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Case Study 1: Innovative computational linguistic technologies for language service providers

Summary of the impact

Building on their groundbreaking research and collaborative networks, Babych and Sharoff have developed a range of language technologies which now reach major corporations, small specialist businesses, a large industrial consortium, and agencies of the EU and UN. Their translation tools have had significant industrial impact by improving efficiency, consistency and user experience, and leveraging existing data collections for new purposes. In terms of policy, the research has re-shaped attitudes toward the ownership of data by demonstrating the commercial value of pooling resources. Individual translators have also benefitted from these technologies and related CPD courses, helping them to improve document flow, terminology and translation activities.

Submitting Institution

University of Leeds

Unit of Assessment

Modern Languages and Linguistics

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Information and Computing Sciences: Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing, Information Systems
Language, Communication and Culture: Linguistics

Translating Cultures

Summary of the impact

As scholars and translators, Susan Bassnett, Maureen Freely, Michael Hulse and Tony Howard have driven translation theory and practice, and introduced new authors and new cultures to Anglophone readers. Their translations have provided economic benefits to authors and to independent publishing houses specialising in translation. Bassnett's and Freely's work with professional translation organisations has informed the development of professional translators, resulting in greater professionalization and increased public recognition.

Submitting Institution

University of Warwick

Unit of Assessment

English Language and Literature

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Language, Communication and Culture: Cultural Studies, Literary Studies
History and Archaeology: Historical Studies

Transforming EU policy and practice in translator training by defining translation competence

Summary of the impact

Since 1993, Professor Schäffner's work on translation competence development at Aston University has contributed to policy development within the European Commission and has led to an increased professionalisation of translator training across Europe. Specifically, it has helped generate a translator competence profile, adopted by the Directorate General for Translation as a benchmark for admitting postgraduate translation programmes to the European Master's in Translation (EMT) network. The DGT's overall aim is to improve the competence of translators and thus the quality of translation. Of about 500 programmes which exist across Europe, 54 have so far been admitted to the EMT network.

Submitting Institution

Aston University

Unit of Assessment

Modern Languages and Linguistics

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Education: Curriculum and Pedagogy, Specialist Studies In Education

Literary Translation: Building Audiences, Training Practitioners

Summary of the impact

Political events across Arab nations focus the attention of stakeholders in government and business, including publishing, on the imperative of culturally sensitive translations from Arabic. Increasing interest in Arabic literature necessitates professional-ethical standards in translating. Research-informed translations at University of Edinburgh by Marilyn Booth and research-based translator training supports development of more sensitive translations, thus aiding a granular understanding of socio-cultural complexity in Arab societies amid dynamic political change. Such translation activities refute `clash of civilisations' discourses and stereotyping of Arabs and Islam. The research and resulting training methods impact practice and enhance support for emerging UK and Arab-region translators, approximately 80 to date.

Submitting Institution

University of Edinburgh

Unit of Assessment

Area Studies

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Studies In Human Society: Policy and Administration
Language, Communication and Culture: Cultural Studies, Literary Studies

Theatre Translation and Cultural Encounter

Summary of the impact

This case study describes the impact generated by new thinking on the representation of the foreign in translation for the theatre. The main beneficiaries of the research are theatre audiences across the English-speaking world, as well as theatres, theatre companies and publishing houses. As a result of the project's insights into localisation and performability, theatre audiences have benefited from intellectual and imaginative engagement with a more authentic and lucid interpretation of Hispanic theatre and culture that challenges their own cultural values. The work has also contributed to the creative economy through the generation of income from the stage productions and the publication of translations.

Submitting Institution

Queen's University Belfast

Unit of Assessment

Modern Languages and Linguistics

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Language, Communication and Culture: Cultural Studies, Literary Studies

Dynamic binary translation for virtualisation

Summary of the impact

Binary translation enables applications compiled for one architecture to run on another. Research on dynamic binary translation was commercialised through the spin-out company Transitive in 2000. Transitive employed 80 staff at its engineering lab in Manchester and delivered over 20 million copies of its software, before being acquired by IBM in 2009, giving rise to the IBM Manchester Lab. Transitive technology was fundamental in Apple's transition to Intel CPU chips, and was shipped with around 14 million Mac computers during the REF period. The technology was described as "The most amazing software you'll never see" by Steve Jobs.

Submitting Institution

University of Manchester

Unit of Assessment

Computer Science and Informatics

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Information and Computing Sciences: Computation Theory and Mathematics, Computer Software, Information Systems

Shaping European Policy on the Training of Translators

Summary of the impact

The European Masters in Translation (EMT) is a partnership between the European Commission and higher education (HE) institutions in 27 member states that offer master's level translation studies programmes. The EMT sets a benchmark of quality and assesses MA programmes. Based on his research into low-quality translation in public discourse, revision techniques and the assessment of translation quality, Federico Federici co-authored policy documents to which all EMT partners must refer. His distinctive contribution is to ensure that, for the first time, the training of translators in EMT-accredited organisations should foster continuous learning skills and enhancement of skills so as to prepare students for lifelong careers as translators.

Submitting Institution

University of Durham

Unit of Assessment

Modern Languages and Linguistics

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Education: Specialist Studies In Education
Language, Communication and Culture: Linguistics

Literary Translation: Theory into Practice

Summary of the impact

The present case study describes the impact of research at the University of East Anglia (UEA) on the practice, publishing and public understanding of literary translation. W.G. Sebald founded the British Centre for Literary Translation (BCLT) at UEA in 1989 to promote and encourage the translation of literary works, to support practising translators and to foster the study of translated literature. BCLT is a thriving international public cultural institute whose ethos and programme are shaped and informed by researchers working between the Centre and its academic home, the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing (LDC). Via workshops, publishing initiatives and a range of local, national and international events, the work of these researchers has had a significant impact on the public perception and understanding of literature in translation, and on the market for this literature within the UK and beyond.

Submitting Institution

University of East Anglia

Unit of Assessment

English Language and Literature

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Language, Communication and Culture: Cultural Studies, Literary Studies

Promoting Inter-Faith Understanding Worldwide through an Accessible Translation of the Qur’an (Muhammad Abdel Haleem)

Summary of the impact

In his 2004 and 2010 Oxford University Press translations of the Qur'an, based on over 30 years of rigorous scholarship, Professor Muhammad Abdel Haleem sought to make, "the Qur'an accessible to everyone who speaks English". Numerous accolades, including membership of the Arabic language Academy in Cairo, approval of his 2010 translation by Al-Azhar University, sales of 250,000+ copies and his receipt of hundreds of laudatory messages from readers around the world attest to both the faithfulness of his translation and its accessibility to a wide readership. Abdel Haleem has contributed substantially to interfaith understanding through his translations and interpretations and assisted interfaith dialogue globally.

Submitting Institution

School of Oriental & African Studies

Unit of Assessment

Area Studies

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Language, Communication and Culture: Cultural Studies, Literary Studies
Philosophy and Religious Studies: Religion and Religious Studies

The Moses Machine Translation Toolkit

Summary of the impact

The research on machine translation carried out at the University of Edinburgh has led to the development of Moses, the dominant open source toolkit for building machine translation (MT) systems. The toolkit has found wide adoption in academic research worldwide: the Moses paper was the most cited paper in all of the Association for Computational Linguistics conferences in 2011. Moses has also been widely used by commercial concerns such as Adobe, Symantec and Sybase, and agencies such as the European Commission and the World Trade Organisation. The research contribution of the School of Informatics in the University of Edinburgh has significantly increased the commercial viability and availability of machine translation.

The toolkit has been one of the main drivers in lowering the barrier to entry to machine translation, making MT available to small and medium-size companies and opening up new markets and opportunities.

Today, Moses is one of the most widely adopted MT systems in the translation industry, dominating the open-source space for MT. Its maturity and quality, as well as its liberal open-source license, means that it is often preferred over proprietary systems.

Submitting Institution

University of Edinburgh

Unit of Assessment

Computer Science and Informatics

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Information and Computing Sciences: Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing, Computation Theory and Mathematics, Information Systems

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