Translation courses are found in most Arab University English programmes but the rationale for their existence is seldom made explicit. In a survey of syllabi of such programmes, Bahumaid (1995:99) found that (with one exception) 'no set of clearly defined objectives of the translation course is provided in the course description/outline'. The most common reasons for teaching translation at university level are a) linguistic and b) vocational/professional, but it seems that both in the West and in the Arab World the latter type of (career-oriented) courses are few and far between. A survey report on Translation in British Universities BA Degree French Language programmes found that 'translation [was] taught as a way of improving students' linguistic proficiency in nineteen of the twenty-one institutibns which answered the survey questionnaire' (Sewell, 1996: 137). It is true that the two aims can coincide. Improved linguistic proficiency would normally lead to a better chance of employment as a translator. But some scholars feel that the university translation class could be more effectively focussed on developing professional translation skills (Critchley et al, 1996) vvhiie others consider that the traditional practice of prose/translation exercises are neither realistic nor relevant to the work of the professional translator.
Peter G. Emery