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1. Cognitive Domain Operations Against Vietnam Hint at Broader Ambitions

Author:
Nathan Beauchamp-Mustafaga and Jackson Smith
Publication Date:
06-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
China Brief
Institution:
The Jamestown Foundation
Abstract:
Translation forms a crucial part of People’s Liberation Army (PLA)-directed research. This is done to support influence operations, enhance cooperation with the Russian military, and even understand US policy discussions on social media. Recent research from institutions such as the PLA Strategic Support Force’s (PLASSF) Information Engineering University indicates that the PLA can conduct cognitive domain operations against not just Taiwan or the United States, but almost anywhere—including authoritarian states such as Vietnam. The PLA has spent at least five years building corpora of foreign language texts to train machine translation tools, though the scarcity of quality resources has been an issue in creating useful tools. The extent to which LLMs will become an additional tool in this research is unclear. At least some PLA machine translation efforts rely on foreign open-source tools, such as Google Translate and DeepL.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Military Affairs, Translation, and People's Liberation Army (PLA)
Political Geography:
Vietnam and Southeast Asia

2. A Reflective Report to Educational Policymakers: Field Expertise Status of Translation Programs in Turkish State Universities

Author:
Buğra Kaş
Publication Date:
10-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Academic Inquiries
Institution:
Sakarya University (SAU)
Abstract:
This qualitative study investigates the educational background and fields of expertise of faculty members in English translation programs at the bachelor's degree level in state universities of Türkiye. Despite the prevalence of these programs across Turkish universities, a discrepancy emerges between the faculty members' doctoral qualifications and the specialized field of Translation Studies. The research aims to reveal the academic landscape of these programs by examining the doctoral disciplines of faculty members, utilizing data primarily sourced from the YÖK (Council of Higher Education) Atlas Database and the YÖK (Council of Higher Education) Academic Database. When information is unavailable in the database above, university websites serve as supplementary data sources. This methodological approach enables a comprehensive analysis of the extent to which academic program qualifications align with the field of Translation Studies. Preliminary findings indicate a significant underrepresentation of faculty with doctoral degrees in Translation Studies, suggesting a potential misalignment between program expertise and the specialized training needs of translation programs. This study underscores the crucial link between the program's field-specific expertise and the quality of training, highlighting the need for policy interventions aimed at bolstering the recruitment and development of academically qualified faculty in the discipline of Translation Studies. The implications of this research extend beyond academia, informing policymakers and educational administrators about the importance of aligning educational offerings with program qualifications to enhance the educational outcomes of translation programs in Türkiye.
Topic:
Education, Higher Education, Translation, and Academic Alignment
Political Geography:
Turkey and Middle East

3. Ottoman Bureaucrats Educated at The Translation Chamber and Their Effects on The State Administration in Modern Ottoman Diplomacy

Author:
Sacide Nur Akkaya
Publication Date:
06-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Novus Orbis: Journal of Politics & International Relations
Institution:
Department of International Relations, Karadeniz Technical University
Abstract:
In this study, it is aimed to present together the influence of the Ottoman bureaucrats, who were educated in the translation chamber (the institutions where modern Ottoman diplomacy was built) and promoted to important levels of the state, managing the high-level state mechanisms. In the Ottoman Empire, which was governed by the monarchy, the Sultan’s authority was considered the only valid power for centuries. This situation changed during the spread of the Western-centered modernisation process within the empire. In this process, where diplomatic behaviour altered, high-ranking Ottoman bureaucrats began to be very active in state administration, and their authority rose against the power of the sultan. It is important to consider this process in question, together with the important political issues of the period, in terms of giving a clearer meaning to the construction of modern Ottoman diplomacy. In this context, the role of the translation chamber in the formation of modern Ottoman diplomacy will be discussed first, and the political activities and ideological structure of eight statesmen who were educated in this chamber and played important roles in the high level of the state will be discussed within the framework of the important political issues of the period, according to the records in Ottoman archives.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Politics, History, Bureaucracy, Modernization, Translation, Ottoman Empire, and Administration
Political Geography:
Turkey and Middle East

4. Books for the Baltics

Author:
Bob Baker
Publication Date:
02-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
American Diplomacy
Institution:
American Diplomacy
Abstract:
In 1991, I caught the ferry boat from Helsinki, Finland to Tallinn, Estonia. As Director of the Regional Program Office in Vienna, I took to Helsinki and then to Estonia, two Austrian staffers and three big, sealed, diplomatic canvas mailbags. They each contained computers for the newly established U.S. Information Service (USIS) posts in Tallinn, Vilnius and Riga. Equipment and furniture for all the new U.S. embassies in Eastern Europe after the fall of communism was shipped through a State Department warehouse in Helsinki.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Memoir, and Translation
Political Geography:
Baltic States

5. Translating tension: Chinese-language media in Australia

Author:
Fan Yang
Publication Date:
09-2021
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Lowy Institute for International Policy
Abstract:
Chinese-language media outlets in Australia are more likely to support Australian government policy than Chinese government policy when reporting on tensions in the Australia–China relationship, but editorialise to soften or remove criticism of China and the Chinese government. This is, in part, because Chinese-language media outlets in Australia produce little original content, and instead translate and reproduce the majority of their content from Australian, rather than Chinese, news sources. Chinese-language media professionals say they prefer to re-publish Australian content because this helps Chinese migrants integrate into society. However, self-censorship is embedded in these media organisations’ editorial processes. This is particularly the case for Chinese-language media outlets whose content is distributed to mainland China via WeChat, news apps, and websites. Outlets self-censor out of concerns for a loss of market share and reprisals from Beijing.
Topic:
Diaspora, Media, News Analysis, and Translation
Political Geography:
China, Australia, and Asia-Pacific

6. Arabic Knowledge and Culture: A Conversation with the Hindawi Foundation

Author:
Hindawi Foundation
Publication Date:
11-2021
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Middle East Institute (MEI)
Abstract:
This event is a conversation with the founders of the Hindawi Foundation, the largest free online library for Arabic speakers. The founders will share with us their journey into buying the copy rights, translating and constructing a cultural edifice of books that includes literature, science, history, philosophy and much more. This digital space of knowledge is one of very few stories to come out of the region in the last decade. The Hindawi Foundation is a non-profit organization that aims to spread knowledge and culture, and instill a love of reading among Arabic speakers.
Topic:
Culture, Literature, Translation, Arabic, and Knowledge Production
Political Geography:
Arab Countries

7. Interpreters as Diplomatic Actors in the Trump Era

Author:
Seckin Baris Gulmez, Nihal Yetkin Karakoc, and Didem Buhari Gulmez
Publication Date:
03-2020
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:
This article investigates the impact of interpreters on the US foreign policy that is defined with a tradition of anti- diplomacy in the Trump era. The literature in both International Relations and Translation Studies often overlooks the impact of interpreters on diplomacy and fails to consider interpreter as an actor per se. In this context, the study will investigate the initiatives undertaken by interpreters in order to fill the emerging gap in the diplomatic sphere in terms of diplomatic language, customs and actors in the Trump era. Accordingly, the article first comparatively examines the role of interpreters and diplomats and then, discusses the key roles of interpreters in diplomacy under two main categories: “communication filter” involving time-gaining strategy, moderation and gatekeeping and “conciliation” that includes the roles of scape goat, crisis prevention and mediation. Overall, this study demonstrates that interpreters have a greater space of manoeuvre than is generally assumed in terms of influencing diplomatic processes. By establishing the missing link between International Relations and Translation Studies, this study aims to become a pioneering work that contributes to the debate about whether interpreters can be considered as an important diplomatic actor.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Politics, Translation, and Donald Trump
Political Geography:
Turkey, North America, and United States of America