Developing a translator career path: A new approach to in-house translator development evaluation.

摘要

This dissertation presents a comprehensive translator development evaluation framework that can be used for the evaluation of translator development in translation organizations. The proposed framework consists of three important constructs: a Translator Development Model (TDM), holistic rubrics that present levels of the development of descriptors of translator competences identified in the TDM, and a Translator Career Path (TCP). In this qualitative study, the methodology to collect and analyze the data takes an inductive approach that draws upon the literature to propose a Translator Development Model (TDM). This model is based on descriptors of expert translator performance and best employees" practice documented in the literature. The proposed TDM consists of five categories of translator development: declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge, psycho-physiological abilities, communication abilities, and professional abilities. Each category comprises a number of criteria important for the development of the translator. After these criteria are identified and arranged in the model, they are graded in holistic scales. The Dreyfus Model of Skills Acquisition is the conceptual framework used to build those scales. Each skill in the TDM will be graded as: novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient, and expert. Consequently, the Translator Career Path (TCP) is built based on the TDM and its holistic scales. Thus, five levels of translator performance are identified in the TCP as five ranks. The first rank is the intern translator, which is equivalent to the novice level. The second rank is the assistant translator, which is equivalent to the advanced beginner level. The third rank is the associate translator, which is equivalent to the competent level. The fourth rank is the translator, which is equivalent to the proficient level. Finally, the fifth rank is the expert translator, which is equivalent to the expert level in the TDM scales.;The main functionof this comprehensive framework is to guide the processes of translator development evaluation in translation organizations. Although this framework is designed primarily for the need of in-house translators" supervisors, it can be used in academic settings for translation trainers and teachers.