Abstract:

Translation, as a utilizer and a tool for communication, is closely related to the norms, and norms change and evolve, following social dynamics. The translation process is transmuted in along with the necessities of the ensuing machinery of the day. Norms also frame translator training whose primary purpose is to equip students with translation competence. In the educational process, we try to develop awareness about the norms surrounding translation phenomenon through the practices designed on academic basis. In this context, applied courses in translator training provide an environment where translation actuality and industry dynamics become transparent. Each specialized translation course in the curriculum contributes to understanding the conditions specific to the relevant field and managing translation processes considering translation methodology. Medical translation, which is one of the specialization courses in translation, offers students the opportunity to test their knowledge in an authentic translation market environment, thanks to the variety of text types the field offers. This study aims to evaluate the contribution of the medical translation course to translation competence, based on the views of Andrew Chesterman, who examined the norms surrounding translation under the headings of "professional norms" and "expectation norms". In this direction, we examined the departments' curricula that provide translator training at the undergraduate level in Turkey. We determined the place of the medical translation course in translator training and discussed the specific differences among variations. Afterwards, we tried to spot the contribution of the medical translation course to translation competence. We also examined and evaluated possible ways to plan the application in the course. In this context, an exemplary medical translation practice is presented based on Christiane Nord's translational text analysis model. With this practice, we tried to substantiate the functional role of the medical translation course in gaining translation competence.

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