The Role of the Internet User in Translation: Crowdsourcing and Massive Online Translation

Professor Minako O’Hagan’s interests lie primarily with the role of current online environments and developing technology that influences translation practices. Moreover, she often analyzes examples that are connected to the kind of participatory culture that is so often witnessed online; a valuable context in analyzing the translation of webcomics. For instance, O’Hagan (2016) has introduced the term “massively open translation”, which she defines as “a new technical feasibility to afford a translation activity that is open to participants on a massive scale” (p. 932). Massively Open Translation (or MOT as O’Hagan abbreviates) is a byproduct of the Web 2.0 era, where not only has online communication become quicker and more efficient through the use of messaging applications and dedicated platforms, but where also a growing number of Internet users have emerged as volunteers that: “offer an alternative translation solution to various translation needs”

(O’Hagan, 2016, p. 931). O’Hagan (2016) gives examples of Facebook Translation and TED Open Translations, as well as Wikipedia that uses crowdsourcing and the soliciting of volunteers to perform translation work. It is through this that O’Hagan (2016) rightfully points out how impactful participatory translation has become for standard translation studies and practices: “the recent phenomenon of participatory translation has shown a democratizing impact of technology on translation by opening it up to a massive self-selected, interest-based crowd for timely delivery of a large variety of translation” (p. 933).

The concept of MOT can be certainly applied to webcomic translation. Given the fact that webcomics are often highly individual works operating within niche subject matter, and do not function in a commercial sphere, any attempts at translation usually involves volunteers who are familiar with the source material to a certain extent. However, such users are usually not trained translators, and sometimes do not have a fluent grasp of the SL the webcomic is written in. As such, the translation task is delegated to a “large number of unspecified users” (O’Hagan, 2016, p. 932).

As O’Hagan (2016) points out, this is largely possible due to online computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools which users make extensive use of, but also notes that this continues to concern professional translations in terms of ethics and negative impact on translation quality in general (p.

933). In this way, one cannot help but wonder if crowdsourced translations divided amongst a large number of online volunteers is an efficient and proper approach towards the translating of an online work; particularly due to how this practice is often associated with a lack of professionalism, amateur translation work and solutions that are not per-considered, but ad hoc (Wadensjö, 2009, p.

43).

O’Hagan addresses this matter in another article concerning community translation. She

points out how community translation is closely tied to the concept of Web 2.0 and specific communities online, noting that “[community translation] signifies specific translation practices that are unfolding on the Internet as the central foci” (p. 12). At the same time, O’Hagan (2011) further draws attention to the negative approach of the professional translation community and translation studies academia towards community translators, noting that: “in general, participants in community translation settings are not all untrained volunteers; professional translators also respond to a particular call which they consider worthwhile, despite a lack of remuneration” (p. 13).

Furthermore, it is noted that through the use of social-networking, even inexperienced translators are able to reach out to professionals and collectively debate the quality of a translation, as well as discuss rising translation issues (O’Hagan, 2011, p. 13). While such translation endeavors are not usually motivated by translation theory in an apparent way (i.e. through declarations or the publishing of translation manifestos), the existence and application of a translation model does not constitute a prerequisite to a quality translation, a view that is expressed by scholar Jiménez-Crespo.

In his academic works, Jiménez-Crespo largely discusses online translation models, such as collaborative online translation and crowdsourced translations. In his book dedicated to the topic, he defines crowdsourcing as a “practice firmly grounded in the participatory nature of the Web 2.0” (p.

13); a combination of the words “crowd and “outsourcing”, the practice denotes the mutual efforts of an online user-base to complete a job (pp. 12-13).⁴⁴ Very often, this job is translation. It is here that Jiménez-Crespo (2017) defines crowdsourced translation as a top-down effort; that is, an institution, a company or an organization outsources the job of translating to “a large undefined community” (p. 18). While not explicitly stated, it is clear here that such a community consists largely of Internet users who have adequate knowledge of the SL and the TL. More often than not, such people are amateurs when it comes to translation. Crowdsourced translation is often used for non-profit organizations and for creating localized version of social media (Jiménez-Crespo, 2017, p. 18). Online collaborative translation has much in common with outsourced translation- in fact, Jiménez-Crespo (2017, p. 19) says it can be considered a hypernym of crowdsourced translation-but the key difference presides in that online collaborative translation stems from the self-organization of a community to translate something. This would be most applicable to fan translation efforts of any kind, as well as e.g. localizing open-sourced software or platforms (Jiménez-Crespo, 2017, p. 19). The distinction is important, as crowdsourced translation is market-driven, while collaborative translation is more user-centered. (Jiménez-Crespo, 2017, p. 22). Still, these categories are primarily driven by online participatory culture and are largely done for free.

While both usually involve amateurs, both can also involve professionals, which can be naturally drawn to certain projects (Jiménez-Crespo, 2017, p. 20). These phenomena, which have appeared along with the proliferation of user-friendly Web 2.0 affordances, have had an impact on translation

44 Jiménez-Crespo (2017) goes into great detail on how to define crowdsourcing (pp. 10-21), what a crowd is (pp. 13-17), and crowdsourced translation in his book on the matter.

studies.

In his article on translation in the era of Web 2.0, Jiménez-Crespo’s primary example for crowdsourced translation is the social media platform Facebook in the late 2010’s. This example is also mentioned along with other social media crowdsourced translations (Jiménez-Crespo, 2017, pp.

21-30) in his book as pivotal for translation studies regarding online collaborative translation and crowdsourcing translation. Not only does Jiménez-Crespo (2011) highlight some of the ingenuity surrounding the endeavor, such as having professional translators oversee a community translation project, but he also brings up two interesting questions:

Is translation theory a prerequisite for the evaluation of translation quality (. . .) is it more productive to enlist large numbers of non-professional users who have a deep knowledge of the digital genre, rather than professional translators-evaluators who might not yet possess the necessary ‘active competence’ <Gläser, 1990> in the knowledge of the specific newly established genre conventions? (p. 148).

Although Jiménez-Crespo here is referring to the translation of a social media platform, his consideration of the online environment and newly developed digital genres is a crucial mindset when theorizing and analyzing any creative work that primarily functions online. It is something that persists in his academic queries; in his book on crowdsourcing and online collaborative translation, he emphasizes the challenges that these kind of translations bring to translation studies, largely due to the complexity of modalities, digital technologies, and unique communicative situations (Jiménez-Crespo, 2017, p. 136).

Yet perhaps above all, Jiménez-Crespo (2017) questions how translation quality can be evaluated, citing a dissonance between how translation studies view the evaluation of translation quality, i.e. through applying translation theories dedicated to certain types of ST and having higher (and usually subjective) expectations versus the average quality that seem to be widely accepted in crowdsourced translations (pp. 138-139). Jiménez-Crespo (2017) wonders if this is due to instantaneous nature of the Internet, or the fact that many of these translations are done for free, which results in a mutual understanding that the quality may not be akin to that of e.g. a translated legal document (pp. 136-139) Regardless, he concedes that current translation approaches are highly aware of the dynamic environment that technology brings about, and that flexible parameters along with a consideration of extralinguistic factors “could be the solution to the relative lack of impact of TS in industry developments related to new technology dependent translation phenomena” (Jiménez-Crespo, 2017, p. 139). Given how quickly changes occur within works native to technological aspects, such a translation approach still seems to be the soundest one.

A timely example of both O’Hagan’s concept of MOT and Jiménez-Crespo’s questions can be applied to the translation of Korean-based webtoons. Webtoons are a kind of digital comic that have been specifically adjusted to the mobile phone screen; they usually take on the form of an

infinite canvas that implements endless scrolling for each chapter. Often, the reader has the ability to leave comments or interact with the creator or other readers. One could argue that webtoons are indeed also a type of webcomic, as they also are available to read on a PC screen. Regardless, according to the previously established taxonomy, webtoons are to be considered primarily as mobile comics that function in an online based mobile phone application. Since 2014, a global platform for webtoons has been functioning, named Line Webtoons hosted by the Korean corporation Naver. It is on this platform that creators not only have the ability to post so-called episodes of their webtoons (regardless if they are from South Korea or from a different country), but also have the ability to allow for volunteer translation. In a direct example of MOT, Line Webtoons has a page dedicated to the volunteer translation of select webtoons, named Translate.webtoons.com. It allows for volunteers to apply and begin translating a webtoon into the language of their choice. The only prerequisite is to possess a certain amount of knowledge of the SIT and TL, and to not deviate from the original intentions of the author.

It is important here to note that not all webtoons are available for translation into certain TL’s due to copyright restrictions. While a certain checking system is implemented, such as the prerequisite to have already translated at least 1000 lines of text and to sign up as a fan translator for the website, almost anyone can contribute, regardless of whether they have translation experience or not. Current data shows that there are 54,350 volunteer translator registered, along with 4,560 translator groups (Shim et al., 2020, p. 838). Such translation volunteers and translator communities online have significantly proliferated in recent years; their role is important, as the informal translation practices coincide with informal distribution, turning these fan translators into cultural intermediaries (Shim et al., pp. 838-840). In fact, Shim et al. (2020) comment that the popularity of webtoons, along with other Asian-based online media such as Chinese webnovels, “is heavily indebted” to volunteer translators and transcreators, who work voluntarily to translate imagetexts into multiple target languages (p. 838). Indeed, webtoon translation has been met with significant interest in the past years; much of it has been credited to the Web 2.0 environment which allows for the cultivating of a dedicated reader base that is willing to engage in participatory culture and activities.

While a similar process was carried out with the Facebook translation project, the former initiative included professionals overseeing the process. In the case of webtoons, this hasn’t been taking place, aside from a few select, popular webtoons that have been officially translated into popular languages like English, Spanish, Japanese and Chinese. The process involving Facebook is a prime example of crowdsourced translation, while in the case of volunteers translating Webtoon, the process is closer to so-called collaborative translation, although it has inklings of crowdsourced online translation as well. Fernández (2013) differentiates collaborative translation from crowdsourced translation on the basis of hierarchy and organization; while crowdsourced

translation is conducted and coordinated by a company or an organization which may have additional professionals employed to lend assistance, collaborative translations are done between fans or people equal in status (p. 96). Collaborative translation is done in agreement and collaboration between individuals which are not directly susceptible to the enforcing of outside rules. As such, volunteer translators are largely left to their own devices, with only a basic automated algorithm checking for any vulgarity and inappropriate material. It may seem that the presence of the algorithm causes webtoon translation to become in fact crowdsourced in character, not collaborative.

Regardless, it is important to mention that webtoon translation still leans towards the collaborative working of individuals without direct supervision or excessive culling from third-parties, which shift it into the collaborative translation category.⁴⁵ Furthermore, there is a translation forum available that allows for translation-based discussion, along with a translation poll implemented at the end of each webtoon episode inquiring about the translation quality, these safe guards are not enough to secure a good translation. The poll at the end of each episode is a simple question asking “How do you feel about the quality of the translation?” It is further accompanied by the signature “thumbs up” icon, which is available for clicking, along with a report button if the translation violates website rules. If a reader does not like a translation, they are meant to express their dissatisfaction in the comments or on the forum.

Therefore, it is unsurprising that frequent mistakes can be found in most webtoons translated by volunteers. These mistakes range from typos, misspellings, and awkward syntax to omissions and semantic mistakes. One example could be the webtoon titled Born from Death (2016-current) by Tan Feli, translated into English by fans. The translation features constant typos, grammar errors, and awkward phrasing that hinders the complete understanding of the text and plot. Contrary to expectations, the readers highly rated the translation; one can assume that this is most likely due to the fact that most fans are grateful that a less popular webtoon has gotten any kind of translation at all. Still, many avid webtoon readers raise concerns about volunteer translations, commenting on how they do not allow for comfortable reading and seem to not be trustworthy (Gutzahn, 2016). A question that often appears on message boards and blogs is why, for instance, the company does not simply hire a handful of proofreaders or translators with professional experience to do quality control (Pacify, 2016). While no official statement has been released, it can be inferred that the company would rather take advantage of free translation labor then heavily invest in professional translation and proofreading for webtoons that may or may achieve popularity. As one forum poster adequately summarizes: “Translating millions of chapters would cost a lot of money especially when there is [sic] not guarantee that readers would read or buy them” (Wujigege, 2017, n. p.).

Thus, an interesting conclusion may be proposed; the translation of online works is reliant

45 There also exists the subcategory of webtoons that were not officially approved for a certain language translation on the platform, and which consequently end up being illegally scanlated by fans.

on potential interest and economic profit, in much the same way as printed works are. While popular webtoons such as Tower of God (2010-current) by Lee Jong-hui or the recently published Save Me (2019) by Big Hit Entertainment and illustrator LICO can count on a number of official translations into more than a few languages, less popular webtoons that average no more than a few thousand readers a month need to rely on volunteer translations. As Michael Cronin (2013) points out in his book on digital translation: “If time is money in a globalized real-time economy, spending more time means spending more money, and this entails lower return on investment” (p. 73).

Unpopular and niche webtoons, and by similar logic webcomics, will most likely never be translated, and if by some chance they are, they will be subjected to O’Hagan’s MOT system.

However, the MOT system that is reliant on the rather unethical practice of recruiting volunteers for little to no pay would not benefit webcomic translation, and would certainly not help secure good translations of classic online webcomics. While translating a social media website is one thing, webcomics are grounded in the comic tradition of sequential visual narration and the classic comic strip, calling for a different kind of attention to detail.

One might also wonder about the merits of machine translation in webcomic translation, abandoning or limiting the need for human translators altogether. However, such technology is still highly imperfect when it comes to webcomics: as one webcomic author going by the pseudonym Kotopopi (2018) dramatically states about the automatic translation feature on Facebook, “I saw my posts automatically translated in Italian or French on Facebook a couple of times and it made me wanna sue them. Please don’t use it unless your life depends on it. Also, it doesn’t translate pictures, so it won’t help you much with your comics” (n.p.). It is clear that the function is imperfect.

However, automated image translation technology is available online and continues to be developed, such as Yandex Translator, OCR Online, and the Translateimages.site which applies Optical Character Recognition (OCR). One can go into great detail about such technology, but what remains most important for this thesis and webcomic translation is the practicality of such online software. While the aforementioned sites are easy to access, the automated translation of a webcomic page or strip may only occur for non-enhanced webcomic titles, preferably those that feature images that are uploaded in compressed image formats such as JPEG and PNG. Even then, the translation is far from perfect, if not incomprehensible.

As can be seen in figures 13 and 14, the yellow highlights in the image denote what text has been recognized by the OCR. Due to this, Alex Norris’ webcomic strip has not been translated in its entirety; the OCR technology simply spots whatever text it can and translates it. A similar issue is encountered at the Translateimages.site website. An attempt to translate a full webcomic page with panels and numerous speech bubbles renders equally disappointing results. This simple practical experiment demonstrates that free automated translation applied to webcomics is simply not a solution on a technological level-readers are better off typing out the text in the speech bubbles into

an automated online text translator. The reason as to why automated translation devices fail when it comes to webcomics is not solely because of their imagetext status: webcomics are specific products of Internet culture and humor, something that requires subjective analysis and understanding. Machine translation here seems to be largely useless.

Figures 13 and 14 Image Translation

Note. Yandex Translate finds words and then translates them separately in a highly inaccurate manner. Retrieved from Yandex Translate, March 10, 2020, https://translate.yandex.com/ocr and adapted from Webcomic Name (2016-current), A. Norris, retrieved March 10, 2020,

https://webcomicname.com/post/615924242679316480#notes

It for this reason that often times, webcomics are translated by the authors themselves. Fan translation can be inefficient and inconsistent, and quality can wane. Translating one’s own webcomic does take extra effort, but it also allows for full control, and furthermore, if a webcomic is not well-known, it can help reach a wider audience. After all, as mentioned, the chances for a

webcomic to be translated, even according to the MOT system of crowdfunding, is fairly low if the webcomic is not published on a syndicated site. When Kotopopi (2018) discusses the challenges of hosting a multilingual webcomic, she mentions the issue of having to publish in English in order to get any publicity, and how it can be difficult for a non-translator to figure out all nuances that are present in their native language: “When you don’t write in your native language you face many issues, like grammar mistakes, the loss of cultural references and, the most insidious one, the loss of valuable meaning in your work” (n.p.). Regardless, language variety in webcomics is encouraged, and according to Kotopopi (2018), is best realized through the translating and posting of webcomic strips and pages on separate websites that are dedicated to each specific language (n.p.) Kotopopi herself has three websites aside from her main, English website: French, Spanish and Italian, and mentions other artists that follow this trend, such as Brazilian cartoonist Carlos Ruas who hosts translations of his political-satirical webcomic Um Sábado Qualquer (2019) on separate websites, among other titles.

Indeed, dedicated translation sites for select webcomics, such as with xkcd (2006-current) or Sarah’s Scribbles (2011-current) strips, are present. However, these adhere to the MOT category, as they are open for any volunteer to translate. Kotopopi’s and Ruas’ webcomics are self-translated, a model which could in fact become a trend in webcomic translation. An interesting example comes from the author of Rudek and the Bear (2013-current), an anthropomorphic webcomic set during the WWII era by Peter T. Donahue. Donahue (2015) works together with a translator to provide Polish translations for the webcomic (n.p.), a process that in fact may seem familiar to the publication of just about any work, be it online or offline. In fact, Donahue (2015) expresses gratitude towards the online and digital format, which make translation that much easier: “I am very thankful I’ve been working in the digital medium (. . .) I’ve spent so many hours resizing and moving word bubbles to maintain a readable layout. And this whole process would be impossible if I didn’t have art and bubbles on separate layers” (n.p.).

Donhaue’s commentary sheds light on how much the human aspect is needed in online translation work, not just on the semantic level but also the technological level. Granted, webcomics make up a very small fraction of online works and general texts, but the problem remains the same for machine translation. Sukhoverkhov et al. (2019) comment on the challenges machine translation faces in an online environment that is becoming increasingly rife with user-generated content published on social media: “(. . .) online translation tool[s] require to be trained to recognise style, deliberate typos, abbreviations and acronyms. In addition, the community-specific vocabulary predominantly depends on the contexts within which it is utilised” (p. 139). The authors emphasize that such characteristics of so-called “netspeak”, that is the casual language used online, combined with specific, dynamic platforms directly negatively affects possible machine translation;

ultimately, they point out that crowdsourced translation is one of the more efficient solutions

(Sukhoverkhov et al. 2019, p. 139) It is for this very reason that the issue of platforms, formatting and software becomes imperative when discussing translations of online works and by proxy, webcomic translation.