Translator Education: Using Narrative Inquiry as a Method for Understanding the Processes of the Translation Competence Development

Abstract

For the past few decades, different discussions have been carried out, within Translation Studies, on the notion of Translation Competence and its components. This paper adopts the model of Translation Competence proposed by Grup Procés d’Adquisició de la Competència Traductora i Avaluació PACTE (2003) and discusses the relatively low number of studies that specifically discuss the psychophysiological component of the aforementioned model. Associating the lack of studies on the psychophysiological component to the difficulty in observing or measuring it by means of exams or academic tasks external to the individual, this paper aims at presenting possible contributions by Narrative Inquiry to provide methods that allow a better comprehension of this subcomponent and of the development processes of the Translation Competence. This discussion draws on the methods and possibilities of investigation presented by Narrative Inquiry — such as Clandinin et al. (2017), Connelly and Clandinin (2006), and Dutra and Mello (2008) —; on discussions on the Translation Competence — such as PACTE (2003) and Lara (2016). The discussion of a narrative is also carried out, with the goal of presenting the feasibility of this line of inquiry. The case in point is a bibliographic register of a narrative by a translation student — in which the student presents her perceptions on the processes of development of her Translation Competence, on her ability of textual segmentation, and on her insecurities in carrying out translation tasks. This paper suggests that, on the medium-long term, a systematic endeavor of collection and analysis of narratives by translation students can shed light on the processes of the Translation Competence development and, thus, address the lack of studies on the psychophysiological component of the Translation Competence.