JAITS＜研究ノート＞

A Discursive Analysis of Novice-Professional Differences in
Problem Solving Approaches to Translation Challenges
Izumi Inoue
(Okinawa International University)

Abstract
This paper reports the discursive analysis of novice-professional differences in problem-solving
approaches to translation challenges. A semi-structured interview was individually conducted with
16 professionals and 16 student translators. Key interview questions were prepared and sevensimulated scenarios were created. During the interview, each participant was asked to describe
how they would address the ill-defined scenarios and further questions were asked, where
necessary, as to what kind of solution(s) they would employ and their justifications of the chosen
solution(s).
Overall, professional participants were prone to approach to the challenges in a holistic andflexible manner (e.g. the use of a wide range of solutions with consideration to other stakeholders),
while novice participants generally indicated their lack of understanding of translator’s roles andconfidence about their competencies. The findings in this study can be a useful reference toaccommodate this aspect of problem solving in translator education classrooms.

1. Introduction
Building on the research findings concerning novice-professional differences in these kind oftranslating challenges (see Inoue, 2008: hereinafter called ‘Study 1’), the present study aims toinvestigate novice-professional differences in their problem-solving approaches in response to the
key translating challenges, which were identified in Study 1.
This paper shares the same motivation as in Study 1 - addressing the growing concerns about
mismatches between learning outcomes, which are gained through professional education andworkplace requirements, and searching for key aspects of translator expertise, which enables novice
translators to acquire translator expertise required in the real world in an effective manner. To avoid
the overlap of key conceptual frameworksi presented and discussed in the earlier study, this paper
places a particular focus on discussing key issues concerning problem solving in the realm of

INOUE Izumi, “A Discursive Analysis of Novice-Professional Differences in Problem Solving
Approaches to Translation Challenges,” Invitation to Interpreting and Translation Studies, No. 20,

2019. pages 59-78. ©by the Japan Association for Interpreting and Translation Studies

『通訳翻訳研究への招待』No.20 (2019)translation.

2. Theoretical Framework

2.1 Social Change and Problem Solving
Society is transforming itself into a more global society where information sharing and theadvancement of technology generates the further need of creating new knowledge and expertise. In
other words, as Masukawa (2016) posits, we are facing a dramatic paradigm shift towards theincreasing criticality of creating and configuring new knowledge. The act of adequately dealing
with new knowledge can also be considered as ‘ill-defined’ problem. The international survey on
workplace problems conducted by OECD (2013a) indicates, for instance, the clear contrast of
routine and non-routine problems, stressing the need of workers’ ability to adequately deal with thelatter. As Spector and Kinshuk (2011) point out, those professionals who are able to perform
successfully in such circumstances tend to be increasingly given more merit in the professional
community in a wide range of domains (e.g. legal and business management). This also suggeststhat there is an increasing demand for ‘professional problem solvers’ (p. 3) in professional domains
in which such professionals are sought out for tasks with high level of complexity. Despite theparadigm shift as described above, professional and higher education in general has been criticizedfor their failure to develop problem-solving expertise (e.g. ACNielsen Research Services, 2000;
Boyatzis, Stubbs, and Taylor, 2002).
As seen above, it is clear that problem solving has now become the one of the critical aspects inprofessional communities, including translating. Professional practitioners have now come acrossroads, in regards to the need to constantly develop and acquire problem-solving skills requiredin their ever-changing field of expertise.

2.2 Problem Solving in Translation Studies
Despite such a paradigm shift, how has the aspect of problem solving in translation been treated inTranslation Studies? As Wotjak (1997) and O’Brien (2013) postulate, discussions and researchconcerning problem solving in this domain are still in their infancy. Nevertheless, in a limited
number of relevant literature, translation is considered a problem-solving activity. Sirén andHakkrainen (2002) and Beckwith (2016) are of the view that translation tasks are ill-defined innature. They indicate that the ill-defined nature of translation also stems from the multiplicity ofsolutions for one problem. In a more concrete sense, there are only a few limited models of the
problem-solving process available in translation. Wilss (1996: 118) proposes six stages of problem
solving – i.e. problem identification, problem clarification, information search, deliberation of how
to proceed, a moment of choice, and evaluation of translation results. Krings (1996) proposes four
sets of problem-solving strategies – i.e. retrieval, monitoring, decision-making, and reduction
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strategies. Interestingly, there are a couple of striking differences between Wilss (1996) and Krings(1996). Firstly, the former incorporates the comprehensive profile of problem solving, while thelatter tends to place a particular focus on the issue of equivalence suggesting that it does notaccommodate any problem beyond the textual level. As Shih (2015) points out, another striking
difference concerns their reversibility of the process. While the former clearly displays its nature ofproceeding from one stage to another, Krings indicates that the problem representation does not needto take place prior to proceeding to the subsequent strategies.
The limited quantity of research, as briefly illustrated above, suggests that inquiry into
problem-solving in translation is still underdeveloped, and largely based on ‘academic quality
criteria only’ (Jääskeläinen, 2012: p. 8), or conceptual framework without underlying empiricalevidence. Some exceptions include the extensive empirical studies of PACTE Group’s (Process in
the Acquisition of Translation Competence and Evaluation: 1998, 2000), and some experimental
studies (using think-aloud protocols) on uncertainty management (e.g. Tirkkonen-Condit, 2000;
Angelone, 2009). PACTE Group’s model indicates the centrality of strategic sub-competence intranslation competence, and the sub-competence is closely related to a translator’s problem-solving
ability. However, further holistic investigations are required to elucidate how problem solving
comes into play in translation. The latter studies from the perspective of uncertainty management
have generally identified novice-professional differences in regards to professionals’ superior
monitoring ability (i.e. reflection on previous situations, planning, and deliberate control over awhole process of the uncertainty management). Nevertheless, as O’Brien (2013) puts forward, theclarification of the roles played by problem solving in translation and the further elucidation of the
problem-solving processes in translation need to be developed in both conceptual and empiricalsenses all the while drawing on conceptual and empirical information. In this sense, the present
study serves as a means of identifying translators’ problem-solving approaches, which can becompared with translation performance in future studies.
On the basis of the fact that problem solving appears to play a pivotal role in translating, and theneed of empirically investigating problem-solving approaches in the context of translating, a study
on the investigation of novice-professional differences in their problem-solving approaches totranslation was designed, as illustrated in the subsequent section. The study intends not only tomake an attempt to elucidate the profile of problem solving in translating but also to play a role tocall for the need of accommodating the aspect of problem solving in the context of translator
education.

3. Methodology
Drawing on the theoretical framework presented above, the study carried out in concurrence withthis paper aims to discursively examine novice-professional differences in problem-solving
approaches. More concretely speaking, there were two primary research questions:61

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1. How would novice and professional translators identify and addresstranslating challenges?
2. How are problem-solving approaches to translation challenges similar or different
between novice and professional translators?
The first research question aims to understand the ways in which real-life challenges would be
identified and addressed. The second question aims primarily to inquire into common and different
ways of solving translation problems between novice and professional translators. This is on thebasis of an assumption that the investigation of novice-professional ‘gaps’ in terms of the ways inwhich the two groups tackle challenges can be crucial in assisting novices to develop the necessarycomponents of translator expertise.
To answer these questions, this study designed and implemented semi-structured individualinterviews with novice and professional translators. Detailed information is presented in thesubsequent sections.

3.1 Participants
The categories of participants in this study were based on the principles of purposive sampling.
Prospective professional participants, all NAATIii -accredited translators in Australia, were
contacted for their cooperation with the individual interviews. Those who were either not available
or based outside New South Wales were approached for possible email interviews. As a result, four
professionals agreed to participate in face-to-face interviews while twelve preferred the form ofemail correspondence. Novice translators who were undertaking their postgraduate studies ontranslation and interpreting at a university in Australia at the time of conducting this study werealso approached. As a result, sixteen novice translators agreed to participate in the face-to-faceinterviews. All the participants are specialized in translating from English into Japanese, and theirlanguage A was Japanese.

3.2 Research Design
While a narrative can be realised by various forms, a semi-structured individual interview was
introduced for the present study. In a semi-structured interview, an investigator usually prepares
scripted questions at hand, but these questions are used as a guide to initiate discourse with aninterviewee. Additional questions were asked where the investigator felt it was necessary. One
major benefit of an individual interview is to allow a researcher to gain access to an individual’s
in-depth subjective experiences, which is provided in the individual’s own language (Burns 2000).
In the present study, there were one independent variable and three dependent variables. The
independent variable was translator expertise defined based on years of engaging in professionaltranslating activities. This results in having two different cohorts – professional translators andnovice translators, as was illustrated in the previous section. The dependent variables were: a) how
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participants would analyse situations with ill-defined problems; b) how they would address theill-defined problems; and c) why they consider their approaches being legitimate (i.e. thejustification of their decisions).
Providing authenticated scenarios with the deliberate incorporation of some authenticallyproblematic components considered to be valuable. This is based on the assumption that anauthenticated scenario is likely to trigger participants’ existing knowledge (both declarative andprocedural) and experiences (Gubrieum and Holstein, 2001). Moreover, these can be the core ofnarratives to draw out the ways in which they would solve key problems. In the face of new
knowledge and/or situations through this form of interview, it was anticipated that the ways inwhich participants would solve problems in response to such situations may emerge. Draft
scenarios were first created by the investigator in which all the key challenges that were identified
in Study 1 (i.e. discursive analysis of group interviews concerning key challenges for novice andprofessional translators) were incorporated. At the same time, attempts were made to reflect
problematic situations emerged from the group interviews in Study 1 in these scenarios in order tomake the situation as authentic as possible. The second opinions of their validity were furthersought from two English-into-Japanese professional translators (see the scenarios in Appendix 1).

3.3 Procedure
Recruitments of Participants and Arrangements of Interviews. Both professional and novice
participants were approached by the investigator by emails, which was exactly the same way as in
the previous study. The only difference was that the investigator and the participants negotiated thelocations and times of the interviews since the interviews were conducted on a one-to-one basis.
Implementation of Individual Interviews. All of the face-to-face interviews were carried out in a
private room at a university in Sydney, external locations or over emailsiii, depending on
participants’ preferences. Most of the interviews lasted between 30 minutes and 1 hour. Theinterviews were initiated with a brief overview of this phase of the research and detailed
instructions provided by the investigator. During the implementation of the interviews, eachparticipant was first asked to read through seven scenarios (see Appendix 1). Participants were thenasked to describe how they would approach each of the scenarios if they were to be under thesecircumstances. The investigator asked questions with an aim to elaborate the participant’s exact
meaning, obtained further details if necessary, and elicited the reasons behind their likely actions.
Conversations during the interviews were digitally recorded using an IC recorder and this was used
for the purposes of transcription of discourse and analysis in the subsequent stages of the study.
Analysis. The digitally recorded series of discourse were first transcribed. The corrected data werethen analysed using several strategies in reference to grounded theory. As to the use of NVivoiv, thedata was first grouped together by identifying recurring themes concerning the ways in whichchallenges from each scenario were identified and addressed from problem-solving perspectives in63

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order to categorize these themes. During this step, an initial preliminary coding was made to
produce free codes where key concepts were named rather loosely and freely. These were thenrecoded to refine categories and sub-categories in a more distinctive way. Recurring themes werethen cross-referenced to other scenarios, and common and/or different ways in which challenges
were identified and addressed were sought. These findings were then compared with analysed datafrom novice translators’ perspectives in which the same deductive system of data refinement was
employed to examine similarities and differences from those of professional translators. The
similarities and differences between novice and professional participants were identified while
different contextual settings in different scenarios were taken into consideration, and also themesthat were unique to each group were also pinned down.

4. Findings
This section reports and discusses findings regarding two key components: a) summary
descriptions of key recurring themes concerning problem-solving approaches, and b) similarities
and differences in problem-solving approaches between the professional and novice cohorts. Within
the confines of this article, it is not possible to present a complete profile of the results. Instead, I
will highlight key areas of novice-professional differences with representative excerpts of
discourses by novice and professional participants. It should also be noted that the findings reported
below does not intend to generalize novice-expert differences due to its qualitative nature but topresent possible aspects of novice-expert differences emerged from the present study.

4.1 Dealing with Risks - Accepting or Declining an Offered Job
Identifying and addressing risks here play a role as a preventative measure and is a critical
divergent point that governs whether or not a translator accepts an offered job. In terms ofnovice-professional differences, a few attributes as points of decisions emerged – domain-specificknowledge, time constraints, and cost-effectiveness of a job.
Domain-Specific Knowledge. Professional participants were prone to express their intentions to
decline the job without much hesitation when the job is beyond their domain-specific knowledge.
They were aware of the limitation of their capability to produce an appropriate quality of an
end-products. As Excerpt 1 below typifies, the participant would ensure to judge the extent towhich an ST poses difficulty before making a decision of accepting or declining a job.
Excerpt 1: In general, I do not accept jobs that are very technical in the field that I am not very
familiar with. (…) However, if the document is aimed at general public and is not very technical innature, I may accept the job. (Professional 5)64

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Novice discourses, by contrast, suggested that they perceived that professionals are supposed totake on and complete a job rather than considering potential risks for which they will have to beliable, as exemplified in Excerpt 2 below.
Excerpt 2: I would try to find it out. I would look for a word based on its nuance but I wonder what
I would do if there are so many words that I have no idea of their meanings. (Novice E)

Timeframe of a Job.

In situations where a translator is required to complete a job even if thegiven time frame is impossibly tight, novice-professional discrepancies were apparent in termsof their decisions. As Excerpt 3 below displays, a careful consideration of deciding whether or
not a job should be accepted before informing such a decision to a client was perceived to be
essential for professionals.
Excerpt 3: If I think I won’t be able to deal with translating a text appropriately, I would try to
make a judgement as early stage as possible because finding another translator would bepossible. (Professional 3)
Novice participants, by contrast, were inclined to attempt to complete the job within an agreed
timeframe (see Excerpt 4, for example, below). Such a stance by novices appeared to stem fromtheir concerns about a risk of losing subsequent job opportunities with the client.
Excerpt 4: Because I am here in a situation where I’ve got to do this job, I have no choice but
get it done. I will do my best before the deadline comes. (Novice H)
Such a difference appeared to be based upon their different perceptions of ‘risks’. For
professionals, the most essential point in response to such a situation was to carefully anticipate
the extent to which an offered job can be completed within an agreed timeframe at the very
beginning of translating process. Novice participants, by contrast, did not appear to possess
practical knowledge of the importance of making such a judgement prior to accepting or
declining a job.
Cost Effectiveness of an Offered Job. As described well in Excerpts 5 and 6 below by theprofessionals, they appeared to pay attention to the correlation between time/effort and monetary
reward. As Gile (1995) describes, one of the essential aspects for a professional translator in thetranslation business is to receive financial reward in exchange for the translation services that they
have provided. If a translation job fails the above ‘give and take’ exchange, it means that the job is
not financially meaningful for the translators. It would thus be natural for them to be reactive to this65

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aspect of the challenge. No novice participant referred to this issue.
Excerpt 5: It also depends on how much I get paid taking the job in determining whether to go
through all the trouble of learning about the machine or turning the job down all together.
(Professional 6)
Excerpt 6: As it would take a lot of time for me to complete the translation as I have to find out
correct meaning of such technical terms, it would be better for the client to find and use theprofessional translator, which would save both time and money. (Professional2)
The above results emerged as key factors for a translator to make a decision on accepting or
declining an offered job prior to the commencement of translating. It is also worth stressing that the
professional participants displayed their confidence about addressing risks in deciding whether or
not an offered job should be accepted based on their knowledge of acceptable rules in theprofessional community and potential risks derived from a situation.

4.2 Problem-Solving Approaches AFTER Accepting a Job Offer
This sub-section primarily concerns novice-professional differences in problem solving AFTER
accepting an offered job. Based on data analysis, the following four key areas ofnovice-professional differences emerged: the achievement of accurate comprehension of a Source
Text (ST); addressing risks derived from the interpersonal aspects of challenges; searchingnecessary information; and achieving adequate readability in a Target Text (TT). Each of the key
areas will be presented and discussed below.
Accurate Comprehension of an ST. Here, a focus is on the ways in which translators attempt to
avoid risks which are derived from the misinterpretation of the meanings and functions of an ST,
and their impact on translators and other stakeholders who are involved in the job. The issue of‘accuracy’ recurred frequently in professionals’ discourses. What stood out is that they were prone
to take a clear-cut approach in making a judgement of the extent to which they should maintainaccuracy. Some of the novice participants, on the other hand, exhibited swings between theachievement of the two axes. The comments below by the professional participants clearly
displayed the importance of maintaining accuracy in a TT as a translator’s role.
Excerpts 7:(Additions and omissions are things that) a translator is not supposed to do’ (Professional 14)
It is an obligation of a translator to try to keep the original tone’ (Professional 2);
Never change the content is a translator’s role (Professional15);
I don’t think it is appropriate to omit them (exaggerated expressions). (Professional 3)
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While some novice participants shared the above view, some other novices, as seen in Excerpt 8
below, exhibited their swings between these two axes. This may suggest that the novice participant
shifts to the achievement of the appropriate readability for target readers, although they were awareof the fact that achieving an accurate TT is also an essential requirement in translating. Such aswing by the novice translators appeared to be partly due to their lack of expertise in achieving
accurate comprehension of an ST and its realisation in a TT. This is because a translator is unable to
make such a judgement unless their knowledge and skills in these two poles have reached at theappropriate level to do so. Another possible reason would be the extent to which a translator
possesses appropriate knowledge of ‘translator’s roles’, or norms of translation (Toury, 1995),
which are widely accepted amongst professional translators.
Excerpt 8: Well… In translating, I pay attention to the meaning, but my translation swings byconsidering small things. I think it is hard to say which (accuracy or naturalness) should beprioritised. (Novice E)
Another aspect emerged only from the professional side which concerned a relationship between
the achievement of an accurate TT and the consideration of risks. As Excerpt 9 below exhibits, thistranslator’s decision appeared to stem from the need of gaining necessary information to achieve
accurate comprehension of an ST. Gaining necessary information in this way also enables thetranslator to avoid a situation where they are liable for unnecessary responsibilities.
Excerpt 9: I would try to contact a technician from the company and have them explain what isunclear to me in the manual. If I have time, I would go to their plant to have an actual look at themachine as they explain how it operates. I believe a translator should make this kind of efforts
because a manual of this sort needs to be translated clearly and precisely for safety reasons.
(Professional 12)
On the contrary, as Excerpt 10 below displays, achieving appropriate readability can be prioritisedover the maintenance of accuracy on some occasions. This professional participant judged that thegiven situation does not involve the same degree of accuracy as that in Excerpt 10. The text typeand functional role of an ST appeared to hold an important meaning in making such varying
decisions. As, Wilss (1982), Reiss and Vermeer (1984), and Nord (2005) suggest, translator’s
decisions concerning the above issue are likely to vary depending on the text type of an ST and
instructions given by a client.
Excerpt 10: I would alter my translation if I judge that the text could make the receptor unpleasant.
Because this is not a kind of business document, I would judge that free translation is acceptable.
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Of course, it would be better to let the client know about this. (Professional 8)
Building a Sound Relationship with a Client. This area of novice-professional differences
represents translator’s perceptions and decision-making on how best a translator can establish asound relationship with a client in engaging in a translation job. The first identified aspect
concerned consideration to client’s preferences. In the translating process in a real-life situation, atranslator is likely to experience situations where a decision cannot be made without reference towriter’s or client’s preferences, and intentions encompassed in a job. What is important, therefore,
is to clarify what problematic segments of an ST are meant and what kind of preferences a client
possesses. Narratives on this issue both by novices and professionals were prone to centre on thestylistic feature of an ST and a TT. A distinct novice-professional difference, however, wereidentified on this issue. As represented in Excerpt 11 below, the professional narrative highlighted
the importance of confirming with a client concerning their stylistic preferences. This appeared tosuggest that gaining precise knowledge of the purpose of a translation job from a client isnecessary.
Excerpt 11: You should liaise with the client. Explain that the source text does not convert very wellinto Japanese and that the job is really copywriting. Ask if you can have some freedom to come up
with a Japanese version, still based on the English original of course but more appropriate inJapanese. (Professional 11)
Novice narratives, by contrast, exhibited that they would rely on their own judgements. The most
explicit example of this by novices is evident from Excerpt 12 below, which displays no option of
consulting with a client. On the issue of the use of katakana words, the dependence solely upon
one’s own decisions can be problematic because it may pose difficulty in the incomprehensibility ofan equivalent term in a TT for target readers. Moreover, if footnotes were overused, the segment of
the TT may hinder target readers’ desire to read the TT because target readers would have to referfrequently to the footnotes.
Excerpt 12: (Concerning translating cultural-specific terms) I will make it in katakana plus afootnote. With slangs, I would make it in Katakana with an explanation. I think this way would bebetter because I would like to maintain the ambience of the original. (Novice C)
The second aspect concerned the issue of clarifying the writer’s intended message in an ST with aclient. It is certain that this also links to the kind of target readership which a client wishes toachieve. As Excerpt 13 below clearly displays, the professional’s motivation for client clarification
seemed to be the need of achieving full comprehension of messages conveyed by the ST writer.
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Excerpt 13: Unless understanding what an original text says, I won’t be able to translate the text. I
would first contact a writer or a person in charge and check the meanings of segments that are
difficult to understand because of its abstract nature. (Professional 1)
Novice participants, by contrast, exhibited their ‘flexibility’ in addressing such problems. Their
principles in addressing these sorts of problems displayed swings between addressing the problems
through the confirmation of the writer’s intentions and dealing with the problems by themselves.
This stance by novices is clearly illustrated by the Excerpts 14 and 15 below.
Excerpt 14: If time is allowed, I would ask the writer for providing precise meanings. (Novice C)
Excerpt 15: I would translate it as it is. I am not supposed to change the content. I don’t think it isalso a good idea to improve the quality of the text by myself. (Novice I)
Such a variable response seems to suggest that some novices have not become aware of themeaning and the value of confirming writer/client intentions to the same degree as the professionals
indicated. Such a disparity is caused by differences in the extent to which a translator is aware ofpotential risks that are avoidable with pre-emptive action of this kind. The comments by theprofessionals suggest that a translator should not be over-dependent upon a client, but appropriate
knowledge of when and how a translator can communicate with a client is very necessary so longas one wishes to be considered as a competent practitioner by the client.
The third key aspect concerns the importance of giving a positive impression of a translator to aclient. It has been identified that this aspect is mainly motivated by translators’ efforts andcredibility in conjunction with taking client’s standpoints into consideration. This professional in
Excerpt 17 below considered avoiding risk in which a translator gives a negative impression of
one’s translator expertise to a client. The use of a ‘translator’s note’ is indicated here as a way ofproviding further comments in which processes and reasons behind the translator’s decisions are
justified. While clarifying translator decisions could be useful, this professional seemed to be wellaware of the risk that it may give a negative impression of the translator’s expertise to a client, as
can be identified from the Excerpt. No relevant discourse was identified among novice participants.
Excerpt 17: If the position is ‘Manager’, make it ‘マネージャー, and add a brief description of theposition with consent from the client. Sometimes a translator’s note might be used. (but need to becareful not to sound like making excuses). (Professional 9)
As Excerpt 18 below suggests, this professional would adopt the option of visiting a client directly
to obtain necessary information. As this professional illustrated, this method is likely to contributeto also gain a positive impression of one’s translator expertise from the client because a client may
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perceive that the translator is genuinely committed to completing the offered job in a professionalmanner.
Excerpt 18: If I go and see the real material at their venue, I can show my sincerity and seriousness
to the job. This can contribute to a kind of promoting myself. They are highly likely to be accepting
if I show attitude in which I don’t wish to mistranslate, and I regard their product very important.
(Professional 4)
The next aspect concerned translator’s perception of client personalities and their preferred waysof communication accordingly. In some cases, professionals need to consider carefully how theyshould communicate with a client based on the client’s personality. This issue was only raised byprofessionals. The following two narratives suggest that some professional translators seem to takeclient’s personalities into account in clarifying unclear matters. The professionals displayed theimportance for a translator to be flexible in communicating with a client depending on the client’s
personalities.
Excerpt 19: I would ask questions about the inconsistency of the text with what has been produced
previously to the client if he/she is cooperative and not arrogant. If he/she is not cooperative andarrogant, on the other hand, I would simply translate as it is with leaving unclear matters in atranslator’s note. (A translator is also a human.) (Professional 9)
Excerpt 20: I would check with the client if I think that the client seems ok to ask. But there areclients who are not willing to be criticized or questioned what they write. In this case, I would
translate accordingly. (Professional 9)
Achieving Appropriate Readability in a TT. In solving problems in terms of achieving appropriate
readability in a TT, two specific issues emerged, i.e. achieving adequate readability in a TT; andconsidering target readers’ expectations.
The first aspect concerned the ways in which a translator makes an attempt to achieve adequate
readability in a TT, which is suitable for a particular target readership. As seen from Excerpts 21
below, the first strategy was to provide additional information in the main body of a TT (rather thanas a footnote) in order to improve the readability of the TT. No narrative on this issue was identified
on the novice side. Both narratives shared a common basis: the use of katakana words and phrases
is not adequate enough to achieve readability for target readers if terms in an ST are not widely
known amongst Japanese target readers (e.g. a batsman, a wicket used in the context of the sportcricket). This is because the use of katakana words and phrases could hinder target readers’ precise
understanding of the original messages. Thus, professionals’ consideration of the appropriate
readability of a TT seemed to stem from the ways in which they would solve problems arising from70

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the viewpoint of target readers.
Excerpts 21: As for newly-established words, I would first ask the client for their meanings, andthen provide explanations about the words in footnotes. I would use katakana or English as they
are, and when initially mentioning them I would provide brief explanations of them in bracketsiv.
(Professional 9)
I would not simply put the newly-established words in katakana, though, as they are“newly-established” and most Japanese would not understand what they mean if they wereexpressed in katakana, and that might cause confusion for them. (Professional 6)
It would be worth noting that the strategy taken by the professional displayed below cannot
guarantee its usefulness in all kinds of situation. This is because such a solution cannot be applied
to all text types. In translating a literary text, for instance, substituting information in the main bodyof a TT would not usually be a preferred action because this could distract target readers’concentration in following the plot. Instead, the use of footnotes was suggested by the professional
participant as seen in Excerpt 22 below.
Excerpt 22: I think that readers may not be able to understand the meanings unless they haveenough background knowledge about cricket. In these cases, I would provide explanations about
cricket as a footnote. (Professional 3)
In summary, the above two specific issues suggest that professionals sought to estimate very
carefully the expectation of target readers, making them feel as if they were reading an ST as itwere in an English original.
Information search. The importance of information search in the translating process appears to be
widely-accepted among the translation community as the development and pervasiveness of theinternet advances. Relevant narratives suggest that translators generally employ a wide range of
methods to collect information for the purposes of both the comprehension of an ST and translating
to produce a TT. The following descriptions illustrate the kinds of method that novice andprofessional translators were likely to adopt, i.e. 1) using information provided by authoritative
sources; 2) seeking assistance from professionals; and 3) directly going to a site to gain
domain-specific information. The reasons behind the use of such methods are also presented.
Some of the novices and professionals drew on information provided by authoritative sources.
This includes, for example, governmental organisations particularly when they were seeking
necessary background information or widely-accepted translation equivalences (e.g. organizational
names, and the names of positions) in Japanese. Those translators in Australia, in particular, tend to71

『通訳翻訳研究への招待』No.20 (2019)

make use of such sources because the use of tools like dictionaries do not necessarily provide
appropriate equivalences in the Australian context. The use of authoritative sources as a means of
information search appeared to stem from a belief that information distributed by officialorganisations is generally trustworthy. As seen from Excerpt 23 below, this professional goes
further indicating the possibility of a direct contact, where necessary. S/he also stresses theimportance of the careful consideration of appropriate ways in which a translator contacts such anorganisation. Such a stance seemed consistent with the previously identified perception of
appropriate ways of communicating with a client. The only novice-professional difference
emerging from these narratives was that, as Excerpt 24 exhibits, this novice did not light on such a
way of contacting an organisation. This may suggest the novice’s lack of knowledge about how
appropriately a translator needs to contact such an organisation.
Excerpt 23: I would contact the organization by an email because staff there could feel nuisance aswell as the fact that they are busy. According to my past experiences, I have been able to receive
their response in 90% of cases when I inquired about this by emailing in a polite way. (Professional
4)
Excerpt 24: I would collect information as much as possible from websites including the company
to understand the nature of the position. I would then apply an equivalent position in Japan.
(Novice H)
The second aspect, i.e. professional assistance, concerns a situation where a translator requires
expertise possessed by a professional in a particular domain (e.g. an engineer, and a medical
practitioner) and asks for another translator to work together on the translation job. The
professionals appeared to possess knowledge of the most appropriate person to seek for assistancein a given circumstance. None of the novices, by contrast, indicated the idea of seeking professional
assistance.
As exemplified in Excerpt 25 below, the usefulness of seeking a fellow translator’s assistance was
identified among professionals only. This professional, in particular, appeared to acknowledge thevalue of the expertise that a fellow translator possesses on the ground that not only does thismethod provides domain-specific knowledge necessary to accomplish a translation job, but also
one’s expertise in translation can be utilised by the initial translator. It is also worth noting that the
professional narratives were consistent with the concept of ‘opportunity cost’. The participant
considered that gaining necessary knowledge was ‘beneficial’ and its impact on the translator’s
income was a ‘cost’ due to the fact that the benefit gained from solely engaging in the translation
job without the colleague’s assistance is compensated. Consequently, this translator consideredgaining client’s trust as an important outcome because this may contribute to gaining subsequent
offers of translation jobs.
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A Discursive Analysis of Novice-Professional Differencesin Problem Solving Approaches to Translation Challenges

Excerpt 25: If I can find another translator who has the necessary technical knowledge, I would
explain the situation and ask for his/ her help for translation. In that case, I would be obliged tosacrifice my earnings from this job. (Professional 10)
Much of the professional discourses referred to the method of seeking assistance from a
professional who is specialised in one or more specific domains. As represented in Excerpt 26
below, the professionals expressed their intention to ask for such a professional’s assistance in orderto gain necessary domain-specific knowledge. It is also noteworthy in that the participant
highlighted the importance of making the utmost effort to gain a full understanding of an ST,
particularly when the content of the text poses risks in terms of user safety. There was no relevant
discourse on the novice side.
Excerpt 26: I would try to contact a technician or anyone who is knowledgeable of the machinefrom the company that produces it and have them explain what is unclear to me in the manual. I
believe a translator should make such effort as a manual of this sort must be translated clearly andprecisely for safety reasons. (Professional 6)
The third method of directly going to the site to gain domain-specific knowledge was discussed by
one professional only. In a different manner from the use of other resources as described above, thisapproach involves a translator learning directly how an object (e.g. a piece of machinery), whichappears in an ST, actually works. As seen from Excerpt 27 below, such a direct learning method islikely to allow a translator to obtain in an effective way more concrete and precise knowledge ofthe object. This method seemed to suggest one way of displaying one’s expertise through making
such an extra effort.
Excerpt 27: In the whole morning, I touched with parts, used them and assembled them. Having
taken a note, I was gradually getting a general idea about the product, and this made me translate
the text easier. I found from this experience that I should never be lazy. If a client is in Japan, I
don’t accept a job if I cannot look at a product directly. Even receiving images electronically cannot
make my translation good. In terms of jobs related to machines, if a user does not handle itappropriately, this may result in very serious injury. Therefore, I never undertake jobs unless I candirectly touch and understand by myself. (Professional 4)

5. Discussion
Through the analysis of narrative accounts as reported above, the following overall characteristics
have emerged in terms of novice-expert differences.
First of all, there were shared views amongst expert translators concerning managing risks,73

『通訳翻訳研究への招待』No.20 (2019)illustrating explicitly different characteristics from that of novices. Experts possessed a wide rangeof underlying knowledge and reflective principles to support their identification of potential risks
and decision-making processes. By contrast, novice translators on the whole possessed inadequate
knowledge of those ‘norms’ accepted in the professional community. This appears to be consistent
with what Rollet (2001) suggests as being a result of the experience of a wide range of successfully
handled situations which allows experts to organize and transfer their procedural knowledge topractice. This result may also stem from experts’ well-developed schema in which
previously-encountered problems are categorized in a more structured manner (e.g. Chi, Feltovichand Glaser, 1981; and Sweller, 1988). In short, they consider the effect of such risks/ problems andtheir treatment/avoidance not only for themselves but also for other stakeholders involved intranslation jobs.
The second aspect concerned the issue of ‘translator’s roles’, and here the data revealed distinct
novice-expert differences. Experts possessed definite perceptions of translator’s roles. Taking theissue of achieving both accuracy and readability between an ST and a TT as an example, experts
acknowledged this as a challenge, but generally agreed that prioritising the maintenance of ST
accuracy is a fundamental role of a translator. Novices, by contrast, indicated some evidence of aswing between these two poles. We may reasonably conclude that this principle among experts isresulted from experienced translating strategies and a degree of knowledge organizationinternalised through encountering a wide range of situations (Luconi and Tabatabai, 1999).
Moreover, such a perception of the translator’s roles held by experts can be supported by what
Candlin and Candlin (2002) point out as deriving from the concept of risk management according
to the institutional or organisational principles taken as a whole, rather than on any personal
perceptions. The finding from the novices in this respect, in contrast, appears to coincide with what
Simon and Simon (1978) refer to as the employment of a limited set of criteria occasioned by
novices’ lack of a range of knowledge and the immature development of their ability to organize
knowledge.
The third point concerns the issue of addressing interpersonal challenges. The novice-expert
difference is consistent with Toury’s (1995) position on the translator’s social roles, which is part oftranslation norms. Not only did experts indicate their intention of sharing necessary information
with a client, but they also have devised various means of establishing a sound relationship with aclient. Novices, on the other hand, tended to express their lack of knowledge of what and who are
involved in the real-world jobs. This issue is likely to contribute to the development of key
problem-solving abilities for novice translators in their learnings.
The last key issue concerns psychological factors. As was indicated from the novice translators’
sense of uncertainty throughout the study, such an aspect may underpin novice-expert differences.
As can be seen from Pym’s (1992) argument below, translators are required to make the best choiceamong several options, and in doing so, building novices’ confidence and competencies in this74

A Discursive Analysis of Novice-Professional Differencesin Problem Solving Approaches to Translation Challenges

respect appear to play a pivotal role in assisting novices with developing their translator expertise.

The ability to select only one target text from this series, quickly and with justified confidence, andto propose this target text as a replacement of a source text for a specified purpose and reader.
(Pym, 1992:281)

6. Implications of the Study
The present study sought to identify problem-solving approaches in translator expertise. The
findings in the present study can play a role as a milestone in the design of the content of translator
education, which help novice translators develop their translator expertise in the aspect of problem
solving. The results suggested the need of accommodating aspects of translator expertise where
novice-professional differences are apparent, and the prime importance of bringing the ‘reality’ oftranslating in translation classrooms.
These findings, however, require triangulation employing alternative research methods. In doingso, it would firstly be necessary to quantitatively cross-examine the present findings. with a larger
number of novice and professional translators. This is based on the fact that the present study was
qualitative in nature and such a quantitative investigation with a larger population of novice andexpert translators would strengthen the findings of the present study. The present descriptive studies
were based on participants reporting ‘what they THINK what they WOULD do’ in encountering
problems. This has the effect that not all of the narratives are necessarily consistent with ‘what theyACTUALLY do’ in reality. It is, therefore, necessary to examine the actual translating process andproduct in response to these real-world challenges.
………………………………………………………
About the author: Dr. Izumi Inoue is Associate Professor at College of Global & Regional Culture,
Okinawa International University. His research areas include translation pedagogy, expert performancestudies, learner assessment, and active learning.

Notes
i

Study 1 aimed to examine kind of translation challenges that novice and professional translators tend to encounter
through a series of group interviews. In terms of its literature review, a focus was here placed primarily on
novice-expert differences in the arena of Expert Performance Studies, and its relevance to the case of translation
was then discussed. For more details, please refer to Inoue (2008).
ii
National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters – any professional translators and interpreters inAustralia is required to hold the accreditation in order to work as professionals in the country.
iii
With the interviews with those participants who preferred over email correspondents, scenarios and prepared
questions were initially emailed, and further questions were asked in subsequent emails where necessary. While itdepended upon the contents of participants’ initial responses, there were 2 or 3 subsequent emails on average inorder to obtain sufficient information as close as other face-to-face interviews.
iv
A software which allows us to systematically code and categorize data.
v“brief explanations of them in brackets” was here meant by adding extra explanations in the main text of thetranslation next to the equivalent terms. By contract, “translator’s notes’ in Excerpt 17 was for the client, while“footnotes” mentioned in Expert 12 was for the sake of target readers.

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APPENDIX 1 AUTHENTICATED SCENARIOSThe following scenarios aim to bring about novice and professional translators’ ways of dealing withchallenges that they are likely to face. Please read the scenarios and answer the questions with asmuch detailed explanations as possible.
1. You have received an original English text and now realise that the text is not written by a native
speaker of English but by someone whose mother tongue is LOTE. You feel that the quality of thetext is poor and some parts of it are difficult to understand. In addition, the timeframe of this job isvery tight. How would you go about managing this translation challenge?

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2. You are translating a document which contains the names of quite a few Australian organisations
and the names of positions within these organisations. You have found that there is no comparable
equivalent of these names and these positions in Japan. How would you go about managing thistranslation challenge?
3. You have accepted the job of making a translation of a manual relating to the operation of amachine.

Although the sample provided beforehand did not seem to encompass challenges, as

you translate the actual manual, you realise that some segments of this manual contain very
technical terms and explanations of the machine processes, which extend beyond your technicalbackground knowledge.

Even if you refer to relevant references, their explanations still remainbeyond your knowledge and comprehension. How would you go about managing this translation
challenge?
4. You are currently undertaking a translation job in which you are being asked to translate a love
letter written by an Australian young male to his ex-girlfriend who is Japanese. Because the writer
would like to express his continuing love for her and regain the relationship as previously existed,
the original letter becomes rather passionate and emotional. How would you go about managing
this translation challenge?
5. You are currently working on a product brochure on computer software in which the writer uses
a significant number of exaggerated words and expressions as well as words and expressions that
do not seem to exist in Japanese, seemingly in order to make the text appear impressive and very
modern-sounding. How would you go about meeting this translation challenge?
6. You are currently translating an Australian novel in which there are a number of slang
expressions used only in Australia, as well as some specific cultural references. These include, forexample, terms which are restricted to sport including some jargon words used in relation to thegame of cricket.

How would you go about meeting this translation challenge?

7. You are currently working on a translation of a program of a performing arts event. In thisprogram, there is a text which introduces the art director’s past achievements and philosophy about
performing art. This text is difficult to understand because of its abstract nature. Moreover, what is
written here appears to be different from the views that the director has expressed up to this point.
How would you go about meeting this translation challenge?

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