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Interdisciplinarity in Translation and Interpreting Process Research
Edited by Maureen Ehrensberger-Dow, Susanne Göpferich and Sharon O'Brien
[Benjamins Current Topics 72] 2015
► pp. 63–78

Translation competence

Explaining development and stagnation from a dynamic systems perspective

 | Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany
This chapter introduces Dynamic Systems Theory (DST) as a framework for the investigation of translation competence development. After a presentation of the basic concepts and assumptions underlying this theory, results from the longitudinal study TransComp will be discussed against the background of DST. TransComp is a three-year product- and process-oriented longitudinal study of the development of translation competence in 12 students of translation, whose translation products and processes were compared with those of 10 professional translators. The chapter outlines both the difficulties involved in the application of DST to the investigation of translation competence development and the added value that it promises for our understanding of developmental processes in translators, including the ways they can be fostered in translation training.
Keywords: cognitive apprenticeship, contrastive analyses, didactical implications, DST, Dynamic Systems Theory, expertise, novice-expert paradigm, translation competence development, translatology
Published online: 11 June 2015
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https://doi.org/10.1075/bct.72.06goe
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