User-Centered Translation and Training in Media Accessibility: A Case Study

Abstract

Over the years, the study of reception has gained more and more prominence in the field of ​​Audiovisual Translation (AVT), especially in the case of the modalities most directly associated with media accessibility. However, this attention to the audience has not always been addressed by the models adopted for translators’ training. In this text, we present User-Centered Translation (UCT), designed by Tytti Suojanen, Kaisa Koskinen and Tiina Tuominen, as a proposal to solve this problem. To this end, we explain the UCT model and then illustrate its application through the analyses and discussion of a training experience carried out with undergraduate students from Instituto de Letras da Universidade Federal da Bahia. At the end of the experience, the students reported gains involving both scriptwriting, reviewing and editing, in addition to highlighting the work with interpersonal relationship skills and the contact with members of the target audience. These results lead us to believe that UCT allows for a critical, reflective and collaborative practice, which guarantees greater chances of success in meeting the needs and preferences of the end users. Therefore, we hope to contribute to the popularization of UCT and to raise awareness to the importance of adopting user-centered practices in the training of translators, instigating the debate about new training models in Media Accessibility (MA).