Márta Lesznyák: A longitudinal investigation of translation trainees’ translation and post-editing competence development I
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1 Literature review
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1.1 Definitions of basic terms
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1.1.4 Expertise

1.1.4 Expertise

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Expertise, similarly to competence, is a psychological concept with several definitions and extensive literature. Expertise is usually defined as superior performance, which is the outcome of prolonged learning in favourable learning environments (Ericsson, 2018; Ericsson & Charness, 1994). Sometimes the social construction of expertise is emphasised, that is, the phenomenon that certain individuals are assigned the expert label because of some social criteria (e.g., Sternberg & Ben-Zeev, 2001). In the literature, extensive lists of characteristics of expertise can also be found (e.g., Swanson & Holton, 2001).

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In translation studies, definitions of expertise are usually in line with the “exceptional performance” approach, although sociologically oriented approaches have become popular in the past 15 years, too (Alves & Da Silva, 2021). The problem in Translation Studies is that the line between competence and expertise is, for many researchers, blurred (e.g., see below the PACTE group or Göpferich). Both Tiselius and Hild (Tiselius & Hild, 2017) and Muñoz Martin (Muñoz Martin, 2014) arrived at the conclusion that competence and expertise are very often handled as synonyms in translation research, and there seems to be an equal sign between them. This conceptual confusion should obviously be resolved both in theory and in research.

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One possible solution is offered by Shreve (2018), who claims that expertise might be a better construct to grasp translation and its development as a cognitive process than competence (Shreve, 2018). This approach is equivalent to adopting the use of the concept of expertise in translation studies in place of competence, suggesting that the concept of expertise can explain the whole range of developmental levels and processes, from beginner to expert.

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Nevertheless, in this volume, translation expertise will be viewed as superior performance in translation that is acquired after long years of deliberate practice, reflection and conscious efforts to improve. In this sense, expertise is at the higher end of the competence spectrum. This approach is consistent with Billett and his colleagues’ (2018) ideas who argue that distinctions should be made between occupational competence, which is knowledge required for performing occupational tasks and occupational expertise which is defined as “being able to respond effectively to routine and non-routine activities in particular circumstances” (Billett et al., 2018, digital copy without page numbers). As can be seen, the main feature distinguishing between competence and expertise is the ability to manage novel tasks.

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Within translation studies, our approach aligns with Way’s views who claims “that TC and expertise are not the same and neither are they mutually exclusive” (Way, 2021). Further scholars advocating this view are Alves and Gonçalves (2007) and Englund Dimitrova (2005).

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However, as only students participated in our study and, according to the definition above, they cannot be seen as experts, the term will not be used in this volume, as expertise was not investigated in the project. This section simply served the purpose of clarification.
 

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After having defined the most important terms that are needed to understand the present study, we will turn to defining translation competence and translation competence development.
 
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