Specialised Translation (TRAN90003)

Intended learning outcomes

On completion of this subject students should:

• be able to autonomously improve and adapt their professional skills
• have a sound understanding of the theories underpinning the specialised areas of translation
• have a sound understanding of the range of technologies used in translation
• have native speaker competence in English or Chinese and at least near-native competence in the other language, professionally enhanced through the study of translation in selected specialised fields.
• have the ability to translate to publication quality in selected specialised genres, including managing terminology, and accessing research tools
• have high level skills at negotiating the cultural and intellectual boundaries of the English- and Chinese-speaking worlds
• develop the ability to use translation technologies to enhance productivity be able to produce high quality translations that demonstrate the integration and application of theory and technical skills

Generic skills

On completion of this subjects, students will have developed the following generic skills:

• Bilingualism: Translation entails the highest possible degree of written competence in at least two languages, with an acute capacity for metalinguistic awareness, and a preparedness to continually improve.
• Intercultural understanding: Translation requires the practitioner to be deeply engaged with two cultures and to understand how to mediate between them on behalf of people who do not share both cultures.

Decision making: Translators are creative decision makers who need to draw on multiple sources of data to form judgments that are seldom clear-cut, and who are prepared to defend their decisions and to revise them when necessary.