The Use of Translation Creative Micro- Strategies by University Students in Selected Text Types

Abstract

Abstract : For years, English language students at the University of Bahrain have been taught various types of translation courses and their performance has been evaluated based only on the final product due to the lack of an accurate assessment tool for applied strategies or creative decisions that they take during the translation process. This study aims to examine the degrees of applying creative microstrategies in translating selected types of texts (journalistic, business and literary texts) by 36 translation male and female graduating students, compared to those of professional translators according to the classification proposed by Anne Schjoldager's (2008) model of translation microstrategies. It seeks to identify the level of students' creativity (with high and low GPA) when translating different text types and the most suitable decisions taken to produce creative translation. After analysing 108 students' translations and interviewing 6 students randomly in which four open questions were asked, the findings of the study have shown high frequencies of using both pragmatic and semantic creative microstratgies by all categories of students, who interacted creatively with the three texts when compared to the professional translators, despite the differences in quality and accuracy. Providing students with sufficient knowledge about different translation strategies is highly recommended to facilitate finding the best equivalents and creating an interaction between the translator and the text thorough investigation and deep analysis. The outcomes are expected to help both learners to overcome the translation challenges, and instructors of translation to better assess their performance, in order to ensure that the output of the translated work is accurate, creative and of high quality.