![]() ![]() I feel much more confident about my language and translation skills after these three terms. ![]() They also provide us with links to groups focused on advising and helping translators in the beginning of their professional life and give us information about translator associations such as the Swedish Association of Professional Translators (SFÖ). There was quite a fuss among them about the EU entrance exams for translators into Swedish earlier this year, and we even had a whole (optional) lecture dedicated to practical information about applying for and taking the exam. They give us helpful pointers based on their own professional experiences and regularly send us information about interesting lectures or job offers. In addition, the teachers do their best to prepare us for life as a translator after graduation. This is partly because it’s an integral part of the program, and partly because it prepares us for the master’s thesis and our future work after graduation. The second course of the second year is focused entirely on translation studies and theory. The teachers have given us a lot of information on how to think about the small but important differences between Swedish and Danish and how to familiarize ourselves with the language and culture in order to become better translators. I suppose I can’t say much about my skills, since I haven’t actually passed the course yet, but I feel much more comfortable with Danish now than I did three months ago. Since I don’t speak any of the other source languages offered, I went with Danish. In the second year, students can choose between translation from a second source language and translation from Danish. We also studied Swedish grammar and text analysis, and were introduced to CAT-tools such as SDL Trados Studio and MemoQ. The combination of this level of variety and the tips and tricks from the experienced teachers gave us the resources we needed to handle different genres and find appropriate sources for fact checking and terminology. For example, we were given excerpts from a software user manual for one assignment, followed by a popular science text about sharks for the next assignment. The first year includes translation courses where the students work with texts from various genres. It’s also a campus-based program without any online courses, which fits me perfectly. New students can choose English, French or Spanish one year and English, Italian or German the next. ![]() English is offered every year, but the other source languages have been split up so that two are offered each year. The program is offered entirely in Swedish, with Swedish as the target language and English, French, Spanish, Italian and German as source languages. Although some assignments include translating fiction, the main focus is translating non-fiction texts. This program is focused on translation, so there are no interpreting courses or training. Of course, there are alternatives for students that aren’t interested in the master’s thesis at all, such as taking three of the four terms and not writing the final master’s thesis. I chose two years because the courses offered during the second year seemed interesting and because I thought writing the master’s thesis would deepen my understanding of translation studies and research. At Lund University, students can select to take a one-year or two-year MA in translation. Needless to say, I passed my entrance exam and I’m currently taking the program’s third of four terms. I decided right then and there that I wanted to stay and study in Lund. Over the lunch break, my father and I walked around campus and discovered the university library. I arrived with no more than two hours of sleep and armed with a big bag of candy, ready to write my entrance exam for the translation program. My father drove me from one side of Sweden to the other in a shaky, noisy truck in a snowstorm, while I tried to sleep against the car window on an itchy old pillow. I came to Lund University for the first time as winter was just giving way into spring. Who wouldn’t fall in love with this beauty? ![]()
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