Master of Arts in Translation Program

  Second-year Translation students, Wafa Al-Qahtani, Raneem Riyad, and Renad Al-Fudailii, delivered a webinar titled: "Translation of Metaphors, Metonymy, and Similes in the Holy Quran" at a regular biweekly event organized by the Language Research Center (LRC) on November 11, 2020. LRC Director, Dr. Ismail Alrefaai, and Dr. Eyhab Bader Eddin MCIL CL MITI sincerely thanked the students for their participation, which allowed for a better understanding of the challenges involved in rendering the sacred text into English, as the classical Arabic in which it is written is lexically complex with unique linguistic features.   The presenters highlighted the significance of how challenging it is for translators to translate the Quran's rhetorical features or tropes. The presentation was centered on three kinds of tropes – Metonymy, Simile and Metaphor.   Wafa began her part by talking about Metonymy, explaining its etymological background with some relevant examples. Metonymy, she added, is a critical figure of speech, which significantly plays an important role in expressing the accurate meaning of particular messages in the Holy Quran. She explained in detail the role of Metonymy in the Holy Quran by comparing different examples of Quranic translation. The examples conspicuously highlighted the extent to which translators maintained Metonymy in translating the Quranic verses.   Raneem focused on how to translate Simile in the Holy Quran. She first defined the term etymologically and explained in detail with an example. Simile, she explained, is a figure of speech in which one thing is likened to another in such a way as to clarify and enhance an image. While comparing two versions of Quranic translation, she highlighted ambiguity in using a word that may confuse English readers or non-native Arabic speakers. She also focused on how the actual meaning is lost or not adequately expressed in such translation.   Renad's part was centered on Metaphors. She defined the term with an example. Metaphors, she said, is a figure of speech in which one thing is described in terms of another. While comparing two versions of Quranic translation, she pointed out the metaphorically more accurate version that conveys proper metaphorical sense.   The presenters came up with the conclusion that translating the Holy Quran involves tremendous challenges. The difficulty increases in the case of translating a sacred book like the Holy Quran as it needs an honest transfer of meaning. Also, the fact that many Arabic words do not have exact English equivalents makes translation even more challenging. It was undoubtedly a very informative webinar, garnering the active participation of both male and female faculty members and students alike.   The Master of Arts in Translation program at the Faculty of Languages and Translation is committed to providing student-centered professional development activities that are consistent with program learning outcomes and labor market developments. Date: 11/12/2020 Source: Mohammad Adil Siddique

  First-year Translation MA student, Abeer Al Asmari, delivered a webinar titled: "Literary Translation: A Cynosure of Hopeful Translators, Yet Too Hard to Master" at a regular biweekly event organized by the Language Research Center (LRC) on September 30, 2020.   Abeer, while quoting John Keats, first defined Literary Translation. She said, "It is a genre of literary creativity in which a work written in one language is recreated in another." She emphasized literary creativity by labeling literary translation as a form of creative writing. Abeer moved on to talking about the significance of literary translation. Literary translation, she added, helps us have proper exposure to other cultures and a better understanding of other countries. She argued that a literary translator should be bi-cultural in addition to being bilingual.   She highlighted controversy over literary translation by specifying that there are boundaries between translating and re-writing literary texts that require demarcation in new standards. She thought that it is upsetting to find some translators exceeding the beauty hidden in the original texts. She, therefore, emphasized that the beauty of the original texts must be maintained by the translators so that it is not lost in the translated version. She added some more lucid points by quoting Pinker (1997), Newmark (1988), and Benjamin (1973). She also quoted Daniel Hahn, director of the British Centre for Literary Translation, by calling his statement even more convincing.   Abeer highlighted the challenges involved in this genre by explaining why translators stay away from this. The worst challenge, she added, lies in the phonological level, which includes rhyme, rhythm, meter, assonance, onomatopoeia, alliteration, and consonance. This level, she noted, makes translation an arduous task for the translators. Another challenge involved is in the stylistic level that includes metaphor, puns, and similes. Culture is also another challenge a translator may face, she added. She finally focused on potential solutions by explaining the ways to overcome those challenges.   Abeer concluded by quoting Umberto Eco and said, "Translation is the art of failure."   LRC Director, Dr. Ismail Alrefaai, and Dr. Eyhab Bader Eddin MCIL CL MITI, Abeer's instructor, sincerely thanked Abeer for her effective presentation, which allowed for a better understanding of literary translation through unique insights. They stressed the importance of throwing weight behind MA students who possess burning enthusiasm and pluck up the courage to follow suit. Abeer's fellow students provided her with unflagging support by their attendance. It is hoped that such webinars would create a window of opportunity for other students to stand on the stage and take up the torch lit by Abeer. It was undoubtedly a very informative webinar, garnering the active participation of both male and female faculty members and students alike.   The Master of Arts in Translation program at the Faculty of Languages and Translation is committed to providing student-centered professional development activities that are consistent with program learning outcomes and labor market developments. Date: 10/1/2020 Source: Mohammad Adil Siddique

  On February 19, 2020, there was a presentation titled 'Simultaneous Interpreting' by two Master of Arts in Translation program students named Wafa Al-Qahtani and Raneem Riadh at a seminar organized by the Language Research Center.   Wafa and Raneem first defined 'Interpreting', followed by a detailed explanation of three modes of interpretation. "Interpreting is the transfer of one spoken or signed language into another", said the presenters. They went on further to say that it was IMMEDIACY rather than ORALITY that set 'interpreting' apart from 'translation' because orality usually EXCLUDES 'signed language'.   Simultaneous Interpretation (SI), they said, is the one in which the interpreter listens and renders the entire message in the target language at the same time the speaker is talking. They also talked about some more interesting sub-types of interpretation, such as chuchotage, bidule, bimodal interpreting, and so on. They shed light on the fact that the goal for simultaneous interpreting is NOT to paraphrase but to convey the exact message uttered in the source language.   Wafa and Raneem then talked about how SI originated, and how it is the mode officially adopted at large global organizations like the UN, EU, etc. They stated the working environment for simultaneous interpreters. In a sound-proof booth with direct view onto the conference room, the interpreter listens to a speaker through earphones and simultaneously transmits the message in another language through a microphone to the listeners' room, they added.   Wafa and Raneem, while explaining its salient features, talked about how it saves time and ensures continuity with less distraction and more concentration. They brought to light the skills a simultaneous interpreter must possess, i.e., amazing language skills, specialized knowledge, and cultural competence.   Décalage, EVS (lag time) and Word Order, the main focus of attention of the seminar, were dealt with separately, saying defining the former as the period of time between the source text input and the interpreter's target text. One important issue is that the interpreter has to make a decision on the size of units or chunks he deems suitable to form a meaningful unit to start with, when to start, when to chunk, when to wait or stall and when to start again. In relation to word order as a critical issue in simultaneous interpreting, they said, "Awkward word order is ubiquitous. The Europeans' focus of interest has been on the difficulty of putting German, Russian, Chinese or Japanese into English or French. In these source languages, a verb or predicate which are traditionally seen as the heart of the sentence's meaning and usually come early in English, may be delayed until the end". They brought this issue to Arabic. Arabic deploying VSO order is considered very hard to be interpreted alongside English. Translating an English noun phrase with one noun preceded by 5 or more adjectives into Arabic must start with the noun first and then it lists the adjectives. This poses a challenge and the interpreter's memory is the yardstick on which SI success depends. The example is elucidated by a native, shady, ornamental, high, massive, mature, mighty tree.   The seminar was informative, interactive, and an overall success. The faculty members and the MA students at the Graigor campus also participated in the seminar. Concluding the seminar, Language Research Center Director, Dr. Ismail Alrefaai, thanked the participants and encouraged all other MA students to participate and follow suit. Dr. Eyhab Bader Eddin, swelling with great pride, thanked them for their resourceful content, and for their stamina and courage to have taken to the stage. Date: 2/20/2020 Source: Mohammad Adil Siddique