Dubai programme aims to improve quality of translators working from English into Arabic

Translators are poring over 20 books as part of a plan to address a shortage of quality translations from English to Arabic.

DUBAI // Newly qualified translators are poring over millions of words in 20 books as part of an ambitious plan to address a shortage of quality translations from English to Arabic. "There is a distinct lack of qualified translators in the Arab world and it is a complete myth to say that those who know both Arabic and English can automatically translate between the two," said Dr Basil Hatem, a professor of translation for almost 30 years.
He laments the inadequacy of professional translators and the poor quality of many existing translations from English to Arabic. It was in response to such concerns that the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation (MBRF) developed a programme designed to train translators to a standard that was both internationally acceptable and industry-specific. The participants were trained in the latest technologies while also learning the methodologies and history behind the art of translation.
On Thursday, after 120 hours of intensive training, 20 newly qualified translators graduated from the MBRF "Turjuman" programme. By October, they will have each translated one book in the business and management field. "The aim of this programme was to improve the quality and increase the capacity of translation in the UAE and the Arab world," said Ali al Shaali, the director of publishing at the MBRF.
"We chose the area of management because we think that this is the gap that we need to fill in the Arab world ... essentially, good management solves many problems. Translation is an integral component of the integrated knowledge transfer process and qualified translators are the key guarantors of precision." Dr Hatem has spent the past few years at the American University of Sharjah, teaching courses in translation. Before that he spent 20 years teaching in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was asked by the MBRF to teach the new translators the ideology and methodology behind translation to enable them to grasp its essence before embarking on their own.
"While these people are going to translate these books, we have to open the paths for them," said Dr Hatem. "We want them to explore, to look further into translation, leaving them with the curiosity to want to know more." The problem with the current methods of translation, he said, was "that there is no methodicalness, no critical thinking, and problems just pass them by", he said. "Through this programme they have begun to look at the text in a really different way. In a critical, reflective way."
The students were aged between 25 and 45 and the length of their experience varied from five to 15 years. "From the course you begin to notice little details on the surface which turn out to be huge and these small grammatical details really make a difference to the translation," said Loubna Amer, one of the students who took part in the programme and who has spent the past five years working as a translator.
"A translator is supposed to be a mediator, conveying a message from one language to another. If he can't understand one language, how is he meant to deliver the correct message?" Throughout history, she said, "translators have played a key role, and today they are just as important". There was a need for professional translators to help others to understand the Arab world, as not enough information was currently available.
In February, the MBRF launched the "Tarjem" programme, with the ambitious aim of translating more than 1,000 books of all genres in three years. Half the books translated will be in the management-related field, a quarter will be literature and the remainder will cover all other areas, such as history, philosophy and science. The Turjuman and Tarjem initiatives will run simultaneously. "Through the Turjuman programme, we want to open the door for them, so that eventually they will be able to be independent and dedicate themselves to translation," said Dr Hatem.
"We took on these particular 20 trainees, not because translation is their profession, but because they actually enjoy it," he said. "Translation is my passion," said Ilham al Khadiri, a graduating trainee on the Turjuman programme. She has worked in the field for 10 years, having gained her BA in translation from Baghdad University in Iraq. "This course enabled us to learn new techniques, new software that we did not know before, and that will make our work much better," she said.
She voiced concern about the lack of translation in the Arab world, and the lack of support from governments and academic bodies to fund such ventures, saying that those who had managed translations had done so through individual efforts alone. "We hold such a crucial role between the different civilisations," she said. "This programme enables us to provide much better work and a much better understanding for all."
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