English Translation Research Articles

Translating ‘Le Pagnol des Comores’: Ali Zamir's Anguille Sous Roche in English Translation

In 2017, Ali Zamir's acclaimed debut novel Anguille sous roche became the first Comorian novel to circulate in translation in Europe. This article discusses its English translation, A Girl Called Eel, by Aneesa Abbas Higgins (2019) in relation to the reception, circulation, and canon formation of literature from the Comoros islands. By discussing translation's ties to heritage conservation and literary consecration in the Comorian context alongside a comparative textual and paratextual analysis of Anguille and Eel, I investigate the extent to which the novel's ‘Comorianness’ was erased, reclaimed, or playfully constructed along this translation journey by a wide variety of actors. These include the independent publishers Le Tripode and Jacaranda Books, who respectively published the French and English texts, various French literary institutions and French and UK-based funding bodies, as well as the author and translator themselves.

Back-Translation as a Tool for Identifying Language Change

This study concerns the use of back-translation as a tool for identifying language change. This research is based on theories of back-translation (Baker, 1992) and language change (Campbell, 1998), focusing the use of this tool to identify shifts in language usage from lexical, morphological, and syntactical points of view. The original texts used for this study are the Indonesian novels Sitti Nurbaya (Rusli, 1922, ed. 2010), Sukreni Gadis Bali (Tisna, 1936, ed. 2013), and Salah Asuhan (Moeis, 1928, ed. 2013). The language used in these literary works is known as old Indonesian. All three novels have been translated into English: the first keeping its original title, Sitti Nurbaya (Fowler, 2009), Sukreni Gadis Bali as The Rape of Sukreni (Quinn, 2012), and Salah Asuhan as Never the Twain (Susanto, 2010). These English translations have in turn been translated back into Indonesian. The language used in these back-translated texts is present-day Indonesian, as used by speakers today. When the old Indonesian and contemporary Indonesian versions are compared, discrepancies may arise, even though the meanings of both texts are the same. These differences are considered to signify changes in the language. Our findings show that this back-translation method can be applied to understand changes in Indonesian usage. These include lexical changes, such as the word sebagai being replaced by seperti, or sekalian replaced by semua or seluruh; morphological changes, such as diobat changing into diobati, or menghinakan into menghina; and syntactical changes, such as the term suka kepada being replaced by suka.

Linguistic complexity of elementary mathematics word problems and their translations

Because word problems present mathematical information through a scenario, they are language-intensive and require mathematical and reading comprehension skills to solve them. In addition, they are linguistically complex, which makes them challenging for all learners, especially multilingual learners. Given the rising number of dual-language bilingual programs in the United States—which have the goal of simultaneously supporting content and language learning—it is important to understand the linguistic complexity of word problems and their translations. Therefore, we adopted a sociolinguistic perspective to recognize the inextricable relationship between language and mathematics and conducted a linguistic content analysis of Grades 1 and 4 addition/subtraction word problems in a widely used U.S. elementary curriculum. We analyzed the ways in which word problems were linguistically complex and how complexity differed between English, French, and Spanish translations. We found that word problems were complex due to vocabulary inconsistencies, assumed cultural knowledge, verb tenses, and errors. The French and Spanish translations also had more errors and inconsistencies than the English source text. Findings have implications for curriculum and assessment developers related to multilingual editing and linguistic and contextual consistency, as well as for teachers to support students’ engagement with language and mathematics.

Anxiety Inventory for Respiratory Disease: Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Semantic Validity of the Brazilian Version for Individuals with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Most instruments available to screen for anxiety in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are not disease specific. Therefore, the Anxiety Inventory for Respiratory Disease (AIR) was developed to measure anxiety for this patient group; however, it requires cross-cultural adaptation for use in non-English speaking countries. To carry out cross-cultural adaptation of the AIR scale for Brazilian patients with COPD and to analyze its semantic validity. This methodological study followed six stages: 1) Initial translation by two independent translators fluent in English; 2) Synthesis of translations; 3) Back translation by two English first language translators; 4) Expert committee review (eight healthcare professionals, a methodologist, the translators, and back-translators); 5) Pre-final version evaluation with 30 patients with COPD through a cognitive interview; and 6) Submission of documents. Semantic validity was analyzed by agreement rate and content validity index (CVI) for the committee equivalence assessments. 1) Initial translation: the two translated versions presented eight divergences; 2) Synthesis of translations: the differences were discussed to reach consensus; 3) Back-translation: there were no important inconsistencies; 4) Expert Committee: the experts proposed eight and the instrument developer proposed three changes, which were analyzed and voted on, resulting in the pre-final version; 5) Evaluation of the pre-final version: data collection allowed for other changes and the formulation of instructions by applying the adapted instrument in an interview format. Patients rated the questions as clear or very clear; 6) The expert committee and the developer approved the final documents. The agreement rate and CVI were ≥ 0.80 for all items of the scale final version. The process of cross-cultural adaptation followed all necessary stages and the semantic validity results were adequate, providing the Brazilian version of the AIR to assess anxiety symptoms in patients with COPD.

Exploring English Translation of Chinese Dish Names from a Cross-Cultural Communication Perspective

As Chinese food culture gains popularity, the English translation of its dishes has garnered increasing interest. The menu not only highlights the cuisine but also reflects Chinese aesthetics and culture. This paper analyzes dish name translations, highlighting the major issues in current translations, such as machine translation, grammatical errors, and improper wording. It then refines these translations and identifies three key principles for dish name translation: semantic proximity, cultural communication and aesthetics. Studying dish name translations enhances Chinese food culture, fosters Sino-Western exchanges, and propagates Chinese cuisine globally.

Two Byzantine Medical Texts in Verse Translated into English: Diagnosis and Treatment of Disease

This article aims to provide an English translation of two particularly popular Byzantine medical texts in verse, focusing on diagnosis by the examination of venesected blood and urine. Furthermore, these texts provide valuable therapeutic advice, especially for the use of drugs. They are composed in the form of liturgical hymns, combining mnemonic techniques. These hymns survive in various recensions and are often ascribed either to Nikephoros Blemmydes or Maximos Planoudes, both late Byzantine intellectuals and renowned teachers of advanced educational programs in Nicaea and Constantinople, respectively.

Reproductive and Adaptive Strategies in Translating Comparative Units (on the Material of the Italian, English and Ukrainian Languages)

The article deals with the problem of rendering comparative units of the Italian language into English and Ukrainian through the lens of the translation strategies of domestication and foreignization. Considering translation as one of the means of intercultural communication, the main research question addresses the effectiveness of the chosen strategies in conveying all the meanings of the original text to the translated language. The study aims to analyze how the above-mentioned strategies influence the perception of comparison and comparative units in various cultural contexts, i.e., in English and Ukrainian translations. The twofold nature of the image underlying the comparative unit might represent certain difficulties due to its national and cultural component or intricate, elaborate associative connections, especially in the case of ad hoc comparisons which are characterized by their novelty and/or unpredictability of associations between the object and its referent. This determines the relevance of the present research. Both translation strategies have their advantages and disadvantages. The data received allow us to talk about the priority of a certain strategy within a certain cultural context / language. English translation tends to reproduce the image of comparative units as accurately and precisely as possible, compensating a certain lack of attention to possible linguistic and cultural patterns and readers’ preferences with accuracy, consistency, and original style, which allow obtaining a holistic and coherent picture in the target language. Whereas the Ukrainian translation gives preference to greater dynamics, using adaptive strategies in rendering images and compensates for certain semantic losses at the expense of «proper», understandable images, which should potentially contribute to effective communication and meet reader’s expectations.

Socio-Political Underpinnings in Intizar Hussain's Basti: A Critical Discourse Analysis

The 1979 Urdu release of Intizar Hussain's book "Basti" was followed by an English translation. It was written against the backdrop of the 1971 political tension, as well as the 1947 events of the establishment of Pakistan and the division of India. The article looks at issues like identity, displacement, and the socio-political changes people went through at these raging times in history. Discourse is taken for analysis from the translated novel by Frances W. Pritchet with the same name, Basti. The research is qualitative in nature and the text is analyzed in the sociopolitical domain of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). The study deals with the application of Fairclough’s version of the Dimensional model of CDA. Furthermore, it unearths notions like social, cultural, and political besides memory loss and despair in relation to the aforementioned text.

An Eco-Translatology Approach to Analyzing the English and Arabic Translations of Pamuk's My Name is Red

The trajectory of translating Pamuk’s literary heritage into more than sixty languages attracts the attention of a number of scholars (e.g. Horta, 2017, EriŞ, 2019). Pamuk’s unique mingling of Eastern and Western cultures makes it significant to scrutinize the dispositions and worldviews of translators. This paper aims at depicting the eco-linguistic cultural plethora of factors that play a role in the translator’s lexico-grammatical decisions. To this end, the English translation of Pamuk’s My Name is Red by Göknar (2001), as well as the Arabic one by Abdulli (2000) are dissected. Lexico-cultural behaviours concomitant to the representation of nature in both target texts are analysed. Results shed light on how eco-translatology can help inform and give insights to modern translation studies.

DEVOTIONAL POETRY IN TECHNICAL MANUSCRIPT TERMINOLOGY: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ROSE GARDEN OF PURITY (GOLZĀR-E ṢAFĀ)

Among the wide variety of Persian manuscript categories, there is a distinctive genre that includes recipes on materials and technics of manuscript production. And within this genre, we come across distinctly interesting works that adopt charming romantic poetry to record subjects that are rather dull, dry, and unattractive to the general audience! One of such historical sources is a sixteenth century manuscript entitled Rose Garden of Purity (Golzār-e Ṣafā) by ʿAlī Ṣayrafī, preserved in Paris Central Library. The subject of this research is the manuscript’s impressive Preface in which the poet expresses his sincere devotion to his Creator, and begs for forgiveness – all in melodious poetic language, using technical manuscript terms, colors and pigments as symbols and metaphors. The essay provides an opening remark entitled ‘Manuscripts on Manuscript Production’ followed by and introduction to the manuscript of ‘Golzār-e Ṣafā (Rose Garden of Purity). The little knowledge extracted about ʿAlī Ṣayrafī from the manuscript is shared under ‘The Author-cum-Poet.’ ‘Preface with 12 Couplets’ is the focal point of the essay; there the 12 couplets (24 hemistiches) are presented in the original language (Farsi/Persian) along with an English translation that is published here for the first time. A detailed analysis of technical terms used in the Preface, and an elaboration of their symbolic significance, is presented under ‘Expression of Devotion in Technical Manuscript Vocabulary.’

IMPLICIT NEGATION IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE: LINGUISTIC MEANS OF EXPRESSION AND FEATURES OF FUNCTIONING

This article explores how implicit negation, a form of negation that is not directly expressed in a language, is employed in contemporary English. It analyses lexical, grammatical, and stylistic methods of conveying negative meanings through examples from fiction and everyday conversations. Implicit negation relies on the context and semantics of linguistic units such as negative verbs, prefixes, rhetorical questions, irony, and sarcasm. This highlights the role of implicit negation in politeness strategies and softening of the tone of statements. Understanding implicit negation can deepen the connection between language and thought, with applications in English language teaching, translation, and intercultural communication.

Introduction of Machine Translation into Audiovisual Translation Teaching

Subtitling has long been the primary type of audiovisual translation in Slovenia. A steady increase in the production of audiovisual content, including English-speaking movies and TV series, along with the development of machine translation, have seen a growing need and opportunity for subtitling globally. The Department of Translation Studies (University of Ljubljana) has offered courses in subtitling to MA students for over twenty years. In the course of this time, teaching methods have been adapted to embrace new technologies. Recently, students have shown interest in incorporating machine translation into the subtitling course. The paper presents an analysis of a subtitling assignment in which students were asked to post-edit DeepL’s Slovene translation of English formatted movie subtitles. The post-edited subtitles were compared with the subtitles done by a group of students from scratch. The results show considerable differences in the students’ multimodal awareness and the overall quality of the subtitles between the two groups.

DIFFICULTIES OF TRANSLATING POLYSEMOUS LEXICAL ITEMS AND THE STRATEGIES ADOPTED: A CASE STUDY OF EFL LEARNERS AT SABER FACULTY OF SCIENCE AND EDUCATION – DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH - UNIVERSITY OF LAHIJ

This study aimed to investigate the knowledge of the undergraduate students in translating three Arabic polysemous lexical items into English in different contexts. The research aimed to assess the student's proficiency in giving the meaning of polysemous words and measure their ability to select appropriate equivalents as well as the strategies adopted. The study involved thirty students from the Department of English, Saber Faculty of Science and Education. The participants carried out a translation test that contextualized three Arabic lexical polysemous lexical items (ضرب - حصر- تخفيف) within fifteen sentences. Statistical analysis of the data revealed a lack of knowledge among undergraduate students as they faced difficulties in constructing proper sentence patterns and a lack of competence in finding the exact English equivalents, resulting in challenges in selecting words that formed coherent English sentences and violating the sentence structure. Consequently, their production of correct English sentences was compromised. Furthermore, the study identified that the students relied on various language strategies, including L1 transfer, synonymy, avoidance, and paraphrasing, to facilitate their translation process. However, these strategies led to unsatisfactory English translations.

A Study on the English Translation of News Headlines from the Perspective of Variational Translation Theory

Based on the variational translation theory, this study selects the bilingual headlines of China Daily in 2023 as samples. From the perspective of the variational translation theory, this study analyzes the examples by using the three techniques of “adding”, “deleting” and “narrating” in the variational translation theory, and explores the application of the variational translation theory in the translation of news headlines, in order to provide new perspectives and ideas for the translation of news headlines.

George Sale and his Translation of the Qur’ān: A Study

The Holy Qur’ān is the Word of Allah, and its interpretation is divine; with this belief, Muslim scholars have approached the Qur’ānic text. Nevertheless, the translation and tafsīr (exegesis) of the Holy Qur’ān have remained a significant contribution of Muslim scholars for ages. On the other hand, Western scholars, particularly Orientalists, have also attempted to translate the Qur’ānic text into different European languages. Similarly, George Sale was the first Orientalist scholar to translate the Holy Qur’ān into English directly from Arabic. This paper attempted to evaluate, examine and analyze the translation of George Sale critically. This paper focused on the objectives of Sale’s preliminary discourse, which he has prefixed to his translation and commentary. This paper has analyzed and critically examined the aims and objectives behind the translation and Commentary of Sale and his missionary affiliations. This paper argues that Sale’s methodology in translation and tafsīr has remained far from the approach of Muslim scholars. The purpose of his translation into the English language has fulfilled the aims of the Orientalist movement. This paper is qualitative and analytical. The study recommends that George Sale’s omission, additions, interpolation, and misquotations from the sources he had claimed to use are biased on methodological principles. Finally, the results are based on the available English translations of the Muslims and the methodology of principles of tafsīr recommended by Islamic traditions.

An Exploration of the Cinematic Adaptation of Manto’s Short Stories in the Light of Foucault’s Discourse Theory

This paper explores the cinematic adaptation ‘Mantostaan’, which is a compilation of the four short stories by Saadat Hasan Manto: ‘The Last Salute’, ‘Open It’, ‘The Assignment’, and ‘Colder than Ice’ in the light of Foucault’s Discourse theory. These works are the English translations of Manto’s Urdu works and are taken resort to for deeply observing the visual content of the film adaptation. For Foucault (1977), it is through discourse (through knowledge) that we are created; and that discourse joins power and knowledge, and its power follows from our casual acceptance of the “reality with which we are presented”. The discourse theory is applied on the dialogues exchanged by the characters of the film in the background of the horror during the partition of India occurred in 1947. It also discovers how various kinds of situations, in the turmoil of communal riots, led the characters holding the power position and thus dominating the discourse. The characters of the film thus, driven by their knowledge, create or participate in the discourse. These discourses shape out the situations, consequences of which are faced by the people. Thus, the paper taking into account the partition fracas, focuses upon the situations created by the discourse throughout the time of communal animosity and upon its bewildering aftermaths affecting people’s lives.

Assessing the Essence: An Appraisal Analysis of English Translations of Saraiki Short Stories

Assessing the Essence: An Appraisal Analysis of English Translations of Saraiki Short Stories

More Than Just Surviving: Rebellion Against Patriarchy in the English Translation of Han Kang’s The Vegetarian

The article analyzes the English translation of the Korean novel The Vegetarian (2015) by Han Kang in light of the impact of a patriarchal society on a woman's life. In the article, I analyze the English version as a standalone novel rather than a translation from Korean due to various instances of mistranslations and omissions. The narrative tells the story of Yeong-hye, a Korean woman who one day becomes an eponymous vegetarian and stops eating meat. The more committed Yeong-hye is to her dietary choice, the more aggressive her family becomes, perceiving her decision as absurd and foolish. The novel's central theme, unlike the novel's title may suggest, is not vegetarianism but rebellion and the silent suffering of a woman trapped in a patriarchal world that does not understand her. The study incorporates Gilbert and Gubar's concept of the “angel in the house” and Timothy Morton's distinction between Life and "life." Lastly, the research discusses the role of Yeong-hye and the author of the novel, Han Kang, concerning Gilbert and Gubar's notion of “anxiety of authorship”. I argue that Yeong-hye's transformation, resulting in her institutionalization in a mental hospital.

Cultural Perspectives in English Translation: The Story of Crow and Snake From Panchatantra

The problem is that although the culture and language are blended, the linguistic elements sometimes roughly demonstrate cultural dimensions in translated products. In other words, a cultural translation usually demands an understanding of linguistic i.e. culturally bound terms and expressions as well as extra-linguistic elements including cultural ones. Since literature is a nation’s cultural resource, the issue becomes even more complicated when literary translation is being involved. To our knowledge, there is no original Panchatantra left in India and all we have today are translations in different languages. To this end, the Persian version has always been considered the source text since the book was first translated into Persian in 550 CE. Therefore, the English translation of the story Crow and Snake is selected from Panchatantra as the target text and investigated employing Bassnett and Lefevere’s (1992) Cultural Theory with a focus on interpretive Discourse Analysis (DA) as analytical frameworks. The Persian text is the translation of Monshi, reprinted in 2010 and the English translation was done by Ryder in 1925. The findings reveal that the relationship between language and culture still remains complicated, and yet the lack of cultural understanding among the translators leads to violation and distortion of the intended messages and meanings embedded in source texts. It is quite safe then to say that the lack of cultural knowledge highly influences the translation

Measuring the Social Impact of Burn Injuries in Australia: An Adaptation of the Life Impact Burn Recovery Evaluation—The Aus-LIBRE Profile

Abstract Burn survivors can experience social participation challenges throughout their recovery. The aim of this study was to develop a novel Australian English translation of the Life Impact Burn Recovery Evaluation (LIBRE) Profile, the Aus-LIBRE Profile. This study consisted of 3 stages: (1) translation of the LIBRE Profile from American to Australian English by Australian researchers/burns clinicians, (2) piloting and cognitive evaluation of the Aus-LIBRE Profile with burn survivors to assess the clarity and consistency of the interpretation of each individual item, and (3) review of the Aus-LIBRE Profile by colleagues who identify as Aboriginal Australians for cross-cultural validation. In stage 2, investigators administered the translated questionnaire to 20 Australian patients with burn injuries in the outpatient clinic (10 patients from Victoria and 10 patients from Western Australia). Face validity of the Aus-LIBRE Profile was tested in 20 burns survivors (11 females) ranging from 21 to 74 years (median age 43 years). The total body surface area burned ranged from 1% to 50% (median 10%). Twelve language changes were made based on the feedback from the burn clinicians/researchers, study participants, and colleagues who identify as Aboriginal Australians. Using a formal translation process, the Aus-LIBRE Profile was adapted for use in the Australian burn population. The Aus-LIBRE Profile will require psychometric validation and testing in the Australian patient with burns population before broader application of the scale.