Translation in the Emirates: Kalima and Tarjem Projects

Abstract

The importance of translation in the history of nations' development cannot be underestimated. The Arab and Islamic worlds in particular has glorious moments in its history where translation occupied a prominent status. The decline in the field of translation was a manifestation of decline in other fields as well. Many attempts to revive translation have been carried out throughout the ages in many Arab countries. The UAE has recently launched two of the most ambitious translation projects in the Arab World, namely, Kalima and Tarjem. The aim of this thesis is to study translation in the UAE concentrating on these two projects in terms of their mission, goals and objectives. The thesis conducts a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis by way of evaluating those aspects and how they reflect on the present and future performance of these two projects. In addition, an assessment of the quality of the translations produced has also been conducted using a random sample from both projects. The findings of this thesis point out how Kalima and Trajem have been operating and what is required for them to go forward in order to achieve their declared targets. The thesis results show what they have so far achieved and what is expected from them in the future.