Off topic: Opinions on University of Toronto Translation certificates? + other shenanigans
Thread poster: Emma Sharp
Emma Sharp
Emma Sharp
Canada
Local time: 06:10
French to English
+ ...
May 15, 2020

Hello all,

Does anyone have experience with the translation certificates at University of Toronto? I am specifically interested in the following ones (still trying to decide which directi
... See more
Hello all,

Does anyone have experience with the translation certificates at University of Toronto? I am specifically interested in the following ones (still trying to decide which direction to choose):

https://learn.utoronto.ca/programs-courses/certificates/translation-french-english


https://learn.utoronto.ca/programs-courses/certificates/translation-french


Is the program any good? It's pretty expensive, but it seems a bit more straight-forward than other programs I've seen. I'm looking for a good online program for a translation certificate (or the like), either French to English or English to French, which will give me a basic understanding of: methodology, translation tools, advanced grammar and style, introduction to specific types of translation (legal, commercial, administrative, literary). If you know any other short, basic, online program for these languages that is any good, let me know!

Thank you so much and have a lovely day!

***

For context:
I am a student currently completing my first year in a B.A.& Sc. in Linguistics at Concordia University in Montréal. My hope is to become a linguist (still not sure in what field exactly); however, linguistics is a very limited field and I'm not really interested in eating nothing but ice cubes until my professors retire so I want to explore other types of work that interest me, which are translation and language teaching. My mother tongue is French, but I have been learning English since I was a child. Also, getting my college education in English has made my writing skills in English a bit better than my French, which is why I still haven't decided whether I want to translate E to F or F to E. Unrelated, but it would be very cool to translate linguistics papers and books

Disclaimer for the ones who may not understand why I want to do a certificate and not a full degree:
I know that a lot of the people on this site have made translation their life's work, and may be insulted by me essentially treating translation as a "side hustle". My intention is not to be offensive; I have always enjoyed translating texts, and becoming a translator has always been something I've thought about. I actually wanted to major in translation along with linguistics, but the first two classes of my major were such a monumental waste of time that I dropped the major and told myself that if I'm not going to go all out and get an actual degree in translation, then I might as well just get a certificate to get the basics down, and then study on my own to perfect my craft. Being a linguist implies having a PhD, so getting a degree in translation would add on four more years to an already nine year long process.

[Edited at 2020-05-16 19:54 GMT]
Collapse


 
Adam Dickinson
Adam Dickinson  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 06:10
Member (2016)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Have taken the courses, currently teach there May 16, 2020

Emma Sharp wrote:

Hello all,

Does anyone have experience with the translation certificates at University of Toronto? I am specifically interested in the following ones (still trying to decide which direction to choose):
https://learn.utoronto.ca/programs-courses/certificates/translation-french-english
https://learn.utoronto.ca/programs-courses/certificates/translation-french

Is the program any good? It's pretty expensive, but it seems a bit more straight-forward than other programs I've seen. I'm looking for a good online program for a translation certificate (or the like), either French to English or English to French, which will give me a basic understanding of: methodology, translation tools, advanced grammar and style, introduction to specific types of translation (legal, commercial, administrative, literary). If you know any other short, basic, online program for these languages that is any good, let me know!

Thank you so much and have a lovely day!

***

For context:
I am a student currently completing my first year in a B.A.& Sc. in Linguistics at Concordia University in Montréal. My hope is to become a linguist (still not sure in what field exactly); however, linguistics is a very limited field and I'm not really interested in eating nothing but ice cubes until my professors retire so I want to explore other types of work that interest me, which are translation and language teaching. My mother tongue is French, but I have been learning English since I was a child. Also, getting my college education in English has made my writing skills in English a bit better than my French, which is why I still haven't decided whether I want to translate E to F or F to E. Unrelated, but it would be very cool to translate linguistics papers and books

Disclaimer for the ones who may not understand why I want to do a certificate and not a full degree:
I know that a lot of the people on this site have made translation their life's work, and may be insulted by me essentially treating translation as a "side hustle". My intention is not to be offensive; I have always enjoyed translating texts, and becoming a translator has always been something I've thought about. I actually wanted to major in translation along with linguistics, but the first two classes of my major were such a monumental waste of time that I dropped the major and told myself that if I'm not going to go all out and get an actual degree in translation, then I might as well just get a certificate to get the basics down, and then study on my own to perfect my craft. Being a linguist implies having a PhD, so getting a degree in translation would add on four more years to an already nine year long process.


Hi Emma,

I know about the U of T's programs - I completed the Spanish translation certificate several years ago and am the current instructor of the school's Spanish to English courses. I'll do my best to answer your questions; if you'd like any other information feel free to get in touch with me personally!

My experience of the courses is that they're very practice-oriented, though each instructor's approach is different. The certificate consists of four courses, the first of which is more theory-oriented and walks you through the basics, while the second and third introduce different subject areas where there is a high demand for translation (legal, marketing, literary, etc.). The final course typically gives students the choice to do coursework in a couple of specific areas in which they want more experience. In that sense, it seems to be pretty in line with your objectives. I will say that the extent to which the courses cover particular aspects of theory or aspects of working in the industry will vary from instructor to instructor - the core of the courses is getting practice doing translations and receiving feedback from your instructor; there are also webinars where the class discusses the assignments and aspects of translation theory and practice.

I think your motivation in terms of setting up a side business while working towards a linguistics PhD isn't a bad one - I personally took the courses while I was communications staff at an NGO where we regularly had to work in Spanish and English, so having more formal experience with translation seemed to be a good idea. I can't say how much having the certificate has helped me in the long run, but it likely helped put my clients' minds at ease when I was getting my first translation jobs.

I'd be curious if anyone else here has had experience with the courses and what their experience has been!

Best,
Adam

PS: I'm quoting your full message here since the "see more" link on your original post didn't seem to work for me. Not sure if anyone else had that difficulty.


DZiW (X)
Aline Amorim
 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 11:10
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
How to disable "See more" May 16, 2020

Adam Dickinson wrote:
I'm quoting your full message here since the "see more" link on your original post didn't seem to work for me.


By the way, in case you want to disable that feature, you can:
https://www.proz.com/dashboard/forum/
"Expand all forum posts"


Adam Dickinson
Emma Sharp
Aline Amorim
 
Emma Sharp
Emma Sharp
Canada
Local time: 06:10
French to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you for your feedback! May 16, 2020

Adam Dickinson wrote:

Hi Emma,

I know about the U of T's programs - I completed the Spanish translation certificate several years ago and am the current instructor of the school's Spanish to English courses. I'll do my best to answer your questions; if you'd like any other information feel free to get in touch with me personally!


Hi Adam!

I didn't think I would actually find someone who has so much direct experience with the program, and so quickly too! This is great!

Your answer was really helpful; I think that I have a better idea of what the courses offer, now. Thank you for offering to answer my questions; if I have any, I'll send you a message!




Also, I tried to edit my original post to put more space between the links. Hopefully that does something to fix the problem, and if not then there's always Samuel's advice; thank you Samuel!


 


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:

Moderator(s) of this forum
Nawal Kramer[Call to this topic]

You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

Opinions on University of Toronto Translation certificates? + other shenanigans






Wordfast Pro
Translation Memory Software for Any Platform

Exclusive discount for ProZ.com users! Save over 13% when purchasing Wordfast Pro through ProZ.com. Wordfast is the world's #1 provider of platform-independent Translation Memory software. Consistently ranked the most user-friendly and highest value

Buy now! »
Trados Studio 2022 Freelance
The leading translation software used by over 270,000 translators.

Designed with your feedback in mind, Trados Studio 2022 delivers an unrivalled, powerful desktop and cloud solution, empowering you to work in the most efficient and cost-effective way.

More info »