Call for Proposals for Special Issue for IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication (September 2024)

Published on January 23, 2023

Topic: Building Bridges Between Technical and Professional Communication and Translation Studies

Guest Editors: Belén López-Arroyo (University of Valladolid), Xiaobo Wang (Sam Houston State University), and Suguru Ishizaki (Carnegie Mellon University)

In the digitally-driven era of globalization, international professionals are increasingly faced with challenges of communicating with non-native languages in multilingual contexts. Whether they work with professional translators or generate their own communication, international professionals must draw on linguistic and rhetorical knowledge to communicate effectively. In this global context, researchers in translation studies (TS) have increasingly become aware of the need for interdisciplinary research [1]. However, in their introduction to a special issue of Connexions published in 2015, Maylath et al. [2] lament that there is little research in technical and professional communication (TPC) that addresses the training of international professionals. They further argue that “more research and dialogue are needed to fully grasp the implications and commonalities in all areas of multilingual professional communication.” Since then, we have seen an increasing number of interdisciplinary studies in TPC and TC with a wide range of topics, including multilingual communication [3], collaborative learning [4], [5], professional training [6], and the impact of information technology [7], as well as localization [8]. Building on the recent scholarship, this special issue hopes to create a forum for fostering interdisciplinary research and collaboration between researchers in technical and professional communications and translation studies.

This special issue will highlight the latest knowledge that emerges from the interdisciplinary research involving translation studies and technical and professional communication, and suggest practical implications of the findings to the training of both professional writers and translators in higher education and organizational contexts. We invite submissions from researchers across the disciplines who employ empirical approaches, including (but not limited to) corpus-based and computational methods to address technical and professional communication in multilingual contexts. We are interested in submissions related to the following questions, among others.

• How do corpus-based translation studies enhance our understanding of professional communication in multilingual/global contexts?
• How is translation work in professional communication different across disciplines and genres in multilingual/global contexts?
• What technology-enhanced learning environments are being used to support TPC and translation students/professionals to develop their communication skills in multilingual/global contexts?
• How do international professionals in multilingual/global contexts develop their communication skills on the job?
• What technology-enhanced productivity tools are being used to support international professionals in their communication tasks in multilingual/global contexts?
• How do social and intercultural variables of professional communication—gender, age, time and space, history, discipline—influence how international professionals communicate in various multilingual/global contexts?
• To what extent should translation studies be incorporated into existing TPC programs, certificates, and training?
• What role does translation play in adopting and implementing the ideals of social justice in multilingual/global professional contexts?
• How do intercultural TPC, translation studies, and other relevant fields intersect in training TPC and translation professionals in global communication?
• What types of further research and collaborations between intercultural TPC and translation studies can help bridge the two fields together?
• What are the best practices in university-industry collaboration for promoting skill development, generation/acquisition/adoption of knowledge, and entrepreneurship? How can their effectiveness be assessed?
• How effective are collaborative interdisciplinary networks in specialized translation?
• To what extent can multilayer corpus analysis be used to enhance research in professional communication and specialized translation?

Types of Projects

The types of research projects accepted for this special issue include but are not limited to

• Research reports
• Integrative literature reviews
• Case studies
• Tutorials
• Teaching cases

Submission Process

This special issue has a two-step review process. See below for our timeline.

• If you have a project that you believe is a good fit, submit a 500-word abstract summarizing your proposed article. The guest editors will use the abstracts to select authors, who will be invited to submit a complete article.
• Once you submit a full article, it will be peer reviewed. Based on the peer reviews, the guest editors will select articles for the special issue.

Human Subjects

If you plan to present the results of a study involving human research subjects or will use examples from corporate or government communications, please obtain all approvals and permissions for publishing your results from your institution, company, and/or agency before you submit your abstract for review.

Requirements for Abstracts

Each abstract should be about 500 words (excluding references). Abstracts should be emailed to the guest editors (mariabelen.lopez@uva.es, xiaobo.belle.wang@shsu.edu, suguru@cmu.edu) in Microsoft Word format. For further details regarding submitting a manuscript, please visit: https://procomm.ieee.org/ transactions-of-professional-communication/for-prospective-authors/guidelines-to-follow

Timeline for Submissions

References

[1] B. Maylath, R. Martín, and M. Pinto, “Translation and International Professional Communication: Building Bridges and Strengthening Skills,” Connexions, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 3-9, 2015.

[2] G. De Sutter and M. A. Lefer, “On the need for a new research agenda for corpus-based translation studies: a multi-methodological, multifactorial interdisciplinary approach,” Perspectives, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 1-23, 2020.

[3] L. Gonzales, Designing Multilingual Experiences in Technical Communication, Logan, UT: Utah State University Press, 2022.

[4] M. Verzella, M. Macià & B. Maylath (2021) “Engineers taking a stance on technical communication: Peer review of oral presentations via the Trans-Atlantic and Pacific Project,” IEEE Trans Prof Commun, vol. 64, no. 1, pp. 66-83, 2020.

[5] B. Maylath et al., “Translation competence: Research data in multilateral and interprofessional collaborative learning,” in Handbook of Research on Teaching Methods in Language Translation and Interpretation, Y. Cui and W. Zhao Eds. Hershey, PA: IGI Global Publisher, 2015, pp. 137-159.

[6] J. H. Melton, “Lost in translation: Professional communication competencies in global training contexts,” IEEE Trans Prof Commun, vol. 51, no. 2, pp. 198-214, 2018.

[7] D. Dejica,C. Eugeni, A. Dejica-Cartis, Translation Studies and Information Technology: New Pathways for Researchers, Teachers, and Professionals. Timișoara, Romania: Editura Politehnica, 2020.

[8] K. St.Amant, “Introduction: The dynamics of—and need to understand—translation and localization in technical communication,” in Translation and Localization: A Guide for Technical and Professional Communicators, B. Maylath and K. St.Amant, Eds. New York and Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 2019, pp. 1-16.