In this thesis I explore several translation theories and strategies in the context of a translation of parts of volume IV of the English Atlas into the modern Dutch language. This volume of the...Show moreIn this thesis I explore several translation theories and strategies in the context of a translation of parts of volume IV of the English Atlas into the modern Dutch language. This volume of the English Atlas concerns the Low Countries, which provides an interesting cultural and historical angle for translation into the Dutch languageShow less
This thesis is a report on the research into the translation of advertising texts with a persuasive function that contain a so-called “cultural filter”. This cultural filter is formed by five...Show moreThis thesis is a report on the research into the translation of advertising texts with a persuasive function that contain a so-called “cultural filter”. This cultural filter is formed by five dimensions of cross-cultural differences that were distinguished by translation scholar Juliane House after her research into written and spoken English and German texts. The main issue is that House does not provide information on the linguistic features that allow these dimensions to be identified in translation. This thesis has adapted House’s model to include the linguistic elements that are characteristic for each of the individual dimensions. My research commenced with the consultation of sources on advertising strategies as well as sources who comment on the link between text functions, linguistic choices and effect on the reader such as De Mooij, Nord, Halliday and Swan. This resulted in an overview of expected linguistic features that could be indicators for the various dimensions. This overview was then used for the identification of House’s dimensions in persuasive texts in the Dutch and English IKEA catalogues. After analysis of the texts in the catalogues, the conclusion was reached that it is possible to predict the linguistic choices a translator can make in order to establish a cultural filter. An initial overview of expected linguistic features was adapted to incorporate the findings and a preliminary set of tools, including a checklist and suggested translation procedures for each dimension, was created. Furthermore, analysis of the texts in the Dutch and English IKEA catalogues proved that the Dutch text has the tendency to be more direct, more explicit and more oriented towards addressees.Show less
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” The opening sentence of one of Jane Austen’s most famous romantic novel Pride...Show more“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” The opening sentence of one of Jane Austen’s most famous romantic novel Pride and Prejudice does not only claim a universal truth on love and marriage, it also provides insight into the perceptions of love and the norms and values that govern love in the 19th Century, as does the entire novel. However, society and the social-cultural norms governing it have changed immensely since the nineteenth-century world of Pride and Prejudice, it is therefore more than likely that a modern contemporary audience, without any social-historical or cultural background, would not fully understand the social and cultural setting of the novel. Furthermore, the practice of and ideas surrounding translation also underwent great change. This thesis researches whether the changes in socio-cultural norms and perceptions are noticeable in diachronic research of romantic literature in translation, on either a linguistic (stylistic) or cultural level, by conducting a comparative study of Dutch translations of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.Show less
The main aim of this thesis was to establish whether strong reactions such as ‘Oskar would never say that!’ and ‘That’s just plain wrong!’ to the official Dutch translation of the novel Extremely...Show moreThe main aim of this thesis was to establish whether strong reactions such as ‘Oskar would never say that!’ and ‘That’s just plain wrong!’ to the official Dutch translation of the novel Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (Foer, 2005) could be caused by a loss of style in the translation. In order to measure the retention of style in the translation, a translation quality assessment tool that focusses solely on style was needed. However, such a tool did not exist. Instead it was opted to adapt a translation method that prioritises style. Such a method was found in Bovelander’s 2015 style-centred translation approach. The Bovelander method includes a thorough stylistic analysis followed by the selection of translation procedures that should be used to retain style (a greenlist) as well as a listing of procedures that should be avoided because they would cause a loss of style (a blacklist). These procedures are pivotal in the adapted Bovelander method: a comparative reading of the source text and target text that reveals which procedures were used during the translation process. If blacklisted procedures occur considerably more often than greenlisted procedures, then there is a loss of style. The adapted Bovelander method suggested a severe loss of style in the Dutch translation of Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (Foer, 2005), which might indeed explain the strong reactions to the translation voiced by a number of translation students.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
In order to win a war, one must know its enemy intimately. It goes in a phrase by Tsun Zu as, “to know your enemy, you must become your enemy.” During the periods of colonization, the Dutch...Show moreIn order to win a war, one must know its enemy intimately. It goes in a phrase by Tsun Zu as, “to know your enemy, you must become your enemy.” During the periods of colonization, the Dutch authority in Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) had reflected such ideas through its language policy. This policy established in 1818 and was intended to exercise the colonial authority by utilizing the language. The departement voor Inlandsche Zaken was established in order to connect the domains of the indigenous and colonial government in Dutch East Indies. By this, the agency was obliged to study the language and culture in the archipelago. During the first five years of the Inlandsche Zaken, it had showed remarkable achievements in the unification of local vernaculars and the standardization of Malay. In this paper, I will provide several analyses on translation of documents from the archives of the Inlandsche Zaken kept at the National Archives of the Republic of Indonesia. By this, I will examine the differences between two similar documents-each documents contains Dutch texts and they are translated into Malay (Dutch texts in these two documents are similar but the Malay translations are different) produced by the Dutch colonial government. My central research question is, to what extent language was utilized as a tool of subordination towards the indigenous society in Dutch East Indies? In addition, I try to demonstrate that the Inlandsche Zaken had played a determinant role in bridging the two worlds in Dutch East Indies-namely the colonial government and the indigenous societies, and also had used such knowledge to exercise the colonial authority.Show less
This thesis compares the standard use of intralingual subtitling in the Netherlands with the dominant form of intralingual subtitling, or impact captioning, in Asian countries such as Japan, Korea,...Show moreThis thesis compares the standard use of intralingual subtitling in the Netherlands with the dominant form of intralingual subtitling, or impact captioning, in Asian countries such as Japan, Korea, and China: so called open caption telop (OCT). These open captions differ greatly from the subtitles we are used to seeing in the Netherlands, and are more so used to emphasize and create impact, rather than the subtitles in the Netherlands for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, strong accents or dialects, or as a learning tool for foreign language speakers. Research into the effects of OCT on a non-Asian, western audience has rarely been done, which makes it all the more important to gather some insight into this phenomenon. This thesis attempts to do so by conducting a small research into the thoughts of Dutch viewers on Asian-style open caption telop. Three short clips of popular Dutch entertainment programs had OCT added edited into them and were shown to a group of 40 respondents, both male and female and of various ages. They were then asked to fill in a short questionnaire, and some were asked to elaborate on their answers. The results of this research were used to determine whether the Dutch viewer public appreciates the forms and functions of OCT and whether this type of subtitling could, in theory, be implemented in Dutch television programs.Show less
