The Effect Of Translator Intercultural Competence On Students' Translation Behaviors

Translator intercultural competence(here after referred to as TrIC)is an important training goal of translation education.Thus,what effects do the TrIC have on students'translation behaviors?In this research,45 sophomores in the English Department of Hebei Agricultural University(HAU),who have selected Advanced English Translation as their selective course,are recruited as participants.With the combined use of both quantitative and qualitative research methods,this empirical study attempts to explore effects of translator intercultural competence on translation behaviors of students.First,the results of translator intercultural competence of students are measured by the TrIC questionnaire as independent variable.The median(4.22)is selected to classify participants into two groups,which are high translator intercultural competence group(N=24)and low translator intercultural competence group(N=21);second,in the interface of the keyboard behavior recording software Translog,participants are required to translate a short Chinese text,which is rich in culture specific items,into English.Nine behavior variables(dependent variables)are recorded during the translation process:total events,text production,text elimination,duration,user events per minutes,text production per minute,orientation,writing and revision;last but not least,Independent Sample Test and Multiple Linear Regression are conducted to examine effects of translator intercultural competence on their behaviors during the translation process.By analyzing self-reports of participants with high-score and low-score TrIC,the author further explores cognitive behaviors of them when translating culture specific items.The research results reveal that:(1)translator intercultural competence has a significant effect on the text production per minute of participants(t=-1.659,p<0.05).The higher TrIC one has,the faster he or she is able to translate,the less time he or she spends on the duration and orientation,and more text can be produced;(2)among sub-components of translator intercultural competence,knowledge of foreign culture has a significant effect on the text production per minute(?=0.374,t=2.545,p<0.05)and duration(?=-0.388,r=-2.615,p<0.05).The more student translators know about cultural knowledge of foreign countries,the faster they can complete translation tasks with less time;(3)through a further comparison of students' translation products and self-reports,it finds that among four sub-components,insufficient familiarity of knowledge of one's own culture is a common problem for students translators when translating culture specific items in Chinese to English translation materials.Intercultural skills are the main factor to affect translation quality.With a higher level of intercultural skills,translators have better abilities to relate and compare cultural knowledge of their own and foreign countries,and better skills to select proper dictions when translating culture specific items.This study suggests that translation education should take translator intercultural competence as an important training goal,focus on increasing the knowledge of foreign culture and one's own culture for student translators,and enhance the skills of student translators to make intercultural comparisons,so as to improve the translation speed and quality of student translators effectively.