The MultilingualWeb (MLW) Project: A Collaborative Approach and a Challenge for Translation Studies

Abstract

This chapter refers to a project called MultilingualWeb — Advancing the Multilingual Web funded by the European Commission through the ICT PSP Grant Agreement No. 250500, as part of the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme, Theme 5: Multilingual Web (http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/apps/projects/factsheet/index.cfm?project_ref=250500). The reasons for including this topic in a publication on audiovisual translation (AVT) are various. The first is that the multilingual web naturally requires translation activities that share many characteristics with other audiovisual media. Secondly, the inclusiveness of the multilingual web is a topic that has lately received much attention, promoting debate on its accessibility and availability to different audiences. Thirdly, the collaboration between Translation Studies and other disciplines is essential, especially if we consider that: (a) web translation or localization has challenged the traditional notion of what constitutes a ‘text’, foregrounding the need for a more interdisciplinary approach; (b) interdisciplinary collaboration and research should account for a new approach to translation initiatives and improvements relating to the social impact of the web. A final reason concerns the dissemination of the project among scholars working in AVT who might be interested in the topic. It is also expected that the multilingual web community would benefit from the expertise offered by translation researchers and practitioners.