A Comparative Study on the Factors Affecting Multimedia Translation

Abstract

Although shifts are considered as one of the universals in the translation process, the dichotomy of faithful vs. acceptable translation has been the main concern for translation studies for many years. However, the invaluable researches performed by scholars have mainly focused on the interlingual translation. The new technology has introduced new media and a new form of translation, i.e. multimedia translation. The research questions of this study aimed to see if there are any shifts in the product of translation when it is performed from one medium to another and if so, what the causes of the shifts are. This research showed that shifts do occur in multimedia translation mainly in the form of addition, omission and alteration that can be categorized as microtextual and macrotextual. The translator’s choice of shifts can vary according to the nature of the media, expectations and culture of the audience and the skopos of the translator. It seems that the occurrence of shifts in multimedia translation does not make the translation less faithful to the source text.