Vol. 28:1 (2016) ► pp.110–131
The professional backgrounds of translation scholars. Report on a survey
A survey of 305 translation scholars shows that some 96 percent of them have translated or interpreted “on a regular basis,” with translation/interpreting being or having been a main or secondary activity for 43 percent of the scholars. Translation scholars would also seem to be particularly mobile (71 percent have spent more than one year in a country other than their own) and come from diverse academic and professional backgrounds (33 percent were not engaged in translation and interpreting in their mid-twenties). These figures indicate that translation scholars not only have considerable practical experience of translation but also come from a wide range of occupational and cultural backgrounds. Asked about desirable relations between scholarly work and professional practice, respondents indicated benefits for both sides (although a slight majority stressed a unidirectional relationship where scholarly work benefits from professional practice), and teaching is often indicated as the link between the two. However, about a quarter of the scholars indicated that there need not be a relationship between scholarship and professional practice.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Methodology
- 3.Profile of the questionnaire sample
- 3.1Sex, country, and age
- 3.2International mobility
- 3.3Academic training
- 4.Nature of the translation work
- 4.1Translation activities in general
- 4.2Translation as a primary activity
- 4.3Translation as a secondary paid activity
- 4.4Translation as part of a main activity
- 4.5Translation as unpaid work only
- 4.6Other activity types
- 5.Reported relations between translation and scholarly work
- 5.1Positive relations between scholarly work and translation activities
- 5.1.1Practice informs scholarly work
- 5.1.2Practice and scholarly work are connected through teaching
- 5.1.3Practice informs scholarly work, and scholarly work informs practice
- 5.1.4Scholarly work informs practice
- 5.2Impediments to relations between scholarly work and translation activities
- 5.2.1University employment works against translation activities
- 5.2.2There is not enough time and/or money
- 5.2.3Translation offers an escape from “real work”
- 5.3Desirable (non-)relations between scholarly work and translation activities
- 5.3.1Practice and theory are different things
- 5.3.2Theory is theory
- 5.3.3Relations are only in certain fields
- 5.3.4Practice needs scholarly work
- 5.3.5Research should be practical
- 5.3.6Why ask?
- 5.1Positive relations between scholarly work and translation activities
- 6.Conclusions
-
References
https://doi.org/10.1075/target.28.1.05tor
References
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