English Translation Summer School

Course details

Date: Monday 21 - Thursday 24 August 2023
Location: Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh Campus

Academic course coordinators

Ms Juliette Rutherford, from Heriot-Watt University's Department of Languages and Intercultural Studies.

CPD Course description

This English Translation Summer School CPD course is aimed at professional translators with at least of 3 years’ experience working from or into English.

This course aims to achieve the following objectives:

Provide an overview of current practices and trends in the post-pandemic translation market
Explore the latest trends in translation technology including CAT Tools, machine translation and terminology management
Introduce subtitling, sharing tips and tricks
Explore current practice for 2 specialised topics: medical and legal translation
Build community through sharing experience with other professionals

The course is designed as a series of workshops delivered by professional translation trainers based on a collaborative learning approach. Each day will include presentations by experienced practitioners as well as opportunities for participants to share their own practice and to work on both individual and collaborative activities.

Participants will gain an understanding of current market trends and explore new avenues that have seen rapid development in the last two years, namely the booming subtitle industry and the ever-increasing integration of Machine Translation into everyday translation workflows, as well as the two specialist areas of medical and legal translation.

CPD Course language

All classes will be taught in English and the direction of translation for all practice activities will be into English. English language feedback will be provided, focusing on idiomatic expression.

Participant profiles

This course is aimed at translators working with English who have three years’ experience either as an in-house or freelance translator. If you already translate to/from English and you are interested in developing your skills further, then this course is for you.

Proficiency in English and one other language from Arabic, French, German, Greek, Italian, Mandarin Chinese or Spanish is required.

If you work from any other language into English, please contact us to discuss the suitability of the course for you

Accommodation

Accommodation on campus is available at a discounted rate.

Option 1: Guest house

£50 single occupancy per night
£65 double occupancy per night

Option 2: Courtyard by Marriott (situated inside the campus, 5 minutes’ walk from the Summer School venue):

£89.00 single occupancy per night, breakfast included
£99.00 double occupancy per night, breakfast included

Please email your chosen option and number of nights to lincs.cpd@hw.ac.uk

Cancellation policy:

The course fee will be fully refunded if:

You cannot travel due to Covid or Covid-related restrictions
You apply for visa, and your application is not successful

English Translation Summer School: Course Programme

Day 1

Trends in the post-pandemic translation market and sharing experience, with Juliette Rutherford (half-day): This seminar will begin with an overview of recent developments in the translation market. It will be followed by an opportunity for participants to get to know each other and share experiences as part of our community building approach.

9:00 - 09:30: Welcome and Introduction to the course
9:30 - 11:15: Working as a Translator: Market trends
11:15 - 11:30: Break
11:30 - 12:30: Sharing experiences of changing practice
12:30 - 13:45: Lunch Break

Medical Translation workshop, with Mercedes Pacheco (half-day): This workshop will cover the profile of a medical translator and will provide insights into how to get started with this specialism.

Optional evening dinner in Edinburgh *Price not included in tuition fee

Day 2

Translation Technology, with Ramon Inglada (full day): This session will cover the basic principles of CAT tools, Machine Translation and Terminology Management. It will begin with a review of basic concepts, followed by an overview of some of the most popular CAT tools. It will then discuss trends in Machine Translation, followed by a hands-on Machine Translation Post-Editing activity, and a discussion of the differences between editing human translation and machine translation. It will finish with a session on Terminology Management using translation memories and multilingual glossaries.

9:00 - 11:00: CAT tools – review of key tools and current trends
11:00 - 11:15: Break
11:15 - 12:30: Machine Translation – history and current trends
12:30 - 13:45: Lunch
13:45 - 15:30: Practice session with Trados 2022
15:30 - 15:45: Break
15:45 - 17:00: Practice session with Trados 2022

Day 3

Introduction to subtitling, with Karli Webster (full day): The subtitling industry has been booming over the last two years. Many translators who experienced a decrease in translation demand have turned to subtitling. This is a growing trend, as noted in this Guardian article: ‘Where have all the translators gone?’ The industry is struggling to meet the increased demand for non-English language shows. This seminar will offer tips and tricks to get started in this booming industry and covers basic training on Wincaps, one of the most popular tools used in the industry.

9:00 - 11:00: Introduction to Subtitling
11:00 - 11:15: Break
11:15 - 12:30: Introduction to subtitling software (Wincaps)
12:30 - 13:45: Lunch Break
13:45 - 15:30: Practice session with Wincaps
15:30 - 15:45: Break
15:45 - 17:00: Practice session with Wincaps

Day 4

Legal Translation, with Catriona McCabe (full day): This workshop will focus on background legal knowledge and terminology, legal research skills and legal translation issues where English is the source or target language. There will be a particular focus on contractual language and practical exercises, encouraging participants to develop confidence in their legal research and translation skills.

Day 5

Optional day trip to Loch Lomond and Stirling Castle * price not included in tuition fee