If we take as a starting point the definition of "text" given by Rastier (2001)—"a text is an empirically attested linguistic suite, produced within a specific set of social practices, and affixed to some form of support"—we can consider ways in which that definition has been expanded in recent years: in the semiotic sense, to encompass any assemblage of signs that exists in any medium, so that images, audio recordings, etc. are also texts; and in the hypertextual sense, to include non-stable and non-sequential entities like video games and the "iconotexts" characteristic of the Internet, in which writing, images and sounds all share the same space (Gervais 2008).

How has translation studies engaged with an expanded definition of text, and accordingly, of the terms "source text" and "target text"? How has the discipline evolved given the increasingly ubiquitous presence of screens of all kinds in our lives? The Canadian Association for Translation Studies invites proposals for papers that deal with the challenges of translating texts that are non-written (oral literature in ethnography, museum translation), non-verbal (intersemiotic translation), non-linear (video and online games) and multi-channel (audiovisual translation, multimedia translation).

Gervais, Bertrand (2008). "Is There a Text on This Screen? Reading in an Era of Hypertextuality," in A Companion to Digital Literary Studies, ed. Susan Schreibman and Ray Siemens. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Rastier, François (2001). Arts et sciences du texte. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.

We welcome both theoretical and practical papers on a wide range of topics, including but not limited to the following themes:
1. Translation of a polysemiotic or multi-channel source text
Traditional modes of audiovisual translation (subtitling, dubbing, voice-over);
New modes of audiovisual translation (opera and theatre surtitling, real-time subtitling);
Media accessibility (captioning for the hearing impaired, audiodescription for the visually impaired, sign language interpretation).

2. Translation of a digital or online source text
Translation of e-literature, hypertext, Web-based literary experimentation;
Translation of video and online games;
Fansubbing, fan translation of video games and comics, crowdsourced translation of Web sites.

3. Situations in which the source text must be interpreted or constructed for translation to occur
Recording and translating oral texts in ethnography;
Cultural translation, translation in museum practices;
Intersemiotic translation between different types of media;
Pseudotranslations (in which texts are passed off as translations without a corresponding source text having existed).

Paper presentations should not exceed 20 minutes in length. Abstracts must be submitted electronically, as either .DOC or .RTF files. Please submit two abstracts: the first (to be included in the program) should be approximately 300 words, and the second (to be included in the grant application) should be no more than 150 words. Both abstracts should be sent to Christine York at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. no later than September 15, 2011.

Please include the following information with your abstracts:
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You may consult the CATS website for further details: http://www.uottawa.ca/associations/act-cats