Astrolabes are medieval instruments designed to mechanically simulate the positions of the stars, the sun, and the celestial sphere for a given time and place. They can be seen as multilayered, temporally dynamic maps of the sky adjustable for different latitudes. They also incorporate multiple visual mechanical functions for angle measurement, time reckoning, direction finding, and trigonometric computations. However, astrolabes are known to modern Persian speakers mainly through literary metaphors that frame them as exotic objects associated with occult practices. A proper understanding of the structure and astro‑mathematical applications of astrolabes requires familiarity with premodern astronomy and spherical trigonometry. As such, these instruments do not easily lend themselves to translation for general audiences. In this paper, we present the process and challenges involved in studying, deciphering, and curating a public exhibition of the Malek Museum’s astrolabe collection (Tehran, Iran), employing a range of digital methods to make these scientific instruments accessible to Iranian audiences of all ages.

The first phase of this project involved a critical study of six premodern astrolabes, the results of which were published as a book. The study employed a combination of digital reconstruction and close reading to identify the astronomical elements on the astrolabe parts and to evaluate their accuracy and authenticity. Ranging from the 13th to the 18th century, these instruments were digitally reconstructed using MATLAB programming and AutoCAD design, following period appropriate methods and astronomical parameters. Overlaying these reconstructed models onto scans of the astrolabe parts created a comparative computational laboratory for our analysis.

Following the digital analysis of the astrolabe’s technical functions, the Jahān Namā (Panorama of the world) exhibition (2012) addressed the challenge of translating these mathematical complexities for the public. This remediation utilized graphic design, original artifacts, and contextual manuscripts to narrate the astrolabe’s cultural and scientific significance. Specialized mounts were engineered to expose the instrument’s sophisticated layers, effectively 'decoding' its materiality for a non-expert audience.

To increase accessibility and environmental sustainability, the project transitioned into a nationwide traveling exhibition. By employing high-quality replicas, the museum successfully minimized its carbon footprint while broadcasting scientific heritage across Iran. This initiative catalyzed the permanent gallery at the Malek National Museum and Library, titled 'The Hard Sciences in the Islamic Era of Iran.' In this space, the museum integrates digital narration with physical design to offer a multi-layered historical experience. The permanent gallery is also available as an online exhibition to facilitate further research and digital engagement.

This progression from a temporary showcase to a permanent digital-physical installation facilitates lifelong learning through targeted pedagogical programs. The evolution of these initiatives, ranging from 'Meeting with Historical Astrolabes' for astronomy enthusiasts during the temporary phase to permanent gallery workshops such as 'When I was Born!' for preschoolers and 'The Past and the Present' for university students, effectively bridges the gap between historical science and contemporary understanding. By anchoring these educational programs in both physical artifacts and digital narration, the museum fosters a multi-generational dialogue that sustains the relevance of scientific heritage in a modern context.

Dans un contexte où 85 % des traductrices (OTTIAQ, 2024) et 96 % des fans de BTS (BTS ARMY Census, 2021) s'identifient comme des femmes, nous utilisons le féminin générique.

Lorsque les sous-titreuses fans de BTS choisissent de conserver le terme oppa romanisé plutôt que de le traduire par « grand frère », elles posent un geste qui relève de l'intraduisible au sens de Cassin (2004) : non pas ce qui ne peut être traduit, mais plutôt un noyau sémantique qui résiste à l'équivalence et crée un espace de négociation interculturelle. Cette communication examine les stratégies de sous-titrage par les fans (fansubbing) dans le fandom de BTS comme lieu d'observation de l'intraduisible, en les comparant aux traductions par les grands modèles de langue (LLM).

Les sous-titreuses fans de BTS ont mis en place des conventions linguistiques organisées pour gérer les termes culturellement chargés. Sur la plateforme V Fansubs, par exemple, on recommandait explicitement de romaniser les termes coréens qui « perdraient leur signification dans une traduction littérale », comme sunbae (aîné ), en les accompagnant d'une glose explicative entre parenthèses (Aisyah et Jin, 2017). De même, les honorifiques relationnels (oppa, noona, hyung) sont retranscrits tels quels dans les sous-titres produits par les fans, parce qu'ils encodent des dimensions relationnelles : hiérarchie d'âge, intimité, genre, respect. Les fans ajoutent donc des annotations contextuelles, voire des commentaires culturels, qui transforment le sous-titre en un dispositif pédagogique et herméneutique, excédant la seule fonction de transfert linguistique. Ces pratiques illustrent ce que Yoon (2023) théorise comme « traduction culturelle» : les barrières linguistiques offrent paradoxalement aux publics étrangers des occasions de multiplier les interprétations plutôt que de les réduire à une correspondance unique.

À l'inverse, un LLM traduit oppa par « grand frère » (ChatGPT, février 2026), ou « grand frère aîné » (DeepL, février 2026), aplatissant les couches relationnelles et affectives du terme — oppa désignant non seulement un homme plus âgé du point de vue d'une femme, mais aussi une familiarité ou une affection particulière. Fonctionnant dans une logique d'équivalence statistique, le LLM évacue précisément ce que les fans s'efforcent de préserver : les éléments culturels intraduisibles.

Cette communication s'appuie sur une analyse comparative d'un corpus de sous-titres de vidéos de BTS (Run BTS, Bangtan Bombs, vlogs V LIVE) effectués par des fans et de la traduction des mêmes segments par des LLM. Notre analyse porte sur le traitement des honorifiques et des références contextuelles, en croisant des cadres issus de la traductologie (Cassin, 2004 ; Gambier, 2022), des études de fans (Yoon, 2023) et de la traduction audiovisuelle numérique (Cho et Suh, 2021 ; Aisyah et Jin, 2017).

Nous soutenons que les pratiques de fansubbing constituent un « contre-récit » épistémologique aux technologies de traduction commodifiées : là où le LLM produit de l'équivalence, le sous-titre par les fans crée une relation; là où le modèle aplatit le contexte culturel, le fan l'enrichit. L'intraduisible, dans ce cadre, n'est pas une limite technique mais une qualité que seule une traduction située, collaborative et culturellement informée permet de préserver.

Abstract

Digital platforms increasingly mediate access to education, employment, housing, and public services, particularly for international students and newly arrived immigrants. These platforms rely on user consent mechanisms, terms of service, privacy policies, and data-sharing agreements that are presented as neutral, standardized, and legally sufficient. This paper argues that for many new immigrant users, especially those with low to intermediate English proficiency, such consent is fundamentally untranslatable.

Drawing on the concept of the untranslatable articulated by Cassin (2014), this paper examines how ethical responsibility in digital systems is displaced onto users through interfaces that presume linguistic fluency, cultural familiarity, and digital literacy. For new international students, agreeing to data collection is often not an informed choice but a necessary step to “move forward” within time-sensitive and high-stakes institutional processes. In these contexts, consent becomes procedural rather than meaningful.

Using a critical Digital Humanities framework, this paper analyzes how layered forms of surveillance corporate, institutional, and algorithmic remain largely invisible to users who lack access to clear explanations, translated resources, or supportive onboarding structures. Legal and technical language surrounding data practices resists translation not only across languages, but across lived experience. What is rendered untranslatable is not simply the text of privacy policies, but the future implications of data circulation, profiling, inference, and reuse.

In earlier moments of digital adoption, newcomers were routinely warned to be cautious of phone scams, fraudulent calls, or individuals seeking to extract money through deception. Today, however, the risks they face have shifted and expanded. Financial scams persist, but they are now accompanied by more subtle and less visible forms of exploitation: data extraction, profiling, and surveillance embedded in everyday digital interactions. Just as institutions once recognized the need to educate newcomers about monetary fraud, there is now an ethical obligation to equip them with the knowledge and resources necessary to recognize data-based harms. This includes understanding how personal information is collected, inferred, stored, and circulated often invisibly by platforms and institutions they must rely on to access education, employment, and services. Preparing users to recognize opaque data practices and “data scams” is no longer optional; it is a necessary extension of institutional care, digital literacy, and ethical responsibility.

The paper situates this analysis within the Canadian context, where international students and newcomers are simultaneously encouraged, monitored, and made structurally dependent on digital infrastructures for survival and mobility. It argues that prevailing data ethics frameworks rely too heavily on formal compliance and legal disclosure, while overlooking relational responsibility, asymmetries of power, and unequal conditions of comprehension. From a Digital Humanities perspective, this raises urgent questions about accessibility, institutional accountability, and ethics-by-design.