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Faculty of Languages and Communication

Translation

136 Credit Hours 60% Minimum Grade

Department Welcome

Dr. Afaq Khzouz

“ Welcome to the Translation department! ”
Afaq Khzouz

Message from the Department Head

Department of Translation

Welcome Message from the Head of the Translation Department

Welcome to the Translation Department/ Faculty of Languages and Communication at the American University of Madaba (AUM).

As Head of the Department, I am proud of our mission to prepare skilled, ethical, and globally aware translators and interpreters. Our programs combine theoretical knowledge, practical skills, and cutting-edge digital tools, emphasizing cultural fluency and specialized translation for diverse fields.

We aim to bridge languages and cultures, empowering our graduates to thrive in dynamic careers and contribute meaningfully to society. Explore our department online or visit our campus to learn how we can help you achieve your goals.

Sincerely,
Dr.Afaq Khzouz.
Head of the Translation Department.
American University of Madaba (AUM).

Introduction Video for Translation

See what we have to offer in this exclusive welcome video.

Study Plan

Details about the study plan and curriculum.

Course Curriculum: 136 Credit Hours

Guidance Plan

Guidelines and plan for student guidance.

Course Curriculum: 136 Credit Hours

List of Competencies

Translation - List of Competencies

COMMUNICATIONS

  1. Produces, edits, and proofreads translations in various text formats.
  2. Adapts writing and translation styles to fit diverse contexts, including technical, creative, and persuasive formats.
  3. Uses language with precision, drawing on a robust vocabulary and research-informed evidence.

 

 

CRITICAL & CREATIVE THINKING

  1. Applies problem-solving methods to address linguistic and cultural challenges in translation.
  2. Identifies essential information in source texts and uses evidence to justify translation choices.
  3. Analyzes texts within their cultural and contextual framework to ensure accurate translation

 

 

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT & RESPONSIBILITY

  1. Maintains a global perspective on translation, recognizing cultural, racial, and linguistic diversity.
  2. Demonstrates curiosity and commitment to ongoing personal and professional growth.
  3. Relates translated content to broader cultural and historical events.
  4. Works independently or as part of a team on translation projects.

 

 

Program Learning Outcome (PLO)

Communication

Critical & Creative Thinking

Professional Development & Responsibility

Cultural Awareness

PLO 1: Effective Translator

X

X

 

X

PLO 2: Analytical Problem Solver

X

X

X

 

PLO 3: Skilled Text Producer

X

X

X

X

PLO 4: Confident Language User

 

X

 

X

PLO 5: Culturally Competent Communicator

X

X

 

X

PLO 6: Self-Motivated Learner

 

X

X

 

 

Course Description

Detailed descriptions of the courses offered.

702105 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 _ _
This course develops students? basic skills and strategies of reading comprehension, including skimming, scanning, intensive, and critical reading. Students learn the meanings of new words through contextual clues, understanding the main idea, identifying topics and topic sentences, finding supporting details, recognizing the methods of paragraph development, and cohesion and coherence.

702107 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 _ _
This course helps students develop skills in expository writing by completing a minimum of five multi-draft essays of varying degrees of complexity. In these essays, students develop topics in at least four of these five rhetorical patterns: example, comparison/contrast, classification, process analysis, and cause/effect analysis. Students also write an argumentative essay that demonstrates familiarization with methods of research documentation. During the course, students utilize the various stages of the writing process -- prewriting, drafting, and revising.

702302 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 702107 _
This fundamental course introduces students to the conventions of academic writing. Students gain an understanding of their subject matter, audience, purpose, and point-of-view, and demonstrate that understanding through the organization and development of their essays. Students learn how to analyze and evaluate other writers? work to sharpen their critical abilities as readers and writers. The course also introduces students to skills in source analysis, documentation and beginning research methods.

701103 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 Pass the Arabic Placement Test _
This course contains training on practical writing skills, especially as they are applied to research and academic work. It deals with the understanding of Arabic sentence in terms of its contents, types and linguistic and stylistic aspects.

702221 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 _ _
This course introduces students to the fundamental properties that all languages share and ways in which they differ, including structure (sound system, word formation, and syntax), expression of meaning, first and second language acquisition, language variation and change, cultural and artistic uses of languages, and comparison of oral, written, and sign languages.

702231 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 _ _
This course acquaints students with major narrative devices and formal techniques of the short story. Students come to appreciate narrative methods such as plot, characterization, setting, point of view, theme, figures of speech, dialogue, etc. through detailed analyses of short stories. These formal elements of literary narratives are selected in order to encourage the act of reading and as manifesting and interacting with active cultural processes.

702338 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 702231 _
This course acquaints students with major narrative devices and formal techniques of the short story. Students come to appreciate narrative methods such as plot, characterization, setting, point of view, theme, figures of speech, dialogue, etc. through detailed analyses of short stories. These formal elements of literary narratives are selected in order to encourage the act of reading and as manifesting and interacting with active cultural processes.

702422 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 702222 _
This course introduces students to semantics -- the study of linguistic meaning. In this course, students examine meaning from a variety of perspectives including how it is encoded in words and sentences, how native speakers interpret language, and how truth and falsehood can emerge from the complexity of the grammar. Students become aware of the various aspects of pragmatics -- the function of meaning in a communicative setting. Topics include predication and quantification, scope and anaphora, problems of discourse analysis, various issues at the interface of semantics and pragmatics, and cross-linguistic semantics.

703241 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 - _
This course guides students through some of the basic translation skills, with particular emphasis on translation from English into Arabic. Texts will be drawn from a number of fields and are chosen as representative samples of the main theoretical and practical issues that translators face when translating from English into Arabic. The course addresses linguistic and cultural problems encountered by translators of a variety of texts from English to Arabic.

703242 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 702221 _
This course guides students through some of the basic translation skills with particular emphasis on translation from Arabic into English. Texts will be drawn from a number of fields and are chosen as representative samples of the main theoretical and practical issues that translators face when translating from Arabic into English. The course addresses linguistic and cultural problems encountered by translators of a variety of texts from Arabic to English.

703341 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 _ _
This course provides students with practical interpreting skills such as note-taking, cultural awareness, acting under pressure, innovativeness, flexibility, memory development and empathy. Students are introduced to some of the main issues that have concerned researchers in the field of interpreting. They also engage in extensive practical work in the classroom and the interpreting booth.

703342 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 703341 _
This course provides students with the skills required to successfully carry out consecutive interpretation, such as time-management, flexibility, creativity, and special linguistic skills. Students engage in extensive exercises in class and in the lab.

703344 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 703341 _
This course introduces students to the unique skill of translating media texts. The course examines the nature of media texts from the perspective of critical linguistic analysis, discourse analysis, and semiotics, with the explicit aim of underscoring the important role media texts play in everyday life in shaping public opinion and consciousness and the role of the translator in conveying the force of these media narratives.

703346 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 703241 _
The course introduces students to the basic skills required in the translation of scientific and technical texts. Students are introduced to the basic rules of scientific writing, the cultural differences between various scientific genres, and the latest major topics in the fields of technology and science. Classwork and homework are geared towards honing these translation skills and encourage students to develop a useful glossary of scientific terms in both English and Arabic.

703351 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 703341 _
This course attempts to give a general overview of the main theories of translation to develop students? ability to use the correct terms and vocabulary in utilizing various approaches and translation techniques. Interdisciplinary is emphasized and students? cross over into various disciplines, such as gender studies, post-colonial studies, sociology, etc.

703425 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 702222 _
The course focuses on the unique nature of compiling dictionaries, research issues in the field of lexicography, and the science of terminology and documentation.

703443 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 703341 _
This course provides students with advanced skills required in the practice of simultaneous interpretation through extensive exercises in the interpreting lab. Students will also attend conferences in real time and take part in some of the activities there and watch first-hand how professional interpreters work.

703444 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 703241 _
The course provides a theoretical and practical framework for legal translation and offers practice in the translation of a wide variety of legal documents. It provides students with an overview of basic legal terminology in English and Arabic.

703450 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 703351 _
This course enables students to identify and discuss the latest developments in the field of translation. Each course will focus on one major topic or a number of special topics drawn from the field of translation theory and studies.

702321 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 702221 _
This course is a continuation of English Grammar (1). As an advanced grammar class, the course focuses on the main types of sentences -- simple, complex, and compound -- and the three dependent clauses in English grammar -- noun, adjective, and adverb clauses. The course examines these dependent clauses with their varying structures.

702323 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 _ _
This course introduces students to the basic principles of generative-transformational syntax. The basic sentence structure is first introduced, followed by the structure of the English auxiliary, the verb phrase, and the noun phrase. After an introduction to the generative theory is given, the course then proceeds to cover the concepts of transformation, transformational rules, and the formulation of such rules in formal notation.

702325 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 702222 _
This course raises students? awareness of the relations between linguistic phenomena and human social life by covering several recent theoretical approaches to the study of language and society: variational sociolinguistics, ethnography of communication, and international sociolinguistics. It also covers the development of pidgins and creoles, multilingualism, and language choice.

702423 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 702222 _
Adopting a highly interdisciplinary approach, this course introduces students to the main structural, linguistic and cultural differences that exist between English and Arabic. Drawing upon the disciplines of semiotics, discourse analysis, critical linguistics, and applied linguistics, the course will identify and debate the central issues at the heart of translation between English and Arabic.

702425 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 702222 _
Drawing upon the work of key thinkers such as Austin, de Saussure, and Foucault as well as modern trends in critical language analysis, this course is an examination of the process in which meaning is created and consciousness constructed. It introduces students to the central role language plays in shaping perceptions and how texts mediate truths about events.

702428 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 702222 _
This course examines how, from Old English to current times, people learned and changed their native tongue at home, in schools, and neighborhoods. The course covers linguistic and social history of the English language, including the development of sounds, structure, vocabulary, semantics, and dialects.

702437 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 _ _
This course covers the basics of stylistics. It investigates the characteristic features of stylistic variation at the syntactic and semantic levels. The course is mainly concerned with the analysis of literary style characteristic of a writer in relation to biographical, psychological, and social parameters reflecting the personality of the writer. The course also examines the parameters of stylistic choices, including the contextual, communicative, rhetorical, and information distribution factors.

703352 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 703351 _
This course introduces students to the professional developments of technologies in the field of translation and the issues and concerns that have arisen due to this development. The course tackles topics like computer-assisted translation, translation memory, text corpus, the role of the internet, and tele-translation and electronic resources.

703432 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 703351 _
The course draws upon insights from Documentary Linguistics to highlight the manner in which terminology and documentation are used to identify the conceptual and functional vocabulary used by specialist languages. The course introduces students to the idea of keeping records of language practices, methods for collecting, collating and recording information, and the functional purposes of documentary linguistics.

703460 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 Completion of 90 CRH _
This course allows students to experience first-hand some of the major issues and concerns of translators working in the field through carefully-selected internships, conducted at least 160 hours within one semester, in the public and/or private sector.

703461 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
0 0 Completion of 99 CRH _
In this course students are required to write a on a selected topic in translation that ultimately lead to a major research paper, under the supervision of a faculty member.

702312 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
0 0 _ _
This course introduces students to phonetic and phonological theory with emphasis on the anatomy and physiology of speech, the production of sounds, the articulatory and distinctive features of sounds, and speech acoustics. The International Phonetic Alphabet is introduced and students are trained on phonetic and phonological transcription of words. It also covers topics such as the sounds of speech, their distinctive features, natural classes of sounds, redundant features, the phoneme, phonological alternations, phonological rules, rule ordering, syllable structure and syllabification, auto segmental phonology, and stress and stress patterns.

701271 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 _ _
This course deals with syntactic concepts, such as Arabic sentences referring to the main sources of grammar in the Arabic language. The course introduces students to the study of grammar and looks at grammatical divisions, particularly the delusive, non-delusive, active, passive and nominative sentences.

702005 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 _ _
This course offers an insight into the nature of Italian language, culture and society that will lead students to gain an intercultural competence vitally important in a variety of academic and professional areas. Students will achieve a basic communication ability in the Italian language. This course is equivalent to the A1.1 level of the Common European Formwork of Reference (CEFR).

702006 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 702005 _
This course offers further insight into the nature of Italian language, culture and society that will lead students to gain an intercultural competence vitally important in a variety of academic and professional areas. The teaching approach is communicative and students are encouraged to participate as much as possible. Teaching supports are textbook, handouts, audios and videos. This course is equivalent to the elementary level of the CEFR.

702132 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 900130 _
This course is intended to help students communicate efficiently and professionally in business-related environments and settings. The course focuses on grammatical structures commonly used in commercial transactions, introduces vocabulary particular to various business domains, and familiarizes students with some advanced tips of business etiquette and business correspondence.

703251 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 900120 _
This course introduces students to the two concepts of culture and globalization, and examines the relationship between them. It offers a critical exploration of the concepts of culture and globalization, with a focus on the dynamics, encounters and impact each of them has on the other. The course addresses important questions pertaining to the threats that specific cultures face due to the spread of globalization.

704101 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 _ _
This course develops critical thinking and explores the technological advances of mass communications, with a particular focus on the cultural, and political influences of the media

701102 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 900120 _
This course introduces students to syntactic and morphological skills in addition to well-known figures of speech through the study of Arabic literary texts.

701271 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 _ _
This course deals with selected texts from various literary forms within different periods. Arabic literary texts are analyzed by emphasizing the main ideas, genre and technical styles used.

703221 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 _ _
The course aims to introduce students to basic concepts in the field of English/Arabic translation studies. Students are exposed to a variety of texts through which a number of key translation problems are identified and discussed. Adopting a functional approach, both theoretical and practical aspects are emphasized with a view to developing students? ability to successfully navigate through key linguistic and cultural differences between English and Arabic.

702337 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 _ _
This introductory course familiarizes students with basic poetic techniques and conventions such as voice, tone, diction, sound, form, rhyme, rhythm and various figures of speech, including imagery, metaphors, and symbols. These elements are demonstrated and analyzed through the introduction of a selection of English poems. The course also emphasizes textual strategies and accounts for their components in an attempt to develop further understanding of poetry as both an occasion for pleasure and a reflection of human activity.

702220 3 CH. Prerequisite Co-requisite
3 0 _ _
This course introduces students to genres of non-fiction, fiction, drama, and poetry. By studying important works by writers of culturally diverse backgrounds, students gain experience in reading, analyzing, interpreting, and writing about literature. Course establishes connections between literature and other areas of arts and communications.

Program Learning Outcomes

Translation Program Learning Outcomes

Student learning outcomes describe what students are expected to know and be able to do by the time of graduation. By the time of graduation, the Translation Department's program must enable students to attain an ability to:

  • PLO1: View language critically, recognize different types of discourse and possess a strong vocabulary that allows them to effectively express themselves in at least two languages.
  • PLO2: Hone their writing and public-speaking skills using a variety of rhetoric, such as descriptive, argumentative, cause and effect and analytic. 
  • PLO3: Apply ESL methods to teaching other languages, such as ASL (Arabic as a second language). Use the knowledge and skills obtained to improve their ability to learn foreign languages other than English, and appreciate the relevance of linguistic theory to practical matters. 
  • PLO4: Recognize sociolinguistic effects on language and the ability to develop a technical vocabulary that allows them to read critically and translate professionally.

  1. PLO5:  Able to work on a team or independently in a range of relevant fields: medical, legal, entertainment, diplomatic, educational, business or news media.