ATA - American Translators Association Translation Transfer Skills Questions and Answers

Question 1

A translator encounters the phrase 'a Pyrrhic victory' in a source text.
A literal translation would be meaningless in the target language.
Which of the following demonstrates the strongest translation transfer skills in this scenario?

Accepted Answer

Replacing it with a target-language idiom that conveys the meaning of a victory won at too great a cost.

Answer

Omitting the phrase entirely to avoid confusion.

Answer

Translating it literally and adding a lengthy footnote explaining the classical allusion to Pyrrhus of Epirus.

Answer

Requesting clarification from the client on how to handle the idiomatic expression.

Question 2

According to the ATA's Framework for Standardized Error Marking, a 'faithfulness' error occurs when the translation:

Accepted Answer

Fails to respect the meaning and intent of the source text as much as possible.

Answer

Follows the source text word-for-word, resulting in an awkward rendition.

Answer

Introduces grammatical mistakes not present in the source text.

Answer

Uses a register that is inappropriate for the specified target audience.

Question 3

In a scenario for the ATA exam, the source text contains a sentence with a complex subordinate clause structure common in that language, but highly unnatural in the target language. A failure to restructure the sentence, resulting in a translation that is grammatically correct but difficult to read and unidiomatic, would be primarily considered a weakness in:

Accepted Answer

Translation transfer skills.

Answer

Source text comprehension.

Answer

Target language mechanics.

Answer

Following translation instructions.

Question 4

Which of the following errors is considered a 'transfer' error rather than a 'mechanical' error under the ATA's grading framework?

Accepted Answer

An addition of information that was not present in the source text.

Answer

A spelling mistake in the target text.

Answer

Incorrect punctuation according to target-language conventions.

Answer

A subject-verb agreement error in the translated sentence.

Question 5

A translator is working on a text where the author uses a slightly ambiguous term. The context provides clues, but does not definitively resolve the ambiguity. The translator decides on the most probable interpretation and renders it clearly in the target language. This decision-making process is a core component of:

Accepted Answer

Advanced translation transfer skills.

Answer

Target language proofreading.

Answer

Source text misunderstanding.

Answer

Improving upon the source text.

Question 6

During the ATA exam, a candidate translates a sentence literally, which results in a correct but awkward and unidiomatic phrase in the target language (e.g., 'reductions of taxes of income' instead of 'income tax reductions'). According to the Framework for Standardized Error Marking, what type of error is this?

Accepted Answer

Literalness (L)

Answer

Faithfulness (F)

Answer

Misunderstanding (M)

Answer

Grammar (G)

A translator encounters the phrase 'a Pyrrhic victory' in a source text.A literal translation would be meaningless in the target language.Which of the following demonstrates the strongest translation transfer skills in this scenario?

A translator encounters the phrase 'a Pyrrhic victory' in a source text.
A literal translation would be meaningless in the target language.
Which of the following demonstrates the strongest translation transfer skills in this scenario?