Article published In:
FORUMVol. 19:2 (2021) ► pp.164–180
The dominance of English
A survey of market signals and student motivation in T&I university programmes in Slovakia
The unprecedented spread of English and its growing dominance in the translation and interpreting industry have implications on the market behaviour of translators and interpreters depending on the combination of their working languages. This paper investigates the extent to which market signals (e.g. average rates and workloads) can be reflected in the motivation of students to enter the translation profession in respect to the combination of their working languages and the inclusion of English within that combination. Two surveys were used to obtain data for our analysis: one focused on the market behaviour of professional translators, whereas the other assessed the plans and motivations of T&I students at the end of their studies. Respondents in both surveys were divided according to the role of English in their language combination. As this paper demonstrates, professionals working only with English (or with English and at least one other foreign language) had a better position in the market in terms of overall workload. These groups of professionals also had a more positive outlook in terms of demand for their services. On the contrary, professionals working with languages other than English had a lower workload and a more pessimistic outlook in terms of demand for their services. As our data suggest, students in the same category of working language combinations (without English) were more hesitant to pursue a career in the industry. Our findings underline a degree of sensitivity among students to market signals depending on the combination of their working languages. Importantly, they present relevant information for T&I programme administrators and university management when designing curricula and planning future study programmes.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Methodology
- 3.Results and discussion
- 3.1Assessing the dominance of English in the Slovak translation market
- 3.2Understanding the mood in the market
- 3.3Introducing the Slovak T&I training structure
- 3.4Understanding expectations among T&I students
- 4.Conclusion
- Notes
-
References
References (12)
References
Accreditation Committee. 2002. Študijný program 2.1.35 Prekladateľstvo a tlmočníctvo [“Study Programme 2.1.35 – Translation and Interpreting Studies”]. [URL] (18 December 2019).
Albl-Mikasa, Michaela. 2010. “Global English and English as a Lingua Franca (ELF): Implications for the Interpreting Profession.” In Trans-kom 3 (2), pp. 126–148.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Djovčoš, Martin, and Šveda, Pavol. 2017. Mýty a fakty o preklade a tlmočení na Slovensku [Myths and Facts about Translation and Interpreting in Slovakia]. Bratislava: Veda.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Duběda, Tomáš, Mraček, David, and Obdržálková, Vanda. 2018. Překlad do nemateřského jazyka: fakta, otázky, perspektivy, [Translating into a Non-Mother Tongue: Facts, Questions, Perspectives]. Prague: Karolinum.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Gentile, Paola, and Albl-Mikasa, Michaela. (2017). “Everybody Speaks English Nowadays: Conference Interpreter’s Perception of the Impact of English as a Lingua Franca on a Changing Profession”. In Cultus (10): 53–66.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ličko, Roman. 2014. Translation into English as a Foreign Language: A Slovak Survey. Banská Bystrica: Belianium.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Pavlović, Nataša. 2007. Directionality in Collaborative Translation Processes: A Study of Novice Translators. PhD. diss. Tarragona: Universitat Rovira i Virgili.
Pavlović, Nataša. 2008. “Directionality in Translation and Interpreting Practice: Report on a Questionnaire Survey in Croatia”. In Translation Research Project 1, ed. by Anthony Pym, and Alexander Perekrestenko, 79–95. Tarragona: Intercultural Studies Group. Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Available at: [URL]. Visited March 2011.
Pavlović, Tanja. 2013. “Exploring Directionality in Translation Studies”. In Explorations in English Language and Linguistics (1): 149–165.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Rácová, Tatiana. 2016. Sociological Aspects of ‘Quality’ in Translation Service from a Customer Perspective. Diploma thesis. Banská Bystrica: Univerzita Mateja Bela.
Šveda, Pavol, and Djovčoš, Martin. 2021. Introducing Interpreter Training in Central Europe. In Changing Paradigms and Approaches in Interpreter Training: Perspectives from Central Europe, ed. by Pavol Šveda, 7–21. New York: Routledge. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Cited by (1)
Cited by one other publication
İŞİ, Nazan & Korkut İŞİSAĞ
2022.
Implications of English as a Lingua Franca for Translation and Interpreting: Current and Future Directions.
Çeviribilim ve Uygulamaları Dergisi 2022:32
► pp. 121 ff.
![DOI logo](//benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 4 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.