Slovene Translations Research Articles

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.

John Donne in Slovenian and the “Reflexive” Translation Theory of Antoine Berman

In his last book, Antoine Berman developed his theory of “translation criticism” by considering the poetry of John Donne in French translation. The present article applies that theory to Slovenian translations of Donne by Janez Menart and Marjan Strojan. It makes particular use of Berman’s concept of “marked” textual features to consider the survival of Donne’s “far-fetched” stylistic devices in Menart’s and Strojan’s translations. The article suggests that translation critics outside the Slovenian milieu should be aware of the preconceptions fostered by the hierarchy of “high” and “low” impact cultures. Silvia Kadiu, commenting on Berman, stresses the importance of “reflexivity” on the part of literary translators. When, as translation critics, we consider these two translators’ place within Slovenian culture and investigate the critical erudition they display towards Donne’s historical milieu, we find that Strojan and Menart pay exceptional respect to the principle of reflexivity.

Slovene Translation of the Difficulties in Suicidal Behaviors Intervention Questionnaire (DSBQ).

Background: Mental health professionals encounter numerous difficulties when working with suicidal clients. To understand these difficulties in clinical practice better, a valid instrument measuring them is needed. Aims: This study aimed to translate the Difficulties in Suicidal Behaviors Intervention Questionnaire (DSBQ) to Slovene, validate it, and explore Slovenian professionals' experiences with it. Method: The participants were 106 professionals (19 men, 87 women), aged 26-66 years. Apart from the DSBQ, scales on attitudes toward suicide prevention and coping strategies in difficult clinical situations were used. The data were collected between October 2017 and January 2019. Results: Although slightly diverging from the originally reported component structure, the Slovene translation of the DSBQ measures difficulties in working with suicidal clients with acceptable/good reliability and sensitivity, and adequate construct validity. Slovenian professionals most commonly experience difficulties related to working with children, followed by technical, system and setting, and other types of difficulties. Limitations: The sample of participants was relatively heterogeneous. Conclusion: Further studies of the DSBQ structure and validity, as well as difficulties, especially those related to working with children/adolescents and facing the theme of death, are warranted. Considering the difficulties most frequently reported in this investigation, more efforts are also needed in Slovenia to address technical and logistic aspects.

Slovenian version of the Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life Scale 39-Generic Version (SAQOL-39g): Psychometric properties

ABSTRACT Purpose Aphasia, which is one of the most common consequences of stroke, has severe impact on everyday life. Quality of life in persons with aphasia changes dramatically. In the recent years, there has been a lot of interest in assessing health-related quality of life, but few questionnaires are adapted to people with aphasia (PwA). The Stroke Aphasia Quality of Life-39 scale (SAQOL-39) Generic Version is suitable for people with and without aphasia. Our study examined the reliability and validity of a translation of the SAQOL-39 g into Slovenian in Slovenian-speaking PwA. Methods Translation, back-translation from English into Slovenian language was performed. Seventy-three PwA with broad range of severity and times post-onset of stroke were included in the study of psychometric properties of the Slovenian translation. Results The psychometric properties in Slovenian version were quite similar to other languages, with high internal consistency and test-retest reliability (Cronbach alpha > 0.94; ICC ≥0.99). Conclusion The Slovenian translation of the SAQOL-39 g is a valid and reliable measure of quality of life in PwA. It can be clinically used as an additional tool for goal setting in Slovenian PwA.

Inter-rater reliability in the Testing methods of the International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative (IDDSI) in Slovenian language

Background: Texture modification of drinks and food is a widespread clinical intervention for managing dysphagia. The descriptive and experiential approach to measurement is mainly used by healthcare professionals, caregivers, and patients. This study examines the inter-rater reliability of the International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative (IDDSI) Testing methods on different food samples from the hospital’s central kitchen.
 Methods: Nine previously trained healthcare professionals of different professional backgrounds and working experiences independently evaluated 34 food samples in IDDSI levels 4, 5, 6, and 7.1, using a Slovenian translation of the IDDSI Audit Tools. The 12 descriptive food characteristics were observed during the two consecutive days of data collection, representing 7 IDDSI Testing Methods. The Fleiss’ Kappa was used as a measure of agreement.
 Results: Perfect agreement among raters was found for the Fork drip test regarding both observed parameters: dripping and holding shape. All ratings of participants were completely the same. Therefore, Fleiss’ Kappa is considered (κ =1) in both cases. Moderate agreement (κ = 0.583) was found in particle size assessment. Fair agreement was observed in the Fork Pressure Test (κ = 0.361) and Finger Test, indicating bolus separation (κ = 0.328), pressure (κ = 0.305), and moisture (κ = 0.297). Fair agreement was also found for the Fork/Spoon Separation Test (κ = 0.265) and the Spoon Tilt Test in parameters of holding shape on the spoon (κ =0.233) and stickiness (κ = 0.327). No statistically significant results were found in the assessment of adhesiveness (κ = 0.059) in the Spoon Tilt Test and assessment of a typical pattern (κ = 0.039) in the Fork Pressure Test.
 Conclusions: The study proved the Fork Drip Test to be a comprehensive and highly reliable assessment tool, while the other IDDSI Testing Methods showed low inter-rater reliability. The study highlights the risks of low agreement among raters. It draws attention to the IDDSI descriptors, which should be improved with additional instructions or standardised training protocol for learning the IDDSI Testing Methods.

Validation of the Slovene Version of the Stop-Bang Questionnaire in a Primary Practice Setting.

The aim of our study was to validate the Slovene translation of the STOP-BANG (SBQ) questionnaire for use in the primary practice setting. We recruited 158 randomly selected visitors at four primary practice clinics who came to the practice for any reason. Participants completed the Slovene SBQ and underwent type 3 respiratory polygraphy, which was analysed by an experienced somnologist. The SBQ was previously translated in to Slovene and validated for the sleep clinic. Of 158 participants, 153 had valid recordings. The mean age of the participants was 49.5 years (±13.0 years), and 47.7% were male. OSA was identified in 49.0% of the participants. The questionnaire, with a cutoff of ≥3, demonstrated an area under the curve of 0.823 for any OSA (REI≥5), 0.819 for moderate and severe OSA (REI≥15) and 0.847 for severe OSA (REI≥30). Sensitivity was 65.3%, 81.8%, and 90.0%, and specificity was 87.2%, 73.3% and 65.0% for any, moderate to severe and severe OSA, respectively. The Slovene translation of the SBQ is a reliable instrument for OSA risk stratification in the primary practice setting.

Intertextuality and the Book of Revelation in the Slovene Translation of Bulgakov’s The White Guard

The first part of the research presents the works of one of the greatest contemporary Russian writers, Mikhail Afanisiejvich Bulgakov while further on focusing on the analysis of intertextual devices that Bulgakov uses to establish intertextual connections between his first novel The White Guard and the apocalyptic Book of Revelation in the only Slovene translation by Marjan Poljanec (1973). The numerous allusions and direct quotes from the Book of Revelation convey a special meaning attributed to the apocalyptic text in Bulgakov’s masterpiece. The present paper is interested in the extent, if there is any, to which the intertextual elements are preserved in the Slovene translation and which strategies Poljanec used to preserve them.

Witchcraft or Otherness

Tituba, a supporting character in Arthur Miller’s 1953 play The Crucible, can be associated with the concept of otherness in several respects. For one, she is not free like the rest of the population of Salem, Massachusetts, where the play is set, but was brought to the community from the island of Barbados by Reverend Parris as an enslaved woman. Being of Caribbean origin, she is also not an English Protestant like the rest of the village, and despite having accepted her master’s church, as was common for the enslaved throughout the British colonial period, Protestantism is not her first religion. Finally, the two most evident and immediately perceivable characteristics placing her in the category of the Other are her skin colour and her language, which also seem to be the main reasons that she was the first person to be accused of witchcraft in Salem. This paper focuses on Tituba’s speech, particularly from the point of view of the possibilities as well as difficulties of translating her utterances into Slovene. The contrastive analysis includes Miller’s original play, its two Slovene translations, Lov na čarovnice, the published one (1964) and the unpublished theatre translation (1997/2019), as well as a brief insight into two theatre productions of the play at the Maribor National Theatre.

Do Respectable Ladies Buzz, Grumble or Hum

Et dukkehjem (A Dolls’ House) by Henrik Ibsen is one of the most central texts of world theatre and literature, but at the same time, it is also a text written by an author coming from a relatively peripheral source language and culture. Nevertheless, soon after her entrance to the European stages Ibsen’s Nora found her way to the Slovenian theatres, albeit via German translations more often than not. This paper will show how the fact that the translations were done between two peripheral languages has affected all existing Slovenian translations, direct or indirect.

Chaucer’s Pardoner in Slovenian and the significance of paratext in making meaning in translation

The article examines the Slovenian translations of Chaucer’s collection The Canterbury Tales with a focus on the character of the Pardoner and his gender and sexual non-normativity as discussed by critics in the last century. The 1974 and 2012 Slovenian translations differ to a certain extent, but not in any significant manner with reference to the Pardoner’s portrayal. However, important differences become apparent when comparing the paratexts of the two editions, especially their explanatory notes, which are likely to lead readers to make different meanings of the texts. Because of the different paratexts in the Slovenian editions of the Tales, the two editions of the “same” target text are in effect different texts. Hence, the article argues for the importance of paratexts both in producing, translating and reading texts as well as in translation analyses.

Reproducibility and content validity of the Slovenian version of the STarT Back Screening Tool for chronicity risk assessment in patients with low back pain.

Chronic pain is the most common cause of impaired work ability and thus represents a significant social and economic burden. STarT Back Screening Tool (SBT) is the most often used screening tool for rapid identification and classification of patients for their risk of development of chronic low back pain, which is valid and reliable in the original English version and translation into other languages. The aim of the present study was to translate the SBT into Slovenian and to evaluate its content validity and reliability. We translated the SBT from English into Slovenian and back according to the standard protocol. We tested its metric properties on a group of patients with low back pain aged 18 to 65 years. The reliability of the reassessment was calculated using the ICC and specific agreement, while the content validity of the questionnaire was determined using the ceiling and floor effect. Of the 42 patients who participated in the study, 42.9% were at low risk, 33.3% were at moderate risk, and 23.8% were at high risk of developing chronic pain, according to the SBT. The ICC for the entire sample was 0.96 (95% CI 0.92-0.98). The Slovenian translation of the SBT showed excellent specific agreement between the initial and repeat assessments: 91.4% for the low-risk group, 85.7% for the moderate-risk group, and 95.2% for the high-risk group. In addition, it showed good content validity, as no ceiling or floor effects were detected. The Slovenian translation of the questionnaire is suitable for clinical use.

Psychometric Characteristics, Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Slovenian Version of the Victorian Institute of Sports Assessments for Gluteal Tendinopathy Questionnaire (VISA-G).

Greater trochanteric pain syndrome (GTPS) denotes several disorders around the lateral aspect of the hip. GTPS may develop in native hips as well as after total hip arthroplasty (THA). It is estimated that 5-12% of patients suffer from GTPS after primary THA. Despite the prevalence of GTPS, it is hard to diagnose and manage it properly. The VISA-G questionnaire was developed as a patient-reported outcome measurement tool for evaluation of GTPS. The aims of the present study were to evaluate the reliability of the VISA-G Slovenian and its construct and criterion validity. After the finalization of the VISA-G Slovenian translation procedure, 59 patients with a painful trochanteric region planned for THA filled in the VISA-G Slovenian at the hospital on two occasions 5-7 days apart. On the first occasion, each patient also filled in the EQ-5D-5L questionnaire and the Harris Hip Score (HHS) was completed by the physiotherapist. The VISA-G Slovenian was found to have a test-retest reliability of ICC 0.977; 95% CI [0.96; 0.986]. Internal consistency was assessed with Cronbach's alpha 0.79. The statistically significant, but low, correlation between the HHS and VISA-G (r=0.48) was obtained. Concurrent validity of the VISA-G with the EQ-5D-5L showed moderate to strong correlations in Mobility, Self-Care, Usual Activities, Pain, EQ-5D-5L Index and EQ VAS, but low correlation in the Anxiety subscale. No floor and ceiling effect were obtained. The VISA-G Slovenian has excellent psychometric properties needed to measure gluteal tendinopathy-related disability of patients in Slovenia. Thus, we recommend using the questionnaire for measuring trochanteric hip pain.

A MILLENNIUM OF ONE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS

No other work of Oriental literature has had such an influence on Europe as the collection of Arabic tales entitled One Thousand and One Nights. It was first translated from the Syrian original into French (Les Mille et Une Nuits, 1704–17) by the orientalist Antoine Galland and into English by Richard Burton (The Thousand Nights and a Night, 1885–88). The first Slovenian translation is an adaptation: the translator was Filip Lipe Haderlap, and the title was Tisoč in ena noč: pravljice iz jutrovih dežel (One Thousand and One Nights: Fairy Tales from the Lands of the East, 1880–91). It is a Christianized translation from German based on the Viennese edition (Max Habicht, Friedrich Heinrich von der Hagen, Carl Schall: Die Erzählungen der 1001 Nacht aus Tunesien. Arabische Erzahlungen [1825]). In the Slovenian adaptation, Scheherazade is called Lunica, Dinarezada Srebrnica, Sultan Shahryar is Riar, his brother Shahzeman is Senan, and the vizier is a minister. Makalonca (1944) by F. S. Finžgar was also taken from the Arabic collection entitled Zgodba o Kamar-al-Zamanu in kitajski princesi Badur (The Tale of Kamar al-Zaman and the Chinese Princess Badur), in Haderlap’s translation under the title Historija od princa Krasnobora in od Kitajske princezinje Milene (The History of Prince Krasnobor and of the Chinese Princess Milena). Slovenian readers are most familiar with individual fairy tales (Aladdin and the Magic Lamp, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, TheThief of Bagdad, The Magic Horse, Harun al-Rashid, The Fisherman and the Genie, Open Sesame, Sinbad the Sailor, TheThree Apples, etc.).

THE BULGARIAN PAST FUTURE PERFECT AND ITS SLOVENE EQUIVALENTS: A CONTRASTIVE PERSPECTIVE

The article identifies and analyses Slovene contrastive (linguistic-systemic) equivalents of the Bulgarian future perfect tense, an infrequently used verb form in contemporary Bulgarian, indicating an action/event posterior with regard to a past time reference point and anterior with regard to another (generally past) time point. The analysis is based on text examples with the past future perfect from various Bulgarian grammatical works and their literal Slovene translations. Slovene contrastive equivalents of the Bulgarian past future perfect include different verb forms (with different temporal-modal meanings), which depend partly on syntactic structures in which they appear: the Slovene conditional (pogojnik), the perfect (preteklik) and the future (prihodnjik) correspond to the Bulgarian past future perfect in simple sentences, as well as relative and causal dependent clauses; the conditional in main clauses modified by conditional clauses and the future in content dependent clauses. The Slovene conditional indicates the (non)realizability of an action/event, the perfect signals its (supposed) completion in the past-time sphere, to which the future adds a prospective view (when used with the function of “flash-forward”); the future tense in content clauses signals posteriority in the past. The retrospective view can be either indicated explicitly by time expressions (sometimes found already in the source-text examples) or it can be contextually and co-textually inferred.

Psychometric Proprieties of the Slovenian Version of the Test of Gross Motor Development–3

Motor competence as an indicator of gross motor development is characterized by changes in movement patterns and outcomes. The Test of Gross Motor Development-3 consists of six locomotor and seven ball tasks used to assess the quality of fundamental motor skills in children. The purpose of this study is twofold—to produce a Slovenian translation of Test of Gross Motor Development-3 and to evaluate it on a sample of Slovenian children. First, a back translation was carried out with the help of relevant field professionals, thus producing a Slovenian version of Test of Gross Motor Development-3 with excellent content validity. Second, trained assessors rated the video-recorded test tasks of 452 Slovenian children with smaller groups of measured participants repeating the procedure within 2- and 4-week interval to assess reliability. Finally, the collected data were analyzed using several statistical methods. The data showed good to excellent reliability for intrarater, interrater, test–retest reliability, structural validity, and internal consistency for the majority of motor skills, as well as good measurement invariance across genders.

The Semantic Field of Love and Fear in Three Older and the Latest Slovene Translation of Deuteronomy

The paper is the result of a comparative analysis of selected Slovenian translations of all the passages of the Book of Deuteronomy in which the semantic field of love and fear is at the forefront. The comparison includes the Hebrew original, the two most influential ancient and three older Slovenian translations of the Bible, namely the translation by Jurij Japelj (1744–1807), the unpublished translation by Matevž Ravnikar (1776–1845) and the translation by Jurij Volc in the so-called Wolfʼs Bible (1805–1885). A comparative analysis of language and style in relation to the Hebrew original, the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate reveals similarities and differences in the older three and in the latest Slovenian translation of the Bible (SPJ) in terms of the use of vocabulary, the form of parallelism and the parenetic style. The focus is on how in Deuteronomy the lexeme “love” is linked to the lexeme “fear”, which is often only apparently opposed to the concept of love. We want to know whether these two concepts are exclusive or complementary in Deuteronomy. This paper provides important insights into the cognitive and emotional content of the concepts of “love” and “fear” in the Hebrew and Slovenian translations of Deuteronomy.

Słoweńskie tłumaczenia literatury polskiej w latach 2019 i 2020

The article provides an overview of Slovenian translations of Polish literature in the 2019’s and 2020’s and reviewers’ responses to these works. A total of 23 translations of books were published in 2019, including five literary works (three collections of poetry and two novels). Among the 13 published translations of the following year there were eight literary works (one drama, a collection of short stories, three novels and three collections of poetry). The publishing of e-books also increased significantly in 2020. The published translations give Slovenian readers access to familiar, mostly world-renowned authors such as O. Tokarczuk, Z. Herbert, W. Szymborska, C. Miłosz, I. Karpowicz, while works by I. Ostachowicz, B. Nowicka, A. Kulisiewicz, J. Małecki, R. Franczak, and K. Dąbrowska were translated into Slovenian for the first time. With the exception of J. Kochanowski’s drama, all of the literary works translated were from the second half of the 20th century or the 21st century.

Fighting against Fake News Using the Card Game "Follow Me”

The increasing presence of fake news in the media, especially on social media poses significant damage to our society. Disinformation undermines the credibility of conventional media and the authority of government officials, contributing to the destabilization of democratic systems. The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated these processes; people have been forced to function intensively in the online space, with a related increase in the time spent on social networking sites. At the same time, the so-called infodemic has been unleashed. The amount of fake news – especially dubious information related to the coronavirus – has increased significantly. The most effective protection against fake news is continuous education and the development of critical thinking. Traditional educational approaches are not always sufficient and fail to adapt quickly enough to the dynamic development of technology and society. Educational games can effectively reach young audiences, and therefore they are coming to the fore. These educational games include the card game Follow Me, which focuses on introducing the dynamics of social media. The target audience of the game is primarily secondary school students, and it has been developed with an emphasis on effective use within the high school educational process. In the game, players take on the role of social media users in order to gain as many followers as possible, while trying to maintain their credibility and detect fake news published by other players. The game features articles covering four different domains (health, science, geopolitics, and society), and due to this diversity, topics from different domains inevitably emerge during gameplay. The game was published by the Slovak game development studio Impact Games and is currently available in print in Slovak language, with English, Croatian and Slovenian translations already available online. The aim of this paper is to introduce the game Follow Me and analyse its game mechanics, mainly focusing on the educational elements. The main contribution of the study is a deeper understanding of game mechanics that can develop critical thinking and an estimation of their effectiveness in educating players about the safe use of social media.

Evaluation of Patient-Reported Symptoms and Functioning after Treatment for Endometrial Cancer.

The overall survival of women with endometrial cancer is excellent after management. Different management strategies are associated with variable patient-reported outcomes (PROs). Evaluating PROs in the follow-up period can aid in better counseling and intervention for PRO improvement. This study aimed to evaluate the properties of the Slovenian translation of the EORTC QLQ-EN24 assessment scale. Women treated at the University Medical Centre Maribor, Slovenia, between January 2016 and December 2019 were invited to report their symptoms using the EORTC QLQ-EN24 questionnaire. Data were correlated with treatment modalities and clinical characteristics. The median age of participants in our study was 61 years old. PROs were not specific to therapy or clinical characteristics. Overall, women who more frequently reported gastrointestinal symptoms, muscular pain, or back pain also had statistically more frequently decreased levels of PROs in other assessed areas. Women who reported sexual or vaginal problems more often reported significantly poorer body images. Sexual activity within 4 weeks prior to completing the scale was reported by 39% of women. Sexual functioning assessments also showed important correlations between sexual interest, enjoyment, and activity. Individualized follow-ups addressing PROs should be offered to better address concerns and improve long-term outcomes in women with endometrial cancer.

Slovenian Validation of the Capacity to Love Inventory – A Preliminary Study

Our study aimed to test the psychometric properties of the Slovenian version of the Capacity to Love Inventory (CTL-I, Kapusta et al., 2018). The CTL-I is a 41-item self-report questionnaire that measures the construct of capacity to love. The measure itself has been operationalized based on findings from clinical practice and psychodynamic theory and relates to both clinically relevant symptoms as well as healthier manifestations of personality. The CTL-I measures six dimensions:interest in the life project of the other, basic trust, gratitude, common ego ideal, permanence of sexual passion and loss and mourning. Due to the concept of capacity to love being closely related to relationship quality, we used the Quality of Relationship Inventory (QRI) to examine external validity. Our final study sample consisted of 224 non-clinical adults. Overall, the Slovenian version of the CTL-I showed a satisfactory model fit, comparable to that of previous validation studies. The QRI subscales were found to correlate with most of the CTL-I factors, as well as the CTL-I subscales with each other. Because of the instrument being tested on a smaller convenience sample in this study, we believe our findings should be viewed as a preliminary attempt at validating the Slovenian translation of the CTL-I. While the results of the present study are promising, we believe additional research is needed to fully assess the psychometric properties of the Slovenian CTL-I.