David Orrego-Carmona

This chapter examines how different approaches to implementing translation technology can either bridge or deepen societal divides. By contrasting top-down industry implementation with bottom-up community practices, it demonstrates how technological choices fundamentally shape translation’s role in society. The analysis reveals that while industry approaches prioritise standardisation and efficiency through prescribed tools, community-driven initiatives show how technology can support user agency and cultural mediation when implemented responsively to local needs. Through examining professional and non-professional translation practices, the chapter identifies critical tensions between efficiency demands and cultural authenticity, technological access and linguistic representation, and standardisation versus diversity in translation practice. The findings suggest that successful implementation requires balancing technological efficiency with human agency and cultural sensitivity. The chapter argues for implementation strategies that acknowledge existing technological disparities, preserve translator autonomy, foster sustainable professional practices, and promote critical engagement with technology. These insights have significant implications for translator education and the future of translation practice in an increasingly technology-mediated landscape.

The growing popularity of intralingual English subtitles in audiovisual content is transforming how both native and non-native English speakers engage with media. This trend has been accompanied by rising subtitle speeds, driven by global streaming platforms and social media, where a greater reliance on automation for subtitle creation often results in verbatim, excessively fast subtitles. This study investigates the impact of subtitle speed on L1-English and L2-English (L1-Polish) viewers, focusing on individual characteristics that impact subtitle processing. We tested 83 participants (33 L1 and 50 L2 speakers) while they watched English-language videos with intralingual subtitles. Eye movements were monitored to measure early and late stages of the reading process, word skipping, and proportional time spent in the subtitle area. Results indicate that L2 speakers were more affected by faster subtitles than L1 speakers: they spent more time in the subtitle area, skipped fewer words, and had lower recall accuracy. Additionally, factors such as age, working memory, previous exposure to audiovisual materials, and familiarity with subtitling were found to influence the viewing process. This paper presents the findings and assesses their implications for future subtitling research and practices.

Surveys and interviews have been used in CTIS both as standalone methods as well as in the context of mixed-, multi-methods or triangulation settings. Surveys and interviews have key similarities: both ask questions and use the responses as research data. This chapter outlines how these methods are designed and implemented in CTIS projects, covering aspects such as the instruments, modes of administration, selecting and motivating participants, as well as anonymity and confidentiality. Surveys and interviews can be administered in diverse ways, including online, face-to-face, or via telephone. Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages which will be outlined in this chapter.

The media localisation industry, as audiovisual translation (AVT) is commonly known, has undergone radical changes with the accelerated deployment of AI-powered solutions transforming production processes. This article examines how different stakeholders navigate this changing landscape: an industry promoting automation to meet growing demands, translators concerned about working conditions and professional sustainability, academia developing future professionals while researching technological impact, and audiences whose evolving expectations shape industry practices. Drawing on stakeholder theory, the analysis reveals how the sustainability of AVT requires balancing technological efficiency with human expertise. While AI tools promise faster turnaround times and reduced costs, their implementation must ensure long-term professional viability and translation quality. The article argues that successful integration of AI depends on creating value for all stakeholders through collaborative approaches that recognise translators’ agency and expertise. This requires conceptualising AI not merely as a cost-reduction tool but as part of a broader ecosystem where human expertise and technological capabilities complement each other to serve diverse global audiences. Lay summary Audiovisual translation is undergoing drastic changes due to the consolidation of an AI-powered media localisation industry. Escalating demands for faster content delivery, simultaneous releases in multiple languages, and changing production dynamics have been bolstered by an accelerated deployment of machine translation (MT) and AI technologies. This article assesses the impact of technology on media localisation by revising the perspectives of key stakeholders: industry representatives, professional translators, and academia. The review allows us to analyse the motivations and priorities of these stakeholders and, most importantly, the rationale guiding their positions. While the industry has embraced AI as an efficient response to the accelerated growth of media production and a solution to a declared shortage of professionals, professional associations have responded with strong warnings against post-editing and AI in media localisation. The magnitude and speed of recent changes have prompted primarily negative or cautious reactions from professionals. For them, the real issue lies in the deteriorating working conditions resulting from automated processes that ultimately lead to lower quality standards. As educators and researchers, we, as academics, are also in the midst of this evolving debate, grappling with the responsibility to quickly upskill ourselves to understand the nature and reach of the changes and to equip students with skills aligned with market demands; all this while instilling in them a critical awareness of these changes to ensure they can develop sustainable careers. After laying out the positions of these key stakeholders, the article proposes to encourage mutual recognition and awareness to foster understanding in an ever-evolving landscape. The potential of technology is evident, and its integration should not merely aim to replicate human work but should explore innovative ways to solve problems to address the complexities of creative translation processes. Ensuring the agency of human translators is recognised, the article constitutes a call to conceptualise processes that benefit from the expertise of human translators and successfully combine technological efficiency and human expertise to augment translation and expand the boundaries of media localisation.

We present results of a direct replication of Liao et al.’s (2021) study on how subtitle speed and the presence of concurrent video impact subtitle reading among British and Polish viewers. Our goal was to assess the generalisability of the original study’s findings on a cohort of Australian English. The study explored both subtitle-level and word-level effects, considering the presence or absence of concurrent video and three subtitle speeds: 12 characters per second, 20 cps, and 28 cps. Overall, most of the original results were replicated, confirming that the presence of video and the speed of the subtitles have a measurable impact on processing across different viewer groups. Additionally, differences in how native and non-native speakers process subtitles emerged, in particular related to wrap-up, word frequency and word length effects. The paper describes the replication in detail, presents the findings, and discusses some of their implications. Lay summary In our study we were interested in the effects that the presence of video and various subtitle speeds have on how viewers watch subtitled videos and how they understand them. We also wanted to know if the previous results obtained in a study by Liao et al. (2021) in Australia hold true for other viewers living in different locations. With this goal in mind, we repeated Liao et al.’s (2021) study on British and Polish viewers. The study explored both subtitle-level and word-level effects, considering the presence or absence of video and three subtitle speeds: 12 characters per second, 20 cps, and 28 cps. Overall, most of the original results were confirmed, showing that the presence of video and the speed of the subtitles have an impact on processing across different viewer groups. Additionally, differences in how native and non-native speakers process subtitles emerged, in particular related to well-known linguistic effects from reading studies, such as wrap-up, word frequency and word length effects. The paper describes the replication in detail, presents the findings, and discusses some of their implications.