Dr. Al-Jalahma: Diplomatic Translation Requires Extensive Knowledge and Understanding the Events 

wo Workshops for the “Foreign Affairs” Employees at the Mohammed Bin Mubarak Academy 

Dr. Al-Jalahma: Diplomatic Translation Requires Extensive Knowledge and Understanding the Events 

Professor of Translation Studies at the University of Bahrain (UoB), Dr. Diya Saqer Al-Jalahma confirmed that diplomatic translation requires extensive knowledge and understanding of the culture of the other party and comprehension of regional and global developments. 

As the Head of the Department of English Language and Literature at the College of Arts at the University of Bahrain, Dr. Al-Jalahma, presented two workshops for employees of the Bahraini Ministry of Foreign Affairs, organized by the Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa Academy for Diplomatic Studies. 

The first workshop was under the title “The Fundamentals of Translation from English into Arabic”, while the second workshop was entitled “Introduction to Diplomatic Translation”. 

The two workshops aimed to familiarize the participants with the basic concepts of translation, especially in the diplomatic field, and the impact of different cultures in communicating the correct message through translation, with a focus on providing participants with the skill of searching for definitions and terms and guiding them to approved sources. 

Dr. Al-Jalahma said that “The most important feature of a diplomatic translator is his ability to deal with different situations in different cultures with expertise and a full rounded view, by seeing the cultural context first, then the context of the situation, and then the text to be translated.” 

Furthermore, she stated that the most important requirements that a translator must have in diplomatic affairs are extensive knowledge and understanding of the culture of the other party, comprehension of regional and global developments, and familiarity with important political terms in the mother language and culture and the target language and culture, noting that “cultural misunderstanding – which occurs in translation – may cause countless problems and crises in political and diplomatic situations between nations, and here we can see the importance of perfect translation in diplomatic affairs and its important role in conveying the message.” 

The workshop urged participants who have an interest in translation to continue studying in new promising fields concerning computer programs, technologies and artificial intelligence for translation, which is called CAT Tools, and which are translation assistance programs that work based on translation memory systems, in addition to termbase that can be used to ensure consistency in translation processes as much as possible.