Abstract:

The Companion Volume to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (2020) presents the concept of mediation as one of the modes of communication, which encompasses three other modes (reception, production, and interaction). While in writing, language learners express their ideas and justify their opinions, in mediating, a written text from language A translated into language B refers to the reproduction of a source text in another language.

University students who submit their final theses in either a bachelor’s or master’s degree program are expected to provide the abstracts in two languages: the language in which the thesis is written and then a translation of this text into English. However, these students are not trained as translators and have never developed translating competencies. The majority of these students have achieved level B1, with a smaller number having attained B2, the level expected of secondary grammar school leavers. Nevertheless, if they have elected to pursue studies in other disciplines rather than languages, their proficiency in the target language may be inferior as a consequence of their lack of interest in languages.

The capacity to mediate across languages necessitates linguistic competence in the languages involved to create a meaningful message. It is also important to be socio-linguistically competent to recognize the communicative needs of the addressee and to devise a message that is suitable for the situational context. The abstract in language B can be considered a mediated text, having been originally written in language A.

In order to obtain accurate data, the study employs an analysis of several abstracts, which can be covered by one of the CEFR scales, designated as ‘translating a written text in writing’. The original texts were created by students who had not pursued a degree in English at the university level but had completed their language education during their secondary studies. At the university level, they majored in the sciences. In addition to quantitative data, a comprehensive analysis aims to identify the reference level at which students could act as mediators of their own texts and write their translations in a manner that reflected normal language usage.

The study will present a list of the influences of the original, including particular formulations, the order, paragraphing, punctuation, and so forth. Nevertheless, the most crucial aspect will be the students’ ability to convey specific pieces of information from the source text into a target text, maintaining a close adherence to the original.

Keywords:

Interlinguistic mediation, translating a written text in writing, CEFR levels, normal language usage.