Prise de conscience de la situation de communication en traduction

This paper presents a combined think-aloud protocol (TAP) and Translog (keystroke-logging) study. It has been claimed that compared to professional translators non-professionals are less conscious of the communication situation of the target text. Testing this assumption is the main object of this paper. Eight native-speaking Norwegians were given the same French source texts and the same translation brief. Five of these were professional translators, the other three non-professionals. While working the translators were keystroke-logged as well as observed when thinking aloud. Except in the case of one professional translator, the analysis of the TAPs seems to support the claim that there is a difference of awareness between the two groups. However, a detailed analysis of the Translog files of one non-professional reveals that his process profile actually resembles those of the professionals. The triangulation of the TAPs and the Translog files thus gives more information about the process than the TAPs alone. It is also shown that a higher degree of awareness of the communication situation is associated with higher quality translations.