2.5 Interpreting competence as perceived by interpreter and translator trainers

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In a questionnaire survey (Lesznyák & Bakti, 2020), the following question was asked from interpreter and translator trainers: Which competences are the most important in the work of an interpreter, and which competences receive the greatest focus in interpreter training? Competences were listed based on the PACTE group’s competences and sub-competences (PACTE, 2011). PACTE’s construct of translation competence has four distinct characteristics:

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  1. translation competence is expert knowledge and is not possessed by all bilinguals
  2. translation competence is mainly procedural knowledge
  3. translation competence is made up of sub-competences
  4. one element of translation competence is strategic competence, which plays an outstanding role
 

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According to PACTE (2011), translation competence is made up of five subcompetences, namely bilingual subcompetence, extra-linguistic subcompetence, knowledge about translation, instrumental subcompetence and strategic subcompetence. In addition, the model includes psycho-physiological components.

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The results of Lesznyák and Bakti (2020) show that, according to the 34 respondents, all of whom are interpreter trainers, the most important competences in interpreting are target language competence, focusing attention, stress management, and source language competence. A large number of sub-competences were rated high by the respondents, which suggests that interpreting requires the parallel functioning of several sub-competences.

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The least important competences and sub-competences include knowledge about the psycholinguistic components of the interpreting process, digital competences and knowledge about theories of interpretation. It is somewhat surprising to see that interpreter trainers put such a low emphasis on theory-related sub-competences.

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When comparing translation and interpreting, five sub-competences were considered equally important in both professions (TL and SL competence, problem solving, theories and planning the process). In contrast to translation, in interpreting, stress management was ranked very high, together with short term memory, general and specialized knowledge, and intercultural competence and cultural background knowledge (Table 2.3).
 

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Table 2.3 Competences perceived as the most important in interpreting
Sub-competence
Average (st. dev) 
Target language
4.89 (0.32) 
Focusing attention  
4.86 (0.35) 
Stress management
4.83 (0.38) 
Source language
4.74 (0.44) 
Identifying and solving problems  
4.74 (0.56) 
Short term memory operations
4.74 (0.50) 
World knowledge
4.66 (0.54) 
Activating and coordinating skills and sub-competences  
4.54 (0.74) 
 

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When connecting each element with PACTE’s sub-competences, it can be seen that, according to interpreter trainers, the most important competence is the psycho-physiological component, followed by bilingual sub-competence and extra-linguistic knowledge (Table 2.4).
 

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Table 2.4 The importance of PACTE’s competences in interpreting
Sub-competences
Average (st. dev.)
Psycho-physiological components  
4,66 (0,41) 
Bilingual sub-competence
4,65 (0,39)
Extra-linguistic knowledge
4,32 (0,48) 
Strategic sub-competence
4,27 (0,63) 
Instrumental sub-competence
2,83 (0,81) 
Knowledge about interpreting
2,60 (0,90) 
 

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The results of this empirical study seem to indicate that interpreter trainers consider personality characteristics the most important in interpreting practice. When asked about the weight of sub-competences in the curricula of Master’s Programs in Translation and Interpreting, trainers found that the most important competence is identifying and solving problems, together with terminology, whereas language competences ranked relatively low.
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