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
USA reality competition television series RuPaul’s Drag Race has seen a rise in popularity since it first aired in 2009 and can be watched in several countries across different platforms. This...Show moreUSA reality competition television series RuPaul’s Drag Race has seen a rise in popularity since it first aired in 2009 and can be watched in several countries across different platforms. This global interest causes the need to translate the series’ English language into other languages. The use of language that is specific to the drag community and gay community, one that is tied to both gender and sexuality, as explored in this thesis, causes the translator to have to deal with community-specific words. A fairly recent phenomenon, the concept of translating this community-specific language and its translation into Dutch has not yet been extensively discussed. This thesis aims to find patterns that are visible in the translation procedures used (based on the concept of translation procedures by Newmark) for the translation of language tied to the drag and gay community, for the Dutch Netflix subtitles of three episodes of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Some of this language is maintained in the audiovisual translation, while other language is modified or removed. This modification or removal might possibly cause a different viewing experience for the Dutch viewer as compared to a viewer who only uses the source text, and causes a loss of meaning of cultural elements related to the drag community.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
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
