Poster presentations in Translation Studies : State of the art and seven tips for improvement

Poster presentations have established themselves in hard and social sciences, but remain an undervalued asset in Translation Studies (TS). In this paper, we report on a survey (n=104) that we carried out to map TS scholars’ behavior and preferences regarding poster and oral presentations in conferences. Based on the results, we argue that the full potential of posters as a tool for disseminating research results, getting feedback and networking with colleagues has not been realized in TS. Although the role of posters in facilitating these interactions is acknowledged in the survey responses, the results also reveal that poster presenters are often underprepared: they have not studied making posters nor do they rehearse presenting the poster beforehand. Having identified this lack of preparation, we provide tips for making and presenting engaging posters. In addition, we discuss issues that conference organizers could pay attention to when organizing poster sessions. We hope to encourage more TS scholars to present posters in future conferences by suggesting that the visuality of posters can be harnessed to attract new audiences and to initiate meaningful interactions

Is automation changing the translation profession?

La traducción y la interpretación, como profesiones que requieren un alto nivel de conocimientos lingüísticos, están en primera línea en la era de la automatización del lenguaje. En particular, el desarrollo de sistemas neuronales de traducción automática desde 2016 ha traído consigo el temor de que pronto no haya más traductores o intérpretes humanos. Sin embargo, si se considera en términos de la historia de la automatización, cualquier efecto de este tipo está lejos de ser obvio: la industria de la traducción sigue creciendo. Sin embargo, los datos sobre la remuneración indican una dispersión salarial estructural en los servicios profesionales de traducción e interpretación, y hay indicios de que esta dispersión está aumentando debido a la creciente automatización, que está siendo incorporada por los grandes proveedores de servicios lingüísticos más que por las empresas más pequeñas y los autónomos individuales. No obstante, una lista de comprobación de los conocimientos y habilidades de los traductores e intérpretes puede ayudar a identificar aquellos que son resistentes a la automatización en todos los niveles de servicio y que, por tanto, pueden permitir a los futuros traductores e intérpretes beneficiarse de la automatización. Se ha comprobado que las competencias resistentes a la automatización no se corresponden claramente con el éxito en el mercado de los grandes proveedores de servicios lingüísticos. Lo más útil es que pueden subrayar varios principios para la formación y la promoción profesional basados en los valores de la fiabilidad, el compromiso con la automatización y la capacidad de combinar la traducción con otras formas de comunicación.As a language-intensive profession, translation is of frontline interest in the era of language automation. In particular, the development of neural machine translation systems since 2016 has brought with it fears that soon there will be no more human translators. When considered in terms of the history of automation, however, any such direct effect is far from obvious: the translation industry is still growing and machine translation is only one instance of automation. At the same time, data on remuneration indicate structural wage dispersion in professional translation services, with some signs that this dispersion may increase in certain market segments as automated workflows and translation technologies are adopted more by large language-service providers more than by smaller companies and individual freelancers. An analysis of recent changes in discourses on and in the translation profession further indicates conceptual adjustments in the profession that may be attributed to growing automation, particularly with respect to expanding skills set associated with translation, the tendency to combine translation with other forms of communication, and the use of interactive communication skills to authorize and humanize the results of automatio

Evolution of Images of Korea in the Paratexts to Korean Literature in English Translation.

This research looks into the construction and evolution of national images of Korea presented in Korean literature in English translation in the second half of the 20th century. It categorizes the discourses present in peritexts of Korean literary works translated into English between 1951 and 2000 in relation to the agents producing them and the historical context. Results show a stable tendency to rely on Orientalist descriptions of the Republic of Korea and to avoid conflicting discourses in the wider historical and political context (i.e. relationship to Japan, China and DPR Korea), unrelated to the specific profile of the agents

Translation and post-bellum image building: korean translation into the us after the korean war

This research looks into literary translations from Korean into English right after the Korean War (1951 to 1975), comparing them to the translations published in the later years of truce and development (1976 to 2000). The aim is to discern to what extent a historical situation of interest in another culture rises in parallel to the demand for literary translations from that culture. The comparison shows no direct correlation between one and the other, suggesting that the translation flows have a logic on its own. However, several relations are displayed. The more volumes in the flow and the longer the cultural exchange, the wider the availability of agents (translators, editors, publishers), and the more specialized they become. The presentation discourses also specialize, becoming more target-oriented. As the flow grew, Korean literature was presented in more specific terms; translation and translators lost visibility; and the commercial aim becomes more noticeable.Este estudio investiga la traducción literaria coreano-inglés en Estados Unidos tras la Guerra de Corea (1951 a 1975) en comparación con la producción en los posteriores años de desarrollo (1976 a 2000). Su objetivo es dilucidar el alcance de la relación entre una situación histórica de interés en otra cultura y la demanda de traducciones literarias de esa cultura. La comparativa muestra la falta de una relación directa y sugiere que los flujos traductores tienen una lógica propia. Igualmente, muestra varias relaciones. A mayor número de volúmenes e intercambio cultural, mayor disponibilidad de agentes (traductores, agentes literarios, editores), y mayor la especialización de los mismos. Los discursos que representan el flujo también se especializan, orientándose a la cultura meta. Al aumentar el flujo, la literatura coreana se presenta en términos más específicos, la traducción y los traductores pierden visibilidad y se acentúa el fin comercial de las obras.Aquest estudi investiga la traducció literària coreà-anglès a Estats Units al període posterior a la Guerra de Corea (1951 a 1975) en comparació a la producció en anys de bonança (1976 a 2000). Es tracta de comprovar si una situació històrica d’interès en una altra cultura té una correlació directa amb la demanda de traduccions literàries d’aquesta cultura. La comparació no mostra una relació directa i suggereix que els fluxos traductors tenen una lògica pròpia. A més, mostra altres correlacions. Quants més volums e intercanvis culturals, major disponibilitat d’agents (traductors, agents literaris, editors) i més especialitzats. Els discursos que presenten el flux també s’especialitzen, orientant-se cap a la cultura meta. A un flux més voluminós, la literatura coreana es presenta en termes més específics, la traducció i els traductors perden visibilitat i s’accentua la finalitat comercial de les obres

Finding Translations. On the Use of Bibliographical Databases in Translation History

In any study of translations one must first decide what is to be counted as a “translation” and how such things are to be found, usually through recourse to bibliographical databases. We propose that, starting from the maximalist view that translations are potentially everywhere, various distribution processes impose a series of selective filters thanks to which some translations are more easily identified and accessible than others. The study of translation must be aware of these prior filters, and must know how to account for them, and sometimes how to overcome them. Research processes then necessarily impose their own selective filters, which may reduce or extend the number and kinds of translations given by prior filters. We present three research projects where the play of prior and research filters is very different. For one-off large-scale relational hypotheses, the Index Translationum is found to be relatively cost-efficient. For more detailed objects such as translation flows from Spanish into French in a specific period, a book-industry database offers significant advantages. And for a study marked by a paucity of texts, as is the case of translation from Korean into English following the Korean War, a combination of databases is necessary, the most useful turning out to be Amazon.Dans toute étude de traductions, il faut tout d’abord déterminer l’objet qui doit être pris en compte comme une « traduction », puis comment le trouver, en général en ayant recours à des bases de données bibliographiques. Partant de la conception maximaliste selon laquelle les traductions sont potentiellement omniprésentes, nous proposons que les différents processus de distribution imposent une série de filtres sélectifs grâce auxquels certaines traductions sont plus facilement identifiées et accessibles que d’autres. L’étude des traductions doit tenir compte de ces filtres préalables et être à même de les expliquer, parfois de les surmonter. Les processus de recherche imposent ensuite, nécessairement, leurs propres filtres sélectifs, qui peuvent réduire ou augmenter le nombre et le genre des traductions issues des filtres préalables. Nous présentons ici trois projets de recherche dans lesquels les rôles respectifs des filtres préalables et des filtres de recherche sont très différents. Pour des hypothèses très spécifiques et à grande échelle, l’Index Translationum peut être relativement efficace. Pour des projets plus détaillés tels que l’étude des flux de traductions entre l’espagnol et le français pendant une période spécifique, une base de données destinée à l’usage des professionnels de l’édition offre des avantages significatifs. Enfin, pour une étude, marquée par la rareté des textes, portant sur les traductions du coréen en anglais après la guerre de Corée, il est nécessaire de combiner plusieurs bases de données, la plus efficace se révélant être celle d’Amazon

Poster presentations in Translation Studies: State of the art and seven tips for improvement

Poster presentations have established themselves in hard and social sciences, but remain an undervalued asset in Translation Studies (TS). In this paper, we report on a survey (n=104) that we carried out to map TS scholars’ behavior and preferences regarding poster and oral presentations in conferences. Based on the results, we argue that the full potential of posters as a tool for disseminating research results, getting feedback and networking with colleagues has not been realized in TS. Although the role of posters in facilitating these interactions is acknowledged in the survey responses, the results also reveal that poster presenters are often underprepared: they have not studied making posters nor do they rehearse presenting the poster beforehand. Having identified this lack of preparation, we provide tips for making and presenting engaging posters. In addition, we discuss issues that conference organizers could pay attention to when organizing poster sessions. We hope to encourage more TS scholars to present posters in future conferences by suggesting that the visuality of posters can be harnessed to attract new audiences and to initiate meaningful interactions.</p

La confianza de los estudiantes de traducción en la traducción automática: ¿demasiado buena para ser verdad?

Advances in neural machine translation have reached the point where professional translators can work faster and produce better terminology when post-editing machine translation as opposed to fully human translation. Most translator-training programs thus include courses in how to post-edit machine translation. Many professional translators, however, are opposed to the use of post-editing rather than fully human translation, resulting in a suite of negative opinions about machine translation within the teaching situation. Here we report on two cases in which classroom activities with translation students involved the post-editing and evaluation of machine translation. We assess the students’ actual performances in the two modes (fully human translation as opposed to the post-editing of machine translation), which we then compare with the students’ comments on machine translation and their personal experience with it. It is found that although the students generally recognized the greater efficiency of post-editing, they nevertheless remained generally opposed to machine translation in principle, indicating extensive resistance within the learning community.Cuando el traductor corrige o “posedita” una traducción automática, no solo trabaja más rápido sino también suele producir una terminología más consistente. Por ello, la mayoría de los programas de formación de traductores incluyen cursos de posedición. Sin embargo, muchos traductores profesionales se oponen al uso de la posedición, lo que da lugar a un conjunto de opiniones negativas sobre la traducción automática que se reproducen en el aula. En este artículo se exponen dos actividades con estudiantes de traducción que incluían posedición y evaluación de traducción automática. Se analizan las actuaciones de los estudiantes en las dos modalidades (traducción totalmente humana frente a la posedición de la traducción automática), para luego compararlas con los comentarios de los propios estudiantes sobre la traducción automática y su experiencia personal tras la interacción. Si bien la mayoría de los participantes reconocieron una mayor eficacia cuando se usa posedición, se posicionaron en contra de la traducción automática, lo que indica un grado significativo de resistencia en el seno de la comunidad de aprendizaje

Indirect translation in translator training: taking stock and looking ahead

In order to translate and be translated, low-diffusion languages often use strategies that differ from those used by widely spoken languages and therefore create particular challenges for translators. One such strategy is indirect translation (including also relay interpreting). Since there are conflicting opinions about this practice within the translation community, it is unclear to what extent indirect translation is present in translator training. In order to shed some light on this issue, this article reports on an exploratory study that looked at mentions of indirect translation in the European Masters in Translation (EMT) competences, at references to indirect translation in the syllabi of EMT programmes, at tasks to develop specific skills of indirect translation in mainstream training textbooks and at the responses to a survey addressed to translator trainers. Results suggest that indirect translation is overlooked at the institutional level (in the list of EMT competences, in the official EMT syllabi and in published textbooks) but still reaches future translators working with low-diffusion languages via in-class tasks developed by a significant part of surveyed trainers.This work is financed by national funds through the FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P., within the scope of the projects UIDB/00114/2020 and UIDP/00114/2020.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Pivot Templators’ Challenges and Training: Insights from a Survey Study with Subtitlers and Subtitler Trainers

Given the increase of non-English audiovisual content, translating through pivot templates is increasingly common. Yet, pivot templates have attracted scant scholarly attention. Several factors remain unclear. Among the first factors are the questions of who creates pivot templates, from what languages are they translated, into what languages are they translated, and what audiovisual products and channels are they for? Secondly, what are the challenges involved in the creation of templates? The third factor would be whether there is any training available for pivot template creators, and whether this training is effective. To provide more clarity on these issues, we distributed a questionnaire and elicited replies from 100 pivot templators and 75 subtitler trainers based in Europe. The results indicate that most pivot templators translate into English as L2. Because of this, diverse difficulties arise. Training in pivot template making seems rare, especially compared to training in subtitling in general. The training that is offered comes mainly from the industry and not academia. This is problematic for various reasons: (a) the former does not typically cover issues related to subtitler ethics or the sustainability of the profession, and (b) translator training and professional codes of conduct eye L2 translation with suspicion. Drawing on the respondents’ insights, we argue that much can be gained from teaching non-English-language native speakers how to create English-language templates

Evolution of Images of Korea in the Paratexts to Korean Literature in English Translation

This research looks into the construction and evolution of national images of Korea presented in Korean literature in English translation in the second half of the 20th century. It categorizes the discourses present in peritexts of Korean literary works translated into English between 1951 and 2000 in relation to the agents producing them and the historical context. Results show a stable tendency to rely on Orientalist descriptions of the Republic of Korea and to avoid conflicting discourses in the wider historical and political context (i.e. relationship to Japan, China and DPR Korea), unrelated to the specific profile of the agents