Personality Matters

Unique interaction between personality traits and translation process

The analysis of translated texts and investigations into the cognitive mechanisms involved in the process of translation are burgeoning areas of research in translation studies. Personality Matters ventures into a previously uncharted territory in its exploration of the psychological and cognitive characteristics of a translator. Combining psychology and translation process research, this groundbreaking study identifies personality traits that distinguish translators from non-translators, and shows that the translator’s personality matters in translation, especially in the process of self-revision. The individual translator thus stands central in Personality Matters – making this book a topical contribution to translation studies as it continues to evolve in taking account of the people behind the ubiquity of translation in the modern globalized world.

This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content).

List of tables

List of figures

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter 1: Personality perspectives: From psychology to Translation Studies

1.1. Introduction
1.2. The concept of personality in psychology
1.3. The trait approach: the quantitative studies of personality
1.3.1. Allport’s pioneering study of traits
1.3.2. Cattell’s application of factor analysis to trait studies
1.3.3. Eysenck’s three personality dimensions
1.3.4. Costa and McCrae’s Big Fivefactors
1.3.5. Ashton and Lee’s six personality dimensions
1.4. Jung’s personality typology: the qualitative studies of personality
1.5. Combining quantitative and qualitative approaches to the description of personality
1.6. Personality stability and change
1.7. From pure to applied psychology: relevant implementations of personality research
1.7.1. The impact of personality on academic performance
1.7.2. The role of personality in industrial and organizational psychology
1.7.3. The impact of personality on occupational performance
1.8. Review of research into the psychological aspects of the translator’s personality
1.8.1. Early conceptual views on the translator’s personality: 1960s–1970s
1.8.2. First empirical insights into the translator’s personality: 1980s–1990s
1.8.3. Interdisciplinary studies into the translator’s personality using the multi-method approach: since 2000
1.9. Conclusions

Chapter 2: The translator’s personality in translation process research

2.1. Introduction
2.2. Major research orientations in Translation Studies
2.3. The translator as the main agent in the translation process
2.4. Selected models of the translation process
2.4.1. Bell’s translation process model
2.4.2. Hönig’s translation process model
2.4.3. Kiraly’s translation process model
2.4.4. Wilss’s translation process model
2.4.5. Hansen’s translation process model
2.5. Evolution of methodology in translation process research
2.5.1. The first phase: explorations with think-aloud protocols
2.5.2. The second phase: narrowing the focus with keylogging and triangulation
2.5.3. The third phase: methodological integration and the introduction of eye-tracking
2.5.4. The fourth phase: embodied cognition and further dialogue between disciplines and methodologies
2.6. The role of the translator’s personality in translation competence and expertise development
2.6.1. The PACTE project: holistic research into translation competence and its acquisition
2.6.2. The TransComp project: longitudinal study into translation competence and its acquisition
2.6.3. Muñoz Martín’s situated construct of translation expertise
2.7. Conclusions

Chapter 3: Self-revision as a product-shaping stage of the translation process

3.1. Introduction
3.2. The concept of revision in writing process research
3.3. The concept of self-revision in translation process research
3.3.1. Why does self-revision occur?
3.3.2. How does self-revision occur?
3.3.3. When does self-revision occur?
3.3.4. What type of self-revision occurs?
3.4. The role of self-revision in translator profiling
Conclusions

Chapter 4: Relationship between the translator’s personality, translation process and product

4.1. Introduction
4.2. The aims of the study
4.3. Hypotheses
4.4. Methodological basis
4.5. Research design
4.6. Variables
4.6.1. Independent variables
4.6.2. Dependent variables
4.7. Participants
4.8. Tools and materials
4.8.1. Tools and materials related to the translation task
4.8.2. Tools and materials related to personality measurement
4.8.3. Self-report questionnaires
4.9. Experimental procedure
4.10. Data analysis
4.10.1. Translation process data analysis
4.10.2. Translation quality assessment
4.10.3. Personality data analysis
4.10.4. Statistical data analyses
4.11. Results of the experiment
4.11.1. Hypothesis 1
4.11.2. Hypothesis 2
4.11.3. Hypothesis 3
4.11.4. Hypothesis 4
4.11.5. Hypothesis 5
4.12. Results of the self-report questionnaires
4.12.1. Questions related to Hypothesis 1
4.12.2. Questions related to Hypotheses 2–4
4.12.3. Questions related to Hypothesis 5
4.13. General discussion of results
4.13.1. Limitations of the study and further research avenues
4.13.2. Didactic implications

Concluding remarks

Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Appendix D
Appendix E
Appendix F
Abstract
References
Index

Olha Lehka-Paul

Olha Lehka-Paul is assistant professor at the Faculty of English, Department of Psycholinguistic Studies, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland.