Amateur translation in Arabic-speaking cyberspace

Abstract

With technological advances and the resulting explosion in communication, translation activity has expanded beyond its traditional scope and settings. It has engaged new players, who are neither professional translators nor the parties who are traditionally part of translation projects. Amateur translation in the Arabic context is mainly carried out in cyberspace, using email and the Internet. This paper investigates localization and audiovisual translation carried out by volunteer translators. Issues such as types of materials translated, dynamics of the translation process, source languages, translator's intervention, quality, and competition with professional translators are discussed. Amateur translation in Arabic varies in subject and format. Many factors play a role in shaping this translation activity, such as individual passion and political or religious agendas. Generally speaking, the quality of translations is rather poor. Translators tend to modify the source text to a large extent.