Our Inception
Translation and interpretation have played important roles in China as early as the Han and Tang dynasties, when China opened her doors to the outside world. At the end of the Qing dynasty and the beginning of the Republic, intellectuals in China acknowledged the importance of borrowing and learning from the West in order to modernize the nation. Many people dedicated themselves to the translation of Western texts into Chinese. This greatly impacted Chinese society, culture and politics. Today, the world has become a global village. Governments of the world have acknowledged the importance of translation and interpretation, and the roles that they play in promoting cultural and technological exchange. Through translation and interpretation, a nation learns from the outside world. Translation and interpretation also enables a nation to introduce and connect itself to the international community.GITI is the first such institute to be founded in a national university. It was established in August 1996, after four years of planning and preparation. GITI has two missions: first, to train professional interpreters and translators to serve the society, and second, to encourage academic research in translation and interpretation studies.
Faculty and Students
GITI has a team of outstanding and dedicated faculty members who are renowned in their fields of expertise. They include scholars in translation studies, linguistics and comparative literature, as well as practicing translators and conference interpreters. Faculty members from other departments are invited to give lectures on a wide array of topics, including literature and the arts, science and technology, law and politics, economics and finance, etc. Students at GITI are exposed to a smorgasbord of courses to enhance their skills in translating and interpreting, increase their breadth of knowledge, and explore the theoretical aspects of translation and interpretation.When GITI was first established, approximately 500 candidates took the entrance examinations, hoping to become one of the ten lucky students to be admitted. In order to qualify as a candidate, applicants need to have TOEFL or IELTS scores that meet the institute's basic requirements. GITI students come from diverse educational backgrounds, including literature, education, journalism, business management, engineering, law and medicine, etc. Given the stringent entrance requirements, all GITI students are very fluent in Mandarin and English. Needless to say, the eclectic and outstanding student body is GITI's greatest asset.
The dedicated and experienced faculty members join with the exceptional student body to create synergy in a highly stimulating learning environment.
The Curriculum
During the first year, students in both the translation track and the conference interpretation track have to attend to required courses. Students in both tracks need to take the History of Translation in China, Translation Theory, and Basic Translation Exercises in both language directions. The required courses for the translation students include: Comparative Rhetorics, Research in Translation, and Advanced Translation Exercises. The required courses for the conference interpretation students include: Research in Interpretation, Sight Translation, Consecutive Interpretation and Simultaneous Interpretation.Apart from the required courses, all students have to attend special lectures geared towards increasing their breadth of knowledge. The lectures cover extensive topics ranging from music and the arts to physics and economics 101. Professional translators and interpreters needed to be equipped with encyclopedic knowledge and excellent research skills in order to survive in the highly competitive market.GITI acknowledges this fact and does its best to provide its students with the training they need.
At the end of the first year, students in both tracks need to pass their qualification exams before they can enroll in second year courses.
From the second year onwards, students can choose to take the research track or the practicum track. Upon completing the required courses in each track, they need to pass their graduation exams and defend their theses successfully in order to graduate. Students in the research track need to pass exams in "The Theory of Translation and Interpretation" and "The History of Translation." Students in the practicum track need to pass professional exams in conference interpretation or translation. As for the thesis requirement, students in the research track need to present an academic thesis of more than 30,000 words, while students in the practicum track can work on a substantial translation project or interpret at a specified number of international conferences and write up a self-critique or commentary of more than 10,000 words to serve as their theses.
Since translators and interpreters need to be highly bilingual and bicultural, GITI encourages its students to study and live in countries where their B languages are spoken. All students are expected to study abroad for three to six months. National Taiwan Normal University has exchange programs with many internationally renowned institutes of higher learning. Of the exchange students from NTNU that are sent abroad every year, 50% are from GITI.
In Pursuit of Excellence
Since its inception, GITI has attracted the best students from all over the country. The low acceptance rate and strenuous training have given GITI quite a reputation. Translation students in the research and practicum tracks need to complete 37 credits. Conference interpretation students in the research track need to complete 52 credits, and those in the practicum track need to complete a total of 69 credits. The credit requirement at GITI is unparalleled in comparison to other graduate institutes. The teachers and students at GITI, however, agree that it is necessary for them to set high standards in order to excel. GITI aims to cultivate the best scholars in translation and interpretation studies as well as the most professional translators and interpreters to serve the society.Faculty
- Professors
- Chung-tien Chou
- Sher-shiueh Li
- Associate Professors
- Tzu-yun Lai
- Ken-fang Lee
- Posen Liao
- Assistant Professors
- Tze-wei Chen
- Elma Mingli Ju
- Lecturers
- Damien Fan
Facilities
- Library and reading room
- Two classrooms with conference interpretation facilities
- One computer classroom with internet access
- Cubicles for individual practice sessions
- Wireless internet access in all classrooms
We are supported by the Mandarin Training Center with access to two language labs, one multi-media classroom, one classroom with internet access, and one library. We also have access to the English Department’s simultaneous interpretation classroom and affiliated library. GITI is conveniently located right across the university’s main library building.
Teaching and Research
The Graduate Institute of Translation and Interpretation (GITI) is the first graduate program in translation and interpretation to be set up in an national university. It was established in 1996. GITI aims to foster research in translation and interpreting studies, and train professional translators and interpreters. GITI has a two-pronged approach: on the one hand, it focuses on developing teaching methodologies for translation and interpreting; on the other hand, it serves as a bridge between academia and industry, training highly qualified conference interpreters and translators, and improving the quality and quantity of translation. In 1997, GITI began to admit international students. At present, only courses in Mandarin and English are offered. In the future, however, more language combinations will be incorporated into the training program.It takes two to four years to obtain a master’s degree. Students in the conference interpreting track need to complete 66 credits, and those in the translation track need to complete 47 credits. Students in both tracks need to pass the professional exams, write an M. A. thesis and complete practicum training prior to graduation. Those who have not lived extensively in the countries of the B language need to go to an English-speaking country in between their first and second year of study to live and study for at least three months to live and breath the language and culture.
A Ph. D. program was launched in 2003. Course programs include: translation theory, interpreting theory, theories of T&I teaching, theories of cultural, technology and industrial policies.
Contact Us
Tel: 886-2-7734-3989Fax: 886-2-2322-2259
Website: http://www.giti.ntnu.edu.tw/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29&Itemid=142
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