Яна Бойко

Translator competence in the context of digital transformation

Introduction

Translator competence in the context of digital transformation . Digital transformation, AI, and machine translation redefine translator competence. Explore expanded roles in digital text production, copywriting, and strategic communication, integrating tech, cognitive, and creative skills.

Abstract

The article examines how digital transformation practices, driven by the rapid integration of artificial intelligence, machine translation, and platform-based communication, reshape contemporary translator competence by expanding professional roles beyond traditional interlingual translation. As translators increasingly engage in creative and strategic digital text production, existing competence marginalize these practices, widening the gap between theory and professional reality. The study analyses how digital transformation practices reconfigures translator competence, emphasizing the integration of technological, cognitive, and creative skills in translation practice and training. The study adopts a qualitative analytical approach that combines theoretical review with comparative analysis. The article demonstrates that proofreading, rewriting / restyling, copywriting, posting / dissemination, and naming constitute distinct yet interconnected professional domains that should be recognized as core digital transformation practices rather than auxiliary activites. Each practice is shown to have specific aims, defining features, and practical implications for contemporary translation process. The analysis reveals a clear shift from equivalence-based, text-centred translation models toward purpose-driven, audience-oriented, and technologically mediated communication. The study concludes that digital transformation practices fundamentally reshape the translator competence, which integrates linguistic, cognitive, technological, creative, pragmatic, and ethical dimensions, and position translators as hybrid language and communication specialists.

Review

The article, "Translator competence in the context of digital transformation," addresses a highly pertinent and timely topic concerning the evolving landscape of translation. It succinctly posits that the rapid integration of artificial intelligence, machine translation, and platform-based communication fundamentally reshapes contemporary translator competence, pushing professional roles beyond traditional interlingual translation. The abstract effectively highlights a critical gap between existing theoretical models of competence, which often marginalize these new practices, and the current realities faced by translators. Adopting a qualitative analytical approach combining theoretical review with comparative analysis, the study sets out to reconfigure translator competence by emphasizing the integration of technological, cognitive, and creative skills, thereby challenging established understandings in the field. The core contribution of the article lies in its meticulous identification and examination of several distinct yet interconnected professional domains: proofreading, rewriting/restyling, copywriting, posting/dissemination, and naming. Crucially, the study argues for the recognition of these as core digital transformation practices rather than auxiliary activities, demonstrating their specific aims, defining features, and practical implications. This detailed analysis reveals a significant paradigm shift from equivalence-based, text-centred translation models towards purpose-driven, audience-oriented, and technologically mediated communication. Consequently, the article concludes that translator competence must integrate linguistic, cognitive, technological, creative, pragmatic, and ethical dimensions, effectively repositioning translators as hybrid language and communication specialists in the digital age. This article makes a valuable contribution to translation studies by providing a robust theoretical framework for understanding the redefinition of translator competence in the era of digital transformation. Its strength lies in clearly articulating the expanded professional roles of translators and advocating for a more holistic and current understanding of their skills. The identification of specific "digital transformation practices" offers practical insights for curriculum development in translation programs and for guiding professional development. The call for an integration of diverse skills and the recognition of translators as hybrid specialists is particularly insightful, providing a foundational argument for future research into the ethical and pedagogical implications of these shifts.

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