This course discusses some of the most important historical as well as contemporary ideas on translation within the Western tradition of translation theory. Building on the basic knowledge about translation which students may have already acquired from their undergraduate studies, the course focuses on translation theory at a more sophisticated and advanced level. Students are encouraged to think critically about translation issues and discuss existing theories and models, so that they may develop their own views on translation. This course works in tandem with “Chinese Discourse on Translation”

This course is designed to acquaint students with the views and ideas on translation that have emerged in China, from earliest times to the present day. Through the reading of primary texts and the analysis of these texts in their historical contexts, students are encouraged to develop a sense of the Chinese tradition of discourse on translation, identify its distinctive features, examine important moments of disruption and dynamic growth, and reflect critically on the contemporary relevance of such a heritage. The use of the term “discourse” in the course title is deliberate. The purpose is to invite questions on why the term “theory” is not used, and thus to provoke discussions on the theoretical differences between the concept of “discourse” and that of “theory”. The course works in tandem with “Western Translation Theory” to provide students with a sound foundation upon which to conduct comparative studies and to develop their own thinking about translation and intercultural exchange.

This course engages students in research reading in order to broaden their vision of translation and translation theory. Emphasis is placed on major contemporary works on translation theory published in the English language. Through guided reading and in-depth discussion, students should be able to better understand and appreciate some of the most influential translation theories and approaches in the modern translation studies field, and develop their own thinking about translation studies.

This course is designed to engage students in choosing, designing and applying research methods that are commonly used in translation and bilingual communication studies. Students are encouraged to conduct reflections on these methodologies. In addition, they are trained to acquire the skills necessary for the writing of research reports for academic and/or professional purposes.

This course provides a platform for discussion and dialogue among postgraduate students, research supervisors and colleagues in the field of Translation Studies. Seminars are organized to facilitate intellectual exchange and friendly debates in order to further invigorate the pursuit of knowledge and ideas in translation. Students are encouraged to engage critically with topics in a wide range of domains including translation theory, translation history, translation practice, translation criticism, the relation between translation and bilingual communication, and others.

This is a practical course. It is designed to familiarize students with the various methods and principles of translation. The different considerations in translating texts of different genres for different purposes will be highlighted. Practical exercises are taken from a variety of sources including newspapers, magazines, legal and government documents, stage scripts and film subtitles, literary works and others. Students will be required to reflect on their own experience of translating these texts and formulate their own strategies in order to prepare themselves for professional practice.

This course is practical in orientation. It is designed to sensitise students to the intricacies of the English and the Chinese languages in use in different situations, and to help students accomplish stylistic manoeuvres in acts of communication. Students will be required to read up, write about and speak on an extensive range of topics so that they will become familiar with a wide range of genres. Special attention will be given to the cultivation of writing styles, application of rhetoric and ways of delivery in both written and spoken communication. Linguistic and cultural contrasts in the use of English and Chinese will be highlighted. Speech Act Theory and other current communication theories will be used to help students better understand what takes place in the act of communication.

This course is practical in orientation. It is designed to help students produce texts by using materials effectively in cross-lingual situations, i.e., to produce texts in English using Chinese source materials and vice versa. Exercises will cover a wide range of genres and areas including news, entertainment, information technology, science, business and others. Focus will be placed on the skills of contextual interpretation of materials, concise expression of ideas, accurate translation of terminology, effective management of information and good communication. Students will learn to handle information in a discriminating and target-oriented manner. They will be given help to improve their language skills in both English and Chinese. They will also be alerted to the importance of presenting and packaging information in attractive ways. Special attention will be given to cultural sensitivity in handling information in cross-cultural situations.

This course is designed to help students cope with the increasing demand for bilingual writers for the creative industries. Students will be introduced to the various creative industries such as advertising, publishing, broadcasting, performing and fine arts, film making and antique dealing. They will learn to conduct research on these areas, and to appreciate the conventions and requirements of writing for the creative industries in English and in Chinese. Students’ attention will also be drawn to culturally and politically sensitive issues relating to creativity and culture in the context of Hong Kong.

This course is designed to provide students with more advanced practical knowledge in translation. Each semester, established practitioners in specific fields of translation will be invited to give classes. These fields include literary translation, drama translation, media translation, legal translation, finance translation, translation of Chinese medicine and others. These practitioners will share their skills and experience with the students. They will also offer diagnosis of individual students’ performance. In the course of discussion, certain aspects of the translation process will be highlighted and some preconceived notions of translation problematised.

This course spans two semesters, and involves either the writing of a dissertation or the production of an extended piece of translation or bilingual writing. Translation projects should be from English into Chinese or vice versa. Bilingual writing projects require output in both Chinese and English. Dissertations can be in either English or Chinese, depending on the research topic. The length of the dissertation/project should normally be between 12,000 words/characters and 16,000 words/characters, although greater flexibility is allowed under special circumstances. Students will receive individual supervision.

This course is designed to introduce students to gender issues involved in translation. It covers topics including gender construction, gender politics, gendered discourse and gendered language. Students will discuss how these issues would affect translation strategies adopted by individual translators. They will also examine Chinese translations of key terms in gender studies (“gender discourse”, ”gendered discourse”, for example) and analyse the theoretical and ideological implications of these translations. An inter-disciplinary approach is adopted.

This Course is designed to introduce students to the application of corpora to the practice of and research on translation. It helps students to design, conduct research and report research findings using the corpora approach.

This course aims to enable students to develop the basic skills of consecutive interpreting. Through interpreting practice and other learning activities, students will be introduced to basic interpreting concepts and techniques.

This course aims to give students a firmer grasp of key aspects of English grammar, text-structure and stylistics, as appropriate for those in the translation field. Mainly English-language material will be used, but a certain amount of Chinese material will be introduced (for instance in the form of translation exercises), in keeping with the ultimate objective of the course, which is to provide students with a greater sophistication and sensitivity when encountering and using English in their translation work.

This course, built upon the skills and techniques trained in Consecutive Interpreting, aims to provide intensive training in simultaneous interpreting, which is a mode often used in conferences and business settings. Students will develop skills and techniques for simultaneous interpreting through exercises in various forms and on different topics, both with authentic speeches and in simulated settings.

This course aims to refine students’ interpreting skills and techniques in conference settings. In addition to the introduction of professional ethics, the course helps students navigate through the processes of conference preparation and delivery. It includes interpreting exercises for simulated and live conferences, with a view to developing students’ coping strategies and reflective abilities in dealing with problems and challenges posed by real-life interpreting practice.

This course aims to enable students to develop the fundamental skills of consecutive interpreting. Through interpreting practice and other learning activities, students will be introduced to basic concepts and techniques such as analytical listening, intelligent use of memory, note-taking, public speaking and communication skills, and interpreting strategies.

This course is designed to equip students with advanced skills and knowledge in consecutive interpreting. It provides intensive and specialist training in various forms and topics to strengthen students’ interpreting ability. Students will also be introduced to tasks in legal and medical settings where consecutive interpreting is commonly used as the mode of interpretation. The course also aims to develop students’ awareness of current developments and research studies in consecutive interpreting.

This course aims to provide students with an intensive training in the technological aspects of translation. Students will acquire knowledge concerning the application of computer-aided translation (CAT) and translation memory (TM) in the translation profession and translation studies. In addition to theoretical input, students will be given hands-on experience utilising technology to support and facilitate the translation process.

This course focuses on the translation of legal documents in the linguistic context of Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland. It aims at developing students' ability to analyse and translate legal documents by adopting the appropriate strategies and presenting in the acceptable genres. Authentic samples of legal texts (e.g. case laws, ordinances) will be used for discussion, analysis and translation tasks.

Prerequisite: TRA 7520 Translation Technology I

This course aims (1) to provide students with the theoretical background to understand the process of localization and (2) to help students to develop a range of relevant skills by providing them with hands-on experience with practical localization tasks in a range of different roles.

This course is designed to (1) provide students with practical language-specific translation experience as well, if desired, as the chance to write a academic dissertation by giving them the opportunity to work on EITHER an extended piece of translation OR a shorter piece of translation plus a short dissertation; (2) provide students with the experience of working independently on projects of a considerable scale; and (3) allow students to interact with supervisors on an individual basis.

This course is designed to (1) provide students with practical language-specific translation experience as well, if desired, as the chance to write a academic dissertation by giving them the opportunity to work on EITHER an extended piece of translation OR a shorter piece of translation plus a short dissertation; (2) provide students with the experience of working independently on projects of a considerable scale; and (3) allow students to interact with supervisors on an individual basis.

Prerequisite: TRA 7520 Translation Technology I

This course aims to provide students with intensive training in more advanced aspects of the use of technology in translation. Students will acquire further knowledge about the application of translation memory, machine translation and other types of translation technology in the translation profession. In addition to theoretical input, students will be given hands-on experience in using technology to support and facilitate the translation process.

The course is designed to examine the nature, function and practices associated with different types of audiovisual translation (AVT), including for example subtitling, dubbing, voice-over, audio description, subtitling for the deaf and hard-of-hearing and respeaking. Linguistic and cultural issues will be considered as will the different constraints that affect translators' decision-making. The course's significant practical element will focus principally on subtitling. Students will be taught good subtitling practices, and skills specific to subtitling such as text compression and spotting. The direction of translation focused on by each student should be within a language pair in which he or she has expertise; it should, however, include English as either the source or target language and will be subject to approval by the Programme Management Committee. Practical work will include training in the use of an appropriate software system.

The course aims to cover the main principles, practices and technologies used for creating documents and preparing them for publication, either on the Web or via some other means of electronic dissemination. It aims to cover revising and editing skills (in English and/or Chinese), desktop publishing using a major application and web publishing using a major application

The course is intended as an introduction to the broad area of translation as it is implemented, enabled, supported, promoted, reflected, discussed and made available over the World-wide Web. The course is believed to be one of the few on this topic to be offered at university level anywhere in the world.

The course is designed to introduce participants to the basic concepts of computational linguistics and to the practical skills needed for working with Natural Language Processing (NLP) applications that are derived from them.