Translating Change

Translating Change explores and analyses the impact of changes in society, culture and language on the translation and interpreting process and product. It looks at how social attitudes, behaviours and values change over time, how languages respond to these changes, how these changes are reflected in the processing and production of translations and how technological change and economic uncertainty in the wake of events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit affect the translation market.

The authors examine trends in language change in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. The highly topical approach to social, cultural and language change is predominantly synchronic and pragmatic, based on tracking and analysing language changes and trends as they have developed and continue to do so. This is combined with an innovative section on developing transferable translation-related skills, including writing and rewriting, editing, abstracting, transcreation and summary writing in view of a perceived need to expand the skills portfolio of translators in a changing market and at the same time to maximise translation quality. Each chapter features Pause for Thought/activity boxes to encourage active reader participation or reflection.

With exercises, discussion questions, guided further reading throughout and a glossary of key terms, this innovative textbook is key reading for both students and translators or interpreters, in training and in practice.