The aging of retranslations has been getting more attention in the last few decades. Yet not much research has been conducted that can easily be replicated. In this study, the method by Van Poucke ...Show moreThe aging of retranslations has been getting more attention in the last few decades. Yet not much research has been conducted that can easily be replicated. In this study, the method by Van Poucke (2017) is used to find out if the first translation of 1984 by George Orwell has aged. 1984 was chosen because of the relevance that it still has and because it can add to the limited research that has been done on retranslating science fiction. Two Dutch translations were analysed, namely the first translation by Kool (1950) and the second and most recent translation by Davids (1984). The first chapter of the two translations was analysed to find out if lexical and stylistic aging could be found. Furthermore, the translations were analysed on the aging of technological concepts. Van Poucke’s method was used, because it is the leading method that operationalizes the research of aging. The findings show that lexical aging could not be determined in the first translation. For stylistic aging, much more evidence was found. After conducting this research, it can be concluded some evidence has been found that the first translation of 1984 has indeed aged and the aging of the first translation could have been a reason for retranslating the novel.Show less
This BA thesis considers the difficulties of assessing translated song texts, as there are few theories suitable for the assessment of this type of translation. Three Dutch translations from the...Show moreThis BA thesis considers the difficulties of assessing translated song texts, as there are few theories suitable for the assessment of this type of translation. Three Dutch translations from the musical All Shook Up were compared to the original English musical lyrics using Peter Low’s Pentathlon Principle. Based on this Principle, it was concluded that most lines develop problems in several of the categories at once, meaning that there is not one specific category in the Dutch translations that is most problematic. Furthermore, it was concluded that the Pentathlon Principle can be useful in the assessment of existing song translations as it provides a clear understanding of which category is flawed. However, it has not become clear how to properly apply the Pentathlon Principle in practice.Show less
As offensive and taboo language is becoming increasingly common in day-to-day life, this type of language has also become a part of our entertainment media, including in subtitles. Offensive and...Show moreAs offensive and taboo language is becoming increasingly common in day-to-day life, this type of language has also become a part of our entertainment media, including in subtitles. Offensive and taboo language can be used for many different reasons and to create many different effects in the source text. This means that offensive and taboo language can also be used for a character’s characterisation, meaning it will be a way for them to express their own personality, their intent, or to form a relationship with the people around them. However, subtitlers often deal with spatio-temporal constraints that will not allow them to retain every single instance of offensive and taboo language in the target text. This means offensive and taboo language is often the first to be omitted, and this could potentially negatively affect the characterisation of certain characters. This study is an analysis of the offensive and taboo language in the first season of Netflix’s Sex Education and the characterisation of four characters in the English and Dutch subtitles. Ávila-Cabrera’s (2016) taxonomy of offensive and taboo language was used to categorise the offensive and taboo language that was found in the target text. Pinker’s (2007) and Dynel’s (2012) typologies of function were used to classify the functions of the offensive and taboo language. Lastly, a combination of Vinay & Darbelnet’s (2000) and Díaz Cintas & Remael’s (2007) translation strategies were used. The results show that, even though all four characters had parts of their offensive or taboo language omitted during the translation process, their characterisation was not negatively affected. This entails that the Dutch subtitles did not portray an entirely different personality compared to the English source text.Show less
The Netherlands is a country with a subtitling tradition. This tradition would suggest that Dutch viewers generally have a more positive attitude towards Dutch subtitling compared to Dutch dubbing....Show moreThe Netherlands is a country with a subtitling tradition. This tradition would suggest that Dutch viewers generally have a more positive attitude towards Dutch subtitling compared to Dutch dubbing. However, this subtitling tradition does not seem to have been established at the hand of the attitudes of Dutch viewers towards both modes, considering these attitudes have received nearly no coverage in academic work. This is problematic, since a lack of data on these attitudes makes it challenging for translators of audiovisual media to create translations that are suitable for a Dutch audience. Therefore, this thesis collected data on the attitudes of 53 Dutch participants towards Dutch subtitling and dubbing in the Netherlands through an online questionnaire. The results show that the participants prefer Dutch subtitles over Dutch dubs, but also rate the overall quality of both modes in a similar manner and even list slightly more disadvantages for Dutch subtitles than Dutch dubs. There also appears to be a consensus amongst the participants that children are the main target audience for Dutch dubs, and most participants indicated that Dutch dubs are the most suitable for children’s programs, cartoons and commercials. Furthermore, 69.8% of the participants believe that there is a negative stigma surrounding Dutch dubs and 88.7% of the participants stated that they do not desire for more audiovisual media to become available with Dutch dubs. Additionally, 49.1% of the participants indicated they do not desire for more audiovisual media to become available with Dutch subtitles either. Although 56.6% of the participants indicated they do not feel restricted by Dutch subtitles, the majority of the participants stated that they frequently disagree with the translation choices in Dutch subtitles. Finally, 66% of the participants indicated that they prefer English subtitles over Dutch subtitles. While these findings only represent the attitudes of 53 Dutch viewers, they can form a starting point for future research regarding attitudes towards both modes in the Netherlands.Show less
There exists a significant amount of research on translation strategies regarding the subtitling of humour and wordplay. However, the translation of eggcorns, malapropisms, and other types of...Show moreThere exists a significant amount of research on translation strategies regarding the subtitling of humour and wordplay. However, the translation of eggcorns, malapropisms, and other types of linguistic blunders have been largely ignored. This thesis attempts to fill this research gap by investigating the translation strategies used for linguistic blunders, or ‘Rickyisms’, in the Dutch subtitles of the Netflix mockumentary Trailer Park Boys. The strategies omission, literal translation, and retention, which occur in taxonomies of existing research were identified. A high rate of omission (64.4%) indicates a significant loss of Rickyisms and humour for the following reasons: no suitable Dutch equivalent (21.5%), temporal/spatial restrictions (15.4%), and grammatical errors (33.8%). Additionally, an overlap between temporal/spatial restrictions and grammatical errors (13.8%) and some omissions which are unjustified (15.4%) were identified. A new two-phase model for the strategies where the Rickyism is retained has been developed. Phase one pertains to the translation of the phrase as if it were correct and phase two pertains to the translation of the error. This resulted in the categories Literal-Literal (58.3%), Literal-Substitution (13.9%), and Substitution-Substitution (27.8%). This first strategy seems to be the preferred one when the linguistic properties of the source and target language permit it. Substitution in phase two includes numerous different shifts in terms of type of error.Show less
This thesis concerns the translation strategies used by professional and non-professional subtitlers to translate the Japanese variety show VS Arashi into English. Previous research indicates that...Show moreThis thesis concerns the translation strategies used by professional and non-professional subtitlers to translate the Japanese variety show VS Arashi into English. Previous research indicates that target texts of non-professional subtitlers are more source-oriented than those of professional subtitlers. Since the majority of previous research has focussed on anime, the aim of this thesis was to discover whether this is also the case for the English translation of a Japanese variety show. This was investigated using the methodology proposed by Gottlieb (2009), in which extra-linguistic culture-specific references are assigned a place on a scale ranging from source- to target-oriented. The analysis of the results showed that the non-professional subtitles are indeed more source-oriented than the professional subtitles. This may be the result of the non-professional subtitlers prioritising authenticity where the professional subtitlers prioritise readability, a lack of training on the part of the non-professional subtitlers, a difference in target audience with the professional subtitlers targeting a more general audience than the non-professional subtitlers, and the Japanese to English direction of translation causing the professional subtitlers to translate more target-oriented.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
There is a distressing lack of Translation Studies research into analog game translation as well as practices of non-professional interpreting and translation (NPIT). Firstly, a Translation Studies...Show moreThere is a distressing lack of Translation Studies research into analog game translation as well as practices of non-professional interpreting and translation (NPIT). Firstly, a Translation Studies perspective is missing in the emerging interdisciplinary field of Role Playing Game Studies, even though language generally forms the main substance of such games. Secondly, NPIT research has so far largely neglected the study of non-institutional, non-crisis contexts. In bilingual play of the most well-known role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons in the Netherlands, practices of translation and translanguaging abound. This means there are previously neglected spaces of translation and interpreting which indicate major gaps in the research areas of Translation Studies and Game Studies alike. New perspectives and theoretical frameworks need to be developed to address those gaps and gain a better understanding of how the practice of translation occurs in spaces that have up to now been largely ignored.Show less
The purpose of this thesis was to find out whether the potentially opposing views of professional translators and project managers on the use of machine translation (MT) might cause tensions in the...Show moreThe purpose of this thesis was to find out whether the potentially opposing views of professional translators and project managers on the use of machine translation (MT) might cause tensions in the industry and disrupt working relations. By conducting two questionnaires, which were altered to fit the profession of project managers and professional translators respectively, on the attitudes and beliefs on the use of MT and machine translation post-editing (MTPE), this thesis offers an analysis of both questionnaires individually and a mutual comparison. This thesis argues that the conflicting views on the use MT of project managers and professional translators is rooted in misunderstandings of the effort it takes translators to perform MTPE. The current study offers new insights into the attitudes and beliefs of both professional translators and project managers on the use of MT and creates a new research space for further research.Show less
The research undertaken in this thesis was aimed at researching whether “logocentric” subtitles – literal, word-by-word translations – and “musicocentric” subtitles – translations that take rhyme,...Show moreThe research undertaken in this thesis was aimed at researching whether “logocentric” subtitles – literal, word-by-word translations – and “musicocentric” subtitles – translations that take rhyme, rhythm, singability, sense, and naturalness into account – of songs in English-language live action movie musicals would be appreciated equally by Dutch viewers. Because of the “gossiping effect” (Törnqvist, 1995) – which makes viewers react negatively to subtitles that do not show what they hear being said – the expectation was that viewers would appreciate logocentric subtitles more, as musicocentric subtitles would likely be deemed “wrong” by Dutch viewers with a command of the English language as they are not literal translations of the lyrics. The research used Franzon’s (2008) concepts of logocentric and musicocentric translation and Low’s (2003, 2005) “pentathlon principle” to create logocentric and musicocentric subtitles for excerpts from songs of four English-language live action movie musicals: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Burton, 2007), Les Misérables (Hooper, 2012), The Sound of Music (Wise, 1965), and West Side Story (Robbins & Wise, 1961). These excerpts – two of which were subtitled logocentrically and two of which were subtitled musicocentrically – were then shown to a sample of 90 respondents through the use of a survey. The survey asked the respondents to report – for each excerpt – whether they thought the subtitles were good, and how they would rate the subtitles. The respondents overwhelmingly reported that the logocentric subtitles were good, and that the musicocentric subtitles were not good; they also rated the logocentric subtitles high, and the musicocentric subtitles low. Thus, the logocentric and musicocentric subtitles were not appreciated equally: the logocentric subtitles were appreciated more, an outcome the gossiping effect likely influenced. As logocentric subtitles appear to be more appreciated, and easier to create, an implication of this research could be that Dutch subtitlers should create logocentric subtitles for songs in English-language live action movie musicals.Show less
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 study uses the study by Valdez & Vandepitte (2020) as a framework to answer the research question: To what extent are the differences in attitude and expectation of translators and...Show moreThis study uses the study by Valdez & Vandepitte (2020) as a framework to answer the research question: To what extent are the differences in attitude and expectation of translators and reviewers on the Dutch translation market similar to the situation on the Portuguese biomedical translation market, as described in Valdez & Vandepitte (2020)? This is done by distributing a questionnaire to a group of translators and reviewers, who are active on the Dutch translation market with the language combination English and Dutch. Their answers reveal that the situation on the Dutch translation market is very similar to the situation on the Portuguese biomedical translation market: Translators and reviewers agree on the important aspects of translations (fluency and grammatical correctness) and on the degree to which reviewers should make changes to translations (only if actual mistakes are found, while ignoring personal preference). However, translators and reviewers on both the Dutch and Portuguese translation markets are somewhat unsatisfied with the work of their colleagues, because they appear to not follow the standards that they agree on. This dissatisfaction could be resolved by better communication between translators and reviewers, which is another point of dissatisfaction for translators and reviewers. The findings of this study support the recommendation made by Valdez & Vandepitte (2020) to focus more on communication during translator training.Show less
This thesis investigates the presence of body language, specifically gestures and facial expression, in the Audio-description for the Dutch film ‘Wat is dan Liefde’ (Webster, 2019). The thesis...Show moreThis thesis investigates the presence of body language, specifically gestures and facial expression, in the Audio-description for the Dutch film ‘Wat is dan Liefde’ (Webster, 2019). The thesis looks at how these elements are described to blind and visually impaired audiences through Audio-description. By using the methodology of Multimodal Transcription, this thesis is able to show the Audio-description and dialogue paired with the relevant image of body language throughout the thesis. The results show that the features of facial expression and gestures are not often described in the Audio-description. The Audio-description features more descriptions of facial expressions than gestures. An explanation for this could be that the gesture is more often included in the dialogue.Show less
Ever since the introduction of Translation Universals, their existence has been widely debated. Explicitation and implicitation are no exception to this. These Translation Universals, both...Show moreEver since the introduction of Translation Universals, their existence has been widely debated. Explicitation and implicitation are no exception to this. These Translation Universals, both separately and together, have been studied in a variety of genres and text types. This thesis examined explicitation and implicitation in Dutch Patient Information Leaflets (PILs). It looked at how explicit the Dutch PILs were, what the rate of explicitation to implicitation was, and which explicitation and implicitation strategies were used. To study this, a bilingual parallel corpus of English and Dutch PILs of orally taken contraceptives was analysed. The source and target texts were compared side by side and occurrences of explicitation and implicitation were identified, the rate of explicitation to implicitation was calculated and the different implicitation strategies used were determined. The results show a rate of 60% explicitation and 40% implicitation, with 234 explicitation shifts and 156 implicitation shifts identified. Additionally, a wide range of explicitation and implicitation strategies was found, with the most common explicitation strategies being the addition of a connective element, the filling of an elliptical structure and the use of lexical repetition. The most commonly used implicitation strategy, by far, was the use of a hypernym. Overall, Dutch PILs were more explicit than English ones, especially concerning connectives, though English PILs were more explicit in regard to hyponyms. With this research into explicitation and implicitation, we are one step closer to either confirming or disputing these Translation Universals, using the method proposed by Chesterman (2010). Additionally, by researching the explicitness of PILs, we contribute to the existing research on their lay-friendliness.Show less
Most research on swear word translation so far has been focused on audiovisual translation. This thesis attempts to provide insight in how swear words are translated in literary translation,...Show moreMost research on swear word translation so far has been focused on audiovisual translation. This thesis attempts to provide insight in how swear words are translated in literary translation, specifically Andy Weir's novel 'The Martian' and looks at how the translation of such swear words affect characterization and emotional setting. A literature review provides information of different aspects of swearing such as cultural influences. The case study uses examples from the novel and its Dutch translation of both characters and emotion to show how swear words affect the text and analyses whether the translation successfully translated these.Show less
The translation of children’s literature is a relatively new and upcoming field within translation studies. Within this genre, readers can find everything ranging from prose to poetry, and...Show moreThe translation of children’s literature is a relatively new and upcoming field within translation studies. Within this genre, readers can find everything ranging from prose to poetry, and sometimes even the two combined. Children’s books often make use of verse, short poetic songs embedded within prose to add more colour to the oral performances of these books, which are often read aloud by adults to children. However, creating a text that is well-suited for reading aloud is quite difficult and not always translated successfully. This thesis is a case study that aims to assess the effect a translation can have on the oral performance of children’s verse in A.A. Milne’s The House at Pooh Corner by conducting interviews with adults participants performing an immediate and repeated reading of the first three verses of the books. The results showed that a translation can assuredly have a negative effect on the oral performance of a text and that there is a specific need for a consistent rhyme scheme and rhythm in children’s verseShow less
This research is a literature and jurisprudence study into the effect of the differences in legal interpretation between the EU legal system and the US legal system regarding competition law on the...Show moreThis research is a literature and jurisprudence study into the effect of the differences in legal interpretation between the EU legal system and the US legal system regarding competition law on the translation of competition law terminology into Dutch. Both EU and US competition law addresses broadly the same categories of anticompetitive behaviour - agreements, monopolisation, mergers - but the wording and interpretation of the legislative provisions varies. EU competition law is originally based upon US antitrust law, and therefore shares a lot of the same terminology. The US antitrust law has undergone some fundamental changes in its interpretation, which has in turn driven EU and US terminology further apart. Nowadays, there are vast differences in economic interpretation, political interpretation and legal interpretation. These differences in interpretation have influence on the translation of competition law terminology from US English and EU English, respectively, into Dutch. In the jurisprudence it is shown that the ECJ interprets textually and teleologically, where the US Supreme Court uses conservative purposivism. This leads to differences in the meaning of the same term. Generally, the US Supreme Court find an additional proof of inefficiency necessary in order to establish a competition violation. Both EU competition law and Dutch competition law do not need this additional proof. Therefore, the semantic meaning of competition law terminology is narrower in the US than in the EU. For translation into Dutch it must be assessed on a case-to-case basis whether it is necessary to add ‘inefficiënte’ before a US term so that the target text reader has the same understanding of the legal term as the source text reader.Show less
