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Karl Schembri
If everything goes as planned, the controversy over whether to write euro with or without a ‘w’ will fade into oblivion by June next year. We should have a whole glossary of new terms to argue about, and there will be a lot of them.
From the environment to justice, from transport to taxation, all of the European Union’s jargon would by then be compiled in one fat glossary in Maltese.
In what seems to be a mammoth challenge, the University of Malta’s Faculty of Arts has just received three offers through the Contracts Department from bidders who believe they will be able to translate all the Brusselspeak which so far has produced only chaos and confusion on the Maltese media. The target date to award the tender is 5 April.
Even the money is big. Financed by the EU, the project will cost between EUR144,000 and EUR160,000 according to the offers made by ERCS/Verbivis Ltd and Fenlex/Intelercom Translation UK respectively. Transcripta Trans offered the same service for EUR149,000.
According to the tender requirements, the contract is aimed at creating a glossary for the Maltese language “which is to be on the same wavelength” as that of the European Council covering at least 22 fields.
The offers were opened last Thursday by the contracts department but one condition set in the tender document drawn up by the university’s translation unit has raised eyebrows among the few translators available on the islands.
This is because of the two key research officers required for the venture, one must have lectured in Maltese for at least five years in a post-secondary institution, apart from an MA in Maltese and two years proven experience in the field of translation.
Translators who spoke to MaltaToday said the translation experience and MA in Maltese were understandable requirements but limiting the choice to lecturers was dodgy.
“One can be an excellent translator without ever teaching Maltese,” a translator said. “This does not make sense.”
The other research officer is expected to be a lawyer with at least three years experience in Maltese or European law. The officer will have conducted research on the Maltese or European law, and with two years proven experience in the field of translation.
According to Prof. Joseph Eynaud, the project leader of the translation and interpretation unit, the lecturing experience required for translators is modelled on the same requirement for a lawyer to have experience at the bar.
“There aren’t that many translators,” Prof. Eynaud said. “We’ll have to see what kind of offers we get. This is part of a wider project by the translations and interpreting unit and I hope we’ll take it to its final stage as we did with the translation courses.”
But according to the same tender document, the university is itself admitting that its course in translation and interpretation is not up to scratch.
Referring to its own part-time diploma course in translation and interpretation, the document says: “This course however seems to fall short of EU requirements as there needs to be specialised courses for both disciplines.”
In fact, diploma graduates and foreign-trained translators complain that interpreting requires a totally dedicated course and that by mixing the two specialisations in one course the students are deprived of the necessary depth required by the professions.
kschembri@mediatoday.com.mt
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