Abstract The present study takes a postmodern approach to Sherry Simon’s views on translation, aiming to uncover the extent to which her ideas in translation studies align with postmodern thought. To this end, the works of prominent postmodern thinkers including Lyotard, Baudrillard, Derrida, Cixous, Deleuze, Guattari, and Irigaray are examined. Their postmodern claims are listed and described as scenarios. Then, Simon’s views are compared with these scenarios in quest of commonalities. The results indicate that Simon’s views on gender are indeed postmodern. Her rejection of the conventional definition of fidelity reflects a postmodern stance as it rejects rigid binary opposites. Similarly, her rejection of hierarchical structures aligns with postmodern principles. Furthermore, her advocacy for dismantling absolutes in polarity can also be considered postmodern. Finally, her view on handling texts in translation to foreground female subjectivity qualifies as a postmodern approach.

Abstract Translation universals have been a central focus in corpus-based translation studies (CBTS), providing key insights into translated texts. However, their diachronic aspects remain underexplored despite extensive study. This study addresses this gap using Biber’s (1988) linguistic feature indicators. It primarily investigates the diachronic evolution of register features in translated Chinese texts across four sampling periods, aiming to identify potential translation-specific features that may emerge over time. The study utilizes the CDCMC, a diachronic composite corpus comprising twenty million words sampled over four periods and spanning five genres. The research findings are as follows: (1) from a diachronic perspective, our analysis reveals a notable tendency towards “leveling out” in text variety among translated Chinese texts, with changes being comparatively smaller than those observed in original Chinese texts; (2) diachronic analysis revealed significant differences in four-dimensional features between translated and original Chinese texts, highlighting that translated texts are more informative, logically and semantically explicit, and demonstrate stronger argumentative and persuasive qualities than original Chinese texts; (3) multivariate regression analysis indicates stable linguistic traits over time with significant stage-wise variations, supporting translation as “constrained language” while also suggesting translated Chinese texts possess a degree of “activeness” compared to originals.

Abstract Health texts are a type of text where non-optimal translation can have serious consequences. In the eHealth/mHealth case study presented here, we explore how different categories of translational agents perceive risk and manage it in the process of translating texts from a Norwegian health app into English. Based on the notion of risk in translation (e.g., Pym 2005) and conceptual analysis, we developed a model — The Risk Scenario — which we used to analyze interview, observational, and think-aloud data gathered during the translation process. We found that while the LSP and translator/quality checker in our study expressed the most concern over the risk of non-optimal target texts, the author and client were more focused on the risk of harming the health of end-users. Such differences likely arise from the proximal versus distal positioning (see Gile 2012) of different agents in relation to the act of translation. Additionally, we discovered that the type of text found in this kind of app — oral and informal — does not effectively communicate its risks, reaffirming the need for detailed translation briefs and suggesting that risk should be a compulsory category for source texts in high-risk domains.

AbstractBarbu Cioculescu, co-translator of the 1990 Romanian rendition of Bram Stoker’sDraculaalongside Ileana Verzea, has claimed that their rendition marked the Romanian audience’s first interaction with Stoker’smagnum opus. In 2005 and 2009, however, scholarly articles surfaced positing the existence of an overlooked interwar translation. Nearly a decade later, this lost translation resurfaced through the efforts of a minor publishing house, which published it in book-length form in 2023. Serialized between 1928 and 1929, this newly rediscovered rendition, authored by Romanian poet and prose writer Ion Gorun, stands among the earliest ten translations internationally, predating the novel’s publication in Ireland, Stoker’s homeland, by half a decade. This study explores the rediscovery and peculiarities of Gorun’s rendition, concurrently examining the socio-historical milieu surrounding its original release and elucidating the factors contributing to its century-long elusiveness. Furthermore, the study shows that, despite promoting Stoker’s novel as being set in Transylvania, Gorun’s translation tends to de-exoticize the Irish writer’s portrayal of the region, either for fear of censorship or to circumvent confusion and disapproval among the local audience.