Abstract: Since the 1970s, accreditation tests for translators and interpreters have been successively held in Australia, the USA, Canada, the UK and China. However, few comparative studies of these accreditation tests have been conducted. Therefore, this paper first provides an overview of major accreditation tests for translators and interpreters in the world. A comparison between these tests is then carried out based on their similarities and differences. They are mainly in five aspects, namely, administering organizations, eligibility requirements, contents of the tests, marking procedures and continuing education for the certification. Through the comparison, it is suggested that we can learn from the successful experiences of other countries to make China Accreditation Test for Translators and Interpreters (CATTI) better serve the translation and interpreting industry. More specifically, for the development of both the test system and test-takers, it is recommended that we implement a policy of eligibility requirements, create a testing environment which is close to a real-life translation assignment and place great emphasis on examining test-takers’ knowledge and awareness of professional ethics. Besides, translation tests on certain levels should be in a specific language pair and direction – from or into Chinese. As for the preparation for CATTI, a test preparation service system is expected to be established so as to familiarize more potential test-takers with the test. In addition, to support certified translators, it is vital to establish a social service system for such credentials and job opportunities, which means we should formulate a policy stipulating that certain translation projects can only be commissioned to certified translators. Finally, to meet the changing social environment, attention should also be paid to life-long learning after the certification.

Keywords: accreditation ; translators; interpreters

摘要： 自20 世纪70 年代以来，澳大利亚、美国、加拿大、英国及中国相继推行了翻译资格考试。但目前对全球上述主要翻译资格考试的相关研究及对比借鉴性研究还不多。因此，本文首先对这五大考试进行了简要介绍，从认证机构、报考条件、考试内容、评分方式、认证后继续教育几方面对比这些考试的共性与个性。然后，结合以往经验，立足我国国情，对我国翻译资格考试未来发展进行了展望，建议适当设立报考条件，在考试中尽量还原翻译工作真实场景，重视职业道德水平考察，在一定等级笔译考试中采用单向译入命题机制，建立备考服务体系及一套实现认证与翻译一体化的社会体系，并关注认证后的终身教育。

关键词: 资格考试, 笔译员, 口译员