Translation of Thai Culture-Specific Words Into English in Digital Environment: Translators’ Strategies and Use of Technology

Abstract

The present research investigates how translators deal with the challenges of translating culture-specific words from Thai into English within a digital environment. Using strategies suggested by Baker (2018), the study collected data from surveys, written sources and observations to examine which approaches are used by translators. It also addresses how technology impacts the decision making of translators as they create translations employing both Bourdieu’s concept of habitus (1977, 1990) and the Actor-Network Theory proposed by Latour (1987, 2005). The findings show that translators use eight primary strategies when translating culture-specific words, with the use of loan words being the most common and literal translation the least used. The habitus of translators possibly influences their translation choices, with technology playing a crucial role in determining which solutions and strategies translators choose. This proves the extent to which technology currently influences translators in the completion of translation tasks in digital environments. Consideration of these factors should be considered as a way to improve translation training in a Thai context.