Introduction

This programme is designed to meet the needs of professionals who have to work with Chinese documents and/or Chinese-speaking clients or customers, and thus desire to understand the grammatical differences between Chinese and English, and to master the basic theories and skills for Chinese-English bilateral translation and interpretation.

Course Objectives
On successful completion of this programme, students will be able to:

• Deepen their understanding on the peculiar characteristics of both the English and Chinese Languages;
• Master the practical skills and knowledge on Chinese-English and English-Chinese bilateral translation;
• Become proficient at translating commonly used business documents;
• Master the basics and skills of interpretation;
• Learn the application of various computer software for translation.

Course Highlights

• Increase the job prospects for those who aspires to be full/part-time translators or interpreters.
• A balanced curriculum in theory and practice.
• To be awarded a diploma certificate by the Confucius Institute, Nanyang Technological University.

Faculty Members

• The programme is taught by respected scholars and academics from within and outside the country, and senior practitioners from the translation and interpretation industry

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Curriculum Overview

Programme Structure

Course Structure

• The course comprises 8 modules, over a course of 10 months.
• Each module consists of 30 training hours (including examination) and constitutes 3 academic units. A student will need to complete all 8 modules and obtain 24 academic units to fulfil the graduation requirements.
• The maximum candidature is 2 years (from commencement of the intake).

Medium of Instruction

• Chinese and English

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Area of Studies

Modules Outline

DBTS101 Contrastive Study of English and Chinese Languages (3 AUs)
This module introduces basic linguistic knowledge and makes contrastive analyses of English and Chinese languages. The main focus is to discuss and expose the differences between these two languages in terms of lexicon, grammar, semantics, pragmatics, culture, and way of thinking, structural analysis, and highlight the implications of these differences for practical English-Chinese bilateral translation.

DBTS102 Practical Translation Skills (3 AUs)
This module aims to help students understand basic concepts and acquire basic techniques and skills translation. Focus is placed on the cultivation and mastery of proven techniques through a large number of examples and exercises in English and Chinese. Multiple translations of the same original text will be analysed to enhance students’ awareness of the importance of techniques and cultural elements. Common errors in translation are summed up and explained.

DBTS103 Translation of Business and Trade Documents (3 AUs)
This module is designed to equip students with the effective skills and techniques for translating business and trade documents including advertisements, business correspondence, contracts and agreements, memorandums, notices, financial statements, and annual reports. The students will read and analyse a variety of business and trade related documents, familiarise themselves with the jargons, terminologies, and styles of these documents. The students will then learn how to render the texts from English to Chinese and vice versa through proper diction and expressions, keeping in mind the cultural differences between the Western and Chinese communities.

DBTS104 Translation of Media Articles (3 AUs)
This module is designed to help students develop skills and techniques in translating media articles. Students will be exposed to relevant theories on top of the linguistics, stylistic and cultural features of news reports and other forms of journalistic writing in Chinese and English. On this basis, students will be guided to formulate strategies for translating such texts between the two languages. Attention will also be paid to different journalistic context and their norms and impacts on translation.

DBTS105 Translation of Science and Technical Documents (3 AUs)
This module is designed to help students develop skills and techniques in translating scientific and technical writings, including research papers, popular science articles, manuals, product reviews among others. Students will be guided in scientific writing skills and research skill for translating science and technical documents, and understanding the different nature of science and technical translation.

DBTS106 Modern Translation Technologies (3 AUs)
Modern translation services require translators to be proficient in industry-specific tools. Therefore, this module aims to teach students about various translation-related tools to improve the efficiency and management of translation projects. Software covered includes Memsource, memoQ, SDL Trados and Wordfast. The module also explores different machine translation engines and introduces the emerging field of post-editing machine translation to ensure students are exposed to new industry practices.

DBTS107 Consecutive Interpreting (C – E) (3 AUs)
This module is a basic course in consecutive interpreting from Chinese to English focusing on the basic interpreting skills and techniques. Students will be equipped with the basic consecutive interpreting ability from Chinese to English, through a large number of practical exercises.

DBTS108 Consecutive Interpreting (E – C) (3 AUs)
This module is a basic course in consecutive interpreting from English to Chinese focusing on the basic interpreting skills and techniques. Students will be equipped with the basic consecutive interpreting ability from English to Chinese through a large number of practical exercises.





 

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Entry Requirements

Applicants should possess the following academic qualifications:

• Tertiary Education (or its equivalent).
• At least a Grade B4 in GCE ‘O’ Level English (or its equivalent).
• At least a Grade A2 in GCE ‘O’ Level Chinese OR a Grade B3 in GCE 'O' Level Higher Chinese (or their equivalent).
• Non-Singaporean applicants will need to present educational certificate(s) that indicate proficiency in both Chinese and English.

Applicants who are unable to submit relevant proof, may be subjected to sit for an entrance test.

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Duration & Intake

Programme Duration

Course Duration

Intake Schedule
Application for enrolment will open in October for admission in February/March of the following year.

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Fees & Funding

Funding / Grants

Skillsfuture Credit Other grants: UTAP, TTDS

 
注Note:
- * Prevailing GST is applicable.
- The non-refundable registration fee is payable upon submission of application.
- The tuition fee includes course materials and examination fees. The cost required to attend the modules DBTS107, DBTS108 abroad, such as air fare, accommodation and transportation are not covered by the tuition fee.
- In the event that there are revisions to fees payable, please refer to our website for the updated schedule of fees.

Fee Support
Eligible applicants may apply for the following tuition fee support.
  SkillsFuture Credit (SFC)

• Receive an opening credit of $500 and periodic top-ups from the Government.
• May be used to offset the course fees of approved skills-related courses.

Eligibility Criteria:

• Singapore Citizens, aged 25 years and above.
• Self-sponsored.

For more information, please visit www.skillsfuture.gov.sg/credit or contact SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) hotline at 6785 5785.