Investigating the ergonomics of a technologized translation workplace
Maureen Ehrensberger-Dow | Institute of Translation and Interpreting, Zurich University of Applied Sciences
Andrea Hunziker Heeb | Institute of Translation and Interpreting, Zurich University of Applied Sciences
The modern translation workplace is characterized by intensive human-computer interaction and heavy use of language technology. In such settings, translators are subject to temporal and spatial constraints that can be mitigated or accentuated by good and poor ergonomic design, respectively. In the research reported here, an ergonomic framework encompassing physical, cognitive, and organizational aspects of the workplace has been used to gain insights into the situated activity of translation. The multi-method approach includes screen and video recordings, interviews, and ergonomic assessments at the workplace. The results of the case study reported here suggest that apparently minor disturbances can have a negative effect on the efficiency of the translation process and potentially impact job satisfaction and even health.
Beale, Russell, and Christian Peter. 2008. “The Role of Affect and Emotion in HCI.” In Affect and Emotion in Human-Computer Interaction: From Theory to Applications, ed. by C. Peter and R. Beale, 1–11. Berlin: Springer.
Bowker, Lynne. 2005. “Productivity vs Quality. A Pilot Study on the Impact of Translation Memory Systems.” Localization Focus 4: 13–20.
Bransford, John, Susan Mosborg, Michael A. Copland, Meredith A. Honig, Harold G. Nelson, Drue Gawel, Rachel S. Phillips, and Nancy Vye. 2010. “Adaptive People and Adaptive Systems: Issues of Learning and Design.” In Second International Handbook of Educational Change. Part 1, ed. by A. Hargreaves, A. Lieberman, M. Fullan, and O. Hopkins, 825–856. Dordrecht: Springer.
CCOHS. 2011. Office Ergonomics, 6th edition. Hamilton, ON: Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety.
Christensen, Tina P. 2011. “Studies on the Mental Processes in Translation Memory-Assisted Translation – the State of the Art.” trans-kom 4 (2): 137–160.
de León, Mónica E. 2004. “Ergonomics for Translators and Interpreters.” The ATA Chronicle, May 2004: 31–33.
Désilets, Alain, Christiane Melançon, Geneviève Patenaude, and Louise Brunette. 2009. “How Translators Use Tools and Resources to Resolve Translation Problems: An Ethnographic Study.” In
MT Summit XII – Workshop: Beyond Translation Memories: New Tools for Translators
, Ottawa, Ontario, CA, August 26–30, 2009. [URL].
Doherty, Neil F., and Malcolm King. 2005. “From Technical to Socio-Technical Change: Tackling the Human and Organizational Aspects of Systems Development Projects.” European Journal of Information Systems 14 (1): 1–5.
Ehrensberger-Dow, Maureen. 2014. “Challenges of Translation Process Research at the Workplace.” In Minding Translation. Con la traducción en mente, MonTI Special Issue 1, ed. by R. Muñoz, 355–383. .
Ehrensberger-Dow, Maureen, and Gary Massey. 2013. “Indicators of Translation Competence: Translators’ Self-concepts and the Translation of Titles.” Journal of Writing Research 5 (1): 103–131.
Ehrensberger-Dow, Maureen, and Gary Massey. 2014. “Cognitive Ergonomic Issues in Professional Translation.” In The Development of Translation Competence: Theories and Methodologies from Psycholinguistics and Cognitive Science, ed. by J.W. Schwieter and A. Ferreira, 58–86. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
EN15038. 2006. Translation Services – Service Requirements. Brussels: European Committee for Standardization.
Eurofound. 2012. Fifth European Working Conditions Survey. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
Göpferich, Susanne. 2009. “Towards a Model of Translation Competence and its Acquisition: the Longitudinal Study TransComp.” In Looking at Eyes: Eye-Tracking Studies of Reading and Translation Processing, ed. by S. Göpferich, A.L. Jakobsen, and Inger M. Mees, 11–37. Copenhagen: Samfundslitteratur.
Göpferich, Susanne. 2012. “Tracing Strategic Behaviour in Translation Processes: Translation Novices, 4th-semester Students and Professional Translators Compared.” In Global Trends in Translator and Interpreter Training, ed. by S. Hubscher-Davidson and M. Borodo, 240–266. London: Continuum.
Hansen, Gyde. 2006. Erfolgreich Übersetzen. Entdecken und Beheben von Störquellen. Tübingen: Narr Francke Attempto.
Hansen-Schirra, Silvia. 2012. “Nutzbarkeit von Sprachtechnologien für die Translation.” trans-kom 5 (2): 211–226.
Hatano, Giyoo, and Kayoko Inagaki. 1992. “Desituating Cognition through the Construction of Conceptual Knowledge.” In Context and Cognition. Ways of Learning and Knowing, ed. by P. Light and G. Butterworth, 115–133. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Hébert-Malloch, Louise. 2004. “What do We Know about a Translator’s Day?” Meta 49 (4): 973–979.
Holyoak, Keith J. 1991. “Symbolic Connectivism: Towards Third-generation Theories of Expertise.” In Towards a General Theory of Expertise. Prospects and Limits, ed. by K. A. Ericsson and J. Smith, 301–335. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Holz-Mänttäri, Justa. 1984. Translatorisches Handeln. Theorie und Methode. Helsinki: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia.
ISO 17100. 2015. Translation Services – Requirements for Translation Services. Vernier: International Standards Organization.
Koskinen, Kaisa. 2008. Translating Institutions. An Ethnographic Study of EU Translation. Manchester: St. Jerome Publishing.
Kuznik, Anna, and Joan M. Verd. 2010. “Investigating Real Work Situations in Translation Agencies. Work Content and its Components.” Hermes 44: 25–43.
Lavault-Olléon, Élisabeth. 2011. “L’ergonomie, nouveau paradigme pour la traductologie.” ILCEA Traduction et Ergonomie 14. [URL].
Leitner, Konrad, Elke Lüders, Birgit Greiner, Antje Ducki, Renate Niedermeier, and Walter Volpert. 1993. Analyse psychischer Anforderungen und Belastungen in der Büroarbeit: Das RHIA/VERA-Büro-Verfahren. Göttingen: Hogrefe.
Massey, Gary, and Maureen Ehrensberger-Dow. 2011. “Technical and Instrumental Competence in the Translator’s Workplace: Using Process Research to Identify Educational and Ergonomic Needs.” ILCEA Traduction et Ergonomie 14. [URL]
Mesa Lao, Bartolomé. 2014. “Speech-Enabled Computer-Aided Translation: A Satisfaction Survey with Post-Editor Trainees.” In Proceedings of the Workshop on Human and Computer-Assisted Translation (HaCaT), ed. by U. Germann, M. Carl, P. Koehn, G. Sanchis Trilles, F. Casacuberta, R. Hill, and S. O’Brien, 99–103. Stroudsburg, PA: Association for Computational Linguistics.
Moorkens, Joss, and Sharon O’Brien. 2013. “User Attitudes to the Post-Editing Interface.” In
Proceedings of MT Summit XIV Workshop on Post-editing Technology and Practice
, Nice, September 2, 2013, ed. by S. O’Brien, M. Simard, and L. Specia, 19–25. [URL].
Muñoz Martín, Ricardo. 2009. “Typos & Co.” In Behind the Mind. Methods, Models and Results in Translation Process Research, ed. by S. Göpferich, A.L. Jakobsen, and I.M. Mees, 167–189. Copenhagen: Samfundslitteratur.
Muñoz Martín, Ricardo. 2014. “Situating Translation Expertise: A Review with a Sketch of a Construct.” In The Development of Translation Competence: Theories and Methodologies from Psycholinguistics and Cognitive Science, ed. by John W. Schwieter and Aline Ferreira, 2–56. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Neck-Häberli, Regula, and Vera Bregger. 2013. Erhebungsinstrument zur ergonomischen Arbeitsplatzberatung, Fachstelle Betriebliches Gesundheitsmanagement. Winterthur: ZHAW (unpublished document).
Norros, Lena, and Paula Savioja. 2007. “Towards a Theory and Method for Usability Evaluation of Complex Human-technology Systems.” Activités 4 (2): 143–150.
Olohan, Maeve. 2011. “Translators and Translation Technology: The Dance of Agency.” Translation Studies 4 (3): 342–357.
PACTE. 2003. “Building a Translation Competence Model.” In Triangulating Translation: Perspectives in Process-Oriented Research, ed. by F. Alves, 43–66. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
PACTE. 2009. “Results of the Validation of the PACTE Translation Competence Model: Acceptability and Decision Making.” Across Languages and Cultures 10 (2): 207–230.
Pineau, Martine. 2011. “La main et le clavier: histoire d’un malentendu.” ILCEA Traduction et Ergonomie 14. [URL].
Pym, Anthony. 2011. “What Technology Does to Translating.” Translation and Interpreting 3 (1): 1–9.
Risku, Hanna. 2002. “Situatedness in Translation Studies.” Cognitive Systems Research 3: 523–533.
Risku, Hanna. 2014. “Translation Process Research as Interaction Research. From Mental to Socio-cognitive Processes.” In Minding Translation. Con la traducción en mente, MonTI Special Issue 1, ed. by R. Muñoz, 331–353.
Rosenfield, Mark. 2011. “Computer Vision Syndrome: A Review of Ocular Causes and Potential Treatments.” Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics 31: 502–515.
Salvendy, Gavriel. 2012. Handbook of Human Factors and Ergonomics (4th edition). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Shreve, Gregory M. 2006. “The Deliberate Practice: Translation and Expertise.” Journal of Translation Studies 9 (1): 27–42.
SUVA. 2010. Bildschirmarbeit. Wichtige Informationen für Ihr Wohlbefinden. Lucerne: SUVA.
Szameitat, André J., Jan Rummel, Daniela P. Szameitat, and Annette Sterr. 2009. “Behavioral and Emotional Consequences of Brief Delays in Human-computer Interaction.” International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 67: 561–570.
Torres, Hostench, Olga, José Ramón Biau Gil, Pilar Cid Leal, Adrià Martín Mor, Bartolomé Mesa Lao, Mariana Orozco Jutorán, and Pilar Sánchez Gijón. 2010. “TRACE: Measuring the Impact of CAT Tools on Translated Texts.” In Linguistic and Translation Studies in Scientific Communication, ed. by M.L. Gea , I. García , and M.J. Esteve, 255–276. Bern: Peter Lang.
2020. Decision-Making: Putting AVT and MA into Perspective. In The Palgrave Handbook of Audiovisual Translation and Media Accessibility [Palgrave Studies in Translating and Interpreting, ], ► pp. 483 ff.
Man, Deliang, Aiping Mo, Meng Huat Chau, John Mitchell O’Toole & Charity Lee
2020. Translation technology adoption: evidence from a postgraduate programme for student translators in China. Perspectives 28:2 ► pp. 253 ff.
Massey, Gary & Peter Jud
2020. Translation Process Research in Audiovisual Translation. In The Palgrave Handbook of Audiovisual Translation and Media Accessibility [Palgrave Studies in Translating and Interpreting, ], ► pp. 359 ff.
Peñalver, Elena Alcalde & Alexandra Santamaría Urbieta
2020. The healthy and fit translator: a reality or a necessity?. The Interpreter and Translator Trainer 14:4 ► pp. 461 ff.
Risku, Hanna
2020. Cognitive Approaches to Translation. In The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics, ► pp. 1 ff.
van Egdom, Gys-Walt, Patrick Cadwell, Hendrik Kockaert & Winibert Segers
2020. A turn to ergonomics in translator and interpreter training. The Interpreter and Translator Trainer 14:4 ► pp. 363 ff.
Şahin, Mehmet & Neslihan Kansu-Yetkiner
2020. From translation market to translation curriculum: psychosocial and physical ergonomics in Turkey. The Interpreter and Translator Trainer 14:4 ► pp. 440 ff.
2016. Physical Ergonomics at Translators’ Workplaces: Findings from Ergonomic Workplace Assessments and Interviews. ILCEA :27
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 11 january 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.