Open Access

This empirical study in Cognitive Translation Studies investigates whether and how translation into a foreign language (L2) differs from translation into the native language (L1) in terms of the translation process, the effort and the product. The rationale behind the study was to investigate prejudices towards translation into the L2 that persist in Translation Studies, translation training and practice despite the fact that it is widely practiced and even is the main translation direction in many language communities. The study focuses on the German-English language pair, also in view of the continually high demand for translations into English in German-speaking countries. As participants, qualified non-literary translators who are used to translating professionally both from their L1 German into their L2 English and vice versa performed two translation tasks under controlled conditions. The control groups consisted of professional translators who translate exclusively into their L1, i.e. either into German or into English. Following a mixed methods approach, the main study investigated the translation processes using methods of translation process research: keystroke logging, screen recording, retrospective verbal protocol, eye tracking and interview. From the principal process activities writing, revising, information searching and pausing, process descriptors were derived, analysed and compared. By triangulating results with data from the target text analysis, indicators of translation effort were measured. For the vast majority of the process descriptors and effort indicators, the results showed no statistically significant differences with regard to translation direction. In the substudy, intended addressees of the English target texts assessed the texts’ acceptability based on their own criteria and without resorting to the source text. The results showed no statistically significant difference in target text quality with regard to translation direction. In summary, this study showed that translation direction clearly plays no significant role in the translation process, the product quality and the translation effort. It thus invalidates preconceptions about translation into L2.

Fachkommunikation – das ist zielgerichtete, gelenkte, mit optimierten Mitteln ausgeführte Kommunikation. Ihr liegt eine methodisch bewusste, kriteriengeleitete Vorgehensweise zugrunde und sie wird häufig durch lenkenden Eingriff geregelt. Hierdurch sollen sowohl die Produktion als auch die Rezeption fachkommunikativer Erzeugnisse erleichtert und damit verbessert werden. Das interdisziplinäre, mehrdimensionale Feld der Fachkommunikationswissenschaft entwickelt sich stetig weiter. Neben der klassischen Erforschung von Fachwortschätzen ist der Diskurs heute sehr breit aufgestellt. So vereint auch dieser Sammelband Ansätze zur gesamten Breite der modernen Fachkommunikationswissenschaft: von der fachbezogenen Kommunikation in Fachgemeinschaften für Laien und interfachlichen Kommunikation in interdisziplinären Projekten über Zugriffswege auf Datenbestände und Textproduktionsstrategien für Schreibende aller fachkommunikativ ausgerichteten Berufe bis hin zur linguistischen Expertise bei Gericht und dem Einbezug besonderer Zielgruppen in den Diskurs der Verständlichkeit und Brauchbarkeit fachkommunikativer Erzeugnisse.