Introduction to Translation and Interpreting Studies is an introductory-level textbook which brings together leading experts from around the world to provide a uniform and comprehensive overview of the field.

Consisting of eleven chapters, the book spans topics such as: the development of the field; key theories; research methods; studying the translation process; written texts; interpreting; specialized practices; machines and technology; culture, gender, and society; and translator/interpreter training. Introduction to Translation and Interpreting Studies serves as a concise guide for students and anyone who search for engaging in an examination of translation and interpreting from multiple perspectives, providing an educational pathway toward the acquisition of knowledge—general and specific—on translation and interpreting history, evolution, theory, and practice.

Undergraduate and graduate students will appreciate the accessible, engaging, and consistent structure across the chapters with pedagogical features such as chapter objectives, reflection questions, key words, and further readings throughout.

Aline Ferreira is Associate Professor of Linguistics in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of California, Santa Barbara, USA, where she is the Director of the Bilingualism, Translation, and Cognition Laboratory and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in translation and interpreting studies.

John W. Schwieter is Professor of Spanish and Linguistics at Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada, where he is also the Director of the Language Acquisition, Multilingualism, and Cognition Laboratory, and Bilingualism Matters @ Laurier.

The chapters will adhere to the following format and pedagogies:

• Bullet list of chapter objectives
• The main text of 12,000-14,000 words which discusses in full detail the relevant issues of the chapter
• Approximately 5-7 thought/reflection questions throughout the chapter that provide readers with the opportunity to contemplate their own experiences as they apply to the material being learned.
• Key words will be bolded throughout the chapter with a list of their definitions in a separate document that will be used to build the textbook’s glossary
• 150-250 word summary of the chapter
• A list of further readings, both books and articles, that will allow readers to explore in more details topics related to the chapter
• A set of 5-7 problems that are designed to stimulate further thought and research along with applying what has been discussed in the chapter
• Upon discussions with the publisher, we would be willing to help build additional resources including instructional ancillaries such as PowerPoint lectures and multiple choice test questions.

Introduction

Aline Ferreira & John W. Schwieter

This brief introduction will contextualize for readers the field of translation and interpreting studies by presenting each of the book’s ten chapters and their importance in the shaping how we study translation and interpreting today.

Chapter 1: The birth of an academic discipline

Potential contributor(s): Yves Gambier; Andrew Chesterman

This chapter will provide a historical overview of the interdisciplinary development of both translation and interpreting studies spanning from two millennia.

Chapter 2: Key concepts and theoretical approaches

Potential contributor: Kirsten Malmkjaer; Fabio Alves

This chapter will offer an overview of the contemporary issues being debated in translation and interpreting studies. It will focus on theoretical developments that have been made from the early 1970s till today and will provide a current state of the field as shaped by work by Jakobson and the Holmes/Toury map among other frameworks that provide alternate accounts.

Chapter 3: Interpreting

Potential contributor(s): Daniel Gile; Franz Pochhacker; Chris Mellinger

This chapter will look at the translation of oral language including simultaneous interpreting, consecutive interpreting, signed language interpreting. The chapter will also discuss interpreting in conference, courtroom, and public service settings along with some methodologies that examine it. 

Chapter 4: Specialized practices in interpreting settings

Potential contributor(s): Ineke H. M. Crezee & Jo Anna Burn

This chapter will provide coverage of specialized practices in interpreting studies. Topics will include healthcare interpreting, (para)legal interpreting, interpreting in refugee settings, and telephone and video remote interpreting.

Chapter 5: Specialized practices in translation settings

Potential contributor(s): Carlos Fortea Gil; Miguel Jimenez

This chapter will provide coverage of specialized practices in translation studies. Topics will include subtitling, audiovisual translation, dubbing, theatre/stage translation, and advertising.

Chapter 6: Specialized written texts

Potential contributor(s): Sonia Colina; Silvia Roiss Frostl; Daryl Hague

This chapter will outline various types of specialized written texts such as literature, drama, music, along with legal, medical, religious, and community service texts.

Chapter 7: Machines and technology

Potential contributor(s): Jesus Torres del Rey; Harold L. Somers; John Hutchins

This chapter will discuss the role of machines and technology in translation. Along with looking at the history and development of machines and translation, the chapter will situate machines and technology in a contemporary context, while identifying its recent trends.

Chapter 8: Intersections of language modalities

Potential contributor(s): Jemina Napier; Karen Emmorey; Brenda Nicodemus

This chapter will explore the modality of the languages involved in interpreting and translation. Typically, interpreters work between languages that are produced (using the vocal tract for articulation) and perceived (using the auditory system for perception) in the same modality. In the chapter, we discuss signed language interpreters who uses the hands, face, and body as articulators but perceive through the visual system.

Chapter 9: Culture, gender, and society

Potential contributor(s): Sherry Simon; Pilar Godayol; Sonia Vandepitte; Chris Mellinger

This chapter will examine cultural and ideological issues in translation and interpreting studies. Topics will include recent developments in gender studies and translation, postcolonial translation theories, translator/interpreter ethics, social turns in translation and interpreting studies, and the role of the translator as a cross-cultural facilitator.

Chapter 10: Training and pedagogy

Potential contributor(s): Ludmila Stern; Anthony Pym; Nataša Pavlović; Bogusława Whyatt

This final chapter will explore the preparation and pedagogical underpinnings of training translators and interpreters. Topics will include experience as a primary level of training, short-term training courses, and long-term programs. The chapter also looks at the many challenges that training faces, ranging from pedagogical practices and curriculum design, to the evaluation of translators.

Chapter 11: Translation process research and methods

Potential contributor(s): Gyde Hansen; Arnt Jakobsen; Ricardo Muñoz; Sharon O’Brien; Gabriela Saldanha

This chapter will introduce readers to research conducted on the translation process which starts from the translator’s initial thoughts to the target text produced. Work done on the translation process is interested in the mental processes and actions that individuals take while translating and is one of the most active areas of research in translation studies. The chapter will also review key research methods such as multimethod approaches, verbal reports, behavioural measures, EEG, eyetracking, corpus-based approaches, retrospective protocols, ethnographies, among others.