1 Strategies Used by Syrian Postgraduate Medical Students When Translating an English Medical Text into Arabic

The aim of this study was to investigate the language and strategies used by Syrian postgraduate medical students at the ESP Centre, Damascus University, when translating English medical texts into Arabic. Students were asked to translate into Arabic English medical texts taken from authentic medical journals without being taught any principles about translation and schools of translation. The procedure was repeated several times, and the data collected were based on students ’ edited drafts, students ’ introspection, final exam papers and the teacher’s analysis of the target texts. The results show that, although individuality of translated texts was a common feature of students ’ translations, micro-text processing and macro-text processing were two main techniques followed by students in translating the assigned texts. Mistranslating was attributed to several factors, such as the translator’s lack of knowledge of the principles of translation and the already translated materials. It is recommended, therefore, that students be exposed to translation techniques and possible occurrences of mistranslating. Further recommendations are given based on target text analysis and the survey conducted by the American International Health Council asking Ara