Corpus-Driven Hypothesis Generation in Translation Studies, Contrastive Linguistics and Text Linguistics: A Case Study of Demonstratives in Spanish and Dutch Parallel Texts

Abstract

This paper shows how parallel corpus research can generate hypotheses that are relevant to Contrastive Linguistics, Translation Studies and Text Linguistics. The data that are used concern the use of demonstrative determiners and pronouns in Spanish and Dutch source and target texts. The study focuses primarily on three asymmetries between ST and TT: the asymmetry between demonstratives and non-demonstrative definite determiners, the asymmetry between pronouns and full noun phrases, and the asymmetry between distal and proximal demonstratives. Three conclusions are drawn. First, the data suggest a contrastive difference between Spanish and Dutch with regard to the opposition between demonstrative and non-demonstrative definite determiners: Dutch demonstratives seem to be more grammaticized than their Spanish counterparts. Secondly, the corpus provides more evidence for the well-known explicitation hypothesis in Translation Studies. Finally, the samples yield very different results with regard to the asymmetry between distal and proximal forms. These results cannot be explained by contrastive differences or general translation universals only: the individual characteristics of the texts or the individual preferences of the translator may also play an important role.