Thematic Competence Research Articles

Reading takes it all? – the role of language competence and subject knowledge in legal translation

ABSTRACT In this paper the role of language competence and thematic competence in translation and post-editing was studied. The sample included 49 translation students who translated part of a copyright agreement from English into Hungarian under two different conditions, from-scratch human translation and post-editing. Our findings indicated that there was no difference between from-scratch human translation and post-editing in terms of quality and speed, and that time spent on task was only loosely connected to achievement. We also found that thematic (legal) knowledge, as assessed by our multiple-choice test, did not correlate with from-scratch human translation/post-editing performance. Perhaps the most important finding of the study is that source language (SL) reading plays a key role in translation students’ performance, whether it is traditional from-scratch human translation or post-editing. It was also highlighted that SL reading was even more important in post-editing than in from-scratch human translation, and that weaknesses in reading competence may lead to different types of errors in the two working conditions.

PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY OF A LOCALISER IN UKRAINIAN TRANSLATION TRAINING PROGRAMS

One of the aims of the study was to systematically record the localisers’ skills required in the linguistic service market to successfully teach them at universities. The skills considered essential for translators (localisers) and described in European Classification ESCO v.1.1 (European Skills, Competences, Qualifications and Occupations) were compared with those described in Ukrainian Standard Classification of Occupations. The findings of the research reveal that there is still a discrepancy between occupation conceptual systems in EU and Ukraine that prevents from using EU translators’ competences framework in Ukrainian curricula. These particular findings contributed to a systematic and analytical description of a localiser’s professional profile represented by the following set of skills required for the successful performance of work: Language and Culture (transcultural and sociolinguistic awareness and communicative skills), Translation (strategic, methodological and thematic competence), Technology (tools and applications) and Service provision skills). It should be mentioned that some of the skills (liaise with advertising agencies, adapt developed game to the market, attend gaming tests, develop the product catalogue) regarded as essential by ESCO seem to be too specific and are treated as optional in linguistic service market. Specifically, the authors examined how these competences are presented in localization syllabi of 5 Ukrainian training translators’ programs. The analysis revealed positive effects of teachers’ localization knowledge, enthusiasm for localization tools and applications, and also for transcultural and sociolinguistic awareness and communicative skills. Less attention was paid to service provision skills (following translation quality standards, employing assessment techniques to anticipate translation efforts, evaluating translation technologies etc.) presumably due to existing gap between universities and business.

Industrie de la langue et formation des traducteurs spécialisés

Language Industry: The Training of Specialised Translators
 In an increasingly globalised and interconnected world, thanks to the development of new technologies, the language industry and, in particular, the translation sector, are becoming more and more important, implying a significant change in the training of future translators. This article aims at analysing translators’ needs and the training possibilities offered in this sector with a focus on university training. More specifically, this study is composed of three main sections. After a brief introduction to the current study (§1), the first section deals with the presentation of the socio-cultural environment (§2) in which translators and interpreters work today, with a focus on the European context. Influenced by the recommendations of the European Union about multilingualism and plurilingualism and by the increasing globalisation, the work of translators and interpreters has become essential for social, cultural as well as commercial relations. Focusing on the Italian context, some associations of reference for professionals in the translation sector are also mentioned, for instance Associazione Nazionale Italiana Traduttori e Interpreti (ANITI), Associazione Italiana Traduttori e Interpreti (AITI), Associazione di traduttori e interpreti (TradInfo), Associazione Italiana Traduttori e Interpreti Giudiziari (ASSITIG), Associazione Internazionale Interpreti di Conferenza in Italia (AIIC Italia) and Associazione Nazionale Interpreti di Conferenza Professionisti (ASSOINTERPRETI). The presence of these associations proves that this profession is very challenging, both for the translators/interpreters themselves and for their clients. The second section describes translators’/interpreters’ real needs in terms of necessary skills to be acquired (§3). In order to give an overview of these skills, the expert group EMT (European Master’s in Translation, 2017) conceived a document classifying them in six domains:
 o translation service competence: the interpersonal dimension (e.g. negotiating with clients and planning the translation process) and the production dimension (e.g. translation strategies and revision skills); o linguistic competence: syntactic, grammatical and morphological knowledge of the L1 and the L2; o intercultural competence: both the sociolinguistic dimension as well as the textual dimension; o information retrieval competence: terminology searching and analysis of the sources; o thematic competence related to the field of specialisation; o technological competence. 
 Among them, those with the greatest influence on the work of translators are technological and terminological skills. In particular, in the field of technology, the impact of artificial intelligence on the translation process will be observed (§3.1), while for terminological skills the article focuses on how terminological accuracy constitutes a very strong comparative advantage in the domain of specialized translation (§3.2). Furthermore, the role of the Associazione italiana per la terminologia (Ass.I. Term) is described in order to show the interconnection between studies and researches in terminology and translation. The last section (§4) presents a case study describing some innovative training activities organised by OTPL – Osservatorio di terminologie e politiche linguistiche of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan – to demonstrate how university training can respond to the professional world’s needs. Some activities will be described: three projects on artificial intelligence and translation organised between April 2021 and May 2022 in collaboration with Master’s degree students of languages (L’uso della traduzione automatica nella comunicazione multilingue, La qualità della traduzione automatica: un’analisi dei testi del dominio della moda sostenibile, La traduzione automatica e la terminologia nel dominio del cambiamento climatico e dell´ambiente. Un´analisi FR – IT), the project Terminology Without Borders, in collaboration with IATE/Termcoord, Directorate-General for Translation /European Commission. Moreover, a specialised course for the training of translators and terminologists will be introduced with a focus on the project work that each participant has to present. In conclusion, this study underlines the importance to give translators and interpreters a professional training both in terms of theoretical and practical knowledge.

O estabelecimento de níveis de competência em tradução: primeiros resultados do projeto NACT

Este artigo tenciona apresentar o projeto de pesquisa realizado pelo grupo PACTE acerca da proposta de um Nivelamento de Competências na Aquisição da Competência Tradutória (tradução escrita). O objetivo do projeto é preparar uma proposta de descritores de nível, a qual se configura como um primeiro passo para desenvolver um Quadro Europeu Comum de Referência nos campos acadêmico e profissional da tradução. Trata-se de uma continuação da pesquisa experimental do PACTE sobre competência em tradução e aquisição de competências tradutórias. Representantes do mundo acadêmico e profissional da tradução participam do seu desenvolvimento que se estrutura em três fases. Na primeira fase, foi preparado um documento com uma proposta inicial de descritores de nível, que inclui uma escala de três níveis com subníveis e cinco categorias descritivas (competência linguística; competência cultural, enciclopédica e temática; competência instrumental; competência de prestação de serviços de tradução e competência de resolução de problemas de tradução). Esta proposta será avaliada por especialistas do mundo acadêmico e profissional. O presente trabalho apresenta o projeto e a primeira proposta de nivelamento elaborada.

Enhancing thematic competence by exposure to professional discourse in economic translation1

This paper discusses a situation in a course on economic translation for BA students, and tries to show how exposure to professional discourse helps master the “lingo” of the professional community. An experiment was carried out to show what impact, if any, exposure to professional discourse has on the terminological and phraseological quality as well as on the overall acceptability of translation in this domain. In controlled classroom settings, students were assigned to translate a text on macroeconomic outlook from English to Czech. The first group of participants was asked to translate the text immediately. The second group was first exposed to three TV interviews on the same topic, and then asked to translate the text. The third group was presented with three newspaper articles on the same topic, and then asked to translate the text. The student translations were then assessed with respect to selected rich points to see if there were any differences between the groups. The results suggest that exposure to professional discourse in written form increases the use of idiomatic terminology and phraseology as well as the overall acceptability of the translation while the oral form only increases the overall acceptability of the translation. The potential of using such exercises in specialized translation classroom is discussed.

Ruptura de los estereotipos de género en la ficción televisiva sobre el poder político: el caso Borgen

La ficción televisiva actual vive una época dorada, con millones de espectadores acérrimos. Las series de televisión son uno de los productos comunicativos de mayor éxito y llegan a marcar pautas en la organización de nuestra vida cotidiana. Dentro de las series más exitosas encontramos las series políticas, con un interés y seguimiento masivo. Los protagonistas catódicos son presidentes/as, primeros/as ministros/as, embajadores/as, ministros/as, asesores/as, portavoces, que en su quehacer diario o en su ascenso hacia el poder, atrapan al espectador. Esta investigación ahonda en un acercamiento histórico y de género, sobre la mujer profesional en la ficción televisiva, para comprobar cómo los diferentes títulos han avanzado hacia una ruptura de los estereotipos de género, también al mostrar mujeres políticas. El ejemplo transcendental se materializó en Borgen (Dinamarca, 2010-2013), que analizamos como caso de estudio. El personaje de Birgitte Nyborg (interpretada por Sidse Babett Knudsen), como Primera Ministra danesa, rompió el modo tradicional de hacer política en televisión. La consideramos una disidencia en cuanto a los modelos dominantes, y desciframos esas disidencias: una ruptura con la forma tradicional de hacer política, al ofrecer un nuevo estilo, en cuanto al liderazgo, competencia temática y conciliación entre la vida pública y privada.

Competence levels in translation: working towards a European framework

ABSTRACTThis paper presents the research project the PACTE group is carrying out on ‘Establishing Competence Levels in the Acquisition of Translation Competence in Written Translation’. A continuation of PACTE’s previous experimental research on translation competence and its acquisition, the project aims to propose level descriptors as a first step towards developing a common European framework of reference for translation’s academic and professional arenas, both of which are represented among its participants. The project is organized into three stages, the first of which involved the production of a first level descriptor proposal, including a three-level scale with sub-levels and five descriptive categories (language competence; cultural, world knowledge and thematic competence; instrumental competence; translation service provision competence; and translation problem solving competence). In the second stage, the proposal produced is to be evaluated by experts from the academic and professional arenas. In the third stage, the data obtained through the expert judgement process will be analysed and the proposal revised. This paper sets out the project’s objectives, our grounds for undertaking it, its conceptual framework and its methodology, as well as the results obtained in the first stage and the future direction of the research.

La adquisición de conocimiento experto en el aula de traducción jurídica (francés-español): estado de la cuestión en la universidad española

Firstly, this paper aims to reflect upon how the teaching and learning process of expert knowledge is carried out in the field of French-Spanish legal translation in Spanish universities; to this end, a comparative study of the syllabuses of Translation and Interpreting Studies will be conducted in order to: a) verify the degree of interrelationship between legal training, on the one hand, and linguistic and translation training, on the other hand; and b) draw conclusions that allow us to distinguish the most appropriate methods to succeed in the training process. Secondly, a teaching experience carried out at Universidad de Malaga (Spain) will be presented through the discussion of a series of activities aimed at acquiring this legal thematic competence.

Aspects of Military-related Text Translation from English into Latvian

Abstract The paper aims to highlight some aspects of special text translation in English-Latvian language pair, to discuss some misconceptions associated with translation of military and military-related texts, to analyze specific competences a translator of these texts should possess as well as to illustrate potential translation challenges faced by student translators. Translating military and military-related texts, translators should develop not only advanced linguistic, but also comprehensive thematic competence to be able to deal with translation problems. Competence in translation of military-related texts may become a competitive advantage for student translators specializing in various fields of language for special purposes.

Rozwijanie kompetencji pozyskiwania informacji w dydaktyce przekładu na przykładzie pracy ze słownikami i tekstami paralelnymi

Information mining competence is one of the six professional competences of translators worked out by a group of experts appointed in 2007 by the Directorate- General for Translation (DGT) of the European Commission within the project of creating the European Master’s in Translation (EMT) network. The six skills are as follows: translation service provision competence, language competence, intercultural competence, information mining competence, thematic competence and technological competence (mastery of tools). Information mining competence is understood as an ability to search for information with a critical attitude to various information sources. The reason why professional translators need this skill today more than ever is because of efficient time management, because of the mass of information and a wide range of source types from which information can be gathered (dictionaries, glossaries, thesauri, parallel texts, encyclopedias, CAT tools and other electronic media, etc.). The need was recognized also by the European Committee for Standards which in 2006 released the specification EN 15038 that defines translation quality and normalizes procedures and translation processes for delivering language services. There are six competences in the specification which translators should at least have, namely, translating competence, linguistic and textual competence in the source language and the target language, research competence and information acquisition and processing, cultural competence and technical competence. However, developing information mining competence remains in the background of teaching translation or is completely omitted as a simple and obvious skill. Translation practice shows that the ability to effectively search for information with a critical attitude to various information sources should be an absolutely necessary component in the training of professional translators. That is why the present paper focuses on developing information mining competence and suggests some examples of exercises how to use dictionaries and parallel texts effectively and how to extract and process relevant information for translation tasks.

Rozwijanie kompetencji pozyskiwania informacji w dydaktyce przekładu na przykładzie pracy ze słownikami i tekstami paralelnymi

Information mining competence is one of the six professional competences of translators worked out by a group of experts appointed in 2007 by the Directorate- General for Translation (DGT) of the European Commission within the project of creating the European Master’s in Translation (EMT) network. The six skills are as follows: translation service provision competence, language competence, intercultural competence, information mining competence, thematic competence and technological competence (mastery of tools). Information mining competence is understood as an ability to search for information with a critical attitude to various information sources. The reason why professional translators need this skill today more than ever is because of efficient time management, because of the mass of information and a wide range of source types from which information can be gathered (dictionaries, glossaries, thesauri, parallel texts, encyclopedias, CAT tools and other electronic media, etc.). The need was recognized also by the European Committee for Standards which in 2006 released the specification EN 15038 that defines translation quality and normalizes procedures and translation processes for delivering language services. There are six competences in the specification which translators should at least have, namely, translating competence, linguistic and textual competence in the source language and the target language, research competence and information acquisition and processing, cultural competence and technical competence. However, developing information mining competence remains in the background of teaching translation or is completely omitted as a simple and obvious skill. Translation practice shows that the ability to effectively search for information with a critical attitude to various information sources should be an absolutely necessary component in the training of professional translators. That is why the present paper focuses on developing information mining competence and suggests some examples of exercises how to use dictionaries and parallel texts effectively and how to extract and process relevant information for translation tasks.

El concepto de “contexto” en las traducciones inglés-español: una aproximación sociolingüística a las competencias y decisiones del traductor

El presente trabajo se inscribe en la tendencia actual de estudios interdisciplinares que analizan la interconexión entre factores culturales y discursivos. Gracias al "giro pragmático" y el "giro cultural" en los estudios traductológicos que comenzaran a gestarse en los años 70 la traducción pasó a entenderse como una "transferencia cultural" (Bassnett 1998). Por este motivo, es obvio que entre las competencias del traductor, además de la competencia comunicativa y textual en las lenguas y culturas origen y meta, es necesaria la competencia cultural y temática de los textos que ha de traducir. Siguiendo un análisis tanto discursivo como traductológico, nuestro trabajo estudia dos textos extraídos de géneros tan diferentes como el literario y el subtitulado de películas originales de habla inglesa al español. En ambos textos se evidencia un desfase entre texto origen y texto meta que no cabe atribuir simplemente a deslices en el uso del español como instrumento comunicativo sino a fallos en la competencia cultural y temática por parte del traductor. Se trata, en suma, de que no se ha atendido al contexto específico ni cultural en la labor de traducción al español.