According to Roberts, translational competence consists of five components: linguistic competence, translation competence, methodological competence, disciplinary competence and technical competence. The author of this article argues that Roberts' definition has the advantage of showing that linguistic competence is only one element of the total translation skill. He also argues that Roberts' definition of competence is inadequate. In common with many scholars working with a three-phase model of translation, Roberts reduces translation skills to a simple three-level skill consisting of deverbalization, transfer and reverbalization. The author links Roberts definition to the teaching of professional translation and translation exercises in the language syllabus.