Gulf States. There was a roundup session followed by individual sessions with the trainee translators.
Training Sessions
The principal aim of the WOT project is to ensure translation quality. To improve the translation quality of the trainee translators, ten sessions4 (see Appendix I) were set up to meet the trainees' needs by further honing their skills. (Figure 2 below shows the trainee translators at CCE).
Fig 2. Trainee translators at CCE
The topics of the sessions were selected during the evaluation process to cover the areas where the trainees had training needs. Analysis of trainee translator needs showed that most had employed translation strategies wrongly when translating. It was therefore decided that a session addressing types of translation strategies was essential. As Appendix I would suggest, the session deals with a literature review vis-à-vis translation strategies, evaluating authentic translations and employing appropriate strategies in translating different texts.
The trainers also decided that a session on discourse analysis was necessary. Consider Text 1 below, analysed by one of the trainee translator's translations:
Text 1
This market is a little too commodity like for David Booth, the chief executive of Dimensional Financial Advisors in Santa Monica, Calif. Booth has long believed—"right down to my tippy toes"—hat he can beat the standard S&P fund.
Translation
يشكل هذا السوق سوق بضاعة عادية بالنسبة لديفيد بوث، المدير التنفيذي لشركة دايمنشينال فاينانشال أدفايزورز، ومقرها سانتا مونيكا، كاليف. كان بوث على قناعة منذ زمن بعيد – "حتى أخمص قدمي" – بأنه يستطيع التغلب على صناديق مؤشر ستاندارد اند بورز
It is noteworthy that the switch from formal to vernacular in Text 2, i.e., ''right down to my tippy toes'' was given no attention at all in the translation. The Arabic translation, i.e. "حتى أخمص قدمي" shows no shift at all from formal to vernacular. Hence the importance of introducing discourse analysis as a topic in the training sessions.
In another session the trainees were encouraged to read between the lines, i.e., to be discourse analysts. Atari (1994) points out that comprehension is identified as a problematic area in English-Arabic translator training programmes. In all sessions, follow-up assignments via e-mail were given. On-line sessions were occasionally used.
Stumbling-Blocks to TT
It would be safe to assume that the major stumbling-block to translator training in the OTPs is the lack of technology-based modules and undue attention given to linguistics-based approaches. In most training courses, technology has been a neglected area despite its importance. Munday (2001: 183) stresses the importance of information technology:
Specialised translation courses should have an element of instruction in the disciplines in which the trainees are planning to translate—such as law, politics, medicine and finance—as well as some input from information technology to cover issues in machine-assisted translation.
Gaining access to terminology-based sources and using online resources are useful for translators. Some trainees were unable to use electronic dictionaries, which usually enable the translator to access a wide range of lexicons in a split-second. For example, most trainee translators were unable to translate into Arabic 'resilient' in Text 2 below:
Text 2
The Saudi regime continues to prove itself highly resilient.
It seems that reliance on bilingual dictionaries rather than monolingual dictionaries is not effective. For example, Al-Mawrid (1995) gives the following meanings for 'resilient': 'رجوع أو مرن ' which do not fit for the example above. As shown in Fig 3 below, it seems possible to assume that using an electronic dictionary may help translators translate more accurately.
Fig 3. Collins Electronic Dictionary
In the Translation Rating System5 employed in the WOT project, the time dimension is given 10 points out of 50. The time dimension then requires that training should include as many computer tools and electronic resources as possible in the interests of speed and translation precision.
Very important to translator training is how to instruct trainee translators to use ''word processors, spreadsheets, terminology databases, translation memory tools, desktop publishing software, access to the Internet and a variety of on- and off-line electronic resources" (Kiraly 2000b: 123). Likewise, Mackenzie and Vienne (2000: 127) stress the importance of technology: "The ability to acquire, manage and utilise resources is part of the translator's competence and should be taught and practised systematically during training." As far as WOT is concerned, one of the shortcomings is the lack of training in the use of technology. In fact, most of the trainee translators, if not all, are not au fait with the use of state-of-the-art translation memory tools. It is also unfortunate that the trainee translators are not familiar with subtitling or interpreting software. Such shortcomings also exist in other training courses such as the one at ICP. For instance, Audacity, a free program which can help interpreters practise interpreting on their own, had not been heard of by the trainees.
The Israeli occupation strikes a pessimistic note. The Palestinians, renowned for their indomitable spirit, have for decades fought a long rearguard action to stay at home. All aspects of their lives have been profoundly affected by the political upheaval brought by the Israeli occupation of Palestine in 1948. Owing to the many Israeli checkpoints at the main entrances to Palestinian cities, travelling has become undeniably tiring. Like many Palestinian university students, the translation trainees had to travel hundreds of miles to the training course. There is no doubt that the deteriorating political and economic situation has had an impact on translator-training.
Needless to say, theory goes together with practice. Translators also need a knowledge of translation theory. Pym (2005: 3-6), however, argues that "Translation theories are abstruse and useless; only professionals know the realities of translation; trainees thus need the professional skills, not the academic theories.'' Nevertheless, Pym (ibid) further adds that:
A lot of theorizing is just there to protect academic fiefdoms. It helps gain institutional power. Every professional guru soon develops specific terms and catchphrases. That kind of power is not a bad thing. With it, changes in the profession can eventually lead to changes in institutional training programme.
Without it, we would be back to medieval apprenticeships.
It is true that most trainees have no theoretical background in translation. It seems appropriate that a substantial theoretical framework should be included in the WOT project. A close look at Appendix I shows that theory goes together with practice.
Conclusion and Recommendations
Thus far in our analysis we have noted that TT has received considerable attention worldwide. TT in the OTPs is however still fraught with difficulties and challenges, and it remains at a very early stage. In terms of professionally-oriented translation, the WOT project, which took place on the fringes of Birzeit University, is an attempt to give translator training a jump-start, but with minimal use of technology. It is unfortunate that in most training courses, a lack of new technologies has been a fact of life for TT in the OTPs with the exception of Al-Quds University, which offers a number of information technology-based courses. In order to ensure a translator-training programme of good quality and quantity, those who are responsible for initiating and coordinating such programmes should:
1. Make training available to translation students, trainee translators and professional translators;
2. Provide more training courses on the theory and practice of translation, with special focus on lesser known languages and cultures;
3. Prepare translation students, trainee translators and professional translators to adapt to rapid technological progress and make them aware that translation technology can solve an array of translation difficulties; and
4. Hold tailor-made training on translation memory tools such as Trados, Déjà vu and Wordfast for the role they play in the modern translation world.
Bibliography
- Atari, Omar (1994). "Translator/Readers' Orientations and EFL Reading." Language International 6(2), 10-11.
- Ba'albaki, Munir (1995). Al-Mawrid: A Modern English-Arabic Dictionary. Beruit: Dar el-Ilm lil-Malayen.
- Baker, Mona (1997). The Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies. London and New York: Routledge.
- Caminade, Monique and Anthony Pym (1997). "Translator-Training Institutions." Mona Baker (ed.) (1997). The Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies. London and New York: Routledge, 280-285.
- Collins Cobuild English Dictionary (1995). The University of Birmingham: HarperCollins Publishers.
- Kiraly, Donald C. (2000a). A social Constructivist Approach to Translator Education: Empowerment from Theory to Practice. Manchester: St. Jerome Publishing.
- — 2000b. "Translation into a Non-Mother Tongue: From Collaboration to Competence". In: M. Grosman et al. (eds.), 117-123.
- Holmes, James S. (1988/2000). "The Name and Nature of Translation Studies." Laurence Venuti (ed.) (2000). The Translation Studies Reader. London: Routledge, 172-185.
- Mackenzie, Rosemary and Jean, Vienne (2000). "Resource research strategies: A Key Factor in Teaching Translation into the Non-Mother Tongue." Meta Grosman, Mira Kadric, Irena Kovaèiè and Mary Snell-Hornby (eds) (2000). Translation into Non-Mother Tongues. Tübingen: Stauffenberg, 125-32.
- Munday, Jeremy (2001). Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Application. London/New York: Routledge.
- Pym, Anthony (2005). "Training translators—Ten Recurrent Naiveties." Translating Today 2, 3-6.
- Stewart, Dominic (2008). "Vocational Translation Training into A Foreign Language." inTRAlinea, online at www.intralinea.it (consulted 30.04. 2009)
- Toury, Gideon (1995). Descriptive Translation Studies and Beyond. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: Benjamins.
- Venuti, Lawrence (1998). The Scandals of Translation. London: Routledge.
Internet sites
Birzeit University, Languages and Translation, on line at
http://www.birzeit.edu/academics/arts/translation/p/prog?prog_id=340 (consulted 05.06.2009)
Bethlehem University, Department of Arabic, on line at
http://bethlehem.edu/programs/art/arabic.shtml (consulted 05.06.2009)
Bethlehem University, Institute for Community Partnership, on line at
http://icp.bethlehem.edu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=124&Itemid=67 (consulted 05.06.2009)
Bibliographical Notes
Mohammad Ahmad Thawabteh is assistant Professor of Translation. He holds a B.A. degree in English from Bethlehem University, an MA degree in English, with specialisation in Translation, from Yarmouk University, Advanced Higher Diploma in Translation and Intercultural Studies from Universitat Rovira i Virgili and a Ph.D. in Translation and Intercultural Studies from Universidad de Granada. His research interests are Translator Training, Translation Studies, Pragmatics, Cultural Studies and Discourse analysis. He has been teaching at Al-Quds University, the OTPs, since 1999.
E-Mail: m_thawa@yahoo.com
Appendix I
 |
Sharpening Translation Skills |
Outline: Sharpening Translation Skills
SESSION 1
Time |
Objective |
Methodology |
Supportive Reading |
9:00-10:45 |
Define translation. |
Discussion with participants. |
Shuttleworth and Cowie, Dictionary of Translation Studies (1997). |
10:45-11:00 |
Break |
|
|
11:00-12:45 |
Recognise translation types. |
Variety of texts to be distributed. |
|
12:45-1:30 |
Lunch |
|
|
1:30-3:00 |
Translate concise texts. |
In-class practice through translating concise text (unseen texts) |
|
Home-work |
Homework 1.1 |
Submitted by e-mail. |
|
SESSION 2
9:00-10:45 |
Explain translation (theories of translation). |
PowerPoint Presentation |
Handout: Map of TS. |
10:45-11:00 |
Break |
|
|
11:00-12:45 |
Explain the |
Text distributed to be analyzed. |
Beaugrande and Dressler, Introduction to Text Linguistics (1981).
|
12:45-1:30 |
Lunch |
|
|
1:30-3:00 |
Translate concise texts |
Worksheet 2.2 |
|
Home-work |
Homework 2.1 |
Submitted by e-mail, |
|
SESSION 3
9:00-10:45 |
Recognise text types. |
Handout: Matching PowerPoint Presentation |
Hatim and Mason Discourse and the Translator (1990). |
10:45-11:00 |
Break |
|
|
11:00-12:45 |
Explain Grice's |
PowerPoint ion Presentation |
Baker, In Other Words: A Course Book on Translation (1992). |
12:45-1:30 |
Lunch |
|
|
1:30-3:00 |
Apply Grice's |
In-class practice through translating concise text (unseen texts) |
Grice, Logic and Conversation (1975). |
Home-work |
Homework 3.1 |
Submitted by e-mail, |
|
SESSION 4
9:00-10:45 |
Recognise the notion of Register and Genre. |
PowerPoint Presentation |
|
10:45-11:00 |
Break |
|
|
11:00-12:45 |
Recognise the role the translator as Discourse Analyst. |
Worksheet 4.1 |
|
12:45-1:30 |
Lunch |
|
|
1:30-3:00 |
In-class practice through translating concise text (unseen texts) |
|
|
Home-work |
Homework 4.1 |
Submitted by e-mail, |
|
SESSION 5
3:30-4:45 |
Show awareness of Legalese. |
Presentations by participants |
Hatim and Shunnaq, Legal Translation (1995). |
4:45-5:00 |
Break |
|
|
5:00-7:00 |
Recognise the legal format. |
PowerPoint Presentation together with discussion |
|
Home-work |
Homework 5.1 |
Submitted by e-mail, |
|
SESSION 6
Time |
Objective |
Methodology |
Reading Materials |
9:00-10:45 |
Identify the importance of translator's position |
Interactive PowerPoint Presentation |
Hatim, The Translator as Communicator |
10:45-11:00 |
Break |
|
|
11:00-12:45 |
Practice translating from perspective of Monitoring |
Worksheet 6.1 |
Hatim, A Practical Guide for Translators (1998) |
12:45-1:45 |
Lunch |
|
|
12:45-1:30 |
Practice translating from perspective of Managing |
Worksheet 6.2 |
|
Home-work |
Homework 6.1 |
Submitted by e-mail, |
|
SESSION 7
3:30-4:45 |
Categorise different translation strategies |
PowerPoint Presentation |
|
4:45-5:00 |
Break |
|
|
5:00-7:00 |
Employ Naturalisation |
PowerPoint Presentation |
|
|
In-class practice through translating concise text (unseen texts) |
Worksheet 7.3 |
|
Home-work |
Homework 7.1 |
Submitted by e-mail, |
|
ELECTRONIC SESSION 8
00:00-00:00 |
Explore the role of
|
Prepare examples: |
|
ELECTRONIC SESSION 9
00:00-00:00 |
Identify the issue of Politeness in Translation
|
Prepare 5-minute-presentation about the |
|
SESSION 10
9:00-10:45 |
Explore the role of |
Presentations |
|
10:45-11:00 |
Break |
|
|
11:00-12:45 |
Identify the issue of Politeness in Translation |
Presentations |
|
12:45-1:45 |
Lunch |
|
|
1:45-3:00 |
Practice translating from Cultural perspective |
Worksheet 10.1 |
|
Home- |
Homework 10.1 |
Submitted by e-mail, |
|
Note 1:
It refers to the lands occupied by Israel in 1948 which ensues the establishment of Israel; the age-old struggle between Palestinians and Israel has continued despite the establishment of Palestinian National Authority in the 1990s, whose control over some areas does not exceed the Civil Service; military and legal affairs are the job of Israel.
Return to this point in the text
Note 2:
KBI is credited to CCE manager, Osama el-Mimi.
Return to this point in the text
Note 3:
This aim was stated clearly by the manager of the CCE as well as by Sultan Yaseen.
Return to this point in the text
Note 4:
Setting objectives is credited to CCE innovative member team, Abla Abu Nab3a.
Return to this point in the text
Note 5:
Understanding the source text is given 20 points; terminology and consistency of target text is given 12.5 points; deadline or time dimension is given 10 points; grammar and punctuation is given 7.5 points; hence, the total is 50 points. It refers to the lands occupied by Israel in 1948 which ensues the establishment of Israel; the age-old struggle between Palestinians and Israel has continued despite the establishment of Palestinian National Authority in the 1990s, whose control over some areas does not exceed the Civil Service; military and legal affairs are the job of Israel.
Return to this point in the text