1st Jordan International Conference on Translation (JICOT 1) 2009: Translation Quality

28-30 July 2009

Held at The Royal Hotel-Amman & Yarmouk University, Jordan

The Jordan International Conference on Translation (JICOT I) is intended to be a regular conference. It was held for the first time in 2009, the initiative of the Jordanian Translators' Association (JTA), and collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Yarmouk University and ASBAT (a private translation agency) with the awareness that translation is a communication activity aims to develop one's country. The Conference aims to exchange ideas, knowledge and experience, and to encourage cooperation among scholars, translators, educators and students alike. The Conference also aims to present theories and strategies in translation in order to enhance translation quality as a whole. This Conference might be the first of its kind to be held in the Arab world. It came to satisfy the increased need for it due to the increase in the translation movement in the Arab World in general and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in particular. This movement is represented in establishing translation departments, founding translation associations and organizations, translating works from other languages into Arabic and vice versa.

The Conference’s Topics:

The topics included the followings: The quality of specialized translation, the quality of literary translation, the quality of religious translation, the quality of terms and dictionaries, the quality of simultaneous interpreting, the quality of media and documentaries translation, the quality of machine translation, qualifying and training interpreters, Arab translation and globalization, Accrediting translation programmes and translation institutions, translation between planning and chaos, translation and legislation, translation quality and awarding translation prizes, among others. The languages of the Conference were Arabic, English and French.

Yarmouk University – Irbid hosted the conference in its third day (30 July 2009). The sessions of the first two days (28-29 July 2013) were held at the Royal Hotel in Amman. During the last session of the Conference, the participants of 15 Arab and non-Arab countries expressed their thanks to the Jordanian Translators’ Association, Yarmouk University, and the other organizations who participated in this Conference and recommended the followings:

1. considering JTA as the main umbrella taking care of the translation activities in Jordan and as it is the first academic and cultural organization in Jordan which promotes translation theoretically and practically in Jordan and which represents Jordan in Arab and international organizations;

2. forming a mini-committee of the following: Prof. Abdullah Shunnaq (Jordan),Prof. Basil Hatim (UK), Prof. Inaam Bioud (Algeria), and Prof. Omar Atari (Oman) to develop certain criteria for promoting translation quality;

3. holding translation seminars and conferences specialized in theoretical and practical issues of translation that interest translation and translators;

4. contacting The Arab Higher Institute for Translation in Algeria, The Arab Translators Association in Beirut, The Arab Translation Organization, and other specialized bodies inside and outside the Arab World;

5. Holding JICOT regularly through coordination with public and private sectors with emphasis on the contribution of students and young researchers;

6. publishing the papers of the Conference in JTA’s journal (Studies in Translation) after refereeing them;

7. establishing a new translation journal that publishes research papers by translation postgraduate students and assistant professors. The Journal should be refereed by distinguished professors in the field of translation; and

8. paying registration fees in the coming translation conferences to support such fruitful academic events.