INTRODUCTION
The translator's responsibility is multidimensional. Indeed,
it decides on professional, pragmatic and cultural issues, to mention but a
few. It is thus quite natural that Translator Training be no less crucial a
responsibility. At the moment a student translator ends his four-year course,
he is considered to be ready to practice professional translating, that is to
start taking over the profession's charges. This suggests that at the end of
the course he would be deemed to possess the required knowledge and competence
for a beginner professional translator. This could be attained only through
efficient knowledge and competence acquisition. Furthermore, the extent to
which a beginner professional might develop and progress towards becoming a
good translator is significantly determined by the knowledge and competence he
possesses as a beginner.
Acquiring the required knowledge and competence is,
nevertheless, not as simple as it may be assumed. The great amount of knowledge
to be learnt and the specific type of skills to be developed in a relatively
short period of time explain this belief (Pym, 2002). The learning process of a
would-be translator is, thus, quite intense and complex.
However, some may judge this statement too demanding. Indeed,
it is generally believed that learning translation involves no more than the
acquisition of one or two foreign languages. This belief might be felt, it
should be noted, even among some well-educated people. Although this is not
necessarily the way Translation students at Batna University themselves think,
it is hard to assert that they are fully ready to meet all the requirements.
We have noticed that students enter the Translation course
with very little linguistic and cultural knowledge, especially as far as
foreign languages are concerned. Logically, this low level calls for more
adapted programs. Language programs, in particular, are reduced to elementary
lessons aiming to provide students with the basic linguistic knowledge they
lack (Nord, 2000; Gouadec, 2000; Gambier, 2000). As this aim is likely to take
a long time to achieve, considerable amount of time and effort would inevitably
shift to language learning objectives on the detriment of the initial
objectives of the course. We assume that these objectives are Translation
Competence acquisition and linguistic and cultural knowledge perfection.
Research Questions
Many questions rise, justifying the need to conduct the present
study. These questions are the following:
· Do prior linguistic competence and cultural knowledge
make any difference in what a student acquires, in terms of translation
competence, in a given period of time? Or,
o does this knowledge determine the quality and the pace of the
translation student's subsequent learning process?
· Are prior linguistic competence and cultural knowledge
prerequisites to learning translation? Or,
o Is it possible to learn languages, their cultures and
translation from and into these languages simultaneously?
· Regarding these questions, what is the present state of
translator training in the Translation Department of Batna University? In other
words:
· How is the performance of the Translation Department
of Batna University under the established students' selection system?
Particularly:
· How is the traditionally selected students' knowledge
at the beginning of the course? And what do they learn within two or three
years of study? More specifically,
o What is the current level of newly selected students' prior
linguistic knowledge and general culture in the Translation Department of Batna
University?
o What is the current level of third year students'
translation
competence in the Translation Department of Batna University?
Hypotheses
This work aims at testing the following main hypotheses:
· Sound prior linguistic and cultural knowledge prepare
the student for the translation course. Hence, they bring him learn translation
better and faster.
· Without this prior knowledge there is no effective
translation learning.
· Hence, this prior knowledge is a prerequisite for
translation learning process to attain the course objectives.
· Criteria currently used in Batna Translation Department
for selecting translation students are not sufficient.
Objectives
To test our hypotheses, a study comprising a quantitative and
a qualitative part has been conducted in the Translation Department at Batna
University. Subjects are first and third year students of translation. The
quantitative study attempts to check whether prior linguistic and cultural
knowledge make any difference in subsequent translation learning success. It
compares the prior knowledge of two different groups
of third year students, selected on the basis of "translation
competence" criterion. In other words, one group is believed to have more
translation competence than the other.
The qualitative study's aim is to test the hypotheses through
the description of the present state of affairs. Indeed, it attempts to examine
the established system's effectiveness, as far as students' selection is
concerned. This system gives the priority to students from literary streams,
and is based on Baccalaureate general mean and foreign languages grades (see
Appendix A).
It addresses two issues. Firstly, it looks at the value of the
Baccalaureate degree in terms of linguistic competence and general culture.
This evaluation does not concern the Baccalaureate degree as such, but as a
unique selection criterion. Hence, it evaluates the overall knowledge standard
of first year translation students before they start the course. This
evaluation involves linguistic competence in Arabic and English, and general
culture. Testing general culture aims to improve our understanding of the
general knowledge traits of present-day freshmen.
Secondly, the qualitative study attempts an evaluation of
third year students' translation competence. This is to see what students with
no more than Baccalaureate level could learn within three years.
Scope of the Study
First, this study limits itself to written translation. The
oral one entails different factors to be investigated, like listening and
speaking skills. These are not similar to those written translation
requires.
Secondly, we would like to point out that the qualitative part
of this paper does not aim at providing an accurate evaluation of individual
competence or knowledge. Its goal is rather to look for signs indicating the
general knowledge standard.
Thirdly, it should be mentioned that linguistic competence and
cultural knowledge are only two aptitudes among many others worth investigating
in the same framework. This study does not imply that they are the only
prerequisites. Nor does it intend to consider all the abilities a candidate to
a translation course needs or needs not possess. Cognitive abilities and
affective dispositions are some examples. It is true that some literature
(Alves ; Vila Real & Rothe-Neves, 2001) as well as foreign translation
schools advocate their necessity as a prerequisite. However, they lie beyond
the scope of this research. If, in our literature review, some hints are
present, it is for the sake of emphasising the value and the complexity of
translator training.
Finally, this paper is not expected to provide a precise
description of the type and amount of knowledge it is deemed necessary to
possess.
This issue might be proposed as further research to be conducted
in the field.
Limitations of the Study
We remain aware of the multitude of extraneous variables
likely to alter the effect of previous knowledge on the learning process.
Experimental manipulation and randomisation are lacking in the design we have
chosen. Consequently, students' motivation, social situation, economic status,
physical condition, sex, and interaction may influence their learning. They
might influence also their performance at the exams or the tests constituting
this study's source of data.
Nevertheless, it should be noted that if these variables might
affect the results of the study, they would similarly affect the student's
performance in real life conditions. This does not bring foreign translation
schools to stop selecting their students on the basis of previous knowledge
criteria.
Furthermore, the present study is not an experiment in which
variables must be isolated, controlled and manipulated. It is a descriptive
study, which implies dealing with real and authentic rather than laboratory
settings. Hopefully, the fact of the absence of artificiality in our research
proceedings might add to the findings' credibility.
Besides, some factors like motivation might be in their turn
positively influenced by prior knowledge. Hence, it would be an integral part
of the relationship we propose to investigate. It follows that controlling such
a variable would be both hard and pointless.
Anyway, efforts that have been made to account for some
extraneous variables will be explained within the procedures' sections.
Significance of the Study
Obviously, the study's findings will lead to recommendations
as to what is needed for positive change to occur. It is hoped that our
recommendations would serve to improve the academic level of the Translation
Department of Batna University and help in training qualified translators.
The study's findings are also expected to provide insight into
central issues to translation and Translation Studies. More specifically, we
hope to increase awareness concerning some common misconceptions like the
confusion between learning translation and learning languages.
The need to conduct this research is strongly justified, also,
by the lack of research conducted in the field in Algeria (Aïssani, 2000).
Aïssani (2000) states that Algerian graduates in translation turn to
neighbouring disciplines, like linguistics, to carry out a research work.
Besides, when
research is performed in the field, it is generally under the
form of books' translations. Very little work addressed Translator Training
issues.
Ideally, this study could also be considered as a contribution
to the literature submitting one of Translator Training aspects to empirical
study. Moreover, it is hoped that implementing translation evaluation
instruments, as a research tool, will constitute a first step towards further
exploration of this specific issue in Batna University, at least.
As small size samples, namely no more than 10 subjects, represent
one of the weaknesses of available field research (Orozco and Hurtado Albir,
2001), it is assumed that the relatively large samples under investigation will
add more scientific value to the present research.
We would like our work to remain within the expectations of a
scientific rationale and the principle of originality: two main reasons to
account for the choice of our subject and our methodology.
Basic Assumptions
We assume that culture, in its anthropological definition (see
p. 28), is not systematically taught and tested in Algerian pre-university
language class. This is clear when we examine Algerian Baccalaureate Exams of
the English language. We would find no testing of any cultural knowledge, which
implies that teaching it was not a fundamental component of the curriculum.
As will be exposed in the literature review, Chastain (1976)
advances that, in order to test it, culture should be taught and tested
systematically (p. 509). Therefore, it was not possible for this study to test
this kind of knowledge. Any testing of a randomly acquired knowledge would be
subjective. And as this testing was meant for statistical analysis, we settled
for considering the kind of culture that is actually and systematically taught.
It is culture that includes history, geography and philosophy. The aim
was, as mentioned earlier, to see whether or not it had an effect on learning
translation.
We maintain, however, that knowledge of the language's culture
is a very important component in a good linguistic competence. Throughout the
literature review, this claim is being supported.
Definition of Terms
Culture: throughout this study, this
controversial concept has been attributed more than one definition. Each time
the relevant definition will be determined. Here is a broad description of each
context's definition:
- As far as the literature review is concerned, it is used to
mean "lifeway of a population" (Oswalt, 1970).
- As to the statistical study, culture refers to
academic achievement in history, geography and philosophy.
- Regarding the qualitative study, it refers to general
knowledge: world news, cinema, geographical and historical information, etc.
Linguistic knowledge and
linguistic competence are used interchangeably
to mean the extent and quality of comprehension, writing, grammatical and
vocabulary abilities in a given language. Speaking and listening are not
considered because we are concerned with written translation.
Learning translation and
translation competence acquisition are also
used to mean the same thing: "learning how to translate".
Realia: is used in page 56 to refer to
objects specific to one culture.
Note: Many terms related to translation
studies are cited in the study. We have tried to make sure each first use is
followed by the relevant definition.
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