https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/1037 2026-06-17T05:06:31Z 2026-06-17T05:06:31Z Portelli, Sergio https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/147208 2026-06-09T07:54:01Z 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: La traduzione di testi letterari dall’italiano al maltese Authors: Portelli, Sergio Abstract: Lo sviluppo della traduzione a Malta è profondamente intrecciata con la situazione linguistica isolana. Dopo secoli in cui l’italiano godette dello status di lingua ufficiale e di lingua di cultura, verso la fine dell’Ottocento perse tale preminenza a favore dell’inglese – la lingua dei dominatori coloniali – e del maltese, un vernacolo misto tra arabo, siciliano e italiano che nel 2004 è assurto a lingua ufficiale dell’Unione europea. La conoscenza diffusa dell’italiano e dell’inglese rende possibile ai maltesi di accedere alle opere letterarie italiane direttamente nella versione originale oppure nelle traduzioni inglesi già esistenti. Di conseguenza, la traduzione di tali testi non è strettamente necessaria nel contesto maltese. Tuttavia, già all’inizio del Novecento apparvero delle traduzioni di opere letterarie straniere, tra le quali diverse in lingua italiana, per diffondere il maltese scritto e permettere a chi non conosceva bene l’italiano e l’inglese di avere del materiale interessante da leggere. Agli inizi del nuovo secolo, nonostante la nascita dell’industria della traduzione verso il maltese dopo l’adesione all’UE abbinata allo sviluppo del settore editoriale isolano, le traduzioni letterarie dall’italiano al maltese non hanno registrato un incremento significativo. Le ricerche sulle traduzioni letterarie verso il maltese sono ancora agli inizi, compiute tramite la schedatura di opere registrate nei cataloghi bibliotecari principali di Malta. Di conseguenza, non si è ancora in grado di approfondire l’argomento con analisi dettagliate ed attendibili che possano tracciare una chiara linea di sviluppo e gli aspetti editoriali ad essa collegati. Di seguito si accenna brevemente al contesto linguistico e culturale di Malta, e si fornisce una panoramica della traduzione letteraria maltese riguardante i testi letterari italiani fino a tutto il 2024, con particolare riferimento all’ultimo decennio. L’attenzione si soffermerà sulla prosa e sulla poesia pubblicate in volume. Non sono incluse le traduzioni pubblicate nei periodici isolani, in quanto non sono state ancora catalogate.; The development of translation in Malta is closely intertwined with the island’s linguistic situation. After centuries during which Italian held the status of official and cultural language, by the late nineteenth century it lost this preeminence in favor of English – the language of the colonial rulers – and Maltese, a vernacular blending Arabic, Sicilian, and Italian, which in 2004 became an official language of the European Union. The widespread knowledge of Italian and English allows Maltese readers to access Italian literary works either in their original versions or in existing English translations. Consequently, translating these texts is not strictly necessary in the Maltese context. However, as early as the beginning of the twentieth century, translations of foreign literary works – including several from Italian – appeared, aiming to promote written Maltese and provide engaging reading material for those less proficient in Italian or English. At the start of the new century, despite the emergence of a translation industry into Maltese following Malta’s EU accession and the development of the local publishing sector, literary translations from Italian into Maltese did not experience significant growth. Research on literary translations into Maltese is still in its early stages and has been conducted mainly through cataloging works listed in Malta’s main library collections. As a result, it is not yet possible to carry out detailed and reliable analyses that could trace a clear developmental trajectory or the associated publishing aspects. The following sections briefly outline Malta’s linguistic and cultural context and provide an overview of Maltese literary translation of Italian texts up to 2024, with particular attention to the last decade. The focus is on prose and poetry published in book form. Translations published in local periodicals are not included, as they have not yet been cataloged.

2025-01-01T00:00:00Z Portelli, Sergio https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/147126 2026-06-05T06:13:28Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: AI-based translation quality for low-resource languages : the case of Maltese Authors: Portelli, Sergio Abstract: Maltese is the national language of the Republic of Malta and shares its official language status with English. Despite being used by a small community mostly in oral communication and in a few formal domains, it became an official language of the European Union in 2004. In the last two decades, because of EU membership, translation requirements in Maltese have greatly increased. However, the relative scarcity of Maltese texts in many domains, especially in technical fields, has created a critical data deficiency for training large language models (LLMs). Hence, the quality of AI-driven translation for Maltese is generally perceived to be inadequate. However, to date, no studies have been made to assess translation quality related to the use of AI-based technologies for the Maltese language. To address this research gap, the present small-scale study evaluates the performance of two prominent AI-based translation tools, Google Translate and ChatGPT, on a 6000-word corpus of 20 texts translated from Italian into both Maltese and English. The raw output was systematically evaluated using an adapted DQF-MQM error typology template. The results show that in the case of Maltese, Google Translate made almost three times more errors with respect to English, while ChatGPT generated over seven times the errors for Maltese. The analysis concludes that despite the high status of Maltese in the EU’s multilingual setting, the limitations of Maltese as a low-resource language still persist, and a highly cautious approach must be taken by Maltese translators and post-editors when using AI-based tools for translation.

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/146941 2026-05-29T08:53:27Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Translating medical language and terminology in dubbing : a case study of Grey’s anatomy in Italian Abstract: This study investigates the field of audiovisual translation by analysing three episodes of the American medical drama Grey’s Anatomy in their Italian dubbed version. The research aims to examine how medical terminology is rendered in the target language, while accounting for the constraints of dubbing. Selected episodes were viewed and transcribed in both their original and dubbed versions to extract instances of medical terminology. These instances formed a dataset that constitutes the basis of the present study, which was subsequently analysed using criteria specifically designed to distinguish medical jargon from general language. The findings indicate that, despite key constraints typically associated with the dubbing modality – such as lip synchronisation and isochrony – which tend to make the adaptation process and the preservation of medical terminology more challenging than in the dubbing of other audiovisual genres, professionals nevertheless opted to prioritise terminological accuracy. As a result, surrounding syntactic structures were often adjusted to maintain both semantic precision and fluency in the target language. However, slight modifications were occasionally introduced to enhance comprehensibility for non-expert audiences. Moreover, the choice of translation strategies varied depending on how medical terminology was integrated into the target-language discourse. The most commonly observed strategies were simplification, explicitation, nominalisation, and dynamic equivalence. Future research could be directed specifically towards investigating how medical terminology in television dramas such as Grey’s Anatomy diverges from the specialised language used in real-life clinical settings. Comparative studies may also explore discrepancies between the terminology employed in fictional portrayals and that used in real emergency contexts, taking into account emotional factors that influence communication, as well as regional variation in medical language. Furthermore, reception studies involving viewers – particularly non-specialists – would be valuable in assessing how medical discourse is perceived and understood by target audiences. Description: M.Trans.(Melit.)

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/146940 2026-05-29T08:48:53Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Enhancing Maltese translation company practices : an investigation into the integration of subtitling workflows Abstract: With the rapid expansion of over-the-top (OTT) platforms and social media, the field of audiovisual translation (AVT) has encountered an increasing need for subtitled content. This demand resulted in Language Service Providers (LSPs) and media localisation companies adapting their subtitling workflows to meet tighter turnaround times and to cater to language combinations that they have never worked with before. Local LSPs in Malta, however, were not affected by this phenomenon due to the limited perceived need for subtitled content in Maltese. Subtitling is still a primitive AVT mode in the local scenario, and while some local LSPs already do handle subtitling projects, their practices may not yet align with industry standards. To increase the awareness of subtitling in the local scenario and encourage locally based LSPs to expand their business for this service, this research study aims to identify recurrent subtitling practices adopted by foreign media localisation companies and examine how local LSPs align with these norms. Based on the identified gaps, this study also aims to suggest ways in which these workflows can be adapted to fit the current needs of these companies by proposing an alternative step-by-step, cost effective subtitling workflow. To do so, this study adopts a qualitative thematic methodology by conducting semi-structured online interviews with three locally based LSPs and three foreign media localisation companies based in different territories. The data revealed several recurrent processes that are applied across foreign media localisation companies. It also revealed that local LSPs frequently treat subtitling as an extension of the technical translations that they primarily take up, relying on Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) tools that may not account for the specific technical constraints of subtitles. To be able to expand their businesses, this dissertation proposes a “hybrid” subtitling workflow that suggests the use of both CAT tools and temporary specialised software licenses to ensure high quality deliverables. By filling this research gap in localisation project management in Malta, this study provides a framework for local LSPs to scale their services. However, the suggested workflows may also be feasible for small LSPs abroad, who encounter similar challenges as those that are based locally. Description: M.Trans.(Melit.)

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z