1. Introduction

Community translation has been in existence for a long time and is referred to by different names in different parts of the world (e.g. Corsellis, 2008; Niska, 1995; Taibi, 2011). Recent developments in translation practice and research suggest that community translation is emerging as a domain in its own right that is attracting growing attention (Burns & Kim, 2011; Taibi, 2011; University of Western Sydney, 2014). Community translation, also known as ‘public service translation’, ‘is emerging as an important, distinct subfield in translation studies’ (University of Westminster, 2014).

Australia is a multicultural and multilingual country. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2013), ‘Australians come from more than 200 countries, speak over 300 languages at home, belong to more than 100 different religious groups, and work in more than 1000 different occupations’. Translation services are well developed in Australia and a significant portion of translation in the market targets community readers, be they speakers of English or languages other than English (LOTE). As a leading country in the field, Australia offers an appropriate context to explore the nature of community translation, its distinctive features and requirements. This research examines the definitions of community and community translation, the features of community documents and community translation, and the appropriate translation approaches and strategies for community translation in the Australian context, based on data collected from the translation market in Australia. The pair of languages for which community translation is examined is English and Chinese.

The methods employed in this research include a telephone survey with practising translators, a questionnaire for translation students and case studies of real examples of community translation.

2. Community and Community Translation

In English, the word ‘community’ has been used to such an extent that its definition and boundaries have become blurred. For instance, if one is asked ‘What is the community of the University of Queensland?’, the answer may be ‘It is teachers and students of the university’ or ‘It is teachers, students and administrative staff’.