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Article published In:
Cognitive Translation and Interpreting Studies in the Early Twenty First Century
Edited by Adolfo M. García, Edinson Muñoz and Néstor Singer
[Translation, Cognition & Behavior 6:2] 2023
► pp. 230–251

Contextualising translation expertise

Lived practice and social construction

ORCID logo | University of Vienna
ORCID logo | University of Vienna

Translation expertise has been discussed intensely in (cognitive) translation studies. Most research has been conducted in laboratory settings, attempting to discern the differences between experienced translators (‘experts’) and lesser experienced translators. This has resulted in valuable, yet limited insights. We argue for the need to complement the picture with a broader perspective on translation expertise and to further investigate it in its authentic dynamic contexts, be they workplaces or other fields of practice. This implies seeing expertise as situated and performative, emerging from the interaction of social actors with their social and material environments. Emphasis is placed on the social, discursive construction of expertise and on the emic perspectives of the community being studied.

Keywords: translation expertise, translation competence, social construction, situatedness, lived expertise
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.What makes a good translator? Translation expertise in the lab
  • 3.From the lab to the field: Expertise research in authentic contexts
  • 4.Another dimension of context: Expertise as a social construction
  • 5.Conclusion: Researching lived expertise in context
    • 5.1Seeing lived expertise as expertise in context
    • 5.2Being open to new perspectives
    • 5.3Addressing new questions and revisiting old questions from new perspectives
  • Notes
  • References
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at [email protected].

Published online: 7 March 2024
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/tcb.00087.sch
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