Course in translation and interpreting

The Faculty of Arts has just launched a two-year part-time Post-graduate Diploma in Translation and Interpreting. The Languages Departments and the Institute of Linguistics have felt the need to provide a diploma course leading to translation and interpreting studies to post-graduate students who now will have an opportunity to specialise in an area which is in demand not only in Malta but also in the EU. Over 80 students have applied and qualified for the course.

The students enrolled for the course were addressed by the course director, Professor J. Eynaud, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Professor Dominic Fenech, the Rector, Professor Roger Ellul Micallef, and by Joris Goetschalcks, head of the EU's Translation Field Office, who stressed the need to have Maltese professional translators and interpreters now that Maltese has become an official language of the EU.

In the next three years over 300 translators and interpreters could be recruited for the European Commission in Brussels and the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

The mission statement of the diploma, according to Professor Eynaud is that, within the framework of the EU's drive for the promotion of knowledge through wider access to specialist education, the course is designed to equip young graduates with the professional skills and knowledge required for translation and interpreting. It seeks to meet the demand for highly qualified translators and conference interpreters in view of the expansion of the Union and of the Union's increasing dialogue with its non-European partners.

The aim is to introduce a distinctive and intellectually challenging post-graduate course that is a specific response to the needs of the market; will link the development of expertise in practical advanced translation skills with the critical discussion of theoretical aspects of translation and interpreting, to enable the participants to bring a critical awareness and reflection to their work; will provide an academic qualification for those intending to become professional translators and interpreters, for example, in translation agencies or in a freelance capacity.

The learning outcomes of the course are to train language specialists (new graduates as well as mature and experienced students) to a professional level in translation and interpreting; familiarise graduates with up-to-date information and terminology both in the foreign language and the mother tongue in relation to the various specialised fields covered by the course; give insights at the practical level into the various aspects of a career in professional translation and, at the academic level, into the actual process of translation and interpreting.

This intensive course is designed to correspond to 60 credits (i.e. the equivalent of two years of part-time study) under the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). The course will normally offer no fewer than 400 class contact hours, of which a minimum of 75 per cent will be devoted to interpreting practice.

In addition, students will be expected to devote time to group practice of simultaneous and consecutive interpreting and other self-directed learning (i.e. background reading; use of information sources such as radio, TV, Internet and preparation of glossaries). Practising and experienced conference interpreters from foreign universities and institutions will conduct interpreting sessions.

To be eligible for admission to the programme candidates must hold a recognised university degree in any subject; have an excellent command of their mother tongue (target language) over a wide range of topics, have an in-depth knowledge of their working languages; have a good overall knowledge of international affairs and be well-informed of the economic, social and cultural background of the countries in which their working languages are used.

In addition, candidates will be expected to have good powers of concentration, analysis and synthesis, good communication skills, a high degree of motivation, the ability to work under pressure and a readiness to accept advice. The student's target language will be either Maltese or English, while the working languages offered are Arabic, English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.

The Faculty will organise joint intensive programmes bringing together students and staff of different partner institutions.