Investigation of the challenges of translating military terms from English to Tamil

Abstract

The present study investigates the common challenges faced by the undergraduates in Department of Translation Studies, University of Jaffna in translating military terms from English to Tamil. To achieve the objective, the researcher selected a sample of (20) undergraduates in Department of Translation Studies from University of Jaffna, and they were administrated an English to Tamil translation test, containing 20 sentences, reveal that most common challenges confronted by passed-out graduates are terminological knowledge due to the limited experiences and subject knowledge in the military field. It shows the need for more attention on military translation in academic institutions in Sri Lanka. According to the identified challenges, a number of recommendations are suggested together with the need for military translation as a course unit in the Translation Studies in Sri Lanka to generate translators with sufficient terminological and subject knowledge concerning the military sector to socio – economic development through cultural studies.