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Translation and cross-cultural adaptation methodology for soundscape attributes – A study with independent translation groups from English to Greek

Papadakis, Nikolaos M; Aletta, Francesco; Kang, Jian; Oberman, Tin; Mitchell, Andrew; Stavroulakis, Georgios E; (2022) Translation and cross-cultural adaptation methodology for soundscape attributes – A study with independent translation groups from English to Greek. Applied Acoustics , 200 , Article 109031. 10.1016/j.apacoust.2022.109031. Green open access

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Abstract

The use of questionnaires for soundscape evaluation is a key aspect of soundscape research. Since standards and protocols mainly exist in English, using an appropriate translation and cross-cultural adaptation (CCA) methodology is necessary to maintain content equivalence between source and target language. However, many examples can be found in the literature where no appropriate methodology was applied. This study addresses the neglected aspect of the translation and CCA process in soundscape research by selecting, applying and evaluating an appropriate methodology. After a survey of the relevant literature, an approach based on a combined technique of the forward translation, synthesis, back translation, pre-test and a committee approach was selected. Additional translation guidelines drawn from the literature are suggested and implemented. For the case study of the Greek translation of ISO/TS 12913–2:2018 attributes (Method A), the steps of the methodology were applied by four independent translation groups with different compositions according to the biculturalism and bilingualism of the group members. A method for categorization of bilinguals according to the literature is proposed. In order to compare and validate the results, translated and original attributes were used in listening tests with Greek and English participants respectively, and principal component analysis (PCA) was applied. The most important findings of this research are: the results of the bicultural translation group were closer to the PCA results of the English participants for every attribute, translation of bilingual groups may not be always sufficient, translation errors may be misinterpreted for cross-cultural differences without proper application of a translation methodology and the process of back translation can be effective, especially in cases where there are not corresponding words in the target language. Finally, PCA can be used as a validation methodology for comparison of different translations.

Type: Article
Title: Translation and cross-cultural adaptation methodology for soundscape attributes – A study with independent translation groups from English to Greek
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.apacoust.2022.109031
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apacoust.2022.109031
Language: English
Additional information: © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. under a Creative Commons license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Keywords: Soundscape, Translation, Cross-cultural, ISO/TS 12913-2:2018, Principal component analysis, Greek translation, Categorization of bilinguals
UCL classification: UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > Bartlett School Env, Energy and Resources
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL
URI: https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10157363
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