Translator training in the Arab world: are curricula aligned with the language industry?

ABSTRACT

Translator training programmes have been increasingly challenged to explicitly identify the link between their curricula and the market that their graduates will, potentially, be serving. The Arab world nowadays hosts a number of translator training programmes in several countries. Nevertheless, the priorities of these academic programmes and their course offerings are not always aligned with the realities of the profession both at the local and global levels. The aim of this paper is to survey translator training programmes that exist in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region by examining the specificities of their curricula and the markets they serve. The paper intends to identify the profile(s) of the translator that these curricula are attempting to shape in comparison with the expectations of regional translation markets. To that purpose, the paper analyses translation job descriptions published in the MENA region in order to compile data pertaining to the needs, tasks and qualifications sought. These data are compared with the curricula and course descriptions of different translator training programmes in the region. Our analysis can then serve as useful input for on-going optimisation of translator training curricula in the MENA region.

KEYWORDS:

• Translator training
• language industry
• MENA region
• translation competences
• translation curriculum
• employability

Acknowledgment

We are immensely grateful to Dr. Brian Baer, Dr. Judy Wakabayashi and Dr. Kelly Washbourne for their comments on earlier versions of the manuscript which improved it significantly. We would also like to extend our gratitude to the anonymous reviewers. Any faults and shortcomings are, of course, our very own.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. See Appendix 2 where the data from the curricula and job descriptions were mapped onto the five translation competences.

2. There are 161 theory-oriented courses and 60 translation practice courses offered in the MENA region undergraduate translator training programmes.

3. There are 153 theory-oriented courses and 123 translation practice courses offered in the MENA region undergraduate translator training programmes.