Course overview:
This Translation Studies BA Honours gives you professionally oriented training in the skills, knowledge and competencies which will allow you to build a career as a professional translator. You will develop your knowledge of language structure, register, textuality and discourse, through the application of linguistic concepts to practically orientated translation tasks. You will also gain the transferable and cognitive skills necessary for lifelong personal and professional development.
The course offers French and Spanish as main languages, which you can combine with another language (Arabic, Chinese, French or Spanish) depending on your entry point. We accept intermediate (post-A Level) and pro?cient speakers in French and Spanish. This is a linguistically challenging course and we may need to assess you in order to determine your entry point and suitability.
As well as careers in professional translation, our graduates have also found employment as interpreters, teachers (both in foreign languages and English as a foreign language), and in various other sectors including law, marketing, journalism, and the Civil Service.
Course content:
You will study an integrated curriculum with a focus on professional context and communication skills, bilingual translation skills and theory. Depending on your choice, your studies may include the rigorous development of a new foreign language or modules in cultural studies. Teaching and learning takes place through a combination of formal lectures, seminars and practical workshops; guided self-study and preparation; and exposure to professionally relevant simulations and real-work environments.
Much of your learning will take place during independent study, individually and in groups, in the well-resourced and recently refurbished library, at home and via the online learning provision. Assessment methods include in-class coursework, essays and projects, presentations, and oral and unseen written exams.
Alongside core modules in translation, the course offers a wide range of option modules, covering topics including global communications, world cultures, current affairs, politics and gender issues.