Audiovisual Translation and Localization Education in a Cost-effective Way

A Report From Hong Kong

Abstract

Challenges posed by current technological advancements in audiovisual (AV) communication have made it clear that AV translation and localization education at the tertiary level must adapt quickly to remain relevant and viable. This paper briefly discusses the current state in the field of AV translation and localization education. Then it reports the teaching practices in an AV Localization course at a local university in Hong Kong, most of the time using free and downloadable (or cloud-based) tools, i.e., in a cost-effective way. The pedagogical reflections from this course over the past five years will provide implications for BA-level foundational training in AV translation and localization in other locales with high potential but limited budgets.

Lay summary

Audio-visual (AV) translation (AVT) and localization (AVL) education offered in courses at higher education institutions aims to train high-quality future professionals to first work on the translation of texts in AV materials from one language to another and then the localization of the AV materials for them to be acceptable by the target language and culture.

When we look at the huge market for AV products now, we are certain that there is a big potential for audiovisual translation and localization education.

In the meantime, with the wide application of artificial intelligence (AI) in the production and dissemination of AV materials across languages, there is also an urgent need for people to recognize that the use of AI could considerably facilitate the process of translation and localization.

Since AV is closely related to technology, AVT and AVL education are constantly facing challenges brought by the advancements in technology, both in its most up-to-date application and in the subsequent lack of financial funding and support in acquiring such application on a regular basis. This has presented an existential threat to translation-related education in general.

Therefore, how to deal with such challenges and stay relevant and viable is quite an urgent issue.

This paper first provides a brief discussion of the situation in this field. It then discusses the AVT and AVL education in Hong Kong (HK), a biliterate and tri-lingual society and Asia's largest film and entertainment content marketplace. In HK, nearly everything audio-visual is in three different languages. The local emphasis on AV translation and localization is also manifest in the courses offered by the local universities.

Due to budget limits in the education sector out of different reasons worldwide, the paper then explores how to conduct AVT and AVL education (including how to localize the AV materials, which goes a step beyond translation for the purpose of being acceptable by the target locale) in a cost-effective way. It focuses on an AVL course at a newly established self-financed university. The whole teaching process can be completed with the help of free and downloadable (or cloud-based) tools.

The authors hope, after sharing their teaching practice and the subsequent critical pedagogical reflections, AVT and AVL educators in other regions faced with similar technological and financial challenges could get some useful clues to start or to improve their teaching in this subject area. Details of such free tools are also provided for easy reference and use for educational purposes.