All the latest updates

IATIS News

Home / News

Browse News

New publication: The Challenge of Subtitling Offensive and Taboo Language into Spanish: A Theoretical and Practical Guide

This book provides readers, students and teachers with a clear and concise guide to understanding the concepts of offensive and taboo language and how this type of language can be subtitled into Spanish used in Spain. It combines theoretical and practical approaches and covers technical matters, as well as those of censorship, (ideological) manipulation, translation strategies and techniques, the treatment of offensive and taboo language and how to conduct research in this field. It includes an array of examples from recent films and TV series to present the reader with real samples of subtitles broadcast on digital platforms today. In addition, each chapter includes exercises with which the reader can put theory into practice, as well as possible solutions in the form of answer keys. It will be of use not only to researchers and students, but also to future audiovisual translators seeking to acquire further knowledge in the transfer of offensive and taboo language. For more information, click here

Posted: 14th February 2023
Read more

New publication: The Routledge Handbook of Public Service Interpreting, Edited By Laura Gavioli and Cecilia Wadensjö

The Routledge Handbook of Public Service Interpreting provides a comprehensive overview of research in public service, or community interpreting. It offers reflections and suggestions for improving public service communication in plurilingual settings and provides tools for dealing with public service communication in a global society. Written by leading and emerging scholars from across the world, this volume provides an editorial introduction setting the work of public service interpreting (PSI) in context and further reading suggestions. Divided into three parts, the first is dedicated to the main theoretical issues and debates which have shaped research on public service interpreting; the second discusses the characteristics of interpreting in the settings which have been most in need of public service interpreting services; the third provides reflections and suggestions on interpreter as well as provider training, with an aim to improve public service interpreting services. This Handbook is the essential guide for all students, researchers and practitioners of PSI within interpreting and translation studies, medicine and health studies, law, social services, multilingualism and multimodality. For more information, click here

Posted: 14th February 2023
Read more

New publication: Special Issue of the International Journal of Language & Law: Empirical Approaches to Law and Language Studies, Edited by Jennifer Smolka and Benedikt Pirker

Based on a thematic area that examines empirical approaches in law and language studies, the present special section assembles three exemplary contributions outlining the possible dimensions of how empirical work can contribute to language and law. Some authors of these contributions explore cross-linguistic empirical work on communication between police and victims, witnesses and suspects, and the impact that linguistic and cultural differences can have; other authors utilise a corpus-based approach, which is combined with terminology studies to gain robust empirical data on terminological variation both within one language and inter-lingually; and yet other authors do experimental research, testing the claims of different theories on legal interpretation as to whether legal interpretation fundamentally differs from the ordinary understanding processes of language. These contributions thus illustrate the various ways in which all of these lines of research are able to complement existing research, open up new lines of inquiry and question or confirm existing assumptions. For more information, click here

Posted: 14th February 2023
Read more

New publication: The Routledge Handbook of Translation, Interpreting and Bilingualism, Edited By Aline Ferreira, John W. Schwieter

Translation and interpreting can be seen as two special sub-types of bilingual communication. The field of bilingualism—from developmental, cognitive, and neuroscientific perspectives—is highly relevant to Translation and Interpreting Studies. The Routledge Handbook of Translation, Interpreting and Bilingualism is the first handbook to bring together the related, yet disconnected, fields of bilingualism and translation and interpreting studies. Edited by leading scholars and authored by a wide range of established authorities from around the world, the Handbook is divided into six parts and encompasses theories and method, the development of translator and interpreter competence and cognitive, neuroscientific and social aspects. This is the essential guide to bilingualism for advanced students and researchers of Translation and Interpreting studies and key reading on translation and interpreting for those studying and researching bilingualism. For more information, click here

Posted: 14th February 2023
Read more

Call for papers: Translation for Social Justice: Concepts, Policies and Practices across Modalities and Contexts

Call for papers (in EN, ES, FR, DE): Translation for Social Justice: Concepts, Policies and Practices across Modalities and Contexts Guest editors Dr Julie Boéri, Hamad Bin Khalifa University (Qatar) & Dr Ting Guo, University of Liverpool (UK) LANS-TTS Issue 23, publication year 2024   Linguistica Antverpiensa LANS-TTS is an international, open access journal in translation studies publishing yearly special issues.  PDF CALL HERE Translation for Social Justice: Concepts, Policies and Practices across Modalities and Contexts The transnational nature of contemporary movements, media and networks in our globalized and interconnected societies has placed translation at the heart of counter-hegemonic discourses and endeavours. In this context, translation has become a powerful prism through which to think and practice social justice. Although largely intellectualized in relation to Western, liberal welfare states, social justice is also a performative and interpersonal prism of social change (Sen, 2009), with roots historically spread across cultures, traditions and territories, and with ramifications in contemporary forms of resistance, including struggles for the rights of humans but also of animals and nature. Thus, while social justice has traditionally been understood as the fair distribution of means and resources and the recognition of people’s rights across status in a given society (Fraser & Honneth, 2003), the increased interconnection of struggles across the world has broadened social justice in ways that heighten the stakes of translation. The leverage and enactment of the multiple rights which social justice now encompasses is contingent upon the organization, the practice and the theorization of translation (Boéri, 2022) in all its modalities (translation, interpreting, bilingual facilitation, fixing, subtitling, dubbing) and across communication contexts of resistance (social movements, media networks, cultural institutions). Combining a translational focus on social justice and a social justice focus on translation can harness the political and ethical potentials of this area of enquiry and practice, emerging from the liminal space between activism and the service economy (Baker, 2013; Boéri, 2008, 2012; Boéri & Delgado Luchner, 2021; Piróth & Baker, 2020; Pérez-González, 2010, 2016), social justice and social movements (de Sousa Santos, 2005; Doerr, 2018; Fernández, 2021), social justice and public policy (García-Beyaert, 2017), social justice and art (Boéri, 2020), social justice and education (Bahadır, 2011; Boéri & Jerez, 2011; Gill & Guzmán, 2011), and social justice and gender equality ( Baldo et al., 2021; Guo, 2021; Spurlin, 2018). On the one hand, a translational approach to social justice invites scholars to account for the counter-hegemonic potential of cross-language communication, which tends to be overlooked in an all too often monolingual account of multilingual processes and spaces of resistance. On the other hand, a social justice focus on translation can yield powerful insights into the agency of the translation actors as dynamic/innovative agents in the performance of their duties, who may depart from and rethink deontological principles of impartiality and expertise. These two complementary and overlapping standpoints have the potential to renew our understanding of how social actors (including translators and interpreters) think and perform social justice beyond the monolingual and expert paradigms. Bringing together studies from across contexts, regions and territories of resistance, this special issue aims to advance knowledge of the challenges and the stakes of overcoming language barriers in social justice endeavours. We seek submissions across translation and interpreting studies, with particular interest in interdisciplinary perspectives which can cast a critical light onto the social justice stakes of translation across contexts and modalities. Topics of interest include but are not limited to: The politics of organization of cross-language communication in past and contemporary social justice endeavours across contexts (movements, media, cultural institutions) Framing and leveraging translation/interpreting for social justice: stakes, challenges and levers in and beyond liberal democracies Enacting social justice in adversarial and collaborative cross-language encounters: positionality, ethics, constraints and agency The translation labor of social justice: wages, volunteering, working conditions, expertise, skills, affect Individual and collective trajectories of social justice actors: processes of collective identity formation among activists who translate and activist translators Translation/Interpreting pedagogies of social justice: curriculum developments in ad hoc, community and formal training Epistemologies of translational counter-hegemonic endeavors: revisiting and renewing concepts, methods, frameworks, models and paradigms for social justice Selected papers will be submitted for a double-blind peer review as requested by LANS–TS.  Practical information and deadlines Proposals: Please submit abstracts of approximately 500–1000 words in English, French, Spanish or German, including relevant references (not included in the word count), to both Dr Julie Boéri (jboeri@hbku.edu.qa) and Dr Ting Guo (ting.guo@liverpool.ac.uk) in the same email. Abstract deadline: 1 April 2023 Acceptance of abstract proposals: 1 June 2023 Submission of papers: 1 November 2023 Acceptance of the papers: 1 March 2024 Submission of final versions of papers: 1 June 2024 Editorial work (proofreading and APA check): June to November 2024 Publication: December 2024 For all submissions (abstracts and full papers), authors have to use APA 7th. References (apa.org)APA Style Reference Guide for Journal Articles, Books, and Edited Book Chapters, APA Style 7th EditionAPA Style Common Reference Examples Guide, APA Style 7th Edition Julie Boéri is Associate Professor in Translation, Interpreting and Intercultural Studies at Hamad Bin Khalifa University. She holds a PhD in Translation and Intercultural Studies from the University of Manchester. She has interpreted and/or coordinated interpreting in many social justice initiatives in Europe and Latin America. Her work focuses on the translational nature of contemporary social movements and civil society, and on the ethics of translation, interpreting and mediation. She co-edited (with Carol Maier, Kent State University, USA) the bilingual English and Spanish book Compromiso Social y Traducción/Interpretación – Translation/Interpreting and Social Activism. She has published her work in varying outlets: The Translator (Taylor & Francis), Translation and Interpreting Studies (John Benjamins), Quaderns, Puentes, The Translator and Interpreter Trainer, Meta: journal des traducteurs, Hermès, Language and Communication, Revues des Sciences de l’Information et de la Communication, among others. She has regularly contributed to Routledge Handbooks and Encyclopedia (on citizen media, translation, interpreting, ethics). She is the Vice-President of IATIS (International Association of Translation and Intercultural Studies). Ting Guo is a Senior Lecturer in Translation and Chinese studies at University of Liverpool. She holds a PhD in Translation Studies (Aston University, UK). Her research focuses on the pivotal role of translators in the reproduction and dissemination of knowledge as well as in cultural and social changes. She has coedited two special issues on the topic of queer translation, with Michela Baldo (University of Birmingham) and Jonathan Evans, of Perspectives: Studies in Translation Theory and Practice (in press  2023) and Translation and Interpreting Studies (published 2021). Ting publishes widely in international journals such as Translation Studies and Literature Compass, and she is the author of Surviving Violent Conflict: Chinese Interpreters in the Second-Sino Japanese War (1931-45) (2016). She is the Associate Editor of Target, the International Journal of Translation Studies and member of the Advisory Board of Translation in Society as well as member of the Advisory Panel of New Voices in Translation Studies. References Bahadır, Ş. (2011). Interpreting enactments: a new path for interpreting pedagogy. In C. Kainz, E. Prunc, & R. Schögler (Eds.), Modelling the field of community interpreting: Questions of methodology in research and training (pp. 177–210). LIT Verlag. Baker, M. (2013). Translation as an alternative space for political action. Social Movement Studies, 12(1), 23–47. https://doi.org/10.1080/14742837.2012.685624 Baldo, M., Evans, J., & Guo, T. (2021). Introduction: translation and LGBT+/queer activism. Translation and Interpreting Studies, 16(2), 185–195. https://doi.org/10.1075/tis.00051.int Boéri, J. (2008). A narrative account of the Babels vs. Naumann controversy. The Translator, 14(1), 21–50. https://doi.org/10.1080/13556509.2008.10799248 Boéri, J. (2020). Diversity. In M. Baker, L. Pérez González, & B. B. Blaagaard (Eds.), Routledge encyclopedia of citizen media (pp. 140–145). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315619811 Boéri, J. (2022). Steering ethics towards social justice: A model for a meta-ethics of interpreting. Translation and Interpreting Studies: https://doi.org/10.1075/tis.20070.boe Boéri, J., & Jerez, J. D. M. (2011). From training skilled conference interpreters to educating reflective citizens. The Interpreter and Translator Trainer, 5(1), 27–50. https://doi.org/10.1080/13556509.2011.10798811 de Sousa Santos, B. (2005). The future of the world social forum: The work of translation. Development, 48(2), 15–22. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.development.1100131 Doerr, N. (2018). Political translation: How social movement democracies survive. Cambridge University Press. Fraser, N., & Honneth, A. (2003). Redistribution or recognition? A political philosophical exchange. Verso. García-Beyaert, S. (2017). Public concern, public policy and PSI: The public dimension of language interpreting. Revista Canaria de Estudios Ingleses, 75, 15–29. Gill, Rosalind M. & Guzmán, M. C. (2011). Teaching translation for social awareness in Toronto. The Interpreter and Translator Trainer (ITT), 5(1), 93–108. https://doi.org/10.1080/13556509.2011.10798813 Guo, T. (2021). ‘Love is love’ and ‘Love is equal’: Translation and queer feminism in China. In M. Bracke, J. Bullock, P. Morris, & K. Schulz (Eds.) Translating feminism (pp. 199–226). Palgrave. Pérez-González, L. (2010). ‘Ad-hocracies’ of translation activism in the blogosphere: A genealogical case study. In M. Baker, M. Olohan, & M. Calzada Pérez (Eds.), Text and context essays on translation and interpreting in honour of Ian Mason (pp. 259–287). St Jerome Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315759739 Pérez-González, L. (2016). The politics of affect in activist amateur subtitling: A biopolitical perspective. In M. Baker & B. Blaagaard (Eds.), Citizen media and public spaces: Diverse expressions of citizenship and dissent (pp. 118–135). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315726632 Piróth, A., & Baker, M. (2020). Volunteerism in translation: Translators without borders and the platform economy. In E. Bielsa & D. Kapsaskis (Eds.), The routledge handbook of translation and globalization (pp. 406–424). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003121848 Sen, A. (2009). The idea of justice. Harvard University Press. Spurlin, W. (2018). Queering translation: Rethinking gender and sexual politics in the spaces between languages and culture. In B. J. Epstein and R. Gillett (Eds.), Queer in translation (pp. 172–183). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315603216

Posted: 4th February 2023
Read more

New publication: On-Screen Language in Video Games: A Translation Perspective. Mikołaj Deckert and Krzysztof Hejduk

In this Element, the authors focus on the translational dimension of 'on-screen language' (OSL). They analyse a data set covering the Polish localisations of Tom Clancy's The Division 2 and Shadow Warrior 2, from which over 1000 cases of unique and meaningful OSL were extracted, almost exclusively in languages other than Polish. Close to 100 representative examples are examined in this Element to map out a comprehensive typological account of OSL. First, visual-verbal stimuli are categorised by their prominence in the 3D environment. The second typology focuses on the identified OSL functions. A supplementary typological distinction is proposed based on the technical (static vs. dynamic) implementation of OSL. The discussion of findings and implications notably comprises input from an interview that the authors conduced with a lead level developer behind Shadow Warrior 2 to provide a complementary professional perspective on OSL and its translation. For more information, click here

Posted: 19th December 2022
Read more

New publication: Translaboration in Analogue and Digital Practice - Labour, Power, Ethics. Cornelia Zwischenberger (Ed.), Alexa Alfer (Ed.)

Translaboration brings translation and collaboration into dialogue with one another. It theorises new forms of collaboration not only between humans, but also between humans and machines, posits the text as an actor in the translation process, and stresses the potential confluence, rather than opposition, of analogue and digital spaces. The contributors to this volume explore translaboration from a wide range of perspectives and challenge prevalent binaries such as analogue/digital, professional/non-professional, paid/voluntary, individual/collective, production/consumption, among others. Their articles shine a light on the social, political, disciplinary, and ethical implications of the power differentials at play in collaborative translation. Through the lens of translaboration, they probe what translation and collaboration are, should be, and are capable of being. For more information, click here

Posted: 16th December 2022
Read more

RedT Open Letter to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights


Posted: 14th November 2022
Read more

The Third HKBU International Conference on Interpreting

      Conference: The Third HKBU International Conference on Interpreting  Theme: Interpreting and Technology: Interplay and Transformation Co-organizers: Centre for Translation, and Department of Translation, Interpreting and Intercultural Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University Date: 7-9 December 2022 Conference Website: https://ctn.hkbu.edu.hk/interpreting_conf2022/ Registration Link: https://ctn.hkbu.edu.hk/interpreting_conf/register    

Posted: 9th November 2022
Read more

Systemic Functional Insights on Language and Linguistics, Christian M.I.M. Matthiessen, Bo Wang, Yuanyi Ma, Isaac N. Mwinlaaru

Presents Christian Matthiessen’s interpretation of SFL theory Enriches readers’ understanding of the applications of SFL in various areas Discusses the connections between SFL and other schools of linguistics For more information, click here

Posted: 3rd June 2022
Read more

Hedges in Chinese-English Conference Interpreting: A Corpus-based Discourse Analysis of Interpreters’ Role Deviation, Juan Hu

Offers a systematic theoretical framework to delve into interpreters’ role Represents a carefully designed top-down research road map Demonstrates how corpus-based method can be applied into studies For more information, click here

Posted: 3rd June 2022
Read more

Theory and practice of translation as a vehicle for knowledge transfer, Expósito Castro Carmen, María Del Mar Ogea Pozo y Francisco Rodríguez Rodríguez

This book gathers a selection of works that draw attention to the rapidly changing paradigm in translation, as well as how new technologies and career prospects have revolutionized the research and practice of this discipline.The authors focus on new forms of knowledge transfer and recent research trends, such as interculturality, multimodality, accessibility, postediting, automatic translation, new technologies in translation, and teaching methods.This avant-garde approach makes this publication a fruitful and interesting work for scholars, practitioners and researchers focusing on different areas of translation. For more information, click here

Posted: 3rd June 2022
Read more