Miriam Shlesinger, Quality of translation, part 1 of 3

TL;DR

Quality in Translation and Interpreting remains an elusive conundrum, with diverse angles examined in literature and practice.

Transcript

thank you for bearing with me this whole week uh last Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday and today and uh I too am pleased but somewhat relieved to be uh giving this last of the of the lectures which as you see is devoted to the topic of the quality conundrum a conundrum as you know is a riddle an enigma something that we can never quite figu... Read More

Key Insights

• 🎁 Quality in Translation and Interpreting presents an ongoing challenge due to differing perspectives and theories.
• 💦 Literature on quality explores descriptive versus prescriptive terms, standards, ethics, norms, and errors analysis in translation and interpreting work.
• 👤 Discussions on quality also encompass methodologies for evaluation, user expectations, and the role of both human and machine translators.
• ❓ Translation agencies, professional tasks, errors analysis, models of quality assessment, and standards enforcement are essential topics in the quality conundrum.
• 💦 Codes of Ethics play a vital role in guiding practitioners in their translation and interpreting work.
• 🔉 Norms and constraints in translation and interpreting mediums also impact discussions surrounding quality.
• 🪜 The interplay between practitioners and theorists adds complexity to discussions on evaluating quality in Translation and Interpreting.

Questions & Answers

Q: Why is quality in Translation and Interpreting considered an elusive conundrum?

Quality in Translation and Interpreting poses challenges due to differing perspectives, theories, methodologies, and the subjective nature of assessing translation work. Practitioners constantly question whether they are achieving optimal quality in their work.

Q: How does the literature on quality in Translation and Interpreting approach the topic?

The literature on quality delves into descriptive versus prescriptive terms, standards, ethics, norms, errors analysis, methodologies for evaluation, and the complexities of assessing translation and interpreting work.

Q: What are some of the key considerations when evaluating quality in Translation and Interpreting?

Evaluating quality involves examining equivalence, functional, dynamic, and syntactic equivalence, accuracy, fluency, fidelity, and other criteria to gauge the effectiveness and success of translation and interpreting work.

Q: How do standards, ethics, and norms play a role in discussions about quality in Translation and Interpreting?

Discussions on quality often lead to considerations of standards such as DIN, industry norms, codes of ethics, and norms that guide and define the quality of translation and interpreting work.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Quality in Translation and Interpreting is a complex and elusive topic that practitioners constantly grapple with.

• Literature on quality explores various perspectives, theories, and methodologies to evaluate translation and interpreting work.

• Discussions on quality encompass descriptive versus prescriptive terms, standards, ethics, norms, errors analysis, and more.