Book Review: Community Translation Research and Practice

In recent decades, community translation has grown as a significant field of study, gaining increased attention and recognition. This field of study bridges the language and cultural gaps with communities, strengthening effective communication and outreach to the primary services of diverse people (Taibi and Ozolins 2016). The discipline is vital in advancing social justice, unity, and inclusive approaches within varying societies. Community translation includes a broad range of activities, from healthcare information translation for non-English speaking patients to public access to law, academia, and community services for immigrant communities (Jia, Afzaal, and Naqvi 2022). The multidisciplinary nature of this field requires research studies in diverse aspects, like translator roles instruction, quality enhancement, and community translation impact on various sectors, like healthcare, civic management, and education (Kaibao and Afzaal 2024). According to Hlavac (2021), community translation plays a central role in bridging cultural and linguistic gaps and fostering mutual community understandings within the present form of an interconnected and diverse world. The field is academically rich and directly related to the needs of our progressively multicultural and multilingual communities.

The book “Community Translation: Research and Practice” underscores the increasing trend towards community translation, which earlies understudies in translation studies and practice and plays a critical role in promoting social justice and cohesion. Comprising a multidisciplinary approach, the issue necessitates research into diversified fields of knowledge, including the vital part of training of translators, quality assurance, communication and dissemination of translation content, and its ultimate impacts on various areas like healthcare, literary, and community management. This text artfully takes up these vital issues. Community translation is unregulated primarily worldwide and often depends on individual goodwill and social mission sagacity. Human migration and linguistic diversity have shaped this dynamic field significantly, even though this field is under-investigated. This book presents theoretical and pragmatic insights, highlighting the current trends in this field, the updated research scope, emerging trends, suggestions, lead points, and gaps to improve. It covers issues like translator ethics, lawful considerations, pedagogical concerns, and diversified social and healthcare settings. It presents an extensive view of community translation across different parts of the world and other countries. The book is an essential guide for researchers and scholars studying and practicing community translation worldwide, paving the way for further exploration of this fast-emerging field.

Chapter 1 of the book discusses community translation, presenting an extensive overview of its development during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. Erika Gonzalez and Despina Amanatidou, in this chapter, analyze the role of public and private language service providers (LSPs) after conducting a detailed survey among LSPs to bring forward diverse perspectives of community translation, ranging from recruitment and project organization to high-demand language management and the complicated balance between budgets and expectations in the last output. The chapter introduces a pragmatic approach, identifying four serious gaps and proposing practical and clear recommendations to address them. For instance, the authors support fair remuneration that agrees with the translator’s education and certification system and advocate training and skill enhancement. The chapter is an invaluable and informed resource in the Australian community translation context. It offers practical guidelines for LSPs, organizations, private sector stakeholders, and regional authorities globally, presenting it as an essential addition to this book.

Chapter 2 presents the detailed examination by David Katan and Cinzia Spinzi of the deep perspective on the translator’s ring as an advocate. They structure the context of community translation as a process of intercultural mediation. The authors introduce the notion of translation as a reader-dependent intervention upon the source text, underscoring the importance of translators being proficient in what they aptly term “constrained advocacy.” This chapter further emphasizes the significance of extralinguistic skills in the translator’s toolkit, such as empathy and assertiveness. The authors delve into a prompt reevaluation of translation’s multidimensional role, supporting an intricate and insightful approach to community translation. Their valuable insights significantly contribute to the broader discussion on the translator’s evolving role as a fun intercultural interlocutor.

Chapter 3 presents a distinct approach concerning community translators’ role and moral considerations, examined through translators’ perspectives. Maho Fukuno explores roles and responsibilities associated with a translator’s job, fairness, and activism within the Australian context. The author conducts a comprehensive survey, collecting responses from NAATI-certified Australian translators, and performs a comparative analysis of feedback from Japanese-trained translators who did not have NAATI certification. This comparison highlights the social and certification differences that impact the ethical perceptions of community translators. This chapter presents many significant recommendations for applying these findings with particular reference to the Australian context and generally to the other parts of the world where the certification systems are not so developed. Fukuno, presenting a unique and substantial perspective on community translation, introduces it as an inspirational source for those who wish to follow the moral standards and impact of community translators across the world.

Chapter 4 introduces a new viewpoint on evaluating community translations, emphasizing the need for objective methods for assessment. Wei Teng focuses on the differences in defining the concept of high-quality translation, particularly in comparing the translator’s perceptions and those of end users. Tend presents a unique model comprising four quality dimensions, offering a new framework for choosing the translation output. This novel approach brings significant implications for pedagogical as well as practical dimensions of translation work. At the same time, the chapter highlights the reader’s leading role in defining the criterion for qualifying as high-quality translation, leading to the complex dynamics involved in evaluating community translation. In this chapter, Wei Teng makes a thought-provoking contribution to the book, requiring the need to reevaluate the standards for assessing community translations and highlighting the significance of readers’ perspectives in this assessment process.

In Chapter 5, Ineke Crezee and Hoy Neng Wong Soon explore the diversity of language and community translation and center on enhancing health literacy. The authors here deal with the complicated issues of medical terminology misinterpretations and different kinds of barriers in the area of healthcare community translation. Crezee insightfully explores and identifies the challenges, suggesting practical solutions for simplifying effective patient communication in multilingual conditions. The authors suggest novel approaches such as patient navigators and talking cards. This chapter contributes significantly to the book, intersecting health literacy and community translation with an emphasis on the crucial role of linguistic diversity in healthcare communication. This chapter is a valuable resource for those working to enhance community translation’s effectiveness in the healthcare community translation context.

In Chapter 6, Katarzyna Stachowiak-Szymczak and Karolina Stachowiak further advance the discussion on community translation in healthcare. Connecting with the previous description related to quality assurance and community translation practices and policies, the authors highlight the significant area of community translation in oncological and palliative care. They put forward the findings of two critical studies highlighting the potential challenges embedded in healthcare community translation. Additionally, the chapter signifies the importance of comprehensive briefings of community translators in the healthcare environment. Providing valuable insights for healthcare community translation, especially in the sensitive fields of oncological and palliative care, the chapter offers useful suggestions for community translation practitioners and policymakers to enhance the clarity and effectiveness in healthcare settings.

Chapter 7 discusses the critical issue of maintaining truthfulness and quality in translation work. The authors, Mohamed El-Madkouri Maataoui and Beatriz Soto Aranda, present the background of the Spanish setting, exploring the wiretapping translation setting and analyzing the law framework and occupational requirements of translators related to this expertise. The chapter highlights the loose structure of community structure in Spain, highlighting the potential dangers of the quality of translation rising due to outsourcing and selecting poorly qualified translators. The chapter brings the professional environment of wiretapping translators and the psychological issues they face to the screen. The authors promote the significance of enhancing translation quality and the healthy psychological conditions of translators, emphasizing the relevance of complete support in this nuanced and complex field. This chapter strengthens readers’ understanding of diverse challenges and opportunities related to community translation, particularly in the critical area of wiretapping translation.

Chapter 8 discusses the primary role of community translators performing as cultural mediators. The author, Marija Todorova, focuses on its distinctive role in narrating the stories of refugees and those seeking asylum, conveying these narratives to a broader audience, and creating support for these storytellers. This chapter highlights the vital need for translation in the field of sculpting, shedding light on the nuanced cultural and ethnic tapestry inside a community. Exploring the interaction between translators, refugees, and a diversified audience, the author presents a profound testament to the transformative power of community translation. It highlights translators’ dynamic and multidimensional role in bridging cultural divides and encouraging the voices of marginalized communities, ultimately promoting a more prosperous and inclusive perspective of our world.

Chapter 9 delves into the detailed description of the commonly helpful relationship between regional and academic communities in the background of community translation. The chapter introduces a student service-learning project based on migrant family narrative translations from Spanish into English. It proved pretty helpful for the students in gaining real-world experience before they started their professional journey. This collection of story translation opens an educational opportunity and serves the community in general, making these valuable narratives accessible to a broader audience. Rueda-Acedo’s analysis of this joint venture highlights the market-oriented potential for teaching solutions, presenting a practical framework for enhancing awareness about social significance and community translation. The chapter skillfully explains how local communities and academia can collaborate to create positive, tangible change.

The final chapter, authored by Miranda Lai and Erika Gonzalez, presents an extensive critique of community translation training methods and strategies RIMT University developed in Melbourne, Australia. Their analysis brings forward the solutions and highlights the areas where further improvement is possible in training curricula. This detailed evaluation undertakes the unique challenges usually posed in a multilingual society with both emerging and established languages. The final chapter presents significant guidance on designing pedagogical material, benefiting the educators and program designers involved in community translation training initiatives. The authors promote the dynamic feature of community translation and highlight the need for practical training in preparing translators to explore the diverse landscape of today’s world. Their valuable insights suggest the need for continuous improvement in community translation training in the context of multilingual communication and cultural milieus.

To conclude, the book is a valuable resource exploring the complex landscape of community translation, encompassing various topics from quality evaluation and moral considerations to novel teaching methods and cultural variations. It focuses on the increasing significance of community translation to support inclusivity and enhance our cross-cultural viewpoints of the global community. The book appears as a valuable resource for translators, educators, policymakers, and stakeholders on intercultural communication. It comprehensively explores the present status of community translation and influences the future by presenting a proposal for future curricula, moral standards, and quality consciousness in the fast-emerging field. The book offers a promising outlook, affects the community translation development and growth, and contributes to society by strengthening social justice and unity. In our present interconnected world, it makes its place become a cornerstone in the pursuit of transformative translation, converting language as a bridge to break barriers and promote cultural connection.