In this chapter, I consider the role that cultural competence has been given in different translation competence models and I will discuss different options for assessing cultural competence, both as a separate construct and as part of translation competence as a whole. With regard to the latter option, I will contend that a norm referenced assessment method is best suited to put cultural competence on a par with all other subcompetences of translation ability. Not only does this method allow the reliability of the assessment to be checked, but it also has two important advantages when it comes to the validity of measuring (cultural) translation competence: it takes into account that sub-components of translation ability are more or less inextricable in actual performances, and it subscribes to the notion that the manifestation of cultural competence is always dependent on the interaction of a particular translator with a particular text
