TranslationPG Dip

Placement for Employability Skills

This is a designate module, offered to FT students and 2nd-year PT students.

An innovative module combining work-based learning and research in the professional environment. You will be introduced to real-life translation situations and undertake a short period of professional activity either: work placement; not-for-profit sector volunteering as a translator or a professional/employer led project.

The module aims to enable you to express and understand your current skills and abilities in relation to your career values and goals. You will also apply the knowledge gained through the course programme to inclusive and diverse work-related environments. In addition, you will have the opportunity to recognise your personal and professional development through your work-based practice and how to apply the experience and knowledge gained to your future goals.

Furthermore, there will be opportunities for research the translator’s professional environment and increase your network and establish links with potential employers. There will also be opportunities for experiential learning.
The module is designed to enhance students’ personal and professional development and assist in preparing students for their future careers.

If there are no sufficient student numbers o makea module viable , the school reserves the right to cancel such a module. If the School cancels a module it will use its reasonable endeavours to provide a suitable alternative

The Translator and the Specialised Text

You will translate specialised texts in different domains of low level of specialisation in a variety of fields, registers and styles, with emphasis on producing professional translations using dedicated professional software. The topics will cover, for example, Advertising, Business, Law, Medicine, IT and Politics.

You will be trained to translate specialised material into your native language by identiftying and analysing manisfestations of culture and discern culural complexitites; as well as cultural norms and describe how these affect your translation choices.

If there are no sufficient student numbers o makea module viable , the school reserves the right to cancel such a module. If the School cancels a module it will use its reasonable endeavours to provide a suitable alternative.

The Translator and the Translation Process

The module aims to introduce you to the main translation concepts and foster your awareness and understanding of the translation process, in the light of relevant theoretical work. It also aims to cultivate your ability to examine the translational act and use the knowledge acquired to reflect on the decision and choices made by the translator at different stages of the translation process.

You will explore translation strategies available to translators and their context of use and will develop an understanding of the challenges encountered in translation and of the relevant procedures used to solve them.

You will also acquire the necessary theoretical knowledge as well as reflective and analytical skills to discuss theoretical issues and explain their relationship to practice, using appropriate translational meta- language.

This module will also develop your ability to consider translation a multicultural and multilingual space where diversity is celebrated, and mediation is sought to enable communication and to bridge cultural and linguistic gaps.

If there are no sufficient student numbers to make a module viable, the school reserves the right to cancel such a module. If the School cancels a module it will use its reasonable endeavours to provide a suitable alternative.

Translation Tools and the Translator

This module focuses on both translation environment tools (TEnTs) that translators are likely to use in a professional environment and terminology mining which translators are likely to perform as part of their work. You will learn how to use Internet resources effectively, including their evaluation, and will employ proprietary software for professional translation and terminology management, both as standalone tools and as integrated in TEnTs. You will also be equipped with the necessary transferability skills to confidently adapt to a variety of translation tools, both desktop-based and in the cloud, the choice of which will be entirely your own based on resource availability and IT-literacy.
Semester: Autumn for full-time cohort and PG Cert students; Spring year 1 for Part-time cohort.

If there are no sufficient student numbers o makea module viable , the school reserves the right to cancel such a module. If the School cancels a module it will use its reasonable endeavours to provide a suitable alternative.

Subtitling

The module focuses on one particular audiovisual translation (AVT) mode: Subtitling.
You will be introduced to the main translation-related issues peculiar to subtitling, including methods of dealing with linguistic and non-linguistic elements within the audio-visual text, and taught the basic, transferable practical skills necessary to develop further experience in a professional subtitling environment. Theoretical and example-based instructions in the basic principles of the various issues will be coupled with practical and technically-oriented exercises relating to these principles.

The module aims to enable you to:

1. Appraise the challenges faced by the translators working with audiovisual material, namely the complex semiotic mix of linguistic and non-linguistic elements;
2. Develop practical techniques and translation strategies for dealing with these issues as appropriate to subtitled material;
3. Identify the pros and limitations of subtitling within the context of the target audience culture;
4. Appreciate the social dimension of audiovisual texts, i.e. the sociocultural context in which audiovisual programmes are produced, the extent to which these convey values, clichès and biases and how much these influence the target audiences’ perception of the world, as well as the translator’s decisions.

If there are no sufficient student numbers to make a module viable , the school reserves the right to cancel such a module. If the School cancels a module it will use its reasonable endeavours to provide a suitable alternative

Translating for International Organisations

This is an option module, which focuses on translating texts induced in institutional contexts. The module looks at specificity of texts authored by the institutions in question and provides students with an opportunity to utilise institutional resources (available online) to create target texts complying with institutional standards.

The module offers students another pathway into specialisation and therefore enhances their employability opportunities (working as a freelance or in-house translator within institutional bodies, like government agencies, international organizations, and public institutions. Institutional translation employers might be: United Nations agencies, European Union institutions, Public health organizations, Educational institutions, Human Rights agencies, etc.). By choosing this option module you will:

1. develop a comprehensive understanding of practical and theoretical aspects of translation, culture and texts from various fields pertaining to international organisations

2. enhance the skills and tools acquired in previous modules and necessary to analyse texts related to international organisations and apply the appropriate translation strategies for effective translation

3. learn to critically examine key issues in the translation of institutional texts and develop further your analytical ability to assess and reflect on translations, identify problems arising out of them and use suitable translation solutions

4. develop the ability to produce a translation following professional standards, which will allow you to compete as a translator /communicator in the context of international organisations.

If there are no sufficient student numbers to make a module viable, the school reserves the right to cancel such a module. If the School cancels a module it will use its reasonable endeavours to provide a suitable alternative.

Website and Software Localisation

This module aims to provide an advanced understanding of the unique challenges in localisation and to equip you with the practical skills necessary for a professional localisation environment, with a strong focus on current industry practices. You will explore the cultural, linguistic, and technical intricacies that differentiate products across markets, ensuring their success by adapting them to local requirements and user expectations. Additionally, you will gain insight into the modern localisation industry, including the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and cloud-based collaboration tools.

The module will provide advanced practical training in using Translation Environment Tools (TEnTs), AI-driven technologies, and other software solutions used by localisation professionals. You will also benefit from language-specific sessions with a practitioner who will guide you through group feedback sessions and individually supervised sessions, helping you prepare for the localisation project that will form part of your final assessment.
This is an elective module offered to full-time PG Cert/Dip students and year 2 part-time students.