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

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.