Translator Training Programmes Research Articles

Optimizing Post-Editing Strategies in Human-Computer Interaction

This investigation underscores the significant impact of PE strategy selection on both the cognitive and operational aspects of translation. Highlighting the critical role of PE skills development in translator education, the study proposes several avenues for further research, including broadening participant demographics, integrating diverse and mixed-methods approaches, keeping pace with technological advancements, and engaging in longitudinal studies. These insights offer valuable directions for refining PE methodologies, enhancing translator training programs, and ultimately, elevating the quality of translations.

Translation competence between industry and academia in Saudi Arabia: job descriptions vs students’ perceptions

ABSTRACT Given the constant changes in the translation job market, translator training (TT) programmes need ongoing adaptation to continue training students to meet market requirements. This study aimed to explore the extent to which undergraduates of Arabic/English TT programmes in Saudi Arabia (SA) perceive their ability to help students acquire knowledge and skills related to translation (sub)competences required in the Saudi translation market. To this end, two empirical studies were designed using a convergent parallel mixed methods approach. The first analysed 91 translation-related job descriptions published in SA during 2020 to identify the knowledge and skills required in the market. The second analysed the perceptions of final-year students of the Saudi undergraduate Arabic/English TT programmes regarding the extent to which their programmes helped them acquire these skills. The findings indicate the need to explore why students perceived programmes as ‘not effective enough’, as well as the need to propose ways to develop them. This study will contribute to improving Saudi undergraduate TT programmes to provide highly qualified, competent translators to satisfy current Saudi translation market demands.

Simplification for Efficiency: Development of Schema-Based Chinese-English Interpretation Training Programs

Due to the development of international trade and intercultural communication, interpretation is widely used as a necessary tool in some business occasions. The high demand for Chinese-English interpretation has also increased accordingly in recent years. Interpretation research has been built on the basis of multidisciplinary research, involving linguistics, psychology and sociology. The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of the application of schema theory in teaching C-E interpretation. This study provides some evidence and interpreting examples of application of schema theory in terms of language schemas, formal schemas, and content schemas, as well as a three-stage workshop, namely preparation, training programs, and post-training enhancement, so as to shed light on some practical implications for interpreters, teachers and students. Effectively implementing of schema theory in C-E interpretation not only promotes oral output accuracy through words and information parsing, but also restructure information into an easier-perceived format, to solve the problem of vague oral expression. Therefore it is necessary for interpreters to clarify the content and characteristics of schema theory, receive systematic training, and proactively establish as well as activate as many schemas as possible to improve the efficiency and quality of C-E interpretation.

The acceptance of tablet for note-taking in consecutive interpreting in a classroom context: The students' perspectives

This study aims to examine interpreting students' perceptions of using tablets for interpreting note-taking (INT). A mixed-method approach was adopted, including quantitative methods based on Gile's two-phase effort model of consecutive interpreting (CI) to investigate respondents' experiences and perceptions, as well as qualitative methods to explore differences between professionals and beginners regarding their preferences and user experiences with note-taking tools. Additionally, factors within the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) framework that significantly impacted the acceptance of tablet-based interpreting were analyzed. Our research findings reveal valuable insights into students' attitudes towards integrating technology into interpreter training programs while highlighting key factors influencing tablet-based note-taking adoption or rejection among participants. Moreover, this study emphasizes the importance of developing an application specifically designed for INT to meet the unique needs of interpreters and stresses that training plays an essential role in facilitating the adoption of tablet-based INT. Teachers are suggested to take the initiative to try tablet-based INT themselves before they make their decisions on whether to introduce the technology to their students.

Adapting to technological change: An investigation of translator training and the translation market in the Arab world

This study overviews the technology-related skills required by the translation market and the potential (mis)alignment between market needs and the skills developed in translator training programs in the Arab world. To this end, we collected and analyzed a corpus of 145 job ads for Arabic translation or localization services, seeking to spot market trends in the technology skills required. The study also collected and analyzed documentary evidence on translation programs in the Arab world to reveal the types of technology-related courses and the skills they foster. The findings reveal that computer-aided translation and software localization skills are increasingly required by the Arabic translation market. Moreover, the number of technology-related courses increased over time as training programs updated their offerings to meet current and expected future market demands. However, only a limited number of translation programs offer localization courses. This indicated a potential area of improvement. This study's insights should inform the development of translator training program courses to meet the job market's evolving needs.

Towards a Historical Approach to Translation in Translator Education

Academic programs across disciplines often require a foundational knowledge of history as an essential component for earning degrees in various areas of expertise. In the context of translation programs, the history of translation may either be offered as a distinct and separate course or integrated into practical translation courses. Since the 1980s, scholars in the field of translation have recognized the significance of historical research and have actively developed methods and theoretical approaches to establish this as a discipline in its own right. Presently, there is an abundance of material on the history of translation, accompanied by a concerted effort to construct a historiography specific to the field. Despite the vast array of bibliographic resources available, one notable lacuna in Translation Studies pertains to effectively introducing the historical dimension of translation to students who may grapple with comprehending this extensive body of theoretical knowledge and understanding the contribution of a historical approach to the act of translating. This article seeks to illuminate strategies for familiarizing students with the historical dimension of translation within the framework of a translation history course. The overarching aim is to underscore how translation history can contribute to students' development of a robust theoretical background on the translation phenomenon while enhancing their practical skills. Additionally, the paper explores the potential resistance students may harbour toward the perceived utility of a historical approach in addressing practical translation issues. Furthermore, the discussion delves into the role of Bibliographies of Translation Studies, which collate scholarly publications on translation, as comprehensive academic tools essential for systematizing existing yet often fragmented knowledge in this specific scientific domain. The research methodology employed is theoretical exploration, focusing on concepts such as history and historical research in translation, the objectives of a translation history course, and the design of course content along with methods for assessing student performance. The fundamental conclusion drawn is that the historical approach to translation is intricately connected to the act of translating, emphasizing the need to integrate translation history into translator training at higher education institutions. The recommendation is to offer translation history as a standalone course within translator training programs, featuring clearly defined goals and a strong orientation toward the practical aspects of translation. The envisioned objective of a "History of Translation" course is not only to address students' knowledge gaps but also to instill curiosity and research skills, fostering a lifelong learning mindset crucial for translation practice. Such an approach is anticipated to cultivate a "translation culture" among learners, contributing to the development of their self-awareness and enhancing their standing as professionals in the translation industry.

CATing the Way: Polish Translators and Computer-Assisted Translation Tools

This paper aims to establish a profile of Polish translators who apply CAT tools in their professional practice. The investigation identifies six primary categories, shedding light on the translators themselves, their experience, and interactions with specialised software. The first category delves into demographic data, analysing age groups and gender distribution among the users. The second category focuses on basic data encompassing the translators' experience with programs and their preferred foreign languages. The paper also explores the link between higher education and CAT tool proficiency, examining fields of study, educational institutions, specialised training, and opinions on the integration of this technology into academic curricula. In order to assess the non-academic aspects of learning and applying such software, it investigates the translators' engagement in training courses, certifications, and sources of qualifications improvement. Various methods for acquiring skills in CAT tools are also explored, such as online webinars and practical translation practice.The results reveal that the translators are rather experienced users of the software, they rely heavily on such programs, employing them in various types of translations, mostly non-literary texts. Translators perceive them positively, acknowledging their contribution to accelerating work processes and improving competitiveness in the translation market. The use of CAT tools is expected to increase, emphasising the need to incorporate these tools into translator training programs and adapt study plans to accommodate their further popularisation. The data was collected through an anonymous survey and provides insights into the preferences, habits, and perspectives of Polish translators using CAT tools. This paper serves as a foundation for further research and comparison with other translator groups, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of the translator's profession in the context of translation technology utilisation.

The Multidimensional Analysis of the Translator Style in English Translations of The True Story of Ah Q

This research investigates the characteristics of the translator style in five English translations of The True Story of Ah Q, with particular attention paid to lexicons, syntax and overall text structure. The primary goal is to examine patterns between translation versions as well as identify subtle variances that exist among translation versions. By employing Multidimensional Analysis techniques, we delve deeper into the concept of Translator Style. Explore their choices and patterns across translation projects. Our findings illustrate elements that define a translator style at a level, such as syntactic structures and overall text composition in The True Story of Ah Q. This study emphasises the significance of translators and scholars of translation studies recognising how translator styles impact translated text. Further research should be undertaken to gain more insights into translator styles and their effects; furthermore, findings from such research could also be integrated into translation training programs to promote greater appreciation of translation as an art form.

Integrating post-editing into the subtitling classroom: what do subtitlers-to-be think?

In today’s professional landscapes, new technologies have altered media localization workflows as much as practitioners’ workstations and habits. A more comprehensive integration of automation tools, including (neural) machine translation systems, has been ushered in by the proliferation of cloud ecosystems. In a further technological drive in the production of subtitle projects, systems now integrate automatic speech recognition and can machine translate subtitles from pre-spotted templates. The rise of post-editors in media localization, specifically in subtitling, has been a reality for some time now, triggering the need for up-to-date training methods and academic curricula. It is against this backdrop that this article seeks to examine the perception of post-editing among trainees in subtitling. A total of four teaching experiences, conceived as practical experiments in interlingual subtitle post-editing (English into Spanish), involving postgraduate students from both Spain and the United Kingdom, are described here. The sample comprised 36 master’s-level students enrolled in translator training programmes that have a focus on audiovisual translation. A mixed-methods approach was adopted for this study; after each experience, the feedback collated through online questionnaires has proved paramount to understanding the participants’ opinions about post-editing in the subtitling classroom. Interestingly, most of the respondents believe that subtitle post-editing training should feature more prominently in translation curricula even though they have voiced their reluctance to undertake post-editing work professionally.

Performance and perception: machine translation post-editing in Chinese-English news translation by novice translators

Machine translation has become a popular option for news circulation, due to its speed, cost-effectiveness and improving quality. However, it still remains uncertain whether machine translation is effective in helping novice translators in news translation. To investigate the effectiveness of machine translation, this study conducted a Chinese-English news translation test to compare the performance and perception of translation learners in machine translation post-editing and manual translation. The findings suggest that it is challenging for machine translation to understand cultural and semantic nuances in the source language, and produce coherent structural translation in the target language. No significant quality difference was observed in post-editing and manual translation, though post-editing quality was found to be slightly better. Machine translation can help to reduce translation learners’ processing time and mental workload. Compared to manual translation, machine translation post-editing is considered as a preferred approach by translation learners in news translation. It is hoped that this study could cast light on the integration of machine translation into translator training programs.

Expertise differences in cognitive interpreting: A meta-analysis of eye tracking studies across four decades.

This meta-analytic research delves into the influence of expertise on cognitive interpreting, emphasizing time efficiency, accuracy, and cognitive effort, in alignment with prevailing expertise theories that link professional development and cognitive efficiency. The study assimilates empirical data from 18 eye-tracking studies conducted over the past four decades, encompassing a sample of 1581 interpreters. The objective is to elucidate the role of expertise in interpretative performance while tracing the evolution of these dynamics over time. Findings suggest that expert interpreters outperform novices in time efficiency and accuracy and exhibit lower cognitive effort, especially in sight and consecutive interpreting. This effect is particularly pronounced in the English-Chinese language pair and with the use of E-prime and Tobii eye-tracking systems. Further, fixation count and pupil size are essential metrics impacting cognitive effort. These findings have vital implications for interpreter training programs, suggesting a focus on expertise development to enhance efficiency and accuracy, reduce cognitive load, and emphasize the importance of sight interpreting as a foundational skill. The selection of technology and understanding of specific ocular metrics also emerged as essential for future research and practical applications in the interpreting industry. This article is categorized under: Psychology > Theory and Methods Linguistics > Cognitive.

Effects of executive functions on consecutive interpreting for Chinese-Japanese unbalanced bilinguals.

Previous research on performance in interpreting has focused primarily on the influence of interpreting experience on executive functions, such as shifting, updating, and inhibition. However, limited research has explored the effects of executive functions on performance. Understanding how different executive functions affect interpreting performance can provide valuable insights for teaching methods. Therefore, the present study aims to examine the effects of executive functions on comprehension and output performance during bidirectional consecutive interpreting between Chinese and Japanese. This study involved 48 Chinese advanced Japanese language learners. Self-assessment results indicated that all participants were unbalanced bilingual individuals. All participants took part in consecutive interpreting, completed comprehension tests, and underwent executive function tests. Executive functions were assessed using the color-shape switching task, 1-back task, and Stroop task. Analysis using Bayesian linear regression revealed the following. (1) Updating exhibited a significant impact on both Japanese-to-Chinese and Chinese-to-Japanese interpreting, indicating that higher updating ability was associated with better interpreting performance. (2) Inhibition showed a significant effect on Japanese-to-Chinese interpreting performance, whereas the effect was not significant in Chinese-to-Japanese interpreting. (3) No significant effects of shifting were observed in either Japanese-to-Chinese or Chinese-to-Japanese interpreting. The results indicate that executive functions have different effects on the interpreting performance of unbalanced bilinguals, while these effects are also influenced by the direction of the source language. Based on these findings, it is recommended that executive function training should be included in interpreter teaching and training programs, with a specific focus on the updating and inhibition functions.

Exploring the Pedagogical Potential of Monolingual Corpora in Inverse Translation Training

This article presents a comprehensive study that delves into the untapped potential of incorporating monolingual corpora as a strategic tool within translator training to enhance trainees’ proficiency in the challenging domain of inverse translation from Arabic to English. By shedding light on the pedagogical promise of monolingual corpora in inverse translation instruction, this research underscores the critical need to integrate this tool into translator training curricula, thereby amplifying the translation competencies of trainees. The central research inquiry is as follows: How does using a monolingual corpus enhance the performance of students engaged in inverse translation of collocations from Arabic to English within the context of political and media texts? The researchers focused on two groups of female students specializing in political and media translation at the College of Language Sciences, King Saud University. These groups, a control and an experimental one, were meticulously trained with different references—while the control group relied on conventional bilingual dictionaries, the experimental group employed monolingual corpora as their primary translation references—the assessment criterion centered on translating a newspaper text. The noteworthy outcome of this comparative analysis was that the experimental group consistently outperformed their counterparts in the control group by leveraging monolingual corpora. The findings from this research offer precise guidance to enhance the efficiency of translation training programs. Moreover, the study equips translators with essential skills and competencies and elevates the quality of translation training programs.

A curriculum analysis of applied English translation program in the scope of translator competence: The case of Tokat Gaziosmanpasa University

In today's world, the increasing desire and need for internationalization in all areas of life have increased the interaction of people speaking different languages in parallel. This situation has revealed how important the need for translation and translator is. Thus, translator training programs have become increasingly common in Turkiye and worldwide. In addition to the departments of Translation and Interpreting that offer undergraduate translation education, Applied English Translation programs at associate degrees have also been constituted. Curriculums designed to train translators, whether at undergraduate or associate degree, need to be constantly updated in line with the needs of the translation industry. The developments that cause this update can be exemplified as technological innovations, collaborations developed in different fields, and emerging markets in this sense. The translators need various knowledge, skills, and professional competencies to provide the translation service expected from them. Whereas these competencies are expressed as translation competence, a higher term in some studies, some researchers have preferred to use the concept of translator competence for the same phenomenon. Regardless of the preferred concept, this phenomenon is considered a central element in curriculum design. This competence is gained through translation training programs offered at different levels (undergraduate or associate degree) in higher education institutions. This study aims to present, in the case of Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University, to what extent the Applied English Translation program curriculum given at the associate degree covers the translator competence required by the translator candidate.

Lost in post-editing. An exploratory study on translation trainees’ perceived EN>IT post-editing vs. translation performance

Technological advances in the professional segment of Language Service Providers (LSPs) have deeply changed the activity of professionals operating in the language industry. As a result, a large part of the translation activities which were once performed by human translators is now assigned to automatized systems. Machine Translation (MT) and Post-Editing (MTPE) services have doubled in size among the services offered by Language Service Companies (LSCs) and are expected to keep growing in future projections such that they might eventually prevail over Human Translation (HT). In light of this evolution, translation training institutes and universities claim to implement and develop training programs adapted to the evolving market, but the mismatch between the ideal requirements and the actual content of translation training programs is a critical issue of the translator training scenario in Italy. This paper describes an exploratory study aiming to investigate translation trainees' perception of their translation vs. post-editing performance, in order to understand their attitude towards MTPE and their confidence in performing a MTPE task. Results show that, contrary to a confident translation performance supported by extensive training, not only did the lack of appropriate and dedicated MTPE training affect trainees’ ability to perform the task but it also hampered their capability to analyze the task and self-evaluate their performance, calling for the design of more targeted curricula.

Translator Trainees’ Performance on Arabic–English Promotional Materials

Abstract Due to linguistic and cultural variations between the source language (SL) and the target language (TL), the tourism industry may struggle to communicate effectively with tourists from various linguistic and cultural backgrounds. The translation industry could contribute significantly to the growth of the tourism industry by removing linguistic and cultural barriers, facing those with different cultural and language backgrounds. Given this issue, this study targets 27 postgraduates enrolled in translation training programs at Saudi universities with an average age of M = 27.471 (SD = 4.8319) and examine their performance on inverse translation (Arabic to English). The authors use a translation task, a tourism-based knowledge questionnaire, and a scale of difficulty to gather the data. Findings reveal shortcomings in the postgraduates’ translation of the promotional translation material and adherence to the source text style. The participants’ responses to the questionnaire show a lack of know-what and know-how in tourism translation. Training in tourism translation and the design of tourism translation courses should be based on the interdisciplinary nature of the field in order to adequately prepare translator trainees for the tourism translation industry.

The Equivalence Problems Produced by Machine Translation on A Literary Text: A Study on The Indonesian Translation of Harry Potter: The Order of Phoenix

Google Translate (GT) is a machine translator (MT) this is powered by neural machine technology (NMT) which can produce generally fluent textual translation in more than 100 languages with 60% accuracy. Studies have been done to measure GT ability in translating texts and the quality of its translation products. The results showed that GT’s products are generally satisfying but they have inadequacies at some level of translation aspects. This study aims at finding the problems of equivalence that resulted from the process translating a Harry Potter novel, a literary work that is rich with cultural words and complex sentences, using GT from the English language into the Indonesian language. Using a descriptive qualitative method, the current study examines the problem of equivalence based on Mona Baker’s theory to categorize the translation errors found in the GT output text. This study showed that literary texts are still problematic for GT in terms of words that two languages do not share and sentences that contain several points of view. This paper suggest that GT has to update its database of Indonesian lexicons and any MT output has to go post-editing process in order to ensure its readability and naturalness to its target readers. The implication of this study emphasizes the need to concentrate on translation training programs in the post-editing work.

Dealing with students’ emotions: exploring trait EI theory in translator education

ABSTRACT Human emotions are profoundly social and this becomes particularly salient in the translation profession, where translators often need to withstand close scrutiny of their work by fellow translators, revisers, project managers, clients, etc. The emotions arising from those relationships can be remarkably diverse, from mild to intense, from negative to positive. Similar emotions arise amongst our students when we ask them to engage with authentic, project-based learning. Simulated Translation Bureaus (STBs), for instance, mimic the stresses and strains of the real workplace and therefore generate similarly strong emotions. How can we help our students manage these? Could emotional intelligence be a new dimension to introduce into translator training programmes around the world? According to Trait Emotional Intelligence theory (Trait EI), we cannot ‘enhance’ our students’ personalities, but knowing what kind of personality they have, and the behavioural dispositions they are prone to, may help them to develop coping strategies in the face of adversity. This paper explores the usefulness of Trait EI theory in translator education by applying it to students enrolled on STBs at Newcastle and Swansea universities.

The co-construction of empathic communication in interpreter-mediated medical consultations: A qualitative analysis of interaction

Current interpreter training programs pay increasingly more attention to the intricacies of the clinical context, such as doctors and patients’ communicative goals. However, to date, the conduit model remains influential when it comes to interpreters dealing with other participants’ emotions and their own emotions in interpreter-mediated consultations (IMCs). Consequently, establishing a good doctor-patient relationship by means of empathic communication (EC) might be jeopardized in IMCs. During EC, patients express their emotional or illness experiences to which doctors convey their empathic understanding. This study aimed to assess how doctors, patients, and interpreters verbally co-construct EC and the interpreter’s effect on this process. We analyzed 7 authentic IMCs using the Empathic Communication Coding System, as previously adapted for IMCs. We identified empathic opportunities (EOs) and empathic responses (ERs) as expressed by patients/doctors, and as rendered by interpreters. Our results showed that EC is the result of an interactive and collaborative process among all participants in IMCs. That is, the interplay between participants’ communicative actions determines how patients’ expressed lived experiences are addressed in IMCs. Our findings suggest that interpreters hold a central position in this process as they initiated EC about the patient’s illness experience and exerted control over the ways in which statements were rendered (e.g., interpreters omitted and altered original statements). In addition, our results indicated that EC in IMCs might be compromised by doctors and interpreters’ communicative actions.

Is Translation Always Transfer? Challenging the Dominant Conceptual Metaphor in African Bible Translation Training

This paper considers the conceptualization of translation in Katharine Barnwell’s Bible Translation: An Introductory Course in Translation Principles, a popular textbook for Bible translation training programs in Africa. The recurring conceptual metaphors in this text are identified, and the metaphor TRANSLATION IS TRANSFER is analyzed. This research stems from the need to develop African Bible translators who conceptualize translation using concepts (metaphors) in their languages that are indicative of what activity they embark on in translation work. Reading through some of the training materials in use on the continent (specifically Anglophone), there seem to be relatively few that have explored the conceptual tools used by indigenous Africans to think and talk about translation. There is thus a need to investigate the conceptual metaphors used by Africans in their various cultures to conceptualize translation. The implications of this research appeal to trainers of translators to rethink not just the methodological approach to Bible translation programs in Africa but also the contents of course materials.