Research areas

We are researching multimodal and audiovisual translation, theoretical underpinnings of translation and interpreting, technologies in translation and interpreting, translation and interpreting in the context of migration, and translation processes in a commercial context.

Areas of interest

Our main areas of expertise include:

  • Audiovisual translation and audio description
  • Augmented writing
  • Computational lexicography
  • Concurrent translation
  • Corpus linguistics
  • Distance interpreting/video-mediated interpreting
  • Human-computer interaction in translation/interpreting practices
  • Interpreter-mediated communication
  • Machine-translation post-editing
  • Multimodality in translation/interpreting
  • Terminology and specialised discourse
  • Text mining
  • Translation and humour
  • Translation/interpreting and migration
  • Translation/interpreting pedagogy
  • Translation process
  • Translation technologies
  • Translator style

Core research areas

Multimodal and audiovisual translation

Crucial types of translation in the context of digital media:

  • Audio description including translation of images into words e.g. as aid for blind people but also as a basis for machine learning in computer vision.
  • Interlingual respeaking as a novel way to produce subtitles.
  • Translation/interpreting as multimodal activities e.g. development of theoretical and analytical frameworks.
  • Translation in the context of cultural interaction e.g. museums, theatres, cinema.

Technologies in translation and interpreting

The fastest-growing segment of the language service market:

  • Distance interpreting via video link e.g. impact on interpreting quality, ergonomics, interactional dynamics, client satisfaction; use in interpreter education.
  • Machine translation post-editing e.g. productivity, new payment methods, automation strategies.
  • Machine translation usability e.g. the user experience.
  • Concurrent translation using digital platforms.
  • Translation process research e.g. how do translators engage with online resources while they are translating.
  • Corpus-based translation studies, digital lexicography and second-language writing e.g. analysis of big language data to support human and automated translation.
  • Human computer interaction e.g. how user interfaces impact the work of translators and interpreters; how language impacts technology.
  • Readers' narrative engagement in texts translated using different modalities (machine translation, human translation).
  • Machine translation in a creative context e.g. literary, marketing translation.

Theoretical underpinnings of translation and interpreting

  • Development of translator competence e.g. entrepreneurship, leadership, innovation.
  • Sociological approaches to translation e.g. social, ethical and economic consequences of automation in translation, and implications for the design and regulation of automated solutions.
  • Translation as part of intercultural communication.
  • Translation and creativity.
  • Humour in translation.
  • Translation and interpreting pedagogy.
  • Translator training.

Translation and interpreting in the context of migration

An area in the political spotlight:

  • Public service interpreting e.g. impact on fairness of justice, access to healthcare.
  • Translation and migration e.g. language used to construe identity, minority discourses.
  • Machine translation and migration e.g. machine translation used to adapt to a new culture/country.

    Translation processes in a commercial context

    • New localisation workflows and processes e.g. concurrent workflows.
    • Collaborative ways of multilingual text production.
    • Mass-production of multilingual content.
    • Gender issues in the translation and localisation industry.