IntroductionThe Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics and Translation program develops a candidate's understanding of fundamental and advanced issues in linguistics and translation, enables him or her to communicate their knowledge with excellent oral and written skills, and motivates them to take the lead in research and development in their field of expertise. The candidates would demonstrate ability to engage independently in research and provide an original and significant contribution in their area of specialization. The main goal of this program is to provide advanced knowledge in linguistics and translation topics with in-depth research experience. Graduates of this program may work in academic institutions to teach linguistics and translation courses, at translation agencies, or in research centers.
Program ObjectivesProgram Outcomes
By the end of successful completion of the program students will be able to:
- Design and execute original research in a specific area in Linguistics or translation, using appropriate research methodology.
- Utilize professional and technological tools in linguistic and translation research and apply the same in communication, research, practice and pedagogy.
- Gather and analyze large amounts of linguistic data on a selected research topic.
- Use own knowledge and expertise to create solutions for problems in Linguistics and Translation.
- Effectively and creatively apply theoretical knowledge in research, pedagogy and training.
- Apply linguistic knowledge and skills in academic settings and other work contexts such as language teaching, language consultancy and translation.
- Communicate information related to his/her field of study to both specialists and laymen.
- Analyze academic, professional and research ethical problems relevant to linguistic and translation studies and the application of research results.
Alignment of Program Goals to Program Learning Outcomes
No. |
Program Goals |
Related Program Learning Outcomes |
1 |
Provide community institutions (universities, relevant centers and government institutions) with qualified researchers and educators in the fields of linguistics and translation. |
- Design and execute original research in a specific area in Linguistics or translation, using appropriate research methodology
- Effectively and creatively apply theoretical knowledge in research, pedagogy and training
- Analyze academic, professional and research ethical problems relevant to linguistic and translation studies and the application of research results |
2 |
Satisfy the need of a large number of Master's holders in the field to pursue a doctorate degree, especially those whose work, financial or social circumstances do not permit them to join a fulltime doctorate program in the field overseas. |
- Use own knowledge and expertise to create solutions for problems in Linguistics and Translation |
3 |
Contribute to a better understanding of present issues relevant to the fields of Linguistics and Translation through more accurate comparisons and contrasts of linguistic and cultural phenomena. |
- Utilize professional and technological tools in linguistic and translation research and apply the same in communication, research, practice and pedagogy
- Use own knowledge and expertise to create solutions for problems in Linguistics and Translation
- Communicate information related to his/her field of study to both specialists and laymen |
4 |
Empower students to conduct research using advanced methods, techniques and technologies in linguistics and translation. |
- Design and execute original research in a specific area in Linguistics or translation, using appropriate research methodology
- Utilize professional and technological tools in linguistic and translation research and apply the same in communication, research, practice and pedagogy
- Gather and analyze large amounts of linguistic data on a selected research topic
- Analyze academic, professional and research ethical problems relevant to linguistic and translation studies and the application of research results |
Alignment of Program Learning Outcomes to QF Emirates
NQF Emirates Strand |
Program Learning Outcomes |
Knowledge |
- Utilize professional and technological tools in linguistic and translation research and apply the same in communication, research, practice and pedagogy
- Use own knowledge and expertise to create solutions for problems in Linguistics and Translation
- Effectively and creatively apply theoretical knowledge in research, pedagogy and training |
Skill |
- Utilize professional and technological tools in linguistic and translation research and apply the same in communication, research, practice and pedagogy.
- Gather and analyze large amounts of linguistic data on a selected research topic
- Communicate information related to his/her field of study to both specialists and laymen.
- Analyze academic, professional and research ethical problems relevant to linguistic and translation studies and the application of research results |
Autonomy and responsibility |
- Design and execute original research in a specific area in Linguistics or translation, using appropriate research methodology.
- Utilize professional and technological tools in linguistic and translation research and apply the same in communication, research, practice and pedagogy
- Effectively and creatively apply theoretical knowledge in research, pedagogy and training
- Communicate information related to his/her field of study to both specialists and laymen
- Analyze academic, professional and research ethical problems relevant to linguistic and translation studies and the application of research results |
Role in context |
- Utilize professional and technological tools in linguistic and translation research and apply the same in communication, research, practice and pedagogy
- Apply linguistic knowledge and skills in academic settings and other work contexts such as language teaching, language consultancy and translation
- Analyze academic, professional and research ethical problems relevant to linguistic and translation studies and the application of research results |
Self-development |
- Communicate information related to his/her field of study to both specialists and laymen
- Utilize professional and technological tools in linguistic and translation research and apply the same in communication, research, practice and pedagogy
- Apply linguistic knowledge and skills in academic settings and other work contexts such as language teaching, language consultancy and translation |
Special Admission Requirements
In accordance with the university requirements for graduate degrees, the PhD Committee grants regular enrollment for applicants to the PhD program who satisfy the following academic qualifications and criteria:
- The applicant must have a Master's degree in English Language and Literature (or a closely-related field) from a recognized college or university with an overall Master's grade point average of 3.00 (out of 4.0) or higher.
- Regarding the Policies for Awarding Transfer Credit Hours, please refer to Section 3.1.6
- Candidates are required to demonstrate English language proficiency by obtaining: A minimum of 550 on the Institutional TOEFL (administered at the University of Sharjah) or its equivalent on the iBT or CBT; or 6 on the academic IELTS. Students may be admitted conditionally if they obtain 530-549 on TOEFL provided that they enroll in an English language course and receive a TOFEL score of 550 by the end of their first semester of study. Students who do not meet these two conditions will be dismissed from the program.
Program StructureThe PhD Program in Linguistics and Translation consists of 48 credit hours distributed as follows:
Program Structure |
Cr. Hrs. |
Compulsory courses |
12 credits |
Electives
|
9 credits |
Dissertation |
24 credits |
Total |
45 credits |
Course ListCompulsory Courses:
No. |
Course No. |
Course Title |
Credit hours |
Type |
1. |
0202710 |
Contrastive Textology |
3 |
Compulsory |
2. |
0202711 |
Critical Discourse Analysis |
3 |
Compulsory |
3. |
0202720 |
Current Trends in Translation |
3 |
Compulsory |
4. |
0202722 |
Translation and Technology |
3 |
Compulsory |
5. |
0202727 |
Dissertation |
24 |
Compulsory |
Elective Courses (9 credit hours):
No. |
Course No. |
Course Title |
Credit hours |
Type |
1. |
0202712 |
Research Methodology |
3 |
Elective |
2. |
0202713
|
Semantics and Pragmatics |
3 |
Elective |
3. |
0202714 |
Advanced English Syntax |
3 |
Elective |
4. |
0202725 |
Seminar in Translation/Linguistics |
3 |
Elective |
5. |
0202726 |
Stylistics and Translation |
3 |
Elective |
6. |
0202729 |
Corpus Linguistics |
3 |
Elective |
Course Description
0202710 Contrastive Textology 3.0
This course builds on the MA course titled Contrastive Linguistics (0202541) and moves students beyond the contents of that course. It basically focuses on topics such as genre analysis (which is determined by three categories: field, tenor and mode), relevance of genre analysis to translation studies, text categorizations according to Werlich (1976/1983), de Beaugrande and Dressler (1981) and Hatim (1984), text structure and texture, managing and monitoring in translation, Speech Act theory and its relevance to translation studies, standards of textuality, types of parallel corpora, and their applications into translation studies.
0202711 Critical Discourse Analysis 3.0
Critical discourse analysis is a compulsory course that aims at enabling students to examine how writers produce texts and how these texts may be received and interpreted by a wider audience. CDA views translation as a social act that aims at answering questions such as: who is translating for whom? What is being translated and when? What are the effects on the receiving culture or audience? The selection of grammatical structures, lexical items, verbs, pronouns as well as nouns in producing a text plays an important role in analyzing the text and uncovering the hidden beliefs and ideologies of the text producer. This course includes topics such as: discourse organization, pragmatic functions of linguistic elements, systemic functional linguistics, thematic organization, power, and dominance and how these concepts are represented in texts and speeches. Students will also be acquainted with how to critically analyze speeches and texts, especially political texts, in order to identify the producer's underlying ideologies, attitudes, emotions and feelings, which are not always explicitly stated, towards an event, a group of people, or any phenomenon. Identifying such notions is essential for properly rendering them from a source language into a target one.
0202713 Semantics and Pragmatics 3.0
This course discusses, on the one hand, advanced topics in word and sentence meaning (i.e., lexical relations; derivational relations; entailment; presupposition; tense; aspect; modality; evidentially; thematic roles; deixis; context; reference; inference; and speech acts); and, on the other, theoretical approaches to semantics such as componential analysis; generative semantics; formal semantics; cognitive semantics; and computational semantics, and to pragmatics such as Austin's; Searle's; Grice's; and Leech's.
0202714 Advanced English Syntax 3.0
This course explores in depth the structures of Arabic and English clauses and sentences in order to address a range of currently open theoretical questions and to introduce the main schools of contemporary syntactic theorizing, including derivational theories such as minimalism, and lexicalist models such as functional grammar. The course focuses on syntactic description and argumentation, and students will be introduced to a variety of syntactic structures onto which they will apply theory.
0202715 Corpus Linguistics 3.0
Corpus Linguistics is a methodology used to investigate linguistic phenomena. It involves use of computational tools over large, electronic, annotated text collections or corpora. This course provides a general introduction to corpus-based language study. Students will be introduced to: (i) some basic techniques in corpus analysis; (ii) principles in the design, categorization, and coding of corpora; (iii) and some applications of Corpus Linguistics. The course requires use of computers on a weekly basis.
0202716 Paper 1 3.0
This is a directed reading course on a special topic that culminates in a publishable research article. It involves specialized research by qualified students under the direction of a faculty member who shares the same research interest. Permission of the professor who will supervise the student's work is required. Prerequisite to the course is the successful completion of 12 credit hours of PhD courses.
0202720 Current Trends in Translation Studies 3.0
The objective of this course is to encourage and promote research and scholarship in translation; it introduces students to a wide range of topics and issues related to translation including: history of translation theory; translation strategies; cognitive scientific approaches to translation and interpreting; translation and technology; bilingual (English-Arabic) reference corpora for translators and translation studies; cross-linguistic and cross-cultural impact of translation; translation and taboo; ideology in translation; text analysis and translation; translation quality assessment; genre translation; multimedia translation; translator training; translation ethics; the translation profession.
0202721 Paper 2 3.0
This is a directed reading course on a special topic that culminates in a publishable research article. It involves specialized research by qualified students under the direction of a faculty member who shares the same research interest. Permission of the professor who will supervise the student's work is required. Prerequisite to the course is the successful completion of 0202716.
0202722 Translation and Technology 3.0
The focus of this course is on critical appreciation of Machine Translation, Computer-Assisted Translation, Software Localization, and the workflow of translation project management. It studies a sample of machine translation systems, translation memory, terminology extraction, and project management. Students shall be trained on the process of translation with technology, the use of cloud computing, editors, termbases, interactive translation, corpus construction, and on such technologies as Google Translate, Tarjem, Google as a Corpus, Trados Translator's Workbench, and Sketchengine parallel corpora.
0202725 Seminar in Translation/ Linguistics 3.0
This is a seminar that addresses a topic of a general interest to students. The topic can be related to translation or linguistics. It could cover topics as diverse as the new developments in linguistics and their impact on translation, challenges of translation teaching in Arab universities, central texts in Arabic translation, Arabization of linguistic terminology, translation ethics, ideology, loss and gain in translation and sociocultural issues in community translation. The topics of the special seminar change frequently to reflect the interests of the participants and course instructors. Students will be allowed to take this course more than once, depending on their needs and/ or interest.
0202726 Stylistics and Translation 3.0
This course aims to integrate concepts in stylistics and to explore their applicability to translation criticism and practice. It focuses on differing features and aspects of style in a range of texts, both literary and non-literary, and aims to equip students to cope better with such problems in translation and construct new strategies for dealing with such problems, as well as generating translations in light of stylistics.
0202727 Dissertation 24.0
The student must complete an independent scientific research under the supervision of a faculty member. The thesis work should provide the student with in-depth understanding of a research problem in his/her chosen field of Linguistics or Translation. The student should apply scientific research methodology in identifying problems, performing extensive literature review, designing and implementing an original solution that contributes to current research in the area, conducting experiments and/or providing theoretical proofs, writing reports, and presenting the solution.