Anatomizing MTI Competence Frameworks In China And Beyond ——A Comparative Study

There have been both positive advances and serious concerns in Chinese postgraduate education for MTI degrees over the past ten or more years.The Basic Professional Requirements for Master of Translation Degree（The National Steering Committee for Postgraduate Education,2015）（hereafter Requirements）specifies the competencies and knowledge that Master of Translation and Interpretation should possess,but the framework neglects translation practice competencies,failing to connect with career development,and the description of sub-competence dimensions is not perfect.The purpose and goal of this study is to see if the framework can be improved and refined as a programmatic document for MTI in China,based on the development of relevant global MTI competence frameworks.This study examines the research background,theoretical basis,competence dimensions,descriptive forms,construction methods,and professionalism based on the analysis of major MTI competence frameworks in China and beyond.According to the findings,foreign MTI competence frameworks exhibit the following features when compared to the Requirements:（1）the competence dimensions in the US,EU,and Australian frameworks are diverse,（2）they all lay emphasis on the professionalism of translation,namely,they are integrated with subsequent professional qualifications,and（3）they all go through a full set of empirical research processes,including survey,drafting,introduction,validation,and refinement,whereas the European Master’s in Translation is primarily developed based on the basis of the experience of experts in various industries.This study finally indicates that MTI Competence Frameworks in the United States,the European Union,Australia,and Canada have far-reaching consequences based on above findings.In the development of the Chinese MTI Competence Framework,breakthroughs in the following three aspects can be made :（1）expanding and refining translation competence dimensions and sub-dimensions,（2）emphasizing the professionalism of translation and linking it to subsequent professional translation qualifications,and（3）focusing on the integration of translation with technologies such as artificial intelligence and defining translation technology competencies.