Translator training in Flanders: the influence of the translation sector on teaching methods

Abstract

This article aims at clarifying how a series of innovative methodological guidelines have been outlined and implemented within the Department of Translation, Interpreting and Communication at Ghent University for the purposes of optimizing academic education of future professionals of the sector, as well as providing them with both the theoretical background demanded by the labour market and a thorough training. Such conclusions were the result of a survey and a number of roundtables organized in 2013 by a group of lecturers of Translation Studies at Ghent University and several experts and professionals of the translation sector in Flanders. The latter group included heads of Flemish translation agencies, as well as department coordinators of Belgian official organizations. The article points out how the translator profile alluded to by the working group differs from the institutional model designed by the EMT Expert Group, which has traditionally been taken as the main reference. The results and conclusions reported below can shed light not only on the translation policy adopted in Belgium, but also on the relationship between one of the minority languages of the EU, such as Dutch, and one of the most spoken languages in the world, such as Spanish.