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Foundations of Audiovisual Translation and Accessibility

Code: 45812
Credits: 6

2026/2027

Degree programme	Type	Course
Audiovisual Translation	OB	1

Contact lecturer

Name :: Anna Matamala Ripoll
Email :: anna.matamala@uab.cat

Teaching staff

: Estel·la Oncins Noguer

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites.

Objectives

The objectives of this subject are that students:

Become familiar with the main theories, analytical models, and methodologies of audiovisual translation (AVT) and accessibility to information and communication.
Learn about the history of AVT and accessibility, as well as their main modes, services, and areas of application.
Use the basic concepts of AVT and accessibility fluently.
Understand the role and impact of AVT and accessibility within the framework of human rights, inclusion, and social participation.
Understand the characteristics of audiovisual content and the narrative, linguistic, visual, and auditory features of audiovisual discourse.
Identify different textual genres and the challenges they pose in audiovisual translation and accessible content creation processes.
Reflect theoretically and critically on the decisions made during translation and accessible content creation processes.
Analyse specific challenges in AVT and accessibility related to linguistic variation, orality, writing, register, terminology, cultural references, intertextuality, and humour.
Apply a gender perspective to identify linguistic forms, discourses, and images that reproduce sexist or stigmatising representations of women.
Identify linguistic, discursive, and audiovisual representations of dissident sexualities and LGBTI identities, and understand how gender inequality intersects with other forms of inequality.
Learn about the main research areas in AVT and accessibility, particularly those related to technology, cognition, and reception.
Distinguish between research focusing on products, processes, contexts, and people.
Become familiar with the main research methods and instruments used in AVT and accessibility, including questionnaires, interviews, and eye-tracking technologies.
Learn to formulate research questions and hypotheses and select the most appropriate methods and instruments to achieve the objectives of each study.
Become familiar with relevant national and international research projects related to AVT and accessibility.
Acquire the formal, structural, and content-related knowledge required to write an academic paper.

Learning outcomes

CA01 (Defend their own ideas based on the analysis of audiovisual and accessible texts, applying different theoretical and methodological approaches considering the gender perspective.) Defend their own ideas based on the analysis of audiovisual and accessible texts, applying different theoretical and methodological approaches considering the gender perspective.
CA02 (Produce their own ideas from the analysis of audiovisual and accessible texts, applying different theoretical and methodological approaches.) Produce their own ideas from the analysis of audiovisual and accessible texts, applying different theoretical and methodological approaches.
KA01 (Identify the main characteristics of audiovisual discourse and the modalities of translation and accessibility in order to understand their specific challenges.) Identify the main characteristics of audiovisual discourse and the modalities of translation and accessibility in order to understand their specific challenges.
KA02 (Describe the research tools and methods specific to the field of audiovisual translation and accessibility.) Describe the research tools and methods specific to the field of audiovisual translation and accessibility.
KA03 (Recognise the theoretical and methodological models applied to audiovisual translation and accessibility in order to reflect on translation decisions.) Recognise the theoretical and methodological models applied to audiovisual translation and accessibility in order to reflect on translation decisions.
SA01 (Critically analyse phenomena typical of audiovisual and multimodal texts (linguistic variation, humour, intertextuality, cultural references, terminology, etc.) both in their source version and in their translated and accessible version, while also evaluating the appropriateness of the non-sexist language solutions.) Critically analyse phenomena typical of audiovisual and multimodal texts (linguistic variation, humour, intertextuality, cultural references, terminology, etc.) both in their source version and in their translated and accessible version, while also evaluating the appropriateness of the non-sexist language solutions.
SA02 (Apply different theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of textual genres and modalities of audiovisual translation and accessibility in order to formulate appropriate research questions and hypotheses and select the relevant methods and instruments for their development.) Apply different theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of textual genres and modalities of audiovisual translation and accessibility in order to formulate appropriate research questions and hypotheses and select the relevant methods and instruments for their development.

Theory of Audiovisual Translation and Accessibility

Introduction to audiovisual translation and accessibility to information and communication.
Audiovisual translation, accessibility, inclusion, and human rights.
History of audiovisual translation and media accessibility.
The audiovisual text: definition, characteristics, and construction of meaning.
Modes, services, and genres of audiovisual translation and accessibility.
Theoretical models for analysing audiovisual translation and accessible content.
Linguistic aspects: orality, writing, register, and language variation.
Terminological aspects of fictional and non-fictional audiovisual products.
Translation of humour, intertextuality, and cultural references.
Ideology, representation, and gender perspective.
Representation of non-normative sexualities and LGBTI identities.
Technology applied to audiovisual translation and accessibility.
Reception, cognition, and user experience.
Critical analysis of decisions made in translation and accessible content creation.

Research Methodology in Audiovisual Translation and Accessibility

Main research lines and projects in the field.
Types of studies (focused on the product, the process, the context, and the participants) and methodologies (quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods).
Formulation of research questions, objectives, and hypotheses.
Research design, methods, and instruments.
National and international research projects and networks.

Master’s Thesis Methodology

Defining the topic and justifying the relevance of the master’s thesis.
Literature searches, critical selection of sources, and preparation of the literature review.
Planning the stages, resources, and work schedule.
Structure and academic writing of the master’s thesis.
Citation, preparation of bibliographical references, and plagiarism prevention.
Presentation of results, discussion, conclusions, and limitations.
Ethical and transparent use of technologies and artificial intelligence in research.
Presentation and oral defence of the academic work.

Learning activities and methodology

Title	Hours	ECTS	Learning outcomes
Student's self-work	105	4.2	CA01, CA02, KA01, KA02, KA03, SA01, SA02
Activities supervised by the lecturer	45	1.8	CA01, CA02, KA01, KA02, KA03, SA01, SA02

Active methodologies with different types of activities are used.

Moodle tools are also used.

Possible methodologies:

Translation tasks.
Translation project tasks.
Problem-solving tasks.
Individual and group presentations.
Debates (face-to-face or in fora).
Cooperative learning techniques.
Talks and sessions delivered by professionals in the fields of audiovisual translation and accessibility.

Training activities are organised in two blocks, depending on the required level of autonomy from students:

- Activities supervised to different extents by a lecturer.

- Autonomous activities: students organise their time and effort autonomously, either individually or in group.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title	Weight	Learning outcomes
Presentations (Theory)	28%	CA01, CA02, KA01, KA02, KA03, SA01, SA02
Essay (Methodology AVT)	12,5%	CA01, CA02, KA01, KA02, KA03, SA01, SA02
Participation (Theory)	12%	CA01, CA02, KA01, KA02, KA03, SA01
Participation (Methodology)	2,5%	CA01, CA02, KA02, KA03, SA01
Essay (Methodology - MA thesis)	5%	CA01, CA02, KA01, KA02, KA03, SA01, SA02
Essay (Theory)	40%	CA01, CA02, KA01, KA02, KA03, SA01, SA02

Continuous assessment

Students must provide evidence of their progress by completing various tasks and tests. These activities are detailed in the table at the end of this section of the Study Guide.

Review

When publishing final marks prior to recording them on students' transcripts, the lecturer will provide written notification of a date and time for reviewing assessment activities. Students must arrange reviews in agreement with the lecturer.

Missed/failed assessment activities

Students may retake assessment activities they have failed or compensate for any they have missed, provided that those they have actually performed account for a minimum of 66.6% (two thirds) of the subject's final mark and that they have a weighted average mark of at least 3.5. The lecturer will inform students of the procedure involved, in writing, when publishing final marks prior to recording them on transcripts. The lecturer may set one assignment per failed or missed assessment activity or a single assignment to cover a number of such activities. Under no circumstances may an assessment activity worth 100% of the final mark be retaken or compensated for. In case of retaking, maximum grade will be 5 (Pass).

Classification as "not assessable"

In the event of the assessment activities a student has performed accounting for just 25% or less of the subject's final mark, their work will be classified as "not assessable" on their transcript.

Misconduct in assessment activities

Students who engage in misconduct (plagiarism, copying, personation, etc.) in an assessment activity will receive a mark of “0” for the activity in question. In the case of misconduct in more than one assessment activity, the student involved will be given a final mark of “0” for the subject. Assessment activities inwhich irregularities have occurred (e.g. plagiarism, copying, impersonation) are excluded from recovery.

Artificial intelligence

For this subject, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is restricted to the activities that the teaching staff will specify at the beginning of the course. The lack of transparency in the use of AI in any assessable activity will be considered a lack of academic honesty and may lead to a total penalty in the grade of the activity. The teaching staff, in case of doubts, may require a face-to-face meeting to validate the authorship.

Single assessment

This subject is suitable for single assessment.

Bibliography