The professional backgrounds of translation scholars. Report on a survey

A survey of 305 translation scholars shows that some 96 percent of them have translated or interpreted “on a regular basis,” with translation/interpreting being or having been a main or secondary activity for 43 percent of the scholars. Translation scholars would also seem to be particularly mobile (71 percent have spent more than one year in a country other than their own) and come from diverse academic and professional backgrounds (33 percent were not engaged in translation and interpreting in their mid-twenties). These figures indicate that translation scholars not only have considerable practical experience of translation but also come from a wide range of occupational and cultural backgrounds. Asked about desirable relations between scholarly work and professional practice, respondents indicated benefits for both sides (although a slight majority stressed a unidirectional relationship where scholarly work benefits from professional practice), and teaching is often indicated as the link between the two. However, about a quarter of the scholars indicated that there need not be a relationship between scholarship and professional practice.