On October 19, 2021, Huang Youyi, Chairman of the China National Committee for Translation & Interpreting Education, Executive Vice President of the China Translators Association, and Vice President of the China Academy of Translation Studies, delivered a lecture entitled “Improve the MTI quality and cultivate practical translation talents for the new era--Reflections on issues concerning the Translation Major” in the 3rd Lecture Hall. Huang’s lecture is the 4th of “School of Foreign Languages Series Lectures on MTI”. The academic report was presided over by Associate Professor Zhang Lin, Deputy Dean of the School of Foreign Languages. Faculty members and graduate students of the School attended the lecture.
In his speech, Huang first clarified the every increasing importance of the use of foreign languages and the practice of translation and interpreting to the epochal changes that have taken place in China, pointing out the favorable opportunity that has been created for translators and interpreters. Then he introduced the policy for and current situation of the MTI from the perspectives of the reform, evaluation, and practical ability training of the Translation Discipline. He stressed that the current development of the translation graduates should focus on improving the quality of the professional program for a master’s degree and quickening the steps of establishing the professional program for a doctoral doctor.
Huang pointed out the four problems concerning translation education at present: 1. The MTI Program lacks conspicuous advantages; 2. The Program cannot meet the requirements of the job market obviously ; 3. There are not enough or qualified faculty members with translation practice; 4. The social recognition of translation needs to be promoted.
To conclude his lecture, Huang cited a large number of typical examples to revile the phenomenon of mistaken translation, distorted translation and ugly translation in the previous activities, highlighting the importance of a translator’s sticking to the national stance, being bilingually competent and “capable of telling a China Story in foreign languages”.
By offering a new direction, concept, method and path, the lecture will surely steer the MTI Program of the School of Foreign Languages to develop towards a higher level in the new era, to continuously achieve new results in the University’s new round of deepening the comprehensive reform on education, and to make greater contributions to China’s full-scale opening up in the new era.
Huang Youyi is a member of the 11th and 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. He is currently the Executive Vice President of the China Translators Association, Vice President of the China Academy of Translation Studies, Director of the English Expert Committee of the CATTI, Director of the National Evaluation Committee of Senior Professional Titles for Translators and Interpreters, and Chairman of the China National Committee for Translation & Interpreting Education, Chief Expert of the Inter-ministerial Contact Conference on Foreign Language-Chinese Translation and Writing Standards and Communication of Chinese Ideological and Cultural Terms under the Chinese Ministry of Education, Deputy Director of the Editorial Board of Public Diplomacy Quarterly, and Deputy Editor-in-Chief of “the Library of Chinese Classics”. He was once a member of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council, Vice President of the International Federation of Translation, Deputy Director and Chief Editor of China Foreign Language Publishing and Distribution Bureau, Director of China Internet News Center, Secretary General of China Translators Association, and Chief Editor of Journal of China Translators Association.
Huang has been involved for a long period of time in the translation of Party and government documents, and has served as an interpreter for Party and state leaders. He has long been engaged in external publishing and international communication. He participated in the translation and translation review of Party and government documents and the speeches of state leaders, including Jiang Zemin on Three Represents, Xi Jinping on the Governance of China (Volumes 1-3), White Papers of the Chinese Government, etc. He presided over the compilation of Chinese-English Vocabulary of Foreign Affairs and The Latest Vocabulary of Chinese-English Translation Dictionaries. His translation publications include the English-Chinese translation of famous American literary masterpieces like The Bonfires of the Vanities, George Marshall: A Biography and The Uncrowned King, as well as the Chinese-English books that introduce various aspects of China to the world, including China's Social Security System, China's Entry into the WTO and Economic Reform, Chinese Jade Articles and Strange Stories from the Studio of Liaozhai. He also translated in collaboration with others Basic Overview of China, The Constitution of the People's Republic of China, Outline of the General History of China and so on. Last but the least, the number of words of his translation and translation revision adds up to several million.
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