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Article published In: Translaboration: Exploring Collaboration in Translation and Translation in Collaboration
Edited by Alexa Alfer and Cornelia Zwischenberger
[Target 32:2] 2020
► pp. 327–357

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Participatory, self-organising, and learning

The patterns and influence of peer communication in online collaborative translation

ORCiD logo with link | South China Normal University
Published online: 2 July 2020
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/target.19156.yan
Abstract
This article presents a case study on communication in online collaborative translation projects, drawing on a community of amateur Chinese translators called Yeeyan. Centring on the concept of ‘translaboration’, the study explores the collaborative dimension of translation by examining conversational discourse during the translation process. It argues that participants play the role not only of translators, but also of translaborators, who self-organise and resolve various kinds of issues through collaboration. The study uses dialogue act analysis and social network analysis to investigate the features and influence of communication that drive and shape translation and other collaborative activities. The findings show that communication can help mitigate organisational and quality risks in online collaborative translation. A learning process embedded in peer communication is also found. The study enriches existing knowledge of translaboration as a model of transdisciplinary research of collaborative practices in multi-agent relationships, collective problem-solving and knowledge communication.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Dialogue act analysis in collaborative environments
  • 3.Social network analysis
  • 4.Methodology
    • 4.1Data collection
    • 4.2Data analysis
      • 4.2.1Step 1: Dialogue act analysis
      • 4.2.2Step 2: Social network analysis
  • 5.Findings and discussion
    • 5.1Turn-taking and multiple roles
    • 5.2Dialogue act analysis
      • 5.2.1General interactions
      • 5.2.2Information interactions
      • 5.2.3Maintenance
      • 5.2.4Status
    • 5.3Social network analysis
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
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