Technical translation procedures and translation competence in the Spanish and English translations of Francesc Trabal’s Vals

Abstract

Through empirical qualitative and quantitative research, this thesis examines various technical translation procedures (TTPs) and their impact in a case study: a Spanish translation by Joan Oliver and an English translation by Martha Tennent of the Catalan novel Vals by Francesc Trabal. Leveraging the general commonality of unregulated translations, often of questionable quality—with certain exceptions such as the crafting of official documents—and considering the lack of consensus regarding terminology in translation studies, we investigate potential differences based on a translator’s background to assess its impact on the final product. Furthermore, we explore the relationship between translation competence and the translation process by analyzing the decisions made by the translators we studied. This process enabled us to determine which TTP was employed most frequently by each translator, accompanied by a detailed analysis of the twenty-one identified TTPs, encompassing both their positive and negative effects. Our final results revealed that the translators in question preferred to utilize different TTPs to tackle the same excerpts in most cases, with the exception of modulation and amplification, which they both often employed. Additionally, we found that the use of these TTPs contributes to the development of various skills in the translation competence proposed by PETRA-E, having a positive impact on linguistic, literary, cultural, and textual competencies. However, we cannot determine the exact level of translation competence of the translators studied, as we lack a specific evaluation method.