ABSTRACT
Translation competence encompasses three elements: first, source language receptive competence, i.e., a translator’s ability to understand the source text; second, an ability to transfer the message from the source language to the target language; and third, a mastery of target linguistic resources. For a translator to be competent in working between two languages, she needs to be aware of lexico-grammatical and pragmatic differences and similarities between the two languages she is dealing with in translation. A frequently heard lay opinion is that all bilingual persons can translate because they all ‘naturally’ possess translation competence within the limits of an individual’s competence in the two languages. Translation competence also includes knowledge and awareness of extra-linguistic phenomena, knowledge of a special field, ability to search for information, ability to use different translation tools, socio-cultural knowledge, knowledge of cultural similarities and differences relevant to the translation situation on hand.
