摘 要

一直以来，相比起翻译实践，中国高校翻译人才的培养模式更加注重于理论教学板块，这便与翻译行业以及整个社会对有丰富社会实践经验人才的极大需求显得格格不入。但是在这样的情况下，有关翻译硕士与他们所在的翻译实践基地的合作发展研究，却依然有大片空白，殊不知配备了精良理论弹药的学生更需要长期在实际翻译操作这片战场中才能得到更好的历练，在不断修改、反复总结经验的过程中，翻译水平才能得到质的飞跃。在这个日趋全球化的世界，翻译实践基地能让翻译专业的学生了解市场的需求与规则，了解自身学习的不足，让每个国家花费大量资金培养的学生能“才尽其用”。通过对实习学生的访谈和调查，本文探讨武汉理工大学翻译专业学生与传神翻译公司合作的实习项目，分析其优势与劣势、它值得发扬与必须改进的管理模式，以此为蓝本，为今后广大中国高校，特别是以理工科为优势的学校，在建设翻译实践基地的过程中起到一定的借鉴作用。

关键字：翻译实践；实习项目；传神公司

Abstract

For a long time the translation talent training mode emphasizes much more on theories compared with practice, which is incompatible with the great demand from both translation industry and society where talents with rich working experience are required. However, under such circumstances the research on the development of cooperation between MTI students and translation enterprises, which is an efficient collaborative model that well prepares the future translators for the increasingly globalized and competitive world, is still wanting. It is universally acknowledged that only after being trained in the battlefield of practical translation operation for a long time with precious experience gained, can students equipped with sophisticated theoretical ammunition get a lot more exercise; And only by repeated revision and pondering of their work, can they finally make a breakthrough in translation proficiency. Besides, what should be stressed is that practice base for MTI students enables them to understand the market demand and rules, and provides opportunities of overcoming their deficiency in translation study, so that the large amount of funds that every country invests shall not be wasted, and students are able to show their professional kills and make contribution to local areas or even at a global sphere. After interviewing with students who are in charge of the program and collecting effective questionnaires from other interns, this paper will reveal the status quo of WHUT-TRANSN internship program and analyze the potential problems and dilemma this program faces. By means of discovering some specific situations in one of these practice bases, its success and demerits could be a typical example for thousands of other Chinese universities and colleges, especially for those with an advantage in the fields of science and technology, to facilitate the quality of the practice base so as to cultivate and transport more talents and the brightest brains for our society.

Key words: translation practice; internship program; TRANSN company

Contents

1 Introduction 1

2 Research Significance 3

3 Methods for Data Collection 5

4 Experience and Reflections 7

4.1 Market-Oriented Construction Mode 7

4.2 Disciplinary and Geological Advantages 8

4.3 The Integration of Theoretical Study and Practice 10

4.4 The Creation of a Real-like Workplace 11

4.5 Feedback Effect 12

4.6 The Use of Translation Software 12

4.6.1 Merits 13

4.6.2 Room for Improvement 14

5 Conclusion 16

References 17

Appendix 18

Acknowledgments 21

On WHUT-TRANSN MTI Internship Program: Experience and Reflection

1 Introduction

In 2007 the Academic Committee of the State Council began to set up the first Master of Translation and Interpreting (MTI). By the end of January 2013, 158 pilot colleges and universities have succeeded in cultivating and transporting large quantities of translation talents to serve various industries in China. Translators, as compound talents, not only need to master certain translation theories, but also should have a general understanding of the knowledge from all walks of life. Only then can they make their translation more accurate and idiomatic.

In order to improve the comprehensive quality of translation talents, the construction of practice bases for professional master degree of translation in science and engineering universities and colleges, as well as the related research on their problems and countermeasures have become the most urgent needs in teaching process. While carrying forward translation theoretical study, universities ought to, at the same time, create internship programs that aim students to adapt to market demand, provide chances for MTI students to deepen their understanding of translation theory in real working experiences, exercise students’ ability in practical environment, and boost their professional translation proficiency, so as to produce high-end translation talents in accordance with market need.

The school-industry cooperation between MTI postgraduates in Wuhan University of Technology (WHUT) and TRANSN company is a typical example of thousands of other practice bases that thrive in China. Foreign languages department in WHUT was established in 2001, and after decades of teaching practice relying on geographical advantages of Wuhan and some university’s disciplinary strengths (like Material Science and Engineering, Automobile, Marine Engineering, Computer Science, etc.), the department has cultivated many eminent talents who lead theirs lives with wisdom, pursue excellence and outstanding ability, and lift regional development to a new height. Meanwhile, TRANSN company is committed to becoming its customer's Virtual Language Department (VLD) and clients’ multilingual work platform. It is one of the largest translation companies in China, offering outstanding service in translating multiple languages, including English, Japanese, Germany, French, etc. By cooperating with such a promising and reputable company, MTI students must be able to benefit a lot from their internship experience.

To have a general idea of how the internship program has proceeded so far, two student representatives in charge of the interns have been interviewed and fourteen other interns have been invited to complete a questionnaire to give first-hand information and show their insights about this internship program. By and large, our respondents hold an optimistic opinion about this practice base, with 70 percent of them satisfied with the overall planning for their training. Only 20 percent of volunteers report that they gain very little from this experience, and the remaining 10 percent state they think this program is just average, namely they gain nothing from it.

The students signed contracts with TRANSN company in October, 2015, and officially embarked on their translation work a month later. An experienced translator, as a program overseer, is assigned by this company to instruct the students how to work smoothly and supervised the schedule of their work. Many respondents indicate they are glad to be able to have their work done anywhere and whenever they want, as long as they can submit their finished products to their manager on time. Besides, though their workload would sometimes be burdensome, especially when students have very limited knowledge about a certain industry, there is no strict restriction about how much work they have to receive within a specific period of time, and the deadline can be delayed if necessary. Students at first can earn 40 yuan for a workload of translating 1000 Chinese characters to English, and their remuneration can increase to 50 yuan / 1000 characters as time goes by, since the translation quality get improved more or less in working process.

2 Research Significance

As the world's political, economic and cultural activities become increasingly active, the demand for high-level translation talents in our country is growing. To cultivate application-oriented professional translation talents, enhancing practical translation ability should be the top priority in our country, so the importance of translation practice rose to a new degree. While academe emphasizes theoretical guidance, practice and skill training should also be the primary task of professional translation talents training.

Fortunately, with the rapid development of MTI education in China, the relevant research and discussions turned their focus from macroscopic aspects like degree characteristics and discipline system, onto some more specific operational aspects, like training mode and teaching methods, which highlights the significance of market-guided mode in MTI education. (贾立平, 2015)