Abstract
Cross-national research is a research methodology that aims to make comparisons across countries. Nowadays, cross-national research is growing, especially in some social science disciplines such as sociology, political science, geography, and economics. However, it has not yet steadily entered the field of audiovisual translation (AVT). Despite its theoretical and methodological challenges (Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik & Harkness, 2005), cross-national research could be used successfully in AVT to investigate long-debated issues. These issues include, but are not restricted to, the reception of a given AVT method or strategy, and the different ways in which the translation process is accomplished in different countries. In this contribution, I will outline both theoretical and methodological debates in comparative cross-national research and apply them to AVT. After that, I will briefly present the results of a cross-national study (Perego et. al, 2016) designed to analyse the subtitle reception comparing the way the process takes place in different countries with different AVT traditions. The discussion of the study will contribute to assessing the potential strengths of cross-national research in AVT, thus offering indications on future methodological developments and enabling future and more rigorous international comparisons.
Highlights
Based on the efficacy of the methodology employed by replicating the partnership, core activities and experimental design, currently funded audiovisual translation (AVT) projects in the EU have used an empirical approach encompassing a cross-national perspective which have benefitted from comparative research; three relevant instances are represented by ACT, ADLAB PRO and ILSA
All projects (ACT, ADLAB PRO and ILSA) included an initial phase based on the collection of international and cross-national data through survey questionnaire in order to investigate current training practices in terms of accessibility, audio description and interlingual live subtitling respectively, as well as offer a snapshot of the situation in Europe
The survey results represented an invaluable starting point “for obtaining a clear understanding of what is common to all training programmes and what is still required in the provision of a professional curriculum” (ADLAB PRO, 2017a, p. 2)
Summary
Cross-national research is a technique of analysing an event or process that takes place within a country, while comparing the way that event or process takes place across many different countries and societies. Based on the efficacy of the methodology employed by replicating the partnership, core activities and experimental design, currently funded AVT projects in the EU have used an empirical approach encompassing a cross-national perspective which have benefitted from comparative research; three relevant instances are represented by ACT, ADLAB PRO and ILSA. Testing or surveying in all partner countries is a key defining step of each project because it can rely on cross-national data, offer a broad and comprehensive perspective on several issues, and compare the stance of respondents within a different cultural and linguistic background. All projects (ACT, ADLAB PRO and ILSA) included an initial phase based on the collection of international and cross-national data through survey questionnaire in order to investigate current training practices in terms of accessibility, audio description and interlingual live subtitling respectively, as well as offer a snapshot of the situation in Europe. The survey results represented an invaluable starting point “for obtaining a clear understanding of what is common to all training programmes and what is still required in the provision of a professional curriculum” (ADLAB PRO, 2017a, p. 2)
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