clt and Engineering Students Convene to Discuss Translation in the Modern World
On October 1, 2019, the English and Engineering Clubs co-hosted a comprehensive workshop entitled 'Translation: A Broad Overview Weaving Its Threads Together', delivered by Dr. Eyhab Bader Eddin, MITI, MCIL, CL. The workshop drew an audience of over 140 students in Auditorium 4, while another 100 participants tuned in live on Twitter. This event was sponsored by the Deanship of Student Affairs in collaboration with the participating student clubs.
The workshop embarked on a journey to explore the history, importance, uses, and development of translation as an interdisciplinary science, aiming to delineate the distinction between translation and interpreting, introduce sub-divisions of interpreting, and discuss their distinct characteristics. Through real-world examples of simultaneous and consecutive interpreting, Dr. Bader Eddin highlighted the challenges inherent in these practices. A spotlight was also thrown on 'ear-voice span', technically known as decalage, a remarkable yet elusive facet of simultaneous interpreting. Furthermore, the session touched upon the 'forwards' and 'backwards' orientation of translation, as described by House in 2009.
Commencing with a brief historical overview, Dr. Bader Eddin emphasized the growing prominence of translation, given the advent of advanced transportation and communication systems. He illustrated how translation reduplicates a communicative event, thereby extending its reach. "The world has considerably shrunk over the millennia, a trend that has only picked up pace in recent times,” he stated. He underscored that today's business and commercial agreements hinge significantly on effective translation. Illustratively, he referred to the translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek at Ptolemy II's behest, viewed as one of the earliest instances of translation, resulting in 'The Septuagint'.
Further, the escalating demand for specialized translation skills driven by technological progress was discussed. In the light of this, Dr. Bader Eddin listed dictionaries recommended for aspiring students and indicated the surge in demand for specialized translators in fields such as engineering.
Dr. Bader Eddin concluded his session by stressing the profound influence of heightened globalization and technological advancement on the translation field. He affirmed, "Modern translators must swiftly and accurately translate both technical jargon and idiomatic expressions into comprehensible ideas for the recipient, often in real-time if interpreted". The attendees also had the opportunity to practice translation techniques on newspaper headlines.
The Faculty of Languages and Translation remains committed to fostering translators and interpreters of exceptional caliber, aptly equipped to meet the escalating demands of multi-lingual economies. We commend the initiative of both the English and Engineering Clubs, overseen by the Deanship of Student Affairs.
The PowerPoint presentation used during the workshop is available here.
