Abstract
Translators differ from each other in many ways in terms of their knowledge and professional conditions that may directly influence their translation. The present study aimed at investigating the impact of translators’ academic experience on their translation quality. Following a causal-comparative study, a sample of 100 male and female professional translators, working in official or non-official translation offices or as freelance translators, were selected using purposive sampling method. The participants were divided into two groups each containing 50 individuals with and without a degree in translation, respectively. The participants were asked to translate a paragraph including 232 words, from Orwell’s 1984 novel, to assess their translation quality. To do this, Waddington’s model D (2001) was used as the marking system. For data analysis, inferential statistical procedures including independent sample t-test was used in order to investigate the research hypothesis. Results showed that translators’ academic experience in translation significantly affects their translation quality. The results also clearly depicted that the translation quality of translators with academic experience was significantly better than that of those without academic experience.
Highlights
Translators differ from each other in many ways mainly due to their knowledge and professional and psychological conditions
Saridakis and Kostoupolou (2003) found that professional translators without an academic degree in Translation do not focus on the revision stage; this can challenge the quality of their translation; on the contrary, qualified translators and academics recognize the significance of this stage
A brief review of the literature indicates that translators’ degree in translation, academic experience and academic knowledge positively affect the quality of the translation product, the process of translating and producing a good translation, respectively (Saridakis & Kostoupolou, 2003; Dongfeng & Dan, 1999; Albustan, 1993)
Summary
Translators differ from each other in many ways mainly due to their knowledge and professional and psychological conditions. A combination of these individual differences and characteristics may directly influence their translation quality (Shojaee & Sahragard, 2012; Karimnia & Mahjubi, 2013; Shangarffam & Abolsaba, 2009; Dongfeng & Dan, 1999). Flourishing of translation theories and new ideas toward the process of translation was a turning point in translation studies (Farahzad et al, 2010). Over the past decades, few studies have directly examined the relationship between individuals’ level of education and their job performance. The academic status of the translator should be taken into account as one of the elements of his/her sense of responsibility which undoubtedly influences the process and the quality of translation
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