Facilitating African Language translation in the South African Department of Defence

Abstract

This study aimed to determine whether the current African language translation facilitation course (ALTFC) held at the Directorate Language Services (D Lang) is in tune with contemporary trends in translator training, as well as the needs of the South African Department of Defence (DOD) and ALTFC candidates. In order to accomplish these aims, the research methodology was divided into a theoretical component in the form of a literature survey and an empirical component by means of questionnaire research. While the literature survey revealed that with the exception of using corpora of parallel texts, the ALTFC largely follows contemporary trends in translator training, the questionnaire research identified four problem areas, i.e. feedback on practical work, the time factor, the candidates' English proficiency and teacher enthusiasm. Based on the theoretical and empirical findings, four new ALTFC models were developed.