It is often argued that Translation Studies (TS), traditionally considered an

interdisciplinary area of studies, was, for many decades, and up until relatively

recent times, relegated to the sidelines of better-established disciplines such as

Linguistics and Literature. By the turn of the century, however, it had already

outgrown its so-called ‘Cinderella status’ to become one of the most prolific

disciplines in the Humanities. In the first issue of Translation, in 2001, Siri

Nergaard and Stephano Arduini suggest that the interdisciplinary nature of our

and the discipline has become more solid and robust as decades have gone by,

with sub-disciplines having also outgrown the academic margins of TS and

nowadays constituting well-established and independent study areas (e.g.

audiovisual translation and media accessibility).

It would be safe to assume that translation was often relegated to a secondary

position because of its practical, vocational nature. This aspect is intrinsically

linked to the professional orientation of most translator training courses, in

which practical work involving situated learning experiences, translation

technologies and project simulations is often privileged over more academic

coursework such as essays. According to Kelly (2005), despite a few courses

way of the increasing internationalisation that followed in the second half of the

20th century. These were times when many economies would continue growing

exponentially, so it is no surprise that translator training courses boomed during

those decades and until the turn of the century. Professional associations also

emerged in many European countries, including France, Germany, Italy, and

Spain. In the latter, the popularity of undergraduate and postgraduate courses in

higher education has even led to signs of market saturation (Vigier-Moreno,

2018). This is arguably a far cry from the more transversal position the discipline

held in the previous century, and it is essential that TS scholars take stock of the

latest trends in our discipline. The 2nd International Symposium on Translation

TS has indeed shown immense potential in keeping up with the newest

technologies as well as embracing change, not only in research but also in

teaching environments. The internet and social media, which affected TS as

much as other research areas in the present century, have been of particular

importance in the age of globalisation. We can agree that the much-discussed

presence and visibility of translation theory and practice have been significantly

facilitated by the many instances of activism led by linguists and professional

associations in today’s internetised society. Nowadays, there is a more

comprehensive online presence of translation- and interpreting-related work,

activities, and recognition. Prizes and competitions for translators, interpreters

translation and interpreting studies. Nowadays, global projects are exploring

translation in crisis settings, as well as how automation technologies, including

artificial intelligence, can be better exploited to serve translators’ communities

of practice. These are only some of the many initiatives that aim to increase

of any translation or interpretation in any given context, seem to be increasingly

aware of translation-related processes, such as intercultural communication and

mediation, and products, such as translated fiction and films or even subtitles in

trending videos posted on social media, and, more importantly, the impact they

have on our society.

The media have echoed situations where translation facilitated communication

or put it at stake. For example, social media have facilitated the spread and

dissemination of videos involving empowering sign interpretations of musical

performances on stage (Best, 2023). Yet, they have also been a platform that has

encouraged heavy criticism of series by social media influencers who thought

(Stasimioti, 2022), subsequently followed by statements issued by translators’

associations on what is considered malpractice when it comes to language

automation. The COVID-19 pandemic constituted a catalyst for change, and,

despite ominous predicaments that the industry would collapse after revenues

decreased in 2019 for large companies, the industry managed to thrive, and the

size of the language market continues to grow, with some sectors obtaining

unprecedented returns (Nimdzi 2021). According to the latest information

available on the website of the UK’s Institute of Translation and Interpreting

(ITI), the translation and interpreting industries steadily grow at over 5% per

annum. Coincidentally, sales of translated fiction often increase by the same

amount, according to The Bookseller (Chandler, 2019).

Working conditions, however, have been profoundly altered since the pandemic

erupted. Translators, whose work is, by its nature, solitary, might have seen little

change in their work patterns; however, traditionally neglected aspects of their

job, such as ergonomics and IT equipment, soon became an ever-more

important matter. As months flew by during the COVID-19 outbreak, access to

suitable infrastructures and resources, in order to be efficient and productive,

proved vital to thriving in a period in which associations reported falling rates

and low morale among freelancers. In addition, as meetings swiftly moved

online, interpreters had to adapt their working ecosystem to accommodate ever-

European Parliament’s in-house interpreters went on strike due to the appalling

quality of some of the speeches they had to interpret, often produced using poor-

studios moved workflows online thanks to cloud-dubbing technologies;

overnight, voice talents started recording translated scripts from home. Along

the lines of what had previously happened in the subtitling market, dubbing

specialists embraced online platforms that integrated workflows from receipt to

delivery, thus bringing translators closer to other stakeholders involved in the

If anything, the present decade has perhaps been characterised by the inroads

technologies that allow linguists to achieve high-quality translations more

efficiently. The industry has warmly embraced the idea that translators can

achieve goals in shorter time frames with increased accuracy and consistency

across translation projects. International associations, such as AVT-E, have

embraced this refreshingly new concept of the augmented translator inasmuch

as it “puts the human front and centre and uses technology to enhance their

capabilities” (Deryagin, Pošta and Landes, 2021: 1). Translators’ ecosystems are

rapidly changing, thereby incorporating the latest technologies to attain

increasingly higher levels of productivity. Still, there is always a risk of lagging

behind times for those who fail to keep up with changes. In this ever-changing

This special issue follows the second TRAK symposium, held in southern Spain,

in which TS scholars from many higher-education institutions explored the how

translation and interpreting help disseminate knowledge in the 21st century. By

bringing languages and cultures closer in an increasingly diversified world,

scholars, practitioners and researchers from different areas within TS were given

a platform to discuss the rapidly changing nature of our discipline, and sub-

disciplines, as well as the leading professional and research trends in today’s

globalised world. The six papers included in this special issue offer a rich

translatology, the superimposition of languages in literary translation, industry-

oriented translator training, community interpreting in health settings, and the

interconnections between language learning and TS that affect our very

understanding of translation.

taboo language in the teaching of English as a second language (ESL) in online

environments. More specifically, she reports on a didactic sequence developed

to raise awareness about the importance of colloquial and taboo language in

English-language films. Students who participated in her lessons were exposed

to the English originals as well as the Italian dubs of five American films, namely

of Spain’s official tourism website and more specifically some of the web pages

dedicated to Córdoba, internationally recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage

City, where the abundance of cultural references and local terms call for further

perusal. Liu applies Toury’s framework and establishes that the target-language

norms have been adopted in the Chinese version and claims that the marketing-

driven intention seems to play a significant role when translating these types of

text in Spanish-to-Chinese website localisation.

The third article is Crepaldi Henriques’s case study of the Brazilian version of

Jonathan Littell’s Les Bienveillantes (2006). The author draws on Berman’s

(1985/2012) deforming tendencies and discusses the effacement of the

article, readers will learn about the five modules of the online modular training:

1.“Skills for the job market and entrepreneurship”, 2.“Translation environment

Tools”, 3.“Project management” 4.“Content management” and 5.“The

language industry”. This initiative is based on a previous analysis of industry

needs and the language mediator technological toolbox, and language mediation

technology. One of their goals is to provide trainees with a translation

environment experience so that their employability and professional

performance can be improved.

López Rubio authored the fifth article, in which she shares a descriptive study

that explores the interaction between doctors and Chinese patients in the context

Finally, Bazani seeks to establish whether the current remapping of translation

has potentially transformed the concept of translation.

This special issue is – and we very much hope the readers will agree – worthy of

its name insofar as the articles again have demonstrated how important it is for

TS scholars to engage with the latest trends in translation theory and practice. It

is hoped that readers will appreciate the breadth of topics and diversity of

scholars that constitute the present issue, which will hopefully help to further

our understanding of translation and interpreting theory and practice today.

Baigorri-Jalón, J. (2016) ‘Interpreting at the main Nuremberg Trial (1945–1946)

and its Impact on Conference Interpreters’ Professionalization.’ Comparativ,

26(4), pp. 28–42. DOI 10.26014/j.comp.2016.04.03.

Baines, R., Marinetti, C. and Perteghella, M. (2010) Staging and Performing

Translation Text and Theatre Practice. London, Palgrave Macmillan.

Berman (1985/2012) ‘Translation and the Trials of the Foreign’. In Venuti, L.

(ed.), The Translation Studies Reader. 3rd ed., London: Routledge, pp. 240–253.

Best, Katelyn. E. (2023) ‘Ethnocentrism 2.0: Hearing-Centrism, Inclusivity, and

Musical Expression in Deaf Culture.’ In Romero, B.M., Asai, S.M.,

McDonald, D.A., Snyder, A.G., and Best, K.E. (eds). At the Crossroads of Music

report/ [Accessed: 30 November 2022]

Sánchez-Mompeán, S. (2021) Netflix Likes it Dubbed: Taking on the Challenge

of Dubbing into English. Language & Communication, 80, pp. 180–190. DOI

10.1016/j.langcom.2021.07.001