For a Sociology of Translator Training

Abstract

Translator training can be seen as depending on specific local circumstances, primarily the distribution of languages and the intensity (frequency and invested social effort) of information flows between languages. The conceptual space thus opened allows us to map each training situation in terms of local objectives, thus questioning ideologies of universal best practices. It is proposed that, on this wider social view, translator trainers should not neglect the role of translation within foreign-language learning, and they should accept the social responsibility of training people for short-term work in minority languages. The need for such training is clear from the many situations where, especially thanks to free online technologies, whole sections of society now think they can translate, while whole generations of language teachers think they know, with equal aplomb, that translation does not concern them. Finally, perhaps paradoxically, the conceptual mapping can also identify situations where we should be training for an international professional community, with its own pressing demands for certification.