Languages & the Media

The emergence of new technologies, global hyperconnectivity and the mushrooming of on-demand services means that an abundance of audiovisual content is available through diverse media around the clock. The growing volume of content is being shared and distributed via more channels than ever before and it is reaching wider, more diverse audiences. As a result, we are witnessing an everincreasing demand for a personalised user experience and speakers of different languages as well as consumers with visual or hearing impairments expect that this wealth of information be made accessible to them. These rapidly changing mediascapes raise the question: How can the industry remain agile and respond to this surging market demand?

With easy access to sophisticated technologies and expectations for instantaneous results, consumers have become more than simply an audience. As full access to audiovisual media becomes the top priority, communities of amateur translators have emerged and ‘prosumers’ are taking charge of content creation, mediation and online distribution in this new networked participatory culture. The worldwide social phenomena of fan translation, fansubbing, fandubbing and crowdsourcing in all forms are having a profound impact on the future of audiovisual translation and the status of professionals. Amateur translation processes and the mainstream adoption of technologies such as cloud storage, digital transmission, machine translation, and voice recognition, amongst others, raise a whole raft of accessibility, legal, quality and usability implications. Alongside these trends new job profiles are also emerging. In addition, innovative new tools and technologies are providing opportunities to improve research, collaboration and training, whilst at the same time changing the lives of professionals.

Faced with the fact that the demand for all types of audiovisual translation – whether dubbing, subtitling, voiceover, SDH, audio description – is set to explode, how will the role of professional audiovisual translators change? What untapped potential does interdisciplinary research hold for the sector? How can technology and personalised approaches be used for education and training? What are the potential challenges that lie ahead?

At the 11th Languages & The Media,the International Conference on Language Transfer for Audiovisual Media, broadcasters, researchers, language practitioners, translators, interpreters, software developers and all those who produce, market or distribute audiovisual materials for information, entertainment or educational purposes will come together from all parts of the world to address issues on how to thrive in this dynamic mediascape. Join us for the unique opportunity to voice your opinion and share experiences with your international peers.

Under the overall theme ‘Agile Mediascapes – Personalising the Future’, Languages & The Media 2016 will take place on November 2 – 4 at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Berlin.