Introduction to Quality Assurance in Language Mediation

Introduction to Quality Assurance in Language Mediation

Delivery institution

Faculty of Humanities
Department of Translation and Interpreting

Instructor(s):

Edina ROBIN

Start date

7 September 2026

End date

12 December 2026

Study field

CHARM priority field

Study level

Study load, ECTS

2

Short description

The course introduces basic principles of quality assurance in translation services; its place in the translation process in the language mediation industry. The ethical dimension of quality assurance is also discussed, as well as translation and revision evaluation criteria and methods based on the current ISO standards.

Full description

The course introduces the basic principles of quality assurance relying on the relevant ISO standards. It discusses the role of quality assurance in the translation process, defines the different types of quality assurance measures, and outlines the tasks and responsibilities of translators, revisers and post-editors, as well as the competencies required for quality assurance. It introduces the basic principles, parameters, and process steps required for quality assurance. During the course, students will learn about the ethical issues of translation, revision, post-editing, and the use of artificial intelligence, as well as the possibilities and methods of evaluating the work of translators and quality assurance specialists.

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the learner will
– know the place of quality assurance in the translation process, quality assurance types, the QA specialist tasks and obligations;
– be familiar with the differences between translation and revision and post-editing and with QA competence;
– know the principles, parameters and process of QA;
– be familiar with the ethics of QA, artificial intelligence and the methods of evaluating translations and revisions.
– make QA specialist’s decisions on the basis of the ethical principles of revision and use of AI.

Course requirements

No course pre-requisites

Places available

50

Course literature (compulsory or recommended):

Arthern, P. 1991. Quality by numbers: Assessing revision and translation. In: Proceedings of the Fifth Conference of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting. London: Aslib, The Association for Information Management. 85–91.
Koponen, M., Mossop, B., Robert, I. S., & Scocchera, G. (2021). Translation revision and post-editing. Routledge. https://doi. org/10, 4324, 9781003096962.
Mossop, B. (2014). Revising and editing for translators. Routledge.
Strandvik, I. (2025). Translation quality and the role of specifications–How standards can help the translation sector today. Across Languages and Cultures, 26(S), 5-24.

Planned educational activities and teaching methods:

lectures, forums, group discussions, quizzes

Course code

BMA-FTOD-113

Language

Assessment method

Quizzes during the course

Final certification

Transcript of records

Assessment date

18 December 2026

Modality

Learning management System in use

Moodle

Contact hours per week for the student:

Specific regular weekly teaching day/time

The course will be in asynchronous mode. The course will require app. 60 minutes weekly from the students.

Time zone