EN-FR masters -> maîtrise/master - degree title question
Thread poster: veratek
veratek
veratek
Brazil
Local time: 03:24
French to English
+ ...
Nov 25, 2010

Hello,

I wasn't sure in which category I should post my question. It concerns translating Degree titles from (US) English to French and how they might be interpreted by French officials.

Here are my questions:
- with the new LMD system, isn't a translation of a US "Masters" into a "Maîtrise" lingusitically in need of an update? Aren't sworn translators currently translating US Masters degrees as "Master" (and not "Maîtrise")?

If, for example, one
... See more
Hello,

I wasn't sure in which category I should post my question. It concerns translating Degree titles from (US) English to French and how they might be interpreted by French officials.

Here are my questions:
- with the new LMD system, isn't a translation of a US "Masters" into a "Maîtrise" lingusitically in need of an update? Aren't sworn translators currently translating US Masters degrees as "Master" (and not "Maîtrise")?

If, for example, one requirement for a French "concours" is to have a French "Master" degree, will the French government refuse a (US) Masters degree that was translated into "Maîtrise," alleging it is not a Master as per the new LMD system?

Second question - When the title of the degree in (US) English is "Masters of Arts" (social sciences) and the translator writes "Maîtrise en Arts," won't this be confusing or misleading for a French official to read, if the diploma does not refer to field of Fine Arts? (It's the same for BA - does anyone translate every single BA of any study field as Licence *en Arts*?

Vera
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Anne-Laure Martin
Anne-Laure Martin  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 07:24
Spanish to French
+ ...
It depends Nov 26, 2010

Hello,

For what I know, the name Maîtrise is no longer used. I mean if you have one you can keep this name but now for the new degrees they only use the term Master.

So if you want to apply in a French University or for an official "concours" it is up to the University or the administrative board to decide if your degree is valid, you can also ask for "une équivalence" (and pay for it).

And if you translate Masters of Arts with "Maîtrise en Arts" and
... See more
Hello,

For what I know, the name Maîtrise is no longer used. I mean if you have one you can keep this name but now for the new degrees they only use the term Master.

So if you want to apply in a French University or for an official "concours" it is up to the University or the administrative board to decide if your degree is valid, you can also ask for "une équivalence" (and pay for it).

And if you translate Masters of Arts with "Maîtrise en Arts" and it is not related to fine Arts, it is simply a mistake (skip Arts and just put Sciences solciales). BA is a 3 years degree isn't it ? So it could be "licence".

Hope it helps
Anne
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veratek
veratek
Brazil
Local time: 03:24
French to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
thanks for confirming Nov 26, 2010

Anne-Laure Martin wrote:

And if you translate Masters of Arts with "Maîtrise en Arts" and it is not related to fine Arts, it is simply a mistake (skip Arts and just put Sciences solciales). BA is a 3 years degree isn't it ? So it could be "licence".

Hope it helps
Anne




Thanks. A translation agency has made this mistake ("Maîtrise en Arts") and I wanted to confirm it before contacting the translation agency and asking them to rectify it.


 
Peter Linton (X)
Peter Linton (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 06:24
Swedish to English
+ ...
Do not translate Nov 26, 2010

I would argue that university degrees and suchlike should NOT be translated. They should be left in the source language, optionally with a brief explanation, such as "postgraduate degree".

The reason is simple – someone who has a "Maîtrise en Arts" does NOT have an MA, and we should not imply that. A translator is in no position to judge whether academic titles in different languages are equivalent. So translating the source words into the target language may give an entirely mi
... See more
I would argue that university degrees and suchlike should NOT be translated. They should be left in the source language, optionally with a brief explanation, such as "postgraduate degree".

The reason is simple – someone who has a "Maîtrise en Arts" does NOT have an MA, and we should not imply that. A translator is in no position to judge whether academic titles in different languages are equivalent. So translating the source words into the target language may give an entirely misleading impression. Much safer to quote the exact title rather than arguing with your customer about equivalences.
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Neil Coffey
Neil Coffey  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:24
French to English
+ ...
A bit arbitrary... Nov 26, 2010

I think there's no single, "correct" solution to this -- it all depends a bit on who you're trying to communicate what information to or convince of what.

- as far as I'm aware, no French university actually now issues a qualification called a "maîtrise", but that doesn't mean that "maîtrise" isn't still correct as a *generic* term that can be applied to other international degrees
- no French university to my knowledge issues a degree called a "maîtrise ès arts" or "maît
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I think there's no single, "correct" solution to this -- it all depends a bit on who you're trying to communicate what information to or convince of what.

- as far as I'm aware, no French university actually now issues a qualification called a "maîtrise", but that doesn't mean that "maîtrise" isn't still correct as a *generic* term that can be applied to other international degrees
- no French university to my knowledge issues a degree called a "maîtrise ès arts" or "maîtrise en arts", but they did apparently use to some moons ago-- is a term that is now obsolete in one country but obviously close in meaning on a word-for-word level to a term that is still current in another country a "wrong" translation per se?... I'm not sure...
- maybe "maîtrise en arts" is confusing if you don't know that "arts" doesn't take a literal meaning in this case, but then again, so is "Master of Arts" in English.
- I believe French universities deliberately adopted the term "Master" to make it more internationally recognised, but that doesn't mean that a type of course eligible in France for the grade of "master" would see a similar course in another country recognised as an MA/MPhil etc

All that said, I would actually tend towards Peter's suggestion of just keeping the English and putting a gloss.

[Edited at 2010-11-26 17:19 GMT]
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veratek
veratek
Brazil
Local time: 03:24
French to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
I'm not the translator Nov 27, 2010

Thanks for your suggestions, but I am not the translator in this case. I just wanted to confirm that a translation agency has made a mistake. This was a notarized translation of a diploma, so they are obliged to translate the the degree title, as far as I know. Since I don't do this kind of translation, I wanted to have your input.

 
Neil Coffey
Neil Coffey  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:24
French to English
+ ...
Maybe not a "mistake" strictly speaking Nov 27, 2010

veratek wrote:
Thanks for your suggestions, but I am not the translator in this case. I just wanted to confirm that a translation agency has made a mistake. This was a notarized translation of a diploma, so they are obliged to translate the the degree title, as far as I know. Since I don't do this kind of translation, I wanted to have your input.


I think from the point of view of that strict question, it's difficult to say that the agency has made an out-and-out "mistake". They've used what is in principle a valid French degree title very similar to "Master of Arts". It just so happens that no French university now offers that degree title, and so what it actually implies will be less familiar to French speakers than what "Master of Arts" implies to English speakers.

That does have implications, like any choice of translation. But from the pure perspective of whether the translation "reflects" the English at some basic level (which is really all that certification is buying you), I'm not sure it's a mistake.

If there is a translation that you would prefer for your purposes, however, I would negotiate with them ("if we change X to Y, will you still certify the translation for me?").


[Edited at 2010-11-27 14:35 GMT]


 


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EN-FR masters -> maîtrise/master - degree title question






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