Focus group session no. 2

The second focus group was recorded at the end of the first year.⁶ Regarding the translation feedback from the teachers, the situation seems to be unchanged. What had changed, however, was the students’ approach to it. What in the first focus group was called upon as a dualistic need for Good/Bad, while still having trust in the Authority, has now developed into a more pluralistic view on translation, as can be seen when Eva is imitating the translator teacher:

(12) Eva It’s hard to know how to develop. Now it’s more like ‘This is good, this is good, this is good, there are several ways of translating’.

As was pointed out in section 3, focus groups only account for the viewpoint of the participants. We do not know what actually happened in these seminars, only what the participants say happened, and what actually happened is not important either. In (12), Eva’s construction of her reality seems to be channelled into an overwhelming and quite frustrated feeling of the multiplicity of translation strategies. Several utterances are still implicitly (13) or explicitly (14) centred on Good/Bad, but they are more nuanced than in the first focus group. If in the first focus group there was only one Truth, only one “good”

translation, there are now several ways of making a “good” translation. This corresponds closely to the “anything goes” approach of Multiplicity, with a diversity of different opinions available. The second focus group also marks a turning point in the students’

attitude towards the teacher, who is no longer seen as a divine Authority. This can be seen in Eva’s frustrated comments on how the class works:

(13) Eva We’ve gone through some of it [the translations] in class and

‘that’s a way of translating and this is a way of translating’

and so on, but no comments.

In a couple of examples, we can also see what could be interpreted as an indicator of Contextual Relativism, the third position. In the first one, commenting on the translator’s responsibility, Emma states that she “would like to at least always have that awareness;

what is right in this specific situation, and not just try to produce as much text as possible as fast as possible” (18). Although the example revolves around what is Right, thus speaking in favour of Dualism, there is also an awareness that different circumstances require different solutions, which is not present in other utterances. The second example occurs when Edvin states, in (19), that he “[f]eel[s] like a translator. But maybe not yet complete, but maybe you will never be that”, which shows an awareness of knowing and learning as ongoing activities which can also be seen as Contextual Relativism. All in all, the students summarise their experience of feedback as directly linked to Good/Bad:

6 During the second term, the students had two teachers in practical translation classes.

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(14) Eva It feels like you’ve got your style that you stick to and if you don’t get any comments on it, that it’s bad, then you just continue like you’re used to.

Erik You kind of hope that it’s good.

All (laughter)

In the second term, the students can choose 15 ECTS freely from a number of courses, which gives them the possibility to position themselves on the market.⁷ Two of the students, Edvin and Erik, chose to take an internship course in the language sector, corresponding to one month of full-time studies. The internship course is voluntary, and the student has to find the placement on her own. Edvin did an internship in a medium-sized translation agency, and motivated his choice of internship by wanting to gain experience and have some kind of contact with the market. Erik did an internship in a national language centre and took also a course in business communication. Emma chose a course in creative writing in English. Edvin and Eva took courses in two different languages, in order to add another SL in the future. The fact that the students claim they had not received any individual translation feedback the previous semester gave the internships extra weight. All of a sudden Edvin, and to a certain degree Erik, received translation feedback in a professional environment. Edvin comments:

(15) Edvin It felt great. It was great. I really appreciated it. Then I could see directly… like the norms a bit, how they work and what kind of things, small things, you should think of when translating.

In a professional surrounding, where he “felt like one in the team”, Edvin could “see directly” what he could not see before. He continues: “Yes exactly, really a bit of everything… from punctuation to how to formulate certain expressions. I could see directly what… well, what was good and what was bad.” At this stage, as there had been a lack of feedback beforehand, the question is whether it was the feedback itself that opened his eyes, or feedback in a professional setting. He seems to have internalised a view of what is considered “good” and “bad” in the eyes of the professional translators at the agency. The internship was also an opportunity to gain a broader view of the translation market. Erik explains his insights about the variety of different positions available to linguists: “So it was very nice to see what kind of different ‘language jobs’

there are that you can do afterwards. If you want to work with something other than translation, that is.” When the students who did not do an internship called for more practical classes, especially on CAT-tools, Edvin replies:

(16) Edvin Absolutely. I guess for me the internship gave me that part, because I’ve been sitting with CAT tools for four weeks, full-time. And I have kind of an idea of what the profession

7 The other 15 ECTS being different courses in translation, technical language and terminology.

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consists of: what’s going on in a translation agency and how the workflow goes and… […]

The “idea of what the profession consists of” can also have more practical implications. In the first focus group, several students were very reluctant to work in an agency without translating from their SL. After the internship, where Edvin translated from English, he clarifies what he learnt: “But for example, now I know that it’s not very probable that we’ll get the chance to work with our language in a translation agency…”

As for the societal self-image, one aspect that was mentioned in the first focus group was the translator’s visibility. After a brief discussion about different kinds of visibilities – in society in general or in the translated text – Edvin and Emma comment:

(17) Edvin Well I think absolutely that it would be great if… I don’t know, like interpreters are more visible in mass media than translators. It would be great if translators also could come in…

Emma I would love to see more columns and such from translators that have translated a specific literary piece, their point of departure, how they went about it and so on. I think it would be really interesting.

There is a remarkable difference in the students’ approach to translators’ visibility from the first session (9). This marks a shift from an individual perspective to a perspective of the occupation in general.

The students’ societal self-images are very likely to affect their positions on the market.

Emma is the student with the most outspoken ambition to translate literature. In the first focus group session, she twice came back to the expression “once you’ve made a name for yourself” (see (7) and (11)). When I ask the students what “making yourself a name”

means for them, Emma replies:

(18) Emma I guess it means the same thing as in other professions, that you’re trying to have a professional approach, that I know that I’ve done a good job that I’m delivering to the client… and if that means that I might have to explain my choice of a specific term or question something that the client specifically has asked for, then maybe I want to do that because I know that I have acted in the right way or something. But like we said, you have to adhere to the client’s wishes as well, since the client is the one who’s paying. (silence) But I would like at least always to have that awareness, what is right in this specific situation, and not just try to produce as much text as possible as fast as possible.

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In many ways, this example mirrors Kiraly’s definition of the translation students’ self-concept, “[a] profound awareness of their responsibilities as active participants in a complex communicative process where they serve a key role […]” (Kiraly 2000:13). By having “a professional approach” a translator can make herself a name, and “earn” a translatorship. On the other hand, the answer is solely focused on the individual aspect of

“making yourself a name”.

As for positioning on the market, the students have to adjust to the fact that they are the only ones with this specific language combination, as mentioned in the first focus group.

(19) Emma I mean, this degree in itself will look good. I mean, if I compete about a job with someone without a degree I will feel entitled to get it… maybe. But like we’ve talked about, it’s hard to know your own level compared to others.

Edvin But I feel like I’m belonging to that group at least.

Emma Yes.

Edvin I feel like a translator. But maybe not yet complete. But maybe you will never be that.

Again, the lack of environmental feedback is reflected in Emma’s comment about the problems of knowing one’s level in comparison to other translators. Yet both Emma and Edvin state that they feel like they belong to the group of translators; Edvin even feels like a translator.