DIDTRAD – 2014 PACTE
UAB BARCELONA
8.7.2014
Ton Naaijkens
Henri Bloemen
Designing a Learning Line for Literary Translation
Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear colleagues,
1. (ELV and MLV)
In nearly over fourteen years now, my colleague XX and myself have been training and
educating literary translators who wanted to start a professional career in literary
translation. Indeed since 2001 we have been running the Expertise Centre for Literary
(ELV, PP 2) Translation, which is a joint Dutch-Flemish institute situated at Utrecht and
financed by the Dutch/Flemish Language Union. In close cooperation with the literary
funds in Holland and Belgium, the ELV organizes courses and mentorships from many
languages into Dutch and the reverse. Which pair of languages is offered is determined by
the need on the literary market both in Holland and Belgium and abroad. The intended
public of the ELV-courses are starting literary translators and translators with already some
experience, but who feel the need for further training and exchange of experience. In the
circumstances as they are a ‘starting translator’ does not necessarily mean a ‘young’
translator; we will come to that afterwards. After having followed an ELV-course and after
their first steps on the translation market, starting translators may apply for a mentorship;
this means that they can make their first translation with the intensive help of an
experienced translator. This mentorship is paid by the ELV.
Last year, in September 2013, we started a two-year master program in literary translation
as a joint initiative again of the University of Utrecht and the University of Louvain (PP 3).
The aim of the program is to educate and train young people in the métier and
craftsmanship of literary translation. This means: to bring them to a level of competence
that allows them to step into a professional career as a literary translator on the condition
that they be ‘professionalized’, for example by following a course or applying for a
mentorship at the ELV.
Having said this, two things are already clear (PP 4): 1. Students who leave university are
not yet ready for the professional market; and 2. Institutions like the ELV play the role of
mediator who helps a starting literary translator to reach the professional phase of her/his
career. In other words: There is, as we believe, some convincing logic in the existence of
an institute like the ELV (among many others) on the one hand and the creation of the
master in literary translation on the other.
2.
Some logic indeed. At the ELV we have gathered some experiences from which we have
learned and that have finally led to the idea of a ‘learning line’ that is more than just a
training trajectory, because it could function as an overall frame work for the education
and training of literary translators.
What are these experiences? We mention just the most important ones: (PP 5)
1. The ‘normal’ career of a literary translator is not linear, but rather unpredictable,
irregular and full of particularities;
2. The average age of course participants at the ELV (and comparable institutes) is far
beyond 30;
3. As a consequence learners in literary translation bring with them an important
diversity in experience, skills, knowledge and attitudes;
4. Therefore it is not easy to detect the individual needs of trainees in LT and
5. To create the training instruments that meet as appropriately as possible those
needs;
6. For learners it is not always easy to select the training offer appropriate to their
needs.
3. (PETRA, CEATL, …)
In the last decade the conviction has won ground that literary translation is a highly
complex matter that requires a high level of knowledge and skills. As a consequence in
several countries inside and outside Europe the teaching of literary translation has become
an academic discipline be it in the form of newly established master programs in literary
translations or of special programs within existing translation programs.
On the other hand all over Europe numerous initiatives emerging out of the practical field
of literary translation show the urging need for education and training in literary
translation. We just mention ‘la fabrique des traducteurs’ in France, the seminars of the
Literarisches Colloquium Berlin, the Vertalersvakschool at Amsterdam, the British Center
for Literary Translation; in fact also the ELV may be mentioned in this respect.
Both tendencies inside and outside the academia reveal in fact that in the field of
education and training of literary translation academic and non-academic initiatives should
act complementarily and in a cooperative way.
Nevertheless, the reality is that the field of education and training of literary translators is
now scattered over several institutions and initiatives. The survey by the working group on
education and training of CEATL (PP 6) gives an overview of all initiatives in Europe. At the
same time it states that
1. A frame work is lacking and therefore there is very little tuning in between the
several initiatives;
2. A certain degree of harmonization is required to enable efficient ways of
cooperation;
3. Especially structural forms of cooperation between the academic programs and the
practical working field are highly desirable;
4. This cooperation concerns the design of programs, the evaluation and quality
assessment of literary translations, the training of teachers, and the availability of
practical translators in academic programs.
The same recommendations have been made at the PETRA-congress in Brussels in
December 2011, establishing a European Platform for Literary Translation. We cite from
the recommendations: (PP 8)
1) It is recommended to create open structures, at national and European level, to enable
universities and higher education establishments to collaborate with non-academic organizations
and associations and networks of professional literary translators without cumbersome
administrative procedures.
2) It is recommended to start a discussion on promising, long-term structures for the education
and training of literary translators at a European level. This involves the exchange and cooperation
between academic and non-academic institutions on the contents of training, on practical issues
and methods of teaching.
A representative working group should work out a proposal based on already existing initiatives.
One of the items on the agenda could be the development of a learning line for literary translators
with a distinct sequence of steps from beginners to professional translators, including the training
of translators willing to transfer their knowledge and skills.
4. (Main features of the Learning Line)
Following those recommendations the ELV has developed a learning line for literary
translation that we would like to propose to you now. (show the scheme)
As you can see, this learning line is
-
analytical; i.e. it distinguishes in detail the skills, knowledge and attitudes on several
levels that may be expected from a literary translator;
competence-based; the learning line distinguishes a set of competences that
together build the overall competence in literary translation.
We distinguish eight competences of which six core competences and two peripheral
competences:
- translation competence
- language competence (expressed in CEFR-degrees)
-
textual competence
heuristic competence
cultural-literary competence
professional competence
didactic evaluative competence
research competence
Every competence is defined by a set of descriptors; these descriptors are kept to e
minimum in order to maintain the usability of the learning line.
Further on we distinguish five competence levels:
-
LT
LT
LT
LT
LT
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
breakthrough
beginner
advanced
professional
expert
We also mention the evaluative conditions under which a level shift occurs. These
conditions are only indicative, that means that they are not necessarily based on the
proven acquisition of a competence.
5. (Advantages, challenges, questions)
The advantages of this learning line are obvious (PP 10)
-
it enables learners to determine their position in the training trajectory; learners can
easily find out what is lacking and on what point they need more training;
it enables institutes to determine the level and the specific competence of the
programs and the courses they offer;
it is a useful instrument for the design of training programs for LT;
it enables teachers to differentiate more specifically the content of their courses;
last but not least, it enables cooperation between institutes by making visible who is
offering what kind of competence on which level;
it can function as an open frame of reference to all participants in the training and
education of literary translators.
Of course there are some problems and challenges connected to this learning line
-
-
We are only convinced that the learning line will work. We don’t know it for sure. So
more research and experiments are needed. Will a competence-based training
program deliver better translators than classical, more synthetic ways of teaching,
like the master-pupil-model?
Especially unclear are the conditions for a level shift. This concerns the evaluation
problem in literary translation in general. But the question must now we asked in
terms of the competence-philosophy. The question may be no longer: what is a
good translation, but rather: how can we measure and thus know for certain that a
learner has acquired a certain competence level?
There will certainly be some more problems and questions, for example about the number
of descriptors needed for every competence. Please feel encouraged to ask critical
questions.
6. (Future)
Following the recommendations of PETRA and CEATL, but also following our own intuition
based on experiences gained during the last decade, it is our aim to use the learning line
as the back bone of a frame of reference for the introduction of a real European
infrastructure for the education and training of literary translators.
This framework can only succeed if all institutions – academic and non-academic, formal and
informal - involved in the training and education of literary translators will be able to work
together without artificial burdens. It is essential that all the existing initiatives retain their unique
features in this infrastructure. The basic idea is that almost all competencies required to become a
literary translator are currently provided for. However, as we can see in the learning line,
becoming a literary translator actually involves so many different competencies, at different levels,
that no single institution can provide for them all. It is the explicit aim to bring together what is
currently dispersed between various institutions.
Therefore the ELV has engaged in a continuation of the PETRA-project. Several European
partners – universities, non-academic institutions, literary funds – have applied for an
Erasmus+ project.
If the project is granted, a lot of questions and challenges mentioned above can be solved.
At the end of July we will know more.
Meanwhile we are happy with every critical remark and every constructive suggestion from
your side.
Thank you very much.