Babel - Volume 71, Issue 5, 2025

Abstract

Despite the relevance of positive psychology in education and decades of scholarly research in related fields, translation studies has yet to thoroughly examine the psychological constructs that affect translation students’ performance and emotional functioning. To address this gap in the psychology of translation education, this paper explores the potential impact of grit and self-efficacy — two constructs from positive psychology — on the academic achievement of Iranian trainee translators, as indicated by their cumulative grade point average. A sample of 264 translation students from various Iranian universities participated in the survey, completing self-report measures of grit, self-efficacy, and academic achievement. To investigate causal relationships among the research variables, structural equation modeling was employed. The preliminary findings revealed positive correlations between the components of grit and academic achievement, while self-efficacy did not show a significant correlation with academic achievement. The contributions of grit and self-efficacy to academic achievement were also analyzed through mediation analysis. It was determined that self-efficacy influenced academic achievement through the mediation of grit, indicating that grit components act as a mediator in the relationship between self-efficacy and academic achievement. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that trainee translators who exhibit higher levels of grit and self-efficacy are more likely to succeed academically.

Abstract

This study investigates Veed-AI’s Arabic subtitles of English taboo expressions in the movie The Wolf of Wall Street. Using a mixed-methods approach that combines quantitative and qualitative analyses, the study examines the accuracy, cultural appropriateness, and effectiveness of subtitling procedures. The quantitative analysis involves categorizing and quantifying the frequency of different types of taboo expressions: sexual, scatological, and religious, along with their relevant translation procedures. The findings show that Veed-AI mainly employs understatement and omission as euphemistic strategies to convey the meaning and tone of the source text. However, while understatement falters in several instances regarding language fluency, omission compromises the discursive emphatic function of taboo expressions and adversely affects the flow of discourse. Additionally, Veed-AI presents some cases of incomprehensible transliteration and several instances of inappropriate literal translation due to a lack of contextual comprehension, resulting in subtitles that often lack cultural resonance or contextual accuracy.

Abstract

In the recent yet widely explored research field of translation studies, little scholarly attention has been paid to contemporary Sinophone literature and especially to the genre of poetry, despite its paramount importance within the Chinese literary tradition. This paper attempts to contribute to the understanding of the complex phenomenon of poetic self-translation in the translingual and translational Sinosphere by probing the lyrical self-translation of Chris Song. Song is a contemporary poet, scholar, and editor born in China and now residing in Toronto, who attunes his acquired Anglophone self with his original Sinophone identity, which in turn comprises both Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese. Song’s views on such activity expressed via his responses to my queries are presented alongside my critical reflection on his poetics of self-translation, carried out through a close reading of his bilingual lyrical collection Zishi zhi hua 自噬之花 / mirror me (2017).

Abstract

Translation is inextricably woven into the fabric of society, both shaped by and shaping the societal contexts in which it operates. This intrinsic connection underscores the inherent socialness of translation. Yet, the interplay between translation and society is not unidirectional; societal existence and evolution are, to varying degrees, contingent upon translation, suggesting a fundamental translationality within social structures. This study examines the multifaceted manifestations of translation’s socialness, evident in its outputs, methodologies, roles, and underlying values. Concurrently, it explores society’s translational qualities, particularly in interpersonal exchanges, knowledge creation and dissemination, societal advancement, and global governance mechanisms. The research further posits that the socialness of translation and the translationality of society engage in a complex dance of mutual reinforcement and potential impediment. By advocating for a more nuanced integration of perspectives from translation studies and sociology, this paper aims to deepen our understanding of the intricate relationship between translation and society, thereby advancing the emerging field of sociological translation studies.

Abstract

This article looks at Ta-wei Chi’s short stories “Yinwei wo zhuang” 因為我壯 (“Because I am strong,” 1995) and “Xiang zao” 香皂 (“Soap,” 1996) and their English translations by Fran Martin, “I’m Not Stupid” and “The Scent of HIV” in a 1998 issue of AntiThesis: A Transdisciplinary Postgraduate Journal by the University of Melbourne. These texts provide a unique example of Chi’s challenging of the presuppositions about what cultures hold unacceptable or unspeakable within the context of cultural prejudices or taboos in 1990s Taiwan. Through a close reading of the two short stories in both Chinese and in their English translations, this article demonstrates that the translations indicate a complex, hybrid process that engages questions of contesting heteronormative, hegemonic values of the target culture while at the same time negotiating the challenges of the source texts within the larger context of translating queer literary texts from Chinese into English. Drawing on Marc Démont’s three modes of translating queer texts, I argue that Martin’s translations index an amalgam of minoritising translation and queering translation. This article proposes that a queer critique of an existing translation helps expose the hidden (re)workings of cultural, linguistic and sexual hegemony in a queer literary text that can be potentially explored or exploited. Furthermore, by shedding light on the production of readings, this article argues that queer translation draws attention to multiple potentials to undo the binaries that have authenticated and naturalised our language, knowledge and ways of thinking about sex and sexuality.

This article reviews Routledge Handbook of East Asian Translation

This article reviews Transfiction: Characters in Search of Translation Studies

This article reviews Inclusion, Diversity and Innovation in Translation Education

This article reviews Critical Approaches to Institutional Translation and Interpreting: Challenging Epistemologies

This article reviews Machine Translation and Foreign Language Learning