Mean Machines? Technological (R)evolution and Human Labour in the Translation and Interpreting Industry
The translation sector has become a prototypical case for the revolutionary force of digitalisation. The outsourcing of translation processes from humans to machines, combined with easy and free access to translation services via digital tools, is radically changing the entire field of transcultural communication. This special issue focuses on technology-induced transformations that can be observed on a variety of levels in the translation and interpreting landscape.
On an industry level, the value ascribed to professional human translation is in decline, as machine translation (MT) is becoming increasingly efficient (Carmo 2020). This leads to economic reverberations for human translators who struggle to negotiate adequate rates for their assignments (Vieira 2020). It is evident that the machinisation of translation results in growing economic pressure for professional human translators.
The digital transformation in the field of translation also triggers a debate on the level of theory and ethics. This includes a discussion on the status and purpose of translation in an increasingly globalised and digitalised world (Cronin 2012). MT can be described as a means of low-threshold access to translation, in a sense liberalising translation for broad segments of the population (cf. O’Thomas 2017: 285). At the same time, the large-scale deployment of MT through multinational corporations offers ample potential for a critique of technocapitalist practices (cf. Baumgarten/Cornellà-Detrell 2018) and raises questions of ownership and participation in technology development (Bijker/ Hughes/Pinch 2012).
This special issue invites contributions that focus on the effects of the machinisation and digitalisation of translation and interpreting on the levels of labour, industry, theory and ethics. The special issue will discuss how our views on translation as a product, a process, a business sector and as a social practice are subject to steady and gradual transformations, with transcultural communication progressively sliding into the realm of machines. We particularly welcome contributions with a critical, interdisciplinary and daring theoretical outlook. Contributions may be submitted from a wide array of investigative lines, not limited to the ones mentioned above, and may be inspired by one or more of the following questions:
To contribute to this special issue, please submit a short paper proposal (500 words, excluding references) to both guest editors:
Michael Tieber, michael.tieber@uni-graz.at
Stefan Baumgarten, stefan.baumgarten@uni-graz.at
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Publication schedule |
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Deadline for paper proposals |
15 April 2022 |
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Notification on paper proposals |
30 April 2022 |
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Submission of full papers |
31 October 2022 |
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Notification on peer review outcome |
31 March 2023 |
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Revised versions |
30 June 2023 |
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Final manuscripts |
30 September 2023 |
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Tentative publication date |
Winter 2023 |
References
Baumgarten, Stefan/Cornellà-Detrell, Jordi (2018) “Translation and the economies of power”, in: Baumgarten, Stefan/Cornellà-Detrell (eds.) Translation and the global spaces of power. Bristol: Multilingual Matters, 11-26.
Bijker, Wiebe E./Hughes, Thomas P./Pinch, Trevor J. (eds.) (2012/1987) The social construction of technological systems. New directions in the sociology and history of technology. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Carmo, Felix do (2020) “‘Time is money’ and the value of translation”, in: Translation Spaces 9 (1), 35-57.
Cronin, Michael (2012) Translation in the digital age. London/New York: Routledge (New perspectives in translation studies).
Cronin, Michael (2019) “Translation, technology and climate change”, in: O’Hagan, Minako (ed.) The Routledge handbook of translation and technology. London/New York: Routledge, 516-530.
Feenberg, Andrew (2002) Transforming technology: a critical theory revisited. Oxford: OUP.
O’Thomas, Mark (2017) “Humanum ex machina. Translation in the post-global, posthuman world”, in: Target 29 (2), 284-300.
Vieira, Lucas N. (2020) “Automation anxiety and translators”, in: Translation Studies 13 (1), 1-21.
Guest editors:Anna Strowe (University of Manchester)Richard Mansell (University of Exeter)Helle V. Dam (Aarhus University)This special issue focuses on the normative expectations around translators, including norms around translator identity, as well as around hiring or selection processes and understandings of competence or expertise. By applying the concept of norms to the area of translators and translatorship, we hope to connect conversations about the multiple intersecting systems of values that underpin those norms, often silently, ranging from beliefs about education, language skill, and qualification, to understandings of professionalism, economics, and translation itself, while continuing to explore the dimensions and qualities of translator identity and presentation. The norms themselves are at the centre of the topic, along with the values from which they emerge and with which they engage, but as with investigation of other types of norms, they must be extrapolated from available forms of data, for example texts by and about translators, or trends in hiring or training.As scholarship in translation studies has broadened, first from linguistic approaches to cultural and sociological approaches, and then to a focus on the translator, we have increasingly come to understand that we must view translation as a socially-situated practice or set of practices, carried out by agents whose behaviour and choices are influenced by a variety of external as well as internal factors. A large part of the focus has been on using this perspective to better understand the choices that are made in translating – that is, the specific textual decisions made by translators – but interest has also grown significantly in questions that move beyond textual choices and comparative textual analysis. There are significant threads of scholarship for example on the cultural or structural aspects of non-professional translation and interpreting (e.g. Antonini et al. 2017; Pérez-González and Susam-Saraeva 2012), the relationships between translation and activism (e.g. Boéri 2024; Gould and Tahmasebian 2020; Tymoczko 2010), and the impact of emerging technologies and digital spaces on perceptions of translatorship (e.g. Zhang et al. 2024), among many others.Norms have long been a productive tool for translation studies, but existing articulations and uses have focused on the translational norms that we understand as governing micro- and macro-level translation choices. Meylaerts (2008) discusses individual translators and their identities and profiles in relation to the norms of translation and the profession, following Simeoni (1998) in connecting these to Bourdieu’s notion of habitus. However, behaviour around translator identities and characteristics, such as hiring or self-presentation, can also be examined in terms of norms. In a recent article, Strowe (2024) suggests considering translator selection as norm-driven could help us better recognize the values and decisions around translator recruitment and deconstruct assumptions around translator choice and identity.These norms are reflected in patterns in hiring trends, the translation industry, job advertisements, and translators’ websites or blogs, for example, but they also inform a variety of aspects of how translatorship is constructed. The self-image and presentation or representation of translators is informed by beliefs about what responsibilities, tasks, and capacities are involved in being a translator, areas that intersect both with culturally constructed notions of what constitutes and delimits translation itself (see Tymoczko 2007) and with what forms of social, cultural, and legal understandings we have about various agents’ forms of responsibility for texts (see Bantinaki 2020; Pym 2011).The special issue will collect both empirical studies that explore areas related to translator norms, and articles exploring either the theorization of translator norms or the methodological possibilities of this kind of work. Potential questions to explore include (but are not limited to) the following:How might we theorize norms around translator identity, self-presentation, hiring etc.?What kinds of translator norms can be identified within the LSP industry or in other contexts in which translation is done?What differences are there in translator norms across different contexts or domains, and how do these differences affect practices of translation?How can we understand projections of translator image as a form of representation of translator norm? • How are translator norms changing in the face of developments in digital technology?What kinds of research methods facilitate the exploration of translator norms?This is an open call, and the editors particularly welcome proposals from researchers whose workintersects with translator identity or self-presentation;looks at industry expectations around translators and hiring practices;seeks to describe and delimit the spaces of human agency and identity around translation amidst the growing presence of AI.Submission Abstracts of up to 300 words should be submitted by November 24 to Anna Strowe by email (anna.strowe@manchester.ac.uk). Once invited to do so by the editors, selected authors will be asked to submit an article of between 7000 and 8000 words, including references, through the journal’s online portal no later than May 30, 2026.A full schedule of dates plus the bibliography is available here: https://benjamins.com/series/ts/callforpapers.pdf
Life Writing and Translation Thursday 18 – Friday 19 June 2026 University of Geneva Abstract of no more than 250 words (bibliography excluded) in English or French are now invited and should be submitted to lifewritingtranslation@unige.ch by 16 November 2025. Notifications of acceptance will be distributed at the beginning of February 2026. Please find more information on abstracts on the Conference website: https://www.humanmovement.cam.ac.uk/events/translating-conflict-and-refuge-language-displacement-and-politics-representation
APTIS25 Online Conference at the UCL Centre for Translation Studies (3–4 November 2025) “Better together: how can industry and academia collaborate to empower future language professionals?” The UCL Centre for Translation Studies (CenTraS) is looking forward to hosting the APTIS25 online conference. The APTIS25 conference (“Better together: how can industry and academia collaborate to empower future language professionals?”) will take place on 3–4 November 2025 via Zoom Webinar. We encourage submissions from both academic and industry speakers. Please see our Call for Contributions as well as the Types of Contributions section to know more about the contributions that APTIS25 will be welcoming. If you would like to contribute to APTIS25 by presenting a talk or a roundtable, please visit the Submit a Proposal section, where you will find the link to send your abstract. Please kindly refer to the Key Dates to know more about submission and registration deadlines. https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/aptis25ucl
APTIS25 Online Conference at the UCL Centre for Translation Studies (3–4 November 2025)“Better together: how can industry and academia collaborate to empower future language professionals?”The UCL Centre for Translation Studies (CenTraS) is looking forward to hosting the APTIS25 online conference. The APTIS25 conference (“Better together: how can industry and academia collaborate to empower future language professionals?”) will take place on 3–4 November 2025 via Zoom Webinar.We encourage submissions from both academic and industry speakers. Please see our Call for Contributions as well as the Types of Contributions section to know more about the contributions that APTIS25 will be welcoming. If you would like to contribute to APTIS25 by presenting a talk or a roundtable, please visit the Submit a Proposal section, where you will find the link to send your abstract.Please kindly refer to the Key Dates to know more about submission and registration deadlines.https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/aptis25ucl
Hieronymus is the first Croatian journal dedicated exclusively to publishing research and professional articles in the field of translation studies and terminology. The journal has the following key goals: (1) to promote translation studies and terminology in Croatia and the broader region, where these two disciplines are not always recognized; and (2) to enhance local researchers’ visibility in the international translation studies community. For the Research Section of the journal, we welcome empirical studies with clear goals and well-defined methodology in any area of translation studies or terminology. In addition, papers presenting and discussing any area of professional translation or terminological practice are invited for the Professional section. Contributions by early career researchers (pre-Ph.D. or recently obtaining a Ph.D.) as well as young professionals are gladly accepted. In both sections of the journal, contributors from Croatia and the broader region are particularly welcome, in line with the journal’s mission outlined above. The preferred languages are English and Croatian. We accept submissions throughout the year, but for consideration in issue 12 (to be published in December 2025), submissions need to be sent by 30 March 2025 at the latest. Submissions will first be considered by the Editorial Team and, if they pass this initial screening, they will be forwarded for a double-blind peer review. Authors whose papers are accepted for publication must certify that their work has not been previously published. All papers are published in Open Access under the Creative Commons 4.0 open license. For information on citation style and formatting, please consult our Contributors page and Submission Guidelines. Please send your contributions to the following addresses: knikoli@ffzg.unizg.hr sveselic@ffzg.unizg.hr If you have any queries regarding this call, please do not hesitate to contact us
