The aim of the Pacte Group (Process in the Acquisition of Translation Competence and Evaluation) is to study translation competence and its acquisition in written translation. Our research programme is divided into two main phases: (1) a study of translation competence (TC), currently under way; (2) a study of the acquisition of translation competence. Six language combinations are involved: German, French and English (as foreign languages) and Spanish and Catalan (as mother tongue languages). This is basic research, the ultimate aim of which is to improve the quality of applied research into the teaching of translation: knowledge about how it is acquired will provide a solid basis for future curriculum design and development in translator training (learning objectives, content, methodology and assessment).
The PACTE study of TC is an empirical-experimental research project that studies both the translation process and the translation product using a multimethodological approach so that the results can be triangulated. Given the lack of empirically tested translation competence models and validated data collecting instruments, exploratory and pilot tests were carried out before embarking on the final experiment. Thus, in 2000 an observational exploratory test was carried out with six professional translators. As a result of this test, the PACTE model of translation competence was modified, as was the research design. In 2004 a pilot study was carried out with three translators and three foreign language teachers to test the revised research design and to evaluate the instruments used. The experiment to study translation competence was carried out between October 2005 and March 2006. Thirty-five translators and twenty-four foreign language teachers participated in the experiment. The data obtained are now being analysed.
This chapter presents the design of the experiment for the validation of the PACTE TC model, and the first results obtained for two of the dependent variables – “Knowledge of thranslation” and “Efficacy of the translation process”.
