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Human translators are deeply worried that they might be replaced by machines capable of translating and interpreting through deep learning and big data analysis. This paper takes a complementary mindset rather than either-or mindset to shift translation’s relationships with machines from automation to augmentation. The objective of this study is to set out specific areas of works where humans can coexist with intelligent machines, turning this challenge into an opportunity to expand the scope of translation rather than diminishing it. This paper adopts a model from the business administration field as a framework. It is “five-paths toward employability” (Davenport & Kirby, 2015) based on “augmentation strategy” and “complementarity” (Autor, 2014). Based on the characteristics of translation in this changing world, I could derive employable areas for human translators in the age of AI: human translators can ‘step up’ as managers establishing a platform, overseeing the whole translation process, building corpus database and coordinating collaboration among participants; ‘step aside’ as communicators catering to the linguistic and cultural needs of each party; ‘step in’ as revisers conducting pre-editing or post-editing for translations done by machines; ‘step narrowly’ as translators doing works only humans can do like literary translation; ‘step forward’ as innovators or entrepreneurs creating new areas of business such as combining language service with voice recognition, applying augmented reality technology into translation.

One of the authors of this study has engaged in the research of ‘Multilingual Word Translation Service based on Word Semantic Analysis’ for multicultural families since 2016. The research aimed to develop a web- and an application-based multilingual translation service which provides advanced Korean vocabulary used in school newsletters for married female immigrants. For the research, the data, consisting of word pairs, of the Multilingual Learners' Dictionary was provided by the National Institute of Korean Language. However, the Korean-Chinese pairs have not been completed yet. So, with the data for the Korean-Chinese translation dictionary transferred from the ETRI, the Korean-Chinese word translation web service started as a pilot operation. In this regard, this study presents the details of the multilingual translation web service, including the purpose, main users, and design principles. In addition, the study compares ETRI Korean-Chinese Translation Dictionary with Multilingual Learners' Dictionary in terms of structure, translation strategy, and process, and proposed ways to improve the web service.

As its point of departure, fictional turn in translation studies takes the idea that fictional representations of translation and translators are worthy of research and theorization as the translations themselves. Based on this idea, the present study aims to investigate the fictional portrayal of translators as represented in six Korean novels written in the post colonial period. These novels explore the identity of translators – and of Koreans to a great extent – as they live through three successive imperial rules, starting from Japanese colonial rule followed by a short-lived Russian trusteeship and ultimately the US army military government in Korea. The Korea depicted in the six novels is a significantly hybrid space where people – Korean, Japanese, Russian, American – and their languages intermingle with each other and translation becomes an indispensable element in forming the protagonists’ identity. Translating in these six novels is never a matter of neutral language transfer, but is represented as a political, self-serving activity. This study, the first of its kind in terms of bringing the scholarship associated with the fictional turn to bear on the analysis of Korean novels, will focus on how to address the question of language contact and translator identity represented in Korean literature during the post-colonial era and on providing a methodological framework for further research in this field.

This paper focuses on two questions: what kind of linguistic features the so-called ‘essential information’ possesses, if embedded in the context and whether professional interpreters have group characteristics in distinguishing between essential and secondary information. To answer these questions, an empirical study was conducted in which seven professional interpreters and 77 students were asked to select essential information from two different types of text. Especially carefully examined were focus information (recognizable by Korean focus-markers according to Lee (2000)), predicate and proper names. All in all, the results of the two groups do not differ much from each other, but in details, professional interpreters showed some group-specific features. Interpreters were more inclined to omit deducible information as well as chose discourse markers more often than students. The rate of topic-information was higher for interpreters than it was for students. As for the sentence functional distribution of the essential information, the predicate, object and subject were frequently selected in this order. Based on these results, professional interpreters’ comprehension process – compared to those of non-interpreters – is remodelled.

Han Kang’s novel Human Acts adopts seven different points of view from seven persons who know Dong-ho, the protagonist, or ‘the boy’ in the novel. Each chapter is narrated by one of these seven persons, and the novel does not readily reveal their identities. This particular type of narration requires the Korean reader to actively engage in ‘motivation search’ to downgrade the ‘informativity’ of the characters. This novel deals with a historical event that is at the fore of the Korean people's consciousness, and that is the Gwangju Uprising. This event is far less well known to English readers. This unique narrative style and the knowledge gap about the Gwangju Uprising between Korean and English readers make the translator’s role even more important. This paper explores the strategies used by the English translator, Deborah Smith, to reduce the informativity for English readers. It reveals that the translator actively attempted to facilitate the reader’s forward downgrading of the informativity by changing chapter titles, inserting subtitles, and presenting information in advance. In order to relieve the reader’s outward search effort, the translator provided an introduction, added detailed information, and domesticated some information that is key to conveying the theme of the novel. She even eliminated the need for motivation search by deleting some information on minor characters, plots, and background information, and in the process, the translator lowered the overall informativity of the novel enough for the English reader to easily understand and enjoy the novel.

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the usefulness of ‘close’ and ‘distant reading’ techniques developed in literary criticism for analyzing linguistic differences between translations of the same original literary text. For this purpose, two different English translations of a Korean short novel were used as sample data for illustrating the techniques. For distant reading, various visualizations methods were used to capture differences in lexical patterns at global level, culminating in network representations of concurrence relationships. ‘Close reading’ analysis was attempted on a small portion of text at the beginning of the story to evaluate its merits against distant reading. The analyses indicate the two reading methods are both relevant to comparing translations but are most effective when used together as mutually complementary tools.

While ethical issues have been an important topic in translation studies since the 1990’s, the codes of ethics for translators and interpreters have rarely been discussed in depth by translation scholars in Korea and abroad. Translation scholars have tended to treat ethics as an abstract concept with philosophical and literary implications but little practical value. To help reduce the gap between theory and practice, and academics and professionals, this study examines how theoretical discussions on ethics apply to professional codes of ethics. It consists of three parts. The first section considers the Hieronymic Oath proposed by Chesterman in his 2001 paper and focuses on his emphasis on “virtue” over “value” and the translator over the text. The second section compares the codes of ethics of three major professional associations—an association of translators (FIT), one of interpreters (AIIC), and one of both translators and interpreters (ATA)—as well as two Korean counterparts. The final section makes several recommendations on the development, organization, and distribution of translator codes of ethics.

This study examines the potential benefits and limitations of using computer tools for interpreters’ terminological preparation in specialized domains. For this purpose, two case studies involving Korean and English as working languages are presented. First, a comparative evaluation was conducted between a glossary handmade by a professional interpreter and terminological resources created by the use of a web-based corpus compiled by way of BootCaT procedure and the terminology extraction tool provided by Sketch Engine. It was revealed that technology-driven terminology extraction was highly productive in creating monolingual term lists while obstacles remained with regards to bilingualization. In addition, concordance lines and other types of contextual information gleaned from the corpus offered a useful source for targeted knowledge acquisition needed for interpreters working in specialized domains. In the second case study, an English monolingual term list created by using the aforementioned technology tools was tested for its coverage of the terms actually used during an assignment in an IT domain. A post-assignment manual check of the terms used revealed that approximately 75% of the single-word terms and 53.6% of the multi-word terms on the term list were covered during the actual assignment, which points to the potential usefulness of technology-driven terminology preparation for interpretation in specialized domains such as IT.

Unique features of World Englishes cause challenges in terms of intelligibility and comprehension, which also trigger specific language attitudes. This study explores language attitudes of participants in communicative events towards World Englishes and World Englishes interpreting, looking into their views on different varieties of English, speakers of different varieties, and interpreting. Participants in communicative events, in this study, include interpreters and non-interpreters who take on the role of audience, client, event organizer, or interpreting agency in interpreter-mediated communicative events. Despite intelligibility challenges posed by non-native English accents, interpreters and non-interpreters alike showed positive attitudes towards non-native English speakers. However, participants’ preferences for communication methods diverged between direct communication in English and interpreter-mediated communication which allows for non-native speakers to speak in their own language. This study attempts to take a comprehensive view on language attitudes of both interpreters and non-interpreters and find solutions for improving negative language attitudes in order to enhance communication effect in interpreter-mediated events.

This paper outlines the work being done at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies at both graduate and undergraduate levels to enable students to learn through practicums. The two authors use practicums in interpreter education for two purposes: to give students hands-on experience using what they have learned in classrooms and ensuring that the university contributes to society by having students eventually gain work experience in interpreting and translation services. There have been various attempts in the past to use practicums to get students at the undergraduate level to enhance their communication skills. Through practicums, students gain helpful feedback not only from instructors’ comments but through audience interaction. As well, the students get another perspective on themselves and their abilities. Confidence and motivation also increase through participating in practicums, and the students learn the importance of teamwork.