28 The Linguist Vol/61 No/1 2022
thelinguist.uberflip.com
INSTITUTE MATTERS
Our new Editorial Board member shares her creative approach to a career
in languages, and going remote in a country with no online learning culture
Tell us a little about your background
Ruqaya and how you learnt languages.
In the Iraq school system, we learn English in
primary and secondary school, but we used
to focus on grammar a lot. So I developed
my English but didn't have a chance to meet
any native speakers, as I wanted to. After
completing a Master's in Iraq, I won a
scholarship to complete my PhD in the UK. I
chose Queen's University Belfast as one of my
friends had studied there and really enjoyed it.
So how did it all work out for you?
I now have my PhD in Translation Studies,
head the proofreading section for journal
articles for Queen's, and edit their IMPACT
journal, which focuses on research outcomes.
While studying at Queen's, I applied for
Student membership of CIOL and built my
career as a translator. I progressed through
Associate to Member and now I'm a
Chartered Linguist.
I believe, even when working in academia,
we should develop our skills as translators
and learn more about the translation
business, including the use of technology. So
I attended many training courses in the UK,
travelling to London for a one-month
intensive course on translation technology at
UCL, and other courses on subtitling,
localisation, CAT tools and more.
Fantastic. What was your PhD subject?
It was about translating Arabic rhetoric and
rhetorical styles such as simile and metaphor,
and the critical discourse analysis in selecting
different English translations of the original
Arabic texts.
RUQAYA AL-TAIE
JOHN WORNE MEETS
