Testing the impact of translation training on creativity: Evidence from Turkish-English student-translators
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58221/mosp.v120i1.60841Keywords:
creativity, translation training, flexibility, elaboration, longitudinalAbstract
Creativity is widely recognized as an essential part of translation and translator training. However, it is debatable whether such training improves creativity, and, if so, which aspects are most improved. In this regard, the current article presents two studies, a cross-sectional and a longitudinal study, designed to measure the effect of translation training on students' creative skills. Creativity was assessed using the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults (ATTA; Althuizen et al., 2010), which is based on the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (Torrance, 1974). The study sample comprised undergraduate students from the Department of Translation and Interpreting and the Department of Linguistics. The results indicated that translation training was associated with significant increases in fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration of creativity among student translators compared to non-translation students, with the largest difference found in fluency. The longitudinal study confirmed these findings, showing a significant increase in total creativity scores, particularly in originality, after 2.5 years of translation training. These results suggest that translation training fosters not only linguistic competence but also divergent thinking and creative problem-solving abilities.Downloads
References
Althuizen, N., Wierenga, B., & Rossiter, J. (2010). The validity of two brief measures of creative ability. Creativity Research Journal, 22(1), 53–61. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400410903579577 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10400410903579577
Beghetto, R., & Kaufman, J. (2016). Nurturing creativity in the classroom. In R. Beghetto & J. Kaufman (Eds.), Current Perspectives in Social and Behavioral Sciences (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316212899 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316212899
Bialystok, E. (2009). Bilingualism: The good, the bad, and the indifferent. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 12(1), 3–11. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728908003477 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728908003477
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997). Creativity: Flow and the psychology of discovery and invention. HarperCollins Publishers.
Erhard, K., Kessler, F., Neumann, N., Ortheil, H.-J., & Lotze, M. (2014). Professional training in creative writing is associated with enhanced fronto-striatal activity in a literary text continuation task. NeuroImage, 100, 15–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.05.076 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.05.076
Glăveanu, V. P. (2018). Educating which creativity? Thinking Skills and Creativity, 27, 25–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2017.11.006 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2017.11.006
Goff, K., & Torrance, E. P. (2002). Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults Manual. Scholastic Testing Service.
Heller, K. A. (2007). Scientific ability and creativity. High Ability Studies, 18(2), 209–234. https://doi.org/10.1080/13598130701709541 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13598130701709541
Kaufman, J. C., & Beghetto, R. A. (2009). Beyond big and little: The four c model of creativity. Review of General Psychology, 13(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013688 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013688
Kharkhurin, A. V. (2008). The effects of linguistic proficiency, age of second language acquisition, and length of exposure to a new cultural environment on bilinguals' divergent thinking. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 11(2), 225–243. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728908003398 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728908003398
Kharkhurin, A. V. (2009). The role of bilingualism in creative performance on divergent thinking and Invented Alien Creatures tests. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 43(1), 59–71. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2162-6057.2009.tb01306.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2162-6057.2009.tb01306.x
Kharkhurin, A. V. (2012). Multilingualism and Creativity. Multilingual Matters. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21832/9781847697967
Kharkhurin, A. V., & Wei, L. (2015). The role of code-switching in bilingual creativity. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 18(2), 153–169. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2014.884211 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2014.884211
Kiraly, D. (2000). A Social Constructivist Approach to Translator Education: Empowerment from Theory to Practice. St. Jerome Publishing.
Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors We Live by. University of Chicago Press.
Lefevere, A. (1992). Translation, Rewriting and Manipulation of Literary Fame. Routledge.
Liu, Z., Guo, H., Zhou, Z., Ma, F., & Zeng, Y. (2025). How creative self-efficacy influences problem-solving skills in engineering education: The dual mediating role of critical thinking and metacognition. BMC Psychology, 13, 1278. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-03630-y DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-03630-y
Malmkjær, K. (2019). Translation and Creativity (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315648958 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315648958-1
O’Hagan, M. (2020). The impact of new technologies on translation studies: A technological turn? In M. Baker & G. Saldanha (Eds.), Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies (3rd ed., pp. 495–500). Routledge.
Paz-Baruch, N., & Maor, R. (2023). Cognitive abilities and creativity: The role of working memory and visual processing. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 48, 101294. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2023.101294 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2023.101294
Pedersen, J. (2025). Metaphors in Audiovisual Translation. Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.166
R Core Team. (2025). R: A language and environment for statistical computing [Computer
software]. R Foundation for Statistical Computing. https://www.r-project.org/
Runco, M. A. (2007). Creativity: Theories and themes: Research, development, and practice. Elsevier Academic Press.
Sawyer, R. K. (2003). Group creativity: Music, theater, collaboration. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Sawyer, R. K., & Henriksen, D. (2023). The sociology of creativity. In R. K. Sawyer & D. Henriksen (Eds.), Explaining creativity: The science of human innovation (pp. 227–246). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197747537.003.0011 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197747537.003.0011
Schäffner, C., & Adab, B. (2000). Developing translation competence: Introduction. In C. Schäffner, & B. Adab (Eds.), Developing translation competence. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.38.01sch
Sternberg, R. J. (2020). Creativity. In B. J. Carducci & C. S. Nave (Eds.), The Wiley encyclopedia of personality and individual differences. Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118970843.ch80. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118970843.ch80
Sözbilir, F., & Kaya, S. (2025). The impact of social capital on innovative behaviour as a reflection of creativity: The case of education sector. Creativity Studies, 18(2), 538–557. https://doi.org/10.3846/cs.2025.22016 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3846/cs.2025.22016
Thomson, P., & Jaque, S. V. (2017). Creativity and the Performing Artist: Behind the Mask. Academic Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-804051-5.00015-9
Torrance, E. P. (1966). Torrance tests of creative thinking -norms technical manual research edition—verbal tests, forms A and B-figural tests, forms A and B. Personnel Press Inc.
Torrance, E. P. (1974). The Torrance tests of creative thinking-TTCT Manual and Scoring Guide: Verbal test A, figural test. Ginn.
Tsai, C.-L. (2025). Tuning language and lyrics: A case study of song translation in the translator training classroom. The Interpreter and Translator Trainer, 20(1), 21–39. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750399X.2025.2507541 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1750399X.2025.2507541
Venuti, L. (Ed.). (2017). Teaching Translation: Programs, Courses, Pedagogies. Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315623139
Wickham, H., Averick, M., Bryan, J., Chang, W., McGowan, L. D., François, R., Grolemund, G., Hayes, A., Henry, L., Hester, J., Kuhn, M., Pedersen, T. L., Miller, E., Bache, S. M., Müller, K., Ooms, J., Robinson, D., Seidel, D. P., Spinu, V., Takahashi, K., Vaughan, D., Wilke, C., Woo, K., & Yutani, H. (2019). Welcome to the tidyverse. Journal of Open Source Software, 4(43), 1686. https://doi.org/10.21105/joss.01686 DOI: https://doi.org/10.21105/joss.01686
Wilss, W. (1989). Towards a multi-facet concept of translation behavior. Target International Journal of Translation Studies, 1(2), 129–149. https://doi.org/10.1075/target.1.2.02wil DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/target.1.2.02wil
Woodward, J., & Sikes, P. L. (2015). The creative thinking ability of musicians and nonmusicians. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 9(1), 75. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038177
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Berna Ataberk-Yılmaz, Alper Kumcu, Elena Antonova-Unlu
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The full license and copyright terms for Moderna Språk can be found under the journal's Open Access Policy.
