Carla Quinci (2023). Translation competence: Theory, research and practice. New York and London: Routledge, pp. 280, £120. ISBN 9781032130200.

Translation competence has been one of the central topics in Translation Studies for several decades. What are the critical skills that need to be mastered in the translation classroom? How do translators develop those skills accumulating practice? Whilst translation competence has been amply discussed in widely quoted Translation Studies literature (e.g. Lörscher, 1987; Pym, 2003; Göpferich, 2009; Whyatt, 2012; Kiraly, 2013; PACTE 2003, 2020, most of which are discussed in the book under review) and beyond academia (EMT 2022), these and other questions still remain relevant. It is within this context that Carla Quinci’s book offers new insights based on findings from a longitudinal, multi-method study involving three groups with different translation experience: translation novices (BA students), intermediates (MA students), and professional translators.

The book is comprised of three sections and divided into a total of eight chapters. In Section 1 the author discusses theoretical approaches to translation competence, as well as its conceptualisation, modelling, and development over time. Chapter 1 offers a comprehensive review of literature which has defined ‘translation competence’ (along with a discussion of potentially overlapping terms, such as ‘proficiency’), of existing models of translation competence, and of some empirical studies on translation competence. Quinci also refers to “the empirical turn” in Translation Studies (Snell-Hornby, 2006, p. 115) and provides examples of methods that have been applied to the study of translation competence, including think-aloud protocols, interviews, key-logging, and eye-tracking (pp. 15-16). This serves as a helpful and informative introduction to process- and product-oriented research in Translation Studies, both of which have been applied in the author’s empirical study which is detailed later on in the book.

Chapter 2 discusses existing literature on the development of translation competence. The author makes an important observation about the paucity of longitudinal studies in relation to translation competence and points to the methodological challenges this type of research poses. In addition to studies which have proposed models of the acquisition of translation competence, including – among others – Kiraly’s (2015) conceptualisation, PACTE’s (2020) empirical investigations, and the outcomes of the TransComp project (Göpferich, 2009), Quinci also discusses international frameworks that aim to define translation competence, including PACTE’s NACT project (2018) and the PETRA-E framework (PETRA-E Network 2017). In general, the chapter is an informative overview of how the acquisition of translation competence has been approached in existing scholarly literature and frameworks.

Section 2 of the book provides an account of the author’s empirical study. Chapter 3 outlines the study aims and design. In her research, Quinci combined both synchronic and diachronic perspectives on translation as a product and a process. From a product-oriented perspective, the study aimed to examine the characteristics of texts translated by three groups with different translation experience, as well as to test how the features of translation products evolve in relation to accumulated translation expertise, i.e. whether translations produced by less and more experienced translators become more similar to each other as the former group gains expertise. From a process-oriented perspective, Quinci compared the process of translation across groups, and tested whether the way novices approach translation tasks changes with time, as they gain experience, making their approach similar to that of experienced translators (p. 59). Although the study design is in general clear, the description of methodology could be more precise in places. For example, while it is a strength of the methodology that two expert translation trainers rated the difficulty of the source texts, the results of these ratings are not reported in the chapter.

In Chapter 4, Quinci summarises the results of the translation product analysis, based on the following textual characteristics: lexicometric measures, lexical density, lexical variation, length variation, expansion, reduction, readability, vocabulary analysis, syntactic variation, nominalisation, activisation, and passivisation (p. 72). The results show that there might indeed be differences between translations produced by less experienced trainees, more experienced trainees, and professional translators in terms of lexical richness, the level of explicitness, and syntactic complexity. The wide range of product-oriented metrics applied in the study is impressive. However, the chapter could be supplemented by a more consistent reporting of quantitative data (e.g. descriptive statistics in tables; mean values in the main text) to support the formulated conclusions. For instance, when discussing the type/token ratio in the target texts, the author concludes that “[n]o major discrepancies in the average number of tokens and types in the TTs produced by the four groups were detected” (p. 76), yet no data is provided to substantiate this claim. Although the author herself states that “[d]ue to space constraints, the number [of] tables and graphs illustrating quantitative data is limited” (p. 107), a more consistent presentation of numerical data would definitely be beneficial.

Chapter 5 offers a comprehensive analysis of translation quality. Before discussing the results of the study, the author expertly reviews definitions of and approaches to ‘translation quality’, drawing both on Translation Studies literature and existing international standards for quality. This is a very helpful review not only for translation scholars adopting translation quality metrics in their empirical studies, but also for translator trainers discussing various aspects of translation quality in the classroom. Among the concepts that could have also been included in the chapter are the widely quoted dichotomy opposing ‘formal’ and ‘dynamic’ equivalence (Nida 1964), as well as House’s (2015) discussion of ‘mode’, ‘field’ and ‘tenor’ in the context of translation quality assessment. As for the outcomes of the study, Quinci shows that translation quality and the number of accuracy errors are associated with the level of translation competence. The nuanced analysis of translation errors (p. 137) applied in the study is of particular note. Likewise, Table 5.1. is a very helpful summary of the observed inter-group trends, and is followed by a few insightful concluding remarks on the relationship between translation competence and translation quality.

Chapter 6 summarises a complementary process-oriented analysis which provides a more detailed insight into the development of translation competence. To this end, Quinci uses analysis of delivery time and questionnaires as research methods. The author has also triangulated process-related metrics to study potential relationships between translation competence and the participants’ self-awareness (p. 174). The interdependencies between task time, perceived task difficulty and self-assessment are insightful; inferential statistical testing involving correlations could have been adopted to examine whether these relationships can be extrapolated onto the populations of student and professional translators.

Chapter 7 offers a summary of the potential relationships between product- and process-oriented variables discussed in chapters 4-6. Considering the wide scope of the book and the multimethod approach to data collection, the fact that the author offers a summary to point to the prevailent trends proves to be an added value of the book. While the author suggests – based on the analysis of post-task questionnaires – that “less experienced and supposedly competent trainees are generally overconfident and unaware of their still lacking experience and competence in translation” (p. 183), further research could examine potential individual differences in students’ self-esteem and self-assessment. In general, the chapter is well structured and its content proves insightful. Another asset is the discussion of guidelines for translator trainers that is provided in the final pages of the chapter. For instance, the author emphasises the importance of developing self-monitoring and self-assessment skills in the translation classroom which indeed appear to be crucial in the acquisition and consolidation of translation competence.

Part 3 of the book (Chapter 8) combines the research outcomes with recommendations for translator training. Quinci provides examples of translation tasks on reading, drafting, and revision strategies, which can be used in the classroom, along with a theoretical background for each strategy, and a general discussion of resources that can be implemented in translator education. The tasks presented in the chapter are clear and they offer specific applications in the classroom as a way for students to develop their translation competence in reference to all stages of the translation process: from reading the source text to drafting and editing the target text. They can easily be incorporated into translation courses to practice various translation and revision strategies.

In general, the book is an important contribution to Translation Studies. The author provides an extensive literature review on operationalisation and development models of translation competence. As the author herself notes, the strength of the empirical project presented lies in its longitudinal design (p. 201) as well as in the size of the study (p. 200): the inclusion of both a product- and process-oriented approach, the triangulation of methods used to answer study research questions, etc. The number of variables tested in the study is truly impressive. Moreover, the text follows a logical structure and the conclusions are clearly formulated, with each chapter concluding with a concise summary of key takeaways.

In this book, after summarising the main aspects of theoretical frameworks designed in relation to – among others – competence, translation quality, and error analysis, the author discusses the results of a longitudinal study involving translation novices, intermediates, and professional translators, and, finally, suggests practical exercises to be adopted in the classroom that relate to all stages of the translation process. In this way, the book is not only a solid review of existing scholarship on translation competence but also a useful guide for translation trainers wishing to integrate some of the tasks described in Part 3 into their translation courses. The book is thus helpful reference material for both Translation Studies scholars as well as trainers and future translators alike.

References

EMT. (2022). European Master's in Translation: Competence Framework 2022. https://commission.europa.eu/system/files/2022-11/emt_competence_fwk_2022_en.pdf.

Göpferich, S. (2009). Towards a model of translation competence and its acquisition: The longitudinal study TransComp. In S. Göpferich, A. L. Jakobsen, & I. M. Mess (Eds.), Behind the Mind: Methods, Models and Results in Translation Process Research (pp. 11-37). Samfundslitteratur.

House, J. (2015). Translation quality assessment: Past and present. Routledge.

Kiraly, D. C. (2013). Towards a view of translator competence as an emerging phenomenon: Thinking outside the box(es) in translator eduction. In D. C. Kiraly, S Hansen-Schirra, & K. Maksymski (Eds.), New Prospects and Perspectives for Educating Language Mediators (pp. 197-224). Narr Verlag.

Kiraly, D. C. (2015). Occasioning translator competence: Moving beyond social constructivism toward a postmodern alternative instructionism. Translation and Interpreting Studies, 10(1), 8-32.

Lörscher, W. (1987). Zur Genese und Entwicklung von Übersetzungskompetenz. TEXTconTEXT 2(4), 193-215.

Nida, E. A. (1964). Towards a science of translating: With special reference to principles and procedures involved in Bible translating. Brill.

PACTE (2003). Building a translation competence model. In F. Alves (Ed.), Triangulating Translation: Perspectives in Process Oriented Research (pp. 43-66). John Benjamins.

PACTE (2018). Competence levels in translation: Working towards a European framework. The Interpreter and Translator Trainer, 12(2), 111-131.

PACTE (2020). Translation competence acquisition: Design and results of the PACTE group’s experimental research. The Interpreter and Translator Trainer, 14(2), 95-233.

PETRA-E Network. (2017). PETRA-E Framework of Reference for the Education and Training of Literary Translators. https://petra-educationframework.eu/.

Pym, A. (2003). Redefining translation competence in an electronic age. In defence of a minimalist approach. Meta, 48(4), 481-497.

Snell-Hornby, M. (2006). The turns of Translation Studies: New paradigms or shifting viewpoints? John Benjamins.

Whyatt, B. (2012). Translation as a human skill. From predisposition to expertise. Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM.

Paweł Korpal

Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland

E-mail: pkorpal@amu.edu.pl