Communicative Competence of an Ideal Spanish Translator

A Spanish translator´s competence is measured by the knowledge and skill with which he or she conducts a Spanish translation. Because translation is defined as the communicative transaction executed within a social framework which involves the reassignment of equivalent meaning from source text to target text, the competence possessed by a Spanish translator can be considered to be communicative competence. Professional Spanish translators generally have higher levels of communicative competence than those of the average communicator, possessing specific grammatical, sociolinguistic, discursive, and transfer skills.

The Grammatical Competence of an Ideal Spanish Translator

An ideal Spanish translator possesses particular grammatical skills, which include knowledge of the rules of Spanish and other language involved in the translation, vocabulary and word formation, pronunciation, spelling, and sentence structure. In short, an ideal Spanish translator should have the knowledge and skills required to comprehend and convey the exact meaning of a Spanish text.

The Sociolinguistic Competence of an Ideal Spanish Translator

Sociolinguistic competence is the knowledge of and ability to generate and understand utterances appropriately in situational context of the two cultures, a skill that an ideal Spanish translator should definitely possess. This includes but is not limited to the general socio-historical context, constraints marked by the cognitive context, the mode, field, tenor, and status of the participants, and the purpose of the translation.

Discursive Competence of an Ideal Spanish Translator

This form of communicative competence relates to the ability to combine form and meaning to achieve unified texts in different genres in Spanish and other languages involved in Spanish translation. This unity depends on organization in form (the way in which expressions are linked structurally to assist interpretation of the text) and coherence in meaning (the relationships among the different meanings in a text like literal meanings, communicative functions, intertextuality).

Transfer Competence of the Ideal Spanish Translator

Transfer competence includes the translator´s mastery of communication strategies that facilitate transfer of meaning from the source language text to the target language text. This skill is helpful for improving communications, or for avoiding breakdowns in the text that would typically be caused by restrictive factors in actual communication or insufficient competence in one or more of the other components of communicative competence.