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- Volume 69, Issue 5, 2023
Babel - Volume 69, Issue 5, 2023
Volume 69, Issue 5, 2023
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Power dynamics in Egypt’s censorship of Gibran’s The Prophet
Author(s): Hisham M. Alipp.: 581–597 (17)More LessAbstractAfter more than seventy years, when Kahlil Gibran’s 1923 masterpiece The Prophet had circulated freely in Egypt, censorship authorities banned the book in 1999 and 2011. This article explores the sociopolitical context surrounding the censorship of The Prophet and its Arabic translations, with a particular focus on the power play between censors and different agents and the strategies employed by the latter to revoke the ban on the book. The extent and intensity of power intervention speak to this case study’s significance. Qualitative analysis of English and Arabic press material is utilized to gain insights into the censors’ reports and the responses of different sociopolitical agents. This is paired with compiling and analyzing a dataset of bibliographical information on the editions of The Prophet’s Arabic translations published in Egypt between 1999 and 2022. The findings point to a decentralized system of censorship exercised by several ministries and religious institutions with competing interests. It is argued that the survival of The Prophet in the face of multiple bans can be attributed to shifting sociopolitical conditions, discordant politics of powerful agents, and international pressure.
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Danmu-assisted learning through back translation
Author(s): Xuemei Chenpp.: 598–624 (27)More LessAbstractBased on a new type of online data, danmu comments, this article examines the reception of the English-dubbed Chinese drama Journey to the West (Season II). This drama was adapted from a classic Chinese novel of the same title. Studies on dubbing reception have focused on how audiences understand and appreciate dubbing products. However, this article approaches dubbing reception from the perspective of usability, conceiving reception as using translations for certain purposes. I first collected danmu comments on the dubbed version from Bilibili, the most popular danmu video-sharing website in China. A multimodal discourse analysis of these comments shows that the dubbed Journey has been used for Chinese viewers to learn English. Danmu interface functions like a “blackboard” to provide back translations for viewers, helping them better understand the English lines. By proposing the concept “danmu-assisted learning through back translation,” this study argues that dubbed material could be useful in language learning. Such informal language learning may inspire the industry to develop a danmu-based learning software for foreign languages, which could be applied in a pedagogical setting. This article reveals new temporal features of danmu subtitling, including antecedent, concurrent, and delayed danmu translations, potentially facilitating learning in various ways. It also contributes methodologically to AVT reception studies by using danmu comments to study viewers in a naturalistic setting without researcher intervention.
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From classical to cosmopolitan
Author(s): Anna Georgepp.: 625–640 (16)More LessAbstractThis paper addresses the unique challenges a translator would have when translating a text from a postcolonial country, especially one that has significance amongst the language speakers, such as Cilapattikaram. This paper compares three English translations of Cilapattikaram, a centuries-old Tamil poem that has an undeniable significance among the Tamil-speaking population. By analyzing three English translations of Cilapattikaram, done in the 1930s, 1960s, and 1990s, respectively, the paper examines how translation situated in the political space of decolonization and regional identity affects the text for a better understanding of the dilemmas of the translator and the effect of translation has on the meanings of the text.
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Rewriting the Indian other
Author(s): Mohammed Hamdanpp.: 641–665 (25)More LessAbstractThis article reexamines the colonial representation of Indians in Rudyard Kipling’s “The Story of Muhammad Din” through a postcolonial resistant translation from English to Arabic. Set in India, Kipling’s short story depicts the buried Anglo-Indian conflict between the world perspectives of an adult Englishman and an Indian child. To this Indian child, Muhammad Din, existence is situated at the crossroads of an intense personal and national struggle for power, freedom, and independence. The dominant presence of the colonial law, which is embodied in the English doctor’s presumed authority and strict medical discourse in Kipling’s narrative, fashions a negative and inferior representation of Muhammad Din and his father Imam. Moreover, the impersonal style of narration, which is noted in the final scene of Muhammad’s death, enhances a colonial desire of the English to accentuate a rigorous sense of Englishness and national superiority that cannot be compromised. By offering a postcolonial translation of Kipling’s story in Arabic, however, Arab readers re-conceptualize or re-imagine othered Indians – here Muhammad Din – as central post-colonial agents who also function as vital sources of artistic or creative power that is necessary to deflate colonial authoritative agency in Kipling’s colonial text.
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Technology preparedness and translator training
Author(s): Hari Venkatesanpp.: 666–703 (38)More LessAbstractWith increasing acknowledgment of enhanced quality now achievable by Machine Translation, new possibilities have emerged through collaboration between human and machine in the translation process, including providing varying qualities of translation in response to quality/efficiency requirements. This paper presents surveys of post-graduate students of translation conducted over four consecutive years to examine if their awareness and preparedness have kept pace with these possibilities. It is found that respondents across the years generally perceive their awareness as lacking, are hesitant in employing MT, and show marked reservations when reconsidering issues such as quality and the preeminent position of the human translator. A review of existing research in translator training points towards a lopsided emphasis on linguistic competence and standalone courses for introducing technology as the primary cause behind low adoption. The need of the hour is translator training that fully integrates technology in the translation process and also provides a clear framework to adjust quality/efficiency is important to ensure preparedness. A repeat survey of students from 2021 who were trained under this model shows an increase in willingness to use MT and to consider quality as dependent on intended use. The focus here is on Chinese-English translation, but the discussion may find resonance with other language pairs.
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Review of Robinson (2023): Priming Translation Cognitive, Affective, and Social Factors
Author(s): Ferdi Bozkurtpp.: 704–707 (4)More LessThis article reviews Priming Translation Cognitive, Affective, and Social Factors
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Review of Caimotto & Raus (2023): Lifestyle Politics in Translation: The Shaping and Re-shaping of Ideological Discourse
Author(s): Jan Butspp.: 708–711 (4)More LessThis article reviews Lifestyle Politics in Translation: The Shaping and Re-shaping of Ideological Discourse
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Review of Tesseur (2023): Translation as Social Justice: Translation Policies and Practices in Non-Governmental Organizations
Author(s): Marija Todorovapp.: 712–715 (4)More LessThis article reviews Translation as Social Justice: Translation Policies and Practices in Non-Governmental Organizations
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Review of Yu (2022): Online Collaborative Translation in China and Beyond: Community, Practice, and Identity
Author(s): Boyi Huangpp.: 716–719 (4)More LessThis article reviews Online Collaborative Translation in China and Beyond: Community, Practice, and Identity
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Review of Pięta, Bueno Maia & Torres-Simón (2022): Indirect Translation Explained
Author(s): Mengyuan Zhoupp.: 720–723 (4)More LessThis article reviews Indirect Translation Explained
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)
Most Read This Month

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The Myth of the Negro Past
Author(s): Melville J. Herskovits
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Can "Metaphor" Be Translated?
Author(s): Menachem Dagut
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