INCREC : Uncovering the creative process of translated content using machine translation (2024)

Abstract: The INCREC project aims to uncover professional translators’ creative stages to understand how technology can be best applied to the translation of literary and audio-visual texts, and to analyse the impact of these processes on readers and viewers. To better understand this process, INCREC triangulates data from eye-tracking, retrospective think-aloud inter-views, translated material, and questionnaires from professional translators and users.

## introduction a remarkably high percentage of what we read and view is translated, especially in our multilingual and global society. for this translated content to reach world-wide audiences faster and at low cost, publishers and platforms are using mt. in view of the increasing amount of interlingual communication mediated by technology that we, as a society, are exposed to, understanding its effects on translators and the resulting user experience has become a matter of urgency. my recent research on creativity in the translated product, as part of the eu-funded project creamt, shows that literary texts translated with mt have a lower creativity index than those processed in a traditional way and, therefore, the user experience might be negatively impacted by mt (guerberof-arenas and toral, 2020). yet, little is known of how technology affects the creative process of professional translators, rather than the final product, or how mt could be administered to favour the translating process and, hence, the user experience. 1 ## previous work in psychology, there is some agreement about the definition of creativity itself, as something that drives novel and useful ideas @xcite , but when it comes to the creative processes there is less agreement @xcite . further, there is not a single model that can describe the creative process in all disciplines @xcite . and although more empirical research has been devoted to translation processes and translation cognition in recent years @xcite , creativity in translation is mainly analysed from a product perspective @xcite , or as a trait that might result in better translations @xcite . a welcome change of focus, from product to process, was carried out by @xcite . based on the four-stage model defined by @xcite , and on empirical research using think aloud protocols with translation students, he suggests a four-phase model: preparation, incubation, illumination, and evaluation. however, the process of professional translators, especially those that work within the creative industries, when technology is applied, continues to be under-researched. ## methodology increc looks at the macro processes (stages of creativity) and micro processes (translation problems, i.e. units of creative potential, ucp) in the mt-aided translation of creative content. a research team of six (pi, three phd students, one post-doctoral researcher and one research assistant) will implement increc's four work packages. ## expected outcomes the project has seven objectives: 1) create a framework of creative stages in literary and av translation, 2) describe and systematically classify micro-process in literary and av translation, 3) understand the benefits or constraints of mt when provided at different stages to translators, 4) understand how productivity and creativity are related in av translation, 5) analyse and classify user preferences in literary translation, 6) analyse and classify how users relate to css in translation, 7) analyse the role of raw mt in the reception of literary text/subtitles produced without professional intervention.