Babel - Volume 65, Issue 2, 2019

Abstract

Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales have been popular among Chinese readers since they were introduced to China through translation a century ago. This paper studies the translation of Andersen’s fairy tales in China by focusing on prominent Chinese translators of Andersen and their landmark translations. Regarding translation as a social activity, the author attempts to interpret the behaviour of the translator in terms of the historical context in which it occurred, as well as the corresponding ideology of literature. It is argued that the language styles and translating strategies adopted by the translators of different ages have varied according to the translator’s understanding of the original works, his purpose of translating, the publishers’ interests and the readers’ expectations in the target culture, as well as the image of Andersen constructed in the socio-cultural context from which the translation emerged. Therefore, the translation practice, which has contributed to the canonization of Andersen in China, is a process of the translators’ negotiations with the fluid Chinese poetics and ideology of the 20th century.

Abstract

The role of the interlinguistic-intercultural and social mediator (IISM) is acquiring increasing relevance in societies that receive immigrants. Nevertheless, training has not yet been regulated. This article analyses the specific linguistic needs and practices of such mediators in the context of Spanish speaking immigration to German speaking countries. It can be observed that not only does the IISM require specialised linguistic terminology but also specialised training at the level of communicative functions. This article examines one highly relevant example of such communicative functions, that of indirect speech. In German, indirect speech is rich in expressive complexity and diversity. This means that from a Spanish-German comparative viewpoint this aspect is particularly sensitive and merits special emphasis in the training of the IISM.

Abstract

Often excluded from Chaucer’s modernizations or heavily censored, The Miller’s Tale over the centuries has been stigmatized as bawdy, obscene and, as such, unfit for the general reader. The article briefly reviews the history of the modernization of The Miller’s Tale in the 18th–19th centuries and focuses on its four major 20th-early 21st-century translations into modern English to find out how the motives of decency might have determined the translators’ choices where it concerns the tale’s explicit language. The argument of decency appears to be a lame excuse for the failure of many of Chaucer’s modernizers to understand the true purport and place of The Miller’s Tale in the overall composition of The Canterbury Tales, as well as to appreciate Chaucer’s literary achievement in representing through his characters’ narratives the spirit and mindset of his age.

Abstract

This study aims to investigate and identify the connotative equivalence of taboo words in American hip hop/musical movies and their Arabic correspondence in the subtitle/Audiovisual Translation (AVT). The sample of this study consists of English subtitles and their Arabic fansubs of three of the most profane American hip hop movies: 8 Mile, Straight Outta Compton, and All Eyez on Me. The study analyzed the data qualitatively and quantitatively. The researchers adopted Ljung’s (2011) typology of swearing to identify the connotative functions of the English taboo words and examine how the corresponding Arabic translation conforms to them. The findings revealed that the Arab fan subtitler managed to translate these tabooed terms in Arabic using certain translation techniques, viz. euphemisms and omission. These are both mainly used for the same reason, i.e. cultural constraints. The subtitler used the ‘euphemistic swearing’ technique where the word remains a swear-word but the degree of offense and insult is milder and toned down (Montagu 1967). The Arabic subtitles in the selected sample correspond to the connotative functions of English taboo words to a significant extent only when the translator used the euphemism technique. But the connotative functions misfired when the translator resorted to omission. Finally, the research provides some implications for translators when facing such hurdles in translation.

Abstract

In the post-modern world where thinking of pluralism and relativism is prevalent (Honeysett 2002), fundamental values such as respect for life pertinent to the health and welfare of humanity should remain unchanged in order to preserve the culture from corrosion. In this paper, through examining creativity in translation and creative writing (Zawawy 2008; Perteghella and Loffredo 2006), macro- and micro- strategies of translating a Chinese prose into an English play will be discussed, with the aim to explore the notion, “creativity is culturally variable” (Carter 2016) in literary translation. I would concur with Ludwig Wittgenstein who stated, “ethics and aesthetics are one” (1961), and argue that genres and forms of expression might vary in cross-cultural translation, semantic content and message should still be unaltered. Literary translators can act as cultural mediators to advocate peace. So to “develop an understanding of translation strategies and of the vital role that creativity plays throughout the translation/interpreting process” (Levý in Beylard-Ozeroff, Králová and Moser-Mercer 1998) can help translators build bridges rather than promote violence, to foster diversity rather than divisiveness. As such, I would explore how a translator can translate cultures with respect, integrity and creativity in the midst of tensions, confrontations and conflicts due to misunderstandings linguistically and culturally. As Vezzaro (2010: 10) put it, “to come closer to feeling compassion, which is what writing and translating is ultimately all about.” This will call for efforts to translate texts with faithfulness and the right degree of creativity (Grassilli 2014), making good decisions at individual levels and beyond. This will also require cultural understanding and collaboration at national and even international levels.

Abstract

This study aims at exploring the phenomenon of psychological transportation in translation from an experimental approach. Firstly, we investigate whether the emotions depicted in source texts may influence the level of transportation experienced by translators. Secondly, we try to determine whether different levels of transportation in the texts can make a difference in terms of translation performance. Based on previous work about narrative transportation in products of fiction, as well as the phenomenon known as the “paradox of pleasurable sadness”, we depart from the hypothesis that sad texts lead to a higher degree of psychological transportation than happy texts (H1). Taking into account previous theories and empirical results about the benefits of visualization and emotional engagement in translation, we also predict that highly-transported participants will render higher-quality (H2) and more creative translations (H3) than low-transported participants. For this purpose, a pilot study was conducted consisting of two literary translation tasks with opposing-valence texts (happy vs. sad). Lack of statistically significant differences for our hypothesis suggests that some adjustments in the methodology would be needed to achieve conclusive results; however, we believe that further research on the impact of transportation in translation quality and creativity is still worthwhile.

Abstract

The topic-chain is a typical characteristic used to distinguish Chinese discourse from other languages, such as English. By studying how to make use of the topic-chain, one learns how to decipher English into natural and idiomatic Chinese translation. The idea of using topic-chains to explore English-Chinese (E-C) textual translation is relatively new to translation studies. As such, this paper provides a detailed account of cross-linguistic differences between English and Chinese, with regard to the topic-chain, as well as the differences between the topic-chain model and the approach of thematic progression theory. This study, based on contrastive analysis, constructs a model consisting of specific procedures that are simple and easy to use, thereby making English-Chinese textual translation a more manageable process. Use of topic-chain strategies will promote the efficiency and quality of E-C translation, and allow for Chinese translated text to be more idiomatic. This paper provides an overview of effective textual translation strategies that are useful both for translators and the field of translation studies as a whole. It addresses how to teach translation effectively to students, providing practical theory and practice for pedagogical instruction. Meanwhile, an experiment conducted provides the evidence that topic-chain for pedagogical instruction is significantly valid. The pedagogical design of these strategies emphasizes the training of students’ textual awareness and targets language-sensitive awareness. It is assumed that didactics can help students gain bilingual competence and strengthen their core transfer competence. This study, therefore, is significant not only in exploring the benefits and uses of textual translation studies, but has practical value when applied directly to translation learning and teaching.

Abstract

Repetition is a common literary device that can be used to create associative networks within a text, parallel structures suggesting similarities in meaning, or a wide span of effects ranging from monotony to excitement. If repetition is a common literary device, then it follows that its translation is a common challenge for the literary translator. However, translators tend to avoid repetition and by doing so often fail to recreate the function the repetition fulfils in the source text. Using Michael Cunningham’s literary travelogue Lands End: A walk in Provincetown and its German translation as a case study, in this paper I will have a closer look at the literary function of repetition and how omitting the repetition in the target text can affect the text’s meaning potential. In addition, I will discuss alternative solutions that maintain the literary function in the target text. In particular, I will argue that the target text does not necessarily need to mirror the linguistic form of the source-text repetition, but can employ other stylistic means to recreate its literary function in the target text.

This article reviews Audiovisual translation: Theoretical and methodological challenges