This thesis investigates the ongoing debate about the role of translation in second language learning. In the past, scholars and teachers alike assumed that translation caused interference and...Show moreThis thesis investigates the ongoing debate about the role of translation in second language learning. In the past, scholars and teachers alike assumed that translation caused interference and therefore halted a learner’s progress in learning a second or foreign language. More recent research, however, has attempted to counter common conceptions regarding translation’s ineffectiveness as a language-learning and language-teaching tool. My thesis provides an overview of past and current language acquisition theories and teaching methods, and explains why most of these theories and methods are considered to be flawed. The recently developed task-based teaching method aims to address these flaws, and calls for task-based language exercises, including task-based translation exercises. In a pilot study I investigated the value of task-based translation exercises when Dutch secondary school students are learning grammatical aspect (i.e. the present perfect) in English. Overall, the study showed that using task-based translation exercises enhances the use and understanding of grammatical aspect (i.e. the present perfect), although there appeared to be a discrepancy between HAVO and VWO participants.Show less
Are there a difference between the translations made for subtitling and dubbing, and if so, what is the result of these differences? This thesis contains an overview of theory on subtitling,...Show moreAre there a difference between the translations made for subtitling and dubbing, and if so, what is the result of these differences? This thesis contains an overview of theory on subtitling, dubbing, and wordplay, and applies this in a case study on the audiovisual translations of wordplay in Disney films in order to determine which translation form shows more retention of wordplay and humour.Show less
Since the anime boom of the 1990s and 2000s, the popularity of anime (Japanese animation) in the Western world has increased tremendously. Even though Western localization companies used to view...Show moreSince the anime boom of the 1990s and 2000s, the popularity of anime (Japanese animation) in the Western world has increased tremendously. Even though Western localization companies used to view anime as ‘just another form of Saturday morning children’s cartoons’ at first, as popularity increased, they came to the realization that it is a wholly different genre and business entirely. And as fans started demanding localizations that stayed as true as possible to the original versions, localization companies started paying closer attention to the way they translated these shows. But just how much does the audience influence the localization of anime? This research attempts to shed some light on that matter by comparing three anime series aimed at different audiences and looking at the different approaches localization companies have when tackling these shows.Show less
This thesis summarises some of the research done on fansubbing. Most of this research is anime-centred. However, another genre where fansubbing has become common practice is the focus of this...Show moreThis thesis summarises some of the research done on fansubbing. Most of this research is anime-centred. However, another genre where fansubbing has become common practice is the focus of this thesis, namely Korean drama. One of the characteristics of fansubbing discussed in this thesis is that many fansubbers have appropriated a foreignizing style of subtitling, instead of domesticizing. I suspected that this was true for the fansubbers of Korean drama as well. To investigate whether this was the case, I focussed on one specific aspect of the Korean language, which is the intricate system surrounding Korean honorifics. I chose to focus my analysis on four Korean age-related honorifics, hyung, oppa, noona, and unni and I compared the translation procedures applied to these terms by both amateur and professional subtitlers. I followed Henrik Gottlieb’s method on extra-linguistic entities to classify the translation procedures found in the subtitles as either foreignizing or domesticizing. The fansubs of the first drama, Coffee Prince, contained many foreignizations, while the fansubs of the second drama, Reply 1997, contained fewer foreignizations. This difference may be the result of the increasing amount of legal online streaming sites where fansubbers subtitle Korean dramas for free or it could be coincidence. More research is needed on fansubbing as it cannot yet be said with certainty that the conclusions drawn from anime-related research apply to other genres as well.Show less
This thesis explores the translation of cultural references in the novel Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. It looks at the translation procedures used to tackle references in the Dutch translation of the...Show moreThis thesis explores the translation of cultural references in the novel Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. It looks at the translation procedures used to tackle references in the Dutch translation of the novel by Ine Willems, using the model by Molina & Albir (2002), and attempts to see how the translation procedures used differ from what literature suggests would be the most common procedure for a certain type of reference, differences which stem from the fact that Wolf Hall belongs to the genre of historical fiction in which cultural references are of increased importance in comparison to regular fiction, yet play a different part in the narrative than in typical texts with a high rate of cultural and historical references, such as non-fiction works of historiography. I will argue that the precise nature of the genre has its effects on the ways references can and ought to be translated, and expound on cases in the Dutch translation in which the translator has or has not used the available procedures to their best advantage in order to prove that the translation of cultural and historical references in historical fiction, as opposed to in other genres, is a different beast entirely and should be more widely recognised as an issue for translators to be aware of.Show less
In this thesis I explore the notion of Linguistic Manipulation (i.e. manipulation through the use of language) by using Austin & Searle’s Speech Act Theory, Grice’s Cooperative Principle, Brown...Show moreIn this thesis I explore the notion of Linguistic Manipulation (i.e. manipulation through the use of language) by using Austin & Searle’s Speech Act Theory, Grice’s Cooperative Principle, Brown & Levinson’s Politeness Theory and Lakoff & Johnson’s Conceptual Metaphor Theory in an attempt to create a framework of linguistic manipulative acts. This involves looking at the concept of Linguistic Manipulation as a two-layered concept involving an internal and external requirement that works together for an optimal chance of success of the manipulative act. The framework presented offers three different strategies of presenting a perlocutionary act that differ in estimated risk assessment for the speaker.Show less
Song translation is one of the most difficult forms of translation (Susam-Sarajeva, 2008). In addition to the semantic code, translators have to take account of prosodic, poetic, rhythmic, and...Show moreSong translation is one of the most difficult forms of translation (Susam-Sarajeva, 2008). In addition to the semantic code, translators have to take account of prosodic, poetic, rhythmic, and audial codes, to name but a few. Di Giovanni (2008) and Chaume (2012) add to this list the visual code, which is not only prevalent in film or musical, but also in popular music (Kaindl, 2005) and other live performance music genres (Low, 2005). The combination of all these factors contribute to establish some exceedingly severe limitations for song translators. Despite that, however, it is a surprisingly well-established fact that audiovisual translation in general, and song translation in particular, are relatively new and usually ignored areas of research (Franzon, 2008; Mateo, 2008; Susam-Sarajeva, 2008; Siitonen, 2014). Susam-Sarajeva, in the introduction to her 2008 special issue of The Translator, explains that one of the reasons of this is the relative difficulty and craftsmanship that song translation requires, as song translators should not only be near-fluent in both languages, but also have an extensive knowledge of music or drama theory. Another reason is that the field is somewhat outside the borders of traditional translation studies. A third objection may be that in song translation, the borders between translation, adaptation, and rewriting are not as clear-cut as in most other forms of translation. Whatever the exact reasons, however, to date only three major collections seem to have been published on the subject: Songs and Significance, a book of collected articles edited by Gorlée (2005); the aforementioned special issue of The Translator dedicated to music (Susam-Sarajeva, 2008); and Music, Text and Translation, a text book edited by Minors (2013) with chapters by different translation scholars active in the field. This is not to say that there are no other sources, or that the field was only established in 2005 (indeed, articles on the subject have been appearing since the early 20th century [Gorlée, 2005; Kaindl, 2005]), but research has traditionally been quite sparse.Show less
Are instances of wordplay that are important for plot or characterization maintained more often in the subtitling than instances that are not important for plot or characterization? This article...Show moreAre instances of wordplay that are important for plot or characterization maintained more often in the subtitling than instances that are not important for plot or characterization? This article discusses theories from Zabalbeascoa, Delabastita, Nash, and Gottlieb, and the included case study discusses the relationship between plot importance and translation approaches in the subtitling of wordplay of Sherlock and The Big Bang Theory.Show less
British literature was becoming increasingly popular in the Dutch book market around 1900. British books were imported and translated on a large scale. This dissertation presents a case study of...Show moreBritish literature was becoming increasingly popular in the Dutch book market around 1900. British books were imported and translated on a large scale. This dissertation presents a case study of the translation and publication of the novels by the British author Mary Augusta Ward in the Netherlands from 1888 to 1924. An analysis of primary evidence from the Bohn Archives of the Leiden University Library and the Vereeniging ter Bevordering van de Belangen des Boekhandels’ "Nieuwsblad voor den Boekhandel", offers new insights into Dutch translation rights procedures, the negotiations between the Dutch and the British publishers of Ward’s works, the communication between the Dutch publishers and the translators, the competition between English editions of Ward’s novels and the Dutch translations, and the publication of unofficial, competing, translations. In this dissertation, the Dutch publisher De Erven F. Bohn is shown to have paid Smith Elder & Co of London in order to be the first to obtain the Dutch rights to translate Ward’s novels, despite the fact that the Netherlands had not yet signed the Berne Convention. Furthermore, evidence is found suggesting that individual translators could have titles registered at the Translation Committee on their own behalf, in order to become the private owner of the Dutch translation rights. In addition, the archival sources show that there was a danger of competing Dutch translations being published in the Dutch periodicals of the time, and of the Dutch readers reading the novel in English if their patience was tried, throughout the translation and publication process of Ward’s novels.Show less
