Bulletin Number Four 1984

The Newly-established Translation Department A im and H is to ry The Translation Department is set up to train translators for the community. As Hong Kong is situated at the crossroad o f South-east Asia, right at the doorstep o f China, she plays an important role in the cultural and commercial exchanges between China and the West. As a result, translation expertise has always been in great demand. Moreover, it is the educational ideal o f The Chinese University o f Hong Kong to bridge the Eastern and Western cultures, and the training o f translators is evidently an invaluable contribution towards this end. Thus the establishment o f a Translation Department in the University is apt and useful. This is, in fact, the second time in the history o f CUHK that a Translation Department is founded. As early as 1971 ， in view o f the popularity o f the translation courses, the teachers in the English Depart ment responsible for them saw the possibility o f establishing an independent department o f translation. The University, recognizing the growing demand for translation expertise in Hong Kong, accepted the proposal. Thus the translation teachers and courses were taken out o f the English Department to form a Translation Department which offered a minor programme. A Committee on Translation was also set up. Five years later, for budgeting and other reasons, the Translation Department merged w ith the Chinese Department and became aTranslation Section to carry on the teaching duties, while the minor programme was offered as before. Recently, w ith the launching o f the Master Programme in Translation by the Graduate School and the offering o f various translation courses in the Part-time Degree Programme in Chinese and English, the University decided that it was necessary to have a Translation Department. So the Translation Section became independent o f the Chinese Department, recruited more staff, and a Translation Department was formed again. Courses A t the m om ent ， the Translation Department offers three kinds o f courses in the following pro grammes: the full-time undergraduate programme, the Part-time Degree Programme in Chinese and English, and the graduate programme. (A) The Undergraduate Programme As before, the undergraduate programme is a minor one. Students from any department may minor in translation, subject to the approval o f their major departments, and obtaining a pass in the screening test set by the Department. (One o f the main reasons for not considering offering major courses in Trans lation is that o f job prospects after graduation. Translation majors may lack specialized knowledge in any subject other than translation, and w ill find it d ifficu lt to take on more specialized translation tasks.) The undergraudate programme offers the following courses, one for each year o f study: — Principles o f Translation — Translation Seminar — Applied Translation — Translation Project O f these four, the 'Principles o f Translation ， is an introductory course, covering various basic issues in translation. It is open to students o f all departments. The other three are bu ilt on the foundation o f this year's works, and are required courses for translation minors. Other students who wish to take these as electives must apply for special permission. (B) The Part-time Degree Programme Translation courses are offered in the Chinese- English Part-time degree programme. This programme requires o f the students a certain level o f mastery o f the two languages, and translation is seen as a bridge linking up the two. Thus the students are required to take the following subjects: — Principles o f Translation (including English- Chinese and Chinese-English translation exercises) — Applied Translation — Literary Translation Applied Translation and lite ra ry Translation are compulsory papers in the degree examinations. (C) Graduate Programme The Graudate School offers an MA Programme in Translation. Students w ith a degree in any subject can apply, and are selected according to their results in the entrance examination set by the Graduate School. To obtiain the degree, they are required to complete twenty-four credits w ithin two years. A t the moment the following courses are offered: - lite ra ry Background for Translation — Comparative Syntax and Practice - Selected Reading in Translation Works 8 RECENT DEVELOPMENTS