Research In Translation Studies Research Articles

Generational translation in the Jewish Museum, Berlin

Abstract This paper addresses the challenge museums of catastrophic history face, striving to translate between history and memory in creating a meaningful and sensitive experience for individual visitors, not only evoking the past but also impacting the present and future. This study focuses on the Jewish Museum Berlin and asks how the museum can impact individual visitor journeys and concurrently address the public demand for memory, the contradictions between museum mission and public perception, and the perceived distance of visitors from historical events. The study builds on memory and translation studies research and the concepts of history, story, and identity. An analysis of entangled memory (Feindt et al. 2014), here applied as an inspiration for generational translation, shows how the crossover between memory and translation studies provides insight into the work of memory museums. Previous research and the history, mission, identity, architecture, and conflicts of the Jewish Museum Berlin show that museums – as (unfinished) collective memories – allow the creation of space for individual reflection and the interpretation of past and present to create a narrative. The work of memory museums is complex, but the concepts of generational translation and entangled memory are valuable tools in provoking and enabling meaningful experience and reflection.

Interdisciplinarity in translation studies: a didactic model for research positioning

ABSTRACT The seminal role of the Holmes/Toury map within translation studies has led to its use as a didactic tool although neither scholar envisaged this purpose originally. This paper proposes a complementary didactic model to reveal the interdisciplinary layers of research projects after positioning them on the Holmes/Toury map. A critical overview of how maps have evolved from descriptions of the field to having didactic purposes is given, and criticism of the Holmes/Toury map is reviewed to demonstrate its importance for the first positioning of a work. An investigation of eight sample theses indicates the current interdisciplinary research trends and suggests the need for a more refined didactic tool. The proposed model is introduced as a way to fill an evident gap. Its aim is to help students and researchers position their own and other academic work within translation studies to gain deeper awareness in this regard. By presenting a general model for researchers' use, its concrete application to two cases – a book-long and a shorter publication – and a discussion of its strengths and weaknesses, I argue that it is a useful didactic tool for obtaining a clearer overview of the interdisciplinarity typical for research in translation studies.

A Look at What is Lost: Combining Bibliographic and Corpus Data to Study Clichés of Translation

Abstract This article presents the results of a corpus-assisted study focused on the expression lost in translation in a corpus of English-language online newspapers (NOW), and in two scholarly bibliographic databases (BITRA and SCOPUS). On the surface, the phrase may seem to indicate negative perceptions of translation practice. However, a study of several hundred occurrences of the cliché paints a more complex picture involving a variety of communicative practices and settings. Many occurrences of the phrase address, for instance, broader issues of cultural and interpersonal misunderstanding. In such cases, the perceived failure to establish a meaningful connection can often be ascribed to the absence of attempts at mediation or transmission, thus signalling recognition that the greatest losses occur not because of, but by lack of translation. In addition, the data indicate that lost in translation’s varied usage patterns can be understood in terms of two competing metaphorical frames, namely one of transportation and one of orientation: in translation, one can lose something, but one can just as well get lost. The implications of both metaphorical mappings are further addressed with reference to the issue of visibility, and to discussions about the proper scope of translation studies research.

‘기계번역’ 관련 국내 번역학 연구동향 분석

This study focuses on the role and importance of machine translation in the digital transformation(DX) environment led by the artificial intelligence(AI) and examines the perspectives of translation researchers, focusing on the use of related terminology. The perspectives on ‘machine translation’(MT) from the research dataset(2014-2023) is categorized into seven types: user and object, detailed function, domain, translation quality, performance method, and purpose of use.
 The discussions in translation studies related to the perspective and status of MT terminology use can be comprehensively summarized as follows: 1) The status of MT and human translators; 2) Technological changes and innovative technologies in MT; 3) Coexistence of human and MT; 4) Hybridity and diversity in the use of terminology related to MT. The mixed use of different MT-related terminologies prevailing in translation academia reflects the rapid pace of changes in related technologies. Thus, it is necessary to keep options open to diversity rather than unity and consistency of terminology.
 In conclusion, this study provides a comprehensive overview and recognition of the topography of research, areas of interest, and the degree of focus of discussion on MT-related research in Translation Studies of Korea.

Translation of interjections and subtitling: a study based on the BETA corpus of TV series and film subtitles

Interjections, often considered minor and peripheral linguistic elements, have been disregarded in both linguistic and translation-studies research. The main aim of this study, in this sense, is to analyse the translation of three primary and three secondary interjections in a parallel English-Spanish corpus of subtitles. More specifically, the interjections under study were ah, wow, ugh, God, damn, and shit, and the corpus used was the BETA corpus. Four main translation solutions have been identified: literal translation, translation by an interjection with a different form, translation by a textual fragment which contains no interjection, and omission. The results of the study indicate that the most frequent translation solution in the whole corpus has been omission, followed by the translation by a different interjection. In a more fine-grained analysis, the two variables analysed, namely type of interjection and specific interjection, have been found to condition the choice of translation solution.

RESEARCH IN THE FIELD OF TRANSLATION AS A COMPONENT OF THE PROCESS OF FORMING THE RESEARCH COMPETENCE OF FUTURE TRANSLATORS

The article attempts to reveal the problem of research in the field of translation as a component of the process of forming the research competence of future translators. The aim of the article is to study the peculiarities of translation studies and their role in the development of future translators’ research competence. The relevance of the study is substantiated, which is determined by the fact that the profession of translator is currently one of the most prestigious and popular professions in the world; there is the demand for new types of translators – fixer translators and military translators, which is due to the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It is noted that the subject of translation studies is the study of the regularities of the translation process and the factors that affect the course of the translation process and determine the result of the translation. The features of the areas of research in the field of translation are considered. It is established that foreign scholars distinguish the following areas of research in translation studies: text analysis and translation; translation quality assessment; genre translation; multimedia translation; translation and technology; history of translation; translation ethics; terminology and glossaries; interpretation; translation process; training of translators; and the profession of translator. It is noted that translators have the opportunity to conduct their research in several fields with different directions and orientations. Some translators choose one of the areas of comparative research, while other translators use different types of questionnaires and interviews to measure the relationship or importance of a specific translation-related issue. Another important area of research in the field of translation is considered – research in the field of training future translators, since conducting high-level translation research requires a translator to have developed research competence. It has been proved that a higher education institution should train a specialist researcher who tries to disseminate and explore new methods of work, who should form new ideas and is able to put them into practice. The future specialist should develop the skills of independent creative scientific work, form a circle of their scientific interests, master the norms and scientific and methodological principles of experimental and research activities. The basis of the research competence of future translators is the ability to identify the problem in time, formulate a hypothesis, select and analyse the necessary information for the study, select the necessary methods of research and data processing, focus not only on the final but also on intermediate results of the study, discuss the possibility of interpreting the results of the study, and use the results of the study in practical activities. These characteristics determine the ability of future translators to conduct scientific research in the field of topical issues of modern humanities, linguistics, literary studies, translation studies and are an important indicator of the high qualification of these specialists. The study organizes and systematizes the available knowledge on the problem of the essence and directions of translation studies, allowing, after appropriate adaptation, applying it in the process of forming the research competence of future translators. The prospects for further research on this issue include the development of pedagogical conditions for the formation of future translators’ research competence, taking into account the peculiarities and directions of translation studies.

The Evolution of Empirical Research in Translation Studies: From Cognitive Insights to AI-Enhanced Horizons

This comprehensive essay traces the evolution and significance of empirical research in translation studies, from its nascent stages in the late 1970s to contemporary advancements. Beginning with foundational work such as that of Baddeley and Hitch in 1974, this paper chronicles key milestones such as Harris and Sherwood’s insights into natural translation, Hans-Peter Krings’s pioneering exploration of translators’ cognitive processes using Think Aloud Protocols (TAPs), and the intersection of cognitive science with translation. As the narrative unfolds, the potential of Artificial Intelligence and modern technological tools is also discussed, suggesting new horizons for understanding the intricate cognitive processes in translation. The essay concludes by emphasizing the imperative of future research at the nexus of human cognition, traditional translation practices, and modern AI technologies, signaling a bright trajectory for the field of translation studies in the era of technological advancements.

The invisible ubiquity of philosophy in translation studies: towards a re-articulation of the discipline’s relationship with philosophy

ABSTRACT The relationship between philosophy, translation, and translation studies has not been explicitly articulated. This article starts from the premise that philosophy is foundational to any academic discipline, and translation studies can critically reflect on itself by engaging its object of study and foundations philosophically. Three distinctions are offered as possible ways of articulating the relationship between translation studies and philosophy: (1) Philosophically informed research in translation studies / Philosophy of translation; (2) Philosophy of translation / Philosophy of translation studies; and (3) Philosophy as an imported doctrine / Disciplinary philosophizing. While philosophy of translation asks what translation is (ontology), philosophy of translation studies examines how we can know about translation (epistemology). The proposed distinctions ascribe philosophical agency to translation studies scholars and presuppose that philosophy can also emerge from within translation studies through disciplinary philosophizing. The proposed distinctions enable addressing ontological and epistemological underpinnings of translation studies.

Analyzing Indo-European Language Similarities Using Document Vectors

The evaluation of similarities between natural languages often relies on prior knowledge of the languages being studied. We describe three methods for building phylogenetic trees and clustering languages without the use of language-specific information. The input to our methods is a set of document vectors trained on a corpus of parallel translations of the Bible into 22 Indo-European languages, representing 4 language families: Indo-Iranian, Slavic, Germanic, and Romance. This text corpus consists of a set of 532,092 Bible verses, with 24,186 identical verses translated into each language. The methods are (A) hierarchical clustering using distance between language vector centroids, (B) hierarchical clustering using a network-derived distance measure, and (C) Deep Embedded Clustering (DEC) of language vectors. We evaluate our methods using a ground-truth tree and language families derived from said tree. All three achieve clustering F-scores above 0.9 on the Indo-Iranian and Slavic families; most confusion is between the Germanic and Romance families. The mean F-scores across all families are 0.864 (centroid clustering), 0.953 (network partitioning), and 0.763 (DEC). This shows that document vectors can be used to capture and compare linguistic features of multilingual texts, and thus could help extend language similarity and other translation studies research.

Individual variations in information behaviour of professional translators: towards a classification of translation-oriented research styles

ABSTRACT In the era of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and automation, studying human behaviour is becoming ever more pressing. The variety of human behaviour within translation studies (TS) research has been given some attention, but the area of individual differences in translators, especially regarding their translation-oriented research activities, has received little consideration in either TS or Information Behaviour (IB) studies. This article reports on a quasi-naturalistic, observational, mixed methods study of professional translators’ research activities designed to capture the similarities and differences in how those activities are carried out. The outcome is a taxonomy of translation-oriented research styles which illustrates the wide spectrum of research behaviours as observed and reported by sixteen participants, but the article also points towards a potential tendency for the homogenization of translation-oriented research behaviour in the digital age.

Peripheral vision and challenging invisibilities

Abstract This article presents a discussion of the theoretical and methodological challenges posed by digitization processes and born-digital sources within translation and translator studies research, particularly in archival contexts. It begins by demonstrating how the digitization of archives and source materials remains an undertheorized issue in translation contexts, as well as the need to understand how digitization allows new forms of “peripheral vision” across our research and publication processes. Subsequently, the article problematizes the archiving and use of born-digital sources to research translation and translators, particularly in terms of issues surrounding data collection, access and ethics. In doing so, this article argues that care must be taken to properly understand and preserve the digital sources that will enable archival research in the future, whilst emphasizing the new opportunities presented by digitized and born-digital sources to challenge the invisibility of translation and translators within many of the world’s archives and histories.

Changes in web search query behavior of English-to-Chinese translation trainees

This article delves into the evolution of web search query behavior among translation trainees over a semester, using a repeated measures design. While prior research in Translation Studies has predominantly focused on information-seeking patterns and types of resources used, a crucial gap remains in understanding the web search query behavior of diverse translation practitioners. Specifically, this investigation analyzes intra-subject and inter-task level changes in web search query behavior within a group of 19 first-year master's students enrolled in an English-to-Chinese translation course, building upon key literature in the field. The statistical analysis conducted reveals changes in the examined variables—query time, complexity, and language—highlighting the importance of targeted research and training to enhance web search skills and search engine proficiency. These findings carry relevant implications for translation practitioners, particularly as new AI technologies continue to expand and enhance their search toolbox and skillset.

How does a national, multilingual news agency contribute to news diversity? A mixed-methods case study

News agencies are regularly mentioned in scholarly works among the principal sources of information for legacy news organisations and titles, particularly in the 24/7 online news environment. However, little is known about how these agencies themselves source news. To fill this gap in scholarship, we present a case study of how Belgium’s national, multilingual news agency sources its science news. We first position our study within a conceptual framework combining insights from news diversity and translation studies research. Next, we operationalise a triangulation of a content analysis, a survey, and interviews with newsroom staff to shed light on the practices and policies that shape and constrain the inner workings of a national news agency in a small, multilingual media market. Our findings reveal a large, potentially worrying, dependency on information subsidies and their assumed factuality from press releases and other news agencies, largely sourced locally. We contextualise our findings within wider news agency and science journalism research.

Translation and interpreting research in Saudi Arabia: a bibliometric analysis (1990–2019)

ABSTRACT The first academic translation centre in Saudi Arabia was established in 1990 by King Saud University; since then, translation has been developing as a discipline in its own right. Despite the considerable attention given to bibliometric study of translation and interpreting (T&I) research in Translation Studies, the available literature to date has not explored the development of T&I journal articles in Saudi Arabia. This study aims to lay the groundwork for examining 30 years of Saudi T&I research activities by analysing the productivity of published journal articles between 1990 and 2019, prior to the establishment of The Literature, Publishing and Translation Commission (LPT) as a regulating body. The paper divides the examined period into three phases: early years (1990-1999), advances in academia (2000-2009) and advances in the industry (2010-2019). Drawing on bibliometric parameters of productivity, the dataset includes 180 journal articles collected primarily from King Fahad National Library and Scopus as well as three Arabic secondary sources. The findings suggest a significant increase of published articles in the third decade (2010-2019), a dominance of pedagogy-related studies during the three phases and shared patterns with contextual factors in Saudi Arabia; including the expansion of translation departments at universities and international scholarships.

Exploring a Portuguese-English corpus through LancsBox®: possibilities for research in translation studies

Exploring a Portuguese-English corpus through LancsBox®: possibilities for research in translation studies

Exploring a Portuguese-English corpus through LancsBox®: possibilities for research in translation studies

Exploring a Portuguese-English corpus through LancsBox®: possibilities for research in translation studies

Exploring a Portuguese-English corpus through LancsBox®: possibilities for research in translation studies

Exploring a Portuguese-English corpus through LancsBox®: possibilities for research in translation studies

Theoretical challenges for a genetics of translation

ABSTRACT Translation archives are sources of insight into the creative processes of literary translation. This article examines the challenges of using the methodology of genetic criticism, which was devised for studying literary composition through archival evidence, for research in translation. It identifies conceptual limitations in this theory’s consideration of translated texts and their specific ontology, and it assesses the applicability of genetic criticism’s primordial categories – literary exogenesis and literary endogenesis – to translation. This paves the way for the construction of a methodology and a conceptual vocabulary for genetic process research in translation studies. It is argued that this new methodology can alleviate certain ambiguities or anxieties in current debates relating to the capacity of the translator to exercise their creativity and perform acts of writing that some would equate with authorship. Finally, adopting a translation studies perspective is suggested as a way for genetic criticism to shed its untenable Romantic heritage.

Языковая локализация как объект исследования в современной теории перевода

Представлен сравнительный анализ существующих подходов к толкованию понятия «локализация», на основании которого выделены сущностные характеристики объекта исследования и предложено его уточненное определение. The paper undertakes a comparative review of existing interpretations of the term ‘localization,’ revealing the essential characteristics of the research object, and suggesting its refined definition as a result.

Book Review

The field of corpus-based translation studies (CBTS) relies on corpus-linguistic methods and tools to analyze electronic corpora of authentic translations. Since its emergence in the early 1990s under the impetus of Mona Baker, CBTS has grown to become a recognized area of research in translation studies. By offering an overview of the field and presenting a variety of fresh perspectives provided by leading experts, The book Extending the Scope of Corpus-Based Translation Studies extends the scope of CBTS in multiple ways, and sheds light on the future of the translation industry.