The Linguist

26 The Linguist Vol/64 No/2 ciol.org.uk/thelinguist REVIEWS Subtitled 'What science fiction can teach us about translating', Translating the Nonhuman raises the simple question as to why, in so many sci-fi stories, space monsters either seem to be able to speak English, or the explorers use some simple device (of the sort becoming widely available today) in order to make themselves understood. Science fiction, of course, has a long and respectable history of inventing endless pieces of equipment, and creating a plethora of social situations with which to evaluate current issues. The great advantage of sci-fi is that anything is possible in the world as created by the author. So in the works referred to in Translating the Nonhuman there can be devices like discorporaphones and vibra- guns, and the 19th Amendment of the US Constitution might have been abolished two centuries earlier in order to create a feminist dystopia. It is also interesting to see the way in which contemporary world views can come through – the colonialist way in which many of the spacemen seem to view aliens is a case in point. Douglas Robinson has made a speciality of the issues arising from communication placed far into the future. The book concentrates on three key titles that focus on this particular topic: Samuel R Delaney's novel Babel-17 (1966), Ted Chiang's novella Story of Your Life (1998), which was made into the film Arrival in 2016, and the redoubtable Suzette Haden Elgin's Native Tongue (1984). Elgin created her own alien language, Láaden, for the book – the first in a dystopian trilogy – with its own grammar and was disappointed that it did not spark the public imagination in the way that Klingon did. Translating the Nonhuman encourages the reader to follow up on the novels cited (which will be available through inter-library loan). Each title is analysed in enormous detail in its own chapter, with a rigorous analysis of language in the context of sci-fi, though in places the argument is clouded for the general reader by the use of such specialised terms as 'psychosemiosis' and 'acritical dubitability'. This is a very erudite work, drawing heavily on the linguistic theories of thinkers such as Charles Peirce and George Mead, and philosophers such as Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Jacques Derrida. The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, whereby the structure of a language influences the world view of the speaker, is also referred to in detail. Though the topic is covered comprehensively, this is really a work for the more specialised reader. Professor Tim Connell Hon FCIL Translating the Nonhuman Douglas Robinson Bloomsbury 2025 162 pp; ISBN 9798765112847 Hardback, £75 What would happen if we took a video and used AI software to autogenerate subtitles in different languages with accurate timecodes? Would we have subtitles, created in minutes, ready for consumption? Most professional linguists who are experts in the creation of subtitles would argue that the process is not that simple. With the explosive growth of AI technologies in the world of localisation, the language industry is undergoing a seemingly endless process of trial and error. Most language professionals now have some understanding of both the shortcomings of AI in the localisation of various types of texts, and the ways it can be a benefit. As a translator who specialises in subtitling, as well as other areas, I am keen to find out if and how AI technologies might improve consistency and increase productivity when dealing with large volumes of subtitles that need to be translated within specific timeframes. Of course, I also want to determine the potential shortcomings of these tools. In order to find out more about how we might use AI in subtitle creation, I have been testing transcription, translation and content creation tools in Greek and English, specifically Trint, Limecraft, Happy Scribe and Yella Umbrella's Stellar. Some of these tools, such as Trint, were initially created to transcribe interviews and Caption t gxv{ÇÉÄÉzç Panayiota Vatikioti trials subtitling tools Stellar, Limecraft, Happy Scribe and Trint C 1 I A 2 O O 3 S 4 T I 5 N A 6 T O 7 A D S 8 C N N B S 9 U L T A N A P 10 U T T O A I L M U E E N 11 U B I A P 12 A T I N A O M I N S 13 V 14 I O 15 L I N E 16 S 17 T A T E A C F 18 A M C 19 A R T 20 E L L 21 A R 22 G O D 23 R O O I I L O 24 U I J A R 25 A V I O L I G N S I A J N E 26 X A C T I N G F 27 A V A Crossword answers Crossword, page 34.

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