Thesis (MPhil (Afrikaans and Dutch))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / In this study the role of culture in magazine translation in South Africa is investigated. This research is done against the backdrop of the ‘cultural turn’ in translation studies that started in the 1980’s. Culture is now regarded as one of the most important elements in translation and therefore the culture of the target text readers should be taken into account during the translation process. The cultural turn consists of two main elements, namely descriptive translation studies and the functionalist approach. The core element of descriptive translation studies is ‘norms’. In this study the norms of Toury and Chesterman are discussed in a literature study and then they are applied to magazine translation. In the light of a practical investigation it became clear that these norms play a vital role in the production of translated magazines. One of the most important aspects of the functionalist approach is the way in which the various role players in the translation process influence target texts. This study focuses on the role that initiators, translators and readers play in the production of translated magazines. Initiators are responsible for choosing texts to be translated. They also provide translators with guidelines for the translation process. It became evident that ‘ideal’ magazine translators should have sound language skills, cultural knowledge and research skills. They should also have an ‘ethical code’ according to which they translate. The readers of translated magazines have a huge influence on the production of such magazines. They play an important role in the choice of articles, advertisements, et cetera that appear in magazines. They also influence translators’ choices on micro level.

Thesis (MPhil (Afrikaans and Dutch))--Stellenbosch University, 2009. / In this translation corpus study a monolingual comparable corpus of translated and nontranslated Afrikaans newspaper articles from Die Burger are compared with the use of WordSmith Tools 4. WordSmith Tools generates statistics, word lists and concordances that can be sorted in a variety of ways. The data generated for the translated and nontranslated subcorpora are then compared. This study follows on a translation corpus study of Afrikaans rugby articles by RG Bam (2005), which found that translated language differs from nontranslated language and that it also differs from the results for English in a similar study. The difference between the findings for English and Afrikaans is attributed to the commonality of the rugby articles. For this study the domains are extended to include topical articles, arts and entertainment, business news, foreign news and sport (rugby, athletics, soccer, cricket, bicycling, hockey and gholf). With the extended domains, my results are similar to the previous Afrikaans study regarding type-token ratio, average word length and lexical density, but not with regard to average sentence length and convergence. My finding on sentence length agrees with the finding for English newspaper articles. However, it is clear that Afrikaans translated articles differ from Afrikaans nontranslated articles and that Afrikaans differ from the way in which English translated articles differ from English nontranslated articles. A further extension on Bam's study is the use of an automatic Afrikaans part-ofspeech tagger that was developed by CTeXT in 2005. The tagged data was applied with good results to the calculation of lexical density and in determining the number of pronouns in the distinct subcorpora. Because corpus translation studies is a relatively young field, the methodology suggested by Laviosa-Braithwaite (1995) for corpus studies in English is tested to see whether it is applicable to Afrikaans. The methodology is in the form of hypotheses. Certain aspects are investigated easily by means of WordSmith Tools, but other aspects, such as die occurrence of superordinates, is not so readily applicable to the corpus methodology.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: With the emergence of the global village concept over the last two decades, the role of the act of translation has increased in importance. As people became aware of the value and significance of texts in foreign languages, it ignited an interest in the act of translation. Translations were no longer regarded as inferior, but rather worthy of study. Prior to the emergence of interest in translation, the translation process had received little attention, but now slowly became the focus point as researchers sought to unravel its idiosyncrasies. No longer were researchers merely prepared to accept the fruits of the process, but they questioned how the process came about, why it happened and which circumstances, both internal and external, influenced it. This research set out to investigate the similarities and differences between sports texts originally written in Afrikaans and translated sports texts that were translated from English into Afrikaans. Prior research on this topic had pointed to a marked lexical difference between original and translated texts. It was further postulated that the differences and similarities were caused by the translation process itself and were inherent to it. The current research attempted to determine these similarities and differences by means of an electronic lexical analysis of the original and translated corpora using Wordsmith Tools. The results confirmed the findings done in prior research, namely that there were lexical differences between original and translated texts. This study indicated that the differences were not significant for the study at hand. It further indicated that the reason for the lack of a significant difference was due to the common nature of the subject matter and a large degree of shared information. It was further suggested that the statistics could have been different if the commonality of topic had not been present. Further research would need to be undertaken by expanding the size and scope of the corpora so as to be able to reach conclusions based on a greater variety of texts. At the same time this research suggested that a qualitative analysis of the texts should be done to support the quantitative findings of the research. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: As gevolg van die snelle ontwikkeling in kommunikasie oor die laaste twee dekades, het die rol van vertaling van groter belang geword. Soos mense die waarde en belangrikheid van tekste in vreemde tale agtergekom het, het daar nuwe belangstelling in die proses van vertaling ontstaan. Vertaalde tekste is nie meer as minderwaardig geag nie, maar het nou die teiken van navorsing geword. Voor die nuwe belangstelling in vertaling posgevat het, het die proses van vertaling min aandag gekry, maar dit het stadig maar seker die fokuspunt van navorsers geword wat die eienaardighede van die proses wou ontrafel. Navorsers was nie meer tevrede met net die produk nie, maar het die proses ook ondersoek en wou weet waarom die proses op 'n sekere wyse plaasgevind het en watter omstandighede, intern sowel as ekstern, 'n invloed daarop uitgeoefen het. Hierdie navorsing het ten doelom die ooreenkomste en verskille tussen sporttekste wat oorspronklik in Afrikaans geskryf is en tekste wat uit Engels vertaal is, te ondersoek. Vorige navorsing op dié gebied het daarop gedui dat daar waarneembare verskille tussen vertaalde en oorspronklike tekste is en dat die verskille aan die proses self toegeskryf kan word en dat dit inherent deel is daarvan. Huidige navorsing het ten doelom die moontlike ooreenkomste en verskille vas te stel met behulp van 'n elektroniese leksikale ontleding van die oorspronklike en vertaalde korpora met behulp van Wordsmith Tools. Die bevindings van hierdie navorsing het die vorige navorsingsresultate bevestig, naamlik dat vertaalde en oorspronklike tekste op leksikale vlak verskil. Die huidige navorsing het egter aangetoon dat die verskille nie beduidend is hierdie studie ontleed is. Dit het verder aangedui dat die rede hiervoor toegeskryf kan word aan die gemeenskaplikheid van die materiaal en die groot hoeveelheid gedeelde inligting. Die navorsing het ook aangedui dat die statistiek moontlik sou verskil het indien die gemeenskaplikheid nie teenwoordig was nie. Verdere navorsing moet onderneem word deur die grootte en omvang van die korpora uit te brei sodat afleidings gemaak kan word met behulp van 'n groter verskeidenheid tekste. Terselfdertyd het die navorser aanbeveel dat kwalitatiewe navorsing van die tekste uitgevoer word om die bevindinge van die kwantitatiewe navorsing te ondersteun.

Thesis (M Phil)--Stellenbosch University, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The functional approach to translation is investigated in the context of Bible translation. For some practising translators, functionalism has application only in the production of instrumental translations, and for them this approach will inevitably lead to the dethroning of the source text. In Bible translation the status of the source text is very important. With the functional equivalence approach this status is disregarded in an effort to produce a Bible translation that can be used as a missionary instrument. Within functionalism, however, a documentaryexoticising translation can retain the status of the source text and can have the skopos to bridge the cultural gap between Biblical times and the modern world by adding cultural information. This was the skopos of a functional translation of the New Testament in German. Examples from this translation, as well as examples from the NAV (1983), were examined qualitatively to see how additional cultural information could assist the target reader in understanding the otherness of the ancient Biblical text. An empirical investigation was done. Text fragments from the NAV (1983), with cultural information added, were presented to people who study the Bible regularly. The response to the additional cultural information was very positive. The focus in the literature study was on the functional approach to translation, also known as skopos theory. This was compared with the functional equivalence approach as well as the newer relevance theory approach as described by Gutt. Attention was also given to the importance of culture in translation. In the functional approach other skopoi and other target groups can be identified. In a further study, the application of this approach to the translation of the Old Testament can be investigated. The functional approach might also be used in the translation of other ancient religious texts such as the Koran and the Torah. The benefits of co-operation between experts in the field of the Biblical languages and culture and practising translators are shown. The skopos of the translation will give such a team the framework within which they can produce a translation with a specific aim for a specific target group. The functional approach can be applied broadly to include both instrumental and documentary translations. In the case of Bible translation the documentary-exoticising translation provides the framework wherein the source text of the Bible can be accounted for in a responsible way. The application of functionalism is, however, wide enough to include all types of translation, provided that a clear skopos is identified and formulated for each translation. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie studie word ondersoek ingestel na die rol wat die funksionalistiese benadering tot vertaling in Bybelvertaling kan speel. Sommige praktiserende vertalers het 'n beperkte siening van funksionalisme en koppel dit uitsluitlik aan 'n instrumentele vertaling en die noodwendige onttroning van die bronteks. In Bybelvertaling is die status van die bronteks een van die belangrikste kwessies. Met die funksioneel-ekwivalente benadering word hierdie status aangetas om 'n Bybelvertaling te kan lewer wat primêr as sendinginstrument gebruik kan word. Die funksionalistiese benadering bied egter die moontlikheid om 'n vertaling daar te stel wat dokumentêr-eksotiserend is, maar ook aan die leser daarvan bykomende kulturele inligting kan gee sodat die kultuurgaping oorbrug kan word. Hierdie spesifieke skopos is reeds toegepas in 'n funksionalistiese vertaling van die Nuwe Testament in Duits. Gedeeltes uit hierdie vertaling, asook uit die NAV (1983), word kwalitatief ondersoek om te sien hoe bykomende kulturele inligting die leser kan help om die andersheid van die antieke Bybelse teks beter te kan verstaan. In 'n empiriese ondersoek is teksgedeeltes uit die NAVen teksgedeeltes met bykomende kulturele inligting aan persone wat gereeld Bybelstudie doen, voorgelê. Hierdie lesers het die vertaling met die bykomende kulturele inligting baie positief ontvang. In die literatuurondersoek word die funksionalistiese benadering tot vertaling, ook genoem die skopos-teorie, breedvoerig bespreek en vergelyk met die funksioneleekwivalensie- benadering en die nuwer relevansie-teorie soos deur Gutt op vertaling van toepassing gemaak. Die verskillende aspekte van kultuur in vertaling kry ook aandag. Die funksionalistiese benadering bied die moontlikheid om ander skopoi en ander teikenlesers te identifiseer. In 'n verdere studie kan die toepassing van hierdie benadering op die vertaling van die Ou Testament ondersoek word. Die funksionalistiese benadering kan ook gebruik word by die vertaling van ander antieke religieuse tekste soos die Koran en die Torah. Die voordele van samewerking tussen kenners van die brontaal en -kultuur en praktiserende vertalers word uitgewys. In so 'n geval sal 'n duidelike skopos aan die kenners die raamwerk verskaf waa~binne 'n vertaling met 'n spesifieke doel en teikengroep aangepak kan word. Die funksionalistiese benadering kan breedweg toegepas word om sowel instrumentele as dokumentêre vertalings in te sluit. In die geval van Bybelvertaling bied die dokumentêreksotiserende vertaling 'n raamwerk waarbinne die bronteks van die Bybel verantwoordbaar in berekening gebring kan word. Die reikwydte van funksionalisme is egter sodanig dat dit enige tipe vertaling kan insluit op voorwaarde dat 'n duidelike skopos vir elke afsonderlike vertaling gedefinieer word.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Bilingual dictionaries play an extremely important role in a multilingual society; they can be perceived as the key instruments in the communication between different groups and speech communities. Efficient and active communication between different cultural groups is essential in the South African environment. Culture-bound lexical items and the way they are treated in bilingual dictionaries can have a great influence on this process of communication. It is evident that the misrepresentation of culture-bound lexical items in bilingual dictionaries could seriously impede communication rather than enhance it. It is of great importance that lexicographers should provide users of the dictionary with adequate guidance in their treatment of these items. In order to equip the user with the necessary skills and knowledge, the treatment of culture-bound items should go beyond the mere provision of a translation equivalent. Translation equivalents should be supplemented and supported by illustrative markers, labels, glosses, usage notes and pictorial illustrations could be of use. The particular needs of a multilingual society imply certain adaptations to the structure and nature of a bilingual dictionary. The bilingual dictionary should be adapted in terms of form, content as well as structure in order to be able to present and treat a representative amount of cultural data in a comprehensive manner. The material used for the dictionary basis should be representative of the culture of the speakers; the linguistic and cultural reality that confronts the speakers daily should be reflected in the dictionary, language contact and change should be acknowledged. Many South African languages still have a strong tradition of oral literature and the relation of oral and written texts should be represented realistically in the dictionary basis. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Vertalende woordeboeke speel 'n sleutelrol in die veeltalige omgewing. Hulle is naamlik van kamidale belang in die kommunikasie tussen verskillende taalgemeenskappe. In die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks is effektiewe kommunikasie en oop kanale tussen verskillende groepe van kardinale belang. Kultuurspesifieke leksikale items en die opname en hantering van hierdie items in vertalende woordeboeke kan 'n groot invloed uitoefen op die proses van kommunikasie tussen verskillende taalgemeenskappe. Onakkurate of onvoldoende hantering van hierdie items kan ernstige misverstande tot gevolg hê en sodoende skade doen aan die proses van kommunikasie. Leksikograwe moet die gebruiker van die woordeboek voldoende leiding gee rakende die betekenis en gebruik van kultuurspesifieke leksikale items. Die gebruiker moet ook in 'n woordeboek leiding kry om die kulturele konteks van 'n gespreksituasie te kan begryp. Die hantering van kultuurspesifieke leksikale items in vertalende woordeboeke moet meer behels as die voorsiening van vertaalekwivalente. Dit moet vir die gebruiker van die woordeboek moontlik wees om kennis van die kultuur van 'n ander taalgemeenskap op te doen, asook om sy of haar kommunikasievaardighede te ontwikkel deur die gebruik van die woordeboek. Om dit te bewerkstellig, is dit nodig dat die vertaalekwivalente wat vir kultuurspesifieke leksikale items voorsien word, aangevul word deur onder andere merkers, etikette, glosse, gebruiksnotas en illustrasies. Die behoeftes van die gebruiker van die vertalende woordeboek in die veeltalige omgewing impliseer dat daar sekere aanpassings gemaak moet word aan die aard en struktuur van die vertalende woordeboek. Die vertalende woordeboek wat gemik is op 'n gebruiker in 'n veeltalige en multikulturele omgewing, moet in terme van die vorm, inhoud en struktuur aangepas word om sodoende 'n verteenwoordigende hoeveelheid van kulturele data op 'n omvattende, sinvolle wyse te kan aanbied. Die materiaal wat vir die basis van die woordeboek gebruik word, moet verteenwoordigend wees van die kultuur van die sprekers. Die woordeboek moet die werklikheid waarmee die gebruiker daagliks gekonfronteer word, in die aanbieding van data en die samestelling van die sentrale woordelys reflekteer. Die tradisie van orale letterkunde speel vandag nog 'n daadwerklike rol in die lewe van baie Suid Afrikaners en dit moet ook in die woordeboek verreken word.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 1951. / INLEIDING: Die doel van hierdie studie is om na te gaan wat die Afr. verbale hendiadis is, hoe dit gebruik word en, indien moontlik, wat die herkoms daarvan is. My uitgangspunt is dus deurgaans die algemene omgangstaal, ter aanvulling waarvan ook die skryftaal nagegaan is. Ek besef daarby dat daar baie gevalle kan wees waarvan ek geen kennis dra nie. My uitsprake geld dus (moontlik) net van my materiaal, Hierdie werk is suiwer arialities-deskriptief van aard: ek beskryf aan die hand van versamelde voorbeelde die Afr. taal soos ek dit in horisontale perspektief 1) waarneem. Aan die einde word die vertikale 2) egter daarby betrek om die herkoms enigsins in oenskou te neem.

Thesis (MPhil (Afrikaans and Dutch))—University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / Dictionaries are important and necessary resources for translators, but still translators have mixed feelings regarding especially bilingual dictionaries. On the one hand, they cannot really work without them, but on the other hand the dictionaries often give the translator little or no help. In this study, reasons are examined as to why bilingual dictionaries aren't a sufficient resource for professional translators with regard to the translation of idioms. During the study attention is given to the theories regarding and the approaches to translation. The focus falls specifically on three important methods of translation, namely the linguistic, text linguistic and functionalist approaches. The development of lexicography as discipline is also examined. The translation of idioms entails more than just the translation of single words. Attention is given to the attributes of idioms, as well as the problems and methods with which translators are confronted during the translation of idioms. Subsequently attention is also given to the current treatment of idioms in bilingual dictionaries as well as aspects such as presentation, equivalence, register and language structures. Based on the evidence of this a model is suggested for the improved treatment of idioms in bilingual dictionaries.

Thesis (MA (Afrikaans and Dutch))—University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / This study examines the quality of translated study material at the University of Stellenbosch and the way in which professional translators can improve the quality thereof. The focus was on the Arts Faculty and specifically translated material found on WebCT. The new Language Policy of the University of Stellenbosch stresses that language services such as translation must play an important role in bringing about a multilingual culture for learning. The problem is that people with little or no training in translation, such as lecturers, take it on themselves to translate the study material. The result is substandard study material and students who are being adversely affected. Chapter 2 discusses the newly implemented Language Policy and Language Plan of the University and the way in which both see the role of translation. It also discusses a Language Survey done at the University to ascertain the extent of translation. Chapter 3 examines different approaches to the translation of more technical documents whereas Chapter 4 analyses various translations on WebCT. A random choice of five translated texts is taken and given to professional editors to analyse and suggest ways in which to better the material. Chapter 5 compare a linguistic and functionalistic translation of the same source text to see which one students in a random test sample prefer. The aim is to see whether functionalist translations really are better than linguistic translations done by an untrained translator. The results of the study show that there are a lot of problems with existing translations and that professional translators do not only improve the quality of translated materials but are also preferred by students. The conclusion is that the University of Stellenbosch must realise the need for professional translators and should promote their use.

Thesis (MPhil (Afrikaans and Dutch))—University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / Often the task of translators/interpreters in the South African wine industry is hampered by insufficient data in dictionaries for general use. Information obtained from these dictionaries as important user instruments do not always come up to expectations for translation in the South African wine industry. General bilingual and explanatory dictionaries are compiled (in accordance with the typological instruction) for general use only. It therefore does not provide sufficient data for a limited field such as the above-mentioned industry. Inadequate data (data that is not field specific) and excessive data (because of general data supply) therefore necessitate the use of other sources for the sake of clearness. Making use of other sources is a time consuming process. Due to a too low frequency of use the omission of certain field specific words/terms from the mentioned dictionaries likewise creates problems for translators/interpreters. The result thereof is that translators'/interpreters' quest for very accurate dictionary definitions and translation equivalents is not satisfied. It is possible that translators cannot always meet deadlines for translation commissions resulting from the mentioned imperfections. In a competitive practice where translation accuracy and deadlines are formidable role-players, translators/interpreters in this industry need a dictionary that is the ideal user instrument. Such a dictionary can be a translator's dictionary with field specific, unambiguous and clear data that can significantly facilitate the task of translators/interpreters in the South African wine industry as such. Specific problems with recent general dictionaries come under investigation in this thesis. On grounds of the identified problems, recommendations are made for the compilation of a translator's dictionary for the South African wine industry.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / The purpose of this study was to attempt to ascertain the standard of interpreting services in the Western Cape Legislature. The study gives a brief overview of the legislation regarding language, and is furthermore underpinned by a literature review. The everelusive concept of quality in interpreting is also considered. The empirical component of the study encompassed interviews and open-ended discussions with language practitioners, interpreters and users, which in this case are the members of parliament. In addition, interpreters gave feedback on their training, working conditions and own experiences by means of a filling out a questionnaire. In terms of assessing the standard of service delivered, the users were asked to rate the service on eleven different levels, as derived from the literature and previous studies done by international scholars, again by filling out a questionnaire. The purpose hereof was to marry the literature with the outcomes of the data collected. The study concludes that there is much scope for improvement of the service that is currently rendered at the Western Cape Parliament. The reasons for this are in part due to a lack of understanding and awareness of what interpreting entails, as well as a lack of understanding of the value of a sound interpreting service. In addition, it appears that interpreters may benefit from training to ensure better delivery of service.