FORDÍTÁSTUDOMÁNY - Translation Studies

Does Machine Translation Invalidate Translation Theories?

Pál Heltai — 2025-06-13

The rise of machine translation (MT) in the past few years has been characterized as a disruptive innovation, prompting a critical re-evaluation of established Translation Studies (TS) models and concepts within both research and translator/post-editor training. The rapid improvement in MT quality raises fundamental questions: Is machine translation truly translation? Have the core characteristics of translation changed? Has the subject of research changed, or only the focus of TS research shifted? Are existing translation theories applicable to MT? Can the teaching of translation theory contribute to the effectiveness of translator and post-editor training, and if so, what theoretical knowledge do students need?

This study provides a comprehensive literature review, addressing key questions such as the status of MT vis-à-vis HT and the role that translation theory can play in translator and post-editor training. It argues that even in the era of neural MT and artificial intelligence (AI) an understanding of fundamental translation theory concepts remains essential for aspiring translators and post-editors. However, it emphasizes the need to align curriculum content with evolving training objectives, competency requirements, and the technological paradigm shift introduced by MT. Through a specific example, the paper highlights the most pertinent theoretical topics and concepts for educational purposes. It argues that relevance theory offers a comprehensive explanatory framework for both research and translator training. It also underscores the importance of understanding the cognitive processes involved in translation, including the distinction between horizontal and vertical translation.

Ultimately, the paper concludes that while MT has profoundly reshaped the translation landscape, it has not invalidated established translation theories. Instead, it has expanded the scope of TS, necessitating a nuanced approach that acknowledges the unique characteristics of both HT and MT. It advocates for a curriculum that equips future translators and post-editors with the essential theoretical knowledge and practical skills necessary to navigate the evolving demands of the profession.

The Stages of Criminal and Civil Procedures from the Viewpoint of Court Interpreters

Balázs Bakó — 2025-06-13

Act CXXX of 2016 on the Code of Civil Procedure, effective from January 1, 2018, and Act XC of 2017 on the Code of Criminal Procedure, effective from July 1, 2018, introduced fundamental changes affecting, among others, court interpreters. However, a detailed analysis of these changes from the perspective of court interpreters is still lacking in the literature. While this study cannot and does not aim to provide a comprehensive overview of all Hungarian legislation governing the rights and obligations of court interpreters, it seeks to clarify the relevant pro- visions of the Civil Procedure Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure, the two most important procedural acts pertaining to court interpreters, particularly to students in interpreter training and novice court interpreters. After reviewing the constitutional foundations of civil and criminal procedures, the right to use one’s own language in such procedures, and the relevant laws for court interpreters the study overviews the structure and stages of civil and criminal procedures.

To guide readers through the maze of criminal and civil procedures in Hungary, the study employs the methods of easification and simplification, as explained by Bhatia (1997). Easification is a process of making a specialized text more accessible to a specialist audience without sacrificing generic integrity (1997: 209). This study utilizes a key easification technique: clarifying cognitive structure by employing textual-mapping devices (1997: 209). Simplification, as opposed to easification, is intended for lay audiences, aiming to simplify complex legal syntax and to reduce information overload in legislative sentences (1997: 212). By combining these two approaches, this study aims to be a valuable resource for both court interpreting professionals and those outside the field.

The Place of Medical Interpreting within Community Interpreting

Réka Rebeka Gabányi — 2025-06-13

Within the field of language mediation, the topic of community interpreting has gained increasing significance in interpreting research due to re- cent events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing war in Ukraine. Community interpreting encompasses various sub-types, including judicial, legal, public service, and medical interpreting. This international and Hungarian literature review aims to assist researchers by situating medical interpreting within the broader category of community interpreting. The paper begins with an overview of community interpreting and seeks to clarify the terminology, as numerous terms exist for this form of interpretation in both English and Hungarian. Community interpreting may occur in settings such as police stations, immigration offices, social service centres, hospitals, clinics, schools, or other institutions where the interpreter facilitates communication between professionals—such as officials, healthcare workers, or social service providers—and laypersons, including clients, migrants, and patients. Following a review of international and Hungarian literature on community interpreting, the article discusses the competence models relevant to interpreters in this field. It provides a detailed examination of health interpreting and the competencies required of health interpreters, both internationally and in the Hungarian context. The literature review also addresses the question of who acts as a language mediator, as in community interpreting, and particularly in medical interpreting, this role is often filled by non-professionals, such as ad hoc interpreters, family members, or medical staff. Furthermore, the article explores the legal provisions applicable in Hungary and highlights the cur- rent situation of community interpreters both regionally and nationally. It compares the Hungarian context with practices in other European countries, specifically France and Denmark, examining whether interpretation services operate within an associative or a legal framework. Ultimately, this literature review aims to pro- vide researchers with a relevant and comprehensive summary of the various aspects of medical interpreting, interpreter roles, and related legal frameworks.

Translation Issues for Non-Machine Translated Technical Books

Júlia Dróth — 2025-06-15

Abstract: The rapid advancement of machine translation means that research findings on MT quality and translator practices may be outdated by the time of publication. This raises the question: Can similar rapid progress be expected for genres that currently resist MT, demanding creative technical skills and deep con- tent considerations? This paper aims to justify the current publishing stance that rejects MT for multidisciplinary technical books, providing a snapshot to help future comparative analyses to assess MT’s developmental trajectory in these specialized areas The emphasis on “technical books” in the title is deliberate, since my observations do not apply to many other professional genres, such as user manuals and descriptive texts, which MT effectively handles. It is essential to give machines tasks for which they are suited (Prószéky, 2025), so it would be useful to identify text types and genres suitable for MT with acceptable outcomes. The “corpus” for this study comprises technical books translated from English into Hungarian. The analysis categorizes and exemplifies persistent translation challenges where the skills and knowledge of a human translator remains indispensable. These include: 1. Ability to make a conscious choice of translation strategy; 2. Ability to recognise and render rhetorical purpose; 3. Ability to recognise and render metaphors; 4. Comparison of the information content with the information content that is relevant or accessible to the target language audience; 5. Ability to manage terminology; 6. Ability to translate professional or literary quotations from the source language. In conclusion, while the current quality of translations provided by MT and artificial intelligence (AI) may suggest that further improvements can be expected, particularly in translating technical books, at present the expertise of specialist human translators is still needed.

The Professional and Academic Background of Language Mediators

Judit Olgyay-Fekete — 2025-06-15

With the spread of translation technology and AI-based tools, the dilemma has once again intensified: does translation practice need the theories and research findings of translation studies, or not (Levý 1965, Chesterman & Wagner 2002, Heltai 2023). Torres-Simón and Pym (2016) point out that while the traditional dichotomy lies in the fundamental opposition between “practice” and “theory,” the latter inherently includes research and the training that underpins professional work. In 2015, the European Society for Translation Studies (EST) conducted an on- line survey to determine whether researchers in translation studies have practical experience in language mediation (Torres-Simón and Pym 2016). The findings of this research revealed that most translation scholars are also practicing professionals. However, the study did not address the question what professional language media- tors think about the role of translation theories and research, and whether they find them useful from the perspective of industry practice. Inspired by EST’s research, we conducted a similar survey in Hungary. However, instead of focusing on translation scholars, we targeted practising translators and interpreters who are actively working in the translation market. A total of 178 participants completed the survey questionnaire. Our aim was twofold: first, to gather information about the professional background, education, and work experience of language mediators., second, to explore their attitudes and opinions regarding the usefulness of translation rese- arch and theory. Our findings show that most professional translators and interpreters hold a postgraduate degree in language mediation and consider translation and interpreting as their primary occupation. Furthermore, contrary to our initial expectations, the responses revealed that practicing professionals value the connection between translation studies and industry practice. They find translation research useful, as its findings can help them perform their tasks more efficiently, based on informed and conscious decisions. They also view translation and interpreting rese- arch as playing a key role in tracking and exploring ongoing changes in the industry, and in addressing pressing issues arising from the digital transformation.

Working Paper on the Hungarian Translation of the Libretto of the Opera María de Buenos

Péter Iván Horváth — 2025-06-15

This paper details a Hungarian translation of the libretto of the Argentine opera María de Buenos Aires, commissioned by a theatre and undertaken by the author. This unrhymed version represents a complete departure from a 2014 rhymed version produced by a team of literary translators. The plot of the work is highly surreal and the language is obscure at several points due to unusual syntactic structures and the poet’s coinages, which is why most native speakers find the text difficult to understand. The primary strategy underlying this version was to preserve syllable count. This was challenging because of synalepha, the merger of a word-final vowel with a word-initial one, which is common in Spanish but non- existent in Standard Hungarian. Eventually, I worked with grammatical rather than metric syllables. Given that the Hungarian rough translation was typically shorter than the Spanish original, the need arose to increase syllable count almost every- where with longer (sometimes marked, e.g. archaic, literary) synonyms, grammatical expansions and additions. In many cases, the increase inevitably resulted in stylistic enhancement and enrichment. At the same time, both operations seemed to be useful global compensation mechanisms for the syntactic and lexical anomalies of the libretto. Further translation challenges included the rendition of numerous Lunfardo terms specific to Buenos Aires, for which direct Hungarian equivalents were lacking, the poet’s coinages (chiefly portmanteaus, derivatives and compounds based on productive affixes, semantically anomalous multi-word units), culture-bound terms (explained in footnotes and not rendered by adaptation or hypernyms), and some features of Argentinian Spanish (the interjection che, zheísmo and sheísmo and voseo). Even though this Hungarian text was intended for the theatre’s audience, the translated text was ultimately not made available to the viewers due to the director’s concern that printed versions or surtitles would detract attention from the stage performance. Since the translation was only used by the performers during the rehearsals, for whom a rough version in prose would have been sufficient, it became “too good”, i.e. “bad” in functional terms.

Speciális helyzetek az igazságszolgáltatásban – gyermekek meghallgatása és megértése

Anett Bogácsi — 2025-06-16

Languages & The Media

Judit Sereg — 2025-06-16

2024 novemberében Budapesten rendezték meg az audiovizuális fordítás legnagyobb szakmai rendezvényét, a Languages & The Media konferenciát. A kétévente megrendezésre kerülő eseménynek eddig Berlin adott otthon, a helyszínváltásra azért került sor, mert a korábbi szálloda óriási akváriuma 2022 decemberében szétrobbant – erre több előadó is utalt a konferencia különböző időpontjaiban.

FIT for Market – Thriving in the Age of AI – Perspectives from professional associations, universities and the industry

Adrienn Biró — 2025-06-16

2024. november 29-én nemzetközi konferenciának adott otthont az Eötvös Loránd Tudomány Egyetem (ELTE) Bölcséttudományi Karának (BTK) Fordító és Tolmácsképző Tanszéke (FTT). A FIT for Market – Thriving in the Age of AI – Perspectives from professional associations, universities and the industry című konferenciát a Regional Centre Europe of the International Federation of Translators (FIT Europe), a Magyar Fordítók és Tolmácsok Egyesülete (MFTE) és az ELTE BTK FTT közösen szervezte.

AI x AI: Artificial Intelligence for Augmented Interpreting

Csilla Szabó — 2025-06-16

Az Interpreting Europe 2025 konferenciát, amelyet korábban SCIC Unis néven ismertünk, 2025. február 6-án és 7-én rendezték meg Brüsszelben az Európai Bizottság Tolmácsolási Főigazgatósága, azaz a DG Interpretation (SCIC) rendezésében.

Heltai Pál: Bevezetés a fordítástudományba Posztgraduális szakfordítói képzések számára

Eszter Macsári Istvánné Szegedi — 2025-06-16

Heltai Pál Bevezetés a fordítástudományba. Posztgraduális szakfordítói képzések számára című monográfiája 2023-ban jelent meg a Károli Gáspár Református Egyetem és a L’Harmattan Kiadó gondozásában, a Károli Könyvek Monográfia sorozatának köteteként. A könyv kiadását a KRE BTK Fordítástudományi kutatócsoportja készítette elő, melynek korábban a szerző is tagja volt.

M. Pintér Tibor: A bibliafordítás tudománya Bibliafordításról nyelvész szemmel

Ildikó Bodnár — 2025-06-16

A Károli Gáspár Református Egyetem, a L’Harmattan Kiadó és a Hermeneutikai Kutatóközpont közös kiadványaként jelent meg 2023-ban M. Pintér Tibor A bibliafordítás tudománya – Bibliafordításról nyelvész szemmel című könyve.

Rebecca Tipton and Olgierda Furmanek: Dialogue Interpreting: A Guide to Interpreting in Public Services and the Community

Balázs Bakó — 2025-06-16

Rebecca Tipton és Olgierda Furmanek kézikönyve a dialógustolmácsoknak szánt segédeszközként hiánypótló műnek tekinthető a mű megjelenése óta eltelt közel egy évtizeddel is.

Zuzana Bohušová, Martin Djovčoš, Miroslava Melicherčiková (eds): Interpreter Training – Experience, Ideas, Perspectives. Dolmetschtraining – Erfahrungen, Ideen, Perspektiven

Dóra Behon-Görözdi — 2025-06-16

Az Interpreter Training – Experience, Ideas, Perspectives. Dolmetschtraining – Erfahrungen, Ideen, Perspektiven című, négy részből álló tanulmánykötet angol és német nyelven írt tanulmányokat közöl a tolmácsképzés különböző aspektusairól, javarészt cseh és szlovák szerzők tollából.

Albert Sándor: Filozófia – nyelv – fordítás

Nóra Nagy — 2025-06-16

Szemlátomást egyforma két könyv: lila borító, sárga betűkkel a szerző neve és a cím, a hátoldalon a szerző fotója is ugyanaz. Egy nyelvészeti, filozófiai, nyelvfilozófiai kutatásokban gazdag életpálya két állomása: a köztük eltelt tíz évben a hátlap ismertetője szerint a Szegedi Tudományegyetem professzorából professor emeritus lett, két magyar nyelvű könyve háromra, tanulmányainak száma több mint százról több mint százötvenre nőtt.

Antoine Berman: Az újrafordítás mint fordítási tér

Réka Rebeka Gabányi — 2025-06-16

Ennek az írásnak a témája: az újrafordítás, mint fordítási tér. A „tér” itt a befejezettség terét jelenti. Ebben a lényegénél fogva befejezetlen állapotban, amely a fordítást jellemzi, csak az újrafordításoknak van néha lehetőségük elérni a befejezettséget.

Summaries in English

Kinga Klaudy — 2025-06-16