This workshop aims at presenting a digital device that is meant for the collaborative and multilingual translation of cultural texts (poetry, philosophy, religion, social sciences, etc): TraduXio (http://traduxio.org). The workshop focuses on the use of the software, on a do-it-with-others basis. A few simple operations will be explained, then participants will be invited to create a translation project together.
This workshop aims at presenting a digital device that is meant for the translation of cultural texts: traduXio (http://traduxio.org). TraduXio allows for multilingual and participative translation, on a low key budget (it is web based, free of use and open source environment), and powered by innovative but low technology that is especially suited to tackling the challenges of cultural (non commercial, non repetitive) documents: no AI, no data, but only a concordance and a text base with limited storage.
Aiming at precision and customization, instead of approximate mass-translation, TraduXio considers linguistic diversity as a cultural wealth to be cherished and sustained, and not an obstacle to be overcome. It promotes the creation of common goods, guided by a logic of pooling (gradual feeding of the text base). TraduXio is designed to encourage the diversification of language learning (in particular the learning of a wider range of languages) and to promote a reappraisal of translation as a professional competence, especially in research activities. Language students can for instance use the platform to propose multilingual translations of assigned texts, either individually or as a group. Language teachers (and/or translation specialists) can easily supervise the translation through the online interface, propose corrections, compare different drafts, and also evaluate students' questions and hesitations. TraduXio is also suited for scholars and Academic Departments, particularly in Literature and the Social Sciences. Specialists can create multilingual glossaries or build a dedicated 'translation memory' for any topic or author, etc.
TraduXio has recently been redesigned within a protocol made for documents commentary, Hyperglosae (https://github.com/Hypertopic/HyperGlosae), thus acquiring new functionalities that allow for an even more flexible use. The software thus allows for all sorts of annotation, ranging from the most scholarly ones to the ephemerous marginal working remarks between colleagues. The same adaptability is offered for corpora, enabling researchers to compare better their thoughts on a given set of documents.
The workshop focuses on the use of the software, on a do-it-with-others basis. A few simple operations will be explained: registering, inserting a text and dividing it, creating one (or more) translations, choosing the license, inviting co-translators and managing their respective privileges, adding commentaries (author's, editor's, translator's notes; marginal remarks; work suggestions), organizing the workflow (dividing the text, checking other's translation, concluding through final revision), and publishing.
Then the participants will be invited to create a project together, in order to translate collectively a small text in various languages (their own native language), in association with others. They will thus experiment the dynamic of collaboration, debate and decision making in a limited time, acquiring competence about a very innovative and sustainable translation tool.
For informal enquiries: traduxio@philippelacour.net