An approach to the professional field of foreign languages in CABA: from the English hegemony to the construction of a quasi-market of degrees

Abstract

This article analyzes the field of foreign language professional training in CABA through its three core degrees: teaching, “licenciaturas” and translation degrees. Teacher training has historically occurred in the tertiary subsystem, while that of translators has mostly occurred in the university subsystem. In turn, the private sector has participated in these training trajectories, although quantitatively always to a lesser extent. In this field, the hegemony of English is driven by the social demands around it as the language of globalization. In this way, through their social demands, the most dynamic sectors of Buenos Aires middle classes have propelled both the state and the market. The training system responded with the conformation of a quasi-market as a mechanism of differentiation and particularization to compete for enrollment, which implicitly benefits translation training programs. The article then offers interpretative variables for the design of policies in this field.