Translation and Translanguaging in Multilingual Contexts - Volume 7, Issue 3, 2021

Abstract

Translanguaging refers to the way in which multilingual individuals draw on their full linguistic repertoires, rather than adhering to narrow use of one named language. This concept has important sociolinguistic significance because it enables individuals to move beyond colonial structures of power and liberates the language practices of multilinguals. The purpose of this research is to investigate the phenomenon of translanguaging in Indian writing in English, using two anthologies, She Speaks (Ray et al. 2019) and She Celebrates (Choudhury et al. 2020), as data sources. Focusing on stories contained in these anthologies as case studies, the research describes linguistic, cultural and stylistic effects of translanguaging used in these works, in which Indian writers portray their characters engaging in translanguaging as a way of ‘Indianising’ the English language. In line with accounts of the process of translanguaging as culture-specific, the study reveals that often authors and their characters use translanguaging because forms of usage can be difficult to translate – or at least to translate in a way that conveys the meaning those forms have in the original, vernacular context. The study demonstrates how work at the intersection of literary studies and linguistics can illuminate cross-cultural aspects of fiction writing.

Abstract

Building on the framework of translanguaging both as individuals’ flexible language practices and classroom pedagogy, this article reports on a case study that examined perceptions and practices of pedagogical translanguaging among a group of teachers from elementary school classrooms with emergent bilingual learners in a Mid-Atlantic U.S. school district. The analysis shows a range of transformations in the teachers’ perceptions and practices as well as their perceived and structural challenges in implementing pedagogical translanguaging for content-integrated literacy instruction. The findings point towards the complexity of pedagogical translanguaging in superdiverse classrooms and address the need for expanded empirical research on pedagogical translanguaging.

Abstract

This article reports on a study of English subtitles of Persian Ostensible Offer of Money (POOM). The first stage of this study involved identifying instances of POOM in Iranian films on the basis of their locutions (forms) and culture-specific contextual features and underlying concepts. At this stage we highlighted the potential problems that may be encountered when relaying the meaning of POOMs in English, and described the translation strategies used by the subtitlers. In order to corroborate our findings, we also conducted a survey of the perceptions of non-Iranian viewers. On the basis of our analysis, we conclude that, owing to subtitling restrictions such as space and time, subtitlers can rely on information provided in the preceding and following scenes of instances of POOM as well as dialogues, audiences’ familiarity with Persian culture, and similarities with other cultures in order to avoid mistranslations or misunderstandings.

Abstract

The translation policy model by González Núñez (2013, 475) comprises three elements, namely “translation management”, “translation practices”, and “translation beliefs”. While the first two elements of this model are straightforward and easy to study in top-down approaches, translation beliefs can relate both to policymakers and policy receivers. However, the distinction has not been clearly made in this model and the element of translation beliefs has been chiefly treated in the literature as though it comes from the top levels of policymaking, hence overlooking the bottom-up aspects of it (see González Núñez 2014, 2016; Li et al. 2017). In order to improve this model, the present paper draws on the audience reception theory (Hall 1973), and shows that the current translation policy model requires a fourth element that I would call ‘translation reception’. The paper draws on the findings of a reception-oriented case study on translation policies in provincial broadcasting in Iran. This study argues that a more inclusive model of translation policy should not only include the authority-level elements of translation management, translation practices, and translation beliefs, but also the element of translation reception on the part of policy receivers. This way, I hope, the end users’ involvement in and contribution to the translation policy network will not be overlooked in subsequent research.

This article reviews Translating for (and from) the Italian Screen. Dubbing and Subtitles9781599541419

This article reviews Testing and Assessment of Interpreting: Recent Developments in China9789811585548

This article reviews The Translation of European Union Legislation: A Corpus-based Study of Norms and Modality9788879169288