Variation in Official Translations: Investigating the English Translation of Government Offices and Positions in Iraq1

الملخص

    Official Translation refers to the translation of official signboards which are found on government offices. In Iraq, signboards tagged on most government offices show considerable variation regarding translation;  two  or  more offices  tackling  the  same  business  show  two different translations, as in College of Administration  vs.   College of  Management, taking into account that these two institutions do the same  business. The same applies  to words  such  as Union,   Federation  and   Association.  Variant  appear  these  words  to  be, yet  they  are  used interchangeably to refer almost to the same sort of business. This phenomenon is noticeable on the signboards of most offices  across Iraq. The present paper elaborates on the state of current translations, suggests alternative translations, reaches certain conclusions  and  finally  proposes  some  recommendations that may help solve this problem