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Based on my own translations of Franz Kafka's texts (first of all The Diaries), I analyze past and contemporary translation trends, especially with regard to translations of works published in critical editions. The texts left by Kafka were repeatedly subject of far-reaching editorial modifications before their first publication. From the point of view of modern editorial standards, these modifications should be considered too big. That is why the critical edition of Kafka's works, initiated in Germany in the 1980s, aimed at cleaning the texts of later retouches and returning to the "original" Kafka. This also presented translators with previously unknown tasks - many of Kafka's works had to be translated anew in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sharp rise in the use of technology tools in the translation process has rendered human translators more invisible than ever. The importance of the role played by human translators in translation, however, cannot be denied or understated. This paper aims to examine the primary factors influencing the work of human translation combined with translation technology tools. Therefore, the paper provides an overview of the translation and language industries and insights into translation industry standards, quality concerns and the most frequently used tools, as they are aspects that influence and condition the translator’s work today. The final and main section in this work emphasizes an increasingly common trend in translation: a human-assisted machine translation model based on the post-edition of the output from machine translation systems. By analyzing market studies, surveys and papers on the aforementioned aspects, this article confirms that the role of human translators in technology-driven translation processes will be as central in the future as it is today.

Paradoxes of Professionalization: Translation Standards – EN 15038 and EN ISO 17100 – From the Perspective of Translator Education Taking the perspective of translator training, the article discusses the significance of translation standards understood as codified documents issued by normalization bodies, focusing on two standards that go beyond local or national settings such as EN 15038 and EN ISO 17100. The emergence of translation standards is situated in a broad context of subject literature on norms in translation. Aspects of standards that have a direct or possible bearing on translator education are discussed. It seems that standards do not necessarily contribute to the present state of the art in translator education research. However, they may enhance a positive perception of translation industry and translators as professionals. Yet, paradoxically, the question remains open whether they indeed contribute to translator empowerment.

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Copyright of Miedzy Oryginalem a Przekladem is the property of Ksiegarnia Akademicka Sp. zo.o and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article explores the guidance three recently published international translation standards provide in the area of translation-oriented terminology management. The author identifies perceived gaps in these standards and offers suggestions for bridging them.

The relevance of, and justification for, translation quality assessment (TQA) is stronger than ever: professional translators, their clients, translatological researchers and trainee translators all rely on TQA for different reasons. Yet whereas there is general agreement about the need for a translation to be "good," "satisfactory" or "acceptable," the definition of acceptability and of the means of determining it are matters of ongoing debate. National and international translation standards now exist, but there are no generally accepted objective criteria for evaluating the quality of translations. What are the problems and issues that stand in the way of consensus and coherence in TQA? This article presents an updated argumentation-centred model to solve some of those problems.

This article provides an overview of the process by which potential translators and interpreters demonstrate minimum standards of performance to warrant official or professional recognition of their ability to translate or interpret and to practise professionally – commonly known as ‘certification’. Certification can be awarded by governmental or professional authorities on the basis of testing, completed training, presentation of previous relevant experience and/or recommendations from practising professionals. Certification can be awarded by a single authority for all types of translation and interpreting, or by authorities that specialise in a particular mode or type of inter-lingual transfer. This article compares certification procedures in 21 countries to present a cross-national perspective of how (and if) certification is awarded and which features and requirements are contained in it. Comparison reveals that the pragmatic, needs-based and socially focussed policies of translation and interpreting services in some New World countries such as Australia, Canada, US has led to the establishment of certification programs. In other, typically European and East Asian countries, a demonstration of minimum standards is provided through lengthy training, commonly as part of a university post-graduate degree where translation and interpreting performance is principally required for high-level political, business or literary interaction. In such countries, ‘certification’ may be a term reserved for a restricted type of performance, eg. court interpreting. Parallels are drawn between the procedures and conventions employed in various countries and how common elements may form a basis for greater cross-national equivalence and comparability.

This paper provides an overview of the process by which potential translators and interpreters demonstrate minimum standards of performance to warrant official or professional recognition of their ability to translate or interpret and to practise professionally-commonly known as "certification." Certification can be awarded by governmental or professional authorities on the basis of testing, completed training, presentation of previous relevant experience, and/or recommendations from practising professionals. Certification can be awarded by a single authority for all types of translation and interpreting, or by authorities that specialise in a particular mode or type of inter-lingual transfer. This paper compares certification procedures in 21 countries to present a cross-national perspective of how (and if) certification is awarded and which features and requirements are contained in it. The comparison reveals that the pragmatic, needs-based and socially focussed policies of translation and interpreting services in some New World countries such as Australia, Canada, and the US mean that a demonstration of ability level is performed in single tests. Successful completion of a test is the usual minimum requirement for certification, which itself may be specified according to general or specialised ability, or mode and context of inter-lingual transfer (e.g., "healthcare interpreter certification," "telephone interpreter certification"). In other, typically European and East Asian, countries a demonstration of minimum standards is provided through lengthy training, commonly as part of a university post-graduate degree where translation and interpreting performance is principally required for high-level political, business or literary interaction. In such countries, "certification" may be a term reserved for a restricted type of performance, e.g., court interpreting. Parallels are drawn between the procedures and conventions employed in various countries and how common elements may form a basis for greater cross-national equivalence and comparability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of what has taken place since their presentation at the IEEE International Professional Communication Conference in 2005, the authors describe additional requirements and merits of matching technical writing students in the US with translation students in Europe in a collaborative assignment. Where the original article dealt with how to set up and organize the collaboration, this tutorial delves into the pedagogical challenges and the process dynamics involved in such an exchange, including mediation, power, and teamwork issues. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]