Several studies have focused on the definition of culture-specific items (CSIs), the categorization of CSIs into different types, and the different procedures that can be used to translate them....Show moreSeveral studies have focused on the definition of culture-specific items (CSIs), the categorization of CSIs into different types, and the different procedures that can be used to translate them. Furthermore, many studies have investigated the potential existence of translation norms, which are not directly observable entities that are present within different cultural groups and which influence translation behavior. This study combines the topics of CSIs and translation norms to formulate a potential norm that governs English-to-Dutch subtitling of CSIs in non-fiction television that generally values either source- or target-oriented translations. The two genres of non-fiction television analyzed in this study are reality and documentary television. The existence of a potential translation norm is investigated through data triangulation, which, in this study, means that a corpus as a textual source and a questionnaire as an extratextual source are analyzed. Observable patterns identified in the corpus and potentially normative statements gathered using the questionnaire indicate the existence of a translation norm that values mainly source-oriented translations of CSIs in English-to-Dutch subtitling of non-fiction television. Furthermore, the results indicate that the preferred CSI translations in the documentary series subtitles tend to be more source-oriented than CSI translations in the reality show subtitles. The results also show that the thematic category of CSIs can function as an indicator of whether their translation is generally more source- or target-oriented. Further research is needed to test whether the audiovisual television productions analyzed are representative of English-to-Dutch subtitled reality and documentary television, and whether the questionnaire results, based on a relatively low number of questions and participants, are representative of how a general Dutch audience evaluates CSI translations.Show less
This bachelor thesis (2020) explores how a target-oriented and a source-oriented translation of the Old English poem 'The Dream of the Rood' into Dutch affect the choices in translation procedures...Show moreThis bachelor thesis (2020) explores how a target-oriented and a source-oriented translation of the Old English poem 'The Dream of the Rood' into Dutch affect the choices in translation procedures and how these choices ultimately shape the resulting target texts in prose and verse translation respectively.Show less
This study will focus on translation between English and the Germanic language Dutch as well as English and the Romance language French by comparing the Dutch (1960) and French (1969) translation...Show moreThis study will focus on translation between English and the Germanic language Dutch as well as English and the Romance language French by comparing the Dutch (1960) and French (1969) translation of J. R. R. Tolkien’s fictional work The Hobbit (1937). Earlier works within the field of translation were mainly concerned with linguistic approaches, attempting to construct taxonomies of the observed changes (e.g., Vinay and Darbelnet, 1958; Catford, 1965). Later scholars took a broader approach by increasingly taking culture and context into more consideration (e.g., Snell-Hornby, 1990; Nord 2005), but linguistic taxonomies have remained a useful framework for discussing translations. Tolkien’s work is presented as an interesting case within the field of translation, as the language he uses appears to be more challenging for translating into Romance Languages (Turner, 2006). Although genetically further away from French, the English language displays features belonging to both the Germanic and Romance languages. The aim of this study is thus to establish any potential structural differences between the Dutch and French translation of the English original text The Hobbit (1937). Tolkien’s use of language and avoidance of specific cultural references create the expectation that the Dutch translation will be closer to the English original compared to the French translation. This expectation was tested within the linguistic framework by applying Vinay and Darbelnet’s (1958) taxonomy of translation procedures and examining word order in Chapter XVI of Tolkien’s work of fiction. The results show that the Dutch and French translation are both quite literal and more similar than the literature would suggest. The French translation, however, is more inclined to use modulations when not translating literally. An analysis of word order illustrated that most changes were made out of necessity. This research shows that linguistic approaches can still be useful for looking at translations.Show less
