'MEC Press' December 2019 Publication 1. Newsletter December 2019 Vo 7 | Page 5

6th Year Students Attend
Translation Workshop in DCU
By 6 th Year EAL Students
I would like to start by thanking Maynooth Education Campus and language teachers
involved for offering us this amazing experience. On the 5th of December 2019, me, Rocío
Martos, and Sarah Centenaro, from 6th year, were offered the chance to participate in a
translation workshop in DCU college. The event included talks about the professional field
of translation, a Q&A session and the final workshop, where we could experience the actual
task of translating and gain tips to improve our skills. We had the opportunity to hear about
professionals working in many areas and languages, about their daily work and what you
need to be a good translator.
In the workshop, we were divided into groups of the languages we represented: Spanish,
German and French. We were given a text to translate on a computer and got to compare
it with one translated by a machine, and our supervisor offered useful advice on how to
play with language to translate slang and colloquial phrases.
I think it is important to share such experiences so the value of learning a new language
can be acknowledged. This amazing opportunity offered us a new vision on how
boundaries of languages can be so easily broken and the real importance of translation in
our society. The experience will always serve to remind ourselves of how communication
joins different cultures together, and how we must never underestimate that.
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Sarah Centenaro & Rocio Martos attend DCU workshop to learn more about the
work of professional translators.