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AWEJ for Translation & Literary Studies, Volume 7, Number 3. August 2023 Pp. 133-151

Exploring the Pedagogical Potential of Monolingual Corpora in Inverse Translation Training

Department of English Language
College of Language Sciences, King Saud University
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Department of English Language
College of Language Sciences, King Saud University
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Abstract:

This article presents a comprehensive study that delves into the untapped potential of incorporating monolingual corpora as a strategic tool within translator training to enhance trainees’ proficiency in the challenging domain of inverse translation from Arabic to English. By shedding light on the pedagogical promise of monolingual corpora in inverse translation instruction, this research underscores the critical need to integrate this tool into translator training curricula, thereby amplifying the translation competencies of trainees. The central research inquiry is as follows: How does using a monolingual corpus enhance the performance of students engaged in inverse translation of collocations from Arabic to English within the context of political and media texts? The researchers focused on two groups of female students specializing in political and media translation at the College of Language Sciences, King Saud University. These groups, a control and an experimental one, were meticulously trained with different references—while the control group relied on conventional bilingual dictionaries, the experimental group employed monolingual corpora as their primary translation references—the assessment criterion centered on translating a newspaper text. The noteworthy outcome of this comparative analysis was that the experimental group consistently outperformed their counterparts in the control group by leveraging monolingual corpora. The findings from this research offer precise guidance to enhance the efficiency of translation training programs. Moreover, the study equips translators with essential skills and competencies and elevates the quality of translation training programs.

Cite as:

Alshubaily, S., & BinSultan, N. (2023). Exploring the Pedagogical Potential of Monolingual Corpora in Inverse Translation Training.  Arab World English Journal for Translation & Literary Studies 7 (3): 133-151.  DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awejtls/vol7no3.10

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Dr. Sara AlShubaily, an Assistant Professor in Translation Studies, College of Language Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh. MA in Applied Linguistics, College of Arts King Saud University in 2009. Ph.D. in Translation Studies, Modern Languages from the University of Birmingham 2019. ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0004-5695-3502

 Nora Majed BinSultan, an Assistant Professor in the College of Language Sciences at King Saud University based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The researcher completed her English Language and Translation BA at King Saud University in 2010. Then, she completed her post-graduate studies at the University of Durham: MA in Arabic-English Translation and Interpretation in 2014 and her Ph.D. in Translation Studies in 2019. ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4829-7830