Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.

org
ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online)
Vol.7, No.27, 2016

Barriers vs Creativity in Translator Training

Mine Yazıcı
Istanbul University Turkey
Department of Translation Studies
Faculty of Letters
Ordu Cad. No: 6, 34459 Laleli / İstanbul

This work is supported by Scientific Research Project Coordination Unit of Istanbul University. Project number:
22990
Abstract
This paper discusses translation problems awaiting Turkish students as well as the creative solutions they
develop in overcoming them. It consists of two parts; The first part studies the barriers concerning translation
procedures from the perspective of translation theory and Turkish translation history; The second parts analyses
the impact of translator training programmes by submitting a case study to disclose in what way they shape and
affect creative decisions of trainees in dealing with translation problems. Within this framework, it first discerns
linguistic skills from translation skills in consideration for theoretical account of translation competence. Second,
it focusses on cultural distances and divergences, and their role in taking translatorial decisions in solving
translation problems. Third, it studies the learning habits of Turkish students and their impact in acquiring
translation competence from the point of “logics of languages”. Forth, it discusses the scheduling of translator
training programmes of the departments of translation studies in Turkey, and the way they bridge the gap
between theory and practice to enhance functionality of translations. Accordingly, it discusses translator training
programmes of Turkish universities in terms of international standards of translation and emphasizes network
university understanding to reach universally acknowledged standards of translation, which surpasses the past
notion of translation as an act of literal transfer of message from one language to another, thereby supporting
creativity for the sake of functionality as long as they maintain the message of original text.
Keywords: Translation problems, translator training, logics of languages, cultural barriers.

1.Barriers in Translator Training

Today the demand for translation has boosted as a result of globalization as well as the advances recorded in the
field of Information Technologies. This means nations can survive as long as they abide by the global decisions
taken by the international organizations such as UN, or regional organizations such as the EU to provide political,
economic and technological integration. According to this introductory remark, I can enlist the barriers in
translator training as follows:
1.The barriers arising from the confusion of linguistic skills with translation skills
2.The barriers arising from cultural divergency
3.The barriers arising from “learning habits of Turkish students” as well as the barriers arising from “the logics
of languages”
4.The barriers arising from the scheduling of programs, or the barriers arising from “the gap between theory and
practice.
In fact, the above-mentioned barriers are closely interrelated with each other, which can be categorized
as components of “translator training” (Yazıcı 2012: 17-20). On the other hand, we can also subsume them under
the category of linguistic and cultural barriers since language is the heart of culture, and one can gain
professional identity only if s/he overcomes the cultural and linguistic barriers mentioned above. Accordingly,
departments of translation studies should consider the above-mentioned barriers in shaping their curricula.

1.1.The Barriers Arising from the Confusion of Linguistic Skills with Translation Skills
Providing unity in diversity is a difficult task since international correspondence today is maintained in “a third
code” called “translation”, and the member nations agree on English as lingua franca. This inevitably ends not
only in dirtying of languages, but also in betraying the main principle of the EU as “integration”, especially
when considered the reverse direction of translation from native languages into English. The underlying reason
why I emphasize the reversal of direction is that translation into mother tongue enhances the dynamics of
languages and enriches them. It is for this reason that we can claim intensive translation activity after the Script
Reform in 1928 contributed to the dissemination of the literacy and enrichment of modern Turkish as a literary
language in a short span of time. Internationally well-known Turkish novelists or poets, Nazım Hikmet, Nurullah
Ataç, Halide Edip Adıvar, who bore dual identity as authors and translators, thought and discussed on
translation since translation was assumed to be a tool of modernization. They had a great share in introducing
young Turkish Republic as a haven of translation. However, they came from “rewriting tradition” and their

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ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online)
Vol.7, No.27, 2016

social status as “eminent authors” entitled them to act more freely in taking translatorial decisions, which even
extended to “transcreation”. This way of freedom can also be attributed to literary translation as a genre since
translators have a recourse to shifts to convey the “expressive identity” of the original work. Undoubtedly,
socio-cultural factors also played a role in entitling the above-mentioned authors to such an extent of freedom
since literary translation was assumed as a means of disseminating literacy, or as a means of launching
“campaign of literacy”. However, coming from such tradition in the past, we have difficulty in training
translators in academia, and cannot fully meet the expectations proposed not only by the universal organizations,
but also those posed by the universally acknowledged theoretical knowledge although the number of
departments of translation studies is increasing at full speed every day. This may arise from the difference
between the past and present definitions of the concept “translation”.
Gideon Toury defines “translation” as a fact of target culture. Accordingly, the past definition of it as
a linguistic transfer of knowledge based on linguistic proficiency in source language is replaced with the
knowledge of translation activity in the target culture (Toury 1995:80-81). The new orientations in research
inevitably affect the training methods. That is to say, training based on developing bilingual proficiency in the
past, which ended in language teaching, has been replaced with teaching translation as a fact of target culture.
In this case, “translations” has become the object of study in the departments of translation studies and linguistic
proficiency has become the prerequisite for the entrance of these programs. This was just opposed to the
established misconception of the past translator training programs that these departments should develop
linguistic proficiency due to the fact that second language was taught through translation for ages in Turkey.
Accordingly, in the last two decades translator training programs arrange their curricula focusing on
translations as a fact of target culture and ignore source language competency. For example, spotting translation
problems on the source text is replaced with translation relevant source text analysis. Although this erased the
past image of translation as a sign-oriented activity, or just as a linguistic transaction based on transfer
competence, the reversal of direction of translation from target language to source language with the support of
machine translation and CAT programs puts linguistic, or source language proficiency and transfer competence
on agenda again, especially in distant languages. However, when we study the schedules of the departments of
TS, we can observe that there is limited number of classes concerning source language and culture.

1.2 Cultural Barriers

Hans Vermeer’ s definition of translation best verifies the way the concept of translation has changed in the
course of time:
I understand translating roughly as a procedure initiated by a commissioner consisting of a set of (verbal
and nonverbal ) instructions (plus additional material) to prepare an (oral or written) “target text” for
transcultural interacting on the basis of “source text” material.( Vermeer 1996:6)
Vermeer even transcends the bicultural borders of translation in this definition and defines it as
“transcultural interaction”, which implicates the third code peculiar to the translated literature. This way of
approach led instructors to focus on teaching the system of translated literature. It means teaching the norms of
the culture the translators are affiliated to. If we define culture as a set of norms and conventions, it means we
act in a manner acceptable by the society . Accordingly, as members of a society translators also belong to a
nation ( a paraculture), or a group, organization ( a dia-culture).Accordingly, if they want to survive and operate
in it, they have to abide by the norms shaped by para or dia-culture. On the other hand, translators develop their
own idio-culture by distinguishing and infiltrating the above-mentioned norms and electing those only peculiar
to their personalities. If we assume society as a network of relations based on the principle of division of labour,
and translation as an offer of service, translator’s experience and bi-cultural knowledge in transcultural
interaction as an expert involves to provide the best service to the client. Accordingly, as an expert, translator
also sometimes has to break some of the instructions, or norms set by the commissioner since both the
commissioner and the client see and define translation task not as a transcultural interaction, but as a fact of
target culture. (ibid.1996: 2-5). The conflict between the sides appears as a cultural barrier in the daily life of the
translator who, in fact, bears the identity of intercultural intermediary.
On the other hand, the national education system based on the norms of para-culture poses a barrier in
reshaping the established norms in spite of the new perspectives acquired from scientific knowledge, or from
translation theories. Even if translator training programs in Turkey try to adapt themselves to this new concept
of translation, they encounter cultural and linguistic barriers in developing teaching strategies in the light of
contemporary theories since established cultural norms of training in the past in a way hindered translator
training programs from reach their aim. That is to say ,training is culture-bound and the norms concerning it are
ingrained in trainees mind in such a way that it takes a long time to revolutionize, to reverse, or to replace the
past concepts with the new ones. The question here is how to erase the past definition of “translation as a
linguistic transfer” and replace it with the concept of “translation as transcultural interaction” in consideration for
the established misconceptions concerning translator training. This raises the question of “how a trainer can

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Vol.7, No.27, 2016

compromise “translation as a culture bound term” with the established norms of Turkish education system
concerning translator training. This is why I discuss the learning habits of Turkish trainees from the
perspective of national education system in the next section.

1.3. Learning Habits of Turkish Trainees and the Logics of Languages

Turkish students tend to learn by formulae. Even the recent communicative language teaching books end in
developing transfer competences of students since they focus on reaching formula of learning a foreign
language through grammatical rules. This way of learning only helps to develop transfer competence of students.
The following exercise in the best seller medical English teaching book, which was first published in 1977, and
has had 9 editions since then, may exemplify deeply rooted learning habits of Turkish students:
Şaşılık (strabismus/1 ) doğuş- (birth/6) ta-(at/5) farked-(noticed/4) il-3-mişti /2. (Turçin 2005:54)
On the other hand, we can claim learning habits are shaped by the logics of languages. Turkish is an inductive
language. The following quote from Maria Isabel, which states the difficulties in translating from Turkish into
English by discussing the English version of Orhan Pamuk’s latest novel titled “Peculiarity in My Mind”
verifies my claim concerning the correlation between the logics of languages and learning habits.
Not being fluent enough in Turkish to read Pamuk’s original text, I have been repeatedly blown away
by the deftness and artistry of her (Maureen Freely’s) translations. Turkish is a particularly tricky
language to render into English parlance. With its subject-object-verb (SOV) syntax and system of
agglutinating suffixes and prefixes, an English sentence as simple as “I went to İstanbul” is expressed as
“İstanbul-to go-(past tense)-I.” Headache-inducing, right?”.
https://cairenediaries.wordpress.com/2013/07/17/orhan-pamuks -new-novel-and-thoughts-on-
translating-turkish
In translator training the question is how to reverse the bottom-up processing of the mind acquired
from past learning habits to top-down processing in the course of translation. On the other hand, translation is a
combination of reflex and reflection. While the concept “reflex” refers to linguistic proficiency and creative
skills based on bicultural knowledge, “reflection” concerns “theorizing”, or meta-level thinking (macro-scale
processing of the text). It means deciding on the function and the factors or agents concerning translation task,
and taking micro-scale linguistic decisions concerning lexis or syntax accordingly. Only if the trainee can
coordinate these two procedures, s/he can achieve to unite her/his decisions in uncontrolled and controlled
workspaces of mind (Hönig 1990:78-88).

1.4 The Barriers Arising from the Scheduling of Programmes

Theoretical knowledge as an import cannot revolutionize mental processes of translators in four years. It is only
after a huge amount of practice under the guidance of well-informed instructors can one start to question his/her
decisions retrospectively, and relate his/her actions to theoretical knowledge. The unconscious way of teaching
translation theory may slow down their reflexes. However, if translation is taught by bridging the gap between
theory and practice, students can improve their reflexive and reflective skills in place of developing error
avoiding strategies. That is to say, If we arrange our curricula just to develop “reasoning”, or “reflectionary
skills” through theoretical knowledge, the trainee may lose his/her reflexive skills. Translator training programs
will succeed only if they teach how to synchronize “reflexes” with “reasoning” (Hönig 1987: 37-41).
In the foundation years of departments of translation studies Turkish trainers thought they could
reverse the past learning habits of trainees by allocating more time to theoretical classes with the hope of
brainwashing students’ minds in translation classes. As a result, the number of theoretical classes increased twice
as much as translation practice classes. However, translation is a time-limited and achievement-oriented task. For
example, when I asked the students why they failed in young translators’ contest held by the ministry of
European Union Affairs in 2008, the students complained about time limitation although they were the top
students in class. I tried to understand the underlying reasons and studied the schedules of the departments of
translation studies. I observed that the schedules were approximately the same except for the curricula of
vocational schools, which are expected to arrange their programs on translation practice. Subsequently, I asked
myself what was wrong with it?
Then, I thought we have made a mistake somewhere concerning the perception of theoretical
knowledge. The answer to these questions can be related to the “logics of languages”, “learning habits”, as well
as to “the ways of assimilating knowledge”. For example, Turkish students have a recourse to theoretical
knowledge only as “a manual” to teach them “how to translate”: That is to say, trainer’s recourse to theoretical
knowledge as a means of brainwashing would fall behind the expectations. Since theory proceeds from the
question “why?”, the trainers’ expectations from theoretical classes as reversing the bottom-up processing to top-
down processing have ended in fiasco since students only memorized them without correlating them to the
applied field. It only served to the transfer of the western theoretical thinking since we disregarded the fact that
theoretical knowledge becomes functional only if there is a huge amount of descriptive study on translations, and

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only if the data and findings obtained from descriptive research are discussed and questioned in the target culture.
One can infer from these remarks that theoretical knowledge in translator training serves for an end, or
a goal only if it interacts with the applied field. Without questioning theoretical knowledge in practice, or
reversely without conducting descriptive study in our own setting, questioning the data within the framework of
theoretical knowledge, most of the knowledge acquired from theoretical classes would just have a little impact
on trainees’ translation competence. Such an approach may even end in the disruption of the coordination
between translatory reflexes and reflection based on theoretical knowledge.
The instructor’s awareness of the cultural and linguistic barriers and the knowledge of the profile of
the trainees require sound theoretical knowledge and worldly experience. As opposed to the expectation that the
trainees can put theoretical knowledge into practice, instructor’s guidance in translation practice in the light of
the theoretical knowledge help them gain reflexes and reflectionary skills much faster than teaching theory
without translation practice. Accordingly, instead of expecting students to set up correlations between
theoretical knowledge and practice, an instructor who is well equipped with theoretical knowledge can guide
them by assigning such translation tasks as guiding them to combine translatory reflexes and reflection. In
this case, instead of isolating theoretical classes from practice, adopting a holistic approach would serve much
better for the ends of Turkish students. Although our task as trainers increases twice as much, we may achieve
trainees to become constructive learners (Hönig 1990:77-83).
The question is how we can achieve to bridge the gap between theory and practice at graduate level.
For example, giving such a directive as “translate this excerpt from x language to y” in translation classes
while teaching theoretical knowledge would impede them from developing translation competence. However,
teaching them under the guidance of theoretical knowledge will broaden their horizons on the path to
professionalism. For example, suppose that an instructor assigns trainees to translate an advertisement. Trainer’s
knowledge of Skopos theory will lead her /him to give such a brief as to define the translation task and create
communicative atmosphere for students to draw up a scene or scenario. Such a macro-scale approach will
inevitably help them to reflect on their operational decisions. Even the choice of text and the length of the task
require the trainer’s experience and awareness of theoretical knowledge. The following example may illuminate
what I mean by combining theory with practice.

2. A Case Study with Turkish Students

At this stage I proceed from my own experience to explain better. I assigned the following text to the
undergraduate students in 2005, which was issued by Skoda UK Ltd (quoted by Dainty 1995: 84), and wrote
down the following brief on the board:
Brief: The following ad of Skoda was issued in The Daily Mirror in 2004. Now the same ad will
appear in Turkish Newspaper Hürriyet. Translate it in such a way as to appeal to the Turkish consumers:
A few of my Favorit things
Waking up in the early hours of a hot summer’s day. No thought given to shopping or housework. CAUTION
thrown to the wind. SWIMMING costumes, towels, buckets, spades and children thrown in to the Favorit.
FEELING wonderfully relaxed as we speed through its five gears towards the near coast. 1.3 litres, and a top
speed rather more than the legal limit will get us there in no time. BREAKFAST at a roadside café. BACON and
eggs sizzling, fresh bread toasting, MUGS of piping hot tea. THE works all round. BACK on the road. THE
excitement in the kids voices as we get closer. BEING the first to see the sea. NOT far now. SAND between toes.
ICE cream dripping down finger. CRICKET on the beach. PRINCE catching John out. SCONES and jamv The
long golden sunset. THE slow, reluctant walk arm-in-arm back to the welcoming comfort of our Favorit.
PLENTY of room in the back for the kids to snuggle down for the journey home. I still can’t quite believe they
manage to fit so much in for the price. LISTENING to my favourite album on the stereo. WATCHING the
shadows cast by our halogen headlights. TUCKING the children, then ourselves up in bed. WANTING to do it
all again tomorrow. (Skoda UK Ltd) (Quoted from Dainty 1999:85)

2.1 The Trainer’s Awareness

Trainer’s awareness in textual choice and the brief plays very important role in guiding students. For example,
trainer’s decision on choosing an operative text in place of an informative text as well as the brief
accompanying it will distract students' attention away from linguistic or micro-scale difficulties on source text to
the translation-oriented text analysis, which means to take prospective decisions to produce a functional text.
Furthermore, introducing soft-sell advertising by asking them to describe their favorite advertisements help them
to question what works better to sell the product. These warm-up questions at macro-level will lead them to take
appropriate linguistic decisions at micro- level. At this stage the trainer may also ask them to spot linguistic or
iconic features such as iconicity with words, connotations, prosody or alliterations as well as puns. Asking them
the medium of their popular advertisements, or asking whether they are broadcasted , or published will help
them to discern printed material from visual material. All these introductory questions guiding trainees to

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research in target culture will enable them to question the function of their translations as commercials. After
such brainstorming on the part of the trainer, I asked the trainees to translate the text and kept the most
interesting paper of all so as to disclose to what extent the trainer’s theoretical knowledge may guide the
trainees and help them take creative decisions. Now I would like to share it with you:
Source Text Original Text
A few of my Favorit things Skoda Favoritle yapılabilecek 100 Şey
Waking up in the early hours of a hot summer’s Sıcak bir yaz günü erkenden uyanır, alışverişi- ev
day. No thought given to shopping or housework. işlerini boş verir, "ihtarları” çöpe atarsınız. Yüzme
CAUTION thrown to the wind. SWIMMING kıyafetlerini, havluları, kovaları, kürekleri ve çocukları
costumes, towels, buckets, spades and children Favorit'inize doldurup en yakın kıyıya 5 vitesiyle hızla
thrown in to the Favorit. FEELING wonderfully giderken, bir tüy kadar hafif hissedersiniz. 1.3 litre
relaxed as we speed through its five gears towards motoru ve yasal sınırların çok üstündeki hızıyla hedefe
the near coast. 1.3 litres, and a top speed rather çabucak ulaşır, yol kenarında bir kafede kahvaltı
more than the legal limit will get us there in no yaparsınız. Pastırmalı yumurta cızırtıları, dumanı
time. BREAKFAST at a roadside café. BACON üstünde taze ekmek, ince belli bardakta tavşan kanı
and eggs sizzling, fresh bread toasting, MUGS of çaylar... Bir kuş sütü eksik! Tekrar yola çıkarsınız, kısa
piping hot tea. THE works all round. BACK on the süre sonra deniz görünür. Çocukların heyecanı hat
road. THE excitement in the kids voices as we get safhadadır. Plajın sıcak kumları girer ayak
closer. BEING the first to see the sea. NOT far now. parmaklarınızın arasına. Dondurma elinize damlar.
SAND between toes. ICE cream dripping down Plajda kriket oynanır. Prince John'u yener.
finger. CRICKET on the beach. PRINCE catching Çörekler, reçel... Ve, ağır ağır gelen altın sarısı
John out. SCONES and jamv The long golden günbatımı... Favorit'in konforuna doğru kol kola,
sunset. THE slow, reluctant walk arm-in-arm back yavaş ve isteksizce yürürsünüz. Eve giderken, çocuklar
to the welcoming comfort of our Favorit. PLENTY geniş arka koltuklarda rahatça uyur, bu sırada siz
of room in the back for the kids to snuggle down müzik setinde en sevdiğiniz albümü dinler, halojen ön
for the journey home. I still can’t quite believe they farların oluşturduğu gölgeleri izlersiniz... Çocuklarınız'
manage to fit so much in for the price. LISTENING yataklarına yatırır, kendi yatağınıza doğru giderken,
to my favourite album on the stereo. WATCHING tüm bunIarı yarın bir kez daha yapmayı istersiniz...
the shadows cast by our halogen headlights. Bu fiyata, bu teknoloji ve konfor. Favorit, favoriniz
TUCKING the children, then ourselves up in bed. olacak!
WANTING to do it all again tomorrow. ( Skoda Trans. By Ertan Metin (2005-2006)
UK Ltd)

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2.2 Comparative Analysis

Now there comes the time to analyse the trainees in the course of translation. The following table is the back
translation of the Turkish version:
Source text Back translation
A few of my Favorit things 100 Things that can be done with Skoda Favorit
Waking up in the early hours of a hot summer’s day. Waking up early on a hot summer day, you shrug off
No thought given to shopping or housework. household chores, "Caution" thrown to the bin.
CAUTION thrown to the wind. SWIMMING Swimming clothes, towels, buckets, shovels and their
costumes, towels, buckets, spades and children thrown children while speeding the nearest shore, 5 spd you
in to the Favorit. FEELING wonderfully relaxed as fill your Favorit'i, you will feel as light as a feather.
we speed through its five gears towards the near 1.3 liter engine and a top speed rather more than the
coast. 1.3 litres, and a top speed rather more than the legal limit will get us there in no time, you can have
legal limit will get us there in no time. BREAKFAST breakfast at a roadside cafe. Pastrami and egg sizzle,
at a roadside café. BACON and eggs sizzling, fresh fresh bread on the smoke, small waisted cup of tea in
bread toasting, MUGS of piping hot tea. THE works rabbit blood colour ... A bird's milk is missing!.
all round. BACK on the road. THE excitement in the You hit the road again, the sea appears shortly after .
kids voices as we get closer. BEING the first to see the are children excitement phase lines. The beach is hot
sea. NOT far now. SAND between toes. ICE cream and sand enters between your toes. Ice cream dripping
dripping down finger. CRICKET on the beach. to your hands. Playing cricket on the beach. Prince
PRINCE catching John out. SCONES and jamv The beats John. Scones, jam ... And, slowly coming
long golden sunset. THE slow, reluctant walk arm-in- golden sunset ... Walking slowly towards and
arm back to the welcoming comfort of our Favorit. reluctantly towards the comfort of Favorite arm in
PLENTY of room in the back for the kids to snuggle arm. Even when are going home, children sleep
down for the journey home. I still can’t quite believe comfortably with large rear seat; meanwhile you listen
they manage to fit so much in for the price. to your favorite albums in stereo watching halogen
LISTENING to my favourite album on the stereo. shadows created by headlights ... you take the kids to
WATCHING the shadows cast by our halogen the bed. On the way to your own bed, You want to do
headlights. TUCKING the children, then ourselves up all of them again ...
in bed. WANTING to do it all again tomorrow. At this price, the technology and comfort. Favorit,
( Skoda UK Ltd) will be your favorite!
One can observe the trainee is very creative in translating the text. He considers consumer buying
habits and soft selling strategies in the light of the brief. He foregrounds the cultural expectations of the Turkish
consumers in translating the title, and exaggerates it by inserting 100 Things that can be done with Skoda Favorit
in place of A few of my Favorit things and inserts the car brand Skoda since it is known as an affordable car
brand by middle class Turkish consumers. In other words, he draws consumers’ attention to the right value for
money by stressing on 100 Things one can do. Whereas, in translating “Caution thrown to the wind”, he
translated it “Traffic tickets thrown to the bin”. He translates “caution” as ” "ihtarları” in the sense of “traffic
tickets”, and uses “bin” in place of wind” although he could translate it literally since we use the same
expression in the same sense as “act in a completely reckless manner”. By this way, he vulgarizes the expression
in consideration for the colloquial language of the middle class and draws attention to the propensity of Turkish
drivers to violate traffic rules. However, towards the end of text he has a recourse to direct transfer of cultural
elements peculiar to the source culture as in the examples of “Playing cricket on the beach. Prince beats John” in
spite of his cultural awareness in soft selling strategies. This may be correlated to the third code of translations,
which discerns it from non-translations. Stylistically, one can observe that the source text author has has a
frequent recourse to "ellipsis", which makes the source text more poetic and dreamlike. However, “ellipsis” does
not provide the same dreamlike tone in Turkish. It may have been for this reason that the trainee tried to seize the
dreamlike feature of the source text by referring to « idiomatic language» in Turkish, and chooses those
especially peculiar to material culture as in the examples of “small waisted cup of tea in rabbit blood colour” in
place of “mug”, or “you will feel as light as a feather” in place of “feeling wonderfully relaxed” , “A bird's milk
is missing!” in place of “The works all around” .

2.3 Theoretical Account of Translator’s Decisions

One can observe that he is loyal to the linguistic and textual features of “informative advertising”. He preserves
“the representatives”, “opinions” and “directives” as much possible as softselling strategy allows. Accordingly,
he uses “the representatives”, which disclose the truth of the expressed propositions through transferring
assessable factors such as "100 things that can be done" in the title, “we speed through its five gears towards the
near coast”, “ 1.3 litres”. On the other hand, the text is mostly composed of “opinions”, which are based on
"individual evaluation” as opposed to the "assessable facts". The trainee was so much aware of the expectations
and buying habits of Turkish customers, and was so confident of his decisions that he did not seem to have

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Vol.7, No.27, 2016

difficulty in appealing to the emotions of customers. As he proceeded, he was so involved with the text that he
even inserted a last remark to it in the form of “directive”, and inserted “At this price, the technology and
comfort. Favorit, will be your favorite!”.
The trainer’s task after such a practice should be to discuss the decisions and translation problems with
the trainees on the text to gain them awareness of their decisions, and help them develop self-confidence based
on critical thinking.

3.Conclusion
We can draw up following conclusions:
➢ Hans Hönig claimed that doing a lot practice would not serve to develop translation competence
(Hönig 1991:65). However, in distant languages and cultures students require a lot of practice to
overcome linguistic and cultural barriers so as to reach meta-level thinking stage. Adopting down-to-
earth strategies and submitting translation tasks simulating real life conditions in the form of briefs,
apprenticeship, or doing some brainstorming exercises to shape the macro-scale decisions will prevent
the trainees from thinking translation just as an act of transfer of signs. By this way, they become aware
of the complex procedures followed in translation.
➢ It is only after the discussion of translatorial decisions with the trainees at object level can trainer
introduce theoretical knowledge to the trainees since discussing something on object level is not the
same as thinking it at meta level. Learning is constructive; first you get acquainted with a new situation,
or a new problem; next you picture it in your mind; then, you refer it to your daily life, or worldly
experience; after that, you try to adapt it to the present situation. All these stages refer to object level of
thinking. However, professional identity requires meta-level thinking.
➢ We can claim that identifying translation problems, naming and revising them at meta level is different
from studying translations at object level. What I mean is that asking trainees to memorize theoretical
knowledge without questioning it in their own language and culture would serve for no end. It becomes
functional only if it serves for prospective ends (Wills 158-161). Accordingly, we can claim that
trainees cannot develop professional identity without translation practice in consideration for the logics
of languages and cultural barriers under the guidance of well-informed and experienced trainers.
Theoretical knowledge serves for its ends and becomes functional only if the gap between theory and
practice could be bridged.
➢ As for translator training in Turkey, it will reach international standards only if network university
understanding is established, which may create a public sphere for discussing training schedules in
Turkey. Although they exchange knowledge by surfing on the internet pages of universities, they lay
behind the expectations since they do not discuss the problems face to face with each other. Theoretical
thinking develops as long as the communication continues since universal knowledge serves for its end
only if you discuss them in your own reality. It is only then we can claim that we have reached
universal standards in translator training.

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