English Translation and Translation

Hello, I am Aslı Araboğlu. I work at Trakya University, Faculty of Letters, Department of English Translation and Interpretation. I teach courses such as Translation Criticism and Translation History. Our department was established in 2006 under the umbrella of the School of Foreign Languages of Trakya University. It was later included in the Faculty of Letters in 2010. The aim of our department is to train translators who have all the requirements of the age, who have received modern translation training, and who are successful interpreters. Our program in the Department of English Translation and Interpretation has been prepared in order to provide our students with all the equipment they will need in the translation process when they graduate. In addition to the courses such as Translation Theories and Methods, Translation Criticism, and Translation History, which are given for theoretical information, courses such as specialization field knowledge, medical terminology, and legal language are offered. At the same time, courses such as Information Technologies in Translation and Subtitle Translation are also included in the program. Approximately 40% of the courses in our program are elective courses, which is intended to guide and prepare our students for whichever field they would prefer to specialize in. Our department has a computer laboratory and an interpreting laboratory. There are about 30 computers in our computer lab. Computer-aided translation programs are installed on these computers, which are also the application area of translation courses such as Subtitle Translation and Computer Aided Translation. Our students receive training for software such as Trados and cloud programs. We know that knowing these programs is very important in the field of translation today. In addition to this, we also have an interpreting laboratory, which is not available in most universities in Turkey and is unique to our university. There are 2 interpretation cabinets in this laboratory, and two students can enter each cabinet to translate. In other words, 4 translators can translate at the same time. In addition, there are 46 listener equipment. By creating a conference environment for students, they are provided to experience it in the closest way to reality before entering into the professional life. For example, it is very important to give an interpreting course by creating an environment that reminds students of the environments where they can do interpreting, such as conference interpreting. There is no compulsory internship in our department, but our students can do internships if they wish. In this context, we also have an instructor responsible for internships in order to find internship places, guide and support students in this process. In addition to these, there is a final assignment project. This project takes place during the 4th grade. Students must complete this final assignment in order to graduate. The final paper includes either a research or a translation project. If they are successful, they can graduate after completing the final assignment.
Within the scope of international agreements, our department has Erasmus agreements with universities located in some of the European Union countries such as Romania, Poland, Bulgaria and Spain. Thanks to these agreements, student and staff exchange are carried out. Every year, students can go to universities in these countries for 1 or 2 semesters. Similarly, guest students are accepted to our department in this way. At the same time, faculty members are exchanged, and our guest lecturers come to our department in certain periods to give seminars to our students or to give lectures for a week. In addition, we have agreements with universities in the other non-EU countries such as Macedonia and Albania under the scope of Mevlana Exchange Program. Our students go to these countries to study, and similarly, students from these countries come to our university and receive education. Faculty members also benefit from these mobility opportunities. We host lecturers in our department every year, mostly for a one-week period. In addition to these, there is a national exchange program called Farabi. In this program, within the framework of our agreements, our students can go to universities in Turkey and study for a certain period. National conferences are constantly held in our department. Academicians from other universities in our country come to our university to give seminars. Online seminars are also organized in a similar framework, and our students also benefit from these seminars. After graduation, our students can work as translators in public and private institutions such as foreign missions, embassies and consulates affiliated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addition to these, they also work in tourism bureaus and translation offices. Since they receive a good education, they carry out tasks in European Union projects. I can recommend our prospective students to read books in English, and they can observe the movie subtitles in order to gain some insights. On our campus, students are provided with easily accessible accommodation opportunities. There are state dormitories. At the same time, since Edirne is a small city, they can stay in private dormitories or they can rent a student apartment. Transportation is quite accessible. There is also a library on campus that is open 24/7. In addition to the library, there is also an indoor swimming pool that our students can use. I wish success to all students. We welcome you all to our university.