Chinese/English Translation and Interpreting MA

We’ll introduce you to a variety of different techniques and help you build the main skills required to become a successful bi-lateral interpreter. This module focuses on consecutive interpreting, one of the fundamental interpreting activates in professional practice. We’ll also explore some of the obstacles English/Chinese interpreters face and teach you how to navigate around them.

Being a workshop-led module, you’ll have plenty of opportunity to practice in class and test out the strategies learned.

This is another good opportunity for you to build a portfolio to share with future employers. You’ll be able to choose between translation, localisation or subtitling.

This project will allow you to demonstrate your practical translation skills through the translation of a text or series of texts. You’ll also produce a commentary, which is around 12-15,000 words demonstrating how and why you’ve used the selected theories.

You will work under the guidance of a supervisor who will be able to advice and support you through the project.

Computer-assisted translation is an area of extreme growth and it’s vital that translators and interpreters have a good understanding of the tools available to them. This module will introduce you to the key concepts, terms and components, such as, term base, translation memory and translation editor in practice-based workshops.

This module will enable you to combine translation theory and practice through workshops to maximise skills development. Workshops are based on translation of different text types where relevant critical and genre-specific approaches are introduced. This module will prepare you for life as a language professional and/or translation practitioner.

Further develop your English language skills focussing on areas which are important for language professionals:

• lexis, structure and functions
• receptive and productive skills
• textual aspects
• situational constraints, pragmatics and register
• relevant cultural background
• corpus research methods for register, genre and discourse analysis.

You’ll also discover a range valuable sources of information and guidance which will benefit you throughout your career.

Mandarin Discourse Skills for Language Professionals

Enhance your linguistic, pragmatic and cultural awareness through immersion into authentic Mandarin Chinese texts relating to culture, society, business, law, science and technology. You’ll also further develop your listening and reading skills by using materials such as speeches, interviews, news articles and/or academic articles, both inside and outside class.

Through lectures, workshops and self-study you’ll deepen your linguistic understanding in areas which are vital for language professionals:

• lexis, structure and functions
• receptive and productive skills
• textual aspects
• situational constraints, pragmatics and register
• relevant cultural background.

Building on the skills gained in Bi-lateral Interpreting Between English and Chinese 1, this module will equip you with the advanced knowledge and skills required to perform professional standard bi-lateral Chinese/English interpreting.

Your main focus will be getting to grips with simultaneous interpreting, but we will also help you develop additional complementary techniques and skills to deal with various challenges in this interpreting practice, including speech effects, time management and use of interpreting technology.

The module is workshop-led to maximise your opportunities for practicing new skills, focusing on two of the most challenging scenarios, speeches and presentations.

To study this module, we expect you to have achieved 63% or more in the core module Bi-lateral Interpreting Between Chinese and English 1.

Community interpreting is the type of interpreting that takes place where the native speaker is likely to be a member of the public. This can include; education, medical, policing, housing, legal areas and border controls.

Through this module you will develop the skills, techniques and cultural awareness which will allow you to work with professionals and clients from different backgrounds.

To maximise your interpretation practice, this module is delivered in a workshop format allowing plenty of time to hone your new skills.

This module will help you understand the key differences between traditional translation and localisation. We'll introduce you to localisation tools and their use in a variety of contexts, such as academic, practical and business.

In this module you will participate in real-life localisation projects, to learn advanced IT skills, translation technology, marketing strategies, business execution and language service administration.

Gain a grounding in subtitling for D/deaf members of the audience. You'll get to grips with professional tools and professional conventions (for spotting, splitting, presentation, reading speed etc.) with a view to open up professional avenues.

Discover accessibility practices in the field of audiovisual translation, with a particular focus on audio description (AD). You'll focus on the theory and practice(s) of different aspects of AD. The linguistic, technical, and cultural specificities of AD will be examined in detail. You'll become familiar with professional tools, workflows and standards.

Because the module focusses on AD produced for members of the audience on the blindness spectrum, part of the module is also dedicated to helping you understand blindness, visual impairments, and the needs of members of the audience on the blindness spectrum. The working language will be English, and whilst you will be given the opportunity to work between languages, it should be noted that for practical purposes, the focus of the module will be largely intralingual.

Whether you’re interested in opening up career opportunities around the world, giving your studies a boost by gaining access to research in other languages or simply planning to travel after your studies, developing foreign language skills will help you stand out from the crowd. We offer nine languages and you can start as a beginner or at a more advanced level; Arabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Russian and Spanish

You may also choose from the following foreign language-related modules:

• Language and Language Learning
• Culture of Arabic Language
• Teaching and Learning Foreign Languages
• Exploring Intercultural Awareness

Find out more about learning a language alongside your studies