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Article
Female Translation Students' Knowledge and Use of Online Dictionaries and Terminology Data Banks: A Case Study
AWEJ for Translation & Literary Studies (2018)
  • Nadia Sabbah & Reem Alsalem, Arab Soecity of English Language Studies
Abstract
This study aims to determine whether translation students at an undergraduate translation program have sufficient awareness of the availability and usability of online vocabulary and terminology search tools that can be of valid assistance to a translator. The study surveyed 50 female translation students of the Translation Program at Prince Sultan University, Saudi Arabia. The survey consisted of questions about knowledge and use patterns and included texts for translating between English and Arabic. Results show that although the students know and use a variety of online resources, they still lack in awareness of some of the very useful ones, and a small minority of the students does not use monolingual dictionaries at all. Analysis of the students’ translations of selected terms reveals that availability of excellent online resources is not enough to prevent mistranslations if the students cannot select the right equivalent. The study has implications for lexicographers about the dictionary features most frequently used by translators-to-be. It also provides pedagogical tips for translator trainers who should guide their students to making use of the full potential of online dictionaries and term banks in order to achieve better translation outcomes.
Keywords
  • CAT tools,
  • online dictionaries,
  • term base,
  • terminology data banks,
  • translation
Disciplines
Publication Date
Spring May 15, 2018
DOI
http://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awejtls/vol2no2.6
Citation Information
Nadia Sabbah & Reem Alsalem. "Female Translation Students' Knowledge and Use of Online Dictionaries and Terminology Data Banks: A Case Study" AWEJ for Translation & Literary Studies Vol. 2 Iss. 2 (2018) p. 81 - 102 ISSN: 2550-1542
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/awejfortranslation-literarystudies/70/