The Impact of Translators’ Epistemological Beliefs and Gender on Their Translation Quality

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the relationship between translators’ epistemological beliefs and gender on their Persian-to- English translation quality. To do so, a group of 53 MA translation students both male and female were selected, through convenient sampling to participate in this study. For data collection two instruments were employed: 1- Epistemic Beliefs Inventory (EBI) 2- Translation Test including a piece of poem. Regression analysis was also conducted to explore the interaction of epistemological beliefs and gender of translators on their translation quality. The findings indicated that there is no significant relationship between the components of epistemological beliefs and translation quality, except in one case that QL (quick learning) has a negative relationship with translation scores. Translators’ gender significantly affects the translation quality. An implication of the results is that males translate significantly better than females regarding the quality of translation. The interaction of translators’ epistemological beliefs and gender significantly affect the translation quality.