Expertise acquisition through deliberate practice

Abstract

Abstract In his influential 2006 publication, Shreve, in citing Ericsson (1996, 21), outlines a series of fundamental conditions that must be met in order for the translator to acquire expertise. While expertise research on professional translator performance in authentic contexts has only recently started to gain traction in earnest, these conditions for expertise acquisition, while well-suited for academic contexts involving formal translator training, may not be as readily realizable within the language industry. In an attempt to complement recent workplace studies on translation (Risku and Windhager 2013; Ehrensberger-Dow 2014), our questionnaire-based explorative study sets out to gain a better understanding of how expertise in translation is conceptualized and fostered from within the language industry. By gauging how professional translators, as well as the project managers for whom they work, regard expertise from the perspective of the requisite conditions outlined by Shreve, we hope to establish greater clarity as to how expertise is envisioned, practiced, and valued along emic lines.