Your Study Plan
Core modules (15 credits)
Module Code
Module Details
Credit Units
TRA5001
Duration: 45 hours
Prerequisites: Nil
Description:
The module aims to provide students with the essential concepts and terminology pertinent to the formulation of different types of business and legal writings. It helps students develop a conceptual structure which serves as the foundation for their advanced studies of translation in business and law by enabling them to acquire a host of essential specialist terms in the fields. Special reference will also be made to the terminological works prepared by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
3
TRA5002
Duration: 45 hours
Prerequisites: Nil
Description:
This module aims to equip students with the analytical and conceptual tools for understanding and tackling the multifaceted problems arising from the workings of language in business and legal settings so that they can facilitate efficient communication and conduct in-depth research as language professionals. Emphasis will be given to the use of Chinese and English in business and legal settings of the Greater China Region.
3
TRA5003
Duration: 45 hours
Prerequisites: Nil
Description:
The module introduces students to business and legal translation. It enables students to understand the characteristics of business and legal language in terms of diction, formats, and styles of business and legal writings, and helps them grasp the basic principles, strategies and techniques for translating business and legal texts such as IPO documents, commercial contracts, minutes, guidelines, rules and regulations between English and Chinese. The ultimate aim is to train students to work efficiently in the bilingual business and legal settings of both Hong Kong and the PRC.
3
TRA5109
Duration: 45 hours
Prerequisites: TRA5003 Translation in Business and Law
Description:
The module provides further training on translation in business and law by evaluating the important theories and strategies for business and legal translation in Hong Kong and the PRC. The main focus is on developing students' competency in translating complex business and legal documents such as judgments of business cases, sale and purchase agreements in real estate, insurance policies, company's merger and bidding documents, rules and regulations for institutions and government's laws, by-laws and other statutes. The module also helps students acquire the ability to critically analyse, evaluate and improve existing translated texts in business and law.
3
TRA6001
Duration: 45 hours
Prerequisites: Nil
Description:
This module offers a comprehensive survey of major state-of-the-art computer applications for translators, including electronic dictionaries, concordancers, machine translation, translation memory, and terminology databases. The module also equips students with important computer (-aided) translation skills, such as pre-editing, post-editing, bilingual alignment, and term extraction.
3
Elective modules (12 credits)
Module Code
Module Details
Credit Units
TRA5004
Duration: 45 hours
Prerequisites: Nil
Description:
This module aims to provide students with a descriptive account of the translation industry in Chinese communities, for example, Hong Kong, Mainland, Taiwan and Macau. It sensitises them to the multifaceted problems involved in the production of translation in the industry, inspiring them to explore such problems both from a professional and from a critical perspective. The ultimate goal of the module is to develop a culture of critical self-evaluation in the industry so as to enhance its professional standards.
3
TRA5101
Duration: 45 hours
Prerequisites: Nil
Description:
This module aims to give students an overview of the legal systems and business environments in the Greater China region with a view to equipping them with a knowledge frame for understanding the business and legal cultures of the various communities in the region whereby they can handle business and legal texts of various types for specific professional purposes such as drafting and translating. Emphasis will be given to the sociolinguistic issues concerning business and law in the region.
3
TRA5103
Duration: 45 hours
Prerequisites: Nil
Description:
This module is designed to develop the English writing skills for writing and translating at Masters level. The main focus will be on the stylistic and rhetorical features employed in business and legal writing, with additional material including advertising, arts & media, cultural, finance, economics, trade & commercial, news & journalism, politics, and science topics, according to the interests of the students. The module explores the relationship between word origins, vocabulary, diction and genre to explain some of the peculiarities of business and legal English. It enables students to expand their vocabulary for business and legal purposes, to enhance their understanding of the characteristics of English, and to apply the skills gained in writing and translation tasks.
3
TRA5104
Duration: 45 hours
Prerequisites: Nil
Description:
本單元旨在提高學員中文寫作能力，使學員在香港及内地商業及法律範疇，靈活運用本單元所學的語言學知識及寫作技巧，有效地以中文作書面溝通。
3
TRA5105
Duration: 45 hours
Prerequisites: Nil
Description:
The course covers the general principles in interpreting and drafting bilingual legislation in the Hong Kong context, and bilingual legal drafting in the general business setting. Students will be taught the linguistic and interpretation problems inherent in legal translation from the perspective of the discrepancies between the Chinese and English language, drafting and statutory interpretation. Students will undertake translation of various types of bilingual legal texts and critically assess and evaluate bilingual legal texts.
3
TRA5106
Duration: 45 hours
Prerequisites: Nil
Description:
This course applies linguistic theories to a systemic study of the language types used by Chinese/English business and legal professionals. It provides the student an opportunity to critically assess several linguistic approaches to an in-depth analysis of Chinese/English business and legal documents—including (but not limited to) semantic, syntactic and textual approaches, and become aware of a range of the literature on the theoretical premises and applied components of a linguistic framework within which translation is intended.
3
TRA5107
Duration: 45 hours
Prerequisites: Nil
Description:
This module provides students with essential knowledge of forensic linguistics. They study key concepts including legal genres and contexts, the roles and power hierarchy of language in the legal process, language as evidence in legal proceedings, and the contribution of forensic linguists to the implementation of law. Particular focus will be placed on real-life examples and courtroom observation so that students will be able to integrate knowledge and skills through conducting research on selected cases and engage in critical discussions on legal-linguistic issues.
3
TRA5108
Duration: 45 hours
Prerequisites: Nil
Description:
This module aims to train students to engage critically with some of the most important concepts and theories in translation studies. It studies and interrogates the use and usefulness of translation theory by focusing on how theory informs practice and how practice, in turn, can necessitate a radical re-examination of theory. It comprises (a) a theoretical segment on the different ways of conceptualizing and studying translation, (b) a historical segment on the changing views of translation, and (c) a series of case studies highlighting particular topics and issues, with a special focus on business and legal texts. It provides students with the conceptual tools necessary for analysing translation texts, strategies and phenomenon and prepares them for further research work.
3
TRA5110
Duration: 45 hours
Prerequisites: Nil
Description:
This module aims to equip students with the essential knowledge, skills and techniques of the various modes of interpretation required for cross-language and cross-culture communication in business and non-judicial legal settings.
3
TRA5111
Duration: 45 hours
Prerequisites: Nil
Description:
This module aims to provide students with a clear account of the special features of courtroom language in Hong Kong and to equip them with the basic skills and techniques for the various modes of interpreting in court proceedings.
3
TRA5112
Duration: 45 hours
Prerequisites: Nil
Description:
The module develops the research, analytical and critical evaluation abilities of students by providing them a platform to present their findings of translation-related research/translation projects in business and law and engage in academic discussion with peers utilizing the theories and practical skills they learnt in the programme. It also trains students to gain from peer assisted learning and enhances their presentation skills, which are essential qualities for studies at a higher academic level.
3
TRA5113
Duration: 45 hours
Prerequisites: Nil
Description:
This course aims to enable students to consolidate and develop the knowledge and skills acquired in the programme. Under academic supervision, students will independently explore a specialised subject within the area of translation in business and law. They are required to undertake independent study on the theory and practice of translation, culminating in either a research paper of 10,000 to 15,000 words in length (excluding bibliography and footnotes) or an extended translation between English and Chinese of 5,000 to 10,000 words with a critical commentary of 3,000 to 5,000 words.
6
TRA6002
Duration: 45 hours
Prerequisites: Nil
Description:
This module provides students with the professional knowledge and skills they need to work in the world of translation, both as a freelance translator and as a language service provider. The module covers topics such as the language industry, translation ethics, useful tools for text processing and business management, and the advanced skills of providing language services and managing translation enterprises.
3
TRA6004
Duration: 45 hours
Prerequisites: TRA6002 Professional Language Services: Skills and Strategies or with the Instructor's Permission and upon the endorsement of the relevant Academic Leader and Programme Director
Description:
This module enhances students' knowledge and skills of online project management. Students will work as translation teams on computer-aided translation projects so as to get familiar with (1) the process of collaborative translation and (2) online collaboration tools and cloud translation platforms. Topics include team management, online database management, and collaborative translation projects in various areas.
3
TRA6201
Duration: 45 hours
Prerequisites: Nil
Description:
This module helps students develop the knowledge and skills required for the design and development of bilingual websites. Students will gain a good understanding of the key concepts of web development and get hands-on experience in developing bilingual web applications and localising websites. Topics include (1) the key concepts of localization and internationalisation, (2) the structure, design and interactivity of bilingual websites, and (3) best practice in localisation.
3
TRA6202
Duration: 45 hours
Prerequisites: Nil
Description:
This module develops students' competence in providing professional language services for bilingual digital marketing campaigns (English / Chinese). Students will get familiar with a wide range of digital marketing channels (e.g., search engines, digital displays, email, social media, online video, and mobile devices) and acquire skills in creating useful and engaging bilingual content accordingly.
3
In order to be eligible for the award of the Master of Arts in Translation (Business and Legal), students are required to complete a minimum of 27 credits as laid down in the programme curriculum and obtain a cumulative GPA of 2.0.