Methodology and Didactics of Translation Research Papers (original) (raw)

Translation apps available in the market, such as DeepL and Google, smart keyboards capable of translating and related software have been produced to meet the current needs in the world. Yet the artificial intelligence has not replaced the human translator with emotional and creative intelligence. On the contrary, the importance of translators as individuals has grown and the content of the academic translator training is to be altered accordingly. This study is based on the assumption that the translation approach dependent on the scientific knowledge directly shapes the translation as a product. The parameters to evaluate translation are complex and interwoven. Although the translation sub-competence is an elementary part of the translation competence, it is still underresearched (Eser 2015). Thus, this article aims to analyze translation subcompetence with a specific focus on the translation approach and to construct a scale to be applied in the German-Turkish language pair. The conceptual framework is based on Researching Translation Competence by the PACTE Group (2017) which conducts advanced research on the acquisition of translation competence. The translation approach of undergraduates of the Translation and Interpreting Studies B.A. Program and the German Language and Literature B.A. Program at Ege University have been observed, a survey focusing on the sub-competence of translation which evaluates the translation competence of the participants pursuant to the concepts of dynamic – static (Albir 2017, Albir vd. 2020) accordingly, the data acquired has been analyzed with IBM SPSS Statistics 25 and the deductions have been examined. A pivotal problem in translator training has been detected and a scale to be applied has been developed within the scope of the study which is based on activity research pattern.

Test types that are based on the translation of source texts into the target language on grammar and vocabulary basis that students are familiar with during their preparation process for the university entrance exam are found to be effective in their understanding of translation, and the effects thereof on their translation practice have been examined. It was observed that students assumed a presumption that the static approach is the sole and ideal approach in translation, and thus made a habit of doing static translation in translation practice as well.

This study revealed that the static approach that induces the candidate translators’ fear of digressing from the source text and supports their propensity for using a dictionary precluded them from producing texts in the target language in accordance with the text norms and caused them to use smaller translation units as a basis, compared to experienced translators. The tendency of the students to focus on syntactic forms and word units, which is frequently observed in the semi-professional translators, also prevents them from focusing on content integrity.

This article concluded that the translation approach of undergraduates in German Translation and Interpreting Studies is more dynamic than that of undergraduates in German Language and Literature; German Language and Literature undergraduates have a higher coherence coefficient of knowledge of translation. Although the translation knowledge competence of undergraduates in the German Translation and Interpreting Studies department is higher than that of the undergraduates in the German Language and Literature department, it is interesting to note that undergraduates who intend to be translators in the future have a lower level of translation knowledge. The difference between the undergraduates is thought to stem from the courses they took in the first year. The fact that undergraduates of German Language and Literature desire to work as translators after graduation more than undergraduates of German Translation and Interpreting Studies and that they are of the opinion that the education they received is qualified for being a translator stands out as a striking indicator.

This scale can be used by the instructors who provide translation training for the German-Turkish language pair in the departments of German Translation-Interpretation / Translation Studies, German Language and Literature and German Language Education. In this way, students can question their presumption. How the translation is created, what the translation units are, the methods that can be used, the types of problems to be encountered and the professional requirements can be examined in the lessons through the scale. The learning process can also be effectively supported with this scale. Using the scale at the beginning of the academic translation education will increase the awareness of the student and enable him/her to think multi-dimensionally. Thus, it will be easier to find effective solutions. In academic translation education, doing translation exercises from grammatically easy texts to difficult texts will not improve students’ translation competence much. Presenting this scale in lessons in order to improve students’ translation knowledge skills will be an important step for the student’s development. Along with the scale, basic information about acquiring translation skills can be given; the differences between static and dynamic translation approaches can be examined in a more comprehensive way through rich points and a discussion environment can be created on the scale. In this way, the subject can be discussed in detail and a stimulus can be created for students to question their own approaches in this way.

DeepL ve Google gibi çeviri hizmetleri, cep telefonlarında kullanılan mobil çeviri uygulamaları, çeviri yapabilen akıllı klavyeler, bilgisayarlarda kullanılan yazılımlar globalleşen dünyada bir ihtiyaca karşılık olarak üretilmiş, ancak bu yapay zekâ ürünleri henüz duygusal ve yaratıcı zekâsı olan insan çevirmenlerin yerini dolduramamış, aksine gelişmelerle birlikte birey olarak çevirmene atfedilen önem artmış ve akademik çeviri eğitimi içeriklerinin de gelişmelerle uyumlu olabilmesi bir gereksinim haline gelmiştir. Çalışmamız, bilimsel bilgilere dayalı bir çeviri anlayışının çeviri ürününü doğrudan etkilediği varsayımını temel alır. Çeviri edincini değerlendirecek parametreler karmaşık ve iç içedir ve çeviri bilgisi alt edinci, çeviri edincinin çok önemli bir bileşeni olmasına rağmen henüz yeterince incelenmemiştir (Eser, 2015). Bu nedenle araştırma kapsamında çeviri bilgisi alt edincini, özellikle çeviri anlayışını analiz etmek ve Almanca-Türkçe dil çiftine yönelik akademik çeviri eğitiminde uygulanabilecek bir ölçek oluşturulması amaçlanmıştır. Araştırmanın kavramları, çeviri edinci edinimi süreci üzerinde derinlikli araştırmalar yürüten PACTE Grubu’nun Researching Translation Competence (2017) isimli eserine dayanmakla birlikte, çalışma kapsamında ayrıca çeviri anlayışı kavramı belirlenmiş ve tanımlanmıştır. Bununla birlikte Ege Üniversitesi Almanca Mütercim-Tercümanlık Bölümü’nde ve Ege Üniversitesi Alman Dili ve Edebiyatı Bölümü’nde eğitim alan öğrencilerin çeviri anlayışları gözlemlenmiş, gözlemlerden hareketle çeviri bilgisi alt edincine odaklanan ve katılımcıların çeviri edincini devingen-duruk kavramları (Albir, 2017; Albir et al. 2020) üzerinden değerlendiren bir anket hazırlanmış, anket verileri IBM SPSS Statistics 25 programıyla analiz edilerek çeviri eğitimine yönelik çıkarımlar irdelenmiştir. Eylem araştırması desenine dayalı araştırma yaklaşımıyla yürütülen çalışma kapsamında akademik çeviri eğitimine ilişkin önemli bir sorunsal belirlenmiş ve uygulamada kullanılabilecek bir ölçek geliştirilmiştir.