Translators want to take their readers into account, but traditional translation theory does not offer much advice on how to do that. __User-Centered Translation__ (UCT) offers practical tools and methods to help empower translators to act for their readers. This book will help readers to: * Create mental models such as personas; * Test translations with usability testing methods; * Carry out reception research. Including assignments, case studies and real-life scenarios ranging from the translation of user instructions and EU texts to literary and audiovisual translation, this is an essential guide for students, translators and researchers. Cover 1 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 List of illustrations 9 Acknowledgments 10 1 Introduction: a proposal for a user-centered model of translation 12 1.1 The UCT process 14 1.2 Conceptual solutions 18 1.3 Target groups 18 1.4 Pedagogy 21 1.5 Structure 22 2 Usability and user experience 24 2.1 Usability 24 2.2 Historical developments in usability research 27 2.3 Cultural usability 30 2.4 Cultural usability and translation/localization 33 2.5 User experience 36 3 Users and using texts 40 3.1 Know thy users 41 3.2 User interfaces and product variety 44 3.3 The idea of use in the context of literary translation 45 3.4 Categorizing users 47 3.5 Users and usability in translation studies 51 3.5.1 Functional approaches versus usability 51 3.5.2 Eugene A. Nida: pioneer of user-centeredness 53 4 Textual elements of usability 60 4.1 Legibility 61 4.2 Readability 62 4.3 Comprehensibility 64 4.4 Accessibility 67 5 Mental models of the user 72 5.1 Intratextual reader positions 73 5.1.1 The implied reader 73 5.1.2 The reader as a rhetorical participant 77 5.2 Audience design 79 5.3 Personas 81 5.4 Using mental models in UCT 82 6 Usability heuristics and translation 88 6.1 Heuristic evaluation 88 6.2 Heuristics and translation 92 6.2.1 Translating user instructions 92 6.2.2 Subtitling 95 6.3 Usability heuristics for translation 100 7 Empirical usability methods 104 7.1 Usability testing 105 7.2 Thinking aloud 109 7.3 Eyetracking 111 7.4 Dialogic methods 113 7.4.1 Questionnaire, interview and narrative methods 113 7.4.2 Focus groups 115 7.5 Fieldwork methods 117 7.6 Case studies 119 8 Reception research in translation studies 122 8.1 Thematic studies: culture, humor, language 123 8.2 Researching experiences and attitudes 127 8.3 Studies on perception and on the reading process 130 8.4 Public reception and reception statistics 131 9 User-centered translation and the translation industry 136 9.1 Translation industry practices from a user-centered perspective 137 9.1.1 Usability versus quality control in the translation industry 137 9.1.2 Revision and heuristic evaluation 141 9.1.3 Error elimination versus usability 142 9.1.4 Specification 144 9.2 Experimenting with UCT in the translation industry 145 9.2.1 Personas in magazine translation and in translator training 146 9.2.2 Audience design in subtitling 147 9.2.3 The implied reader in nonfiction translation 148 9.2.4 Usability of a translated online course 150 9.2.5 Towards a complete UCT process 150 10 Conclusion 154 10.1 UCT and the future of the translation industry 154 10.2 User-centered translation practice 156 10.3 Two-way street between usability research and translation studies 157 10.4 Empowerment through users 158 References 160 Index 175 Translators want to take their readers into account, but traditional translation theory does not offer much advice on how to do that. User-Centered Translation (UCT) offers practical tools and methods to help empower translators to act for their readers. This book helps readers to create mental models such as personas, test translations with usability testing methods, carry out reception research, and much more
