RIYADH — Translation experts from Saudi Arabia and seven other countries gathered here this week to examine the main issues and challenges facing the global translation industry, shared best practice methods, and exchanged ideas. The forum also explored the role of translation in bridging cultures, as well as laws and regulations governing the industry.

Hosted by the Saudi Literature, Publishing and Translation Commission, one of 11 commissions under the Ministry of Culture, the forum hosted engaging panel discussions and interactive workshops that presented new tools and techniques in the fields of literary translation, news translation, political translation, and language interpretation.

Discussions highlighted international best practice in using translation technologies and computer-assisted translation tools.

Nine prominent international speakers, trainers, and professors from top universities such as Leuven University (Belgium), National University of Colombia, Lumière University Lyon 2 (France), Hamad Bin Khalifa University (Qatar), University of Granada (Spain), University of Ljubljana (Slovenia) and University College London (UK), participated in the forum’s panel sessions and training workshops.

Dr. Mohammed Alwan, CEO of the Literature, Publishing, and Translation Commission, said: “We are proud to have hosted the first successful edition of the Translation Forum. It has been a true honor to bring together some of the top experts in the translation sector to discuss ways we can work together to advance the sector.

“Saudi Arabia has one of the biggest translation and publishing markets in the region, and we are exerting all efforts to grow the sector even more through nurturing and encouraging local writers and translators, forging international collaborations, and developing a supportive regulatory framework.”

As part of the forum, the Literature, Publishing and Translation Commission organized the Kingdom’s first audiovisual translation challenge for students, amateurs, and professionals in the field.

During the two-day ‘Movisation Challenge’, teams of two to three members competed in translating short film clips discussing Saudi culture and history from Arabic into English, French, Spanish, and Korean. Prizes ranged from SR5,500 ($1,466) to SR20,000 ($5,332) for winners in two tracks: amateurs and students, and professionals.

In one of the panel discussion, professionals in sports translation agreed that this field has a bright future in Saudi Arabia. This was revealed during a session tilted "The Role of Translation in Sports".

In terms of publicity and marketing, the speakers in the session stressed the importance of having interpreters in each football club. They pointed out that each club has players of various nationalities and from different nations, which help the club advertise itself and gain popularity internationally.

The speakers were Nasser Albeshri, Mansour Alabdallah and Mushari Alghamdi. The session was moderated by Mazen Alharbi.

Meanwhile, academics and audiovisual translation experts stressed the necessity of cross sector collaboration for the industry's success. This was revealed during a session tilted Audiovisual Translation: Profession/Hobby.

They emphasized the role of guidelines and adequate training to improve the quality of translation whether dubbing or subtitling. The speakers were Dr. Rashid Yahiaoui, Dr Abrar Mujaddidi, and Abdullah Alkhurayef. The session was moderated by Dr. Zafer Tuhaiteh.

A workshop held in the forum on legal translation and basics of translation to contribute to development of the sector and translators. Prof. Catherine Way affirmed that legal language is different from other types of translation.

Legal systems vary and to be a good legal translator it is a must to be well educated about them, she affirmed. Prof. Way underlined techniques of preparing to become a legal translator.

Meanwhile, at the Basics of Translation workshop, Dr. Noha Alowedi discussed the diversity of structure and noun phrases between English and Arabic, importance of collections, problem of idioms and solutions on these issues.

Dr. Alowedi shared with the attendance advices on addressing the problem of numbers and gender. Managing more collections will lead to more creative translation, she affirmed. — SPA