1887
Volume 4, Issue 2
  • ISSN 2352-1805
  • E-ISSN: 2352-1813
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine possible uses of translation in language teaching in the beginner-level language classroom. In particular, it analyses students’ performance in the translation of e-mails of refusal from Japanese to English before and after a series of five study sessions. The results show a significant change in students’ performance before and after the sessions. Before the study sessions, students largely focused on the transfer of the referential meanings of words and syntactic structure. In contrast, after the sessions, students took into consideration a range of the factors at stake in translation, including the relationship between the writer and reader, the nature of e-mails, and the writer’s intentions/feelings. Based on these results, this paper argues that (1) translation activities enable beginner students to act as cultural mediators between the writer of the source text and the reader of the target text, by mitigating potentially offensive acts to the reader; and (2) they encourage students to be more conscious of their choice of words and of the consequences of those choices.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/ttmc.00011.gyo
2018-04-26
2024-12-05
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Ariyoshi, Hiroiki
    . Twitter Post. 12October 2013, 0:56 AM. https://twitter.com/ariyoshihiroiki/status/389057045644574721.
  2. Beaven, Tita , and Inma Álvarez
    2004 “Translation Skills for Intercultural Purposes: An on-Line Course for Non-Specialist Learners of Spanish.” Language, Culture and Curriculum17 (2): 97–108. doi: 10.1080/07908310408666686.
    https://doi.org/10.1080/07908310408666686 [Google Scholar]
  3. Blackledge, Adrian , and Angela Creese
    2010Multilingualism: A Critical Perspective. London: Continuum.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Brown, Penelope , and Stephen C. Levinson
    1987Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Byram, Michael
    1997Teaching and Assessing Intercultural Communicative Competence. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Carreres, Ángeles
    2014 “Translation as a Means and as an End: Reassessing the Divide.” The Interpreter and Translator Trainer8 (1): 123–135. doi: 10.1080/1750399X.2014.908561.
    https://doi.org/10.1080/1750399X.2014.908561 [Google Scholar]
  7. Carreres, Ángeles , and María Noriega-Sánchez
    2011 “Translation in Language Teaching: Insights from Professional Translator Training.” The Language Learning Journal39 (3): 281–297. doi: 10.1080/09571736.2011.567356.
    https://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2011.567356 [Google Scholar]
  8. Colina, Sonia
    2002 “Second Language Acquisition, Language Teaching and Translation Studies.” The Translator8 (1): 1–24. doi: 10.1080/13556509.2002.10799114.
    https://doi.org/10.1080/13556509.2002.10799114 [Google Scholar]
  9. Cook, Guy
    2010Translation in Language Teaching: An Argument for Reassessment. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Council of Europe
    Council of Europe 2001Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Elorza, Izaskun
    2008 “Promoting Intercultural Competence in the FL/SL Classroom: Translations as Sources of Data.” Language and Intercultural Communication8 (4): 261–277. doi: 10.1080/14708470802303090.
    https://doi.org/10.1080/14708470802303090 [Google Scholar]
  12. Empire
    Empire 2013 “ Gwyneth Paltrow Talks Iron Man 3 .” Empireonline.comwww.empireonline.com/interviews/interview.asp?IID=1670.
  13. García, Ofelia
    2009Bilingual Education in the 21st Century: A Global Perspective. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. García, Ofelia , and Li Wei
    2014Translanguaging: Language, Bilingualism and Education. Hampshire, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.10.1057/9781137385765
    https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137385765 [Google Scholar]
  15. González Davies, Maria
    2004Multiple Voices in the Translation Classroom: Activities, Tasks, and Projects. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. doi: 10.1075/btl.54
    https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.54 [Google Scholar]
  16. Gyogi, Eiko , and Vivian Lee
    2016 “Reflections of Own vs. Other Culture.” International Journal of Bias, Identity and Diversities in Education1(2): 15–28.10.4018/IJBIDE.2016070102
    https://doi.org/10.4018/IJBIDE.2016070102 [Google Scholar]
  17. Gyogi, Eiko
    2015a “Critical Cultural Awareness in Language Classrooms through Translation: A Reflection on the Use of Katakana.” InAnd Translation Changed the World (and the World Changed Translation), ed. by Alberto Fuertes , and Ester Torres-Simón , 61–73. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. 2015b “Is a Style Shift Grammatically Incorrect?: An Indexical Approach to Teaching Speech Styles.” BATJ Journal16: 1–18.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. 2015c “Voices from the Japanese Language Classroom: Honorifics Do Far More than Politeness.” InTeaching and Learning (Im)politeness, ed. by Barbara Pizziconi , and Miriam Locher , 53–78. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. doi: 10.1515/9781501501654‑004
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501501654-004 [Google Scholar]
  20. 2016 “From Following Norms to Choosing Styles: Awareness of Indexical Properties of Speech Styles among Intermediate Japanese Students.” Japanese Language and Literature50 (2): 375–403.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Halliday, M. A. K.
    1985An Introduction to Functional Grammar. London: Arnold.
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Halliday, M. A. K. , and Christian M. I. M. Matthiessen
    2004An Introduction to Functional Grammar. 3rd ed.London: Hodder Arnold.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Hanzawa Naoki Directed by Hidenori Iyoda and Kazuyoshi Ida 2013 Tokyo: TC Entertainment. DVD.
    [Google Scholar]
  24. House, Juliane
    2008 “Using Translation to Improve Pragmatic Competence.” InInvestigating Pragmatics in Foreign Language Learning, Teaching and Testing, ed. by Eva Alcón Soler , and Alicia Martínez-Flor , 135–152. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Jääskeläinen, Ritta
    2010 “Think-Aloud Protocol.” InHandbook of Translation Studies Volume 1, ed. by Yves Gambier , and Luc Van Doorslaer , 371–373. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. doi: 10.1075/hts.1.thi1
    https://doi.org/10.1075/hts.1.thi1 [Google Scholar]
  26. Källkvist, Marie
    2013 “Languaging in Translation Tasks Used in a University Setting: Particular Potential for Student Agency?” The Modern Language Journal97 (1): 217–238. doi: 10.1111/j.1540‑4781.2013.01430.x.
    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2013.01430.x [Google Scholar]
  27. Károly, Adrienn
    2014 “Translation in Foreign Language Teaching: A Case Study from a Functional Perspective.” Linguistics and Education25: 90–107. doi: 10.1016/j.linged.2013.09.009.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2013.09.009 [Google Scholar]
  28. Katan, David
    1996 “The Translator as Cultural Mediator.” Quaderno96: 1–19.
    [Google Scholar]
  29. 2009 “Translation as Intercultural Communication.” InThe Routledge Companion to Translation Studies, ed. by Jeremy Munday , 74–92. London: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  30. Kelly, Niamh , and Jennifer Bruen
    2015 “Translation as a Pedagogical Tool in the Foreign Language Classroom: A Qualitative Study of Attitudes and Behaviours.” Language Teaching Research19 (2): 150–168. doi: 10.1177/1362168814541720.
    https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168814541720 [Google Scholar]
  31. Kramsch, Claire
    2008 “Ecological Perspectives on Foreign Language Education.” Language Teaching41 (3): 389–408. doi: 10.1017/S0261444808005065.
    https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444808005065 [Google Scholar]
  32. 2009The Multilingual Subject: What Foreign Language Learners Say about Their Experience and Why It Matters. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  33. 2012 “Why Foreign Language Teachers Need to Have a Multilingual Outlook and What That Means for Their Teaching Practice.” Muitas Vozes1 (2): 181–188. doi: 10.5212/MuitasVozes.v.1i2.0002.
    https://doi.org/10.5212/MuitasVozes.v.1i2.0002 [Google Scholar]
  34. Kyary Pamyu Pamyu
    . Twitter Post. 2February 2013 8:19 PM. https://twitter.com/pamyurin/status/297665658609606656/photo/1.
  35. Laviosa, Sara
    2014Translation and Language Education: Pedagogic Approaches Explored. London: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  36. Leonardi, Vanessa
    2010The Role of Pedagogical Translation in Second Language Acquisition: From Theory to Practice. Bern: Peter Lang.10.3726/978‑3‑0351‑0071‑6
    https://doi.org/10.3726/978-3-0351-0071-6 [Google Scholar]
  37. Liddicoat, Anthony J.
    2016 “Intercultural Mediation, Intercultural Communication and Translation.” Perspectives24 (3): 354–364. doi: 10.1080/0907676X.2014.980279.
    https://doi.org/10.1080/0907676X.2014.980279 [Google Scholar]
  38. Machida, Sayuki
    2008 “A Step Forward to Using Translation to Teach a Foreign/second Language.” Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching5 (1): 140–155.
    [Google Scholar]
  39. 2011 “Translation in Teaching a Foreign (second) Language: A Methodological Perspective.” Journal of Language Teaching and Research2 (4): 740–746. doi: 10.4304/jltr.2.4.740‑746.
    https://doi.org/10.4304/jltr.2.4.740-746 [Google Scholar]
  40. Martin, Jim
    2010 “Language Register and Genre.” InApplied Linguistics Methods: A Reader: Systemic Functional Linguistics, Critical Discourse Analysis and Ethnography, ed. by Caroline Coffin , Theresa Lillis , and Kieran O’Halloran , 12–32. London: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  41. MLA Ad Hoc Committee on Foreign Languages
    MLA Ad Hoc Committee on Foreign Languages 2007 “Foreign Languages and Higher Education: New Structures for a Changing World.” www.mla.org/pdf/forlang_news_pdf.pdf.
  42. Olk, Harald
    2001 “‘This Side of the Rhine’: Implausibility in Translation Texts.” The Language Learning Journal24 (1): 12–16. doi: 10.1080/09571730185200161.
    https://doi.org/10.1080/09571730185200161 [Google Scholar]
  43. Pym, Anthony , Kirsten Malmkjær , and María del Mar Gutiérrez-Colón Plana
    2013Translation and Language Learning: The Role of Translation in the Teaching of Languages in the European Union: A Study. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
    [Google Scholar]
  44. Reiss, Katharina
    1981 “Type, Kind and Individuality of Text: Decision Making in Translation.” Poetics Today2 (4): 121–131. doi: 10.2307/1772491.
    https://doi.org/10.2307/1772491 [Google Scholar]
  45. Sakura, Momoko
    2003Chibimarukochan 2 [Chibimaruko 2]. Tokyo: Shueisha.
    [Google Scholar]
  46. Scarino, Angela
    2016 “Reconceptualising Translation as Intercultural Mediation: A Renewed Place in Language Learning.” Perspectives24 (3): 470–485. doi: 10.1080/0907676X.2015.1022192.
    https://doi.org/10.1080/0907676X.2015.1022192 [Google Scholar]
  47. Stern, Hans Heinrich
    1992Issues and Options in Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  48. Stiefel, Lisa
    2009 “Translation as a Means to Intercultural Communicative Competence.” InTranslation in Second Language Learning and Teaching, ed. by Arnd Witte , Theo Harden , and Alessandra Ramos de Oliveira Harden , 99–118. Oxford: Peter Lang.
    [Google Scholar]
  49. Three A Network
    Three A Network 1998aMinna no nihongo shokyū I honsatsu [Japanese for Everyone Beginners I Main Book]. Tokyo: Three A Network.
    [Google Scholar]
  50. Three A Network
    Three A Network 1998bMinna no nihongo shokyū II honsatsu [Japanese for Everyone Beginners II Main Book]. Tokyo: Three A Network.
    [Google Scholar]
  51. Tobidase dōbutsu no mori: shoshun 2013 [Animal Crossing: Early Spring]. Television Commercial. Nintendo.
  52. Tsagari, Dina , and Georgios Floros
    eds. 2013Translation in Language Teaching and Assessment. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars.
    [Google Scholar]
  53. Venuti, Lawrence
    1995The Translator’s Invisibility. London: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780203360064
    https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203360064 [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/ttmc.00011.gyo
Loading
/content/journals/10.1075/ttmc.00011.gyo
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): beginner-level; cultural mediator; English; Japanese; translation in language teaching
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error