Translation 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.

Legal and institutional translator competence: developments and training implications

ABSTRACT As in other areas of translation practice and translator education, technological advances are having a considerable impact on working processes and training in legal and institutional translation. This trend has contributed to research on translator competence gaining new significance and urgency with a view to adapting curricula and training approaches to the latest professional developments in the field. This introduction to a special issue of The Interpreter and Translator Trainer on competence in legal and institutional translation reviews selected contributions that examine the integral components of legal and institutional translator competence, propose strategies to help trainees develop this competence, or analyse the impact of machine translation use and specialised training on translator competence and performance in today’s increasingly automated environments. The link between professional practice, research and the classroom is reflected in the questions posed and the enlightening responses provided in the form of valuable empirical data, examples and ideas for trainers and trainees. These insights also illustrate the relevance of a diversity of perspectives and research methods, and support a renewed sense of awareness of the critical value of specialised training itself in legal and institutional translation.

Revisiting translator competence in the age of artificial intelligence: the case of legal and institutional translation

ABSTRACT Multi-componential models of translation competence are widely used in translator training as a yardstick for curricular and syllabus design. These models must be adapted to reflect professional trends, such as the impact of artificial intelligence, and machine translation in particular, on working methods. This paper describes the process of adapting a pioneering model of legal translation competence to the broader scope of institutional translation in light of recent trends, as verified by triangulating information from multiple interviews, analyses of translation volumes and job descriptors and other professional inputs. The resulting revised descriptor was validated through a survey of 474 translation professionals from 24 international organisations of diverse sizes and domain specialisations. The suitability of the descriptor was corroborated across the board, but variations were found in perceptions of the relevance of sub-competences to ensure translation quality. Profiles with a stronger specialisation in legal translation or more experience in institutional translation showed higher awareness of the relevance of all the sub-competences, especially the core language, strategic and thematic competences, and even more so for translating texts of a legal or administrative nature. The implications of these findings for training purposes in particular are discussed.

“Translating” legal translation training theory into practice: the McGill University experience

ABSTRACT In the fall of 2020, McGill University (Montreal, Canada) launched a graduate diploma that focused on legal translation. The Graduate Diploma in Legal Translation (GDLT) aims to train the next generation of legal translators and jurilinguists in Canada. One of the main pillars of the GDLT is the formal and comprehensive interdisciplinary approach to legal translation competence development (Prieto Ramos 2011, 2015). Based on five core competences (strategic and methodological, communicative and textual, thematic and cultural, instrumental, and interpersonal and professional management), this approach is integrative and process-oriented with the aim of ensuring quality and adequacy in legal translation. McGill University used this approach as a roadmap to create the GDLT structure and plan of study. In this paper, we will offer an overview of McGill University’s initiative, providing critical analysis of the approach proposed by Prieto Ramos and of its interpretation and application for training purposes at McGill University. Our curriculum mapping methodology involves aligning the course-level learning outcomes to the broader programme-level learning outcomes which coincide with the proposed five core competences. Findings on the degree of alignment and an argument for an enriched competence training approach will be discussed in this paper.

Assessing University Students’ Competence in Translating English Discourse Connectives into Kurdish

The present study sets out to assess university students’ competence in translating English discourse connectives into Kurdish. It also attempts to study the impact of teaching on students’ translation competence for rendering these elements. Discourse connectives are one of the main subcategories of textual metadiscourse elements which play a crucial role in text organization and the creation of cohesion. Their class is mainly comprised of conjunctions and adverbials which connect ideas at intrasentential, intersentential, and textual levels. Appropriate recognition, utilization, and translation of English discourse connectives are problematic and challenging for Kurdish EFL learners and translators. Moreover, some connectors are multifunctional and polysemous in nature. This paper aims at highlighting some of these translation problems and assessing students’ competence in their rendering at the pre-test and post-test. The research design is mixed method and employs a Translation Task and a Judgement Elicitation Task as two means for measuring translation competence. These tests were carried out on 40 Third-Year students at the Department of Translation, College of Languages, University of Duhok. The study concluded that students possessed enough translation competence for making judgements on the appropriate renditions of the discourse connectives. In contrast, they failed to appropriately translate besides, although, nevertheless, yet, provided that, otherwise, unless, for, thereby, and so that in the pre-test. Furthermore, holding teaching sessions on the classifications, functions, and translation of discourse connectives had a significant impact on the acquisition of translation competence in the post-test.

Digital Competence Among the Key Components of Future Masters of Primary Education Professional Training: Theoretical Interpretations

The article draws attention to the issue of professional training of future masters of primary education and the role of digital competence in it. It involves addressing various challenges and considerations to ensure that educators are well-equipped to meet the diverse needs of primary school students. The author outlines several aspects in this direction: innovative pedagogical knowledge and skills, active technology integration, proper classroom management, appropriate assessment and evaluation, and professional development. It is proved that integration of technology into the classroom results in digital competence improvement of future educators. Numerous interpretations of digital competence by Ukrainian and foreign researchers are presented. The international scientific findings proved, the concept of “information and communication competence” is not limited to technological or digital spheres only, on the contrary, it is transformed in a wider context and applied in almost all spheres of an individual’s life. In the context of digitalization of the education system, it is assured that the possession of digital competence aims at purposeful and independent use of ICT tools in educational activities, as well as in the process of methodical and research work; maximum use of the potential of digital technologies in the process of identifying and solving pedagogical tasks. The experience of formation of digital competence of future masters of primary education within their professional training at PNU is presented n the article.

Enhancing Translation Competence: Investigating Summarization Impact on English/French to Arabic Translation.

The training of oral and written summarization is embedded in Cognitive Apprenticeship Theory (CAT). This study examines how this form of intervention can improve the long-term reading comprehension skills of students at the Intermediate level; under a program to train translators in English/French into Arabic. It assesses the effectiveness of individual learning and cooperative study methods. One group was given personalized learning, another collaborative; both were split further into spoken and written groups. The 120 students in this cohort all came from the translation studies department at Al-Noor University College (all under age 23). During the six sessions, a delayed post-test used summarization and cooperation scales. The results obtained from one-way ANOVA clarify the impact of summarization training, with verbal groups performing better than written and control learning. In the delayed post-test, groups engaged in collaborative learning notably improved. According to survey results, questions about teacher and student feedback offer mainly positive evaluations of summarization strategies and collaborative learning in translation studies. This study stresses the advanced reading skills in translation studies students gained through summarization training or collaborative learning. This study investigates if there are significant differences in the delayed improvement of reading skills among Translation Department students due to different patterns of summarization training, individually and collaboratively. It also investigates whether there is a significant difference in the delayed effects on reading skills between collaborative and individual approaches, as well as summarizing strategies perception among teachers and students working in Translation Departments

LEARNING ACTIVITIES FOR TEACHING PROFESSION SPECIFIC TRANSLATION TO STUDENT TEACHERS OF ENGLISH ON THE TOPIC OF TEACHERS AND LEARNERS: NEW ROLES AND COMPETENCES.

LEARNING ACTIVITIES FOR TEACHING PROFESSION SPECIFIC TRANSLATION TO STUDENT TEACHERS OF ENGLISH ON THE TOPIC OF TEACHERS AND LEARNERS: NEW ROLES AND COMPETENCES.

Exploration and Application of Three-stage Strengthening Mode based on Massive Open Online Course to Improve Students’ Competence in Electrocardiogram Interpretation Skills

Electrocardiogram (ECG) is a widely common diagnostic test in clinical practice. However, research has shown that residents and medical students cannot analyze ECG skillfully. In this study, we explore a three-stage strengthening mode based on massive open online course (MOOC) to improve students’ competence in ECG interpretation skills. We carry out the first stage in a diagnostics course, in which instructors adopted online and offline blended mode for the teaching method of ECG with clinical medicine students in grade 2018 based on MOOC. We compare scores of ECG interpretation skills for 91 students in grade 2018 with 81 students in grade 2016 to evaluate the effect. The second stage concerns studying internal medicine, in which we divide students in grade 2018 into two groups with 49 students in group A and 42 students in group B. Group A strengthened their ECG interpretation skills when learning about heart diseases. The third stage pertains to rotation in the internal medicine department in the internship period. Some students in group A continued to receive intensive training. Students in group B had no reinforcement arrangement in the second and the third stage. Students in grade 2018 took graduation tests at the end of their internship. We use the scores on ECG interpretation skills in the graduation examination to evaluate the strengthening effect between group A and group B. The result of the first stage shows that scores on ECG interpretation skills in the final exam in grade 2018 were 19.32 ± 4.62 points, which is higher than those of grade 2016, whose points were 16.89 ± 5.30 (total scores in both grades were 30 points). Difference is statistically significant. Scores on the graduation examination in group A were 38.89 ± 16.81 points, and those of group B were 26.86 ± 15.43 points (total score was 60 points), with statistical difference between these two groups. The three-stage strengthening mode based on ECG MOOC is an effective method to improve students’ ECG interpretation skills. Results show that an online and offline blended teaching strategy is superior to the traditional lecture method. Repeated practice is necessary for improving ECG interpretation competence. Students in the strengthening program group had better grades in the graduation examination.

Decision-making in the translation of proper-name allusions

Abstract As an intertextual and culture-specific expression, allusion activates two texts simultaneously, embedding them with intended meaning from the source culture but not necessarily in the target culture. In the context of L1 translation being the majority, allusions can be puzzles that cause “cultural bumps” for translators unfamiliar with the source culture and language. It is a concern whether translators can accurately and appropriately handle allusions, e.g., proper-name and key-phrase allusions. This paper focused on the novice translator’s utilization of translation strategies in both directions of translation to find out how they deal with proper-name allusions and what might influence their choice of strategies. The results suggest that the translators have distinct preferences for the strategies used to translate proper-name allusions in both directions of translation. The findings further identified potential factors that motivated the novice translators’ decision-making process. They revealed their translation competence and awareness that may influence the decision-making of translators handling proper-name allusions.

Development of a case method learning model to hone students' translation competence in language teaching courses

In 2020-2024, the Ministry of Education and Culture launched one of the main objectives of developing a strategic plan, namely optimizing the quality of learning in innovative forms in order to realize student success in achieving maximum learning outcomes that include attitudes, knowledge and skills. Hodijah, S & et al (2022) argue regarding the development goals of the Ministry of Education and Culture that the expected innovative learning can be implemented from learning created in the form of collaborative and participatory classes. Furthermore, according to the 2022 edition of EF English First Proficiency, Indonesia is in 81st place out of 111 countries with a score of 469 which falls into the Low Proficiency category in every aspect of the English language, one of which is Translation. Based on these things, to overcome the low level of students' English proficiency, especially in terms of Translation and to answer the demands of the Ministry of Education and Culture for Higher Education in creating innovative classes . It is recommended for lecturers to use the Case Study learning model because it has been proven to be effective in improving translation skills in various previous studies. Based on these things, this research aims to developCase Study Learning to Improve Students' Translation Ability in the Translation in English Language Teaching (ELT) Course, Department of English Language and Literature, Medan State University The development of the Case Study Learning Model was carried out using the ADDIE Development model which consists of 5 stages, namely; (1) Needs analysis, (2) Design of the Case learning model 3) Development of the Case Study Learning Model in Translation in ELT Learning (4) Implementation, namely trial of the Case Study learning model in the Translation in ELT course (5) Evaluation of Case Study model-based learning . This research uses a qualitative and quantitative descriptive approach in analyzing data. Validity tests, Practicality Tests and Effectiveness Tests was carried out on the development product to ensure that the Case Study Learning Model developed valid, practical and effective in improving students' translation skills in the Translation in ELT course. The results of the research show that the model developed is valid, practical and effective.

Examining the Acquisition of Translation Competence: Dynamicity and Translation Quality as Indicators

The purpose of the study was to examine translation competence acquisition using dynamicity and translation quality as indicators. The researcher adopted a mixed methods research design using a closed-item questionnaire, translation tasks, and semi-structured interviews to collect data from undergraduate translation students, translation instructors, and employers of translators. One hundred fifty-eight undergraduate translation students completed the questionnaire, and 50 undergraduate translation students completed the translation tasks. The researcher interviewed four translation instructors and four employers of translators. Statistical and qualitative analyses revealed that the undergraduate translation students sampled in the study have not acquired translation competence successfully as shown by the absence of statistically significant differences in the dynamic/static views of translation knowledge among them in addition to the nondiscriminating translation performance of the students on the translation tasks as well as the feedback obtained from the instructors and employers in the interviews. Due to their significance to translator training, the findings of the study may contribute to the design and development of translation programs and curricula—in pedagogical settings—and professional development and on-the-job training programs—in professional settings.

Enhancing the Learning-Oriented Assessment for English-Chinese Translation Trainees

This article addresses the imperative need for an enriched learning-oriented assessment framework tailored to the specific needs of English-Chinese translation trainees. Conventional assessment practices in translation education often fall short in capturing the multifaceted skills required in the ever-evolving translation profession. In response, this study introduces a set of innovative enhancements, encompassing reflective practices, project-based assessments, and technology integration. Through a mixed-methods approach involving surveys, interviews, and real-world simulations, the study evaluates the effectiveness of these enhancements in fostering a holistic development of translation competence. Key findings indicate positive outcomes, revealing improvements in metacognitive skills, cultural competency, and adaptability to technology-driven workflows. The study contributes to the ongoing discourse on learning-oriented assessment, emphasizing the importance of dynamic, industry-aligned approaches in preparing English-Chinese translation trainees for the complexities of professional practice. The recommendations provided aim to guide the integration of these enhancements into translation education programs, fostering a more engaged and responsive learning experience. As translation studies continue to evolve, this research serves as a catalyst for further exploration of effective assessment practices, ensuring the continual alignment of education with the demands of the translation profession.

Focused cardiac ultrasound: Competency among pre-internship medical officers in diagnosing cardiac causes of dyspnea.

Differentiating cardiovascular causes of dyspnea in resource-limited healthcare settings can be challenging. The use of easy-to-train, point-of-care, focused cardiac ultrasound (FoCUS) protocols may potentially alleviate this challenge. Can novices attain competency in FoCUS use after training using the cardiac ultrasound for resource-limited settings (CURLS) protocol? A quasi-experimental study was conducted at the Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. Forty-five graduate medical pre-interns, novices in cardiac ultrasound, received simulated didactic and hands-on FoCUS skills training using the CURLS protocol and 2018 European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI) FoCUS training and competence assessment recommendations. Competency was assessed in image interpretation, image acquisition, and image quality. Aggregate image interpretation competency was attained by n = 38 (84%) of trainees with a median score of 80%. The proportion of trainees attaining category-specific image interpretation competency was as follows: pericardial effusion n = 44 (98%), left atrial enlargement n = 40 (89%), cardiomyopathy n = 38 (84%), left ventricular hypertrophy n = 37 (82%), and right ventricular enlargement n = 29 (64%). Image acquisition skills competency was attained by n = 36 (80%) of trainees. Three-quarters of trainee-obtained images were of good quality. Majority of the trainees attained competency. Training constraints limit the generalizability of our findings.

Bibliometric analysis and visualization of translation assessment: Research theme, evolution and hotspots

Translation assessment, referring to evaluating various aspects related to translation, is crucial to the improvement of translation competence and quality. This study, taking valid papers on translation assessment published in WoS core collection from 2000 to 2022 as research samples, visualizes and reviews the research theme, research evolutions and emerging hot topics of translation assessment through bibliometric analysis. The number of annual publications shows that despite the general growth, the number of articles on translation assessment fluctuates from year to year. By Cite Space-based analysis of keywords co-occurrence, keyword clustering, time zone and burst detection, it finds that translation assessment mainly covers five themes, namely translation competence, translation quality, machine translation, translation teaching and training, and others. The overall evolution has been a gradual shift from concepts, metrics and evaluations of topics related to translation assessment into a topic of in-depth and interdisciplinary study. The hotspots in recent years include translation competence acquisition, neural machine translation and translation quality estimation. The findings reveal research evolutions and hot spots, propose implications for further translation assessment research and provide references for scholars who are interested in this topic.

Modular approach to the formation of the protocol officer’s translation competence

Modular approach to the formation of the protocol officer’s translation competence

Обучение будущих учителей английского языка способам перевода шуток, построенных на игре слов, на занятиях по теории и практике перевода

The aim of the study is to describe the methods of translating short humorous texts from English into Russian in order to teach them to senior students in language pedagogical training programs in the course “Theory and Practice of Translation” with an emphasis on the potential application of the acquired translation competence in future pedagogical activities. The paper presents three stages of translating a short humorous text, focusing on the second stage, during which students acquire the ability to apply the translation methods for jokes they have learned through the completion of three types of tasks within the proposed methodological framework. All methods of translating short humorous texts are illustrated with examples and commentary. The scientific novelty lies in developing a methodological toolkit (the technique of prompting questions, the technique of problem-based questions, the technique of educational analogy) for teaching future foreign language teachers how to translate wordplay-based jokes. The study describes three stages of recreating the humorous effect in translation based on the analysis of the linguistic and extralinguistic characteristics of humor in the source language and by considering the perception of the translated product by the speakers of the target language to develop translation skills among students in language pedagogical training programs. Practical recommendations are provided for future foreign language teachers on applying the acquired skills and abilities in the theory and practice of translation course within the context of their future pedagogical activities in secondary school.

The impact of translation training and expectations of the Saudi translation market: A comparative analysis of translation competence between undergraduate students and professional translators

The impact of translation training and expectations of the Saudi translation market: A comparative analysis of translation competence between undergraduate students and professional translators

Assessing the Development of Translation Competence Acquisition: A Case Study of MTSL Students at Abdelmalek Essaadi University –Tetouan

This study seeks to investigate the evolvement of translation competence acquisition while relating it to the progression in translation training. The assessment of the progress (if any) in translation competence acquisition is conducted through the investigation of the performance and the perception of MA translation students in the Faculty of Letters and Humanities in Tetouan. The study is meant precisely to shed light on trainees’ perspectives on translation assessment and to trace the development in acquiring translation competence via identifying indicators of that development in learners’ translations at different stages of learning. The aim is to reveal areas of translation sub-competences where learners exhibit more progress and to detect sub-competences that they find more challenging to develop. The descriptive method we implemented draws upon questionnaires that were delivered to MA learners to gather data about their perspectives on the acquisition and development of translation competence, and the observation reports that describe the common teaching practices as well as the assessment tools used to gauge the progress of learners’ translation competence. The selection of texts that pose prototypical translation problems allows for the identification of indicators of the trainees’ acquisition of the required sub-competences to deal with these translation problems. The findings of the study reveal that even though establishing specific competencies to be acquired by the end of translation training is a prior step in designing programs, there is always room for adjusting these competencies to align them with the trainees’ profile, the objectives of the course and the curriculum at large. To this end, assessment of the trainees’ proficiency provides useful information, at different stages of learning, on the learners’ achievements and on the learning areas that require enhancement.

National Identity and Foreign Borrowing in the Legal Forms of Personnel Management: History and Modernity

Relevance. The introduction of special rules for the use of foreign vocabulary in the texts of public acts, improving the form of a business letter, modifying the structure of documents in accordance with the powers of public authorities are trends in the current and past Russian administration experience. Both in the modern and historical and legal context of scientific research, it is relevant to consider state approaches in the field of regulating official paperwork, which are aimed at forming a stable management model in accordance with domestic national interests and values. The purpose of the study is to establish the relationship between elements of national identity and foreign models in the state personnel practice of document flow in Russia in the 18th century, which is useful for taking into account this experience in modern transformations of the foundations of legal and business writing.Objective: are to consider legislative innovations in terms of regulating the field of record keeping and personnel management; to identify forms of record keeping in the XVIII century and socio-political factors influencing their application; a retrospective assessment of the methodology for drafting texts of government acts.Methodology. The methodology is based on comparative legal, comparative historical, historical legal and systemic research methods.The results of the study indicate the improvement of grammatical, stylistic, translation and other business skills and competencies of personnel of public authorities. A historical and legal analysis of the directions of development of personnel management revealed an active borrowing of foreign vocabulary in the execution of administrative acts. The clerical mechanism of interdepartmental communication gradually became more complicated, and the procedure for receiving and responding to petitions from private individuals was regulated. Conclusion. The experience of forming the Russian management and personnel practice of paperwork, developing in conditions of value crises and political contradictions, is important for taking into account the political and legal measures carried out in the modern state.