Use Your Language, Use Your English: Course for Translators

16 Jul 2012 | 3 Comments | posted by Megan Onions | in CPD, Me

Translation Course, Professional DevelopmentI have been aware of the Use Your Language, Use Your English project for some time, but I have only just got around to getting involved.  The project is run by three superior linguists and academics, Debra Kelly, Naomi Segal and Ros Schwartz, with funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

The Summer School

The project runs an annual Summer School, a 5-day event which takes place at Birbeck, University of London and consists of two 2-hour translation workshops per day and one editing course. The languages available to translate from are: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Chinese and Polish.

The Online Programme

I have registered for this in the past few days, and will be working through the French, German and editing courses. The programme is free of charge, and there 5 other translation courses, from Arabic, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish into English. Each course involves 9 specially-created exercises. This is a self-paced programme, so the participants download each text, complete the exercise and then consult the annotated model version in their own time.

The Exams

The programme also offers exams in general and specialised translation, and editing, which will qualify successful candidates to be listed in the Database for Academic Translators and Editors (DATE) – more on that next. The exams are unusual in that, once you receive the source text(s), you will have up to 3 months to complete and return your work!

DATE

The Database for Academic Translators and Editors is solely made up of linguists who have passed at least one of the project’s exams. More information about the database is to be released later this month.

Further information about Use Your Language, Use Your English can be found on the project’s website, or in this FAQ.

Are you completing any courses to enhance your source of target languages? Maybe you’re reading up on one of your specialisations. Do you have any recommendations for CPD? Do let me know in the comments section!