bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Clause Combining, Ergativity, and Coreferent Deletion in Kurmanji
Authors: Matras Yaron
Published: January 2011

A distinction is commonly made between morphological or surface ergativity, and syntactic or deep ergativity, based on what Dixon has termed the "pivot" behavior (S/A vs. S/O) of a language. Since marked constructions enable an S/A pivot to function even in some deep ergative languages, deep or syntactic ergativity might be interpreted as gradational, depending on the degree to which ergative morphology interferes with the grammar of clause integration and referent coherence. For spoken Kurmanji, a northwest Iranian language with surface ergativity, tentative restrictions on zero-anaphora in conjoined clauses are identified which relate to ergative agreement patterns. These are compared to the distribution of zero-anaphora in other complex constructions involving clause combining. Surface ergativity is found to be one of a variety of factors which may promote re-location of the subject referent in a language in which non-finite structures play a peripheral role, and multi-clause constructions are under pressure to replicate the structure of single proposition clauses.
Noun Incorporation new Evidence from Athapaskan
Authors: Cook Eung-Do , Wilhelm Andrea
Published: January 2011

This paper deals with noun incorporation data from Northern Athapaskan languages, which have not hitherto been analyzed formally. Based on semantic characteristics of noun incorporation and on incorporation from oblique and subject positions, we claim that this phenomenon does not obey the syntactic rules posited by Baker (1988). A theory which seeks to constrain noun incorporation in terms of grammatical relations is not adequate for explaining it in Northern Athapaskan. A functional approach (Givón 1984, 1985), which is sensitive to the semantics and pragmatics of incorporation, is found to be more adequate. We argue that noun incorporation is a functionally motivated process at the interface of morphology and syntax that changes linguistic coding from independent and salient to dependent and nonsalient.
Transitivity in Tukang Besi
Authors: Donohue Mark
Published: January 2011

The Tukang Besi language does not appear to display a clear distinction between transitive and intransitive clauses, as transitive verbs are freely able to appear without any overt object and degrees of intransitivity are to be found in the language. The ground between transitive and intransitive contains several points of interest in that eight different degrees of transitivity can be morphologically defined in the one language, allowing us to test the relative rankings of Hopper and Thompson's criteria for transitivity.
What can Pronouns Tell Us? A Case Study of English Epicenes
Authors: Newman Michael
Published: January 2011

The article reports an oral corpus-based study of epicene pronominal constructions (i.e., pronouns coreferent with singular antecedents and referring to referents of indeterminate sex) in English. They is used in 60% of the tokens, he in 25%, and other forms were used minimally. That variation corresponds to three semantic factors: perceived sex stereotypes associated with the referent, notional number, and, surprisingly, degree of individuation. These findings support accounts of the importance of agreement as a discourse-level phenomenon (e.g. Barlow's Discourse-Linking Theory), and of pronouns as elements whose informational content goes beyond mere denotation.
Definiteness in Czech
Authors: Cummins III George M.
Published: January 2011

Definiteness, a subcategory of nominal determination, is a universal of natural languages. Languages lacking an overt article, such as Czech, mark definiteness using various discourse-anchored signals, such as word order and intonation. In sentence-initial position, bare NPs are definite. For discourse-anchored definite NPs in other sentence positions (these include post-rhematic themes as well as retrieved or reevaluated entities from remote discourse) and NPs in expressive speech, Czech uses a deictically neutral determiner ten 'this, that; the' for definite NPs. The resultant NP with determiner may correspond to articled or demonstrative-modified NPs in articled languages; the categories are fluid. In both colloquial and formal language ten is developing article-like functions.
Auxiliation in Khmer the Case of Baan
Authors: Haiman John
Published: January 2011

From a typological perspective, the most striking — and perhaps the only noteworthy — feature of the auxiliation of the main verb baan 'get' in Khmer is that it migrates from V2 to V1 position, contravening the general tendency for grammatical morphemes to remain frozen in the same position where the words from which they originate are found. It may be that the reason for this migration is, ultimately, prosodic: Khmer is an iambic language; hence, it is an exclusively prefixing language; and hence it is a language in which unstressed elements are attracted into some prefixed position.
It is possible that Wackernagel's Law, following which unstressed elements are attracted into a suffixing position (typically, sentence-second) may be a typological parameter, rather than a universal. In exclusively prefixing languages like Khmer, which are admittedly very rare, the corresponding migration may be into initial position.
Japanese Enter/Exit Verbs Without Motion Semantics
Authors: Kita Sotaro
Published: January 2011

The semantics of English and Japanese Enter/Exit verbs is compared. It is argued that the temporal schema encoded in the Japanese verbs hairu 'enter' and deru 'exit' is discrete change of state. For example, hairu encodes at one point in time, something is not inside, and at a later point in time the thing is inside. Unlike the English equivalents {enter, exit, go into, and go out of), there is no semantic commitment as to what happens in transition between the two states. The implications of this cross-linguistic difference on previous theories of semantics of spatial expressions are discussed.
Object Agreement, Grammatical Relations, and Information Structure
Authors: Nikolaeva Irina
Published: January 2011

Northern Ostyak (Uralic) has optional object agreement. This paper analyzes the grammatical behavior of objects that trigger agreement and objects that do not, and demonstrates that while the former participate in certain syntactic processes, the latter are syntactically inert. The asymmetry cannot be explained with reference to semantics or argument status, as both objects bear an identical argument relationship to the predicate. Following the functional approach to language, under which the clause has three independent representational levels (syntax, semantics, and information structure), I suggest that the two objects differ in their information structure status. The object that does not trigger agreement bears the focus function, and systematically corresponds to the focus position. It is further argued that virtually all grammatical relations in Ostyak demonstrate reduced syntactic activity when they are in focus. This leads to a search for an information structure-driven motivation for certain behavioral properties.
The Medio-Active Construction in Nyulnyulan Languages
Authors: McGregor William B.
Published: January 2011

Most Nyulnyulan languages (non-Pama-Nyungan, Western Australia), show an unusual clause type, the medio-active, with the case-frame of a transitive clause, but the verbal agreement of an intransitive clause; there is no formal registration in the verb. This paper provides a detailed description of the structural and semantic properties of this clause type in each language that exhibits it, identifying shared features and differences. Evidence is presented that it represents a distinct construction, of intermediate transitivity, and a grammatical analysis is proposed in terms of roles. The medio-active shows, however, few characteristics prototypical of the passive, and is not a voice option.
Metaphor and Symbol As Deviant' Language
Authors: Hammer Katherine
Published: January 2011

This paper argues against recent claims by Sanders (1973) and Loewenberg (1975) that a theory of metaphor is not possible within existing linguistic theory and maintains that the notion of linguistic deviance is necessary not only to the definition of metaphor, but to the definition of the literary symbol as well.
English Elliptical Sentences and Coordinate Conjunction
Authors: Lundy Robert
Published: January 2011

Most English elliptical sentences (ES's) can be accounted for syntactically in terms of major constituents, and semantically by a few interpretative generalizations. This account of elliptical sentences will, without any further formal elaboration, also account for the syntax and semantics of English gapping and secondary conjunction.
The Personal Endings of the Greek Verb
Authors: Panhuis Dirk G.J.
Published: January 2011

The notion of arbitrariness of the linguistic sign should not pervade the whole of language study. Language as social interaction involves most naturally, person, number, time and other categories, which often find linguistic expression. The four dimensions of the personal endings of the Greek verb (person, number, tense and voice) can be abstracted from the paradigm and explained as a natural, non-arbitrary result of the subjective centering of language around the speaker.
Foundations of a Theory of Case
Authors: O’Grady William
Published: January 2011

The category of case provides a characterization of inter-word relations based on a tripartite categorization of word-types. Individual case systems result from the interaction of a core of four basic inter-word relations with a number of other autonomous grammatical and semantic systems. Data from a number of languages are examined and the general implications of this framework are discussed.
A Functional Explanation of French Nonlexical Datives
Authors: Barnes Betsy K.
Published: January 2011

The unity of French lexical and nonlexical uses of the dative clitic is made apparent by a functional analysis according to which the dative clitic always represents a 'theme' of the sentence, where thematicity is defined as greater relative saliency based on certain purely semantic (not pragmatic) properties and relations of arguments. The operation of certain semantic constraints on the nonlexical datives, which may be very approximately summarized as requiring that the dative complement be animate and that it be somehow affected by the act denoted by the rest of the VP, follows naturally, in accord with Dik's Markedness Hypothesis (Dik (1978)), from the view that the nonlexical datives represent a 'thematization' of an element which is otherwise (in alternative nondative constructions) represented as peripheral to the described event. The more limited occurrence of á-NP in nonlexical dative environments is explained by reference to general syntactic constraints on the language, together with the fact that à-NP, unlike the dative clitic, tends to be interpreted as an argument of V.
The Semantics of Auxiliary Do
Authors: Penhallurick John M.
Published: January 2011

The meaningfulness of auxiliary do has important implications for linguistic theory. Do signals a presupposition that some question attaches in some way to the event designated by the verb. Although useful as an auxiliary, do is semantically appropriate in all the contexts in which it is used (questions, negation, other cases of auxiliary inversion, affirmation and imperatives). Considerations of value — in particular, the relation of do to indicative forms — are important in understanding its use. The meaning proposed casts light on the origins of auxiliary do, which in turn explains some of the synchronic peculiarities of the sign.
In Search of a Target Language
Authors: Brisset Annie , Davey Lynda
Published: January 2011

In nationalist Quebec, French is rejected as the bearer of a foreign culture in the same way that the Québécois' native land, despoiled by the English, has become the country of the Other. Theatre, more than anything else, lent itself to the task of differentiation allotted to language. As of 1968 the vernacular has become the language of the stage as well as of theatre translation such as the exchange value of both foreign works and French translations from France increasingly erodes. Translating "into Québécois" consists in marking out the difference which opposes French in Quebec and so-called French from France. Since, however, the special quality of Québécois French is truly noticeable only among the working classes, Québécois theatre translations are almost always marked by proletarization of language and lowering the social status of the protagonists, thereby increasing the translation possibilities first and foremost of American sociolects.
Towards a Multi-facet Concept of Translation Behavior
Authors: Wilss Wolfram
Published: January 2011

The aim of this paper is to pin down the mental factors which essentially account for efficient translation performance: first, context; second, culture; third, originality and automatization; fourth, speed; and fifth, processual components such as inferencing, schematizing, mapping, comparing, evaluating, problem-solving, decision-making, intuiting and rule & strategy formation. The whole presentation amounts to a specification of information-processing factors that are instrumental in: 1. learning how to behave intelligently and creatively when one is confronted with a novel or a familiar intertextual transfer situation; 2. planning what operations have to be executed in a specific environmental situation; 3. executing them on the basis of a repertoire of knowledge and skills which shows that behavior-in-context is practically always the result of an organized functioning of both cognitive and noncognitive (associative) processes.
Assessing Acceptability in Translated Children's Books
Authors: Puurtinen Tiina
Published: January 2011

The purpose of the study outlined in this article is to compare the acceptability of style in two contemporary Finnish translations of L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz with special reference to the effect of sentence structure on acceptability. For the purposes of this study, acceptability is defined in terms of the norms and expectations prevailing in the language and style of Fin-nish children's fiction which include the requirements of a high degree of readability and natural style. The hypothesis is that the use of complex nonfinite con-structions in one translation decreases readability and consequently lowers acceptability, whereas the other translation is expected to be more readable and acceptable due to its natural, dynamic style characterized by simple finite cons-tructions. The syntactic structures relevant to the readability of the translations are analysed with the help of two linguistic models: a modification of phrasestructure grammar and a propositional model. Three empirical tests, i.e. a cloze test, subjective assessment and a reading test, provide information about the readability and acceptability of the translations.
La traduction, les langues et la communication de masse
Authors: Lambert José
Published: January 2011

Dans la seconde moitié du XXe siècle, les mass-media ont rendu si international le discours quotidien que la question des traductions y est devenue un problème-clef, pour la traduction en général comme pour la question de la communication. Non seulement les traductions sont-elles omniprésentes, elles sont également camouflées et elles suivent des stratégies symptomatiques, en fonction des relations entre les centres émetteurs—leur nombre est réduit—et les milieux d'arrivée. Ainsi la traduction est une des solutions apportées au problème du multilinguisme qui caractérise la nouvelle carte mondiale des langues. Quelques notes sur le sous-titrage indiquent comment, dans une culture donnée, les nouvelles technologies exploitent le discours traduit.
Starting to Unask What Translatology Is About1
Authors: Vermeer Hans J.
Published: January 2011

The author presents his strictly functional theory ("Skopos Theory") of translation. Acting is primarily conditioned by a "purpose" and the nature of the intended addressees. The source text wording is of secondary importance. The functional skopos model allows the translator freedom to act as an expert and gives him responsibility for his approach. Modern research in reception aesthetics, neurobiology, philosophy and other disciplines confirms the contingency and relativity of all human behaviour. The author briefly discusses several new brain theories and Dawkins' "meme" concept and some of their implications for translating.
Observational Studies and Experimental Studies in the Investigation of Conference Interpreting
Authors: Gile Daniel
Published: January 2011

In conference interpreting research, empirical investigation can be classified as observational or experimental. The former can be used for exploration, analysis and hypothesis-testing, and is either interactive or non-interactive. Besides its conventional role of hypothesis-testing, the latter can be exploratory. The main methodological problems in both are related to validity and representativeness and to quantification. At this stage, the most important contribution to interpreting research can be expected from observational procedures. Simple descriptive statistics and uncomplicated quantitative processing of the data still have much to offer.
Causes, Translations, Effect
Authors: Chesterman Andrew
Published: January 2011

Conceptual analysis has a role to play in translation studies, but it is a means, not an end. An empirical paradigm gives central importance to testable hypotheses. Empirical research on translation profiles should result in a translation typology: one such typology is discussed. Translations have multiple causes, and we can already propose some possible causal laws. Three laws of translation effect are also proposed, and various parameters of effect are discussed, together with the associated problems of sampling and prescriptivism. I argue that prescriptive statements are hypotheses about translation effects; as such, they should be tested like any other hypothesis.
Compensation and the Brief in a Non-Literary Translation
Authors: Harvey Keith
Published: January 2011

Compensation as a device for dealing with loss in translation is often discussed with regard to literary translation where stylistic effects are assumed to be of greater importance than in non-literary modes. This paper builds on previous work firstly by exploring in detail the problem of author intention that appears to underlie the notion of effect. The discussion then extends into non-literary modes of translation where the translation specifications known as the Brief determine to a large extent the decisions taken by the translator. The author argues that the Brief introduces a crucial aspect into the decision-making process that not only allows for the possibility of compensation in non-literary texts but also influences the scope and type of compensation that would be deemed appropriate. Detailed examples are provided by a French source text featuring the frequent use of metaphor. Alternative translations are suggested in relation to two possible Briefs, which are presented as pedagogical devices in a translation 'role play'.
A Register-Based Translation Evaluation
Authors: Steiner Erich
Published: January 2011

This paper illustrates key elements of a translation evaluation based on register analysis. In Section 1, the attempts in the current paper are related to linguistics and translation studies in general, and to the evaluation of translations in particular, arguing for a theoretically-based approach. A brief overview of the concept of register is also given. Sections 2, 3 and 4 cover the detailed analysis of the field, tenor and mode variables of the register of a translation, relating them critically to those of its source text. Section 5 argues that in addition to a 'register analysis, an evaluation of translations needs to take into account criteria based on comparative linguistics and language typology. Finally, it is suggested that a register-based approach links translation to co-generation under specific constraints, thus opening up the possibility of linking the translation quality to text quality in general.
Quantities in Translation
Authors: Sidiropoulou Maria
Published: January 2011

The presentation of quantities in target discourses is expected to survive the translation strategies which allow target-oriented modifications, especially in news reporting where accuracy could be an asset for the persuasion strategy adopted. However, numerical expressions are occasionally modified in translation, even if there is an exact equivalent available in the target language. These modifications in quantity presentation, in discourse, are devices through which ideologies control discourse meaning. The present study investigates this instance of norm-governed behaviour, in English-to-Greek press news translation, in view of what kind of reality is promoted by these differing preferences in quantity presentation.
Responsibility with Loyalty
Authors: Reeves-Ellington Barbara
Published: January 2011

In the current trend toward greater reflexivity in scholarship, both translators and oral historians are re-examining their roles as mediators in the process of interpretation and representation. Based on my own interviews with Bulgarian women, I am attempting to develop model translation strategies for oral history narratives using Neubert and Shreve 's textual approach to translation. Guided in my decisions by the potential audience response, my objective is to provide historical information while retaining the emotional ring of the original interview and showcasing the unique features of the individual narrators' voices. Wary of the need to avoid "doing violence" to the people whose stories I recorded, I want to practice enough resistance while translating to complicate the reading process without resorting to subversive tactics.
The Role of the Foreign Translator in the Chinese Translation Tradition, 2nd to 19th Century
Authors: Hung Eva
Published: January 2011

This is the first comprehensive study of the crucial role non-Chinese translators played in China's translation history. Drawing from records of three peak periods of translation activities in China, some dating back to as early as the mid-2nd century, the author presents the case of China's traditional reliance on foreign assistance in culturally important translation work, and argues that this was a direct result of the norms within mainstream Chinese culture. The article also explains how China's translation tradition underwent a dramatic change at the turn of the 20th century, and the disruptive effects this has had on translation scholarship.
Thump, Whizz, Poom
Authors: Kaindl Klaus
Published: January 2011

Notwithstanding their importance as a segment of high-volume translation, comics have largely been neglected in Translation Studies. This paper presents a theoretical framework for studying the translation of comics as a social practice. On the premise that the production and reception of texts is dependent on their position and relative value in a given society, comics are first analyzed as a social phenomenon with the help of Bourdieu's theory of the cultural field. The translation-relevant elements of comics are then identified on the linguistic, typographic, and pictorial levels, and concepts of rhetoric are used to establish a classification of translation strategies which applies to both verbal and nonverbal textual material. Finally, a number of examples are discussed to highlight the diversity of translation strategies for the various elements of comics.
Clefts in Translations between English and German1
Authors: Doherty Monika
Published: January 2011

A great number of translation problems are linguistic in nature, but they can only be properly diagnosed and their solutions 'objectively ' assessed if one takes account of the context in which the problematic elements occur. The paper focuses on a prototypical case of such translation problems: English cleft sentences and their counterparts in German. Clefts are claimed to establish a rhetorical relation with a propositional antecedent located beyond the local context, thus contributing to the formation of textual macro-structures. While the local context determines the focal interpretation of clefts within the current discourse, the appeal to earlier ideas attributes to the cleft a higher degree of contextual relevance.
Re-writing Hegemony in "Babel"
Authors: Anastasiadou Anastasia
Published: January 2011

This paper seeks to determine the ways in which the translation of T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets by the post-war Greek poet A. Decavalles challenges the hegemony of this major text of the Western canon. Four Quartets is considered an anti-local poem, expressing the desire for the creation of "classic" English, which presupposes a transcendental linguistic essence and a "universal" perspective. Decavalles evinces an active attitude towards translation both in his reference to it as "re-creation" and in his creation of a target text which is at points not fluent, and even problematic. The opacity of the rewriting of Four Quartets in Greek, a language of a peripheral European country, constitutes a political act of resistance to Western (modernist) hegemony as it undermines the metaphysical certainties of Eliot's text.
Interpreter Mediated TV Events
Authors: Alexieva Bistra
Published: January 2011

The major claims made here pertain to: (1) The dominant role of the Participants paremeter, where distinction is made between the "on-screen" and the "off-screen" casts, with the Interpreter acting as Mediator in two communicative channels; (2) The specificity of the TV product as a Polysemiotic Text, consisting of a variety of Language and Non-Language components, and the way it affects the Interpreter's performance; (3) The communicative goals of the two casts of Primary Participants and the strategies employed to attain them in a situation highly marked from a kinesthetic and proxemic point of view, which often leads to shifts in the Interpreter's output, and (4) The factors determining the choice of the optimum mode of Interpreting.
The Normative Model of Twentieth Century Belles Infidèles
Authors: Robyns Clem
Published: January 2011

This paper draws on an analysis of Anglo-American detectives, thrillers and spy stories translated into the French Série Noire between the late fifties and the early seventies. Almost all of these translations are of the non-adequate type: the original novels are transformed according to an elaborate narrative model. It appears that these translation strategies correspond to the systemic position of the Série Noire in the French detective genre. However, they also fit into the old French tradition of translations as belles infideles, which was said to have "disappeared" in the 19th century.
A Theoretical Account of Translation - Without a Translation Theory
Authors: Gutt Ernst-August
Published: January 2011

This paper argues that the phenomenon commonly referred to as "translation" can be accounted for naturally within the relevance theory of communication developed by Sperber and Wilson: there is no need for a distinct general theory of translation. Most kinds of translation can be analysed as varieties of interpretive use. I distinguish direct from indirect translation. Direct translation corresponds to the idea that translation should convey the same meaning as the original. It requires the receptors to familiarise themselves with the context envisaged for the original text. The idea that the meaning of the original can be communicated to any receptor audience, no matter how different their background, is shown to be a misconception based on mistaken assumptions about communication. Indirect translation involves looser degrees of resemblance. Direct translation is merely a special case of interpretive use, whereas indirect translation is the general case. In all cases the success of the translation depends on how well it meets the basic criterion for all human communication, which is consistency with the principle of relevance. Thus the different varieties of translation can be accounted for without recourse to typologies of texts, translations, functions or the like.
Typological Aspects of Translating Literary Japanese into German, II
Authors: Wienold Götz
Published: January 2011

Japanese has a colourful variety of linguistic means for presenting voices in the dialogue of a novel and distinguishing them from the narration. In German translations, this is generally reduced to a uniform way of formulating sentences. Point of view, however, which finds linguistic expression in Japanese as well as in Western languages, is respected in German translations. The present article takes up some linguistic indications of point of view in Japanese, most of the examples being drawn from Kawabata's Yukiguni and Benl's German translation of it. A consistent finding is that the German translation tends toward a more objectivating way of narration alongside greater linguistic explicitness. This may be related to the linguistic signalling of personhood in Japanese and the role of personhood in Japanese culture. Thus, the present article puts forward the hypothesis that German translations of Japanese novels may tend to deflect traits of Japanese culture in the direction of the receiving culture.
Texttheorie und Translatorisches Handeln
Authors: Vermeer Hans J.
Published: January 2011

Cet article prend pour point de départ la théorie de "l'acte tradui-sant" (Holz-Mänttäri), qui a éclairé sous un jour nouveau les relations entre texte-source et texte-cible. Celles-ci dépendent surtout de l'objectif (ou "man-dat": "skopos" dans la terminologie de l'auteur) poursuivi par cette opération. A concevoir le contenu du message à transmettre comme une "scène", et le texte comme son "cadre", la tâche du traducteur apparaît comme une procédure itérative de scènes-et-cadres; culturellement réceptive, elle subit des modifications de nature intrinsèque ou externe, et permet au récepteur de la traduction de comprendre l'intention du "mandataire".—La procedure ("jeu") ainsi presentee fait ensuite l'objet d'un examen par échelons, selon un ordre descendant.
The Concept of Function of Translation and its Application to Literary Texts
Authors: Roberts Roda P.
Published: January 2011

Many translation theorists have adopted a functional approach to translation in an attempt to guide and explain the difficult choices a translator must make. This paper argues that it is the function of the translation, and not the functions of language or the function of the source text, that is the translator's guiding force. Having defined the function of translation as the application or use which the translation is intended to have in the context of the target situation, various functions that a literary translation may serve are examined. Finally, using the criteria of functions of language, functions of (source) text and functions of translation, an attempt is made to show that the type and degree of coincidence between the formal manifestations of the functions of language in the source text, the function of the source text and the translation depend on the precise function of the latter.
Sur le rôle des métaphores en traductologie contemporaine
Authors: D’hulst Lieven
Published: January 2011

Loin d'être un substrat de théories 'préscientifiques', la métaphore traductologique conserve sa place et son rôle dans les théories contemporaines. Entant qu' instrument cognitif, elle y accomplit l'interaction entre le théme et desphores choisis dans des domaines comme la psycholinguistique ou la théorie actantielle. Par son extension sémantique, elle engendre des réajustements successifs souvent métaphoriques à leur tour. En tant que procédé argumentatif, lamétaphore sert à imposer de nouveaux modéles théoriques; corrélativement, ellesert à marginaliser des modéles antérieurs ou concurrents par une représentationnouvelle de leurs concepts.
Zum Aussagewert motivgeschichtlicher Übersetzungsstudien1
Authors: Czennia Bärbel
Published: January 2011

Historical and descriptive oriented translation studies of novels face enormous practical problems, which can only be solved by a selective approach. Of special interest for the cultural history of the 19th century are literary landscapes, enabling translation scholars who deal with different literatures to collaborate on a limited textual basis. Alterations of a literary 'leitmotiv' can effect considerable shifts on all levels of the target-text, e.g., content, point of view and overall thematic structure. It seems very likely that the findings gained from comparative analysis of novel-translations do also apply to other literary forms and that they can be regarded as "translational constants" in a cultural history of literary translation.
Is There a Special Kind of “Reading” for Translation?
Authors: Shreve Gregory M. , Schäffner Christina , Danks Joseph H. , Griffin Jennifer
Published: January 2011

The role of reading in translation is rarely discussed in the literature. Translation has mainly been discussed within a product-oriented framework. The more process-oriented approaches of recent years have taken notice of reading as a component activity of the translation process. However, few empirical studies have been completed which address the role of reading in translation. The way a person reads, and the result of that reading (some sort of mental representation of the text or text segment), will depend on the reader's purposes and motivations. The present empirical study indicates that while the translator's reading of a text may be to some extent more thorough and deliberate than that of an ordinary reader, it is not likely to be markedly so. The study also indicates a significant variability in the way translators "read for translation". This suggests the existence of alternate strategies in this kind of reading.
Underpinning Translation Theory
Authors: Malmkjær Kirsten
Published: January 2011

This article suggests that the discomfort with translation theory felt by some translation scholars arises from the fact that translation theory has tended to undermine itself, and hence translation studies as such, by questioning the existence of its own subject matter. An attempt is made to ease the discomfort by defending Davidson's (1973; 1974) reply to the indeterminacy thesis proposed by Quine (1960). Finally, the article draws on Davidson's later theory of linguistic interaction (1986) in presenting a model of translation which highlights features which translation does not share with other types of linguistic interaction, and which may, consequently, merit particular attention in translation theory.
Das Ende deutscher Romanübersetzungen aus zweiter Hand
Authors: Graeber Wilhelm
Published: January 2011

In eighteenth-century Germany, many English works were translated not from the original texts, but from French versions. As far as narrative literature is concerned, the period of "second-hand translation" extends from 1720 to 1765, while in other literary genres it continues to the end of the century. This partial rejection of French role as mediators may be attributed to the developing German target literature as well as to developments within French literature itself The reception of Henry Fielding's last novel Amelia reveals the fading prestige of French translations and novels in their mother country, which will induce German translators to dissociate themselves from their intermediaries.
Übersetzung* Translation* Traduction
Authors: Wipf Christina
Published: January 2011

Unusual ventures justify special measures. The project outlined below is such a venture. It concerns a new, large-scale encyclopedia of translation studies. Scheduled for publication by Walter de Gruyter (Berlin/New York) in 1999-2001 as part of their series of Handbooks of Linguistics and Communication Science (general editors Hugo Steger and Herbert Ernst Wiegand), the encyclopedia Übersetzung* Translation* Traduction will consist of some 400 articles spread over three volumes of around 1,000 (large-format) pages each. The editors are Armin Paul Frank (Göttingen), Norbert Greiner (Heidelberg), Theo Hermans (London), Harald Kittel (Göttingen), Werner Koller (Bergen), José Lambert (Leuven) and Fritz Paul (Göttingen).

In the following pages the editors submit their project for public scrutiny. The presentation is necessarily brief, and covers only the general nature and overall structure of the Encyclopedia. Further information, including a detailed list of individual articles, may be obtained from the editor-in-chief at the address below. The editors invite readers of Target to come forward with comments, criticism and suggestions to improve the existing concept. Please write to: Dr Harald Kittel, SFB 309 'Die Literarische Übersetzung', Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Humboldtallee 17, D-37073 Göttingen, Germany.
“Those Who Do...”
Authors: Pöchhacker Franz
Published: January 2011

In an attempt to survey the contemporary landscape of Interpreting Studies, the paper draws a profile of 'schools' of research(ers) based on the output of writings and research on interpreting in the years from 1989 to 1994. A ranking of the most productive authors in the period under study serves as the data-based point of departure for a—necessarily personal—account of some of the leading centers of research on interpreting in terms of their main representatives, approaches and areas of interest. The survey concludes with a brief reflection on possible trends and perspectives for the further evolution of Interpreting Studies as a field of academic research.
Development of Research Work at SSLM, Trieste
Authors: Gran Laura , Viezzi Maurizio
Published: January 2011

The paper starts with a description of the historical evolution which led the SSLM to initiate interpretation research. It then describes research activities done within the School, and outlines the advantages for the students of such an endeavor as conducted in partial fulfillment of graduation requirements.
Fidelity Assessment in Consecutive Interpretation
Authors: Gile Daniel
Published: January 2011

In a classroom French-to-English consecutive interpretation experiment, both the speaker and the (student) delegates were found to be unreliable fidelity assessors: they did not detect all interpretation errors on the one hand, and imagined errors that had not been made by the interpreter, on the other. As to their fidelity ratings, they remained surprisingly close to each other in spite of a wide spread in the number of reported errors. The paper also discusses this experiment in the wider context of interpretation research policy.
The Concept of Equivalence and the Object of Translation Studies1
Authors: Koller Werner
Published: January 2011

Regardless of the approach one uses in the study of translating and translations, it remains necessary to delimit the legitimate field of concern. I.e. translations must be identified and describedsui generisas the results of a text-processing activity. From the linguistic and text-theoretical perspective this objective is fulfilled by the concept of equivalence; a translation is defined as a secondary text that stands in an equivalence relation to a primary text. The range of the equivalence-oriented approach and the possibilities it offers for systematic description and explanation of translational phenomena are, however, limited. Its problems and limitations become apparent not only in the context of historical translation research, but also whenever interest focusses upon the text-productive—i.e. ultimately creative—aspect of translation, as opposed to its reproductive aspect, i.e. the linguistic-textual relationships between languages and texts as these are deduced from regularities.
Corpora in Translation Studies
Authors: Baker Mona
Published: January 2011

Corpus-based research has become widely accepted as a factor in improving the performance of machine translation systems, and corpus-based terminology compilation is now the norm rather than the exception. Within translation studies proper, Lindquist (1984) has advocated the use of corpora for training translators, and Baker (1993a) has argued that theoretical research into the nature of translation will receive a powerful impetus from corpus-based studies. It is becoming increasingly important to take stock of what is happening on this front and to start working towards the development of an explicit and coherent methodology for corpus-based research in the discipline. This paper discusses the current and potential use of corpora in translation studies, with particular reference to theoretical issues.
Quantitative and Qualitative Aspects of Corpus Selection in Translation Studies
Authors: van Doorslaer Luc
Published: January 2011

Although research procedures for translation analysis and comparison are being adapted to the principles of induction and deduction which are necessary in intersubjective research, criteria for corpus selection are often not explicitly motivated. Since hypotheses depend for their reliability on the corpus selected, attention should be paid to the relationship between exhaustiveness and representativeness. Criteria for corpus selection are often either random or textually motivated, while exceptions and deviations in translation often require a qualitative refinement of these criteria such as that obtained from extra-textual information.
Language, Translation and the Promotion of National Identity
Authors: Woodsworth Judith
Published: January 2011

This article examines two test cases involving the translation of works of literature into minority languages: the translation into contemporary Scots ofLes belles-soeursby Québec playwright Michel Tremblay and the translation into Romansch ofThe House at Pooh Cornerby British children's author A. A. Milne. In both cases, translation is perceived as a means of exercising the language, developing its resources and thus ensuring its survival. In strengthening the minority language and culture, translation is seen as a way of promoting national identity.
Affective and Attitudinal Factors in Translation Processes1
Authors: Laukkanen Johanna
Published: January 2011

The role of affective and attitudinal factors in translation has lately attracted increasing attention within process-oriented translation research. Think-aloud studies show that affective factors play an important part in the decision-making processes of translation. In the present TAP study the affective dimension of translation was researched via evaluative utterances produced by the subject.
What Translators of Plays Think About Their Work
Authors: Jänis Marja
Published: January 2011

This study used loosely conducted interviews to determine how translators of plays see their work, including their position towards the theatre. Different ways of performing the act were reported, along with different attitudes towards the use of background materials. Significant differences were found in what was considered most essential in translating a play: some stressed the need to visualize events during translation while others emphasized the audible aspects of the dialogue. Some translators portrayed themselves as 'invisible mediators', unconcerned with any future performance, whereas others claimed to be working consciously towards one. A third group described their work as 'art' and stressed the need to liberate themselves from the slavery of the source text and find a language of their own.
Translating the Untranslatable
Authors: Lane-Mercier Gillian
Published: January 2011

Translation scholars have recently emphasized the importance of the translator's (in)visibility (Venuti) and of the ethical aim of translation (Berman). This paper argues that a) the translation of literary sociolects is paradigmatic of the way in which the translator's visibility is foregrounded within the target text; b) their translation requires a "visible" engagement on the part of the translator which is grounded in an ethics of translation, thus leading beyond the visible/ invisible dichotomy implied by Venuti and the positive/negative ethics dichotomy set up by Berman; c) the comments made by numerous translation scholars concerning the problems raised by literary sociolects reflect some of the contradictions besetting contemporary translation theory.
Who Verbalises What
Authors: Tirkkonen-Condit Sonja
Published: January 2011

This paper suggests that a linguistic analysis of TAPs elicited by authentic-like translation briefs might reveal differences in existing or potential translational proficiency. A distinction is made between addressee-oriented and addressee-free verbalisations, and in focus are evaluative statements and expressives. Two tentative hypotheses emerge, namely that the proportion and specificity of evaluations of the target text increases with translational proficiency, and that expressives reveal attitudinal differences attributable to different levels of proficiency.
The Concept of Equivalence in Translation Studies
Authors: Halverson Sandra L.
Published: January 2011

Within translation studies, there remains a certain amount of unnecessary discord concerning the use of the equivalence concept and its relevance for translation theory. In the interest of better understanding the various points of view, it seems helpful to consider different perspectives on this concept in light of the varying philosophical assumptions on which they are based. Analogies between the equivalence concept and a concept of scientific knowledge as it is and has been studied within the philosophy of science are highly informative in pointing out the philosophical issues involved in equivalence, translation, and knowledge. Rather than dismissing the concept as ill-defined or imprecise, it is in the interest of the field of translation studies to consider the origins and manifestations of this 'imprecision ' in order that we may be better informed and less inclined towards theoretical antagonism.
Intercode Translation
Authors: Gorlée Dinda L.
Published: January 2011

Opera is a synchronization of different media of artistic expression, with a dual emphasis on music and drama. Operatic scholarship has voiced different views on the fusion of verbal and musical discourse, the two extremes being logocentrism and musicocentrism. The interlingual translation of the verbal subtext is a complex enterprise subject to multiple constraints. By focusing on its intricacies in some detail (the anatomy of the human vocal apparatus, high/ low pitches, stress, prosodic and intonational patterns, rhyme, etc., together determining the singability of the libretto), I hope that the discussion will shed light on the manifold problems involved in opera translation. The theoretical remarks are exemplified in an analysis of selected passages fromDas Rheingold, by Richard Wagner.
Die Übersetzung als Inszenierung
Authors: Kaindl Klaus
Published: January 2011

Longtemps, la recherche sur les traductions d'opéras s'est appesantie sur les questions pratiques suscitées par la transposition d'un texte assorti à une partition de musique. Quant aux impliqués théoriques, ils ne dépassaient pas le niveau des prescriptions. Le présent article esquisse un cadre théorique pour l'analyse des traductions, basée sur une investigation de la pragmatique des productions d'opera. Ce cadre s'inspire lui-même d'une classification des divers types de traduction d'opéra. La démarche adoptée étant nécessairement interdisciplinaire, l'auteur examine d'abord les relations entre la sémiotique et les études de traduction. Ensuite, la semiotique dramaturgique d'aprés laquelle la performance d'opéra est conçue comme un texte (Fischer-Lichte), est reliée au modèle de l'acte traduisant (Holz-Mänttäri), de manière a rendre compte, relativement à la traduction, des différents stades et agents de productions d 'opéra.