Travels in the space-time vortex are set to change course in 2010 as a new decade brings a new Doctor (played by Matt Smith) to the popular BBC series Doctor Who, making this the eleventh incarnation of the Time Lord to materialize on our screens.

Doctor Who has built up a strong fan-base worldwide. Its episodes are broadcast in countries across the globe and are translated into many different world languages. In two separate entries, the Guinness World Records lists the series as the longest-running sci-fi television series and the most successful television show of its genre. At Comic-Con International 2009 in San Diego, Doctor Who’s worldwide appeal was further acknowledged – transforming the series into not only a multi-dimensional affair, but also an international one here on earth.

Translating Doctor Who poses a host of challenges: series and episode titles, acronyms, specialised language and character names, all of which have contributed to the series’ cult status and are potential pitfalls for the unwary translator. Oh for the benefit of a translation sphere used by the Ood (one of the series’ alien races) – a device which enables seamless translation from their mother tongue into any language and which would certainly be a welcome addition to any translator’s workbench! Furthermore, the Doctor’s Time/Space machine (the famous TARDIS) has an inbuilt real-time universal translation tool which allows for communication and understanding of any language. Sadly for professional linguists, such tools are unavailable at this time and translators of Doctor Who will have to rely on their linguistic and translation skills!

On a more serious note, the afore-mentioned difficulties posed by dubbing audio-visual material into any foreign language came to the fore in Germany recently. According to an Internet report regarding the 2005 series (broadcast in Germany in 2008) the main complaints relate to mistranslations and inappropriate dubbing, which in some cases led to errors in German sentence structure. For example, ‘chips’ and ‘crisps’ were mistranslated – no hot potato in itself but something which did have an effect upon continuity. Dubbing was also criticised when the Doctor’s companion Rose Tyler (a confident, streetwise Londoner in the original language version) was given a young, ‘bubbly’ voiceover in German. This was completely out of tune with the character being portrayed and was a voiceover choice which gave rise to much viewer discussion and plot confusion. It would perhaps be an advantage in this case for the translator to be a true fan or have sufficient subject familiarity with the series in order to convey the intended message to international audiences who rightly demand the same viewing experience as their English-speaking counterparts.

Nevertheless, at this point in time, Doctor Who’s success is soaring both within UK and foreign markets alike. It remains one of the BBC’s most popular exports and will continue to entertain and delight audiences the world over – at least, that is, until the year 5733!

Last week the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) – the Spanish language’s overseeing body – launched its long-awaited new guide to Spanish grammar and usage. Over 11 years in the making, it replaces the 1931 edition in an attempt to record and unify a language which is spoken by more than 400 million people worldwide in over 20 different countries.

Spanish language and culture are worlds away from that of the 1930s and merely contemplating the thousands of new words which have developed through the mobile phone and computer industry alone, documenting the language’s variations and developments has been no mean feat. The new edition has been hailed as a ‘miracle’ which has succeeded in its premise of producing a world map of the Spanish language and has already become indispensable to native speakers and learners alike.

So what lies beneath the covers of such a groundbreaking publication? For the first two volumes, over 4,000 pages dedicated to morphology and syntax. The third volume, which is available in 2010, covers phonetics and phonology and comes with an accompanying CD guide to accents, rhythm and pronunciation. Such is the magnitude and scope of the project that even though the final text was agreed in 2007, it has taken a further two years to perfect and edit.

The previous edition had been criticized for focussing on Spanish spoken in Spain and for its insufficient coverage of Latin American Spanish – but this is a statement which certainly does not apply to the new volumes. A collaborative project between the 22 different Spanish Language academies worldwide, dealing with the intricacies of one of the world’s most widely spoken languages, ‘This book comes from the people and it is to the people that it reaches out’ said RAE president Victor García de la Concha (as reported by the BBC). At the launch it was emphasized that there is no one country that speaks ‘correct’ Spanish, because language belongs to the people who use it. It is the first time that such a comprehensive study of any language has been published as a single entity – one which takes into consideration the usage of more 400 million people and all the variations included therein. All forms and etymology are covered – including the influence of the Quecha language on Bolivian Spanish for example.

King Juan Carlos of Spain attended the launch and was presented with copies of the first two volumes. This is certainly a welcome addition to any Hispanist’s bookshelf – The Translation People’s included – but as the RAE president joked at the launch event: ‘At 5 kilograms – it’s not one to read on the metro!’ Nevertheless, there is no denying that this new chapter in the RAE’s history proves that people are no longer divided by a common language.

The cast of the musical Hairspray were not the only ones to step into the spotlight when The Shaftesbury Theatre, London (in collaboration with Cambridge Consultants – the technologies and innovation group) launched AirScript™ – a pioneering handheld translating tool which allows audiences to receive live subtitles on a wireless handset. Following the success of the London launch, it is now also available for stage shows in The Netherlands.

This innovative device is not only good news for theatregoers who do not speak the show’s performing language, it can also benefit those who are visually impaired or hard of hearing, ‘whose disability means that they are currently unable to visit the theatre or are limited to special performance nights’ declared Show Translations’ (AirScript™’s developers) website. Before the handset arrived on the scene, text could only be provided monolingually via large screens located at the side of the stage. These were both obtrusive and potentially distracting for people with no requirement for this service. However, with AirScript™, every member of the audience has been considered: the handheld device is relatively small with a neck or wrist strap facility, it is ergonomically designed, soundless and wireless. Furthermore, the screen’s background colour is black as opposed to the light-emitting white screens commonly found on mobile phones and the text colour (the brightness of which can be centrally controlled) is orange – which reduces glare factor.

AirScript™ is currently available in nine languages (Chinese, English, French, Dutch, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian and Spanish) and what makes it stand out is that it relies on humans for both the translation stage and the physical delivery of the subtitles. Delivery of the subtitles to the wireless device is the responsibility of a manual operator, who is present at the live performance in order to coordinate and trigger text delivery in all languages simultaneously and at the correct time. This task cannot be automated as any live show is subject to pauses, the ‘unexpected’ and ad-libbing, for which the device boasts an ‘autoprompt’ option.

The developers were also keen to consider environmental and corporate social responsibilities in the project’s development stage. For the former, power is provided by rechargeable batteries which minimise waste and pollution as for the latter concern, the device requires minimal software (as text is not stored and merely scrolls off the screen), which has meant reduced costs for both the production phase and the end user: the handset can be hired for £6 per performance and for people with the above-mentioned disabilities – there is no charge.

The BBC’s Technology Reporter tested the AirScript™ device and although it was found to be a distraction from the live performance at times (as its very nature dictates a certain degree of concentration on the screen rather than on the stage) it was deemed a success due to its discreet size, ergonomic design, the accuracy of the translations (European languages were assessed) and its popularity with non-English speaking members of the audience.

All things considered and with positive feedback being generated both nationwide and internationally, there is no doubt that for AirScript™, the show has only just begun.

Automatic language tools are always a hot topic and when news broke of an automatic marking system for English examinations, the debate was open for discussion once more.

We are referring to the recent launch of the Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic), which is to be used by English-speaking educational establishments and companies to assess a person’s level of English. ‘This innovative computer-based test is designed to give schools and employers a lot more to go on a lot more quickly when they’re trying to decide whether a candidate is ready to learn in English or work in English’ stated Marjorie Scardino, chief executive officer of Pearson plc. However, speed is not always of the essence and does not necessarily mean quality – especially when it comes to language matters. Professionals in the field are rightly concerned. They fear that the introduction of such marking schemes could spell the end for human assessors of GCSEs and A levels.

Automatic marking is no stranger to the UK. Certain examinations are already performed on computers and marked electronically, but these follow the multiple choice format when only one correct answer is available. However, when tests were carried out on the automated system, renowned authors such as Ernest Hemmingway were deemed ‘less than average’ and other well-known works failed the specific ‘marking’ criteria. It would seem that there is certainly room for improvement in the programme.

A popular choice on A level English curriculums has been the play Translations by Brian Friel and this is also currently recommended for study on the Cambridge Pre-U syllabus which is set by the University of Cambridge International Examinations (the world’s ‘largest provider of international qualifications for 14–19 year olds’.) One of the play’s major themes is language and communication and it is predominantly written in English but with ample Gaelic, Greek and Latin references. This has led people to question whether a computerised marking tool would be able to cope with a variety of languages in a single text and has raised issues such as the need for specialised terminology add-ons for certain works, the potential cost increases this would entail and furthermore, whether students would be deprived of studying certain texts if the necessary marking tools proved too expensive.

In America, an interesting situation has developed with similar marking schemes, whereby innovative students have been learning the computer’s ‘language’ in order to obtain higher grades – behaviour which has been dubbed as ‘schmoozing’. Pearson plc expressed the wish for their system to enable both sets of users to ‘realise their goals – and help the world become a little closer in the bargain.’ However, it seems that the only rapprochement to date has been between people and computers.

There do not appear to be many professionals in favour of such an automated marking system, and in the UK it is understandable that concerns have been voiced about its potential use in English GCSEs and A levels. The fate of metaphors, similes, cultural references, poetry and even Latin quotations, say, could possibly be at the mercy of a machine. If students are required to discuss the intricacies of any language or comment on literary works, the least they deserve is a human audience. ‘All writing is creative, to one extent or another’ says Fay Weldon CBE, novelist and chair of creative writing at Brunel University. The day when the mark of approval is stamped by artificial intelligence will be a blow for creativity, regardless of the language involved.