Ergonomics and the translation process

The translation process can be regarded as a complex system involving many agents, organizational factors such as workflow, communication processes, project management, job security, and translator status. Environmental factors in the physical sense (e.g. lighting, temperature, air quality, space) as well in the broader sense of the role of translation and translators in the economy and society as a whole can also influence the process. Viewing translation from an ergonomic perspective can provide an appropriate framework to understand the impact of such factors on the demanding bilingual activity that translators engage in. Because their work requires close attention and concentration, translators have to exert energy and ultimately cognitive resources to compensate for the distraction of any physical discomfort, delays in computer responsiveness, or frustration with organizational problems. In this article, the relevance of ergonomics and the implications of putting the translator and their translation processes in focus are discussed in light of recent research

Innovative subtitling : a reception study

This paper presents the results of an experimental study investigating reception capacity and audience response to subtitled movies. Twenty-seven viewers were shown four movie excerpts, with commercially available standard subtitling or with innovative subtitling. The latter comprised additional information regarding language and culture-specific elements in the original soundtrack. Data were collected simultaneously with eye-tracking and consecutively with questionnaires. Eye-tracking measured fixation duration and percentage of gaze time in the various areas of interest, whereas the questionnaire assessed accuracy on questions about movie content and audience perception and satisfaction. The results show no significant differences in accuracy between the two conditions, indicating that viewers of subtitled audiovisual productions are able to process more information than established subtitling norms suggest

Applying a newswriting research approach to translation

Translation is a situated activity that involves more than simply producing target texts from source texts. In order to understand what translators actually do when they translate, their psycho-biographies as well as the social setting of the workplace and the contextual resources must be considered. In this paper, we outline how a mixed-method approach originally developed to study the news-writing processes of journalists at their workplaces can be applied in translation process research. We argue that progression analysis, which combines keystroke logging, screen recordings, eye-tracking, and cue-based retrospective verbalization, can be profitably used along with version analysis to gain insights into cognitive aspects of the translation process

Commenting on translation : implications for translator training

As translation research moves towards investigating translation processes and not just products, researchers have begun to examine the effects of those processes on the quality of target texts. Translation products result from the interaction between expectations of what translations should be and those practices and competences by which translators produce acceptable translations within temporal and economic constraints. Translation process models suggest what cognitive decision processes might involve, and competence models outline the expert knowledge and cognitive components assumed necessary for effective translation work. In translator training, translation processes have traditionally been accessed and evaluated through student annotations and other written commentaries. Recently, however, other ways of including explicit input on the translation process have been proposed, including the transfer of process research techniques to understanding and evaluating undergraduate students' translation performance. This paper outlines how methods to investigate translation processes can profitably be applied to translator training. A pilot study conducted in our MA programme shows that making translation processes transparent provides trainers and students with valuable insights into translation behaviour. This transparency facilitates better needs-oriented coaching than product-oriented evaluations can, since many of the considerations in reaching translation solutions can be directly observed rather than assumed

Languages in contact: The influence of language activation and competing language patterns on translation performance

The two pilot studies described in this article, both part of a larger on-going project investigating multilingualism in a translation context, deal with separation of languages in translation students. At the same time, they demonstrate how multilingualism research can be integrated into the translation classroom. Within the framework of Grosjean's model (1997, 1998, 2001), the first study tests the influence on translation performance of preferentially activating one of the languages for the translation version Spanish (L2) into German (L1). The second assesses the transfer of structures from the dominant language in translating from German (L1) into English (L2). Despite the relatively small database, various inferences can be made about multilingual language processing in trainee translators

Informed Consent : Literaturbericht, Verständlichkeitsmodell und Evaluation der swissethics-Templates

Der Bericht besteht aus vier Teilen: Teil I: Hintergrund: Begriffliche, ethische und juristische Problemlage Teil II: Forschungsstand: Literaturbericht aus pragmalinguistischer Perspektive Teil III: Verständlichkeitsmodell für Informed-Consent-Dokumente Teil IV: Evaluation der Informed-Consent-Templates von swissethic

Collaborative possibilities of CAT tools in the revision process

In many MA programmes, input about translation technology is provided in dedicated courses that run parallel to the practical courses. In a session in a revision course module, co-taught by the translation technology lecturer and a translation lecturer, students discovered the collaborative possibilities that CAT tools can offer.En molts programes de màster, les tecnologies de la traducció s'ensenyen en cursos específics que s'imparteixen paralel·lament als cursos pràctics. En una sessió d'un mòdul del curs de revisió, impartida conjuntament per un professor de tecnologies de la traducció i un professor de traducció, els estudiants han descobert les possibilitats de col·laboració que poden oferir les eines TAO.En muchos programas de máster, las tecnologías de la traducción se enseñan en cursos específicos que se imparten paralelamente a los cursos prácticos. En una sesión de un módulo del curso de revisión, impartida conjuntamente por un profesor de tecnologías de la traducción y un profesor de traducción, los estudiantes descubrieron las posibilidades de colaboración que pueden ofrecer las herramientas TAO