Investigating Difficulties Encountered Undergraduates and Postgraduates as Trainees Interpreters, during Training Sessions

Abstract

This study aims at investigating difficulties encountered trainees in interpreting of Arabic to English and vice versa as perceived by postgraduate and undergraduate students of translation in Sudanese Universities as trainee interpreters during training sessions. The selected texts were addressed in both languages and interpreted using intermodal mode into English and Arabic. The difficulties were analyzed using cross-linguistic and cultural communicative (Interactional Sociolinguistics) analysis approach. Quantitative and qualitative descriptive analytical methods were used in this research project to obtain information from a sample population. The sample of the study was postgraduate and undergraduate students who were chosen from various colleges of translation and arts at Sudanese Universities. The (42) trainees from the sampled universities formed the key informants for the diagnostic test. Data was collected through observation and test. Data from the compressed disc (CD) and notes was taken and examined to create texts for analysis. The findings revealed that there are a number of difficulties facing the interpreters. The difficulties range from external factors that are beyond the trainees, which included time constraints, and other factors involved wrong use of specialized terms, socicultural terms encoding, linguistic knowledge gap and factors related to the interpreters‘ traits and the speakers as well. The study recommended that, trainees have to be acquainted with specialized and cultural bounded-terms. They also have to improve their competence of knowledge of language as well as a practical course and training period were suggested to be designed as a part of curriculum at level of undergraduate and postgraduate.