Dr. Constanza Gerding
TRANSLATION
COMPETENCE: A
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE
IN TRANSLATION DIDACTICS
Universität Leipzig – Universidad de Concepción, May 2012
Translation competence: skill, aptitude or qualification?
Defining translator’s competence; finding a proper name:
 Transfer competence (Nord, 1991: 161)
 Translational competence (Toury, 1995: 250-51; Hansen, 1997:
205; Chesterman, 1998: 147)
 Translator competence (Kiraly, 1995: 108)
 Translation performance (Wilss 1989: 129)
 Translation ability (Lowe, 1987: 57; Pym, 1993: 26; Stansfield, Scott
& Kenyon 1992)
 Translation skill (Lowe, 1987: 57)
Concepción-Leipzig, 2012
Translation competence often referred to,
however, not defined
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Krings (1986: 501, 522)
Lowe (1986: 53.61)
Nord (1991: 150, 155, 161; 1997: 101)
Lörscher (1991: 41; 1992: 426)
Toury (1991: 62, 1995: 250- 51)
Riedemann (1996: 117)
Kiraly (1995: 13-19)
Fraser (1996: 87)
Hansen (1997: 205)
Gerding-Salas (2000, online)
It does not mean they have not thought about it…
Concepción-Leipzig, 2012
The concept of competence
• Translation competence seems adequate, because:
• a) it has a long research tradition (e.g. Applied Linguistics, SLA),
• b) it conveys the idea of ‘an expert knowledge in a specific area’.
• Competence (‘the ability to do something successfully or
efficiently’, Oxford Online, 2012) suits the purpose of defining the
act of performing the translation activity skillfully and
productively.
• In linguistics, ‘competence’ is a speaker’s subconscious, intuitive
knowledge of the rules of their language. Often contrasted with
performance.
Concepción-Leipzig, 2012
Translation competence labels
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Translation performance (Wilss 1989: 129; Rothe-Neves, 2007)
Translation skill (Lowe, 1987: 57)
Transfer competence (Nord, 1991: 161)
Translation ability (Lowe, 1987: 57; Pym, 1993: 26; Stansfield, Scotty Kenyon
1992; Hatim and Mason, 1997)
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Translator competence (Kiraly, 1995: 108)
Translator’s competence (Kussmaul, 1995: 33)
Translational competence (Toury, 1995: 250-51; Hansen, 1997: 205;
Chesterman, 1997: 147)
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Translating competence (Gerding, 2000)
Concepción-Leipzig, 2012
Translation competence and Constructivism
• For Constructivism
1. learning is meaningful (not memory-based)
2. previous knowledge is important for integration,
memorization and application of new knowledge
3. both vertical and lateral transfer take place
• Vertical transfer = Advancement goes from inferior to superior
levels of complexity, i.e. one ability is essential for the next.
• Lateral transfer = application of abilities from one learning
domain to another.
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The Social Constructivist Perspective
• Social Constructivism emphasizes the importance of
culture and context in understanding what occurs in
society and constructing knowledge (Derry, 1999)
• This perspective is closely associated with other
contemporary theories, such as the developmental
theories of Vygotsky, and Bandura's social cognitive theory
(Shunk, 2000)
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Assumptions of Social Constructivism (Shunk, 2000)
• Reality
Constructed through human activity
• Knowledge
Also a human product, and is socially and culturally
constructed. Individuals create meaning through their
interactions with each other and with the environment
they live in
• Learning
Viewed as a social process. Meaningful learning occurs
when individuals are engaged in social activities
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What type of knowledge is required for translation?
• Four basic parameters are essential to translation
competence (e.g. Gerding-Salas, 2000):
1. Knowledge of the languages
2. Knowledge of the cultures
3. Domain-specific knowledge
4. Transfer competence
• Neubert (2000) describes five sub-competencies: language,
textual, subject, cultural and transfer competence.
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What is translation competence?
• ‘The mental equipment that constitutes the translator’s
unique cognitive set or ability of matching language,
textual, subject and cultural competences. ’ (Neubert,
2000: 12)
• It is where translators are judged, no matter how
competent they may be in other aspects (Neubert, 2000)
• Translator’s competence acts upon text segments of
varying sizes (translation units) (Neubert & Shreve, 1992)
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Translator’s competence
Neubert (Developing Translation Competence, 2000)
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Complexity (intricacy; complication)
Heterogeneity (several different skills)
Approximation (not fully competent in all fields)
Open-endedness (always learning from experts & texts)
Creativity (originality, initiative, resourcefulness)
Situationality (circumstantiality, location)
Historicity (flexibility to accept changes)
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What is a competent translator?
• Agost and Monzó (2001) pose that the translator must
have enough knowledge and abilities to produce a
translation that can be considered correct in a given
reception situation
• Translators are competent when they can do the
commissioned mediation task as effectively and
quickly as possible
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Bilingualism and transfer competence
Bilingual competence, while an indispensable
condition, is not enough to guarantee translation
competence at academic level
(Krings, 1986, Lörscher, 1991; Toury, 1995; Kussmaul, 1995;
Gerding-Salas, 2000)
Concepción-Leipzig, 2012
Translation competence
• “The knowledge and skills the translator must possess in
order to carry out a translation” (Bell, 1991: 43)
• “The ability to know how to translate" (Hurtado Albir, 1996: 48)
• For PACTE (2000), translation competence is "the underlying
system of knowledge and skills needed to be able to
translate”
The PACTE (Process in the Acquisition of Translation Competence and Evaluation)
Group investigates the Acquisition of Translation Competence in written
translation, both direct and inverse.
Concepción-Leipzig, 2012
Communicative competence:
From L2 Learning to Translation
Communicative competence (CC) accounts for knowledge of
a linguistic code and language use for communicative
purposes (Hymes, 1971):
• Linguistic, cultural, and sociolinguistic knowledge
• Cognitive, physical and environmental constraints on
communication
• Extra-linguistic competence
• Knowledge about translation; bi-cultural knowledge
• Encyclopedic knowledge and subject knowledge in
specific areas
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Communicative competence in SLA
• CC refers to a language user's grammatical knowledge as
well as social knowledge of how and when to use utterances
appropriately
• CC was coined by Hymes (1966), in response of Chomsky's
(1965) distinction between competence and performance
• CC, one of the theories underlying the communicative
approach to L2 learning, is the ability to interpret, express and
negotiate meaning
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Communicative competence components
CC was redefined by Canale and Swain (1980), Canale
(1983) and Savignon (2003):
• Grammatical competence: words and rules
• Sociolinguistic competence: appropriateness
• Strategic competence: appropriate use of
communication strategies
• Discourse competence: cohesion and coherence
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Communicative competence in translation
• SLA CC and communicative translation competence
(Colina, 2003):
• Translators are responsible for the interpretation of ST
meaning, expression in the TT in accordance with task
specifications, the translational protocol and TL
conventions, and negotiation between source and
target linguistic and cultural communities in order to
satisfy the requirements of the brief
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Communicative translation competence
• The notion of Communicative Translation
Competence excludes translation activity that does
not respond to communicative purposes (e.g.
linguistic studies, grammar translation)
• The communicative translation competence notion
by Colina (2003) is functionally equivalent to the
concept of instrumental translation by Nord (1997)
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PACTE’s Translator’s sub-competencies
1. Communicative competence in two languages
2. Transfer competence
3. Instrumental/professional competence (deriving from the
translation brief or documentation difficulties)
4. Psycho-physiological competence (relating to creativity,
logical thought).
5. Strategic competence (individual procedures, conscious and
unconscious, verbal and non-verbal, used for solving the
problems encountered along the translation process).
Concepción-Leipzig, 2012
Communicative translation competence
• Shreve (1997) added a cognitive dimension to CTC, and
defined it as a series of knowledge structures that allow the
translator to recreate form and function associations into
other form and function associations in a different culture.
Translational competence
Communicative-based definition Cognitive-based definition
Focus on social context of
translation task
Focus on translator as an
individual
External factors
Internal elements
Concepción-Leipzig, 2012
Full communicative competence
• In L1 acquisition, the native speaker has full communicative
competence
• Based on the concept of ‘native speaker’, Toury (1986)
proposed that of ‘native translator’: one equipped with the
basic innate ability to transfer between two or more languages
if placed in a particular sociocultural environment
• In translation competence acquisition there is no agreement
as to what competences and sub-competencies make up the
cognitive system of the ‘native translator’ (Colina, 2003)
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Components of translation proficiency
(Cao, 1996: 328)
Translational Language Competence
Translational Knowledge Structures
Translational Strategic Competence
Context of Situation
• For Colina (2003), this model suits her concept of
communicative translation competence
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Enculturation
• ‘Enculturation is the process by which a person
learns the requirements of the culture by which he
or she is surrounded, and acquires values and
behaviors that are appropriate or necessary in that
culture’ (Grusec & Hastings, 2007: 547)
• Based on the enculturation competences, Hurtado
Albir (1999), Kelly (2002), and the PACTE (2008)
defined a model of translation sub-competencies:
See next 
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Model of five sub-competencies +
a set of components
1. Bilingual sub-competence: procedural
knowledge required to communicate in two
languages, i.e. pragmatics, sociolinguistics,
textuality, grammar and lexis
2. Extra-linguistic sub-competence: bi-cultural,
encyclopedic and subject knowledge
3. Translation sub-competence: aspects of the
profession, the labor market, etc.
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Model of sub-competencies and components
4. Instrumental sub-competence: procedural knowledge for
the use of documentation resources & information & TICs
5. Strategic sub-competence: procedural knowledge that
guarantees efficiency in the translation process by
identifying problems. It creates links between the other subcompetencies
6. Psycho-physiological components: cognitive components,
such as memory, perception, attention span, etc.; attitudes
such as curiosity, rigor, etc.; and abilities such as creativity,
analysis, logical reasoning, etc.
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Translation competence (Kelly, 2002)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Strategic sub-competence
Interpersonal sub-competence
Psychophysiological sub-competence
Instrumental-professional sub-competence
Thematic sub-competence
Cultural sub-competence
Communicative y textual sub-competence
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Generic and specific competences
Teoría y Metodología de la Traducción,
Universitat Jaume I, Spain (Agost, 2008)
Generic Competences
n Analysis and synthesis ability
n Organization & planification ability
n Motivation for quality
n Initiative & entrepreneur’s drive
n Problem solving
n Critical thinking
n Autonomous learning
Specific Competences
n Labor market knowledge
n Theoretical knowledge acquisition
n Knowledge of translation varieties
n Knowledge of translation competences
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Summing up…
• Communicative and textual subcompetence in at least
two languages.
• Cultural subcompetence and encyclopaedic knowledge.
• Thematic subcompetence in the translation areas.
• instrumental and professional subcompetence: use of
sources and resources, business administration, union
trade activity, and deontological knowledge.
• Psychophysiological subcompetence: translator
awareness, self-confidence, attention span, memory...
• Interpersonal subcompetence: relationships, team work.
• Strategic subcompetence: procedures related to work
organization and performance, problem identification
and resolution, and self-evaluation and revision.
Concepción-Leipzig, 2012
Concepción-Leipzig, 2012