This article presents the results of an experiment with eleven students from two universities that translated and post-edited threeliterarytextsdistributed on the first and last days of their... Show moreThis article presents the results of an experiment with eleven students from two universities that translated and post-edited threeliterarytextsdistributed on the first and last days of their translation technology modules. The source texts were marked with units of creative potential to assess creativity in the target texts (before and after training). The texts were subsequently reviewed by an independentprofessional literary translator and translation trainer. The results show that there is no quantitative evidence to conclude that the training significantly affects students’ creativity. However, after the training, a change is observed both in the quantitative data and in the reflective essays, i.e. the students are more willing to try creative shifts and they feel more confident to tackle machine translation (MT)issues, while also showing a higher number of errors. Further, we observe that students havea higher degree of creativity in human translation (HT), but significantly fewer errors in post-editing (PE)overall, especially at the start of the training, than in HT. Show less
This article presents the results of an experiment with eleven students from two universities that translated and post-edited three literary texts distributed on the first and last days of their... Show moreThis article presents the results of an experiment with eleven students from two universities that translated and post-edited three literary texts distributed on the first and last days of their translation technology modules. The source texts were marked with units of creative potential to assess creativity in the target texts (before and after training). The texts were subsequently reviewed by an independent professional literary translator and translation trainer. The results show that there is no quantitative evidence to conclude that the training significantly affects students’ creativity. However, after the training, a change is observed both in the quantitative data and in the reflective essays, i.e. the students are more willing to try creative shifts and they feel more confident to tackle machine translation (MT) issues, while also showing a higher number of errors. Further, we observe that students have a higher degree of creativity in human translation (HT), but significantly fewer errors in post-editing (PE) overall, especially at the start of the training, than in HT. Show less
Valdez, S.; Secara, A.; Perez, E.; Bywood, L. 2023
The increase in demand for the localisation of audiovisual media content has led to increased incorporation of audiovisual translation and accessibility modules into university curricula in many... Show moreThe increase in demand for the localisation of audiovisual media content has led to increased incorporation of audiovisual translation and accessibility modules into university curricula in many regions(Bolaños-García-Escribano et al., 2021). This study aims to map part of the audiovisual translation (AVT) and media accessibility (MA) training landscape in Europe, presenting the findings of the 2020 Audiovisual Translation and Media Accessibility Training Survey conducted among the European Master’s in Translation network. It reflects on the results obtained from 55 European Master’s programmes focused on the training of future translators and shows that the majority provide AVT and some MA training, mainly within broad AVT modules and, to a much lesser extent, in dedicated compulsory modules. The insights gained from this study are relevant to establishing a benchmark that will make it possible to track any developments in the teaching of AVT and MA in the EMT network and beyond. Show less
Valdez, S.; Pięta, H.; Torres-Simón, E.; Menezes, R. 2023
Streaming service platforms are said to increase worldwide access to peripheral languages, often via the use of pivot templates. To shed light on how pivot subtitling practices impact language... Show moreStreaming service platforms are said to increase worldwide access to peripheral languages, often via the use of pivot templates. To shed light on how pivot subtitling practices impact language hierarchies and translation quality, we report on the results of an online questionnaire completed by European subtitlers. The questionnaire elicited data on the respondents’ experiences and expectations when translating from pivot templates for streaming services and other media environments (such as cable TV, cinema, and websites). The questionnaire was completed by 370 subtitlers and the elicited data were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively. The results suggest that streaming platforms reinforce traditional language hierarchies by strengthening the position of English as a hyper-central language (Heilbron 2010). ‘Peripheral–peripheral’ subtitling practices (e.g., Korean–Danish) occur mainly through pivot templates in English, and so do ‘central–central’ subtitling practices (e.g., German–French). This means that even when the original content is in a language other than English, English is still the most common source language for subtitlers because of the use of pivot templates. Furthermore, according to our respondents, pivot templates are more common in streaming platforms than in other media environments. The use of pivot templates is also reported to negatively impact subtitlers’ working conditions and give rise to particular ethical, linguistic, and technological challenges for which there are currently few guidelines and training opportunities. Show less
Valdez, S.; Guerberof-Arenas, A.; Ligtenberg, K. 2023
As part of a larger project on the use of MT in healthcare settings among migrant com- munities, this paper investigates if, when, how, and with what (potential) challenges migrants use MT based on... Show moreAs part of a larger project on the use of MT in healthcare settings among migrant com- munities, this paper investigates if, when, how, and with what (potential) challenges migrants use MT based on a survey of 201 non-native speakers of Dutch currently liv- ing in the Netherlands. Three main findings stand out from our analysis. First, the data shows that most migrants use MT to under- stand health information in Dutch and com- municate with health professionals. How MT is used and received varies depending on the context and the L2 language level, as well as age, but not on the educational level. Sec- ond, some users face challenges of different kinds, including a lack of trust or perceived inaccuracies. Some of these challenges relate to comprehension, bringing us to our third point. We argue that more research is needed to understand the needs of migrants when it comes to translated expert-to-non-expert health communication. This questionnaire helped us identify several topics we hope to explore in the project's next phase. Show less
