A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Translation (Option Interpreting) Johannesburg, 2017 / The aim of this research project is to examine the feasibility of using technology such as email and YouTube in pre-assessing potential interpreting students. This research project investigates existing pre-assessment methods and proposes a method for online interpreter pre-assessment. Pre-assessment for candidate interpreters is essential, but no standard or universal pre-assessment test exists. Scholars agree on several aspects that should be tested for, yet institutions providing interpreter training conduct pre-assessment tests differently. Generally, pre-assessment testing involves a jury or panel interviewing the potential student and observing him/her perform interpreting-related tasks. Pre-assessment by jury assessment presents several logistical and financial challenges for the institution conducting pre-assessment as well as the potential student. In poor regions such as Africa, this could prevent potentially viable interpreting students from attending pre-assessment tests. This research project investigates current pre-assessment practices in order to determine the skills generally tested for in pre-assessment tests, as well as the methods used for assessing these skills. Based on this investigation, an online delivery method is developed and evaluated in order to determine the extent to which online pre-assessment could be used as an alternative to using a jury for pre-assessment testing. Wits Language School in Johannesburg, South Africa is used as a pilot study for online interpreter pre-assessment: Interpreting students who applied for study, were given the option of online pre-assessment. After the pre-assessment, students attended a course in interpreting and their performance in the pre-assessment test was compared with their performance in the examination for the course. These results along with interviews and questionnaires provide useful information regarding the feasibility of online interpreter pre-assessment. / MT 2018

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Translation, (interpreting option) Johannesburg, 2016 / In any specialized field,the practioners of an art or science tend to develop norms that govern their practice.Such norms are developed in certain contexts and thereafter professionals operating in different spaces try to adapt them in their practice. Given the differences in socioeconomic and cultural contexts, in different geographical spaces it may be difficult to take norms developed in a particular context in their original form and superpose their use in another context. Institutional conference interpreting norms provide one such example. Institutional norms in East African Institutions tend to influence the way interpreting is done in East African institutions and these norms seem very different from “established/ international” norms.The overall aim of this research is to study the geopolitics of interpreting by examining the differences in interpreting norms in different geopolitical spaces and to consider whether (East) Africa is a special geopolitical space in this context and if so,what the particularities are.This study particularly uses the perceptions of practising interpreters in order to establish whether the current work environment proposed in these institutions requires any improvement. The study reveals that (East)Africa is a different geopolitical space with its own particularities and hence the answer to the questions as to whether AIIC norms and standards are inclusive and whether they take into account the needs and interests of all interpreters in the world today, is negative. At least with regards to (East) Africa, AIIC still has a lot to do for its impact to be felt and also in terms of taking into account the needs and interests of all interpreters. / MT2018

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of English

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of English

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of English

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of English

Thesis (M. Tech.) -- Central University of Technology, Free State, 2007

Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the Master’s Degree in Technology: Language Practice, Department of Media, Language and Communication, Durban University of Technology. Durban. South Africa, 2015. / The study focuses on the interpreting services provided during consultations in the medical setting. It looks broadly at the communication deficiencies created by the difference in the languages spoken by both medical practitioners and patients during consultations. Several times, the researcher’s personal experience has shown that isiZulu speaking patients are frequently consulted by English speaking doctors whenever they visit medical institutions. Consequently, as a result of this situation, these isiZulu speaking patients with limited English proficiency find it difficult to fully express all their medical conditions to the English speaking doctors and vice versa due to the existing language barriers. These language barriers are most likely to give rise to inferior medical assistance to isiZulu speaking patients. Furthermore, the nurses find themselves being ad hoc interpreters in this regard based on the assumption that they are bilingual. However, their linguistic and interpreting ability are not considered. The study therefore investigates the possible shortcomings and also looks at the implications most likely to occur as a result of reluctance to provide professional medical interpreting services. The data is collected from medical practitioners (doctors and nurses) and patients. From the results obtained, the researcher suggests possible recommendations in order to address the identified shortcomings. Lolu cwaningo lumayelana nokutolika ezikhungweni zezempilo. Lugxile ekubhekeni izinkinga zokuxhumna ngokolimi ngenxa yokwehluka kwezilimi ezikhulunywa abasebenzi bezempilo kanye neziguli uma zize ezikhungweni zezempilo. Umcwaningi usebone izikhawu eziningi ukuthi uma iziguli ezikhuluma ulimi lwesiZulu ziya ezikhungweni zezempilo zivame ukusizwa odokotela abakhuluma isiNgisi. Ngenxa yalesi simo , iziguli ezingasazi kahle isiNgisi ziyehluleka ukuchazela odokotela ngokuphelele izinkinga zazo zezempilo, kanjanlo nodokotela bayehluleka ukuxhumana kahle nazo. Lezi zinkinga zokuxhumana, zingaba nomthelela omubi wokuthi iziguli ezikhuluma isiZulu zingatholi usizo olugculisayo lwezempilo. Ngenxa yalesi simo, abahlengikazi bagcina bezithola sebengotolika ngenxa yokuthi kucatshangelwa ukuthi bayakwazi ukukhuluma izilimi zombili. Akube kusabhekwa ukuthi bazazi kangakanani izilimi lezo kanye nokuthi bayakwazi yini ukutolika. Ucwaningo lubheka izingqinamba ezikhona kanye nezingenzeka ngenxa yokungahlinzekwa ngokutolika okusezingeni elifanele ezikhungweni zezempilo futhi kungahlinzekwa abantu abaqeqeshiwe. Imininingwane yokwenza lolu cwaningo iqoqwe kubasebenzi bezempilo (odokotela kanye nabahlengikazi) kanye neziguli. Umcwaningi ube esenza izincomo ezingasiza ukuqeda izinkinga ezitholakele emuva kokuba esethole imiphumela.

Translation teaching touches upon many issues that demand investigation and discussion in detail. This thesis examines the teaching of translation at undergraduate level in Saudi Arabia through a study of the programmes in language and translation being offered by some Saudi Universities. Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University is taken as an example. The aim is to identify some of the problems inherent in translation teaching to suggest strategies for improvement of these programmes. The following approach was adopted: (a) a thorough study of the existing programme, (b) two questionnaires personally administered to the teachers and students and ( c) identification of the main translation problems by analysing more than 1500 translations produced by the students from nine source texts. The thesis consists of six chapters, the first of which is an introduction. The second chapter is devoted to reviewing some related literature on aspects of translation teaching, such as university training, the ideal translator, the ideal translation teacher, the curriculum content of a translation teaching programme and an overview of translation teaching models. The third chapter is a study of the existing programme at Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University. The opinions of teachers and students on the programme at the University are analysed in Chapter four. Chapter five discusses the main problems revealed by the students' translations of the given texts, including: (I) comprehension problems of words, phrases, idioms and fixed expressions, and sentences, (2) problems of rendering at the lexical, syntactic, discourse and stylistic levels, and (3) problems related to reproducing and re-expressing texts in Arabic. Chapter six deals with suggestions and recommendations and concludes the study.

Thesis (MPhil (Afrikaans and Dutch))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / In this study the role of culture in magazine translation in South Africa is investigated. This research is done against the backdrop of the ‘cultural turn’ in translation studies that started in the 1980’s. Culture is now regarded as one of the most important elements in translation and therefore the culture of the target text readers should be taken into account during the translation process. The cultural turn consists of two main elements, namely descriptive translation studies and the functionalist approach. The core element of descriptive translation studies is ‘norms’. In this study the norms of Toury and Chesterman are discussed in a literature study and then they are applied to magazine translation. In the light of a practical investigation it became clear that these norms play a vital role in the production of translated magazines. One of the most important aspects of the functionalist approach is the way in which the various role players in the translation process influence target texts. This study focuses on the role that initiators, translators and readers play in the production of translated magazines. Initiators are responsible for choosing texts to be translated. They also provide translators with guidelines for the translation process. It became evident that ‘ideal’ magazine translators should have sound language skills, cultural knowledge and research skills. They should also have an ‘ethical code’ according to which they translate. The readers of translated magazines have a huge influence on the production of such magazines. They play an important role in the choice of articles, advertisements, et cetera that appear in magazines. They also influence translators’ choices on micro level.