History of Translation and Interpreting

     The History of Translation and Interpreting dates back to the first use of language. Every act of communication is an act of translation.

      Indeed, the history of translation can be approached from different perspectives. One way of looking at it is through considering its development as a human activity in each region of the world and comparing it to the other regions. Thus, each civilization will have its own history. This kind of research can be narrowed down by studying the history of translation in every country of the world to see its contribution in the development of the overall translation movement which is bridging the gap between the different cultures and peoples.

     Therefore, we may have to explore the history of translation by looking at its development in:

• The Western World
• The Eastern World
• The Arab World

    

What is Terminology Management?

Undoubtedly, terminology management is impotant for both LSPs and clients. It plays a key role in the translation process streamline. Glossary creation is considered to be the first step in the processes of translation in order to ensure the highest quality of products. Therefore, some clients provide their own glossaries along with projects' files. The same thing could be said about localization. Clearly, the use of glossaries is beneficial, because they increase consistency and make translators' life easier.

Therefore, translators, localizers and interpreters must be able to manage terminology online and offline to keep their workflow running smoothly. The current CAT Tools provide some features to manage terminology. For instance,  SDL Trados Studio allows the creation of termbases through its editor and the standalone SDL MultiTerm. However, these software might not be practical for interpreters who need quick consultation or search for specific terms. Indeed, many terminology-focused platforms have been developed to facilitate the interpreters' work, speed up the process of production according to the various interpreting settings, and increase performance quality.

What is Machine Translation?

Machine Translation simply means automated translation. This term is used versus the term Human Translation, i.e. translation which is produced by human translators.

Here is a playlist of videos which introduces you to the topic of Machine Translation.

Access the Playlist here: Machine Translation

Click on this external link to download an application that provides free MT: https://gt4t.net/en/

What is Documentary Research?

This post highlights one of the main skills required in the industry of translation and interpreting. Indeed, Documentary Research is now a crucial component of any educational or training curriculum in translation and interpreting.

Both professional and would-be translators and interpeters need to attain high-level Documentary Research skills in order to ascertain their final products are accurate, efficient and consistent. They will have to dig out all the available databases and resources by using advanced techniques of research.

Here is a list of videos which deals with the topic of Documentary Research, its benefits and its techniques. This list will of course be updated, you could save it by adding it to your favourite links in order to access it later easily: Documentary Research

Free CAT Tools Tutorials

In addition to the mastery of languages, the practice of translation requires the mastery of at least one CAT Tool. In order to get started, there are a lot of free tutorials which would help you master the basics of CAT Tools. Follow the links below to benefit for free from our selection of tutorials of the main tools in the Translation Industry:

SDL Trados Tutorials

MemoQ Tutorials

MateCat Tutorials

Wordfast Tutorials

OmegaT Tutorials

CafeTran Tutorials

Across Tutorials

STAR Transit Tutorials

Selections of introductory videos to this topic are curated here:

CAT Tools [English] 

CAT Tools [Arabic]

Check the label CAT Tools out for updates on relative topics.

NADIR, A. (2017 September). Introduction to Communication Sciences. [S1 Syllabus for Master 1 Translation]. Algeria: Univesity of Blida 2.

Audiovisual Translation (Studies & Industry)

                       
               The world of Audiovisual Translation is vast.


                           

          If you are keen to learn more, check our previous posts via the label: Audiovisual Translation or watch the playlists curated for you. The first is entitled Audiovisual Translation Worlds. You will find a set of videos which have been selected and organized to introduce you to the wide range of areas in this field. The second playlist is focused on Audiovisual Translation Challenges.

          If you have any questions or you need more explanation, do not hesitate to get in touch or leave your comments below

Subtitling Software: EZTitles

          

        EZTitles is a subtitling software developed by EZtitles Development Studio. Other subtitling solutions are provided alongside EZTitles such as EZConvert, 3DTitles and EZTitles Plug-ins. However, these solutions are not free, only a 30-day free trial is offered. The cost starts from 50 euros/month. 

          With a good mastery of this kind of software, one stands a better chance of having a rewarding and better fulfilling career as a freelance subtitler. It is apposite to stress that professional subtitlers must have excellent mastery of the software, because it is hard for them to increase their personal productivity to ensure they are available to accept the work when it comes in. Learning how professional subtitlers and subbers use technology to increase their productivity can be facilitated by watching Video Tutorials which explain the basics and advanced features of cueing subtitles in EZTitles. If interested in such career, this can be the first step for you to do. The Video Tutorials can be accessed here: Video Playlist.

What is Subtitling?

     Subtitling is the most common mode in Audiovisual Translation. Subtitling is used not only in cinema and TV programmes such as films, series and TV shows but also in debates,  documentaries and video games. Besides, it is also used even in cartoons, eventhough its use is controversial. This interest in subtitling and widespread use is due to two factors: (1) It is more economical than dubbing; (2) It can be achieved in shorter periods of time.

        Technically speaking, subtitles can have many forms: 

1/ According to number of languages: (a) Interlingual subtitles; (b) Intralingual subtitles
2/ According to quality: (a) Professional Subtitling; (b) Fansubbing
3/ According to format: (a) Subtitles; (b) Captions (Open or Closed)
4/ According to position on screen: (a) Subtitles; (b) Surtitles

     The creation of subtitles consists in producing a written translation that is adapted to fit the screen size. It is not a word-for-word translation. Thus, subtitles are the text (sentences, chunks, utterences, etc) derived from the spoken discourse (dialogue, commentary, etc) that accompany the picture/image displayed on screen. Subtites are ususally displayed at the bottom of the screen. However, in opera, the "titles" are displayed on a screen above the main stage; therefore, they are called "Surtitles". Closed Captioning is an alternative term for subtitling.

     Sometimes, when subtitling for the deaf and hard-of-hearing people, subtitlers add other signs and symbols (e.g. music) to depict the non-verbal process of communication, as shown in the picture below.

      In some of our previous posts, we dealt with the software used to produce subtitles. We will step-by-step deal with the problems that subtitlers face and their solutions soon. All these posts can be accessed via the label "Subtitling" (Labels are on the left side of the blog). In addition, a lot of Video Tutorials have been curated and organized in the form of Playlists on Youtube to help you learn at your own pace.

     From a reserach perspective, many research problems have been investigated in subtitling; namely, reduction, linguistic variation and expletives (Cintas, 2004). If you are interested in such kind of content, please  let us know.

Free Video-Editing Software

With a bit of creativity, anyone can make stunning creations. Many free video-editing (desktop, online and mobile software) were developed for beginners. These software have pro-like features, because they enable you to edit, cut, crop and trim your video clips in no time. Thus, they are used for subtitling as well eventhough they are not designed primarily for this purpose. Besides, in addition to their user-friendly interface, they provide themes, fonts and transitions that are similar to the ones offered by professional editions of paid software the mastery of which requires time and long years of practice. Moreover, you could edit your videos by adding your voice recordings to produce your audio-description and voice-over creations. Furthermore, you could insert multiple video and audio tracks. The only disadvantage is that some of them have big watermarks or logos that are sometimes annoying.

Direct links to the websites of some these software are listed below. The first two can be used online. There is no rationale behind the classificlation of the other software, so maybe in the future in-depth reviews will be added.

Link: WEVIDEO
Link: PANZOID
Link: SHOTCUT
Link: LIGHTWORKS (Award Winner)
Link: DAVINCIRESOLVE
Link: KDENLIVE
Link: AVIDEMUX
Link: VSDC
Link: FILMORA
Link: OPENSHOT
Link: Cyberlink POWERDIRECTOR
Link: WINDOWS MOVIE MAKER
Link: CINELERRA
Link: VIDEOPAD
Link: iMOVIE
Link: AVS VIDEO EDITOR
Link: AVISYNTH


This list is not exhausted and it will be updated soon.


Sample projects edited by Master Students can be watched here: Audiodescription Projects ; Subtitling Projects

If you have acquired advanced knowledge about the above-mentioned software and would like to share your experience, your feedback is greatly appreciated. If you are a newbie, keep asking questions! Check this post out later for more info or subscribe to get the newsletter of this blog directly in your inbox.

Audiovisual Translation for Newbies

Audiovisual Translation is a big world which provides many outlets for would-be translators. Each of its types will be fully investigated in out upcoming posts. Thus, in addition to subtitling which is well-known, we will cover other forms such as transcription, audiodescription, voice-over and dubbing. 

If you want to quickly explore how the world of Audiovisual Translation is amazing and amusing, visit our playslist of videos on audiovisual Translation Challenges. 

You may want to explore university programmes here: AVT programmes playlists on youtube.

Sample projects can be watched here: Audiodescription Projects ; Subtitling Projects

Besides, you may want to take a look at our playlists of videos where promotional videos of universities worldwide providing different types of programmes and trainings are curated.

Your feedback is greatly appreciated. So, keep asking questions! Check this post out later for more info or subscribe to get the newsletter of this blog in your inbox.

Subtitling Software: Wincaps Q4

Wincaps Q4 is a subtitling software used by many universities to train would-be subtitlers. It is also used by companies which prefer to use the technique of "re-speaking" to increase productivity.

A playlist of Videos is available to guide you step-by-step in using it.

However, this software is not free. You could download this software for a 7-day trial period. Follow the link for more details: Wincaps Q4 (Official Software Website).

If you would like to have an idea about free subtitling software, take a look at our previous post: Free Subtitle-Editing Tools

Check this post out later for more explanations or you may want to subscribe to get more info in your inbox.

NADIR, A. (2018). M1D Translation Syllabus. [M1D - Semester 2]. Algeria: University of Blida 2.

NADIR, A. (2017). [Translation Syllabus]. Course: Computing & Translation. Master in Translation. Algeria: Blida 2 University.

Free Subtitle-Editing Tools

Below is a non-exhaustive list of the best free subtitle editing software:

• Aegisub
• SubtitleEdit
• Subtitle Workshop
• Open Subtitle Editor
• Gnome Subtitles
• Pitivi
• SubtitleCreator
• Submagic
• SubViewer4
• Gaupol
• VisualSubSync
• WinSubMux

Online/Web application do not require any downloading, if you do not want to install more software:

• http://www.sync-subtitles.com/
• http://www.subsedit.com/
• https://amara.org/en/
• http://subtitle-horse.com/
• https://www.captionsmaker.com/
• FiveLoadSub/

This list will be updated. Descriptions of these software will be added later.
See more here: Wikipedia
If you want to learn more, check out the label: Subtitling

NADIR. A. (2015). [Translation Syllabus. Course: Translation for Newbies. Level: L2/S4. Algeria/Blida: Blida 2 University.

NADIR, A. (2012). Commented Translation of Chapters 7-9, Maja J. Mataric (2007), The Robotics Primer. [Magister Dissertation]. Algiers: The Higher Arab Institute of Translation, League of Arab States]

Translation Theory for Newbies

   

This post deals with the question of Translation Theory's relevance to the professional practice of translation. Most of the practicing translators would think that it is not very important, especially the ad hoc translators and interpreters. Yet, I disagree with them on this point. It is true that practice makes perfect, however I believe that the new translators won't have time to make all the errors of their predecessors and colleagues or just of the fellow translators and interpreters in order to learn. Knowledge of translation theories is a must, it saves time and helps in achieving high-quality translations which fit for the purpose of the projects. 

        Here is a thread which might be enlightening to newbies. Professor As-Safi from Petra University surveyed most of the theories and provided an interesting account which might guide your search in this area. He pointed out that they were developed in four periods. The main theories are as follows:

- Philological Theories

- Philosophical Theories

- Linguistic Theories

- Functional Theories

- Text-type Theory

- Translational Action Theory

- Skopos Theory

- Socio-linguistic Theories

- Interpretative Theory

- Systems Theories

- Polysystem Theory

- Manipulation Theory

- Aesthetic Communication Theory

- Relevance Theory

              He also calls for a Comprehensive, Applicable Theory.
              What do you think?

What are the advantages of CAT tools?

       The term Computer-assisted Translation (CAT) does not refer to Machine translation (MT) of texts which is provided for free by many engines and websites such as Google translate, Reverso and Bing. CAT refers rather to the human translation which is facilitated by desktop computers and the software installed on them. These software are called CAT tools. They have many features which cannot be ensured by a human being, so the translator uses them as tools to improve his performance and to increase his daily output. Indeed, CAT tools have many advantages when working on big projects, especially technical ones, because they will not help much in literary or creative translation.

 

               

         So, one may cite that:

1. CAT tools help the translator keep track of his previous work by creating Translation Memories "TMs" which enable him to save time when translating recurrent expressions or similar ones.

2. CAT tools enable him to keep Term Bases "TBs" which enable him to be consistent in all the translated documents, i.e. using the same terminology along the project.

3. The translator can even use the client's TMs and TBs when required, consequently this will save him a great deal of research.

4. CAT tools enable the translator to have a machine translation from his workbench. All he has to do is to set his preferences when creating the translation project.
5. The translator can align his previously translated documents

6. They enable the translator to work on all types of formats and to save the translated documents in multiple formats.

7. Some CAT tools have servers which allow the translators to work on projects in teams.

8. Wordfast anywhere, for example, allows the translators to access the user-friendly environment wherever they might be and to share their TMs free of charge.

N.B: You can download free trial versions of these software and some of them are open-source.

More posts on CAT can be found here.

Visual Localization tools for newbies

   

 

The most common localization tools are:

• Alchemy Catalyst

http://www.alchemysoftware.com/

• SDL Passolo:

http://www.sdl.com/products/sdl-passolo/

• Lingobit Localizer Standard: 

http://www.lingobit.com/products/compare.html

• Sisulizer Translator:

http://www.sisulizer.com/localization/steps/localization-step-2-translate-text.shtml

• Multilizer Pro for Translators: 

http://www2.multilizer.com/