Syysseminaarin satoa

Teoria kääntäjän työssä ja kääntämisen opetuksessa

Authors

• Minna Ruokonen Itä-Suomen yliopisto
• Hilkka Pekkanen Vapaa suomentaja, kääntämisen opettaja ja tutkija

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61200/mikael.129440

Keywords:

theory, translation theories, translation practice, translator training, views of translation

Abstract

This article reports on the autumn seminar of the Teachers’ and Researchers’ Section of the Finnish Association of Translators and Interpreters, held in August 2016. The theme of the seminar was the relationship between translation theories, translator’s work and translation teaching, approached through three presentations and discussion. In this article, we first consider different meanings of ‘theory’. Next, Hilkka Pekkanen discusses to what extent translation theories fulfill the criteria of scientific theory and how translation theories can help experienced translators, arguing that although translators’ needs and job descriptions vary, theories can help expand one’s horizons and develop one’s professional identity. Moving on to translation teachers’ perspective, Minna Ruokonen reports on Marja Kivilehto’s research into how translation teachers do not necessarily employ explicit references to theories when commenting on translations. The lack of explicit theoretical references also shows in the Finnish Database for Teaching Methods in Translation and Interpreting, although the Database reflects a view of translation as goal-oriented action and of translators as professionals who reflect on their actions and cooperate with other actors. Finally, we cover the subsequent seminar discussion, which introduced examples of integrating theory into teaching and considered the role of theory in translator training.