Translation teaching: from undergraduate degree programmes to a challenging working environment

Abstract

The aim of the present work is to examine the teaching of translation, first from a historical perspective and then within today's undergraduate degree programmes, finally leading to an analysis of how translation fits into the working environment, always struggling to assert its own identity, as occurs at the educational level as well. Firstly, through a historical overview, it is intended to illustrate the evolution of the concept of translation as a discipline in its own right and no longer as a mere extension of linguistics or literature. Furthermore, this overview helps to understand the role that translation played within the various methods of foreign language teaching, offering an insight into how translation was more a means than a teaching purpose. Secondly, an analysis is carried out on the role played by translation in today’s language-driven undergraduate degree programmes. Progress was made in defining translation practice and the role of the translator, but as far as the position of translation in teaching is concerned, has anything really changed? This question is attempted to be answered by means of a preliminary analysis of the syllabuses of both the undergraduate degree course in linguistic and cultural mediation and the undergraduate degree courses with a foreign language focus, more generally. The analysis finally shifts to the working environment pertaining to translation, with a focus on two case studies both related to the issue of recognition of the translator profession. To conclude, the present work provides a preliminary reflection on the potential relationship between translation teaching and the translation profession.