Target. International Journal of Translation Studies - Volume 14, Issue 2, 2002

This paper reports on a study in which subjects were asked to distinguish translations from originally produced (non-translated) texts. The aim was to identify the linguistic features shared by texts assumed to be translations, as well as those shared by texts assumed to be originally produced. The results show (i) that translations were not readily identifiable, and (ii) that the feature that seemed to guide the subjects’ decisions was the frequency vs. scarcity of target language specific (unique) items in the texts: their frequency led subjects to assume ― correctly or incorrectly ― that a text was original rather than translated. It is concluded that the unique items in non-translations vs. translations deserve further research in respect of their frequency and the impressions they make on readers.

In think-aloud protocol studies of cognitive processes in translation, the analysis of TAPs very often results in the description of overall characteristics of the processes of individual translators or proficiency groups of translators. The problem with this approach is that it does not allow the researcher to draw conclusions about the actual organisation of the cognitive processes and its effects on text quality. In writing research, functional dependency of cognitive processes ― the fact that the context, function and effect of different cognitive processes varies according to the moment in the process on which they occur ― was demonstrated by Rijlaarsdam and Van den Bergh (1996). In the present paper the idea is developed that in translation process research, the inclusion of time as a variable may also prove to be useful in improving understanding of the effect of process characteristics on process outcome. A dynamic approach, in which a translation process is viewed and analysed as belonging to a changing task situation, is proposed.

In this article it is suggested that the translation of speech-act report verbs may provide scope for achieving stylistic and pragmatic aims. Analysis of the translation of fictional dialogues from a contemporary English novel reveals considerable diversity in the choice of Spanish verbs used to render ‘said’ in the context of impositive directive speech acts. While the choice of a speech act with similar illocutionary force to “said” may fulfil only stylistic objectives, a pragmatic dimension is introduced by the selection of a speech-act verb with a different force. In the context of impositive directive speech acts such a choice may be viewed as an aspect of “pragmastylistics”, defined in Hickey et al. (1993) as “the area where pragmatic and stylistic considerations converge.”

Ever since the 18th century revival of Hebrew literature, translation has been considered an efficient tool for ideological manipulation. Christianity has been a traditional candidate for such manipulation. Fear and hatred of the “younger” religion may have accounted for the subversive treatment of Christian elements in Hebrew texts. Strategies varied, depending on period and norm, mostly involving omission of undesirable material, but often converting the text into a more acceptable ideological type. Ben-Hur: A tale of the Christ (1880) by Lew Wallace is one of the novels most translated and most tampered with, and due to its predominantly Christian character, it can serve as an illuminating case study both for the subversion of Christian elements and for the more “creative” conversion into the “Few against Many” or “Jewish bravura against the Roman Empire” model.

Children’s literature, a traditional domain of teachers and librarians, has, in the past 30 years, been made a subject of academic research. Simultaneously, more and more studies have been dedicated to the translation of children’s literature. There are four important factors which have prompted such studies: (1) the assumption that translated children’s books build bridges between different cultures, (2) text-specific challenges to the translator, (3) the polysystem theory which classifies children’s literature as a subsystem of minor prestige within literature, and (4) the age-specific addressees either as implied or as real readers. This review of critical approaches to the translation of children’s literature is structured in such a way that the methodological shift from source orientation to target orientation becomes obvious.

A few years ago I proposed a new ‘cognitive-pragmatic’ approach to understanding simultaneous interpretation (Setton 1999) which has, gratifyingly, been acknowledged in several reviews, including one in these pages (Target 13:1 (2001, 177–183). The editor has kindly let me use it as an opportunity to clear up some misunderstandings, respond to some stimulating challenges, and try to develop some recent ideas on how to operationalise the paradigm.