Translation in the Service of the Greatest Sporting Event: A Proposal for Managing Multilingualism at the 2034 FIFA World Cup
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63939/ajts.745rep84Keywords:
FIFA World Cup 2034, Language Planning, Multilingualism, Sports Translation, Artificial IntelligenceAbstract
This study develops a strategic proposal for managing multilingualism at the 2034 FIFA World Cup in Saudi Arabia. It uses a qualitative documentary and comparative policy-analysis design, drawing on official FIFA and Saudi documents, international standards, peer-reviewed scholarship, and selected professional sources. Brazil 2014, Russia 2018, and Qatar 2022 serve as comparative cases; sources were screened for relevance, traceability, and evidential strength, with official and scholarly evidence prioritized. The analysis identifies five planning domains: written translation, interpreting, community interpreting, multilingual sports commentary, and audiovisual translation and accessibility. It then proposes a human-AI hybrid model with three sensitivity levels, a four-tier language-priority framework, an institutional structure, a phased 2026-2034 implementation plan, and measurable quality and risk indicators. The proposal is not an empirically validated arrangement; it is a planning framework that requires field testing with organizers, language professionals, volunteers, and users.
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