The Process of Forming a Translator's Linguistic and Cultural Competence

Makarova Viktoriya Valerievna Independent researcher 5k4 Teply Stan str., Moscow, 117465, Russia flash251@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

This article was previously published in Russian in the journal Pedagogy and Education, available at this link: https://nbpublish.com/ppmag/contents_2024.html.

Introduction

The construction of a language, its norms, and its elements reflects its national and cultural specifics, which, realizing a cumulative function, makes it possible to broadcast the experience of previous generations, the specifics of the organization of their lives and environment, and the accumulated collective expertise. Thus, a language not only allows you to get acquainted with the cultural characteristics of a particular people functioning in modern conditions but also reflects the state of culture in its previous incarnation and is a repository of accumulated potential.

Currently, there is a sufficient amount of research devoted to language as a form of spiritual culture that provides not only the transmission of information among peoples living in different territories of the Earth but also offers the opportunity to become familiar with the cultural heritage of a particular people (Serishcheva T.V., Oleinikova E. A. ^[12], Marangoz E.O. ^[19], Tivaeva I.I. ^[18]). In this context, it is appropriate to mention the work of O. V. Murashkina ^{[10, p. 93]}, who, recognizing the inherent relationship between language and culture, asserted the importance of language in producing the development of the culture of a particular people. She is opposed by other representatives of the scientific community (Baldanova E. A. and Dondokova N. V. ^{[2, p. 57]}, Sorokina A. A. ^{[14, p. 66]}), who believe that language reproduces a broad differentiation of cultural archetypes.

Revealing the mutually conditioning nature of language and culture, it is impossible not to reveal translation as the process of interpreting the text of one communicant's language into a text equivalent in terms of perception and understanding by another. In this case, translation, in particular, requires a specialist with appropriate knowledge of the language and culture of the people whose text is to be transformed. Thus, the chosen topic is relevant, as the research conducted to reveal it helps to demonstrate the relationship of the language and the cultural heritage of the people with the constitution of translation and to identify the specifics of the formation of the translator's linguistic competence for high-quality translation.

The object of this research is the linguistic competence of a translator and its features.

Formations

The subject of this research is the peculiarities of forming a translator's linguistic competence.

At the same time, despite the importance of existing research on the specifics of language as a cultural component of various peoples of the world, the existing difficulties that arise when trying to convey certain regional information through language, as well as determining the place of translation in comparing the language and culture of native speakers, there is still a problem that needs to be solved. The point is that, in terms of content, only some researchers reveal the connection between language and speech, mediating it through translation, which, to a certain extent, allows for non-verbal dialogue among various communicants. At the same time, by revealing this connection, the requirements for a translator performing a translation are only slightly clarified, as translation as a type of speech activity implies social importance.

The Main Part

Despite the variety of disputes about the primary properties of language and culture, it is worthwhile to summarize their mutually conditioned relationship unambiguously, as language, influenced by culture, would be incomprehensible without its context. Any culture is distinctive and reflects the realities of life in which a particular nation operates. In this case, a specified identity can be understood and described through a set of unique terms accumulated by a specific language. The cumulative property of language and its relationship with culture is especially vividly embodied in vocabulary as a section of language capable of providing communication and conveying the social and cognitive experience of earlier generations in appropriate words, phrases, aphorisms, and phraseological units. Through vocabulary, it is possible to form a "linguistic picture" of the people who speak this language and reproduce cultural studies material in its exact content ^{[16, p. 54]}. The latter is especially important, as through language, it is not so much an acquaintance with the culture as a whole that is informative as the search and analysis of the material that most fully reflects the life, way of life, and realities of the relevant people.

Translation, as a process of iterating text from the source language into an equivalent text expressed through the translating language, makes it possible to express the relationship between language and culture through its inherent functions. In this case, translation has a social function, making it possible to realize the interlanguage interaction of various members of society. At the same time, translation has a cognitive function because, through the prism of translation, representatives of different cultures can access other countries' cultural heritage. Thus, society's need for communication expressed through translation dictates the requirements for the translator in terms of their existing competencies, one of which is linguistic and foreign studies. Thus, the conducted research is an attempt to reveal the interrelation of the language and the cultural heritage of the people with the constitution of translation and to identify the specifics of the formation of the linguistic competence of the translator for the implementation of high-quality translation.

The aim is to identify aspects of the translator's linguistic competence and the specifics of its formation in modern socio-cultural conditions.

The research methods were dialectical, which clarified the features of forming a translator's linguistic competence, and systematic, which revealed linguistic competence through the prism of relevant elements.

The scientific novelty of the research lies in the author's understanding of the content and significance of the translator's linguistic competence, which is revealed to ensure a common understanding of the language unit both directly by a native speaker and other communicants. The author not only identifies the structural elements that determine the linguistic competence of a translator (linguistic, technical, and communicative) but also examines the aspects of their formation within the framework of pedagogical activity.

Linguistics, without which it is impossible to study the linguistic competence of a translator, is a way of teaching a language that allows you to gain specific knowledge and information about the country of the language being studied.

The key goal of this research area is to ensure intercultural interaction between communicants through understanding not only the interlocutor's original speech but also the semantic implications transmitted non-verbally. Understanding the material of linguistic and foreign studies makes it possible to form linguistic and foreign studies competence, without which, in turn, the act of interlanguage and intercultural communication will be difficult. In other words, understanding the traditions, customs, and formal and informal norms existing in a country makes it possible to form similar associations from communication between both a native speaker and a language learner and, as a result, to achieve more effective interaction between two multilingual people. The translator's linguistic competence is a fundamental axiom shared by such leading representatives of the scientific community as D. A. Borisov and N. V. Zharenova ^{[4, p. 51]}, M. I. Sivokho, and V. N. Shmakova ^{[13, p. 283]}.

The listed authors interpret translation as an act of overcoming the interlanguage and intercultural barrier, which makes it possible to expand language use and perception of the ethnocultural characteristics of those communicants who transmit their language by introducing it. Thus, according to the majority of translation theory apologists who present their point of view in the methodological literature, effective interiorization in terms of translation depends on how much the translator, as an active link in the chain of overcoming the linguistic and ethnic barrier, has the skills to reduce the distance between the source and translated text and can ensure the interrelation of multilingual communicants through the text.

Within the framework of this article, we will understand by a translator's linguistic competence the availability of relevant knowledge in the context of semantics, regional studies, and national and cultural specifics of the lexical composition of the language, allowing us to perceive a specific lexical unit in the same meaning as the native speaker means, and apply it in practice in the form of a converted text. Along with the above, V. Y. Kuznetsova suggests perceiving linguistic competence through the prism of the translator's personal qualities, which contribute to implementing more in-depth interlanguage and intercultural mediation ^{[9, p. 63]}. The noted components, regional background knowledge, and psycho-emotional characteristics allow a translator to ensure comprehensive intercultural interaction between multilingual communicants by understanding the national and cultural specifics of both the country itself and the lexical composition of the language.

Based on the research conducted by A. N. Buldygerova and V. N. Solovyova, the following elements can be summarized and integrated into the structure of a translator's linguistic competence ^{[5, p. 469]}. Firstly, it is linguistic competence as a symbiosis of idioms, local humor of native speakers, phraseological units, and connotative and background vocabulary. Secondly, the methodological competence of the translator as a set of their knowledge, translation techniques, and the policy that the translator follows to ensure consistency in the text between multilingual communicants. Methodological competence makes it possible to ensure understanding of translation, as in some cases, the meaning expressed verbally through linguistic means may be hidden in the translation process, but at the same time, it will be immanently implied.

These elements ensure the so-called ordered bilingualism, which, in turn, follows the terminology of A. N. Gurov makes it possible to ensure the correspondence between the source and translating languages ^{[6, p. 333]}. Also, in the case of technical competence, it is essential to have the language and background knowledge that make up the information stock.

In retrospect, this term was proposed by R. K. Minyar-Beloruchev, a Soviet scientist who developed the basics of interpretation and laid the foundations of translation theory, who proposed to talk about five degrees of information stock as a volume of information. The author systematized four types of translation (oral, written translation by ear, visual-written, and visual-oral translations) ^{[7, p. 129]}. However, regardless of the kind of differentiation, translation is nothing more than a comparison of source and output messages separated by an initially defined time interval. The translator's availability of the amount of information associated with the language sign allows him to carry out effective translation. In this case, knowing at least the third degree of the information reserve enables the translator to understand and reproduce the lexical composition of the language, to master lexical units and use them reasonably in speech, as well as to perceive through the lexical unit the same information as a native speaker directly.

Thus, continuing the study's logic, we emphasize that technical competence implies the presence of background knowledge that is not explicitly reflected in the lexical unit but is implied in it, which allows communicants to interact with each other based on total mutual understanding. In turn, the translator's availability of the appropriate information stock will enable them to disclose their technical competence fully.

The realization of linguistic competence is associated with implementing so-called general and specific translation skills and abilities in translation practice. In the first case, the translator performs automatic and/or semi-automatic operations intuitively, while translation skills are embodied in solving specific tasks set during the translation process. For example, using the previously mentioned classification of translation, we can summarize the following skills and abilities necessary within the framework of linguistic competence in translation: collecting and analyzing information, selecting linguistic and extralinguistic context, editing, selecting, and using elements of the source and translating language ^{[8, p. 285]}. On the contrary, if we talk about a set of skills and abilities that are fundamental for the implementation of linguistic and foreign studies competence in interpretation, then we will talk about listening, switching within the framework of the topic being voiced, adapting individual linguistic originals into translation and pragmatically using particular elements of the original.

The above list of skills and abilities is not exhaustive. However, it indicates that their symbiosis is an important component of technical competencies, without which, in turn, the structure and composition of the translator's linguistic competence will be incomplete ^{[19, p. 43]}. According to O. Y. Usacheva, skills, and abilities should be formed according to the translation level: from simple to more complex ^{[15, p. 19]}. In this case, it is reasonable to start with written translation within the framework of linguistic and foreign studies competence, adding to these skills translation automation, understanding the meaning of what is said, and listening, inherent in interpretation. Thus, the set of competencies developed in written translation significantly contributes to the formation of linguistic competence in oral translation.

Thirdly, forming a translator's linguistic competence is impossible without their perception of their place in the chain of interaction between various interlanguage and intercultural communicants ^{[17, p. 47]}. In this case, the translator should understand that translation is the translation of a language signal by a native speaker, which is not always fully expressed verbally and, in some cases, has a national and cultural connotation, which should also be considered in translation.

This element of the translator's linguistic competence is inherently linked to the following, namely, the communicative component based on respect for the country whose language is reproduced through translation and the ability to integrate the specifics of the native language into the translation. This includes, among other things, the translator's desire and ability to continuously improve and expand their horizons and existing knowledge, as well as the desire to communicate with representatives of the country of the language being studied ^{[20, p. 3534]}. In addition to the above, E. V. Bobyreva and T. V. Gonnova include in their communicative competencies the ability to take into account the pre-information reserves of people communicating through translation, as well as the translator's ability to edit and modify the translation promptly in case of a discrepancy between linguistic units and information associated with them ^{[3, p. 233]}.

Thus, confirming the versatility of the translator's linguistic competence and the need for its development for high-quality translation, within the framework of pedagogical activities aimed at the formation of a professional translator, special attention should be paid to the formation of the following skills:

1) The ability to recognize and compare lexical units with the national and cultural specifics of native communicants;

2) The skill of selecting the necessary correspondences of the lexical unit of the speaker and the skill of its appropriate application;

3) The skill of differentiating similar-sounding words;

4) Context analysis and subsequent selection of the equivalent;

5) The skill of correct adaptation of lexical units and subsequent revision and evaluation of the translation.

The above list of skills that require their development in the structure of pedagogical influence on the translator is not exhaustive. However, he emphasizes the differentiated nature of those skills that must be translated in an educational institution to form a translator's linguistic competence.

The symbiosis of the elements identified within the framework of linguistic competence contributes not only to its better formation but also allows for the implementation of the translation process associated with the consistent overcoming of such stages as:

1. Reception and interpretation of the original message, previously encoded using the native speaker's language system. At this stage, the translator perceives and processes the source text with parallel interpretation.

2. The received message is encoded based on the translator's knowledge and skills. At this stage, the translator develops and applies translation solutions and builds the translation text ^{[18, p. 109]}.

3. The transmission of this message considers the understanding of the intercultural and interlanguage specifics that determine the translation process. The translator processes the native speaker's originally encoded text in terms of meaning and considers the communicant's perception of the national and cultural specifics ^{[7, p. 123]}.

Considering the translator's developed linguistic competence, the translation process makes it possible to devalue the text effectively. This process releases and separates the meanings the speaker implies from their verbal embodiment. In this case, the translator needs to translate the extracted meanings into a new form of language, considering their skills, erudition, experience, and capabilities.

In the context of the raised topic, it is important to highlight the principles accompanying the process of forming the linguistic competence of a translator. So, based on the research of Novikova L.V. ^{[11, p. 183]}, the following principles can be summarized:

1. Cognitive learning is an awareness of the differential specificity of the environment that accompanies language development and influences the formation of national and cultural characteristics of native speakers. Thus, this principle explains the change in thinking concerning the foreign cultural space within which language development occurs.

2. Dialogue of cultures as an opportunity to communicate openly with representatives of other cultures, respectfully treat non-linguistic social groups and fully perceive the features of a multicultural space. This leads to the translator not only comprehensively understanding the conjuncture of the "other" language and culture but also systematizing the differences and exploring their essence.

3. The implementation of goals and objectives that are set in the translation process based on an understanding of the culture of communicants. At the same time, an important feature of the formation of a translator's linguistic competence is the need for them to maintain contact with their native language, unlike other groups of language learners who are fundamentally interested in integrating into a foreign-speaking country and immersing themselves in the cultural space of native speakers.

In the context of the above, we can separately note the points of view of T. V. Serishcheva and E.A. Oleinikova, who believe that the realization of translation goals should inherently be associated with the permanent replenishment and consolidation of the translator's conceptual apparatus ^{[12, p. 47]}. As an unstable category that tends to replenish and consolidate constantly, the conceptual apparatus, including linguistic units of a "foreign" language, must be consolidated and appropriately applied in professional activities.

Thus, it is quite laborious to acquire and apply new knowledge of the communicant's language, considering the translator's understanding of their native language. However, this is necessary because it allows you to receive and adapt to the newly acquired knowledge.

Results and Conclusions

The development of global cooperation and the intensity of realized interrelations between different peoples of the world actualizes the need for professional translators who must not only have appropriate knowledge of a foreign language but also perceive the language and culture of the communicants, the text of which is subject to interpretation. In this regard, one of the important components of the training of translators in educational institutions is the formation of their linguistic and foreign studies competencies, which correlates with a competence-based approach and implies not only obtaining relevant knowledge but also organically applying it in practice in symbiosis with the improvement of necessary skills and abilities.

A translator's linguistic competence is the availability of relevant knowledge about the country and the national and cultural specifics of the lexical composition of the language, contributing to the perception of a linguistic unit in the same meaning as that of a native speaker and its further reflection in practice through text transformation. In the available literature, insufficient attention is paid to an integrated approach to the formation of competence of this type, which is recognized as important in developing linguistic and foreign studies competence among translation students. At the same time, it is necessary to single out a specific set of recommendations that must be followed to form the linguistic competence of a translator: the introduction of project-based learning, which contributes not only to the motivation of future translators but also to the development of their cognitive abilities; increasing the number of hours devoted to independent work to comprehensively and qualitatively assimilate the material. It is necessary to connect the incoming theoretical information with a teacher's practice closely to optimize the educational process.

Conclusion

Summing up the above, we note that the linguistic and cultural competencies of a translator are a set of regional knowledge, national and cultural vocabulary, possession and organic use of lexical units, the combined use of which allows the reproduction of the same information that is copied directly by a native speaker. The formation of the studied type of competencies is influenced not only by the professional qualities of the translator and their translation skills and real practice but also by the ongoing training in oral and written translation. At the same time, the formation of linguistic and foreign studies competence is inherently associated with the influence of factors such as the harmonization of all components (such as linguistic, technical, and communicative competencies, as well as the translator's perception of their place in the translation), taking into account the specifics of the language in various types of translation, the interconnectedness and mutual accounting of translation skills and abilities, as well as a combination of linguistic and background knowledge in the source and translation languages. The complementarity and continuity of these factors are beyond doubt, as only their symbiosis makes it possible to ensure cooperation and interconnection between communicants comprehensively and fully realize national, cultural, and linguistic unity in the process of communication.