What is Critical Thinking in Translation

The process of translation is treated as a sequence of three principal stages (pre-translation source text analysis, translation itself, self-assessment/editing). The chapter is aimed at proving that the first and the third stages of the translation process are based on critical thinking, while the second stage (translation itself) rests upon creative thinking. Therefore, teaching critical thinking must be a necessary part of translator professional training, because it is not only important as such, but also leads students to acquisition of mature creative thinking, which is crucial for translation problem-solving. In this chapter, the problem of training translation quality assessment is analyzed, the difference between critical and creative thinking is discussed, and psychological mechanisms of their functioning in translation are treated as a cognitive process; the role of critical thinking in raising translators' awarenesses and, consequently, translation quality is stressed.