As organisers of popular public events, football clubs are increasingly expected to foreground accessibility. This has led many European clubs to provide audio-described commentary (ADC) in their stadiums so that spectators who are blind and partially sighted can enjoy the matchday experience. ADC differs from regular football commentary by describing action rather than just commenting on it. At small clubs, ADC provision is usually delivered by volunteers, as is the case at Dublin club Bohemians FC, which has provided in-stadium ADC since 2019, resulting in a Total Access award from CAFE (Centre for Access to Football in Europe) in 2022. Using interviews with club staff, AD commentators and ADC users, this article documents the development of ADC provision at Bohemians as part of the club's societal mission. This study covers commentator training, general guidelines, and the perceptions of ADC providers and users. ADC was the gateway to accessibility for most commentators, who have a personal interest in accessibility and are fans of the club. For some users, the provision of ADC has been transformative, but take-up overall has been low. Nonetheless, the service has proved impactful for football in Ireland, leading several other clubs to offer ADC.
The role played by interpreters in the field of sports has not received much scholarly attention to date, and sports interpreting is not covered in any of the comprehensive reference volumes in translation and interpreting studies. This article presents a scoping review in an effort to map sports interpreting as a field of research. Based on a systematic compilation of published sources from several bibliographic databases, a thematic analysis is carried out to identify subjects and methods of investigation. In addition, empirical research reported in Master's theses is presented to point to further lines of investigation. A mapping with regard to interpreting settings and levels of professionalism reveals sports interpreting as a paradigm case that shares most of the features characterising interpreting in general. This conceptual framework, in combination with the bibliographic groundwork, is intended to help overcome the current fragmentation of research on sports interpreting and serve as a foundation for articulating a research programme designed to fill in blank spots and expand on key themes of relevance to the field of interpreting studies at large.
This study tests the impact of gender-inclusive language in a real-life, timed scenario, in collaboration with the International Quadball Association (IQA). This article describes the textual impact of the inclusive translation strategies currently in use at the IQA for different languages (French, German, Italian, Spanish) and explores the time and success rate of quadball referee certification test takers taking the official assistant referee tests in the original English and in translation. For French, Italian, and Spanish, an additional comparison is made between a masculine and inclusive variant. Results show that, while inclusive strategies impact up to 21% of the text, this has no measurable effect on the time needed to take a test or on the final score obtained. However, test takers taking the English referee tests were found to score higher than those taking the tests in translation, with the exception of German.
Translating and the practice of sports might appear as very distinct activities at opposite ends of a spectrum, with the former (stereo)typically involving sedentary, deskbound tasks and the latter involving physical exertion and dynamic movement. However, a growing body of evidence from numerous disciplines, such as neuroscience, occupational health, exercise physiology, and sports science, suggests a fascinating intersection where sports and physical activity in general can significantly enhance cognitive function and performance, especially in high-cognition fields such as translation. This paper challenges the perception of translation as a static and solitary profession, drawing attention to the physical, cognitive, and organisational stressors that translators face due to the traditionally sedentary nature of the profession. It explores the link between sports and translation, proposing that incorporating regular movement and physical activity into translators' routines could enhance their wellbeing, thus supporting healthier, more productive, and happier professionals. This exploratory conceptual paper therefore contributes to a shift in the traditional perception of translation, from a passive task to a more dynamic and engaged practice. It emphasises the need for interdisciplinary research to identify effective physical interventions in a largely cognitive effort, and advocates for a paradigm shift that harmonises translators' mental agility with physical vitality.
Welcome to the Special Issue of the Journal of Specialised Translation (Jostrans) on Translation and Sports. This introductory chapter provides an overview of the broader domains involved in sports and translation, pitching various angles on how to tackle the field. Then it presents the call for papers and the rationale behind the selection process first, and the selected chapters and their key themes.
