[New publication] Perspectives, 2019: 27 (3)

Perspectives: Studies in Translation Theory and Practice

Volume 27, Issue 3

Link to this issue: https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rmps20/current

Into the language of museum audio descriptions: a corpus-based study, by Elisa Perego

Abstract: The paper portrays a linguistic and textual analysis of a corpus of 18 museum audio descriptions (ADs) (a fairly neglected area of accessibility and audiovisual translation research) in order to pinpoint the salient features of this text type and relate them to current AD literature and guidelines. Results show that scripted and recorded museum AD texts comply with recommendations only partially. They guarantee vivid, imaginative and diverse language as well as substantial text informativity through the combination of high lexical diversity and the extensive use of descriptive adjectives as well as substantial lexical density. In spite of the use of short words, however, museum ADs seem more lexically and syntactically complex than expected, with their use of opaque technical terms, heavy adjectival phrases and long sentences. More systematic and contrastive research will help to (dis)confirm these results, whereas audience reception research will contribute to determine the real degree of usability of these new text types.

Of bad hombres and nasty women; the quality of the live closed captioning in the 2016 US final presidential debate, by Nazaret Fresno

Abstract: After decades of dedicating good efforts to increase the amount of television programing accessible to the hearing impaired, awareness about the need to deliver better closed captions has grown in the last years. As a result, the focus has been moved from the quantity to the quality of the accessibility services provided. In an attempt to explore the subtitles currently delivered on television, this paper presents the main findings of a study aimed at analyzing the quality of the live closed captions provided during one of the most relevant political events of 2016: the final presidential debate in the United States. A corpus of more than 9,400 captions was analyzed according to the quality criteria defined by the Federal Communications Commission. The results obtained shed light on the completeness, placement, synchronicity and accuracy of the captions, but they also elicit interesting questions in terms of reception.

Using translation strategies to solve cultural translation problems. Differences between students and professional translators, by Christian Olalla-Soler

Abstract: The translation strategies used to solve cultural translation problems were analysed in different levels of acquisition of the translator’s cultural competence. Thirty-eight BA students in Translation and Interpreting at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and ten professional translators translated a text containing cultural translation problems from German (L3) into Spanish (L1). The strategies based on internal support (automatised and non-automatised cognitive resources) and the strategies based on external support (the use of different documentation sources) used when translating the text were recorded using a screen-recording software. Results indicate that, while professional translators apply internal support strategies with good quality results, students are not capable of applying them, despite the fact that doing so is related to better results than those obtained when using external support strategies. Translation students tend to apply the same type of strategies regardless of the year they are in, suggesting that training may have had little impact on their strategy choices. A multinomial regression analysis revealed that factors such as the subjects’ level of knowledge of German culture and the nature of each cultural translation problem influenced the choice of each strategy, suggesting that translation strategies are linked to the translator’s cultural competence and translation competence.

Pseudotranslation, intertextuality and metafictionality: three case studies of pseudotranslation from early twentieth-century China, by Jane Qian Liu

Abstract: The turn of the twentieth century saw a growing number of works of pseudotranslation in China. Pseudotranslation engages with authentic translation on three levels: textual, generic and discursive. It engages with authentic translations on the textual level because sometimes authors of pseudotranslation borrow various semantic units, such as words, phrases or passages, from authentic translations to construct their own disguised works. More importantly, pseudotranslation can be considered to be referring intertextually to the genre of translation, where genre is conceived as the specific norms and stylistic characteristics of literary translation. Pseudotranslation may also refer to specific discourses, that is, it makes use of certain discourses embodied in and represented by translations, as well as the source texts they represent. These three levels of intertextual engagement foreground the metafictional nature of pseudotranslation, that is, the way it reflects on and refracts authentic translations and domestic cultural and literary traditions. Three case studies of pseudotranslation in China at the beginning of the twentieth century are provided to illustrate and explore the three levels of intertextual engagement.

Translators revising translators: a fruitful alliance, by Maialen Marin-Lacarta and Mireia Vargas-Urp

Abstract: This article discusses the revision process in a non-profit digital publisher led by translators and aims to fill the research gap with regard to the revision process in literary translation. ¡Hjckrrh! is a non-profit publishing initiative that has published 21 e-books translated from 7 different languages, with the collaboration of 14 translators. This article discusses the revision process in ¡Hjckrrh! by documenting the making of two e-books. We use multiple sources of data collection: 16 in-depth interviews with participants (translators, revisers, a proofreader, the cover designer); participants’ reflective diaries; fieldnotes from our participant observation in the form of reflective diaries; e-mail correspondence between the participants; translation drafts; and drafts of the paratexts. This article describes the workflow and provides an overview of the revision process in ¡Hjckrrh!. The article pays special attention to the negotiation of decisions and the interactions between the actors. The conclusions show that translators appreciate a detailed revision and are willing to take part in the final decision making. The detailed documentation of the process shows that the boundaries between the various revision stages are blurred and that the revision of style and language permeates the whole process.

The past and future of translation studies in South Korea, by Hyang Lee and Won Jun Nam

Abstract: Translation Studies has largely centered around Western translation traditions but the discipline is developing rapidly in other parts of the world. In recognition of the growing diversity of translation research, this paper presents an overview of how Translation Studies became institutionalized in South Korea over the past two decades. We start by tracing the history of local training institutions, journals, and doctoral programs related to the discipline. We examine the main actors involved in founding each type of institution, their motivations and needs, and how that determined the character of these institutions. We then identify the most prevalent research interests of South Korean translation scholars by analyzing PhD dissertations and articles published in major local journals. Finally, we look at the external and internal challenges facing Translation Studies in South Korea today and stress the importance of collaboration among local translation scholars as well as with international scholars.

Predictors of ear-voice span, a corpus-based study with special reference to sex, by Camille Collard and Bart Defrancq

Abstract: This paper reports on a study on Ear-Voice Span (EVS) carried out on corpus data drawn from the European Parliament Interpreting Corpus Ghent, where sex is included as a predictor alongside several other variables. Ear-Voice Span is considered to be an indicator of cognitive processes in simultaneous interpreting and has therefore been selected to determine whether potential cognitive sex differences trigger different EVS patterns in men and women. Differences between men and women are reported in individual studies for tasks that are crucial to interpreting. However, meta-analyses tend to show that the reported cognitive differences between the sexes are exaggerated. This study uses corpus-based research methods to analyse the EVS of male and female interpreters in the European Parliament against the background of other known predictors of EVS. The data sample consists of 180 source texts and interpretations in six language pairs. The hypothesis was not confirmed as no sex differences were found. This research project helped identify relevant predictors of EVS: delivery rate, languages and interpreter’s disfluencies.

Do translation memories affect translations? Final results of the TRACE project, by Adrià Martín Mo

Abstract: Since their appearance in the translation field, computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools and, notably, translation memories (TMs) have drawn the attention of academia. Research evidence has, for instance, pointed towards an increase in translators’ productivity when using TMs, and some scholars have warned about possible implications of their use. The TRACE project, carried out by the Tradumàtica research group at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, set out to explore the possible effects of these tools on the translation product. This article focuses specifically on linguistic interference, a phenomenon that, it has been suggested, might be a translation universal. Through experimental research, using a multi-methodological approach and a combination of different data-gathering resources, translations were conducted, with and without TMs, by 90 subjects. The experiments provide interesting data on the distribution of interference according to the environment in which they are carried out, as well as on the differences between different translator profiles.