1. PACTE Translation Competence Model (2003)

The bilingual sub-competence consists of the underlying systems of knowledge and skills that are needed for linguistic communication to take place in two languages. It is made up of comprehension and production competencies, and includes the following knowledge and skills: grammatical competence; textual competence (which consists in being proficient in combining linguistic forms to produce a written or oral text in different genres or text types);illocutionary competence (related to the functions of language); and sociolinguistic competence (concerned with appropriate production and comprehension in a range of sociolinguistic contexts that depend on factors such as the status of the participants, the purpose of the interaction, the norms or conventions at play in the interaction, and so forth)

The extra-linguistic sub-competence is made up of encyclopaedic, thematic and bicultural knowledge.

The translation knowledge sub-competence is knowledge of the principles guiding translation, such as processes, methods, procedures, and so forth.

The instrumental sub-competence comprises the knowledge required to work as a professional translator, such as the use of sources of documentation and information technologies applied to translation.

The strategic sub-competence integrates all the others and is the most important, since it allows problems to be solved and ensures the efficiency of the process. It consists in the capacity to follow the transfer process from the source text to the production of the final target text, according to the purpose of the translation and the characteristics of the target audience (Hurtado, 2001: 395-397; PACTE, 2005: 611).

References

• Hurtado Albir, A. (2001): Traducción y Traductología, Madrid, Cátedra.

• PACTE (2000). Acquiring translation competence: Hypotheses and methodological problems of a research project. In A. Beeby, D. Ensinger, & M. Presas (Eds.), Investigating translation (pp. 99-106). Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.

• PACTE (2003). Building a Translation Competence Model. In F. Alves (Ed.): Triangulating translation: Perspectives in process oriented research (pp. 43-66). Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.

• PACTE (2005). Investigating Translation Competence: Conceptual and Methodological Issues. Meta, 50(2), 609-618.

2. EMT Translation Competence Model: (Click on the link for an explanation of each sub-competence)

Reference

• EMT expert group (2009). Competences for Professional Translators, Experts in Multilingual and Multimedia Communication. European Commission. N.p., 17.

3. Göpferich’s Translation Competence Model

See Göpferich (2009, pp. 21-23) for a description of each sub-competence in this model

References

• Göpferich, S. (2009). Towards a model of translation competence and its acquisition: the longitudinal study ‘TransComp’. In S. Göpferich, A. L. Jakobsen, & I. M. Mees (Eds), Behind the mind: Methods, models and results in translation process research (pp. 11-37). (Copenhagen Studies in Language 37) Copenhagen: Samfundslitteratur.

• Göpferich, S (2007). Research project TransComp: The development of
  translation competence.
  http://gams.uni-graz.at/fedora/get/container:tc/bdef:Container/get
  (19.04.2009) .

4. Kelly (2002) defines translation competence as:

“Translation competence is the macrocompetence that comprises the different capacities, skills, knowledge and even attitudes that professional translators possess and which are involved in translation as an expert activity. It can be broken down into the following sub-competencies, which are all necessary for the success of the macrocompetence” (Kelly, 2002, pp. 14-15):

(1) Communicative and textual, (2) cultural, (3) thematic, (4) professional, (5) instrumental, (6) psycho-physiological, (7) interpersonal and strategic

Useful References

• Kelly, D. (2002): “Un modelo de competencia traductora: bases para el diseño curricular”, Puentes,

• Kelly, D. (2005). A handbook for translator trainers, translation practices explained series. Manchester: St. Jerome Publishers.

5. Pym (2003, p. 489) defines translation competence as:

• The ability to generate a series of more than one viable target (TT₁, TT₂ …TT_n) for a pertinent source text (ST);

• The ability to select only one viable from this series, quickly and with justified confidence.

Reference

• Pym, A. (2003). Redefining translation competence in an electronic age. In defense of a minimalist approach. Meta, 48(4), 481-497.

6. Kastberg (2007, p. 104) defines translation competence as:

• General language competence L1 + L2

• LSP competence L1 + L2

• Knowledge of the relevant domain

• LSP translation competence L1 <–> L2

• Cultural competence L1 + L2

Reference

• Kastberg, P. (2007). Cultural Issues Facing the Technical Translator. Journal of Specialised Translation, 8.

7. Schäffner (2000, p. 146) defines translation competence as:

“a complex notion which involves an awareness of and conscious reflection on all the relevant factors for the production of a target text (TT) that appropriately fulfils its specified function for its target addressees”

Schäffner’s (2000, p. 146) model comprises:

• Linguistic competence – in the languages concerned

• Cultural competence – general knowledge about historical, political, economic, cultural, etc. aspects in the respective countries

• Textual competence – knowledge of regularities and conventions of texts, genres, text types

• Domain/subject specific competence – knowledge of the relevant subject, the area of expertise

• (re)search competence – general strategy competence whose aim is the ability to resolve problems specific to the cross-cultural transfer of texts

• Transfer competence – ability to produce TTs that satisfy the demands of the translation task .

Reference

• Schäffner, C. (2000). Running before walking? Designing a translation programme at undergraduate level. In B. J. Adab & C. Schaffner (Eds.), Developing translation competence (pp. 143-156). Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.

8. Fox’s (2000, p. 117) translation competence model comprises:

• communicative competence – awareness towards the purpose of translation task and the situation resulting in the ability to produce an adequate TT

• socio-cultural competence – awareness of the socio-cultural context in which the ST emerged and an ability to comprehend texts in TL and SL culture.

• Language and cultural awareness – being aware of how language/s work and conveys meaning and an ability to produce TTs that meet the linguistic and cultural expectations of target audience

• Learning-how to learn – an awareness of different resources and how to use them and how to record ones observations.

• Problem-solving goals – awareness of situational, linguistic, cultural or textual problems and being able to solve them

Reference

• Fox, O. (2000). The use of translation diaries in a process-oriented translation teaching methodology. In B. J. Adab & C. Schaffner (Eds.), Developing translation competence (pp. 115-130). Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.

9. Beeby’s (2000, pp. 186-187) translation competence model comprises:

• Transfer competence – awareness of the translation process (advanced reading skills in SL, deverbalization skills, reformulation skills in TL), awareness of multiple contexts involved in translation, awareness of the interdependence between micro and macro structures in text and translation.

• Contrastive linguistic competence – knowledge of typographical differences between SL and TL, knowledge of lexical differences between SL and TL and awareness of the limitations of dictionaries, knowledge of syntactic differences between SL and TL.

• Contrastive discourse competence – knowledge of text type and genre differences between SL and TL, awareness of the relationship between context and register (field, mode and tenor), knowledge of differences in textual coherence and cohesion between SL and TL.

• Extra-linguistic competence – knowledge of pragmatic and semiotic differences between the SL culture and the TL culture, documentation skills.

Reference

• Beeby, A. (2000). Evaluating the development of translation competence. In B. J. Adab & C. Schaffner (Eds.), Developing translation competence (pp. 185-198). Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.

10. Sim’s (2000, p. 173) translation competence model comprises:

• Source language competence

• Receptor language competence

• Source culture control

• Receptor culture control

• Translation

• A.L.M implementation skills – planning, administration, leadership, management

Reference

• Sim, R. J. (2000). A training strategy for translation studies. In B. J. Adab & C. Schaffner (Eds.), Developing translation competence (pp. 171-182). Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.