As an institution of higher education, the University of Sharjah seeks to provide continuous and specialized education which aims at training human resources that are both capable of contributing to the sustained development of the country and enhancing its links with an ever-changing world. The Department of Foreign Languages, being keenly aware of these objectives, realizes that, in a world undergoing an irreversible process of globalization, there is a growing need for people who are in full command of the language that this process requires. Such people will need to be abreast of the latest developments in the world arena, to transfer the knowledge the country needs in the various fields of human endeavor, and to convey an accurate picture of the progress the country is undergoing in its own attempt to be in the forefront of developing nations. The overall mission of the MA. in Translation Program in the Department of Foreign Languages is to serve the needs of the community in the fields of education, communication, business and diplomacy. Young men and women graduating with a Master’s Degree from the Department are expected to competently fill key positions in these fields and to contribute to the ongoing process of modernization and development in the United Arab Emirates.
Program Objectives
• To provide students with the basic theoretical principles of the major approaches to translation.
• To acquaint students with the characteristic discourse features of various Arabic and English text types (legal, business, journalistic, political, religious, scientific, etc.) and to give them intensive training in translating these texts.
• To promote students' awareness of the (a) relationship between culture and translation, (b) cross-cultural differences and similarities between English and Arabic and, (c) translation traditions and trends characteristic of the two languages.
• To promote the transfer of Arab and Islamic culture to English -speaking countries.
• To turn out graduates who are reasonably qualified to serve the needs of both the private and public sectors.
• To acquaint students with the principles of consecutive interpretation of political speeches and interviews from and into Arabic.
• To develop students' research skills in the areas of translation, machine translation, contrastive linguistics, and lexicography.
• To equip students with transferable skills, particularly critical thinking and problem solving.
• To prepare students interested in further research to pursue their Ph.D. studies in translation.
Candidates are expected to complete the degree requirements in a minimum period of three semesters and a maximum of eight. The course requirements consist of compulsory courses (13 CR), elective courses (12 CR) and a dissertation (9 CR) totaling 34 credits. These 34 credits are divided as follows:
| Requirements |
Credits
|
Department Requirements (DR/C)
|
13 |
| Department Requirements (DR/E) |
12 |
| Thesis |
9 |
| Total credits |
34
|
A Master’s Degree in Translation is awarded upon the successful completion of 34 credits divided into two sets of courses and a dissertation:
Compulsory Core Courses
(The student must take the following five courses, totaling 13 credits)
| DEPARTMENT REQUIREMENTS / COMPULSORY (DR/C) |
|
|
|
|
Course No.
|
Course Title |
Cr. Hrs |
Prerequisite |
Semester |
| 0202540 |
Translation Theory |
3
|
|
1
|
| 0202541 |
Contrastive Linguistics |
3 |
|
1 |
| 0202542 |
Research Methodology |
1
|
|
1 |
| 0202543 |
Translation of Arabic and English Texts I |
3 |
0202540, 0202541, 0202542 |
2 |
| 0202544 |
Linguistics and Translation |
3 |
0202540, 0202541, 0202542 |
2
|
Elective Courses
The student will choose four courses, totaling 12 credits from this list:
| DEPARTMENT REQUIREMENTS / ELECTIVES (DR/E) |
|
|
|
Course No.
|
Course Title |
Cr. Hrs. |
Prerequisite |
| 0202545 |
Legal Translation |
3 |
0202540, 0202541, 0202542 |
| 0202546 |
Mass Media Translation
|
3 |
0202540, 0202541, 0202542 |
| 0202547 |
The Cultural Trend in Translation Studies |
3 |
0202540, 0202541, 0202542 |
| 0202548 |
Scientific and Technical Translation |
3 |
0202540, 0202541, 0202542 |
| 0202640 |
Translation Criticism |
3 |
0202540, 0202541, 0202542 |
| 0202641 |
Translation of Religious Texts |
3 |
0202540, 0202541, 0202542 |
| 0202642 |
Literary Translation |
3 |
0202540, 0202541, 0202542 |
| 0202643 |
Machine-Aided Translation |
3 |
0202540, 0202541, 0202542 |
| 0202644 |
Lexicology and Lexicography |
3 |
0202540, 0202541, 0202542 |
| 0202645 |
Consecutive Interpreting |
3 |
0202540, 0202541, 0202542 |
| 0202646 |
Translation of Arabic and English Texts II |
3 |
0202540, 0202541, 0202542 |
| 0202647 |
Business Translation |
3 |
0202540, 0202541, 0202542 |
| 0202648 |
Translation of Political Speeches &Texts |
3 |
0202540, 0202541, 0202542
|
Dissertation/ Master's Thesis:
0202690 Dissertation (9 credits) after the successful completion of 12 credit hours, inclusive of the compulsory courses.
| 0202540 | Translation Theory (Compulsory) | 3 |
| This course provides an overview of principles and objectives of the translation theory, outlines the various perspectives different scholars have used to develop this theory, and applies approaches to translation as a communicative event and as information processing. |
| 0202541 | Contrastive Linguistics (Compulsory) | 3 |
| This course aims at developing awareness of the differences between English and Arabic at the morphological, syntactic, textual, stylistic and pragmatic levels in order to maximize knowledge of the SL and the TL |
| 0202542 | Research Methodology (Compulsory) | 1 |
| This course teaches research techniques, namely the essential stages in preparing research and determining terms of reference, conducting literature review, evaluating of published work, using appropriate methods for data collection and analysis, and writing up a research project. |
| 0202543 | Translation of Arabic and English Texts I (Compulsory) | 3 |
| This course provides practical training in translation from a wide range of text types including literary, scientific, mass media, religious topics, etc. from Arabic and English. It is intended to enable students to apply and consolidate the principles and techniques they learned in their theoretical courses. |
| 0202544 | Linguistics and Translation (Compulsory) | 3 |
| This course introduces students to linguistic notions which have immediate bearing on translation; topics include semantics, stylistics, discourse analysis and pragmatics. |
| 0202545 | Legal Translation (Elective) | 3 |
| Familiarizes the student with legal terminology, sentence structure, rhetorical features and style of a variety of legal texts such as contracts, agreements, laws, memoranda of association, articles of association, promissory notes, leases, organizational by-laws, etc. Focus is placed on accuracy and suitability of style. |
| 0202546 | Mass Media Translation (Elective) | 3 |
| Mass Media Translation introduces a variety of translation modes that relate to print and non-print media, namely newspapers, magazines, film, radio and television; topics include translation of editorials, news items and newscasts, film scripts and sound tracks. |
| 0202547 | The Cultural Trend in Translation Studies (Elective) | 0 |
| This course deals with the translator's visibility, translation and gender, translating sensitive texts, translation norms, translation and post-colonialism, and the Arab tradition in translation |
| 0202548 | Scientific and Technical Translation (Elective) | 3 |
| This course develops competence and skills in translating a variety of scientific and technical text types, focusing on technical terminology, rhetorical organization and use of specialized dictionaries. |
| 0202640 | Translation Criticism (Compulsory) | 3 |
| This course aims at developing the student's ability to apply systematic criteria in order to assess translated texts and in turn to make informed decisions in the process of translation. |
| 0202641 | Translation of Religious Texts (Elective) | 3 |
| This course introduces students to techniques of translating religious texts through identifying special problems and tackling them. |
| 0202642 | Literary Translation (Elective) | 3 |
| This course enhances students' awareness of literary language and provides practice in translating a variety of literary genres, namely poetry, short stories, novels and drama; focus is on analysis, interpretation, assessment and criticism. |
| 0202643 | Machine-aided Translation (Elective) | 3 |
| This course provides an overview of the use of computers in translation and the practical and theoretical problems encountered. Central issues include machine translation and its limitation, machine-aided translation, terminology banks, translator workstations, online dictionaries, language corpora |
| 0202644 | Lexicology and Lexicography (Elective) | 3 |
| This course acquaints students with vocabulary as a science, studying its development, meaning, form and changes as well as aspects of dictionary compilation. |
| 0202645 | Principles of Consecutive Interpreting (Elective) | 3 |
| Focuses on the identification of discourse structures, the recognition of propositions and main ideas, paraphrasing and re-expression, and refines note-taking techniques. |
| 0202646 | Translation of Arabic and English Texts II (Elective) | 9 |
| This course builds on 0202543 Translation of Arabic and English Texts I. It expands on topics and notions discussed in that course with the purpose of providing students with in-depth understanding. |
| 0202647 | Business Translation (Elective) | 3 |
| Introduces students to terminology, types and styles of banking, financial, insurance and economic texts; the course also trains them to operate with multinational companies in a global marketplace and sensitizes them to cultural differences in the business environments. |
| 0202648 | Translation of Political Speeches and Texts (Elective) | 3 |
| Concentrates on official political oratory form and familiarizes students with the language of political discourse; special attention is paid to nuance and tone. |
| 0202690 | Dissertation / Master's Thesis | 9 |
An independent research project of 15,000 words carried out under the supervision of a Department faculty member on any of the following topics:
1. An Essay on translation theory.
2. A translation into English or Arabic with comments on problems and proposed solutions.
3. A detailed critique of a published translation.
4. A comparison of two or more translations of one and the same text.
5. An empirical investigation of a conference interpreting phenomenon. |
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