Indicators of translation competence: Translators’ self-concepts and the translation of titles

Abstract

The parallels between writing research and translation process research range from the objects of study (text producers and texts) to the methods employed in investigating them. Similarly to writing research, translation studies has recently moved from an almost exclusive focus on products towards considering workplace and cognitive processes and the effects of those processes on the quality of products. In this paper, we outline how the methods common to both fields can be applied to the investigation of translators' understanding of their roles and responsibilities as text producers and their treatment of the specific problem of title translation. The data are drawn from a corpus built up in an longitudinal research project about the relationship of translation competence and the translation process. The multi-method approach we use combines keystroke logging, screenshot recording, eye-tracking, retrospection, and interviews. It allows us to monitor translators at their workplace in as controlled and non-invasive a manner as possible. It also provides rich data that make it possible to infer the practices and metalinguistic awareness that characterize the translation competence of translators with different levels of experience.