EN
This article attempts to revise a thesis concerning an equivalent status of various translator’s competences (linguistic, encyclopaedic, logical, psychological, rhetoric-pragmatic). When discussing mistakes made in the Polish translation of Escape from the Deep, relating the fate of a submarine, we demonstrate how the lack of specialist knowledge (insufficient encyclopaedic competence) and linguistic knowledge influence a negative reception of the translation by a reader whose knowledge of the subject-matter is rather extensive. We suggest that a broadly understood psychological competence, embracing the translator’s readiness to extend his/her knowledge, may be treated as a kind of superior competence (meta-competence) that conditions a creation of a high quality translation in terms of the subject-matter.