THEORY AND PRACTICE OF TRANSLATION AUTOMATION:ON THE PRODUCTION CONTEXTSAND TRANSLATOR’S TECHNOLOGICAL COMPETENCE

The first part of the article presents a brief overview of the evolution of computer-aided translation tools. Different generations of CAT-tools are considered in relation to translation production models within a broader socio-cultural context. Based on the interviews with in-house translators from seven Chelyabinsk region companies, we illustrate the idea that the technological environment can simultaneously expand and limit the set of solutions for solving professional translation tasks. In the reviewed cases, networked nature and situatedness of translation within the larger socio-technical contexts establishes a series of constraints for implementing certain translation automation solutions. For example, the adoption of cloud TMS-platforms and on-premise platform solutions may be limited by the company security policies. In other cases, formatting and layout of company specific source documents coupled with the high workload of the in-house translation departments may make processing of the files in a CAT-tool a challenging task, and therefore limit TM and automatic QA use. The second part of the article presents a comprehensive look at the translator competence model incorporating such components as translator expertise, self-control, collaboration, and environmental task awareness. These reflect cognitive, metacognitive, socio-cognitive and socio-technical aspects of translator interaction in light of the situated view of cognition. Given the new European Master’s in Translation Competence Framework, the Russian "Specialist in the field of translation" professional standard, and a variety of academic efforts to modernize translation education, it is clear that technological and metacognitive components have gained significance in the recent years. The competence model is evolving to meet the needs of a changing industry and professional communities. The proposed integrative model establishes professional and ethical dimensions inherent to translation automation as an integral part of the translator competence framework.