Translating for the publishing world in Spain: Professional demands and competences of the translator of books on philosophical and sociopolitical domains

Abstract

The translation of books on philosophical and sociopolitical domains is professionally set within the boundaries of translation for the publishing world. Although this translating activity plays an important role in the current Spanish publishing industry, it has been barely studied in relation to the professional demands and competences that define the translator’s task. Consequently, this article has two main goals: first, bringing the definition of sociopolitical and philosophical texts up to date from the study of their genre features, and, second, connecting this theoretical reflection to the work setting, in which the translator is asked to develop a whole range of professional competences easily adaptable to the changing
publishing world. The diachrony in translation, the translation methods, the publishing formats and the orality in translation are dealt with as being the leading professional demands. Thus the translator needs to meet specific professional competences targeted towards the fulfillment of a wide range of tasks related not only to the cultural and ideological burden of the texts to be translated but also related to the translation context and the participants in the translation process.