Un premier objectif de cette thèse est la constitution de ressources linguistiques pour un système de traduction automatique statistique factorisée français - roumain. Un deuxième objectif est l’étude de l’impact des informations linguistiques exploitées dans le processus d’alignement lexical et de traduction. Cette étude est motivée, d’une part, par le manque de systèmes de traduction automatique pour la paire de langues étudiées et, d’autre part, par le nombre important d’erreurs générées par les systèmes de traduction automatique actuels. Les ressources linguistiques requises par ce système sont des corpus parallèles alignés au niveau propositionnel et lexical. Ces corpus sont également segmentés lexicalement, lemmatisés et étiquetés au niveau morphosyntaxique. / Our first aim is to build linguistic resources for a French - Romanian factored phrase - based statistical machine translation system. Our second aim is to study the impact of exploited linguistic information in the lexical alignment and translation process. On the one hand, this study is motivated by the lack of such systems for the studied languages. On the other hand, it is motivated by the high number of errors provided by the current machine translation systems. The linguistic resources required by the system are tokenized, lemmatized, tagged, word, and sentence - aligned parallel corpora.

Malgré l’ancrage de la médiation et de la médiation culturelle en traductologie surtout depuis le Tournant Culturel, il manque encore à ces notions une définition traductologique arrêtée. Partant des apports provenant de différents domaines – notamment la communication culturelle – et prenant appui sur une théorie causale de la traduction, nous proposons une réflexion en trois temps sur le traducteur comme médiateur culturel et sur ses interventions délibérées, dans une approche identitaire, textuelle et fonctionnaliste. Nous sondons la particularité de la construction identitaire du traducteur, acteur marqué par sa formation linguistique et par ses normes socioculturelles d’origine, mais très empathique envers l’Autre et son système normatif. Dans ce premier volet, les stratégies traductives sont étudiées en miroir des stratégies identitaires déployées par le traducteur pour préserver cohérence et valorisation de sa construction identitaire. Ensuite, nous considérons le texte et le type de texte à traduire comme des créations culturelles que le traducteur re-présente à sa communauté, en lui rendant la différence abordable aux niveaux formel, lexical et discursif. Pour ce faire, il déploie une panoplie de stratégies traductives variant de la norme rédactionnelle la plus conformisante à la plus différenciatrice. Dans ce deuxième volet, la préface du traducteur est étudiée comme un lieu de médiation directe, pour informer et recommander la lecture. Enfin, nous analysons deux finalités traductives par lesquelles le traducteur agit sur l’identité culturelle de sa communauté par le biais de sa re-présentation : la formation intellectuelle et la déconstruction/re-construction identitaire. Que ce soit à travers de simples textes ou des institutions à caractère éducatif, l’objectif premier du traducteur est d’informer le lecteur et, par cette information, il agit sur la re-définition de fondements essentiels de sa construction identitaire. / Though mediation and cultural mediation seem to be enrooted in Translation Studies especially since the Cultural Turn, a specialized definition of these notions is still missing. Based on their definitions in other different domains – especially cultural communication – and on a causal theory of translation, we present a three-fold thesis on the translator as a cultural mediator and on his deliberate interventions. The three axes we develop here are based on identity, textual and functionalist approaches. First, we analyze the specificity of the identity of the translator seen as a construction that is not only marked by the linguistic formation and the sociocultural norms of his original community, but also by the actor’s empathy towards the Other and his system of norms. In this first fold, translation strategies are studied as mirrors of identity strategies the translator follows in order to keep the coherence and the valorization of his identity construction. Then, the texts and types of texts are considered as cultural creations that the translator re-presents to his community through making cultural differences understandable on the formal, lexical and discourse levels. To do so, he uses different writing norms from the most conforming to the most differentiating one. In this second fold, the translator’s preface is seen as a privileged place for a direct mediation, in which he already informs his reader about the translation he’s about to read and recommends the reading. Finally, we study two translation functions through which the translator acts on the cultural identity of his community based on his re-presentation of the text: the intellectual formation of the reader and the de-construction/ re-construction of his identity. By the means of a simple text or of an educational institution, the translator’s first aim is to inform the reader, and through this information, he acts on the re-definition of essential foundations of his identity construction.

This thesis is focused on a study of translation strategies in Guillaume Oyono Mbia's plays. By using the sociological, formalistic and semiotic approaches to literary criticism to inform the analysis of the source texts and by applying descriptive models outlined within the framework of descriptive translation studies (DTS) to compare the source and target texts, the study establishes the fact that in his target texts Oyono Mbia, self-translating author, has produced a realistic and convincing portrait of his native Bulu culture and society depicted in his source texts by adopting the same default preservation and foreignizing strategy employed in his source texts. Oyono Mbia's works, his translation strategies and translational behaviour are situated in the context of the prevailing trend and attitude (from the sixties to date) of African writers writing in European languages and it is posited that this category of writers are in effect creative translators and that the strategies they use in their original compositions are the same as those outlined by translation scholars or effectively used by practitioners. These strategies enable the writer and the translator of this category of African literature to preserve the "Africanness" which is the essence and main distinguishing feature of that literature. Contrary to some scholars (cf. Bandia 1993:58) who regard the translation phenomenon evident in the creative writings of African writers writing in European languages as a process which is covert, semantic and secondary, the present study of Oyono Mbia's translation strategies clearly reveals the process as overt, communicative and primary. Taking Oyono Mbia's strategies as a case in point, this study postulates that since for the most part, the African writer writing in a European language has captured the African content and form in his original creative translation, what the translator simply needs to do is to carry over such content and form to the other European language. / Linguistics / D.Litt. et Phil. (Linguistics)

In disseminating information about health issues, government health departments and NGOs use, inter alia, written health texts. In a country like South Africa, these texts are generally written by medical experts and thereafter translated into the languages of the people. One of these languages is Zulu, which is spoken by the majority of South Africans. A large percentage of Zulu speakers are illiterate or semi-literate, especially in the rural areas. For this reason, Zulu translators have to use ‘simple’ language that these readers would understand when translating English texts into Zulu. Translators are expected to use strategies that can deal with non-lexicalized, problematic or other related terms that appear in health texts, as well as geographical and cultural constraints. This study focuses on the strategies used by Zulu translators in an attempt to make translated Zulu health texts accessible to the target readership. The investigation includes the use of self-administered questionnaires for respondents from two of South Africa’s nine provinces, where Zulu speakers are found (Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal), to determine whether the health texts do reach the target readership. Focus groups, semi-structured interviews and other complementary techniques were used to collect data from the selected respondents. Furthermore, a parallel concordance called ParaConc was used to extract and analyse data from the corpus as compiled for the present study, in an attempt to investigate the strategies used to make the translated health texts easier to read. The study uncovers various strategies which are used when translating English health texts into Zulu. These strategies include the use of loan words, paraphrasing, cultural terms and so on. In future, the use of ParaConc can be broadened to investigate newly discovered translation strategies, with the aim of making health texts more accessible to the target readers. Furthermore, this software programme can also be used to study translation strategies as used in other types of texts, for example journalistic texts. / Linguistics / D. Litt. et Phil. (Linguistics (Translation Studies))

This thesis is focused on a study of translation strategies in Guillaume Oyono Mbia's plays. By using the sociological, formalistic and semiotic approaches to literary criticism to inform the analysis of the source texts and by applying descriptive models outlined within the framework of descriptive translation studies (DTS) to compare the source and target texts, the study establishes the fact that in his target texts Oyono Mbia, self-translating author, has produced a realistic and convincing portrait of his native Bulu culture and society depicted in his source texts by adopting the same default preservation and foreignizing strategy employed in his source texts. Oyono Mbia's works, his translation strategies and translational behaviour are situated in the context of the prevailing trend and attitude (from the sixties to date) of African writers writing in European languages and it is posited that this category of writers are in effect creative translators and that the strategies they use in their original compositions are the same as those outlined by translation scholars or effectively used by practitioners. These strategies enable the writer and the translator of this category of African literature to preserve the "Africanness" which is the essence and main distinguishing feature of that literature. Contrary to some scholars (cf. Bandia 1993:58) who regard the translation phenomenon evident in the creative writings of African writers writing in European languages as a process which is covert, semantic and secondary, the present study of Oyono Mbia's translation strategies clearly reveals the process as overt, communicative and primary. Taking Oyono Mbia's strategies as a case in point, this study postulates that since for the most part, the African writer writing in a European language has captured the African content and form in his original creative translation, what the translator simply needs to do is to carry over such content and form to the other European language. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / D.Litt. et Phil. (Linguistics)

In disseminating information about health issues, government health departments and NGOs use, inter alia, written health texts. In a country like South Africa, these texts are generally written by medical experts and thereafter translated into the languages of the people. One of these languages is Zulu, which is spoken by the majority of South Africans. A large percentage of Zulu speakers are illiterate or semi-literate, especially in the rural areas. For this reason, Zulu translators have to use ‘simple’ language that these readers would understand when translating English texts into Zulu. Translators are expected to use strategies that can deal with non-lexicalized, problematic or other related terms that appear in health texts, as well as geographical and cultural constraints. This study focuses on the strategies used by Zulu translators in an attempt to make translated Zulu health texts accessible to the target readership. The investigation includes the use of self-administered questionnaires for respondents from two of South Africa’s nine provinces, where Zulu speakers are found (Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal), to determine whether the health texts do reach the target readership. Focus groups, semi-structured interviews and other complementary techniques were used to collect data from the selected respondents. Furthermore, a parallel concordance called ParaConc was used to extract and analyse data from the corpus as compiled for the present study, in an attempt to investigate the strategies used to make the translated health texts easier to read. The study uncovers various strategies which are used when translating English health texts into Zulu. These strategies include the use of loan words, paraphrasing, cultural terms and so on. In future, the use of ParaConc can be broadened to investigate newly discovered translation strategies, with the aim of making health texts more accessible to the target readers. Furthermore, this software programme can also be used to study translation strategies as used in other types of texts, for example journalistic texts. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (Linguistics (Translation Studies))

This study investigates factors hampering comprehension of sign language interpretations rendered on South African TV news bulletins in terms of Deaf viewers’ expectancy norms and corpus analysis of authentic interpretations. The research fills a gap in the emerging discipline of Sign Language Interpreting Studies, specifically with reference to corpus studies. The study presents a new model for translation/interpretation evaluation based on the introduction of Grounded Theory (GT) into a reception-oriented model. The research question is addressed holistically in terms of target audience competencies and expectations, aspects of the physical setting, interpreters’ use of language and interpreting choices. The South African Deaf community are incorporated as experts into the assessment process, thereby empirically grounding the research within the socio-dynamic context of the target audience. Triangulation in data collection and analysis was provided by applying multiple mixed data collection methods, namely questionnaires, interviews, eye-tracking and corpus tools. The primary variables identified by the study are the small picture size and use of dialect. Secondary variables identified include inconsistent or inadequate use of non-manual features, incoherent or non-simultaneous mouthing, careless or incorrect sign execution, too fast signing, loss of visibility against skin or clothing, omission of vital elements of sentence structure, adherence to source language structures, meaningless additions, incorrect referencing, oversimplification and violations of Deaf norms of restructuring, information transfer, gatekeeping and third person interpreting. The identification of these factors allows the construction of a series of testable hypotheses, thereby providing a broad platform for further research. Apart from pioneering corpus-driven sign language interpreting research, the study makes significant contributions to present knowledge of evaluative models, interpreting strategies and norms and systems of transcription and annotation. / Linguistics / Thesis (D. Litt.et Phil. (Linguistics)

This study investigates factors hampering comprehension of sign language interpretations rendered on South African TV news bulletins in terms of Deaf viewers’ expectancy norms and corpus analysis of authentic interpretations. The research fills a gap in the emerging discipline of Sign Language Interpreting Studies, specifically with reference to corpus studies. The study presents a new model for translation/interpretation evaluation based on the introduction of Grounded Theory (GT) into a reception-oriented model. The research question is addressed holistically in terms of target audience competencies and expectations, aspects of the physical setting, interpreters’ use of language and interpreting choices. The South African Deaf community are incorporated as experts into the assessment process, thereby empirically grounding the research within the socio-dynamic context of the target audience. Triangulation in data collection and analysis was provided by applying multiple mixed data collection methods, namely questionnaires, interviews, eye-tracking and corpus tools. The primary variables identified by the study are the small picture size and use of dialect. Secondary variables identified include inconsistent or inadequate use of non-manual features, incoherent or non-simultaneous mouthing, careless or incorrect sign execution, too fast signing, loss of visibility against skin or clothing, omission of vital elements of sentence structure, adherence to source language structures, meaningless additions, incorrect referencing, oversimplification and violations of Deaf norms of restructuring, information transfer, gatekeeping and third person interpreting. The identification of these factors allows the construction of a series of testable hypotheses, thereby providing a broad platform for further research. Apart from pioneering corpus-driven sign language interpreting research, the study makes significant contributions to present knowledge of evaluative models, interpreting strategies and norms and systems of transcription and annotation. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / Thesis (D. Litt.et Phil. (Linguistics)