ATA Scholarly Monograph Series (vols. I–XVII, 1987–2012)

Translation and Cognition assesses the state of the art in cognitive translation and interpreting studies by examining three important trends: methodological innovation, the evolution of research design, and the continuing integration of translation process research results with the core findings of the cognitive sciences. Several of the volume’s essays focus on fruitful new process research methods, such as eye tracking and keystroke logging that have arisen to supplement the use of think-aloud protocols. Another set of contributions investigates how some central theories, concepts, and methods from our sister disciplines of psycholinguistics, cognitive psychology, and neuroscience can inform our understanding of translation processes and their development in novices and experts. Yet another set of essays argues that methodological innovation and integration with the cognitive sciences can lead to more robust research designs and theoretical frameworks to explain the intricacies of cognitive processing during translation and interpreting. Thus, this timely volume actively demonstrates that a new theoretical and methodological consensus in cognitive translation studies is emerging, promising to greatly improve the quality, verifiability, and generalizability of translation process research.

Over the past two decades, international trade agreements such as GATT and NAFTA have lowered international trade barriers. At the same time, the information revolution has fueled profound shifts in the ways companies conduct business and communicate with their customers, and worldwide acceptance of the ISO 9000 standard has established the notion that quality must be defined in terms of customer satisfaction. Falling trade barriers and rising quality standards have made linguistic and cultural issues increasingly important. To successfully compete in today’s global on-demand economy, companies must localize their products and services to fit the needs of the local market in terms of language, culture, functionality, work practices, as well as legal and regulatory requirements. In recognition of the growing importance of localization, this volume explores a certain number of key issues, including:





• Return on investment and the localization business case

• Localization cost drivers and cost-containment strategies

• Localization quality and customer-focused quality management

• Challenges posed by localization of games, including Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs)

• Using a meta-language to facilitate accurate translation of disembodied content

• The case for managing source-language terminology

• Terminology management in the localization process

• Reconciling industry needs and academic objectives in localization education

• Localization standards and the commoditization of linguistic information

• The creation and application of language industry standards

• Rethinking customer-focused localization through user-centered design

• Moving from

translation reuse to language reuse

The boom in international trade has brought with it an increased demand for addressing local consumers in their native language and cultural idiom. Given the complex nature and new media involved in communicating with their constituent markets, companies are developing ever more complex tools and techniques for managing foreign-language communication. This book presents select case studies that illustrate the state-of-the-art of language management. It covers a cross-section of sectors, each of which has particular subtleties in language management:

• software localization

• finance

• medical devices

• automotive



The book also covers a cross-section of topical and strategic issues:

• time-to-market (scheduling challenges; simultaneous release in multiple languages)

• global terminology management

• leveraging Internet, intranet, and email

• centralized versus decentralized management models

• financial and budgeting techniques

• human factors; management issues unique to language projects

• technological innovation in language management (terminology tools, automatic translation)



The target audience is language professionals involved with the management aspect of language projects. This includes translators and linguists, managers at language-service providers, language managers at manufacturing/service companies, educators and language/translation students.

The heart of the book is the concept of the case study, particularly the Harvard Business School case-study model. Industry leaders and analysts provide some 15 case studies covering the spectrum of language applications. Readable and nonacademic — it can serve both as a text for those studying language and translation, as well as those in the field who need to know the “state-of-the-art” in language management.

The 1997 ATA volume brings together articles on translation practice into the 21st century. Contributions deal with the Information Age, multilingualism in Europe, English as a Lingua Franca, Terminology standardization, translating for the media, and new directions in translator training. A comprehensive bibliography of dissertations makes this a useful reference tool.

This volume brings both beginning and experienced translators and interpreters up to date on a broad range of issues. The seven sections take up success and survival strategies for a language professional, including the challenges posed by the changing global economy, the impact of new technologies, adjustments required by a different legal environment and traditional ethical practices. Such challenges and changes point to a need for continuing education and networking and for newcomers specialized postsecondary training. The issues are as broad as the translator and interpreter's role in the modern world, as detailed as advice on setting up a workstation or choosing a degree program. The contributors, all practicing translators and interpreters, discuss also the value of the Association and its Committees to the profession and its individual members.

This book is a collection of articles which highlight the fact that good translation theory is based on information gained from practice. At the same time, good practice is based on carefully worked-out theory. The two are interdependent. The authors who have contributed are persons who know the importance of both theory and practice and the tension between the two. They are not only translators but also have long experience in training others.

The articles cover a wide variety of topics grouped in five sections. The first presents four graphic descriptions of what happens when one translates. The second looks at aspects of the application of theory from the backgrounds of European and Asian translation practices. The third has excellent articles which apply theory to the fields of poetry, opera, drama, and humor. The fourth section provides four ways of putting theory into practice. The fifth gives language specific examples and the last section deals with the application of theory and practice to teaching in an academic context.

Topics included in this volume are centered around the politics of translator and interpreter education in higher education in the US as well as in Europe and the perceived image of elitism of these disciplines; other essays discuss the tension and disciplinary boundaries between foreign language training and translator and interpreter education. Topics dealing with specific quality control issues in the teaching of interpreting and translation, discussions of innovative approaches to research, e.g., isotopy and translation, and a review of teaching conference interpreting complete this volume.

This inaugural volume transcends its archival value. Indeed, taken as a whole, the essays pose a provocation for both translation practice and theory. The criteria proposed and the issues examined remain the same. Absolute excellence, however, continues to move beyond the horizon, and changes in technology and taste inevitably change both the implementation of the criteria and the evaluation of the issues. The attendant ambiguities may stem from a parenthesis in the volume: does excellence lie in the "X-factor that elusive quality which renders one translation clearly superior to others"?