ACADEMICS
BACHELOR OF ARTS IN TRANSLATION Course Description
ELAN 130 — INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTICS
Credits: 3 (3, 1, 0) Prerequisite: ENG 012
Students are introduced to general linguistics and its major components are studied in detail. Levels of linguistic analysis are tackled according to the following hierarchy: phonetic, phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics. Students apply what they have learned on the theoretical level to of some selected spoken and written texts.ELAN 102 ADVANCED ENGLISH GRAMMAR
Credits: 3 (3,0,0) Prerequisite: None
The course is designed to provide students with the grammar skills necessary for success in professional, academic, and social situations. The course will deepen students’ insights into English grammar and the linguistic analysis of English. The course helps students improve their ability to interpret what they read and express themselves accurately orally and in writing. It includes study of editing, active/ passive voice, verb tenses, modals and modal-like expressions, conditionals, the subjunctive, phrases, clauses, and different kinds of transitions. The course emphasizes grammatical fluency in English speech and writing.ELAN 103 CRITICAL MEDIA LITERACY
Credits: 3 (3,0,0) Prerequisite: None
This course is designed to develop your understanding of the role media plays in our lives, while building your vocabulary and language skills needed to analyze what you read and watch. You will be introduced to basic concepts in media literacy, such as its approaches and effects. You will also explore updated topics as discussed in different types of mass media, including newspapers, television and the social media. Through discussions, analysis and workshops, you will understand and critically analyze media materials with confidence.ELAN 131 — PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY
Credits: 3 (3, 1, 0) Prerequisite: ELAN 130
The main objective of this course is to introduce students to the description of the English sound system (vowels and consonants). Students are given intensive practice in the production and transcription of consonants and vowels in different positions and combinations. Features of connected speech are covered as well. Suprasegmental features of English such as stress, pitch, intonation are examined and practical exercises employed throughout the course enable them to use phonetic transcription effectively.ELAN 234 THE STUDY OF MEANING
Credits 3 (3,0,0) Prerequisite ELAN130
The first part of this course is an introduction to the study of semantics on both word and sentence level. The second part gives insights into theories of language use, particularly the part of pragmatics dealing with how people communicate more than they literally say or write.ELP 201 WRITING FOR PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
Credits: 3 (3, 0, 0) Prerequisite: ELAN 205
This course is designed to enhance students' writing communication skills in the context of workplace situations. The primary focus of the course is on wide array of office writing genres: text messages, emails, memos, brief business correspondences, reports, and formal business letters. Writing resumes, employment applications and follow-up letters are covered as well.ELAN 235 ANALYZING ENGLISH DISCOURSE
Credit 3 (3,0,0) Prerequisite: ELAN234
This course explores the ways in which language varies according to subject area, social setting, communicative purpose and the social roles and identities of those involved. It examines the workings of various forms of speaking and writing - casual conversation, interviews and interrogations, public speaking, emailing and mobile phone texting and mass media articles, to cite just some examples. Students develop skills in analyzing the properties of different texts, in characterizing the interpersonal stances adopted by speakers and writers, and in identifying and classifying the various genres or texts types which operate in particular social settings.ELAN 333 ARGUMENTATION AND DEBATE
Credits: 3 (3,0,0) Prerequisite: ELAN103
Argument, the ability to publicly make and defend claims, is a foundational cognitive, analytical, and social skill across cultures and discourse communities. In this course, students will learn and apply basic rhetorical concepts to understand the formal structure of argument and public debate. Students will learn to compose, evaluate, deliver and defend arguments (claims) in a public debate. Students can expect to complete short analytical written assignments, organize and host a public debate, take one major exam and one final exam.ELAN 308 INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Credits: 3 (3,0,0) Prerequisite: ELAN 130
The course introduces the numerous frameworks of communication across cultural lines. It aims to equip students with the necessary knowledge and background information to develop skills of efficient interaction with advanced cultural sensitivity. Inclusion, diversity, multiculturalism and universality are among the main concepts that will be thoroughly examined. Exemplary literary works of multicultural components, films or other digital material can be analyzed to instigate cross-cultural and multi-dimensional prospective to issues of identity and inclusion. The course follows an interactive format that relies on discussions, seminars and producing interactive digital products implementing the learnt concepts.ETH 361 PROFESSIONAL AND ETHICAL ISSUES
Credits: 3 (3,0,0) Prerequisite: None
This course will provide a values-based approach to ethical professionalism and provide a method of thinking about and dealing with ethical issues in the workplace. The course will provide a discussion of what a profession is and what it means to act professionally. It will include a discussion of the features of moral reasoning and provide a case resolution method for dealing with ethical issues of the workplace. The course will cover in-depth those values central to moral life of any professional: integrity, respect for others, justice, compassion, and responsibility.TRN 110 TRANSLATION THEORIES
Credits: 3 (3,0,0) Prerequisites: None
This course covers the principle and theory of translation. It covers the history of recent theoretical development in translation studies through readings from the most important texts in translation theory. It analyses the major concepts, issues and theories of translation in relation to its historical context. The course will also assist students making the connection between translation theories and practice to ensure effective use of the theories and to make an informed decision in translation activities.TRN 121 GENERAL TRANSLATION
Credits: 3 (3,0,0) Prerequisite: TRN110
This course explores a range of theoretical issues and practical problems concerning the field of translation. It also examines the far-reaching significance of translation and uses insights and practices from the translation field to help students improve their communication skills. Students will be able to explore cultural, social, aesthetic, political, economic, and ethical considerations through further readings in translation issues, through comparisons of English/Arabic translations, and through written exercises that put theory into practice using proper translation tools and resources. The skills gained in this course will also be useful in improving oral and written communication between or within cultures and languages.TRN 231 SIGHT TRANSLATION
Credits 3 (3,0,0) Prerequisite: TRN121
This course aims to develop students’ sight translation skills in order to support interpreting at the next stage of learning. The course is designed in an incremental manner in terms of text difficulty. It is intended to develop students’ interpreting skills from the basic to more advanced level. The teaching sessions are divided into two components: lectures and tutorials/workshops. Lectures provide students with the knowledge and key skills related to sight translation; tutorials/workshops are conducted for students to perform sight translation exercises, to discuss translation pitfalls and corresponding strategies, and to perform a peer review.TRN 241 COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN TRANSLATION
Credit 3 (3,0,0) Prerequisite: TRN110
To reflect and address the current inseparable nature of technologies from professional translation, this course aims to endow students with the necessary knowledge and skills needed to benefit from and use these technologies. Accordingly, students will be taught how to translate with a professional CAT tool, produce a term base, undertake text analysis with a corpus concordancer. Moreover, the course will provide students with the foundational conceptual knowledge of the history and limitations of the technological translation tools they will be taught. This will give students a better understanding on how to best utilize these tools.TRN 342 AUDIOVISUAL TRANSLATION
Credits: 3 (3,0,0) Prerequisite: TRN 241
The increased availability of audiovisual content due to social media platforms like YouTube, and the crossing of cultural domains by companies such as Netflix has increased the need for subtitling. To reflect the growing demand for audiovisual translators, this course aims to endow students with the conceptual understanding of subtitling and the technical skills to produce subtitles for diverse content. To accomplish this, students will be taught how to use Aegisub, which is an open-source subtitle editing application that can produce high quality material. In addition, the course will cover various approaches to produce and critically evaluate subtitles for a range of genres from comedy to documentaries.TRN 343 MACHINE TRANSLATION
Credits: 3 (3,0,0) Prerequisite: TRN 241
Since its early origins in the 1950s, Machine Translation (MT) has conceptually had the potential to radically alter human communication, and in this regard, the course will engage with the history and social relevance of MT. Also, the course will endow students with the knowledge of the different types of MT, and describe the sectors that MT is most applicable. In addition, the course will teach students the practical skills needed to use in MT in the realm of professional translation, which includes pre- and post-editing tasks. Students will learn how to post-edit with an open-source application, MateCat, and with a professional CAT tool that integrates MT. Furthermore, students will be introduced to the application of MT to second language learning.TRN 334 SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETING I
Credits: 3 (3,0,0) Prerequisite: TRN 333
This course is designed to lay the foundation for developing the basic skills and strategies of simultaneous interpreting. Students are introduced to the context of simultaneous interpreting and the nature of the underlying transfer process, the tools and equipment used, the code of practice, the customer and booth etiquette. Working with their language pair, they will be taught how to apply the different techniques used in simultaneous interpreting, identify problems likely to arise in this particular mode of interpreting and solve them using appropriate interpreting strategies and procedures. Students will develop skills specific to simultaneous interpreting real speeches used in different fields.TRN 435 SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETING II
Credits: 3 (3,0,0) Prerequisite: TRN 334
This course is designed to further develop and enhance the students' professional skills and strategies of simultaneous interpreting knowledge and tools. Practical and small group teaching sessions provide guidance and input in advanced interpreting skills and subject contents, enabling students to do guided practices in class and independent learning at home. The scheduled practical activities, i.e. remote simultaneous interpreting (RSI) and mock conference, enable students to prepare and perform interpreting tasks assigned to them, putting their skills to the test in simulated real-life settings. Multilingual group simulations of real-life interpreting situations will also be introduced in the course.TRN 424 LEGAL AND POLITICAL TRANSLATION
Credit: 3 (3,0,0) Prerequisite: TRN110
This course promotes students’ skills in translating legal and political texts burdened with the complexity of structure and terminology. The essential elements of legal and political writing styles are introduced for this type of formal translation work. Text types such as court decisions, contracts, and notary deeds are dealt with. On the political side, students translate text types such as editorial articles, speeches, diplomatic and international organizations' documents.TRN 428 CAPSTONE PROJECT
Credit Hours: 3(3,0,0) Prerequisite: TRN 334
This is a semester-long translation project of a written or spoken text where students are required to do one of the following translation projects: a- Translate a specialized book (or part of a specialized book) of no less than 10,000 words, b- Translate a specialized electronic content of no less than 10,000 words, or c- Translate and record a voiceover of a documentary film, the verbatim script of which should be no less than 5,000 words.TRN 427 EDITING AND PUBLISHING
Credit: 3 (3,0,0) Prerequisite: TRN121
This course focuses on the final stages of translation work covering the topics of revising, editing and publishing in electronic formats. Students are trained to revise and edit their own work, translations done by others, and machine generated translations. The course is highly interactive, including discussions, peer-editing, group work and simulations. The course also offers extensive training to students on using relevant technological tools.TRN 425 LOCALIZATION
Credit Hours: 3 (3,0,0) Prerequisite: TRN241
This course is designed to provide students with knowledge and practical training in the field of localization, including, but not limited to, the fundamentals of localization, software, website, video game and phone app localization. Students will explore the technical, commercial, linguistic and cultural implications of localization, in the process of which critical thinking problem-solving, research and technology tool skills will be applied.TRN 429 LITERARY TRANSLATION
Credit: 3 (3,0,0) Prerequisite: TRN 121
This course introduces the students to the task of literary translation. It features practical exercises on literary genres such as prose, drama, and poetry. It also deals with the literary problems posed: maintaining equivalence of meaning and form, preserving author’s creativity and stylistic features, etc.TRN 492 COOPERATIVE LEARNING
Credits: 10 Prerequisite: Departmental Approval
The aim of the course is to provide students with an opportunity to spend a specified period of time in several local and possibly international institutions and companies, and according to a suggested work plan of training. The duration of the program is 7 months and carries a 10 credit hours weight. The evaluation and supervision of the student’s performance are provided by both the hosting workplace and the relevant department.TRN 211 TRANSLATION SOLUTIONS
Credit: 3 (3,0,0) Prerequisite: TRN121
This course trains students how to use proper translation strategies to overcome linguistic and cultural problems when translating into the target language. These challenges include: international societal structural differences, grammar and sentence construction variation, inconsistencies in terminology, use of inappropriate language level, general inaccuracies and inconsistencies in translations, literal translations and related language issues. Students will also be trained how to deal with problems related to cultural terms, objects, customs, procedures and concepts.TRN 226 SUMMARY TRANSLATION
Credit: 3 (3,0,0) Prerequisite: TRN121
This course introduces students to the key skills of summary translation and their applications to various situations. Throughout the course, students will learn how to understand and assess the needs of special contexts, read through various text for the most important points then summarize and translate into the target language. Additionally, students will be able to effectively integrate the component cognitive processes of both summarization and translation of various translation tasks and make faster translation- related decisions.TRN 324 TRANSLATION FOR OFFICE COMMUNICATION
Credit: 3(3,0,0) Prerequisite: TRN110
This course is designed to provide students with knowledge and practical training in the translation of office communication documents, which include, but are not limited to, memos, meeting agendas, meeting minutes, e-mails, policies and procedures, reports, PPT presentations, advertisements and contents of websites. Students will be trained on employers’ expectations in particular basic translation skills, including accuracy of content and register appropriateness, problem-solving and critical thinking skills, communication and collaboration skills, and research and technology tools skills.TRN 335 PUBLIC SERVICE INTERPRETING