講演・口頭発表等

国際会議
2018年5月22日

Non-professional translators' dilemma in emerging media: A Japanese case study

4th International Conference on Non-Professional Interpreting and Translation
  • Kayo Matsushita

記述言語
英語
会議種別
口頭発表(一般)
開催地
University of Stellenbosch

Despite its visible and growing presence, news translation has long been ignored in Translation Studies (TS). Outsiders –TS researchers included– lacked access to the inner workings of newsrooms, where translation has traditionally been “in the hands of journalists rather than translators” (Bielsa 2007, p. 135). This situation started to change in the first decade of this century, most notably with the launch of the University of Warwick’s “Translation in Global News” project (Bielsa & Bassnett, 2009; Conway & Bassnett, 2006). Numerous case studies have since been carried out on news translation practices around the world (Valdeón, 2015).
However, the recent changes in media landscape has been outpacing research thanks to technological advances and the emergence of online media. Developments in newsroom dynamics such as round-the-clock coverage of world events across multiple platforms simultaneously and the diversification of content have challenged the media industry. To investigate the impact of such environmental shifts, this study analyzes the case of Buzzfeed Japan, the newest addition to the global network of Buzzfeed, a U.S.-based online media giant.
Buzzfeed Japan relies heavily on translation in its day-to-day operations, with up to 40% of its content consisting of translated material. These translations from and into Japanese require the mediation of more significant lexical and cultural differences when compared with translation tasks for Buzzfeed’s other international editions, all of which use European languages. Through numerous face-to-face interviews and a full-staff survey, this study reveals a mismatch between the staff members’ roles and their professional skillsets. Although 56% of the staff translate content daily, none of them have a background in translation while 68% want to be trained. This study explores the dilemma of untrained translators who are expected to meet the demands of emerging media and suggests possible ways in which research on non-professional translation can contribute in identifying possible solutions.