FOREIGN TRADE CONTRACT: DEVELOPMENT OF TRANSLATION SKILLS TO ENHANCE PROFFESSIONAL COMPETENCY OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS’ GRADUATES
In the paper we substantiate the necessity for graduates of higher education institutions to acquire translation skills in order to increase their professional competency in compliance with the contemporary national project of higher education modernization. The justification of and the reason for this requirement is the fact that, operating in the international context, Russian companies are in need of highly skilled specialists who should be able to provide efficient business communication in foreign languages. The paper analyzes various approaches offered by national and foreign experts and researchers to teaching translation techniques at non-language higher education institutions and describes the authors’ own experience of molding the skills demanded. It depicts, as an example, the practice of translating the standard international sales contract (the Russian-English language pair) as well as determines specific skills necessary to achieve translation adequacy, including practical application of appropriate transformations required to translate the bilateral contract. In order to develop proficiency in translating foreign trade contracts, we offer a teaching methodology that consists of three stages: the preliminary analytical stage, the stage of translation proper using certain translation procedures, and the final stage of proofreading and editing. We also propose specific criteria to assess students’ progress in mastering the relevant skills.