Translation and Translation Studies at the Crossroads of Digital Communications

Abstract

The word ‘translation’ seems here and there to suffer from a bad reputation. Indeed, it is often replaced by or competes with other terms which can in turn vary widely according to the particular sector of activity in which they are used. The emergence of these diverse labels is cause for contemplation. They reflect diversified professional realities and practices as well as distinct paths of research. On the basis of this realization, we propose to focus on multimodal areas that exemplify the different metamorphoses of ‘translation’. 1. Multilingual translation or ‘localization’ affects software programs and applications, Web sites, video games. 2. Translation ‘going digital’ has impacts on the practices and perception of the work. Continued use of computer-assisted translation and machine translation technologies does not only challenge the more traditional economic model but also, and in particular due to crowdsourcing, transforms the usual denial of translation (and invisibility of the translator) into a desire to translate. 3. Audiovisual translation (AVT) or ‘versioning’: This increasingly popular form of translation underscores the complexity of the multimodal translation being performed (taking into account different types of signs — visual, linguistic, audio) as well as the effects of technologies on the diversity of the AVT. AVT modalities are now multifarious, and the kinds of publics having access to the AVT products are as well. 4. Translation in written media: From press agencies to live editorial newsrooms, the news is continuously being filtered through languages. Journalists cannot help but ‘trans-edit’ the news. Translation Studies is a poly-discipline that is necessarily open to other disciplines and methods of research. It bears witness to the rapid metamorphoses of ways to communicate as the world continues to globalize. These communication changes are noticeable in daily, routine professional workflows, but also in the approaches the discipline is developing in order to better grasp the significance and depth of transformation. Refs 50. Table 1.