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Article published In:
Target
Vol. 28:1 (2016) ► pp.132–157

Trait Emotional intelligence and translation

A study of professional translators

| Aston University

A study of 155 professional translators was carried out to examine the relationship between trait emotional intelligence (trait EI) and literary translation, job satisfaction and career success. Participants were surveyed and their answers were correlated with scores from an emotional intelligence measure, the TEIQue. The analysis revealed that literary and non-literary translators have different trait EI profiles. Some significant correlations were found between trait EI and the variables of job satisfaction, career success, and literary translation experience. This is the first study to examine the effect of EI on translator working practices. Findings illustrate that trait EI may be predictive of some aspects of translator behaviour and highlight the relevance of exploring the emotional intelligence of professional translators.

Keywords: professional translators, literary translation, job satisfaction, career success, trait emotional intelligence
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Trait EI and translation
  • 3.Trait EI, job satisfaction and career success
  • 4.The present study
    • 4.1Aims and hypotheses
    • 4.2Method
      • 4.2.1Participants
      • 4.2.2Measures
      • 4.2.3Procedure
      • 4.2.4Statistical analyses
  • 5Results
    • 5.1Literary translation
      • 5.1.1Literary and non-literary translators
      • 5.1.2Literary translation experience
    • 5.2Job satisfaction
    • 5.3Career success
  • 6.Discussion
    • 6.1Trait EI and literary translation
    • 6.2Trait EI and job satisfaction
    • 6.3Trait EI and career success
  • 7.Limitations
  • 8.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
  • Web References
Published online: 10 May 2016
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/target.28.1.06hub
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