AVT and agency : Revoicing to give a voice to minoritized language communities

At the 10th Media for All conference, the meagre representation of minoritized languages (including sign language) in audiovisual media on streaming platforms was tackled. In this way, the very ideal of media for all was challenged. Global streaming platforms tend to adopt a ‘one size fits all’ approach in limiting their language settings to a minimum. While the users of minoritized languages often are proficient in the dominant language of their country, it is absolutely crucial that content is available in their smaller — and often endangered — languages as well. Some streaming platforms of local public service broadcasters try to accommodate this need. Still, the questions remain: to what extent do not only minoritized languages users, but also the speakers of the majority languages encounter these minoritized languages in audiovisual content, how linguistically diverse and inclusive is this content, but also: what role can audiovisual translation play here? In this article, the importance of audiovisual translation in and out of minoritized languages, with a special focus on revoicing, is discussed. The children’s content broadcast by Swedish public service broadcaster in the national minority languages and sign language is used as a case study.