Crowdsourcing translation in contemporary China: Theories and practices

Nowadays, we cannot ignore the huge contribution made by the grass-root users of the internet to the circulation of cultural products and the translation industry. Web page news is updating to the last second with their translation in diversified languages appearing on user-generated pages in different countries. Fansubbing groups and manga scanlation fanatics are uploading the newest version of their favorite films and manga with their own translations 24-hours within the works having been officially launched, and are, at the same time, circumventing censorships adroitly. Comparing with the long-established translation industry, where each formally published translation work has to undergo certain strict procedures to be on the market, the translations generated by the internet users reach their audiences in almost no time. In addition, the role of the translator is no longer limited to a small group of certificated professionals, but can be played by every internet user who is able to translate.