An der Schnittstelle von Translations- und Interkomprehensionsdidaktik

Intercomprehension didactics aims at exploiting intercomprehension (or mutual intelligibility) for the time-saving acquisition of receptive skills in a language unfamiliar to an individual by systematically comparing it to cognate languages the individual is already proficient in. As the cognitive processes underlying intercomprehensive language acquisition seem to have much in common with those underlying translation activity, intercomprehension didactics might contribute to developing efficient new methods for multilingual translator training. The paper provides empirical evidence for the feasibility of intercomprehensive language instruction in translator training. It addresses the following questions: Does the exploitation of knowledge of Russian promote the comprehension of Polish texts and the subsequent translation of these texts into learners’ L1? How do translation competence and intercomprehension competence interact? To what extent can interference errors induced by false friends be avoided in the translation of texts decoded through intercomprehension?