Towards the Ideal University Translation Curriculum - Survey input desired
Thread poster: Drew MacFadyen
Drew MacFadyen
Drew MacFadyen  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 06:18
Spanish to English
+ ...
Sep 11, 2019

To celebrate International Translation Day 2019, ProZ.com will feature a session entitled "Bridging the Gap: How Translation Schools Can Produce Industry-Ready Translators." To enhance the presenter team's understanding of this matter, we're asking for opinions on various aspects of translation curricula.

If interested in providing input, please complete the short survey (less than 10
... See more
To celebrate International Translation Day 2019, ProZ.com will feature a session entitled "Bridging the Gap: How Translation Schools Can Produce Industry-Ready Translators." To enhance the presenter team's understanding of this matter, we're asking for opinions on various aspects of translation curricula.

If interested in providing input, please complete the short survey (less than 10 minutes) at - http://proz.me/BridgeGap

ProZ.com's 2019 International Translation Day event October 1-3rd is FREE to attend. View the full program at - https://www.proz.com/tv/ITD2019

Regards,

Drew
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Maxi Schwarz
Maxi Schwarz  Identity Verified
Local time: 05:18
German to English
+ ...
in any particular country? Sep 14, 2019

Programs differ in different parts of the world. For example, I understand from my US colleagues that over there, translation is a postgraduate degree. Over here it is a four year program straight from high school. Even the word "university" may be problematic, because I think in the US you call "college" what we call university, and "community college" what we call "college".

Is this presentation focusing on translation education in a particular country? (I'm guessing the US).


 
Anton Konashenok
Anton Konashenok  Identity Verified
Czech Republic
Local time: 11:18
French to English
+ ...
I am not even sure it is possible Sep 14, 2019

There are translation curricula available, but I think translation is one of the fields where the best professionals are mostly self-taught or taught informally (another example of such a field is IT). I see two main reasons: firstly, it's a field where professional mastery is largely dependent on one's mindset formed long before college; secondly, there is no professionalism in translation without a good knowledge of the subject field(s). In other words, given the right mindset, a degree in the... See more
There are translation curricula available, but I think translation is one of the fields where the best professionals are mostly self-taught or taught informally (another example of such a field is IT). I see two main reasons: firstly, it's a field where professional mastery is largely dependent on one's mindset formed long before college; secondly, there is no professionalism in translation without a good knowledge of the subject field(s). In other words, given the right mindset, a degree in the subject field (e.g. engineering, medicine, law, whatever) + an add-on course/books/mentoring in translation will produce a much better translator in that subject field than a degree in translation + an add-on course/books/mentoring in the subject field. In 34 years of translation work, I've seen plenty of both, and the former ones have always outperformed the latter.

[Edited at 2019-09-14 15:18 GMT]
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Jorge Payan
 


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Towards the Ideal University Translation Curriculum - Survey input desired






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