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- Volume 66, Issue 3, 2020
Babel - Volume 66, Issue 3, 2020
Volume 66, Issue 3, 2020
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English as a lingua franca (ELF) in Chinese fansubbers’ practices
Author(s): Tzu-yi Elaine Leepp.: 365–380 (16)More LessAbstractAs a global phenomenon, English as a lingua franca (ELF) has been rigorously researched in many fields but completely ignored in translation studies. Based on a previous study, this study accordingly sets out to investigate the ELF phenomenon in the fansubbing culture with a specific focus on the notes and comments by fansubbers, arguing that fansubbing as a practice creates a space for dialogue between fan translators and their viewers that leads to the ‘empowerment’ of fansubbers as linguistic and cultural mediators. By examining specific screenshots of headnotes and comments by amateur translators with regard to six seasons of the TV series Rizzoli & Isles, this paper discusses background reasons for ELF applied by fansubbers, the implications of the ELF phenomenon in fansubbing culture, and the potential effects of fansubbing upon the audience in contradistinction to the effects of commercial subtitling and upon the translation profession as a whole. Finally, this article hopes to shed light on Chinese fansubbers who in fact blur the traditional distinction between professional and amateur subtitling, and concludes that the specific language practices fansubbers are engaged in show – as both fans and translators – an unlimited degree of latitude from mainstream subtitling.
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translating a weighty matter
Author(s): Vanessa Eversonpp.: 381–392 (12)More LessAbstractThe purpose of this article is to examine certain cultural and ethical aspects which make the translator’s task arduous. Firstly, it is demonstrated that the indissolubility of language and culture (Nida 2002) means that the translator must possess high-level cultural competency and an understanding of context (Herbulot 2004). Secondly, by applying Narrative Theory to translation (Baker 2006), the article highlights ethical considerations associated with translating certain narratives and advances Fisher’s narrative paradigm as a possible response (Fisher 1984, 1985, 1997). Citing the example of a translated, contemporary, African novel (Mouanda Kibinde 2004, 2015), the translator-author’s ethical responsibility of prioritizing the reader of the translated text (Leclercq 2002) is examined against the backdrop of reception theory (Rosenblatt 1969, 1978 (1994)). The article concludes by suggesting which courses of action are open to the translator, in the face of weighty, cultural and ethical constraints (Ortega y Gasset 2013).
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Translating swear words from English into Galician in film subtitles
Author(s): Francisco Javier Díaz-Pérezpp.: 393–419 (27)More LessAbstractAs stated by Jay and Janschewitz (2008), the primary pragmatic function of swear words is to express emotions, such as anger and frustration. The main objective of the present paper is to analyse the translation of the two commonest English swear words, fuck and shit (Jay 2009: 156) – together with their morphological variants – into Galician. The research instrument used for this purpose has been the Veiga Corpus, a bilingual English-Galician corpus of subtitles. Regarding the results obtained in this study, the most frequent solution has been pragmatic correspondence, followed by omission, softening, and de-swearing. However, descending in the analysis, clear differences emerge between the treatment of the two words. Thus, the tendency to sanitize the Galician subtitles by omitting, neutralizing or smoothing swearwords is much more evident in the case of fuck. This finding may be explained by the difference in tone between the two taboo words analysed. As shit is considered milder, translators may feel there is no need to tone it down. In addition, while shit has a literal translation which is perfectly natural in Galician, that is not the case with fuck. Finally, the grammatical category variable has also been found to have an effect on the choice of translation solution.
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Turkish translations of Lolita
Author(s): Nilüfer Denissovapp.: 420–433 (14)More LessAbstractThis paper presents the results of research on translations of Nabokov’s Lolita into Turkish. Two of the translations were published under different names, but a closer look reveals that these target texts are identical, except for a difference in the character Lolita’s age; she is shown to be twelve in one translation and fourteen in the other. Apart from this, images of body and sex in the text are, to a certain degree, expurgated. Based on the data, I discuss the issues of authorship and (self) censorship in translation, as well as traditional cultural norms and the position of translator when she chooses to adapt to those norms or to question them.
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Language interference in English-Chinese simultaneous interpreting with and without text
Author(s): Xingcheng Ma and Andrew K. F. Cheungpp.: 434–456 (23)More LessAbstractThis study investigated the effect of source language interference during English-Chinese simultaneous interpreting (SI) with and without text by examining the relationships between manifestations of language interference and interpreting modes. A corpus-based descriptive approach was used to investigate language interference during English-Chinese interpreting at various sessions of the United Nations General Assembly. An intermodal comparison was carried out in three dimensions, addressing (1) the general linguistic properties of the interpreted texts; (2) the distribution of reformulation strategies; and (3) strategies for interpreting passive constructions and attributive clauses, two structures representing structural asymmetries between English and Chinese. The results indicated that the interpreted texts produced by SI with text and SI without text showed different degrees of language interference.
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Cultural adaptations
Author(s): Anne Becker, Yuko Asano-Cavanagh and Grace Zhangpp.: 457–483 (27)More LessAbstractLinguistic and pragmatic aspects of the translation of politeness in contemporary novels were examined under the theoretical framework of Descriptive Translation Studies (DTS) (Toury 1995) and Newmark’s functional theory (1988). The analysis revealed that linguistic expressions tied to socio-cultural meaning and values were often neutralised due to the avoidance of creating non-normal target text expressions. Normalising culture-specific expressions was a strategy adopted by translators, enabling target language readers to relate to the stories according to their own cultural understanding. Notable differences in strategies to render texts were found across translators. From an educational perspective, this research provides realistic examples for intercultural language teaching and learning. An important implication is that the findings highlight the fact that, unlike European languages that share roots with English, a universal theory and approach to translation is not viable due to socio-cultural meaning and values that are specific to Japanese culture. The study also contributes to social psychology and consideration of the role of culture in understanding universal and culturally specific values and the attribution of meaning in collectivist and individualist societies.
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Las metafunciones de Halliday en traducción
Author(s): Eirini Chatzikoumipp.: 484–504 (21)More LessAbstractThis article addresses the contribution of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) to translation and, specifically, the use of Halliday’s metafunctions in translation studies research. The aim is to provide the state of the art of the main findings and proposals of these studies regarding the role of metafunctions in translation and translation teaching, thus evaluating their relevance and applicability in this field. In order to achieve this, six studies were reviewed, three of them dedicated to metafunctional shifts and three to the use of metafunctions in translation teaching and evaluation. This critical bibliographic review allowed for the corroboration of the contribution of SFL to the field of translation, and for the deduction of relevant aspects for future research and teaching proposals. More precisely, the relevance of the incorporation of semantic metafunctions in translator training and evaluation is confirmed, and the possibility of a distinction between obligatory and optional metafunctional translation shifts is suggested.
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Translation, rewriting and formation of Singapore’s bilingual education policy
pp.: 505–529 (25)More LessAbstractIndividuals inevitably have their own perception of Singapore’s bilingual education policy, especially those who experienced its formation and history from the pre-independence days of the 1950s to the 1980s. The book, My Lifelong Challenge: Singapore’s Bilingual Journey by Lee Kuan Yew, the founding Prime Minister of Singapore, provides much information and insights into this part of history. Through the comparison of the English and Chinese editions, this paper discusses the poetics, patronage and ideological differences related to the reasons for the translation and rewriting by Lee Kuan Yew of the Chinese edition. It suggests that Lee Kuan Yew had different intentions for the English and Chinese editions in relation to the respective readerships; as regards the English readership, the author intends the readers to gain knowledge of the historical background and to emphasize to them the importance of Mother Tongue; as regards the Chinese readership, he seeks to address any misunderstandings and misgivings towards the government that this group of readers may have and to gain their support for the bilingual policy.
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Clíona Ní Ríordáin and Stephanie Schwerter (eds). Speaking like a Spanish Cow: Cultural Errors in Translation
Author(s): Virginia Mattiolipp.: 530–535 (6)More LessThis article reviews Speaking like a Spanish Cow: Cultural Errors in Translation
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Adolfo M. García. The neurocognition of translation and interpreting
Author(s): Yan Hepp.: 536–541 (6)More LessThis article reviews The Neurocognition of Translation and Interpreting
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Sun Yifeng. Translating foreign otherness cross-cultural anxiety in modern China
Author(s): Jing Yupp.: 542–547 (6)More LessThis article reviews Translating foreign otherness cross-cultural anxiety in modern China
Volumes & issues
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Volume 71 (2025)
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Volume 70 (2024)
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Volume 69 (2023)
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Volume 68 (2022)
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Volume 67 (2021)
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Volume 66 (2020)
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Volume 65 (2019)
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Volume 64 (2018)
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Volume 63 (2017)
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Volume 62 (2016)
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Volume 61 (2015)
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Volume 60 (2014)
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Volume 59 (2013)
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Volume 58 (2012)
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Volume 57 (2011)
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Volume 56 (2010)
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Volume 55 (2009)
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Volume 54 (2008)
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Volume 53 (2007)
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Volume 52 (2006)
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Volume 51 (2005)
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Volume 50 (2004)
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Volume 49 (2003)
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Volume 48 (2002)
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Volume 47 (2001)
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Volume 46 (2000)
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Volume 45 (1999)
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Volume 44 (1998)
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Volume 43 (1997)
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Volume 42 (1996)
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Volume 41 (1995)
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Volume 40 (1994)
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Volume 39 (1993)
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Volume 38 (1992)
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Volume 37 (1991)
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Volume 36 (1990)
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Volume 35 (1989)
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Volume 34 (1988)
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Volume 33 (1987)
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Volume 32 (1986)
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Volume 31 (1985)
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Volume 30 (1984)
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Volume 29 (1983)
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Volume 28 (1982)
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Volume 27 (1981)
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Volume 26 (1980)
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Volume 25 (1979)
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Volume 24 (1978)
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Volume 23 (1977)
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Volume 22 (1976)
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Volume 21 (1975)
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Volume 20 (1974)
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Volume 19 (1973)
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Volume 18 (1972)
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Volume 17 (1971)
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Volume 16 (1970)
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Volume 15 (1969)
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Volume 14 (1968)
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Volume 13 (1967)
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Volume 12 (1966)
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Volume 11 (1965)
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Volume 10 (1964)
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Volume 9 (1963)
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Volume 8 (1962)
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Volume 7 (1961)
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Volume 6 (1960)
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Volume 5 (1959)
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Volume 4 (1958)
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Volume 3 (1957)
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Volume 2 (1956)
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Volume 1 (1955)
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