The Use of Translation Creative Microstrategies by University Students in Selected Text Types

Abstract

This study aims to examine the degrees of applying creative microstrategies in translating selected types of texts (journalistic, business and literary texts) by 36 translation male and female graduating students, and comparing them with those of professional translators. It also seeks to identify the level of students’ creativity and the decisions taken to produce a creative translation. 108 students’ translations were analysed and 6 students were interviewed randomly, in which four open questions were asked. The findings of the study have shown high frequencies of using both pragmatic and semantic creative microstratgies by all categories of students, who interacted creatively with the three texts when compared to the professional translators, despite the differences in quality and accuracy. The study highly recommends providing students with sufficient knowledge about the different translation strategies to facilitate finding the best equivalents and create interaction between the translator and the text through investigation and deep analysis. The outcomes are expected to help both learners to overcome translation challenges, and instructors to better assess their performance to ensure that the output of the translated work is accurate, creative, and of high quality.