The Importance of Psychological Qualities in Building Translation Quality

Abstract

This study examines the psychological qualities that contribute to enhance building translation quality among trainee translators. Specifically, it investigates the importance of psychological qualities, such as intuition, emotional intelligence, self-regulation, and critical thinking in enhancing the building of translation quality, while identifying hindering psychological qualities, such as low interpersonal competence, isolation, emotional Dysregulation emotional, lack of attention and responsibility, and poor communication, that impede building trainee translators' quality. Drawing on translation studies and cognitive psychology, the study adopts a qualitative approach, following the hypothesis of Hobcher-Davidson (2013, 2016) that supportive and hindering psychological qualities can either enhance or impede the building of translation quality. The sample consists of 304 third-year trainees' translators (2025-2026), morning studies in the Department of Translation, College of Arts, University of Basra. The trainee translators have been provided with 20 short diplomatic and political texts to be translated from English into Arabic within the lecture time by their instructor, the researcher. The data is selected for their richness in cultural references and complexity. It is used to assess the trainees' translation quality. The trainee translators were allowed to use paper bilingual dictionaries.  The results show that the supportive psychological qualities are important for building translation quality, while hindering psychological qualities impedes building trainees' translation quality. Therefore, it is recommended that training translation students in translator training programs that integrate the development of qualities, with a focus on emotional intelligence, self-regulation, intuition, and critical thinking, enhances the building of the translation quality and produces culturally sensitive translations.