scholarly journals Play for Two Voices: On Translating the Poetry of Anja Utler

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 68
Author(s):  
Kurt Beals
Keyword(s):  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Translation Theory ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
Translation Strategies ◽  
Translation Practice ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Polysemous Words ◽  
Theoretical Conceptualization

Written in the form of a dialog between translator and translation theorist, this article considers both the difficulty and the necessity of a reciprocal, mutually informed relationship between translation theory and practice. The starting point of the article is my experience translating the poetry of Anja Utler, a contemporary Austrian poet whose linguistic experimentation poses a significant translation challenge. Utler's poetry functions in part by means of what she calls “interweaving” (“Verflechtung”), making use of highly polysemous words to efface boundaries between landscape, body, and language. In addition to blurring semantic lines, Utler also employs certain syntactical and grammatical characteristics of the German language (such as separable prefixes) in unorthodox ways that multiply possibilities of meaning. One of the greatest difficulties for a translator, then, is to find ways of approximating this semantic and syntactic play and innovation in a language that rarely offers a one-to-one equivalent. In addition to addressing specific practical issues in translating Utler's poetry, I consider the role that translation theory played in shaping my translation strategies, and more generally the interaction between the theoretical conceptualization of translation and its actual execution. I also describe my communication with the author, who has contributed greatly to the translation process, supporting an idea of translation as collaboration. Translation theory and practice appear less as correctives to each other than as a cooperative undertaking, part of a conversation between translator, theorist, author, and reader from which, ideally, all sides benefit in the end. By portraying this exchange as an internal dialog, I hope to demonstrate that the realms of translation practice and theory are not alien to one another, but rather engaged in constant, productive exchange, both within the mind of the individual translator/theorist and on the level of translation as a social phenomenon.

scholarly journals Audiovisual translation of puns in animated films: strategies and procedures

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Aleksandrova
Keyword(s):  
Language Game ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
General Strategy ◽  
Translation Theory ◽  
Translation Strategies ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Translation Strategy ◽  
Animated Films ◽  
The Common ◽  
Target Culture

The translation of the pun is one of the most challenging issues for translators and interpreters. Sometimes puns, especially those containing realia, are considered to be untranslatable. Most translation strategies and procedures offered in previous findings for the translation of realia-based puns are not appropriate for audiovisual translations of animated films, for either dubbing or subtitling. It is caused by the specificity of the target audience, and the genre. The problem of choosing the most relevant strategy and procedures for realia-based puns is underexplored. To narrow the gap, the metamodern and semiotic approaches are applied to the translation of puns. In accordance with the semiotic approach, a pun is considered as a type of language game, based on the use of the asymmetry of the form, and the content of the sign. The “Quasi-translation” strategy offered in this paper reflects the attitude to the game in metamodernism, where the “game change” is one of the basic postulates. “Quasi-translation” involves three types of translation procedures: quasi-localisation, quasi-globalisation, and quasi-glocalisation. The term, “quasi-glocalisation”, is also used to denote the general strategy for the translation of audiovisual works containing realia-based puns, which involves: 1) oscillation between the need to adapt the translation to the target culture, and the need to preserve the culturally-marked components of the original; and 2) the reproduction of “atmosphere” (the common reality of the perceiver and the perceived). This insight can be used by audiovisual translator-practitioners, and university teachers in the course of translation theory and practice.

scholarly journals TRANSLATION AS A HUMAN ACTION

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Coşkun Doğan
Keyword(s):  
Social Role ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Social Cooperation ◽  
Source Text ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
Cultural Transfer ◽  
Translation Strategies ◽  
Multilateral Cooperation ◽  
Individual Structure ◽  
The Individual

Translation act, which has been regarded as a sub-discipline of linguistics for many years, has a theoretical structure as an independent science. In this context, his understanding of translation act has also changed. The act of translation does not only consist of linguistic and textual problems. The act of translation is no longer an interlanguage transfer process and is carried out within the framework of multilateral cooperation. The translator, who is expected to perform the translation act in all its dimensions alone, now directs translation in the context of cooperation as a social business. This new understanding of translation, which puts the translator at the center of the translation act, imposes a social responsibility on the translator. As an expert, the translator undertakes a social role by planning the translation act. Translation, which is an act of cultural transference from the source text, is expected to be reflected in accordance with its function in culture. In this sense, the emotions, creativity and conditions of the translator as a person affect the cultural transfer through the act of translation. Translation act is a process planned by the translator. This process is determined individually. In this respect, the individual structure characteristics and experiences of the translator who directs the translation act are also of great importance. While analyzing the text in the translation process, the translator must also implement translation strategies according to text differences. Otherwise, the balance between the source text and the target text will be disrupted. The act of translation, as an act of thought, is a human act of the translator that bridges different socio-cultural structures. In this study, the problems experienced by the translator while performing the translation act as a human will be examined. The importance of the identity of the translator who performs the act of translation as a cultural transfer function in the context of social cooperation will be examined. Problems arising from the fact that translation act is a human act will be interpreted as a qualitative research by scanning the relevant sources. <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0750/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

scholarly journals Postcolonialism and translation: the dialectic between theory and practice

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul F. Bandia
Keyword(s):  
Power Relations ◽  
Translation Studies ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Translation Theory ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Cultural Systems ◽  
Cultural Status ◽  
Postcolonial Discourse ◽  
Writing Practice

Postcolonial intercultural writing has been likened to translation both in terms of the writing practice and the nature of the postcolonial text, which often involves multiple linguistic and cultural systems. To highlight the significance of this view of translation as a metaphor for postcolonial writing and its impact on current translation theory, this paper attempts to lay the groundwork for defining the linguistic and cultural status of postcolonial discourse and to establish parallels between the translation process and some strategies for crafting the postcolonial text. The ontological relation between translation theory and practice is discussed in the light of post- colonial translation practices which have broadened the scope of research in translation studies to include issues of ideology, identity, power relations, and other ethnographic and sociologically based modes of investigation.

In Search of Pure Sound: Sanqu Songs, Genre Aesthetics, and Translation Tactics

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-202
Author(s):  
Patricia Sieber ◽  
Mario De Grandis ◽  
Ke Wang ◽  
Hui Yao ◽  
Jingying Gao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Yuan Dynasty ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Literary Translation ◽  
Short History ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
Translation Strategies ◽  
Distinctive Features ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Yuan Dynasty ◽  
Short Essays

Abstract This article consists of an introduction by Patricia Sieber and six short essays on translation approaches together with actual translations of sanqu songs by Mario De Grandis, Ke Wang, Hui Yao, Jingying Gao and Ian McNally, Xu Yichun, and Jenn Marie Nunes. The introduction provides a short history of the translation of sanqu songs into English, followed by a reflection on which distinctive features of the genre beg for attention in the translation process. In particular, it argues that the different sonic features of sanqu merit close consideration, the loss of the notational contours of the original tunes notwithstanding. Rather than bemoaning the absence of the underlying music, it suggests that, in keeping with Walter Benjamin's vision of the “task of the translator,” translation into another language can be an opportunity to reinvent that musicality in different ways. The six short essays that follow consider sanqu songs from the corpus of diasporic writers from the Yuan dynasty, with a view toward enriching the repertoire of translation strategies for sanqu in terms of musicality and other salient features of the genre. The six essays discuss, respectively, pronouns, rhyme, punctuation, language registers, allusion, and citational practice. In contextualizing such strategies theoretically and illustrating them with examples, the short essays seek to contribute more broadly to the theory and practice of the literary translation of Chinese poetic forms.

Untangling Employee Loyalty: A Psychological Contract Perspective

2007 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 297-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
David W. Hart ◽  
Jeffery A. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Contract ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Employee Loyalty ◽  
Moral Issues ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Cognitive Dimensions

ABSTRACT:Although business ethicists have theorized frequently about the virtues and vices of employee loyalty, the concept of loyalty remains loosely defined. In this article, we argue that viewing loyalty as a cognitive phenomenon—an attitude that resides in the mind of the individual—helps to clarify definitional inconsistencies, provides a finer-grained analysis of the concept, and sheds additional light on the ethical implications of loyalty in organizations. Specifically, we adopt the psychological contract perspective to analyze loyalty's cognitive dimensions, and treat loyalty as an individual-level construction of perceived reciprocal obligations. Based upon this perspective, we present a three-tiered framework of loyalty that provides a psychologically informed definition of the concept, specifies the variety of obligation types that loyalty can imply, and anticipates the potential for asymmetrical loyalty configurations between employers and employees. We use the framework to articulate moral issues associated with both symmetrical and asymmetrical loyalty configurations and discuss the implications of the framework for theory and practice.

Clarifying the Connections Among Giftedness, Metacognition, Self-Regulation, and Self-Regulated Learning: Implications for Theory and Practice

2018 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 102-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernestina Oppong ◽  
Bruce M. Shore ◽  
Krista R. Muis
Keyword(s):  
Gifted Education ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
Education Practice ◽  
Self Regulated Learning ◽  
Construction Of Knowledge ◽  
Regulated Learning ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Mind

The concept of giftedness has historically been shaped by theories of IQ, creativity, and expertise (including early conceptions of metacognition). These theories focus within the mind of the individual learner. Social, emotional, and motivational qualities of giftedness were treated as add-ons, not part of the core construct. This created misalignment with the social construction of knowledge—a position widely supported in gifted education practice. Newer, broader conceptions of metacognitive, self-regulated, and self-regulated learning processes have garnered interest. However, because these theories borrowed language from each other and earlier theories, assigning new meanings to old constructs, confusion arose about how to distinguish each of these three theories from each other or apply them to instruction. This article distinguishes among metacognition, self-regulation, and self-regulated learning, relating each to notions of giftedness, highlighting implications for practice, and especially highlighting self-regulated learning as a valuable contributor to understanding giftedness and designing instruction in gifted education.

American Studies—Beyond the Crisis?: Recent Redefinitions and the Meaning of Theory, History, and Practical Criticism

Prospects ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 53-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guenter H. Lenz
Keyword(s):  
American Studies ◽  
The United States ◽  
International Perspective ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Social ◽  
Theoretical Thinking ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Practical Criticism

Since its beginning, the American Studies community has been remarkably uneasy about the role and meaning theoretical thinking about its premises and objectives should have in its work. Even more than the individual disciplines in the humanities and the social sciences, the American Studies movement has again and again felt compelled to justify its existence and its aims, to develop a “method” or “philosophy” for its pursuits. But these attempts at theory more often than not have resulted in a glorification of practical or substantive work, or in an identification of its rationale with a few books by its major scholars. In the most recent time of “crisis,” the traditional opposition of “theory” to “practice” seems to have been confirmed, in one way or another, not only on a national scale but in its international perspective. In a recent interview, Henry Nash Smith, using two articles by young German scholars as a starting point, endorsed the old view that “practice is much more important” in America and that, “almost by instinct, in this country we are less, far less theoretical than the Germans.” It should be mentioned that, ironically, contributions to a theoretical definition of American Studies became far more numerous in the United States just when the younger German scholars began to turn from theoretical debates to substantive work, which shows that Smith's “instinctual” distinction actually prevents us from realizing the fundamental historical differences in the development and the significance of the interaction of theory and practice in the two countries.

scholarly journals Audiovisual translation of puns in animated films: strategies and procedures

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 86
Author(s):  
Elena Aleksandrova
Keyword(s):  
Language Game ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
General Strategy ◽  
Translation Theory ◽  
Translation Strategies ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Translation Strategy ◽  
Animated Films ◽  
The Common ◽  
Target Culture

The translation of the pun is one of the most challenging issues for translators and interpreters. Sometimes puns, especially those containing realia, are considered to be untranslatable. Most translation strategies and procedures offered in previous findings for the translation of realia-based puns are not appropriate for audiovisual translations of animated films, for either dubbing or subtitling. It is caused by the specificity of the target audience, and the genre. The problem of choosing the most relevant strategy and procedures for realia-based puns is underexplored. To narrow the gap, the metamodern and semiotic approaches are applied to the translation of puns. In accordance with the semiotic approach, a pun is considered as a type of language game, based on the use of the asymmetry of the form, and the content of the sign. The “Quasi-translation” strategy offered in this paper reflects the attitude to the game in metamodernism, where the “game change” is one of the basic postulates. “Quasi-translation” involves three types of translation procedures: quasi-localisation, quasi-globalisation, and quasi-glocalisation. The term, “quasi-glocalisation”, is also used to denote the general strategy for the translation of audiovisual works containing realia-based puns, which involves: 1) oscillation between the need to adapt the translation to the target culture, and the need to preserve the culturally-marked components of the original; and 2) the reproduction of “atmosphere” (the common reality of the perceiver and the perceived). This insight can be used by audiovisual translator-practitioners, and university teachers in the course of translation theory and practice.

scholarly journals Training in the Application of Translation Strategies for Undergraduate Scientific Translation Students

2002 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 737-744 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria González Davies ◽  
Christopher Scott-Tennent ◽  
Fernanda Rodríguez Torras
Keyword(s):  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
Translation Strategies ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Service Training ◽  
Regular Work ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Experimental Training

Abstract A research project2 was recently carried out consisting of the following stages: 1. Finding out what was previously known or hypothesised about the role of strategies in the translation process by reviewing the relevant literature. 2. Deciding on an operative definition of translation strategies. 3. Selecting 3 types of problems to give experimental training in the application of strategies to solve them. 4. Designing a theoretically optimal course, by considering relevant pedagogical literature, to give pre-service training in the application of these strategies. 5. Carrying out an empirical study to observe, measure and analyse the effects of such a course. A full report on this study is to be found in Investigating Translation (John Benjamins, 1999). On conclusion of the study, it was found that the experimental course had been perceived as satisfactory by all the participants, and clearly increased the frequency and effectiveness of trainees' application of target strategies. It was also found that this had significantly improved the quality of target texts, according to external raters. Subsequently, the teacher of this experimental course has spontaneously continued to include this type of training in her regular work. Other colleagues have also undertaken similar experiences and expressed their positive evaluation of them. The aim of this present article is to report more fully on the methodology which was followed in the experimental course. This could provide a useful starting point for discussion for those teachers who would like to experiment with this type of training in their own classes.

Revisiting translation in the age of digital globalization

Babel ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wu You
Keyword(s):  
Translation Studies ◽  
User Participation ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Translation Theory ◽  
Considerable Influence ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Digital Revolution ◽  
Translation Model ◽  
Translation Practice ◽  
New Type

Abstract Globalization has gone digital and presents a new type of connectivity virtually today. Digital globalization has transformed the landscape of translation theory and practice, exerting considerable influence on translation studies and the profession of translators. The translation practice evolves with the change of literary expectations driven by the digital revolution. New translation modes have been cultivated by incorporating two essential features of the age, known as technology and participation. Against this backdrop, Chinese web fiction is going global with establishing and developing overseas volunteer translation websites. With this in mind, this paper analyzes the translation model of Chinese web fiction with respect to digital globalization and argues that the fan-based volunteer translation has emerged as a new paradigm that features the “user participation turn” in translation studies.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document