International Journal of Comparative Literature & Translation Studies ISSN 2202-9451 Vol. 5 No. 1; January 2017 Australian International Academic Centre, Australia Training Translators for the Market in Turkey: What Should We Teach to Future Translators? Volga Yılmaz Gümüş Department of Translation and Interpreting, Anadolu University, Turkey Received: 04-11-2016 Accepted: 28-12-2016 Published: 31-01-2017 doi:10.7575/aiac.ijclts.v.5n.1p.1 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijclts.v.5n.1p.1 Abstract This study investigates the position of the translation market in translator-training and curriculum-design practices in Turkey from the perspective of various stakeholders, mainly the graduates of translator-training programs at the undergraduate level. The role of the market in curricular design and education practices in higher education has been at the core of discussions in education, specifically for disciplines that have a vocational aspect. The discussions are mostly based on theoretical grounds. This study derives from the need for empirical research on what the market expects from translators and how training programs meet these expectations. This study first presents data from a survey and interviews with graduates of translator-training programs, as this group of stakeholders is familiar with both training and market practices (supposing that they are employed professionally on the market after graduation). The initial findings obtained from the graduates were supported with interview findings from other stakeholders. The point of departure in this study was that translator training and the translation market – as two parties to translation service provision – should be in close interaction in order to improve the quality of training in higher-education institutions and the quality of translations on the market. In the present study, almost all the stakeholders agreed that there is a need for greater interaction between training and the market, and that the elements that prepare students for the market should find a place in the translation curricula. However, the results suggest that there is a need to handle the efforts to solve the problems related to training and the profession with the involvement of various stakeholders in a more systematized way. Furthermore, it is desirable to integrate market-training elements into training practices rather than offer them only in individual courses – including translation technologies and professional work procedures and ethics. Keywords: Translator Training, Translation Market, Translator-Training Curriculum, Curriculum Studies, Market Demands, Professionalism 1. Introduction This study investigates the position and role of the translation market in translator-training and curriculum-design practices in Turkey from the perspective of various stakeholders, mainly the graduates of translator-training programs at the undergraduate level. The main objective of university translator-training programs is to train translators for the translation market, although not all graduates work as translators. The role of the market in curricular design and education practices in higher education has been at the core of discussions in education, especially for disciplines that have a vocational aspect. The role of the market in translator training, defined by Kearns (2008: 185) as a “typically vocational activity which is often based in, and in other ways contingent on, academic settings”, has been discussed extensively in Translation Studies literature. Nevertheless, discussions have been mostly based on theoretical grounds. This study collects empirical research directly from stakeholders, regarding what the market expects from translators and how training programs respond to these expectations. My belief is that, before carrying out classroom research on the process of learning or the products of translation graduates, there is need to make a general evaluation of translator training in the Turkish context from the perspective of various stakeholders. The classroom members – namely, students and trainers – are certainly not the only stakeholders of training. Other people must also have a say about the training: for instance, administrators of training programs play a significant role in curriculum design and institutional training policies, employers recruit translation students after graduation, graduates are familiar with both training and the market practices, and professional associations defend and protect the rights of various stakeholders. They are all somehow involved in the training of professionals. This paper presents the results of surveys and interviews conducted with the graduates of two undergraduate translator- training programs in Turkey, and further interviews with employers in a translation company, and a representative of Translation Students Association of Turkey ( Türkiye Çeviri Öğrencileri Birliği – TÜÇEB). Rather than prescribe what should be done in translator training and how it should be done, this study attempts to describe what has actually been done in translator training and how it has been done, and sets out to discuss these practices with respect to market needs, with specific focus on teaching technology, teaching professional skills, and any possible dichotomy between translation theory and practice, which are the most commonly referred topics in discussions related to training and the market. Flourishing Creativity & Literacy