The Patterns of Interaction Between Professional Translators and Online Resources
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Centre for Translation Studies School of English and Languages Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences THE PATTERNS OF INTERACTION BETWEEN PROFESSIONAL TRANSLATORS AND ONLINE RESOURCES Thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy JOANNA GOUGH December 2016 ©Joanna Gough DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY I declare that this thesis and the work to which it refers are the results of my own efforts. Any ideas, data, images or text resulting from the work of others (whether published or unpublished) are fully identified as such within the work and attributed to their originator in the text or bibliography. This thesis has not been submitted in whole or in part for any other academic degree or professional qualification. I agree that the University has the right to submit my work to the plagiarism detection service TurnitinUK for originality checks. Whether or not drafts have been so assessed, the University reserves the right to require an electronic version of the final document (as submitted) for assessment as above. 2 ABSTRACT With the rapid growth of the Internet and the recent developments in translation technology, the way translators carry out their translation-oriented research has changed dramatically. Resources used by translators to conduct such research have diversified and largely moved from paper to online. However, whilst the number and the variety of online resources available to translators is growing exponentially, little is known about the interactions between translators and these resources. The present research empirically examines the use of online resources by professional translators during their translation- oriented research activities and it does so from an information behaviour perspective. As a first study of its kind, it focusses on freelance professional translators working at their normal place of work. Specifically, this work addresses the questions of the nature and quantity of resources used by translators as well as the time they spend on research activities. Furthermore, it examines the individual differences between the participants during the research activities. These differences are studied by considering the types of resources used and the ways they are accessed, and by investigating the many volume- and time-related aspects of each translator’s research activities. The main contribution of this study lies in the identification of patterns and their systematisation through a multidimensional analysis, culminating in the formulation of two taxonomies - the Resource Type User Taxonomy (RTUT) and Taxonomy of Translator Research Styles (TTRS). It is argued that whilst RTUT may largely depend on technology developments, TTRS reflects the more innate traits of translators’ information behaviour. By employing a two-stage, multi-method approach (Global Survey, N=540 and Main Study N=16), and by conducting it remotely, through the Internet, the present study represents a quasi-naturalistic research design which aims to observe translation processes as they happen in translators’ natural working environments. This methodology in itself constitutes a contribution to translation process studies. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I thought this moment would never come… Now that it has, all I can see is not the hours, days, months and years spent in solitude, but the many people who made this moment come true… First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisors, Professor Margaret Rogers and Professor Sabine Braun, for the supreme mentoring and invaluable support they have given me throughout this lengthy, but thoroughly satisfying research and writing process. This accomplishment was possible only thanks to their consistent encouragement, goodwill and understanding of my working patterns and the many problems I was faced with during this process. Secondly, I’d like to thank all the translators who participated in my study, especially those who devoted a considerable amount of time and effort to provide me with data for the Main Study. Your goodwill is highly appreciated and will never be forgotten! My gratitude is extended to my external examiners, Professor Maureen Ehrensberger-Dow and Professor Gloria Pastor Corpas for their invaluable feedback and for making my Viva such an unforgettable experience which I can only sum up as extremely challenging but utterly satisfying! Also, a big thank you to Dr Ana Frankenberg-Garcia for being my internal examiner and to the lovely Catharine for her relentless proofreading work! I would also like to thank my children Max and Kayah who have bravely endured all those years of mummy being locked in her study and stressing out about missed deadlines. ‘THE PhD’ will be a banned word in the house from now on. Also, to my husband, Shaun who, I’m sure, will be amongst the ones most pleased with this submission – thank you for your continuous support in my never-ending education! Last, but not least - my mum, Krystyna, who has been a tremendous help on the domestic front, my Guardian Angel and a constant reminder of that what really matters in life. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................................. 8 LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................................. 11 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 14 1.1. Rationale .......................................................................................................................................... 14 1.2. Concepts and definitions ................................................................................................................. 16 1.3. Overview of Chapters....................................................................................................................... 19 2. Review of relevant research topics in translation process research (TPR) and related areas ................. 21 2.1. From black box to tool box (and back again?) ................................................................................. 21 2.2. From dictionaries to other types of resources ................................................................................ 25 2.3. A growing interest in translators’ online information behaviour .................................................... 29 2.4. From laboratory to workplace and novice to expert ....................................................................... 37 2.5. From academia to industry .............................................................................................................. 40 2.6. Other relevant research areas ......................................................................................................... 41 Human translation-related styles ............................................................................................................ 42 Continuous professional development (CPD) .......................................................................................... 46 Interdisciplinarity ..................................................................................................................................... 46 2.7. Research questions .......................................................................................................................... 47 3. Methodology ............................................................................................................................................ 49 3.1. Research paradigm .......................................................................................................................... 49 3.2. Methods and instruments of data collection and analysis .............................................................. 51 3.2.1. The evolution of methods of data collection in TPR ................................................................ 51 3.2.2. Methods of data collection used in the present study ............................................................ 53 3.2.3. Methods of data analysis used in the present study ............................................................... 60 3.2.4. Instruments of data collection used in the present study ....................................................... 67 3.2.5. Instruments of data analysis used in the present study .......................................................... 68 3.2.6. Materials used in the present study ........................................................................................ 69 3.3. Research design ............................................................................................................................... 71 3.3.1. The Global Survey .................................................................................................................... 72 3.3.2. The Self-study ........................................................................................................................... 73 3.3.3. The Pilot Study ......................................................................................................................... 74 3.3.4. The Main Study ........................................................................................................................ 77 5 3.4. Methodological challenges .............................................................................................................