Translator’s Role In Crowdsourcing Translation

With rapid development of information technology,crowdsourcing emerges as a new way of working.It has been rapidly applied to every profession and trade,also including translation industry.Information technology and modern management model have a significant impact on the intrinsic context of translation.Compared with traditional translation mode,crowdsourcing translation is different in working environment,working process,participants and other factors.The transformation of translation mode has exerted a tremendous influence on translators.The previous studies of crowdsourcing translation either only focus on its introduction and practice or only pay attention to its influence on translation ethics and translation quality.It is insufficient for a more in-depth and comprehensive research on translator’s role.Basing on literature research method,analyzing contextual features of crowdsourcing translation,supporting by Hymes’ SPEAKING model,this thesis attempts to explore translator’s role in the light of contextual theory and then research on the following two questions:(1)What are the contextual features of CT mode?(2)How can translator’s role be better described in the context of crowdsourcing translation?Research findings are as follows:(1)The contextual features of crowdsourcing translation:①A multi-dimensional setting and scene.Due to the complexity of crowdsourcing translation projects and network-based work platform,setting and scene a translator has to work in is usually unfolded in more forms and at different levels.②An interactive act sequence.Owing to the translation tasks being divided and translators with different backgrounds work in a community,translators have a more open,dynamic and multi-directional act sequence.③Participants with more diverse identities.Translation activities are no longer limited to professional translators,and translators are no longer limited to translation work.④A target-oriented key.Crowdsourcing translation activity is project-oriented,and translators are guided by the ultimate goal of translation projects and needs of target group.⑤The instrumentalities with tech-support.It plays a vital role in crowdsourcing translation.(2)In the context of crowdsourcing translation,translators have been liberated from the traditional translation power system.Crowdsourcing translators are mostly amateur translators and volunteer to participate in translation activities.Usually in the form of a crowdsourcing translation community,in which translators work independently and cooperatively.Translators are more of a collective subjectivity to reflect their individual subjectivity.And what’s more,the collective subjectivity of the crowdsourcing translation community transcends the individual subjectivity of the translator.Crowdsourcing translation is a translation mode with the support of information technology.A research on this mode is conducive to enrich the connotation of translation concepts,to forecast the development of translation industry,the updating of translation standards and the cultivation of professional translators.