From translators to accessibility managers: How did we get there and how do we train them?

Abstract

Translation continues to reinvent itself. Different human actors and non-human actants drive this change, generating new forms of translation and diverse professional profiles. Audiovisual Translation (AVT) and Audiovisual Translation Studies (AVTS) have always been at the centre of these developments: AVT has been technology and industry-driven from the start and AVTS has incorporated technological and societal change as well as the forces that propel it from its inception. Meanwhile, AVT has incorporated media accessibility and has moved beyond the domain of audiovisual media in the strict sense into the provision of access to live cultural events. The present article offers some conceptual tools for understanding these developments as well as the actant-driven processes that underlie them. It traces recent developments in AVT and explains how they have given rise to the aforementioned new professional practices and profiles. It ends on an extensive case study, centring on the ACT European Erasmus+ project, which has identified and defined the emerging profile of the accessibility manager, and developed a tailor-made MOOC training course for it.