Translation Strategies

  On 15 November 2021, Dr. Eisa Al-Eisa Asiri, who recently returned from Macquarie University in Australia, delivered a webinar to 107 participants organized by the Alumni Unit of the Faculty of Languages and Translation under the coordination of Mohsin Raza Khan. The webinar — titled "The transition from a classroom to a workplace: professional skills for translation students" — introduced participants to the most important professional skills in translation (henceforth TRN) and interpreting (henceforth INT). The webinar was developed to provide students and alumni with additional activities for their professional development, consistent with the intended learning outcomes and labor market developments.   Dr. Asiri began by inquiring of the student participants how to gain advanced TRN and INT knowledge. There was a wide variety of interesting responses. One student said that the best way is to study for a degree in TRN or INT. Dr. Asiri agreed but explained that one must be an avid consumer of source text and target text materials. He emphasized that one must be a good writer and have in-depth cultural knowledge.   Dr. Asiri highlighted several practical terms as a starting point, explaining that translation memory is parts of or complete sentences that have been translated before that can be consulted while translating. In addition, tapping into one's translation memory is helpful when using technological tools for translators and interpreters. He related that most professional translators work with computer-assisted translation tools, and they test as many programs as they can.   Then, Dr. Asiri admonished the students to have an entrepreneurial spirit while showing the pros and cons of working with agencies, working with direct clients, and using portals. He noted that resumes should be ready and updated regularly. He concluded that networking and attending events, conferences, and expos, whether related to the translation industry or not, can play a significant role in finding clients and continuing one's professional development.   At the end of the webinar, Dr. Asiri thanked all alumni, undergrads, and grads who participated, noting that learning doesn't stop on graduation day. Please click here to view a recording of the event. Date: 11/16/2021 Source: Faculty of Languages and Translation

  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

In cooperation with the Deanship of Community Service and Continuing Education and under the supervision of Dr. Abdullah Al Melhi, Dean, and represented by Dr. Eyhab A. Bader Eddin, Lecturer, an 18-hour short course titled "Introduction to General Translation" that ended on March 8, 2017, was delivered by the Faculty of Languages and Translation (FLT). The course took place in the Al Qimma room, on the 2nd floor of Building 4, Deanship of Community Service and Continuing Education. Dr. Abdullah Al Melhi asserted that tailored, in-depth short courses aligned with market demand provide invaluable knowledge acquisition opportunities. The trainees were mainly English teachers from the Ministry of Education. Some trainees were from the military sector while a few were from the Ministry of Health. The course was given by Dr. Eyhab A. Bader Eddin, a qualified expert in translation with prior first-hand experience in the European Union and United Nations. The trainer broke down the essential components of translation for the trainees so as to simplify things. He kicked off the course with a brief historical overview of translation, moving to the core elements making up translation. The first session saw an introduction to the general characteristic features of English and Arabic statements. Such issues as syntactic mismatch in both languages were touched upon, trying to find some strategies to overcome inherent problems that are puzzling. Session 2 saw how the linguistic phenomena of hyponymy and homonymy in translation are crucial to understanding. An in-depth review of specific issues in lexical semantics occurred in a bid to broaden the reflections of the trainees. The stylistic features of headlines were introduced, adducing evidence from official newspapers. Relevant pie charts were displayed to illustrate the frequency omission of articles occurs.  Attempts were made to translate many headlines in both languages, discussing some important issues of what made a good translation and what spoiled it. Simple translation quality assessment techniques were reviewed. An assignment wrapped up session 2. Session 3 discussed the translation of non-finite clauses, and if-conditional in both languages, demonstrating the resulting nuances of meaning.  The remaining sessions were devoted to translating short texts, ranging from journalistic, political, and scientific to literary text types. Some time was spent on working out translation problems when dealing with idiomatic expressions and proverbs. Cultural gestalt was copious in the two languages. An assignment was distributed every week to ensure they had understood the topics discussed. Assignments were corrected and returned to ensure students remained actively engaged and committed to improving. Anonymous individual feedback for use in future courses occurred via an evaluation form. The course sun sank with a ceremony during which attendance certificates were distributed to the trainees who attended at least 80% of the entire course.  Dr. Mubarak Al Hamdan, Dean of Community Service, and Dr. Abdullah Al Melhi participated in the closing ceremony and handed over the certificates, wishing all the best of luck. This is what some participants (anonymous) had to say about the course. “Active learning has been seen in an interesting environment. Teaching has been conducted in a way that comforts students or learners and attracts them." "An excellent course, I hope that it continues for several times so that we can benefit from it." "First thank you so much for this great course. This course changed my ways in translation." View Lecture 1 by clicking here. Date: 03-10-2017 Source: Faculty of Languages and Translation Multimedia Contribution: Anas Al Sharani, FLT Student