Friday, 4 November 2005: 15.30-16.45
METM 05, Barcelona, Spain
Insights from translation studies: what’s new in localisation theory and practice
Anthony Pym teaches at Universitat Rovira i Virgili,
Tarragona, Spain, where he is director of postgraduate programs in translation
and localisation, which includes the PhD program Translation and Intercultural
Studies. He holds a PhD in sociology from the EHESS, Paris, and is author or
co-author of 11 books in the general area of translation and cross-cultural
communication.
http://www.fut.es/~apym/
The traditional models of translation are being challenged by the industry-based
concepts of localisation (translation plus adaptation), internationalisation
(preparing texts for rapid localisation), content management (recycling texts
as information objects) and globalisation (restructuring business practices
accordingly). This seminar will attempt to give these terms meaning within the
context of work on software and websites, and will propose that the work processes
used in those sectors can be found in many other forms of cross-cultural communication
as well. The result seriously challenges traditional models of translation,
particularly its interface with technical writing. Consequences will be drawn
for training programs, both in universities and in industry.