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Machine-translation literacies, inclusion and language rights in the production and reception of vaccination information for CALD communities in Catalonia

Nune Ayvazyan (URV); Anthony Pym (URV) 

Machine-translation links appear regularly in official administrative information for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities in Catalonia, supplementing the translated and post-edited versions variously provided in Catalan, Spanish, English or Aranese. In the case of COVID-19 directives, raw machine translations were provided, resulting in errors that would be comical if they did not concern healthcare (“wash the hands regularly with ice”). Even when such links do not appear, younger users in many communities resort to machine translation in order to comprehend official information.

Here we report on the effectiveness and inclusivity of machine translation in COVID vaccination information in English, Russian, Arabic and Chinese, as indicated in a series of eye-tracking reception tests for a short informative text translated in three different ways. We focus in the first place on the way raw machine translation is received and how end-users activate degrees of machine-translation literacy when negotiating clear translation errors (cf. Bowker 2009, 2019; Bowker and Buitrago Ciro 2019; cf. Ayvazyan and Pym 2016, 2022 for Russian-speaking communities in Catalonia). We then consider the reception effects of human post-editing as a second kind of machine translation literacy that requires specialized training to be carried out effectively. Finally, we test the reception effects of pre-editing, understood as the writing of official start texts in such a way that the typical errors are avoided before they occur. In all three cases, we evaluate both comprehension and trust in the translated text.

Much as any use of machine translation may compromise users’ rights to full and clear healthcare information, we hypothesize that pre-editing in particular enables a series of trade-off positions (Grin 2022) where receptive literacy overcomes comprehension problems, trust in the text is not fatally compromised, machine translation aids in engagement with official languages, and the long tail of minority languages may be efficiently included in public communication.

Keywords: machine translation, inclusion, minority languages.

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Linguistic justice in the justice sector: Legal multilingualism management in Canada during COVID-19

María Sierra Córdoba Serrano

In a multilingual – but officially bilingual – country like Canada, translation (understood broadly) has often been conceptualized as a cultural-linguistic value. However, I have argued elsewhere for the need to move away from a model of multilingualism management that is primarily predicated on identity arguments and toward a broader framework based on the idea of access and human rights, a minimum threshold that, once defined, would apply to any language group. The state would develop a policy framework that guarantees accommodations for all language groups beyond official languages in well-defined “high-risk” situations in which fundamental human rights could be compromised (i.e., when accessing justice, healthcare, or education).

Building on the idea of “risk” and the fact that crisis settings can be placed at the high end of the spectrum of high-risk situations, I will focus on legal multilingualism management during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, and I will analyze the existing translation policies and practices within the Abitibi judicial district of Quebec.

The impact of the pandemic on access to justice in Canada has been disproportionate, affecting certain segments of the population more than others, especially marginalized individuals, including speakers of official and non-official minority languages (Action Committee, 2021, online). Adopting a top-down approach, I will begin by analyzing relevant language policy instruments to determine if they contemplate emergency situations, and then move to other documents related to the courts’ emergency preparedness planning to see whether language needs are contemplated. Through interviews with key stakeholders, I will then analyze the language management practices within the district in question.

Ultimately, I want to illustrate how lessons learned from managing legal multilingualism in crisis settings in Canada can inform the development of a policy framework and best practices for the provision of language access services in high-risk situations beyond crises.

Keywords: legal multilingualism management, Canada, crisis translation.

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From theory to practice: school education in regional and minority languages

Michael Forbes

Thirty years after the signing of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, access to schooling in these languages remains difficult for many children and their families. This paper looks at the challenges faced by parents in accessing education in the language spoken at home in Europe, with a specific focus on languages that are recognised as regional or minority languages by individual nation states.

Legal issues relating to regional and minority education are also explored, particularly the difficulties and barriers that parents face in enforcing the legal right for their children to receive education in their native language.

The paper additionally discusses the problems in finding and retaining suitably qualified teachers of minority and regional languages, particularly in countries where speakers of a given language are not concentrated in a specific area.

Issues relating to the denial of access to education in a student’s first language are explored, with particular emphasis on comparing the linguistic policies of devolved political administrations such as those found in Spain or in the United Kingdom with the policies of centralised administrations such as in Croatia or Poland. Finally, potential solutions are presented with respect to the problem of access to education with a particular emphasis on information and communications technology as a key equaliser in respects to broadening and strengthening access to high quality tuition in the student’s own language.

Keywords: minority language, education, tuition, teaching.

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Multilingualism and the role of translation and interpreting in Kosovo (1999-2021)

Arben Shala

Translation has been widely used as an intermedium to implement and promote linguistic policies in Kosovo throughout the period of international administration and the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government in Kosovo (PISG) (1999–2008), as well as in the years after Kosovo’s declaration of independence (2008). The presentation discusses translation and interpreting activity in Kosovo in terms of the legal framework governing multilingualism in administration and legal proceedings, the difficulties and challenges inherent in implementing linguistic rights, and the impact of multilingualism on fostering trust in administration, particularly in the security sector.
Kosovo’s population, which was largely bilingual or even trilingual in the 1970s (Vickers, 1998, p. 171), is now almost monolingual; as a result, the language gap between Albanians, the Serbian minority, and other ethnic groups has continuously increased, while English has become the dominant ethnically neutral medium of communication. Thus, translation and interpreting contribute to the alleviation of ethnic tensions and the development of trust in local institutions. The latter encountered quality challenges, partly as a result of international organisations absorbing all skilled interpreters and translators, and partly due to a lack of translators and interpreters with experience in legal texts and terminology. Following the reduction in size and revision of the mandates of the missions (UNMIK and EULEX), the local government and judiciary institutions have steadily increased their language staffing.
The analysis of documents revealed that despite repeated funding and staffing constraints, recommendations made by experts from international and independent organisations and institutions (OSCE, IOM, OIK, etc.) have been appropriately addressed or have been or are currently being implemented at the local and central levels. Substantial efforts, however, are required to implement multilingualism, particularly in monoethnic municipalities (with either an Albanian or Serbian majority), to improve the quality of translations and to increase the number of translators and interpreters.

Keywords: multilingualism, linguistic rights, translation quality, trust, neutral language.