Language and Translation Studies (LTS)

Abstract This exploratory research views translation as a socio-economic act within the cultural goods’ production, distribution, and consumption chain. It examines the contribution of literary translation to the economics of the arts in Iran over three years. The data were gathered in collaboration with the Iran Book and Literature House, and the focus was on the publication of original and translated books in the field of literature. The study’s theoretical framework integrates Bourdieu’s field theory, the creative economy, and Lefevere’s rewriting theory. In addition to providing statistics on translation production as an economic indicator, the findings implicitly reflect cultural literacy and the public’s reception of literary translation. Furthermore, the findings provide a picture of translation’s share in the cultural and economic value of art, which can serve as a basis for cultural policy-making, institutional support for translators, and the enhancement of cultural literacy in society.

Abstract A survey of recent studies in audiovisual translation reveals that audio description (AD), as a service of empowerment and accessibility to media for blind or partially sighted audiences, has been increasingly investigated and researched internationally mostly in European counties and the United State, however. This service is newly developing and rarely offered in Iran. This article aims to initially introduce developments and advancements in AD globally and discuss its production process in the world. The article then explores the current status of AD in Iran and reviews the preliminary measures which have recently been taken in this regard. Within an exploratory approach, the required data were obtained through document analysis and semi-structured interviews with AD practitioners in Iran. The findings are classified and presented in six categories. The findings show that the highest proportion of AD production goes to radio and a non-governmental group, Sevina, respectively, and television as a national mass media has not taken any measure in this regard. Besides, the production of AD on the radio has been limited to Iranian feature films, while the products of Sevina group are more diverse. A number of suggestions for future investigations are also presented.