Translation and terminology of aviation documents : 'Eurocontrol Safety Regulatory Requirement (ESARR)' published by the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation

Abstract

This dissertation is meant to introduce a new area of research in Maltese translation studies. Throughout the years, our language has witnessed infinite amounts of change and evolution, and since Malta’s entry in the European Union these changes have only increased and opened new opportunities for our language to expand and achieve the official status it has today. Translation studies is without doubt a revolution for our language as well as for the Maltese workforce. Numerous students are nowadays achieving expertise in this area of study and represent the Maltese language when faced with various subjects to translate, most of which are quite new to our terminology. Massive work has been done recently to build new glossaries and terminology databases to help improve the quality of Maltese translations, as well as introduce necessary changes to the language making it more contemporary to the needs of modern times. Many areas of research in Maltese translation have already been studied, but still, many remain completely new and undiscovered. The European Union works and regulates infinite areas of work like finance, health, education and day-to-day needs of its population within the Member States just to name a few, which all require translation by its translators. One of the many areas which is highly important and continuously evolving not only within the European Union, but on a global level is without doubt aviation. Throughout the years massive improvements have been made in aviation to ensure above all the highest measures possible of safety. Technology brought about immense improvement in this area and nowadays we have the best standards to manage this area of work. Just like any other institution within the European Union, aviation is highly regulated, it is also placed under the umbrella of EASA (European Aviation Safety Authority). The air navigation service provision is mainly managed by the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation, also known as EUROCONTROL which has a special role within the Union as Network Manager. This dissertation presents a translation of a set of regulatory requirements published by the EUROCONTROL organisation regarding various aspects on safety. The translations are followed by a detailed glossary of terms collected from the documents to further explain and highlight the importance of introducing such an area of work in Maltese translation.