A quantitative enquiry into the translator’s job-related happiness: Does visibility correlate with happiness?

Abstract

The translator’s job-related happiness has scarcely been researched in empirical Translation Studies. This article presents part of the findings from a large empirical study in which a mixed method approach (i.e. quantitative and qualitative approaches are combined) is employed to study the topic. The analysis is based on a questionnaire answered by 193 Chinese translators in greater China. This study statistically shows that the more visible the translator, the happier they are. In addition, the more visible the translator, the less the gap between capital sought and capital received. We also confirm the hypothesis that the more visible the translator, the more and greater positive emotions they experience when they deal with translation.