Spring 2023, CairoLab
Translation Lab
Course details
- Cycle
- Spring 2023, Cairo
- Length
- 11 weeks
- Format
- In person
- Taught in
- English / Arabic
Share
Discuss it with AI
- Choose your preferred AI assistant.
- A new tab will open with a prompt prepared for this page.
- Press Send to begin exploring the page through dialogue, CILAS-style.
About the course
What journey does a text make from one language to another? What happens in a translator’s mind when translating? How can the translator get the reader to the intended destination, while also helping him enjoy the trip? Why do translators either glorify or express contempt for Machine translation?
When we think of translation, what comes to mind usually is this ‘magical teleportation’ of ideas between languages, or the idea that it is merely a substitution of words and phrases with others in a different alphabet, but what happens along the way is seldom thought about or reflected upon. Join us in our translation lab this semester to experience that journey, and find out which misconceptions about translation can get in the way of delivering a message to the reader.
We will explore the different stages a translation goes through, the different ways to think about quality and technology, and we will work together to produce a neat translation in the process.
Who teaches it
Mostafa Taha, a translator/editor with more than 6 years of experience. During those years, I translated and reviewed articles and research papers in diverse fields like politics, economics, science, social sciences, Tech, etc. I also managed several translation projects, and worked with multiple prominent media outlets, journals and research forums, like Alsharq forum, Springer Nature, Scientific American, Huffington Post, and Knowledge city. Currently I lead the Arabic scientific review team at Nagwa.com.
Course flow
Sessions without a date
Learning objectives:
How is reading for translation purposes different? How to deconstruct a text? How to determine the exact meaning intended based on context? Using monolingual dictionaries
In class
- ActivityDuring session: Applying learning objectives on ‘Arabic translators did far more than just preserve Greek philosophy’ article
- ActivityAfter session: Watching ‘Arrival’ movie
- ActivityAfter session: Reading ‘Naughty words’ article.
- ActivityAfter session: Create a translation Diary
Learning objectives:
Practicing and discussion of week 1 assignments
In class
- ActivityDuring session: Discussing the movie and the article from last week assignments
- ActivityDuring session: Applying learning objectives on ‘Why languages and dialects really are different animals’ article
- ActivityAfter session: Applying learning objectives on the assigned course project
Learning objectives:
Why should a translator see through the reader's eyes? How to escape from the source text while translating? How to draft your translation? Using lexicons
In class
- ActivityDuring session: Translating a part of ‘Why learning a new language is like an illicit love affair’ article into Modern Standard Arabic
- ActivityDuring session: Retranslating the same part into English Arabic.
- ActivityDuring session: Comparing the two versions
- ActivityAfter session: Reading ‘Thoughts into words’ article
- ActivityAfter session: Translating ‘Simplicity or style: what makes a sentence a masterpiece?’ article into Modern Standard Arabic
Learning objectives:
Practicing and discussion of week 3 assignments
In class
- ActivityDuring session: Discussing reading
- ActivityDuring session: Checking translated articles and giving feedback
- ActivityDuring session: Translating a video subtitles
- ActivityAfter session: Applying learning objectives on the assigned course project
Learning objectives:
Why is self-revision important? Does your text sound “original”? What to look for when revising?
In class
- ActivityDuring session: Revising our own translations for the ‘Simplicity or style: what makes a sentence a masterpiece?’ article
- ActivityAfter session: Reading ‘A history of punctuation’ article
- ActivityAfter session: Reading Chapters 10 and 13 of ‘Revising and Editing for Translators’ book (will be provided in PDF)
Learning objectives:
Practicing and discussion of week 5 assignment
In class
- ActivityDuring session: Discussing readings
- ActivityDuring session: Translating a short news article and trying to revise while drafting
- ActivityAfter session: Applying learning objectives on the assigned course project
Learning objectives:
How is the translation scene changing? Is the technology good or bad by nature? When to decide to use them and how? Is MTPE a translation or a revision task?
In class
- ActivityDuring session: Testing google translate
- ActivityDuring session: Testing Tarjama’s engine
- ActivityDuring session: Revising a machine translated version of the ‘Simplicity or style: what makes a sentence a masterpiece?’ article
- ActivityAfter session: Reading ‘Shitloads and zingers: on the perils of machine translation’
- ActivityAfter session: Reading ‘Robo-writers: the rise and risks of language-generating AI’ article
Learning objectives:
Practicing and discussion of week 7 assignment
In class
- ActivityDuring session: Discussing readings
- ActivityDuring session: Open discussion: Should we be using Machine translation early in our careers?
- ActivityAfter session: Applying learning objectives on the assigned course project
Learning objectives:
Practicing the whole process as one, not in stages
In class
- ActivityDuring session: Translating a part of ‘L’art de la traduction’ article
- ActivityAfter session: Preparing a group translation for the article
Learning objectives:
Checking progress of work projects and providing feedback
In class
- ActivityDuring session: Discussing difficulties they faced in projects and suggesting solutions
- ActivityAfter session: Working on projects
Learning objectives:
Completing assigned projects
In class
- ActivityDuring session: Discussing difficulties they faced in projects and suggesting solutions
- ActivityAfter session: Finishing and submitting the projects
Get the CILAS newsletter
New courses, open calls and articles from CILAS, in your inbox.
18 October 2026
Join CILAS's Spring semester of 2026
- Spring 2026, Cairo
