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Article published In: FORUM
Vol. 3:1 (2005) ► pp.67–101

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Determining Language Proficiency Levels for Language Professionals

Issues and challenges for translators and interpreters in the United States

 | San Diego State University |
Published online: 1 April 2005
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https://doi.org/10.1075/forum.3.1.04deg
Abstract/Résumé
Trop souvent aux Etats-Unis comme probablement dans bien d’autres pays, on confond connaissance de langues et aptitude à la traduction et à l’interprétation sans même se poser la question de savoir quelle serait la compétence linguistique minimale suffisante pour traduire et interpréter de manière professionnelle, voire semi-professionnelle. Cet article ne prétend pas corriger cette erreur de conception. Il présente simplement diverses échelles de compétence linguistique utilisées en Europe, en Australie et aux Etats-Unis afin de mieux faire comprendre ce que l’utilisateur est capable de produire et de comprendre aux différents niveaux. Certaines mentionnent spécifiquement l’aptitude à interpréter dans un contexte informel. Notre objectif est de faire prendre conscience qu’il ne suffit pas de parler ou de comprendre une langue pour la traduire ou l’interpréter, mais qu’il convient aussi de la maîtriser à un niveau de compétence linguistique suffisant pour ensuite combiner cette compétence linguistique aux autres compétences nécessaires pour traduire et interpréter si l’on veut mieux préparer les traducteurs et les interprètes compétents dont nos pays ont tant besoin.
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