Translator Status Signaling Mechanisms on Online Translator– Client Social Networking Sites (SNSs)

Öz

Consideration of translator status and professionalism has attracted increasing attention in the field of Translation Studies (TS) over the past decade. While translators have traditionally been seen as anonymous, invisible, and subservient in the TS literature, recent efforts to enhance the status of translators include the proposed use of status signals such as academic qualifications, work experience, and membership in professional organizations. To date, however, the signaling mechanisms in online communities, in particular online translator–client social networking sites (SNSs) where two-way communication between clients and translators is allowed, have been relatively understudied. This paper uses a Digital Translator Status Signaling (DTSS) framework developed for this study to analyze responses from a questionnaire survey completed by 257 translators. Results indicate that respondents attach the greatest importance to practical experience and demonstrable competence, whereas formal credentials and association memberships are considered less decisive. Accuracy, bilingual and domain-specific knowledge, and accountability for work quality are considered the most important indicators of professionalism. Status signaling mechanisms on SNSs are viewed as useful for differentiating professionals from amateurs, for building client trust, and for providing global accessibility to those lacking traditional credentials. In addition, the findings highlight a need for balanced and credible approaches to signaling translator professionalism on SNSs.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• translator status signaling mechanism
• translator status
• translator professionalism
• translator social networking sites
• online platforms

Kaynakça

1. Bassnett, Susan. 2002. Translation Studies. London: Routledge.
2. Chesterman, Andrew. 2021. “Virtue Ethics in Translation.” In The Routledge Handbook of Translation and Ethics, edited by Kaisa Koskinen and Nike K. Pokorn, 13–24. London: Routledge.
3. Creswell, John W. 2007. Qualitative Inquiry & Research Design: Choosing among Five Approaches. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
4. Dam, Helle V., and Karen Korning Zethsen. 2008. “Translator Status: A Study of Danish Company Translators.” The Translator 14 (1): 71–96. doi:10.1080/13556509.2008.10799250.
5. Drugan, Joanna. 2011. “Translation Ethics Wikified: How Far do Professional Codes of Ethics and Practice Apply to Non-professionally Produced Translation?” Linguistica Antverpiensia, New Series – Themes in Translation Studies 10:111–127. doi:10.52034/lanstts.v10i.280.
6. European Commission. 2022. European Master’s in Translation Competence Framework 2022. Accessed April 1, 2026. https://commission.europa.eu/news-and-media/news/updated-version-emt-competence-framework-now-available-2022-10-21_en.
7. European Committee for Standardization. 2006. EN 15038:2006 Translation Services—Service Requirements. Brussels.
8. Harris, Brian. 1977. “The Importance of Natural Translation.” Working Papers on Bilingualism, no. 12, 96–114.

9. Harris, Brian, and Bianca Sherwood. 1978. “Translating as an Innate Skill.” In Language Interpretation and Communication, edited by David Gerver and H. Wallace Sinaiko, 155–170. Oxford: Plenum.
10. Hlavac, Jim. 2013. “A Cross-National Overview of Translator and Interpreter Certification Procedures.” Translation & Interpreting 5 (1): 32–65. doi:10.12807/ti.105201.2013.a02.
11. Hurtado Albir, Amparo, ed. 2017. Researching Translation Competence by PACTE Group. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
12. Katan, David. 2009. “Translation Theory and Professional Practice: A Global Survey of the Great Divide.” Hermes, no. 42, 111–153. doi:10.7146/hjlcb.v22i42.96849.
13. Katan, David. 2011a. “Occupation or Profession: A Survey of the Translators’ World.” In Identity and Status in the Translational Professions, edited by Rakefet Sela-Sheffy and Miriam Shlesinger, 65–87. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
14. Katan, David. 2011b. “Status of Translators.” In Handbook of Translation Studies, edited by Yves Gambier and Luc van Doorslaer, 2:146–152. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
15. Kiraly, Donald. 2014. A Social Constructivist Approach to Translator Education: Empowerment from Theory to Practice. London: Routledge.
16. Liu, Fung-Ming Christy. 2026. “Status, Professionalism, and Professionalization.” In The Routledge Handbook of the Translation Industry, edited by Callum Walker and Joseph Lambert, 321–334. London: Routledge.
17. Mahmood, Hemn Mohammed Ali. 2024. “You Scratch My Back, and I’ll Scratch Yours: Feedback and Recommendation on Freelance Translators Recruitment.” Zanco Journal of Human Sciences 28 (3): 295–307. doi:10.21271/zjhs.28.3.17.
18. Munoz, Isabel, Michael Dunn, Steve Sawyer, and Emily Michaels. 2022. “Platform-mediated Markets, Online Freelance Workers and Deconstructed Identities.” In Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction 6 (CSCW2), Article 367: 1–24. doi:10.1145/3555092.
19. Pym, Anthony, David Orrego-Carmona, and Esther Torres-Simón. 2016. “Status and Technology in the Professionalisation of Translators. Market Disorder and the Return of Hierarchy.” The Journal of Specialised Translation, no. 25, 33–53. doi:10.26034/cm.jostrans.2016.298.
20. Pym, Anthony, François Grin, Claudio Sfreddo, and Andy L. J. Chan. 2013. The Status of the Translation Profession in the European Union. New York: Anthem Press.
21. Sela-Sheffy, Rakefet. 2006. “The Pursuit of Symbolic Capital by a Semi-Professional Group: The Case of Literary Translators in Israel.” In Übersetzen – Translating – Traduire: Towards a “Social Turn”?, edited by Michaela Wolf, 243–252. Münster: LIT.
22. Sela-Sheffy, Rakefet. 2022. “The Translation Professions.” In The Cambridge Handbook of Translation, edited by Kirsten Malmkjær, 160–180. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
23. Sela-Sheffy, Rakefet. 2023. “What Does It Take to Be a Professional Translator? Identity as a Resource.” In Professions and Proficiency, edited by Johannes Glückler, Christopher Winch, and Anna Mateja Punstein, 89–111. Cham: Springer.
24. Simeoni, Daniel. 1998. “The Pivotal Status of the Translator’s Habitus.” Target 10 (1): 1–39. doi:10.1075/target.10.1.02sim.
25. Walker, Callum, and Joseph Lambert, eds. 2026. The Routledge Handbook of the Translation Industry. London: Routledge.