As a profession, translation may be one of the oldest, but it still has “no official status” (Gouadec 2007: 245) or “relative social or professional position”. What is more there are no agreed indicators of the translator’s status (Grbic 2010), and the concept itself is “a complex, subjective and context-dependent construct” (Dam and Zethsen 2008: 74). That said, status, here, will refer to translation as a valued specialist field requiring unique translating skills; and that competence and quality are considered key requisites for working professionally. Three contexts will be discussed: the academic, the market, and that of the translators themselves. A detailed overview of the translator’s status globally is that in the academic world it has high status due the “accademization” of the discipline, while the market in general is still convinced that translating is an automatic, ‘conduit’ copying task. The translators themselves, accrue status in niche areas and through the individual acquisition of the goodwill of their clients.
Status of Translators
KATAN, DAVID MARK
2011-01-01
Abstract
As a profession, translation may be one of the oldest, but it still has “no official status” (Gouadec 2007: 245) or “relative social or professional position”. What is more there are no agreed indicators of the translator’s status (Grbic 2010), and the concept itself is “a complex, subjective and context-dependent construct” (Dam and Zethsen 2008: 74). That said, status, here, will refer to translation as a valued specialist field requiring unique translating skills; and that competence and quality are considered key requisites for working professionally. Three contexts will be discussed: the academic, the market, and that of the translators themselves. A detailed overview of the translator’s status globally is that in the academic world it has high status due the “accademization” of the discipline, while the market in general is still convinced that translating is an automatic, ‘conduit’ copying task. The translators themselves, accrue status in niche areas and through the individual acquisition of the goodwill of their clients.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
