Miscommunication in the COVID-19 Era

This article discusses issues around the communication of preventive health messages related to COVID-19 to indigenous language-speaking communities in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. Official communication is primarily in Spanish, and the many translation initiatives that have arisen do not always succeed in getting the message across due to the lack of cultural interpretation that needs to accompany the linguistic message. This situation compounds the vulnerability of indigenous peoples in the face of the crisis.     

世界文学与中国现代诗歌的世界性

世界文学概念自歌德提出之后,经过不断的讨论和阐释,成为重要的理论范式和方法。丹穆若什强调,世界文学是从翻译中获益的文学,它不是指一套经典文本,而是指一种阅读模式。宇文所安以北岛为例分析了中国现代诗歌在向世界传播过程中的得与失,以及文化民族化与全球化等问题。在世界文学的视域下,中国现代诗歌的发展与流变轨迹既体现了民族化的内在诉求,也见证了其参与世界交流与对话的外在需要。中国现代诗歌的重要发展阶段及集大成者诗人的创作历程,都显示出其在融通民族性与世界性上的不懈努力。中国现代诗歌何以走向世界?罗伯特·白英1947年编译出版的《当代中国诗选》提供了一些可资借鉴的经验与模式。研究世界文学与中国现代诗歌的世界性,有助于推动中国文学与文化走出去,提升文化自信,增强中华文明的传播力与影响力。     

口译标准新谈

从古至今较著名的中国传统十大翻译,成为文本翻译的指航灯。口译作为翻译的基本形式,有着与文本翻译不同的工作要求,必然有不同的评价标准,但目前较为著名的口译标准,多是自我的经验总结。梳理了著名的翻译标准,文笔翻译与口译活动的不同,以及著名的口译标准,在口译研究跨学科的发展形势下,新的口译标准的诞生势在必行。     

从中国四次翻译高峰期看翻译理论的发展

我国翻译发展史上曾出现过四次翻译高潮,与之伴生的是翻译理论的同步发展。我国翻译理论发展的大致轨迹是由质而信再到化,也就是说,从单纯模仿原文句法的直译到允许句法自由的意译再到饱含创造神韵、根据实际需要而进行的多种翻译手法相结合。我国的翻译理论是在不断深化中加快发展,在传统理论基础上不断更新与提高的。     

评英汉词典中词汇翻译的“一步到位”

英汉双语词典在处理词汇时,翻译的比重应大于释义。本文旨在指出一般英汉词典中某些词汇在翻译上的不足或疏漏,目的是希望日后的英汉词典能更上一层楼。     

日本马克思主义研究对中国的传播贡献

文章从马克思主义传播史的视域,梳理了1899至2013年传播到中国的日本马克思主义110年的研究文献,包括日本期刊、日本学者、日本著作对中国马克思主义的传播贡献。其中,河上肇的贡献和影响最为突出,其著作《马克思的唯物史观(二)》,成为西方马克思主义向中国传播的开篇之作,河上肇的其它著作以多种方式被多人,或译为中文或作为翻译德、英译本的参考附录在译著内。河上肇在日本京都大学的马克思主义课程,影响一代留日中国学人。中国马克思主义输入性传播,1903年至1930年日语译本的贡献是主流,1930年被德语版本取代,1957年日语译本贡献力恢复,1982年重新达到一个高潮,并从被动接受转向主动分析、选择性吸收,一直到2013年。     

Semiotic Interpretation on Translation Principles of Legal Terms

Translation of legal terms, as the linguistic transfer and reconstruction of sign meanings with legal concepts, holds both the symbolic nature of language and the professionalism of law. This paper finds that two intra-semiotic subjective links are identified within the process of formulation, interpretation, translation and reception of legal terms, and analyzes the five translation principles of legal terms within the semiotic interpretation from Semantic Triangle Model, and Translation Triangle Model as well as its corresponding three elements — namely, Representation, Reference and Interpretant. In addition, it is suggested that corpus, by capturing micro translation features, has the guiding and nurturing significance for translation principles of legal terms and general legal translation.     

Creating a ‘what works’ translational tool for police: a researcher-city government partnership

ABSTRACT

In recent years, a number of translational tools have been developed in policing to make the growing research evidence base more accessible and useful for practitioners and policymakers. Here we focus on the creation of the ‘What works in policing?’ website, which resulted from a collaboration between a government agency in Seattle, Washington and researchers at George Mason University and Arizona State University. We describe the site in detail and its similarities to and differences from existing translation tools, as well as the rationale for a local government’s involvement in translational work. In particular we focus on efforts to link the site with the work of the Seattle Police Department through a case study approach. We review indicators that suggest the site is being well-utilized and close with thoughts on the future of translational work in policing and efforts to ensure translational tools are useful to practitioners.     

Justice for All? Accountable Translations of Texts on Indigenous Law

ABSTRACT

This article addresses challenges arising from the guarantee in South Africa's Constitution (1996) of continued use of indigenous law. This law has been handed down in oral form, but increasingly, written sources are needed when cases relating to indigenous law are heard in South Africa's higher courts. Although access to this kind of information is vital to empowerment and justice in Africa, wider access is hampered by different literacy levels and language differences. This article examines accountable translation into English of legal anthropological texts, referring to a case study on law practised among the Nkuna of Ritavi to demonstrate some of the complexities. The article considers the Anglo-American translation tradition's preference for idiomatic translation (paraphrasis) rather than word-for-word faithfulness (metaphrasis). It advocates focusing on the Skopos (purpose) of texts negotiated with the author. It also proposes foregrounding the hermeneutic engagement of translators as readers. For the text in the case study, it suggests two translations, for two audiences: one into an academic register (for academics, legal experts, and educated members of the Nkuna community), and one into Plain English (mainly for members of the Nkuna community for whom English is a second language). To address political dimensions of responsible translation, metatextual strategies espoused by feminist translators to increase translators’ visibility and accountability can be used, and postcolonial translation theory should be considered.     

A model for the translation of news agency texts (Sapa) for radio (OFM) news

Abstract

Radio news differs from news provided by other media. According to Oosthuizen (1996), radio is an alerting medium. Leiter, Harriss and Johnson (2000) refer to this attribute as immediacy. The time available to news is very limited and this is why radio news stories are condensed into only a few sentences. Furthermore, news for broadcast is written in a conversational style, because it is heard and not read. Simple, short sentences are used; adjectives and adverbs are kept to a minimum; and strong, active verbs are used rather than passives. In the case of news wires, such as the South African Press Association (known as Sapa), news reports are written for print media. Therefore, bulletin producers need to edit these texts according to the requirements for radio news. In a bilingual or multilingual newsroom a more problematic situation arises, namely that all these texts (originally intended for use in print) need to be translated for a radio news bulletin and the radio station's specific audience. This article aims to describe how translation is used in the operational functioning of a radio newsroom, with a specific focus on OFM – a bilingual commercial radio station broadcasting to the Free State, Northern Cape, North West and southern parts of Gauteng, in South Africa. OFM's bulletin producers therefore not only edit news texts, but also translate them from English into Afrikaans. Certain strategies are followed to edit the original texts, but as there are also translation processes involved and specific translation problems which need to be addressed, appropriate translation strategies need to be identified. This study uses Christiane Nord's functionalist model (specifically her looping model) to describe the broad methodological framework in which these translating and editing (or transediting) processes take place at OFM. The study and findings will also show how certain elements of the looping model need to be adjusted in the translation of Sapa texts for OFM News.