Translation Practitioners Research Articles

Netflix English subtitling of idioms in Egyptian movies: challenges and strategies

Recently, subtitles in different languages have become more available and accessible, thanks to streaming platforms like Netflix, which provide viewers with multiple language choices, including Arabic and English. This study examines the strategies of subtitling Egyptian phraseological units, particularly idioms, into English. The parallel corpus of data under examination consists of two Egyptian movies, namely, “The Great Chinese Beans” and “The Humans and the Mongoose”. Following Baker’s taxonomy of translation strategies, the analysis showed that the examined idioms were predominantly translated through cultural substitution. The analysis also showed that there were instances of erroneous literal translation. Furthermore, several cases of mistranslation were identified, which could be attributed to a potential lack of understanding of the nuances and subtleties of the source and target cultures, as well as limitations and difficulties in finding appropriate equivalents. This study may hold significance for translation practitioners and scholars, specifically those focusing on subtitling, cultural translation, and the translation of idiomatic expressions.

Strategy choice, shaping factors and justifications: Perceptions of academic translators of Humanities and Social Sciences texts

AbstractScholars have conflicting views as to strategy choice between foreignization and domestication, and each view is supported by descriptive case analyses. So far, translation practitioners' voices on strategy use have not been heard. This study aims to explore translators' views on strategy choice, shaping factors, and justifications. The participants surveyed were translators of academic texts in Humanities and Social Sciences, a genre requiring substantial and creative interventions from translators in rhetorical norms and epistemological conventions. The results indicate that: domestication is used more often than foreignization; strategy use is translator-specific in that the translators are divided concerning the manipulation of the macro-level source-text features and content, though most of them agree to domesticate the micro-level features; eight factors (target readers' needs, authors, etc.) exert different degrees of impact on strategy use; and the current practices of justifying strategy use is invisible, harming the recognition of translators' contributions and their professional status.

Profiles, Perceptions, and Experiences of Video Game Translators

The nuances involved in game localization call for an expert workforce, well-versed in dealing with the challenges involved. Yet, the prospect of game localization is still a blue-water area of research and not much is known regarding the profiles and the current industry practices. Thus, the present study seeks to throw light on the profiles, perceptions, and experiences of game translators. A total of 125 game translators provided qualitative and quantitative data regarding the various aspects of the profession through a 25-item online questionnaire. The findings point to a relatively young, highly educated, and mostly self-employed workforce who undertake translation as their main source of income and have a strong gaming background. The strengths and the weaknesses of the current workflow practices are identified and discussed, and suggestions are made drawing on the perceptions and experiences of game translation practitioners.

How Long Will You Love Being “Upright”? The Danger of False Friends in Translation

Working in related languages can be beneficial in that knowledge of one language can be applied to another without having to learn each one individually. Unfortunately, assumed equivalence often leads to mistakes and misunderstandings caused by false friends—often referred to as “false cognates”—that is, words that appear similar across language boundaries and are therefore assumed to have the same meaning. While the issue of false friends has been discussed with regards to language learning for decades, false friends are not always obvious and can single-handedly render translations inaccurate, unacceptable, or both. The goal of this paper is to apply insights from existing studies on false friends to translation among related languages and Bible translation in particular. To clarify the nature of the issue, relevant terminology is discussed alongside examples from Bible translation in South Asia. Finally, the paper proposes potential steps forward for Bible translation practitioners to avoid the potential pitfalls of false friends.

Retracted: Emotional Stress Relief Mechanism of English Translation Practitioners Based on Role Cognition.

[This retracts the article DOI: 10.1155/2022/1447090.].

Translating Jack Halberstam's Gaga Feminism and The Queer Art of Failure into Italian: A Conversation

This contribution features a dialogue between three translation practitioners with an interest in queer theory and activism, Michela Baldo, Elisa Virgili and Goffredo Polizzi, on the recent translations into Italian of two works by Jack Halberstam, The Queer Art of Failure (2011), translated by the collective CRAAAZI, to which Goffredo Polizzi belongs, and Gaga Feminism (2012), translated by Elisa Virgili. After introducing these translations and the context in which they came into place, Baldo, Virgili and Polizzi analyse the translation process and the choices made by the translators. The last part of the discussion focuses on the reception of these translations in the Italian context and highlights their importance on the transfeminist scene.

Changes in web search query behavior of English-to-Chinese translation trainees

This article delves into the evolution of web search query behavior among translation trainees over a semester, using a repeated measures design. While prior research in Translation Studies has predominantly focused on information-seeking patterns and types of resources used, a crucial gap remains in understanding the web search query behavior of diverse translation practitioners. Specifically, this investigation analyzes intra-subject and inter-task level changes in web search query behavior within a group of 19 first-year master's students enrolled in an English-to-Chinese translation course, building upon key literature in the field. The statistical analysis conducted reveals changes in the examined variables—query time, complexity, and language—highlighting the importance of targeted research and training to enhance web search skills and search engine proficiency. These findings carry relevant implications for translation practitioners, particularly as new AI technologies continue to expand and enhance their search toolbox and skillset.

Reshaping Translation Approaches to Unideal Texts: Translators’ Emotional Orientation towards Text User

In current translation practice, many source texts are hardly free of flaws, making them unable to realize their intended communicative effects, thus being regarded as “unideal texts”. Previous studies have probed into the translation approaches to unideal texts at the literal level, but unideal texts at the non-literal level are rarely explored. For such unideal texts, two translation approaches are available, namely faithful translation and rewriting. However, translation practitioners often adopt a continuum ranging from extremely faithful to entirely unfaithful approaches in translating unideal texts. Andre Lefevere presents three influential factors in his rewriting theory, namely patronage, ideology, and poetics, but his rewriting theory fails to explain the phenomenon of translation concerning rewriting unideal texts for other factors. This paper aims to investigate the influence of emotional orientation on translation approaches to unideal texts by comparing two English translation versions (a faithful translation and a rewritten version by two translators who have different emotional orientations towards the text user) of a Chinese speech transcript. Research methodologies include translation literature analysis, case studies, and an interview with the translator adopting rewriting as the approach. This paper finds that the influential factors in rewriting should include the emotional orientation of translators towards the text user.

When Translation Goes Digital: Case Studies and Critical Reflections. Renée Desjardins, Claire Larsonneur, and Philippe Lacour

The emerging and growing field of ‘Digital Humanities’ (DH) has brought profound and comprehensive changes. Particular concern has been aroused by the impact of advanced technologies on translation and Translation Studies (TS). Cutting-edge technologies have developed effective online machine translation (MT) tools such as Google Translate and DeepL. Consequently, there has been an on-going debate about whether digital technologies will completely replace human translation in the near future, which seems unlikely to me. When Translation Goes Digital: Case Studies and Critical Reflections (Desjardins et al., 2021) supports this position and bolsters my confidence in human translation. Consisting of ten studies presented at the sixth International Association for Translation at Hong Kong Baptist University, the book is structured in three parts. Aiming to ‘explore how the digital landscape was impacting translation and TS, broadly and specifically’ (1), it is suitable for scholars, translators, or any translation practitioners curious about the latest studies regarding TS and the current digital world, the relationship between human translation and digital technologies, and how scholars define the relationship between DH and TS.

Towards redeeming ‘loyalty’ in functionalist Bible translation using the Hebrew ḥesed concept

Within translation studies, functionalist translations and even more specifically, translations guided by Skopos theory are very much purposeful activities. Skopos theory applied to Bible translation, however, is sometimes met with resistance by practitioners who believe that Skopos theory betrays too much of the source text. This article began by outlining Skopos theory and the additional notion of loyalty as introduced by Christiane Nord. Even with loyalty applied to the theory, many Bible translation practitioners continue to fear it. After the initial presentation of Skopos theory plus loyalty, the Hebrew lexeme חֶסֶד (ḥesed) was introduced in this article and discussed in relation to its biblical use. The discussion of ḥesed was then widened to functionalist Bible translation to redeem the loyalty notion as applied to Bible translation. This article claimed that ḥesed as loyalty further helps to protect both the source text and target audiences from radical or unacceptable translations.Contribution: Bible translation is a purposeful activity. This article attempted to allay the fears that some Bible translation practitioners have about the possibility of radical translations undertaken using Skopos theory. Loyalty as understood through the lens of the Hebrew חֶסֶד (ḥesed) was utilised afresh to allay these fears.

TOWARDS A TRANSLATOR COMPETENCE MODEL FOR VIETNAMESE CONTEXT: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Translation competence, as the fundamental objective of any translation program, has been a subject of interest in Translation Studies for decades. Developing a translation competence model eminently suitable for the local industry is a crucial step towards the professionalization of the translation market in Vietnam. This paper presents a critical review of current literature on translation competence, its acquisition and various translation competence models with reference to the context of Vietnam. An in-depth analysis from the article is expected to give specific recommendations for policy-makers, translation educators, translation service users and translation practitioners to strive for the common goal of a professionalized industry.

Manipulation of Female Stereotypes in Chinese Translations of Fragrance Product Descriptions

Although most research examines female stereotypes in advertising, few studies focus on translating female stereotypes in advertising texts from English into Chinese. This study explores how female stereotypes are recognized in fragrance product descriptions and how they are manipulated in Chinese translations. Twelve fragrance brands with 136 product descriptions were selected, and the qualitative analysis software ATLAS.ti was used for data analysis. This research recognized female stereotypes by examining communal and agentic traits. Results indicate that the female portrayals in the source and target texts present a positive trend but are stereotypical in different aspects. Female stereotypes in the Chinese translations are overwhelmingly indicated by communal traits but surprisingly by fewer sex-related traits. Manipulative strategies account for 70% of the strategy used to render female stereotypes. These manipulative strategies include gender omission, gender addition, gender reversal, gender permutation, and gender explicitation. Cross-cultural differences could partly explain the choice of manipulative strategies. The findings ascertain translation as manipulation in rendering female stereotypes in fragrance descriptions. It may provide references for translation practitioners in their future translation practice.

Emotional Stress Relief Mechanism of English Translation Practitioners Based on Role Cognition.

The emotional stress of English translation practitioners is an important research content of psychological organization counseling behavior. Based on the theory of role cognition, this paper adopts the perspective of emotional stress experience, integrates the construction theory and the self-determination theory, and builds an emotional stress relief mechanism for English translation practitioners. On the basis of sorting out psychological capital, emotional commitment, and behavioral variables of organizational practitioners, the article summarizes the concept, dimension, measurement, and causes and effects of variables and solves the problem of quantitative analysis of emotional stress. In the simulation process, the role cognitive variables and local cognitive variables are extracted separately using the dual-branch mitigation mechanism structure to enhance the diversity of the extracted cognitive variables; in the local branch, a loss function of emotional stress overlapping partial penalty mechanism is constructed. This mechanism is used to select a suitable destination sink node for the sensor nodes around the sink node with heavy load to transmit data and effectively relieve the data collection pressure of the original sink node. The experimental results show that by using role cognitive variables and local cognitive variables in the training of classification loss and triple loss, respectively, the mitigation mechanism can mine subtle and significant cognitive variables from the local area and finally integrate role cognitive cognition. The accuracy rate of obtaining 297 questionnaires reached 91.4%, which effectively promoted the mechanism research of emotional stress on the behavior of English translation practitioners.

IGBO VERBS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TRANSLATION

Far from being an entirely textual engagement, translation is a completely intellectual enterprise. Some translation practitioners and theorists have perhaps erroneously tended to postulate that translation involves the mere replacement of lexicons in one language with lexicons in another language. This position has led to the concept of source language text (SLT) and target language (TLT). In this article, we are not in any way condemning the idea of translation constituting a linguistic movement from one culture to another. All we intend to demonstrate is that our research so far shows that translating between languages of little or no cultural affinity is not as simple as people may think. The Igbo language has no cultural affinity with English and French. This singular fact translates them to an uphill task. The Igbo verb presents a difficult problem to translators working between Igbo and foreign languages, especially English.

Where translation studies and the social meet

Abstract This article outlines some main developments that have led to the recent emergence of research on the ‘sociology of translation.’ Such research adopts approaches from the broader social sciences, particularly sociology, but is also directly related to the so-called ‘cultural turn’ within translation studies. The scope of translation research has subsequently expanded to include cultural and power-related issues, creating common ground with the social sciences both in terms of how translation is conceptualized and the methods used to study it. Translation has come to be understood as a socially situated relation with difference, just as translation practitioners and researchers have been understood as complex, situated agents acting within and across the social spheres that condition cross-cultural, multilingual exchange. This orientation opens the way for new discoveries at the intersection of translation studies and the social sciences – work Translation in Society seeks to advance.

Book Review. A New Contribution to the Treasury of Translation Theory

Book Review. A New Contribution to the Treasury of Translation Theory

Deaf signing diversity and signed language translations

Abstract This article explores what deaf signing diversity means for the creation of effective online signed language translations in Australia and for language theory more generally. We draw on the translanguaging and enregisterment literature to describe the communication practices and individual repertoires of deaf Auslan signers, and to problematise the creation of translations from English into Auslan. We also revisit findings from focus group research with deaf audiences and translation practitioners to identify key elements of existing translations that were problematic for many deaf viewers, and to illuminate what makes an act of translation from English into Auslan effective for signers who need these translations the most. One main challenge is the inherent hybridity of signed communication practices, resulting from variable language learning circumstances and other factors. Instead, signed communication practices are often shaped by what we refer to as the nascency principle: the perpetual redevelopment of new forms of expression for understanding the specific discourse and spatiotemporal context, by and for the signers who are physically present. This affects possibilities for enregisterment and therefore translations. We conclude with suggestions for improving translations and some broader implications for understanding and researching signed languages.

Oral-based Bible translation: A contextualised model for the nomadic Himba people of southern Africa

Historically, the work of Bible translation has involved multiple disciplines in a commitment to translate Scripture with integrity and faithfulness to the original Greek and Hebrew texts. Translating Scripture for primary oral societies has added another dimension to the need for accuracy, beauty and clarity in Scripture translation. It has been widely accepted in Western literate society that the Bible is accessed in written print in the form of a book. For oral-preference societies, such as the nomadic Himba and San peoples of southern Africa, a printed Bible has presented a challenge. Few people read or wish to read as their primary means of communication. In the case of the San family of languages, complex phonemic systems of up to 85 contrastive clicks have presented a challenge in developing ‘readable’ orthographies. This article has highlighted the rationale for oral-based Bible translation. The research aimed to address the translation needs of oral societies – some of whom are nomadic or semi-nomadic people groups. The recent missiological positioning of certain Bible translation practitioners has led to an oral-based approach to Bible translation which validates the cultural identity of modern oral communicators. Orally crafted translations of Scripture passages have been recorded and made available to oral societies through a range of media, including MP3 players, SD cards and mobile phone applications. The effectiveness of oral-based Bible translation among the Himba people has been seen in their response. What began as a three-year pilot project to explore the potential impact of oral-based Scripture among oral societies has led to a unanimous demand for a second three-year phase, and an expressed desire for a full oral-based Bible in the Himba language. The oral-based approach as described is currently used in nearly 20 other oral Bible translation, which reflects a felt need for oral-based Scripture among oral societies in southern Africa.Contribution: Insights from the emerging practice of oral-based Bible translation in southern Africa provide valuable data for missiological approaches to communicating the gospel in the context of modern oral societies.

PROBLEMS OF TRANSLATION OF WORKS OF KAZAKH POETS AND WRITERS INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES

The article examines the general and specific aspects of the issues of literary translation from Kazakh literature into a foreign one, the possibilities of bringing the translated text closer to the original, achievements and shortcomings in this area, their causes. The question of observing a literary linguistic text and reproducing it in another language has long attracted the attention of translation practitioners and theorists, and various, sometimes contradictory, scientific views on this problem have been expressed. The issues of translation of the works of Kazakh writers into Russian and other languages are studied by philologists of Kazakhstan for a long period of time. However, every year there is an increasing need to systematize the available translations and publish generalizing studies. The issues of translation of literary texts of Kazakh writers into Russian and other languages are studied by philologists of the country for a long period of time. However, this topic is still relevant, since the problem of translating literary texts in Kazakh translation studies requires research. Literary translation is considered one of the most difficult types of translation and is also a kind of word-making art. Thus, the relevance of this article is due to the need to systematize the history of the formation and development of Kazakh translation studies. Among Western countries, France, Germany, Hungary, and the United States show the greatest interest in domestic literature. Among the countries of the foreign East are Turkey, the Republic of Korea, India, Pakistan, Iran, China, Mongolia. The largest number of researchers of the creativity of Kazakh writers and poets are represented by France, Germany, Pakistan, and Turkey. Artistic translations preserve and transmit the literary heritage of the post-Soviet period, which includes a variety of languages, traditions, and customs, and are also a connecting bridge between countries, transmitting the richness of culture and mentality of peoples. In fact, the artistic style is the area of functioning of various functional styles: conversational, official-business, journalistic, even scientific and technical. It is the dynamics of the forms of existence of various linguistic units and the alternation of forms that is particularly difficult in artistic translation.

TRANSLATION ERRORS INDUCED BY FIRST LANGUAGE INTERFERENCE IN ARABIC-ENGLISH TRANSLATION: A qualitative study.

The present research study mainly aims to investigate the first language interference in Arabic-English translation and the potential factors behind such translational practice. The researcher gives a special attention to lexical and syntactical translational mistakes and errors. This includes, on one hand, the lexical errors and mistakes occurred in the collocations, word-choice, and tautology. On the other hand, it investigates syntactical errors and mistakes in terms of punctuations and transitional connectors. To this affect, the researcher utilized two sources of data for reliable and valid outcomes. Therefore, in one hand, he used randomly selected texts made available before being edited, revised, and published at the official website of Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition www.imctc.org albeit claimed finalized and problem-free by seven translators, consisting of more than 12000 words. All selected translated texts were holistically processed to figure out the translational mistakes and the potential reasons for that in order to reflect on the outlined research questions. On the other hand, a self-constructed survey was designed for the purpose of the research. The seven translators of the intended website were individually interviewed in face-to-face discussion. The results revealed that the FL interferences heavily impacted on the lexical errors and mistakes (collocations, word-choice, and tautology) and the syntactical errors and mistakes (punctuations and transitional connectors) for different reasons and factors contributory to producing poor translation. The researcher suggested some points to be considered by existing and potential translation practitioners and academics.