With the popularization of courtroom dramas, fictional legal subtitling is in high demand. However, correct legal subtitling might be difficult to achieve due to the nature of legal translation and...Show moreWith the popularization of courtroom dramas, fictional legal subtitling is in high demand. However, correct legal subtitling might be difficult to achieve due to the nature of legal translation and the constraints of subtitling. This study is a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the legal terms in the Dutch subtitles of the first season of Suits. Pedersen’s (2005/2011) taxonomy of translation strategies to transfer Extralinguistic Cultural References (ECRs) was used to identify which translation strategies were used for the translation of legal terms in the subtitles and Pedersen’s (2017) FAR model for error assessment in subtitles was used to assess the subtitles that contained legal terms according to functional equivalency, acceptability and readability. The results showed that direct translation was the most used translation strategy in the Dutch subtitles of the first season of Suits. Error assessment showed that the subtitles were at least 80% functionally equivalent, acceptable and readable. Applying Pedersen’s (2005/2011) translation strategies in combination with his (2017) FAR model to other courtroom dramas can help generate more data and formulate which translation strategies work best for legal subtitling as a general recommendation for future legal subtitlers.Show less
Brown and Levinson (1978, 1987) state that although interaction is co-operative, a person’s face can be unintentionally attacked through face-threatening acts (FTAs). Culpeper (1996) disagrees,...Show moreBrown and Levinson (1978, 1987) state that although interaction is co-operative, a person’s face can be unintentionally attacked through face-threatening acts (FTAs). Culpeper (1996) disagrees, stating that people can also intentionally attack someone’s face, and devised “impoliteness superstrategies” (pp. 356-357) that are used for this purpose. However, little research has been done on intentional impoliteness, and even less on gender and intentional impoliteness. Therefore, the research question is: do men and women use different face-threatening acts, and do they respond to these FTAs differently? I aimed to analyse adult men and women’s language, behaviour and paralinguistic features on FTAs and their responses to FTAs, focusing on the differences. This was done through analysis of a total of ten forty-minute episodes from three different reality television series: Can’t Pay? We’ll Take It Away! (n.a., 2014-2018), Supernanny (Frost, 2004-2008) and Jo Frost: Extreme Parental Guidance (Frost, 2010-2012), using a schedule based on the FTAs and impoliteness superstrategies by Brown and Levinson (1978, 1987), Culpeper (1996) and Bousfield (2008), respectively. The responses to FTAs were also recorded. Men and women seemed to use similar FTAs. However, the context in which the FTAs were spoken seemed to affect who was expressing which FTAs. A total of twelve different response types were recorded. These results can be used in different contexts (i.e. language teaching) to predict what kind of FTAs might be present in which contexts. They may also be used to add to both politeness and impoliteness theory.Show less
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the quality of translations of legal texts produced by DeepL, a neural machine translation system. By consulting relevant laws and legal dictionaries, this...Show moreThe purpose of this paper is to evaluate the quality of translations of legal texts produced by DeepL, a neural machine translation system. By consulting relevant laws and legal dictionaries, this study finds that DeepL's Dutch to English translation of legal texts contains syntactic and terminological errors.Show less
This thesis provides a terminology for mutual legal assistance using a selection of terms from the WOTS (Wet Overdracht Tenuitvoerlegging Strafvonnissen). Each Dutch term is accompanied by an...Show moreThis thesis provides a terminology for mutual legal assistance using a selection of terms from the WOTS (Wet Overdracht Tenuitvoerlegging Strafvonnissen). Each Dutch term is accompanied by an English term, definitions of both the Dutch and the English term, a reliability number and often by additional information. The terms are extracted from treaties, national law and the work of legal scholars. The terminology differentiates between US and UK terms when necessary. The approach of the terminology is founded on the theoretical framework, which discusses legal terminology by means of legal translation, terminology and equivalence.Show less
The aim of this research is to gain insight in how futurity is expressed within English and Dutch legal contracts and to define the relation between modality and temporality. It is hypothesized...Show moreThe aim of this research is to gain insight in how futurity is expressed within English and Dutch legal contracts and to define the relation between modality and temporality. It is hypothesized that futurity is not unequivocally expressed in contract language. Also, it is expected that not only within futurity but also within modality a potential degree of ambiguity can be found considering expression of epistemic, dynamic, and deontic modality.Show less
Though the relevance of literature for law has been acknowledged for a long time, this does not apply to literary language: lawyers often view the legal and the literary language as worlds apart....Show moreThough the relevance of literature for law has been acknowledged for a long time, this does not apply to literary language: lawyers often view the legal and the literary language as worlds apart. Yet, I want to argue that legal texts are indeed more “literary” than is often thought. This thesis investigates if English Supreme Court judgments are more “literary” than Dutch ones, and whether this applies more to older judgments than to more recent ones. Legal language, literary language and “literariness” are discussed. I selected ten Dutch and nine English Supreme Court judgments, each dealing with an aspect of tort law and dating from the last fifty years, to make up a corpus for analysis. The analysis focuses on stylistic and rhetorical features and makes use of the criteria for the establishment of a “cline of literariness” as proposed by Carter and Nash, with short excursions to their theory on the language of fiction and to speech act theory. The results are discussed and, if possible, scored in tables. I found that not only are English Supreme Court judgments indeed more “literary” than their Dutch counterparts, there is also a clear difference between the judgments from the twentieth century and the more recent ones, with opposite results. On the one hand, the Dutch judgments tend to become more factual and less literary. On the other hand, the more recent English judgments seem to be gaining in literary qualities.Show less
This thesis studies the current differences in lexical choice in male and female speech in Dutch in order to find out which Dutch language features are indicative of the gender of a speaker and...Show moreThis thesis studies the current differences in lexical choice in male and female speech in Dutch in order to find out which Dutch language features are indicative of the gender of a speaker and which Dutch language features laypersons associate with a certain gender. While the field of language variation due to gender has increased in popularity, there is still little research available about the differences between male and female speech in languages other than English. This thesis was written in order to add to this currently underrepresented subject within the field of language variation due to gender. Furthermore, this thesis also focuses on the subject of lexicality, which is a subject that is often overlooked in favour of other parts of language variation, such as the variation in the use of certain language acts, the variation in voice and the frequency of interruptions. Social indexicality and previous studies about the differences between male and female speech are discussed in this thesis, before the methodology is explained. The data used in this thesis consist of fifty transcribed conversations from Dutch television programmes such as Van de Kaart, and these data were scrutinized for the presence of various gendered language features, such as the use of negation or locatives. Furthermore, twenty-five participants were asked to read three transcriptions and to indicate what they thought the gender of the speaker was. While the data showed that all analysed language features are used by both men and women, there is often a difference in the frequency of use, which means the feature is either feminine or masculine. For example, the use of negation is more frequent in female speech, while men use more quantities. Laypersons, on the other hand, determined the gender of speakers both through contextual clues and the lexical choices made by the speakers.Show less
Traditionally, grammar is important in translation. However, translation quality assessment often does not pay much attention to the correct use of grammar and information structure. This research...Show moreTraditionally, grammar is important in translation. However, translation quality assessment often does not pay much attention to the correct use of grammar and information structure. This research aims to investigate whether Hannay and Mackenzie’s five principles for effective writing in English can be used to provide a guideline for the assessment of grammatical constructions. The study contained a literature review and a questionnaire, which focused on quality assessment of Dutch to English translations in which the five principles are applied. Although the number of respondents is slightly small, there are interesting findings. Especially principle 1 and principle 5 are recognized and those translations are assessed as grammatically correct. The study also found that native speakers of English are more strict in their assessment than non-native speakers of English, who are more tolerant towards minor errors.Show less
This thesis compares two English translations of the Dutch Civil Code. The translations being compared are (1) the translation by Haanappel, which employed a foreignizing, source-oriented approach,...Show moreThis thesis compares two English translations of the Dutch Civil Code. The translations being compared are (1) the translation by Haanappel, which employed a foreignizing, source-oriented approach, and (2) the translation by Warendorf et al., which employed a more target-oriented approach. In addition to comparing differences in the translation of legal terminology, this thesis applies Antoine Berman's system of deforming tendencies to both translations in order to see to what extent they are present in either translation and, if so, to what extent they are relevant to legal translation.Show less
I outlined two varieties of Italian-American Englishes used in the eastern part of the US. One is the Super Mario English, which belongs to speakers who have just arrived in the US. The second one...Show moreI outlined two varieties of Italian-American Englishes used in the eastern part of the US. One is the Super Mario English, which belongs to speakers who have just arrived in the US. The second one is the Wiseguy English, which belongs to speakers who have lived in the US for a longer period of time and belong to the Italian-American culture. Three films were selected from a plethora of other films concerning the Italian-American culture. The purpose of this study was to determine whether these varieties of English exists from a linguistically stereotypical basis or whether these varieties are true-to-life representations of the features of the Italian-American English speaking culture. One monologue of every main character in the 3 films has been phonetically analysed. The phonetic analyses were then compared to the theoretical framework analysis of the aforementioned varieties of Italian-American Englishes. The hypothesis is that these three films perpetuate linguistic features in Italian-American Englishes that border among the stereotypical imagery of the Italian-American culture. The results outline the most salient features of Italian-American linguistic stereotypes.Show less
This thesis investigates the persuasion methods used by ISIS in several propaganda videos and how these methods psychologically appeal to western male youths.
A search for a legal translation approach involving a third, auxiliary language. The thesis concisely discusses and compares English, Dutch and Spanish criminal law, as well as general translation...Show moreA search for a legal translation approach involving a third, auxiliary language. The thesis concisely discusses and compares English, Dutch and Spanish criminal law, as well as general translation strategies.Show less
The topic of this thesis is the translation of civil procedure terminology. It contains a lexicon of translated terminology from Dutch to English. The main research question is which translation...Show moreThe topic of this thesis is the translation of civil procedure terminology. It contains a lexicon of translated terminology from Dutch to English. The main research question is which translation procedure can be used best for the translation of such terminology. It also discusses why I have chosen a thematic approach for the lexicon, what kind of terminology the lexicon deals with, the possible translation procedures, and how different text types are important for translation.Show less
Maritime English (ME), the international working language in the maritime industry, is a Language for Special Purpose (LSP) of which a spoken variant, SMCP, acts as a controlled safety language....Show moreMaritime English (ME), the international working language in the maritime industry, is a Language for Special Purpose (LSP) of which a spoken variant, SMCP, acts as a controlled safety language. Text-based studies of Maritime English, although scarce, point to a concise syntax and grammar, a formal and impersonal style and a preference for nouns and nominal groups. Using the theory of LSP, the thesis finds that depending on content, situation and subdomain, ME can firstly be seen as restrictive language mode; secondly as a deviant language mode; and thirdly as a preferred language mode. More corpus-based descriptive research into the linguistic features of written ME and of the spoken version (SMCP) is advised. As terms typically belong to LSP, the thesis looks into the theory and methodology of terminology. They can be of assistance in setting up a corporate Terminology Management System. The terminological principles of concept structure, precise concept/term definitions and source and context information help create a reliable knowledge database. Focussing on maritime terminology, the thesis concludes with a case study illustrating how a structured approach to maritime terminology processing with the help of a terminology management tool results in a consistent corporate terminology and more reliable information benefitting translation quality. These tools should be freely available, easy to operate and should use standardized database exchange formats. More research is needed on the use of pictures in terminology including their "translatability" and their role in the information exchange.Show less
This thesis researches the nuances in the wording of the official English version and the Dutch translation of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)...Show moreThis thesis researches the nuances in the wording of the official English version and the Dutch translation of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). CEDAW imposes obligations on the States Parties, but it is unclear how these obligations are legally enforced. This thesis first investigates the enforcement mechanisms of CEDAW and secondly it analyzes the differences between how the English version and the Dutch translation express obligation, both lexically and grammatically. This research is based on the following thesis question: How strong is the expression of degrees of obligation within CEDAW’s official English version and its Dutch translation, and has this strength changed in the process of translation? The findings led to a dichotomy between legislative obligations and the linguistic obligations, where the former is less strong than proposed and the latter is equal in both version.Show less
