The pedagogical value of translation solution types

Typologies of translation solutions have been used in translator training since at least the 1950s. Despite numerous criticisms, some of the oldest versions are still held to have pedagogical value as the toolboxes of the trade. Here we report on class activities in which two classical typologies – Vinay and Darbelnet and Loh – were learned, applied, and critically evaluated by four classes of final-year Masters students translating into a variety of European and Asian languages. It is found that students working with European languages prefer Vinay and Darbelnet, while students working with Chinese prefer Loh. The students' evaluations of the solution types nevertheless reveal surprising lacunas in both, and evince the need for some careful redefinitions. The pedagogical value of the solution types thus lies not in their capacity to describe actual translation processes, since there is a strong linguistic relativity involved, but in the way that their imperfect metalanguages allow students to reflect critically not only on their own practice but also on the difficulties of theorization.