RECENT PUBLICATIONS

OCTOBER 2006

MONOGRAPHS

Hansen, Gyde. 2006. Erfolgreich Übersetzen. Entdecken und Beheben von Störquellen. Tübingen: Narr/Francke/Attempto. Translationswissenschaft, Band 3.

Es handelt sich um eine empirische Untersuchung des Zusammenhangs zwischen Übersetzungsprozessen, Übersetzerprofilen und Übersetzungsprodukten mit dem Zweck, die Ursachen von Problemen und Fehlern zu entdecken und die Qualität von Übersetzungsprozessen und -produkten zu verbessern. Dabei werden in einem phänomenologischen, interdisziplinären Ansatz mehrere quantitative und qualitative Methoden und Daten kombiniert und die Ergebnisse trianguliert. Durch die Vernetzung bei der Analyse der einzelnen Datenkategorien aus Profilen, Prozessen und Produkten, und durch Kontrollversuche wird versucht, trotz aller subjektiven Einflüsse einen hohen Grad an Sicherheit der Analyseergebnisse zu erreichen. Die Forschungsergebnisse lassen sich in der Praxis sofort anwenden. Die Methodik kann auch auf weitere Sprachenpaare angewendet werden. Für die Fremdsprachenerwerbsforschung ist interessant, dass ganz ähnliches Verhalten trotz guter Fremdsprachenkenntnisse zu ganz verschiedenen Ergebnissen führen kann – und dies aufgrund von Störquellen.

Osimo, Bruno. 2004. Traduzione e qualità. La valutazione in ambito accademico e professionale. Milano: Hoepli. ISBN 8820333864. [book in Italian on translation assessment at university, on the market, on criticism]

Popovič, Anton. 2006 La scienza della traduzione, edited by Bruno Osimo, Hoepli, Milano, 2006. [Italian edition of Popovič's famous classic]

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COLLECTIVE VOLUMES

Bastin, Georges and Paul Bandia (eds). 2006. Charting the future of translation history. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press. ISBN : 0776606247

Over the last 30 years, we have witnessed significant progress in the field of translation history which has become a viable independent research area within translation studies. This book aims at claiming such autonomy for the field with renewed vigor. It explores issues related to methodology as well as a variety of discourses on history with a view to laying the groundwork for new avenues, new models, new methods. It challenges existing theoretical and ideological frameworks. It looks toward the future of history. From micro-history, archaeology, periodization, to issues of subjectivity and postmodernism, methodological lacunae are being filled.

Contributors to this volume go far beyond the text to uncover the role translation has played in many different time and settings such as Europe, Africa, Latin America, the Middle-East and Asia from the 6th century to the 20th. These contributions, which deal variously with the discourses on methodology and history, recast the discipline of translation history in a new light and pave the way to the future of research and teaching in the field.

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Grbic, Nadja & Sonja Pöllabauer (eds). 2006. Ich habe mich ganz peinlich gefühlt. Forschung zum Kommunaldolmetschen in Österreich: Problemstellungen, Perspektiven und Potenziale. Graz: Institut für Translationswissenschaft, Universität Graz.

* A particularly interesting collective volume on various aspects of community interpreting in Austria. Informative, indicative of serious reflection and investigative work on the subject at the University of Graz. Recommended reading (DG)

Grbic, Nadja & Sonja Pöllbauer. Forschung zum Community Interpreting im deutschprachigen Raum: Entwicklung, Themen und Trends. p. 11-36.

* One of the rare scientometric studies in TS so far. A look at publications on community interpreting and sign-language interpreting in German-speaking countries, analyzing a data base of 533 items from Austria, Germany and Switzerland. More than 90% of the items were written in German, with 5% in English, 1% in French and the rest as German translations of foreign-language texts. 39% of the authors come from TS, 9% from linguistics and 7% from the medical (and paramedical?) field. About half of the items were published in journals, about a quarter in collective volumes and about an eigth in graduation theses, most of which were completed in Hamburg, Graz and Vienna. Zeichen, a journal devoted to sign-language interpreting, is by far the leader in terms of the number of papers published (91 out of 257 papers published in journals). Number two is the German MDÜ (with 11 items), followed by Sozial- and Präventivemedizin (9 items). 292 out of 406 authors only wrote one paper, and only 92 wrote 2 to 4 papers. The most productive authors, who happen to work on medical interpreting, are Bernd Meyer, with 20 papers, Salman Ramazan (19 papers) and Alexander Bischoff (16 papers). These are just a few data from this interesting survey which shows trends in community and sign-language interpreting in German-speaking countries.

Obermayer, Catherine. Von Alphatieren und schwarzen Schafen. Typolosierungsversuche im Dolmetschbereich. 39-71.

* A discussion of both the terms and the classifications found in the literature for different types and modes of interpretihng.

Moazedi, Maryam Laura. Von Samurai und Samaritern: Status, Image und Persönlichkeit unterschiedlicher Dolmetschtypen. p. 73-98.

* A description of differences in the image and status of various categories of interpreters, followed by a personality test among interpreting students at the University of Graz which showed no difference between personalities of those wishing to become conference interpreters, court interpreters, community interpreters etc.

Marics, Alexandra.Mis fa:him walla e:? Ein diskursanalytischer Beitrag zum Laiendolmetschen. p. 101-138.

* An analysis of recordings of interaction between Egyptian-Arabic speaking clients and Austrians through a non-professional interpreter. The examples show strategies, in particular with gestures. The author highlights some advantages of using such non-professional interpreters, who, she argues, often become effective third parties.

Rajič, Kristina. Die „Familienaußenminister“ Kinder als Sprach- und KulturministerInnen – eine empirische Erhebung. p. 139-178.

* A questionnaire survey of 92 children and teenagers in Graz who serve as interpreters for their relatives and friends. Questions about their language mastery in German and in their family’s language, conflicts between their traditional role in the family and their interpreting role, psychological difficulties in their action as interpreters.

Uluköylü, Sevgi. „…manchmal streite ich auch.” Sprach- und Kulturmittlung für türkische Migrantinnen im medinischen Bereich. p. 181-228.

* A report on interviews with 6 interpreters working in medical settings and 7 medical staff. The starting hypothesis was that the role and duties of medical interpreters are not very clear. This is a highly informative paper based on a 2005 diploma thesis, which discusses attitudes, competence levels, cultural issues etc. The comparative outlook of the medical staff and the interpreters in matters pertaining to medical interpreting is particularly interesting.

Cagala, Elfi. Eine Frage der Menschlichkeit? Psychotherapie traumatisierter Flüchtlinge mit Dolmetscherinnenbeteiligung. p. 229-260.

* A particularly informative paper on the nature of trauma, on trauma in refugees and people in exile, on psychotherapy with people suffering from trauma and its potential risks for psychotherapists and on the position of the interpreter in the psychotherapy process. Interesting, instructive reading which gives depth to the interpreter’s role in such circumstances.

Nuč, Aleksandra. Wenn Welten aufeinander treffen… Dolmetschen in der Psychotherapie. p. 261-296.

* An interview-based study of 6 interpreters working in psychotherapy, which looks inter alia at the role of interpreters as perceived by them.

Fuchs, Anna. Traducir, trasladar, transmitir… Dolmetschen für indigene Sprachen in Guatemala. p. 299-339.

* Interestingly, this paper, which focuses on the situation of indigenous groups in Guatemala, takes partly an ethnological approach (in particular though interviews of informants and field observation) and shows the author’s awareness of methodological issues in such an approach. It provides considerable background information of a historical, political and sociolinguistic nature before moving on to interpreting issues, mostly between Spanish and indigenous languages, which are similar to those found in other parts of the world in terms of training, of interpreter status and interpreter roles, of denial of linguistic right to defendants…

Daneshmayeh, Marion. Eine kritische Analyse von Ausbildungsprogrammen im Bereich des Community Interpreting. p. 341-376.

* Another informative paper comparing 42 selected training programs for community interpreters and highlighting differences between more advanced and less advanced countries

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PAPERS IN JOURNALS

Hansen, Gyde. 2006. Retrospection methods in translator training and translation research. In Journal of Specialised Translation, JoSTrans 5. 2-40.

This article presents the results of the Copenhagen Retrospection Project which was carried out at CBS in 2004 in connection with research in translation processes. It is a systematic comparison of several methods for introspection, the Integrated Problem and Decision Report (IPDR) by Gile (2004), Retrospection with Replay with Translog (R+Rp) and Retrospection with Replay combined with cognitive clarification via an immediate dialogue (ID) between the subject and the observer (R+Rp+ID). The methods were tested and compared in terms of their applicability, their influence on the number of problems and decisions mentioned by the subjects, the amount of information each of them provides, their long-term effect on trainees, as well as their general value for translator training and translation research. The most important results are that they all contribute to raising awareness of the translation process and that they - though they differ in many respects, especially as to source consultation - are suited to be used complementarily, both together and combined with other methods.

Hansen, Gyde. 2005. Experience and emotion in empirical translation research.

Meta 50: 511-521.

Two important questions, which are raised repeatedly in empirical process-oriented translation research with different kinds of introspection, are discussed: 1. Does concurrent verbalization, like think- aloud, have an influence on the translation process and 2. What do we actually learn from introspective methods like think-aloud and retrospection? Based on ideas from modern psychology and brain research, it is argued that think-aloud must have an impact on the translation process. Furthermore, it is suggested that it is not only spontaneous, unmodified thoughts about the actual task that are verbalized, but also memories, reflections, justifications, explanations, emotions and experiences.

Osimo, Bruno. 2002. On psychological aspects of translation. Sign Systems Studies 30:2. 607-627. Tartu University Press, Tartu, ISBN 9985-56-711-0 [article in English]

Osimo, Bruno. 2003. Strange, very strange, like in a dream: Borders and translations in ‘Strogij Yunosha’. Sign Systems Studies 31:1. 177-189. Tartu University Press, Tartu, ISBN 9985-56-832-X. [translation-science-tools-oriented review of a Soviet film]

Osimo, Bruno. 2005. A translation with (apparently) no originals. Sign Systems Studies 33:2. 473-476. Department of Semiotics, Tartu University [review in English of Eco's book Dire quasi la stessa cosa]