Abstract This study examined translator trainees’ performance in translating news articles from English into Arabic, focusing on textual features that were insufficiently explored in previous studies. Data were collected through the trainees’ translation of an English news article from an authentic source, considering its suitability for the participants’ proficiency level. The translated texts were evaluated according to specific criteria, including accurate transfer of main ideas, recognition of text types, and appropriate rendering of linguistic features. In addition, coherence and cohesion in the translated texts were assessed to determine overall translation quality. The data were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. A one-sample t-test revealed that the mean score ( M = 76.62, SD = 7.20, N = 21) was significantly higher than the test value of 60, t (20) = 10.58, p < .001, 95% CI 13.34, 19.90, with a very large effect size (Cohen’s d = 2.3). However, the trainees encountered three primary areas of difficulty: transfer of the source text’s main ideas, identification of text types, and maintaining coherence and cohesion in the target text. These difficulties may stem from limited translation training, insufficient awareness of text types, and incomplete understanding of English and Arabic linguistic and textual features. The study concludes with recommendations on translation training and assessment of translator trainees, particularly in the translation of journalistic texts.
Qassem et al. (Tue,) studied this question.