English as a Lingua Franca: Implications for Translator and Interpreter Education

Special Issue of The Interpreter and Translator Trainer, Volume 7, Number 1, 2013

Guest editor: Stefania Taviano, University of Messina, Italy

Contributions are invited for a special issue of ITT dedicated to the changes occurring in the translation profession due to the spread of English as a language of international communication, and more specifically to subsequent implications for the education of translators and interpreters.

The study of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) has grown considerably in the last decades, and a wide number of issues related to this field have been addressed through a variety of lenses. These range from the changes occurring in spoken English, to the much-debated notion of the native-speaker; from the threat that English represents for minority languages, to the metadiscourse(s) contributing to the myth of English as a language equally accessible to speakers of all nationalities. Few translation scholars and educators, however, have devoted their attention to issues such as:

-  the double role of English as a global and a local language, which calls into question assumptions about the relationship between language and the culture of a given nation;
-  how the diaspora of English throughout the world, combined with globalization processes and the pervasiveness of technology, is drastically changing the translator’s profession;
-  what skills students might need to face their future professional life and how educators might prepare themselves for the complex task of training them.

With some exceptions, translator and interpreter education has mostly ignored such pressing questions and, as a result, they remain under-researched.

The aim of this special issue is to encourage reflection on ELF and translation in the context of translator and interpreter education. We are seeking well-informed, researched-based contributions. Discussion should be supported, where possible, by examples of teaching practices and students’ feedback to show the connection between theoretical approaches and their pedagogical applications. Priority will be given to contributions that report on research already carried out, although reports on work in progress are also welcome.

Themes to be addressed by contributors in the context of training may include but are not restricted to the following:

• Raising educators’ and students’ awareness of the double role of English as a global and local language and the relation between globalization processes and the spread of English.
• Pedagogical implications of addressing cultural issues in the teaching of translation in and out of English as a Lingua Franca.
• Filling the gap between translation pedagogy and translation practices by helping students acquire new skills, such as editing, possibly through dedicated training.
• Issues of methodology related to the teaching of translation into a second language – a growing practice which is far from being accepted by professionals.
• Implications of non-professional translation practices, such as crowdsourcing and fansubbing, in and out of English, for the translator’s profession.
• Questions regarding the ever-changing impact of new technology on translators’ and interpreters’ professional life and subsequent implications in the classroom. Relevant issues here include the role of English in web localization, training in relay interpreting through English, and English as a pivot language in various forms of audiovisual translation.
• The extent to which the spread of ELF shapes common perceptions about translation and the translator’s status.