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The aim of my study is to identify, describe and critique Es'kia Mphahlele's Down Second Avenue and its German translation, Pretoria Zweite Avenue. More specifically, the aim is to engage with the norms and constraints operative in the various translational relationships; also, to consider the impact - resulting from the shifts involved in cultural transfer - for a new readership in the 1960s in east Germany. Lambert and van Gorp's research model, "Hypothetical Scheme for Describing Translations", provides a framework for such a study that starts with an analysis ofpreliminary data, followed by a macro-level analysis and, finally, an analysis ofmicro-level data. Toury's over-arching theory of Descriptive Translation Studies (DTS), and Even-Zohar's Polysystem Theory are used extensively, especially regarding the contextualisation of both source text (ST) and target text (TT). In considering - via a detailed analysis of shifts - how elements of South African culture have been transferred in translation, I also draw on Fairclough's theories regarding social power hierarchies, and the mutually constitutive nature of discourse. Given that norms and constraints are largely determined by cultural contexts, Fillmore's 'scenesand- frames semantics' is also invaluable to the ideological explanations necessary during the course ofthis project. Ideologically relevant extracts - representative of South African culture - from the ST, are compared with the corresponding German translations. This study makes extensive use of Baker's strategies for dealing with non-equivalence at various levels of the translation process. Based on all the above theoretical points of entry, ideological parallels between the imagined communities of east Germany and South Africa are drawn. My study proves the potential of translation projects, such as this one, of aiding in cultural dissemination between two countries that are culturally and geographically apart, but which share a profound understanding for the burdens of ideological over-determination. / Thesis (M.A.-English)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.

Thesis by publication. / Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, Department of Linguistics. / Includes bibliographical references. / Introduction -- Translation error analysis: a systemic functional grammar approach -- Systemic functional approach to the issues of Korean theme study -- A corpus based study on the system of THEME in Korean -- Using systemic functional text analysis for translator education: an illustration with a foucus on the textual meaning -- Readability analysis of community translation: a systemic functional approach -- Conclusion. / Most linguistic communities have textual resources for organizing experiences into coherent text. The way that the resources are used may not be the same but vary from one language to another. This variation can be a source of translation difficulty in rendering a natural-reading translation. This thesis investigates the question of how the choices of Theme, which is one of the main textual resources, have an impact on textual meaning in translation between English and Korean. -- The premise underlying the study is that a translation that is not inaccurate in lexical choices may still read as unnatural to the target readers if a careful consideration is not given to Theme choices at the clause level and Thematic development at the text level in the source and target texts. This assumption is derived from systemic functional linguistic (SFL) theory, which postulates that Theme at the clause level plays a critical role in constructing a text into a coherent linear whole at the text level. This brings in another equally important question of the study: how Theme works in Korean. No research has been done to investigate the system of THEME in Korean from a systemic functional point of view or on the basis of extensive discourse analysis across a range of registers. Therefore, this study investigates the THEME system in Korean using a corpus consisting of a number of authentic Korean texts in three different text types. -- These two coherent questions are investigated in five self-contained journal articles included in the thesis. Two of them have been published (Chapters 2 and 5), one has been submitted for publication (Chapter 6) and the other two will be submitted (Chapters 3 and 4). The journal article format for thesis has recently been introduced at Macquarie University as an approved alternative to the traditional thesis structure. / Chapter 1 introduces a number of preliminary issues for, and information relevant to, the study such as research questions and background, the corpus, the underlying theoretical assumption and anticipated contributions to this area of research. Chapter 2 is a report of a pilot-project that motivated the current study. It discusses how to use text analysis based on systemic functional grammar to analyze translation errors/issues and provides systematic explanations relating to such issues. Chapter 3 reviews issues that have been raised by Korean linguists in relation to the study of Theme in Korean and provides suggestions on how to resolve these issues drawing on systemic functional theory. Chapter 4 describes the features of Korean THEME system based on the analysis of clausal Themes and thematic development of 17 texts of the corpus. Chapter 5 is a discussion about the pedagogical efficiency of using systemic functional text analysis for translator education with a particular emphasis on the textual meaning in translation. Chapter 6 attempts to analyze the readability issue of community translations in Australian context. Chapter 7 concludes the thesis with a number of suggestions for further study. --As the research investigates the question of textual meaning in translation, which has not been rigorously studied, and the question of Theme in Korean, which has never been studied on the basis of a corpus and of discourse analysis, it is anticipated that this work will make considerable theoretical and practical contributions in both fields. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / xiv, 329 leaves ill. (some col.)

The study focused on the translation and interpretation of cultural concepts from Xitsonga into English. The main aim of the study was to formulate strategies and methods as well as techniques of translating cultural concepts from Xitsonga into English with the view towards bridging the gap between the two cultures. The study used a mixed method approach combining both quantitative and qualitative approaches. It examined the research problem by selecting respondents who deal with translation issues on a day-to-day basis and also observed how cultural concepts are presented in the bilingual dictionaries. This was done by comparing three languages i.e. Xitsonga, Northern-Sotho and Tshivenda. The researcher had to identify the afore-mentioned cultural concepts and to find if they were properly described or translated into English. The observation focused on the translation of both Xitsonga, Northern-Sotho and Tshivenda cultural fixed expressions which were given to translation studies students to translate into English. The aim was to find if they are able to give proper explanations or translation to the given expressions. Quantitatively, 24 out of the 30 questionnaires that were sent out to respondents, were returned to the researcher for presentation, analysis and interpretation. The study found that translating cultural concepts is very challenging. These challenges are presented by lack of equivalence and not recognising the cultural concepts in the source text. The study however found that employing the right strategies, methods and techniques can assist in bridging the gap between the languages and cultures. The translator also needs to have an in-depth knowledge of the two cultures: Xitsonga and English. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)

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))

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 research investigated the feasibility of South African translations of Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC). The study provides an introductory overview of DDC throughout the world, followed by its use in South Africa. The introduction highlights shortcomings and possible solutions – of which translations seem to be the most ideal. This research involved a critical analysis of the literature on DDC translations, a documentary analysis and technology-based research in the form of Google translations and evaluation of parts of Abridged Edition 15 of DDC. The critical analysis of the literature and the documentary analysis identified problems relating to translations, how translations deal with shortcomings in DDC, the fact that no literature exists on multilingual translations, and the process of translations (including the fact that this is an expensive endeavour). It also revealed information about sponsorship and the mixed translation model. The technology-based research, using Google Translate for translations of parts of Abridged Edition 15 and the subsequent evaluation of these translations indicated that Google translations were comprehensive and needed minimum editorial effort. Further to this it paved the way for describing a possible workflow for South African translations and indicated that the parts already translated as well as further Google translations can expedite the translation process. A model for South African translations, based on only the cost of the Pansoft translation software was proposed. The mixed model approach, where some languages are used as main languages (schedules, Relative Index terms and the like) and others for Relative Index terms only, was deemed the most appropriate in the South African context. This led to the conclusion that DDC translations into ten of the official South African languages are indeed feasible. The research supports translations that keep the integrity of DDC intact, with possible expansions based on literary arrant. It is important, though, to get the support of the South African library community and authoritative bodies such as the National Library of South Africa and/or the Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA) to negotiate and sign a contract for these translations. / Information Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Information Science)