RECENT PUBLICATIONS
January
2008
For the New Year, here is a list of recent
doctoral dissertations, most of which were submitted to the Young Scholar Award
Committee last year. Other doctoral dissertations, on conference interpreting, were
listed in the CIRIN Bulletins at www.cirinandgile.com.
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*
Braga Riera, Jorge.
2006. La traducción al inglés en el siglo
XVII: Las comedias del Siglo de Oro español. [Translating in Seventeenth-century
Abstract
From 1660 to c.1700,
. This dissertation is not intended to be a prescriptive study of what English playwrights-adaptors should have done with the Spanish originals, but rather falls in line with descriptive translation studies and tries to describe how the source texts were actually used and how the obvious difficulties the translators came up with in the process were tackled, with the result of genuinely Spanish texts triumphing on the British stage.
The first chapter states the importance of
the so-called ‘cultural turn’ as a starting point for the reflection on the
peculiarities of drama translation, such as the pace, changes in rhythm and
rhymes inherent to the verse-written comedia. The intricacy of Spanish
syntax and its degree of performability as well as the importance of both the
gestures accompanying the enunciation and the stage components (type of
theatre, music, accessories, etc.), among others, are also covered. Chapters
two and three pay attention to the theory of translation in
On the other hand, domestication is achieved by means of three substitution strategies: naturalization, omission and creation. Many aspects present in the source texts are naturalized in order to meet the demands of the target culture, as perceived in act division, characterization or the use of some English proper names. In this way, the resulting plays become “more English”, as also seen in the more detailed stage directions, the use of blank verse or rhyming couplets and the treatment of some culture-specific items. This very same purpose of domestication is pursued with the omissions: verse and rhyme, monologues (shortened or interrupted) and a good deal of stage and textual humour (wordplay, double entendres, proverbs, metaphors and allusions to Spanish history and culture) are left out. However, these omissions are no obstacle for the presence of additions, namely typically English clothes, customs (courtesy gestures), prologues, epilogues, songs and abundant references to English history and idiosyncrasy. Finally, the humorous side of the translations is reinforced by adding new jokes, neologisms, tales and characters (fops, for instance). In short, the ingredients which guaranteed the success of the play are kept, while others are omitted, naturalized or created with identical purpose.
The above-mentioned translators acted in accordance with the translation practice at the time, becoming ‘creators’ who altered the source texts for the particular needs of the London stage, with omissions and new creations emerging as valid strategies in the process. Thus, the comparative analysis of the source and target plays carried out in this dissertation draws significant conclusions about the labour of these English translators within the specific framework of drama translation strategies, and intends to constitute a starting point for the study of the translation of Spanish classical theatre up to the present.
* * *
Chen, Ya-Mei. 2006. Reconstruction of
ideology-related norms in News Trans-editing.Unpublished doctoral
dissertation, the
Abstract:
Studies on news trans-editing, an activity combining both
news translation and news editing, started to emerge in the 1980s. Their research emphases are always on only one of the following
aspects: practical strategies, contextual factors, or the gate-keeping
function, which could be said to be the control
of information through channels of communication. Due to their own chosen
focuses, all these existing studies have only partially explored news
trans-editing, and no thorough account has yet been provided. To address such
deficiency, this thesis, adopting Descriptive Translation Studies (DTS) as a
theoretical framework, brings together all the above research focuses and
develops a method for reconstructing norms in news trans-editing, especially
those which emerge due to the ideologies embedded in
the target news organisation. The proposed
reconstruction method is also intended to offer a useful analytical tool for
translator trainers and researchers who are intent on investigating norms in
news trans-editing as well as on applying the norms to translator training.
Chapter
1 discusses the notion of norms within DTS as well as the insights from
existing research into news trans-editing. This discussion sheds light on two major
components of the reconstruction of ideology-related norms in news
trans-editing: the recurrent non-obligatory shifts occurring in ideologically
significant linguistic and textual aspects at both the macro- and micro-levels, and the readily
identifiable ideologies of the target and source news organisations as well as
ideology-related contextual factors. Building upon these two major components, a reconstruction method is
developed in Chapter 2 by adapting the methodology proposed by Toury (1995).
The method thus developed
consists of three stages: pre-comparison, comparison, and reconstruction. The
pre-comparison stage is further elaborated in the second part of Chapter 2 with
the formulation of a translation-oriented news discourse model. This model
assists with the identification of relevant ideology-related contextual factors, and linguistic and textual aspects. The source and target
texts are to be compared against these identified factors and aspects during the comparison stage.
In order to verify the feasibility of the proposed method, Chapters 3 to 6 address the application
of this method to two case studies, focusing on the reconstruction of ideology-related norms in
English-Chinese news trans-editing. Chapter 3 introduces the data collected for
the two case studies. The source texts are taken from the New York Times and
the
Chapter 7 evaluates the
strengths and weaknesses of the method developed in Chapter 2. Four possible
strengths of the method are identified: avoidance of the drawbacks of Critical Linguistics and Critical Discourse Analysis, the applicability to different
language-pairs, to different genres, and to visual images. The reconstruction
method in question does, however, contain some weaknesses: (1) the
applicability being limited to news trans-editing with traceable sources, (2) the impossibility of distinguishing the
parties responsible for the shifts, (3) readily identifiable ideologies held by
the news organisation as an indispensable prerequisite, and (4) the potential problem of the process
being time-consuming. Possible practical applications of the reconstruction
method are also proposed, including applying the
reconstructed norms to translator training, and using the translation-oriented
news discourse model to teach news translation or news trans-editing.
This thesis can contribute
to a more thorough understanding of media translation in general and news
trans-editing in particular. Additionally, it provides
translator trainers and researchers with a practical and flexible tool. They
can systematically study ideology-related norms in news trans-editing with the
method proposed here or adapt it for their own purpose.
Collombat ,
Isabelle. 2005. Le discours imagé en vulgarisation scientifique : étude comparée
du français et de l’anglais (original title) (Discourse Imagery in Scientific Popularization: a Comparative
English-French Study). Université Laval, Québec.
Abstract
1. General context of the study
Corpus analysis has not yet been greatly exploited in the field of translation studies, and corpus-based studies of discourse imagery are rare. No comparative study of the structure of similes, metaphors and analogies in French and English has been done to date. Hence the pertinence, from a translational perspective, of undertaking such a study with a bilingual corpus of spontaneous texts and not translations, a method of analysis which allows for the establishment of optimally objective models based on actual usage in both languages.
To begin
with, it should be mentioned that in this research, the term image—defined as any part of a
discourse aiming at illustrating or explaining the topic by means of elements
external to the topic’s referential domain—is used as superordinate term for
similes, metaphors and analogies, in order to avoid the confusion often
generated by the use of metaphor as
both a superordinate and a subordinate term.
This research aims to highlight the lexical, syntactic and referential characteristics of images used in popularized scientific texts in French and English, in order to identify differences or similarities in the creative use of discourse imagery in the two languages, with a view to eventually proposing certain orientations for idiomatic translation of imagery in such texts.
The study is based upon the analysis of 2,000 images (
The method
of identifying images in the corpus stands squarely within the interactionist
perspective developed by
The spaghetti-like
polymer chain would merely wrap around the particles. (Scientific American July
2002: 28)
In our
corpus, images are similes, metaphors (in absentia and in praesentia)
and analogies.
The
dissertation is divided into five chapters. Chapter I lays out the theoretical
foundation; Chapter II explains corpus choice criteria and the findings with
reference to image types; Chapter III analyzes image referents; Chapter IV
addresses image structures; Chapter V deals with translation of images, adding
translation solutions derived from the findings of the study to those
prescribed by various authors.
The results
show that in popular science texts the two languages use different disambiguation procedures: image types differ, noun
phrases are more frequent in English than in French, and French uses quotation
marks more frequently, particularly to indicate intentionally incorrect diction
or unusual collocations recruited to create an image.
In the
French corpus metaphors (in praesentia and in absentia) represent
a total of 68.1% of the images (most of them metaphors in absentia),
while in English metaphors account for only 45.4% of images.
Similes are
characterized by the presence of comparative words (such as like or as),
which create a distance between the two systems, while analogies develop a
similarity between two situations. These two categories of images are therefore
more direct than metaphors: the fact that the connector or the primary system
of a metaphor is implicit adds a step to the process of decoding the image.
In the English
corpus a greater use of similes and analogies tends to disambiguate the images,
while in French the image modelling is more abstract and may be ambiguous.
2.3
Noun phrases
Noun
phrases make up 47.65% of the images in the French corpus, and 55.47% in the
English corpus. These noun phrases generally consist of a noun head, with
adjectives, a noun complement or a relative clause; in these structures, both
the primary and the secondary system are made explicit, as shown in the
following example:
They [the
first stars] were cosmic SUVs compared with our fuel-efficient hybrid,
the sun. (Discover
December 2002)
In this example,
the adjective cosmic represents the primary system and the noun SUV
refers to the secondary system. By the use of adjectives representing the
primary system, the image is made unequivocal and less ambiguous. The results
of the corpus analysis show that this type of disambiguation is more frequent
in English than in French.
2.4
Quotation marks
The study shows
that quotation marks were used to indicate intentionally incorrect diction employed in order to
make the image decoding easier for the reader:
Perflubron
is such a good oxygen carrier that you can toss a rat into a vat of the stuff and
it won't drown. Its lungs will fill with the liquid, sure, but it will be able
to "breathe" fish-fashion, getting the oxygen out of the
solution and into its blood. (Discover July 2002)
In the
corpus, this use of quotation marks was about 2.5 times more frequent in French
than in English.
3.
Image translation processes
The corpus
analysis was instrumental in developing image translation processes based on
those identified by Newmark; additional translation strategies are highlighted
at the end of the study. These strategies depend on the purpose of the image;
as the study deals with explanatory images, it is important to evaluate how
understandable the referent will be to the reader. As shown in the following
example, it may be appropriate to choose an equivalent referent:
He [Eric Lander] advises a number of biotech
companies and has become the Carl Sagan of biotech, a charismatic
explainer on television programs such as NOVA. (Discover
June 2002)
Véritable Hubert Reeves de la biotechnologie, Eric Lander, vulgarisateur hors pair,
conseille un grand nombre d’entreprises œuvrant dans ce domaine.
Other
translation strategies allow for syntactic differences observed between the two
languages (as seen in the previous example, where the French translation uses
two appositions), and image structure (the type of connecting word in similes,
the type of image).
* * *
Deeb,
Zakia Ali.
Abstract
This thesis
investigates translation problems in translating from English to Arabic.
Despite the fact
that there are some taxonomies available, none is based on empirical research;
moreover, none can be considered comprehensive. The present study provides a
ranked taxonomy of problems in translating from English to Arabic that was
developed through two empirical studies. The first is a case-study of the
researcher translating a published corpus of short translation-class texts.
Since the aim of this project is pedagogical, students of translation were the
target population of the second multi-subject study. Here, 56 undergraduate and
18 postgraduate students in Arabic → English translation classes at
The taxonomy consists
of four levels: supra, main, sub and sub-sub categories. The supra category
includes problems of ST Comprehension and TT Production and problems of
Transfer Process. The main category includes Micro-Language problems,
Macro-Text level problems and Strategies and Techniques problems. The
sub-category includes problems of Grammar, Vocabulary, Spelling, Rhetorical and
stylistic devices, Cohesion, Register and style, Background Knowledge and
Culture. The sub-sub categories include forty seven categories such as problems
of Word order, Fixed Expressions, Spelling Slips, Irony, Omission and
Additions. A tentative ranking of the difficulty of problems is based on three
factors: perceived difficulty, error count and error severity. What
distinguishes the taxonomy formulated in the present study from existing ones
is comprehensiveness, e.g. in combining problems of ST comprehension, TT
production and problems of transfer process, or in combining problems of the
language system and extra-textual problems; and the ranking adds another
dimension.
The thesis consists
of six chapters: Chapter One outlines the theme of the project and presents the
research questions. Chapter Two reviews the relevant literature with an
emphasis on translation problems and errors. Chapter Three presents the
researcher case-study which sets the ground for the multi-subject main-study in
Chapter Four. Chapter Five provides a model of English → Arabic
translation problems as exemplified by the taxonomy of translation problems and
discusses the ranking system used and its outcome.
Chapter Six, Conclusion, evaluates the outcome of the study, assesses the methodology that has been used to investigate the issues set in the research questions and discusses implications for further research.
* * *
Demircioğlu,
Cemal. 2005. From Discourse to Practice: Rethinking
“Translation” (Terceme) and Related Practices of Text Production in the Late
Ottoman Literary Tradition. Doctoral dissertation,
Abstract
The aim of the present thesis is to explore and analyze on various levels concepts of translation in Ottoman culture in the late nineteenth century. Cemal Demircioglu's From Discourse to Practice: Rethinking "Translation" (Terceme) and Related Practices of Text Production in the Late Ottoman Literary Tradition investigates on one level the implications of various discourses on the literary translation activity carried out in this period from the historical-descriptive and systemic perspective in Translation Studies. It also examines the ways in which translation/s contributed to the making of Ottoman literary repertoires in connection with European culture and literature. On another level, it examines culture-specific aspects of Ottoman translation practices, with a special focus on terms and concepts, and suggests rethinking terceme as a culture-bound and time-bound notion of Ottoman translation tradition.
As an exemplary corpus for rethinking "translation" in terms of diverse writing practices, a number of works by Ahmed Midhat Efendi, a significant Tanzimat novelist, translator and journalist, are analyzed with an eye demonstrating diversity, culture-bound and time-bound notions in his translation discourses and practice. The present thesis also offers a comparative analysis of Ahmed Midhat Efendi's summary translation, Sid'in Huldsasi, of Pierre Corneille's Le Cid as a case study. The summary translation was chosen because it combines in a single work both paratextual and translation discourse that lend themselves to the analysis of a particular kind of Ottoman text production via translation.
The present thesis is also the first extensive academic research on the history of Ottoman/Turkish (a) translational terms and concepts, and (b) translational practices. It proposes a genealogy and lexicon of translational terms which is intended for the use of researchers. Most importantly, the thesis emphasizes the importance of the distinctions between time-bound and culture-bound practices of translation as terceme in the study of Ottoman translation history. As a result, the present thesis suggests rethinking "translation" in Ottoman culture not in terms of the modern concept of çeviri but of terceme and related practices, without overlooking historical continuity.
KEYWORDS: culture-bound and time-bound notions of Ottoman translation tradition, çeviri, genealogy of Turkish terms/concepts for translation, literary histories in Turkish, Ahmed Midhat, Ottoman translation history, Ottoman Turkish discourses on translation, summary translation of Pierre Corneille's Le Cid, terceme.
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Dos Santos José Neves, Josélia Maria.
2005. Audiovisual
Translation: subtitling for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing. Doctoral
dissertation,
The present thesis is a
study on Subtitling for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (SDH) with a special focus
on the Portuguese context. On the one hand, it accounts for a descriptive
analysis of SDH in various European countries with the aim of arriving at the
norms that govern present practices and that may be found in the form of
guidelines and / or in actual subtitled products. On the other hand, it is the
result of an Action Research project that wished to contribute towards the
improvement of SDH practises in
This research positions
itself within the theoretical framework of Translation Studies (TS) by taking a
descriptive approach to its main subject: subtitles and subtitling.
Nonetheless, it takes a step beyond to seek reasons and to propose change rather
than to simply describe objects and actions.
Given its topic and
methodological approach, this research also drank from other fields of
knowledge such as Physiology, Deaf Studies, Sociology, Linguistics, Audience Studies
and Cinema Studies, among others. Special attention was given to a thorough
understanding of the social, psycho-cognitive, linguistic and educational
issues that characterise the Deaf as a specific minority with particular needs
in opposition to the hard-of-hearing and deaf who belong to the hearing
majority. The fact that Deaf people read written text in a language that is not
their mother tongue makes it important to understand the de-coding effort that
signing and/or vocalising d/Deaf readers put into the reading of subtitles; a
matter which is equally dealt with in this thesis.
In this context, SDH is
addressed as a service to Deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers – a means to improve
reading skills and to gain greater linguistic competence. In its widest use –
intralingual SDH on television – , it is understood that SDH may become a tool
for the acquisition of the language spoken by the national majority and a step
towards a greater social integration.
In order to arrive at an
encompassing understanding of the subject of SDH, in the body of this work, we
may find a summary of its history (particularly in the countries with the
oldest tradition – the UK and the USA), as well as an overview of the
overriding and specific issues that characterise this type of subtitling both
in its intralingual and interlingual use. In this respect, special attention is
given to general matters such as readability, means of adaptation
(transadaptation), linguistic transfer of acoustic messages, relevance,
coherence and cohesion. A closer look at the specificities of SDH lead to an
analysis of particular issues such as text presentation (font, colour and
layout), the verbal component (from speech to writing and paralinguistic
information) and the non-verbal component (identification, description and
location of the human voice, sound effects and music). Still in the attempt to
gain a better understanding of the process of subtitling, issues such as the
methodological and technical constraints of SDH were equally dealt with to some
extent.
As mentioned before, the
encompassing overview is based on a thorough analysis of a number of guidelines
and style sheets in use by various subtitling companies and broadcasters in
Europe, the United States of America and Australia and by analysing actual
subtitling practices – available on DVDs and on television – so as to arrive at
the norms that are in force in European countries such as the UK, Spain, Italy
and Belgium.
Following this
systematic theoretical overview, the introduction of SDH in the Portuguese
context is made known through the account of five case studies that were
carried out in the course of 2002 and 2004. These case studies, which were
addressed within the parameters of Action Research, allowed for new insights
into matters such as the subtitling profession, the industry and the audiences
as well as those related to subtitler training. All the projects that are
accounted for in part 5.5 were, in practice, important hubs in the process of
making SDH available for Portuguese d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers and
empowering often “invisible” players: the disabled and the
translators/subtitlers themselves.
A practical outcome of
this research is to be found in appendix I – Sistema de Legendagem “Vozes que se Vêem” – which aims to be a
handy guide for pre-prepared SDH in the context of Portuguese television. In
response to the needs and requirements of Portuguese audiences, the proposed
set of guidelines is based on the special concern for adequacy and readability
and is envisaged as a useful tool for students and practitioners of SDH.
Keywords: Audiovisual Translation, Subtitling, SDH, Action Research, Portuguese, Deaf, norms
* * *
Pedersen, Jan. 2007. Scandinavian
Subtitles: A Comparative Study of Subtitling Norms in
Abstract
Subtitling is the most commonly read medium
of all in Scandinavia, and this study contains a survey of audiovisual
translation (AVT), which illustrates the predominance of subtitling over other
forms of AVT in
This study compares Danish and Swedish
subtitles with the object of uncovering Scandinavian norms for television
subtitling. The corpus used consists of 100 contemporary anglophone films and
TV programmes and their Swedish and Danish (+ some Norwegian) subtitles.
The study investigates technical norms of
subtitling, such as exposure times, expected reading speeds, condensation rates
and subtitle density. However, the study focuses on Extralinguistic Cultural
References (ECRs). Generally speaking, ECRs
are references to places, people, institutions, customs, food etc. that you may
not know, even if you know the language in question. Seven main strategies for
rendering ECRs in subtitles are identified: Retention, Specification, Direct
Translation, Generalization, Substitution, Omission and the use of an Official
Equivalent. Factors that influence which strategy is used, such as
Transculturality and Extratextuality, are also identified.
The results for
The most important
finding of this study is that Scandinavian subtitling norms – both technical
and those relating to the rendering of ECRs – are converging or have converged.
While previous research indicates that these norms differed a great deal as
recently as the late 1980s, it now makes sense to talk about pan-Scandinavian
norms, rather than national norms. This development is linked to advances in
subtitling technology and to globalization.
Keywords: audiovisual translation,
subtitling norms, Extralinguistic Cultural References (ECRs), exposure times,
subtitle density, condensation rates
* * *
Gabriela
Saldanha. 2005. Style
of Translation: An exploration of stylistic patterns in the translations of
Margaret Jull Costa and Peter Bush. Doctoral dissertation,
Abstract
The
aim of this study is to identify and explore typical stylistic traits in the
work of two translators, using a corpus-based, data-driven methodology. After over
a decade of translation research using corpus methodology, I argue here that it
is time to look at the larger picture presented by the data gathered so far in
order to review and refine the initial assumptions. Most of the work done in
corpus-based translation studies has attempted to reveal regularities in
translation, both at the level of norms and universals. This has proven to be a
fruitful line of research, but it has also sidelined the study of variation
within translation corpora. A brief overview of some studies of normalisation
and related tendencies (Chapter One) shows that one recurring factor
influencing the results seems to be translators' individual preferences.
As
Baker (2000) points out, the traditional view of style associates it exclusively
with 'original' texts. This traditional perspective on style implies that
literary artistry can be found only in 'originals', and that translation is
only interesting because of the problems involved in reproducing literary
creativity. Current work in translation studies has questioned the association
of source text with original and target text with reproduction, stressing the
translator's discursive presence in the translated text (Hermans 1996, Bosseaux
2004a, 2004b,) and the creative aspects of translation (Kenny 2001).
Baker
(2000) suggests that translators have a style of their own, and that corpus
methodologies can be used to reveal translators' stylistic profiles. However,
most studies of translator’s style carried out to date have reached very
tentative conclusions. In particular, they have failed to show that the
stylistic patterns revealed in target texts do not reflect source text
preferences (Baker 2000; Olohan 2003; Mikkhailov and Miia Villikka 2001); or
that they are consistent across more than one work by the same translator
(Bosseaux 2001; Winters 2004a, 2004b, Malmkjær 2003). This study attempts to
provide more conclusive evidence of consistent
stylistic preferences in translators' work, by using a parallel corpus
including several translations by two translators (Margaret Jull Costa and
Peter Bush).
Drawing
from the field of literary stylistics, particularly from Halliday (1971), Leech
and Short (1981), and Millic (1971), and forensic stylistics (Craig 1999), I
revisit the notion of translator style proposed by Baker (2000) and offer a
more refined version of her model (Chapter Two). This model involves the
identification of consistent stylistic patterns that can be attributed to a
translator, and relies on the use of a parallel corpus, followed by
consideration of extra-linguistic factors that may offer plausible explanations
for the patterns identified.
In
Chapter Three I describe the process of designing and building a corpus
specifically for the study of translator style. Two parallel corpora are built
for the purposes of the present study: the Corpus of Translations by Margaret
Jull Costa (CTMJC) and the Corpus of Translations by Peter Bush (CTPB). The
method of analysis is inductive and progresses from the gathering of empirical
observations, to the examination of the effects of different variables, and
from there to generalisations. This approach is described as data-oriented. No
concrete hypotheses are formulated as to what the stylistic traits
characterising the two translators' work might be; rather, the analysis unfolds
from the study of one typographic feature (italics) which may have several
unrelated functions in the text. The most salient quantitative patterns, and in
particular those that are found to point to differences in the work of the two
translators, are then examined in more detail. Where a consistent pattern is
revealed, a qualitative analysis is carried out with the aim of describing the
communicative function of the stylistic patterns and their effects at the
ideational, interpersonal and textual levels of language. Finally, the results
are triangulated with data obtained from interviews with the translators and
from the analysis of metatexts. These data also provide the basis for an
explanation of the results in terms of audience design.
The
bulk of the analysis presented in this thesis concerns two stylistic features:
the use of italics for emphasis (Chapter Four) and the use of source language
words, in particular cultural borrowings and self-referential words (Chapter
Five). The results concerning emphatic italics are explained in the light of
previous research which suggests that italics can facilitate and guide
interpretation (McAteer 1990) and the Hallidayan (1967) notion of information
focus. The communicative function of source language words in the translations
is explored by drawing on Hermans’ (1996) treatment of self-referentiality and
Aixelá's (1996) treatment of culture-specificity in translation. It is argued
that, underlying the use of emphatic italics and some of the instances of
cultural borrowing, there is a tendency to facilitate the reader's
interpretation. This leads to a discussion of explicitation in translation and
to a further study, modelled on Olohan and Baker (2000), focusing on patterns of use and omission of
the connective 'that' after reporting verbs SAY and TELL.
In Chapter Six, I present a summary of the stylistic effects of the features investigated and consider the different extra-linguistic factors that may have influenced each translator’s approach. The extra-linguistic factors taken into account are: the socio-economic context, the translator's background, the reception of each translator’s work, the translator's project and position (Berman 1995) and the horizon of translation (ibid). When the results are presented in the light of this information, two explanatory frameworks emerge as potentially capable of accounting for the translators' motivation: Venuti's (1995, 1998) domestication versus foreignisation model, and audience design in translation (Hatim and Mason 1997, Mason 2001). The first model is discarded as not replicable, and because it would lead to unwarranted conclusions regarding the translators' ideological positions in relation to translation. The model of audience design in translation, however, is found to provide an adequate framework. The different approaches revealed by the translators' stylistic preferences are then explained as deriving from their different conceptualisations of their role as translators in relation to their audiences. A short conclusion evaluates the findings and the methodology and offers suggestions for further research.
* *
*
Shih,
Yi-Yi. 2006. Translator’s revision processes: global revision
approaches and strategic revision behaviours. Doctoral dissertation,
Abstract
Revision is one of the most important
aspects in the translation process; however, it is rarely investigated
empirically in its own right in translation studies, particularly after the
first draft. This research project aims to find out when, how, in what
circumstances and why translators revise after the first draft. Two
perspectives are adopted for this investigation: translators’ global revision
approaches and their cognitive revision behaviours, using two research methods,
namely interview and think-aloud protocols.
Twenty-six non-literary professional translators were first interviewed
and ten of them were asked to think-aloud while translating and revising a
chosen text. Our findings suggest that good translation/revision practice
recommended by translators’ trainers and what professional translators actually
do in their practice are two separate matters, particularly in terms of the
numbers of run-throughs, the length of drawer-time and finally the need to
refer back to the ST in revision. In spite of this, translators are also found
to follow trainers’ advice to a certain extent, particularly regarding their
revision checked-for items and priorities in these items.
As
to what revision involves and why it occurs, it is found that when translators
revise, they on the one hand read and process the TT in its own right and
handle revision problems as they go along. On the other hand, they also
actively search for potential problems in their TT, possibly with
translation/revision maxims in mind. In terms of how and in what circumstances
translators revise, the majority of them are found to manage their time and
efforts rather similarly, by concentrating mostly on processing and producing
the first draft. Yet there is also a second peak in their processing time and
efforts particularly after a break. In addition, translators also tend to
process the TT in longer chunks without backtracking in later stages of
revision. To examine these and other issues in depth, a cognitive model
illustrating the interplay between translators’ revision problem-solving and
decision-making behaviours is mapped out. Finally, implications for translation
pedagogy and future research recommendations are made.
* * *
Schröter, Thorsten. 2005. Shun the Pun, Rescue the Rhyme? The Dubbing and Subtitling of
Language-Play in Film. Doctoral dissertation,
The
full text can be downloaded from http://www.diva-portal.org/kau/undergraduate/abstract.xsql?dbid=704
Abstract
Language-play
can briefly be described as the wilful manipulation of the peculiarities of a
linguistic system in a way that draws attention to these peculiarities
themselves, thereby causing a communicative and cognitive effect that goes
beyond the conveyance of propositional meaning. Among the various phenomena
answering this description are the different kinds of puns, but also more
strictly form-based manipulations such as rhymes and alliteration, in addition
to a host of other, sometimes even fuzzier, subcategories. Due to its unusual
nature, and especially its frequently strong dependence on the idiosyncrasies
of a particular language, language-play can generally be assumed to constitute
a significant challenge in a translation context. Furthermore, given its
non-negligible effects, the translator is not free to simply ignore the
language-play (provided it has been recognized as such in the first place)
without having taken an active stance on its treatment. However, the
difficulties in finding a suitable target-language solution are possibly
exacerbated if the source text is a complex multimedia product such as a film,
the translation of which, normally in the form of dubbing or subtitling, is
subject to additional constraints.
In view of these intricacies, it has been the aim of this study to
analyze and measure how language-play in film has actually been treated in
authentic
dubbing
and subtitle versions. As a prerequisite, the concept of language-play has been
elaborated on, and more than a dozen subcategories have been described,
developed, and employed. For the purpose of carrying out a meaningful analysis
of the dubbing and subtitling of language-play, a corpus has been compiled, comprising 18 family films and
99 of their various target versions, most on DVD, and yielding nearly 800
source-text instances of language-play and thousands of translation solutions.
The results indicate that especially two sets of factors, among the
many that are likely to influence a translation, play a prominent role: the
type of the language-play, and the identity and working conditions of the
translator. By contrast, the mode of translation (dubbing vs. subtitling), the
target language, or the general properties of the films, could not be shown to
have a sizeable impact.
Keywords: family
films, screen translation, dubbing, subtitling, compensation, humour,
language-play, wordplay, puns, metaphors, similes, idioms, modified
expressions, play with foreign words, nonce formations, play with grammar,
rhymes, half-rhymes, alliteration, repetition.
* * *
Recently published book:
Montes Fernández, Antonia. 2007. Traducción
y globalización: Análisis y perspectivas del fenómeno publicitario
(inglés-español-alemán). Granada: Editorial Comares. ISBN 978-84-9836-268-0