Les traducteurs assermentés polonais vus par eux-mêmes

Abstract

Polish sworn translators’ self -portrait

The article presents the results of a survey conducted among sworn translators of French concerning the education of translators and their attitude to their profession. A vast majority of the respondents did not have an opportunity to take part in special courses for future translators, which were rare in Poland before the 1990s, and they developed their professional competence themselves. Significantly, some self-taught translators are reluctant to share their knowledge with colleagues and students. They believe that their knowledge and skills are something they have worked to achieve on their own for many years. Many responses can be summed up by a description of the translator’s profession as craft an expression used by one of the translators, in which experience is gained thanks to hard work on one’s own, work that is not well paid. The opinions presented in the survey may evolve with time, e.g. thanks to the adoption of the Act on the profession of sworn translators, which is speeding up the professionalisation of this métier. The self-portrait of sworn translators may change in 10