The Conceptualization of Translation in Wikipedia

Identifier:  PC:3491

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/PC3491

Authors:  Torres Simón, Ester

Abstract:
With 35 million articles in 288 different languages and 18 billion page views (Wikipedia 2015), Wikipedia is not only a source of references but also a database for concept mapping. In this research, we have looked at the entry for “Translation” in Wikipedia in all 93 language versions available in January 2015. We have first categorized those entries regarding size (measured in bytes), activity (level of activity in the last year) and assigned quality label (from stubs to featured articles). The discussion pages were looked at to isolate any specific problem of the wiki (vandalism, publicity, think-groups) and a content analysis was carried to evaluate what features of translation were mostly commented on. The resulting data has been analyzed in order to find out which ideas are most intrinsic to a global prototype of translation (cf. Halverson 2000, 2002). The results show that, despite isolated interruptions (like failed attempts to use it as a publicity platform), great variation in the size (from 354b to 70Kb), activity (none to several modifications), and quality of the different articles (from stubs to featured articles), certain characteristics extend across most borders: translation is assumed to be a solitary activity; machine translation is deemed unacceptable; and translations have mistakes in them. On the other hand, some are aspects are absent in most languages; ethics of the translation, professional associations, and the sociology of the translator. Established research in Translation Studies would contradict some of the statements found, or could enrich the articles with further considerations to be taken into account. We argue that the lack of dissemination of such studies outside of the field allows the prolongation of misconstructions of what translation is for most people and that Wikipedia could be a tool to bring visibility both to translation and to Translation Studies.