This master's thesis comprises an English translation of Jacques Sternberg's "Si loin du monde ..." preceded by an introduction that addresses the translator's general theoretical approach to translation as well as an explanation and justification of specific choices made for this translation in particular. "Si loin du monde ..." is a short work of science fiction by Belgian author Jacques Sternberg that appeared in the collection Entre deux mondes incertains, published in 1957. It takes the form of a first-person narrative told from the perspective of an extra-terrestrial, who has been sent on a mission to study humanity and its environment and furtively make preparation for the arrival of his people on Earth. The section on theory sets out to find whether there exist absolute norms exterior to the subjectivity of the translator that regulate the act of translation. Three potential normative centers are proposed: text, author, and reader. The starting point when appraising text is the sourcier/cibliste dichotomy and the objection préjudicielle presented in Georges Mounin's Les belles infidèles. The objection préjudicielle is the claim that translation is theoretically impossible. The conclusion reached is that the text does not establish absolute norms of correspondence between the target text and the source text because there is no absolute meaning inherent in the text. When examining the author as a potential source of the norms of translation, Roland Barthe"s "La mort de l'auteur" is used to show that, since the meaning of a text is not ultimately determined by the author, neither can he be an absolute regulator of correspondence in translation. Finally, the reader is found to be a relative (not absolute) regulator of the norms of translation. This regulating role and the nature of its demands on the translator is explored through an application of the author/reader dialectic found in Sartre's Qu'est-ce que la littérature? It is concluded that there do not exist any absolute norms of translation exterior to the translator, and that the translator creates an aesthetic unity in the target text through adherence to norms that are ultimately founded in his own subjectivity.

In Zimbabwe, translation studies is yet to be recognized as a discipline worthy of study in its own right, hence, not much research has been carried out into the theory and practice of translation. Furthermore, there is no tertiary institution that offers professional translation courses. In light of this information most translations are carried out by untrained/partially trained translators with only a few translators who have gained experience over time. The aim of this study was to investigate strategies used by Ndebele translators in the translation of specialized terms and cultural taboos in selected HIV/AIDS texts, as well as factors that can be used to improve the translation situation of Zimbabwe. Three main theoretical approaches were used in a complementary fashion, namely Descriptive Translation Studies (DTS), Cultural Studies and Corpus-based Translation Studies (CTS). DTS provided the researcher with a theory to understand the Ndebele translations in their wider environment; Cultural Studies provided the researcher with the means by which to understand Ndebele culture and taboos; Corpus-based Translation Studies (CTS) provided the researcher with the methodological tools and analytical techniques to analyse the corpus of texts. An English-Ndebele Parallel Corpus (ENPC) was created using fourteen English source texts and their corresponding Ndebele translations. The ENPC was interrogated by means of ParaConc, a parallel concordancing program. The study found that when translating specialised terms, Ndebele translators used strategies such as a general or neutral word, cultural substitution, paraphrasing and omission. The strategy of omission was misused in most cases because Ndebele translators omitted valuable information which did not reach the target readers. With regards to translation strategies that contributed to term creation, it was found that Ndebele translators relied on external as well as internal resources. The translators used strategies such as pure loan words; pure loan words preceeded by an explanation and indigenised loan words. From the Ndebele language itself, the translators resorted to semantic shift, compounding, coinage and paraphrasing, among others. From the ENPC it is clear that Ndebele translators did manage to transfer the message from English to Ndebele to an extent. However, the ENPC has to be used with caution by other researchers since the translations included in the corpus are full of errors such as misinterpretations of the source texts, mistranslations, incorrect terms and incorrect orthography. This factor points to a dire need to establish translation as an academic discipline and profession in Zimbabwe so as to elevate the quality of translations and offer better translation services to all users.

The number of overseas and immigrant students enrolled in post-secondary institutions has been increasing throughout North America, resulting in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms. In response to this major social change, Canadian college and university educators seek ways to integrate students of diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds and nurture mutual understanding. The challenge of educators, as well as both native English-speaking and English language learning students, is to understand how norms and values shaped by language and embedded in texts, classroom tasks, and interpersonal relationships are translated across cultures. This idea of translation offers a lens through which the intersections of languages and cultures may be richly explored. This study examines how different conceptions of translation operate in socioculturally diverse classroom spaces, while pointing to strategies for reducing barriers to productive and harmonious learning. The study first analyzes various conceptions of translation. It focuses on a hermeneutic concept of language as interpretation, helping us perceive an emerging new space where languages and cultures meet and interrelate. The study also analyzes sociocultural and political effects of translation, in particular, approaches derived from cultural studies and postcolonial studies. Using translations between Japanese and English as examples, the study examines how asymmetrical relations of power construct national identities. Then the focus shifts to post- secondary education. The study examines and interprets the conceptions of translation reflected in textbooks and literature in two curricula areas—college preparatory ELL courses, and first-year English literature courses—in order to clarify how these texts embody particular educational principles and values. As applied in this study, the hermeneutic conceptions of translation illuminate the educational potentialities of texts. Conceptions of translation derived from postcolonial and cultural studies demonstrate how texts can manipulate representation of power and historicity, and hinder opportunities to embrace differences and to create inclusive learning environments. Conceptions of translation with hermeneutic interest, on the other hand, suggest that texts can open up a border world—a third, in-between space—where newness can emerge. The study illustrates how this space, a borderless generative space and a locus to share and appreciate difference, can enrich the educational experience of students and teachers alike. / Education, Faculty of / Language and Literacy Education (LLED), Department of / Graduate

The political implications of the OE prose translations of King Alfred (849-899) are overlooked by scholars who focus on the literary merits of the texts. When viewed as propaganda, Alfred's writings show a careful reshaping of their Latin sources that reaffirms Alfred's claim to power. The preface to Pastoral Care, long understood to be the inauguration of Alfred's literary reforms, is invested with highly charged language and a dramatic reinvention of English history, which both reestablishes the social hierarchy with the king more firmly in place at its head and constructs the inevitability of what is actually a quite radical translation project. The translations themselves reshape their readers' understanding of kingship, even while creating implicit comparison between Alfred and the Latin authors.

A autora norte-americana Kate Chopin (1850-1904) é conhecida por sua vasta produção de contos ambientados no estado de Louisiana, os quais exibem uma representação das peculiaridades locais. Em vários dos contos, Chopin focaliza a cultura Cajun e propõe uma representação ficcional da língua daquela comunidade (língua crioula Cajun) através da fala dos personagens, como ocorre em "No baile acadiano". Dividida em três capítulos, a presente dissertação almeja investigar se a questão da regionalidade, representada por marcas da cultura local e de identidade cultural dos personagens, influencia na permanência de expressões em língua francesa e língua Cajun no processo tradutório do conto At the ‘Cadian Ball para a língua portuguesa: "No baile acadiano". A pesquisa permitiu constatar que houve influência das questões culturais e de regionalidades na tradução do conto, uma vez que o uso da língua transmite informação social, aspecto exemplificado durante a alternância de códigos entre os personagens dependendo do interlocutor. Logo, verifica-se que a atitude da tradutora Denise Mariné pode ser considerada como respeitosa à autora e aos aspectos linguísticos que seriam prejudicados caso tais frases e/ou expressões/unidades fraseológicas fossem traduzidas para a língua portuguesa. / American author Kate Chopin (1850-1904) is known for writing many short stories located in the state of Louisiana, which display a representation of local particularities. In several of her stories, Chopin focuses on Cajun culture and proposes a fictional representation of the language of that community (Cajun language) through the speech of the characters, as in "No baile Acadiano". Divided into three chapters, this dissertation aims to investigate whether the issue of regionality, represented by marks of local culture and cultural identity of the characters, influences in the maintenance of expressions in French and Cajun language in the translation process of the short story "At the 'Cadian Ball" into Portuguese: "No baile Acadiano". The research showed that there was influence of cultural issues and regionalities on the translation of the story because the use of language conveys social information, aspect that was exemplified during the code-switching process among characters, depending on the interlocutor. So, it is noticeable that the translator's attitude (Denise Mariné) can be considered as respectful in relation to the author and to linguistic aspects that would be lost if such sentences and/or expressions/phraseologisms were translated into Portuguese.

This thesis will present an exploration of how healthcare interpreters utilize intercultural communication skills as they interact with cultural differences in their work. I will review the literature on healthcare interpreting, including provision laws, standards, codes of ethics, paradigms, and roles. I will focus on intercultural communication literature in order to demonstrate possible ways that it can be applied to the healthcare interpreting field. In order to better understand how intercultural communication is being used in healthcare interpreting, I will conduct interviews with healthcare interpreters who have had intercultural training. In conclusion, elements of a training framework will be introduced that could be developed in order to train advanced interpreters who are interested in using an intercultural approach in their work.

This thesis explores the issue of noise in the simultaneous interpreting process, using the concept of noise as defined in information theory and the model of communication developed by Claude Shannon. The theoretical section of this thesis first offers a brief explanation of the basic concepts involved in information theory, followed by a description of Shannon's model. Selected models of interpreting are then introduced based on this model of communication. A list of potential types of noise is then presented based on the literature examined that may have an impact on the interpreter during simultaneous interpreting. The empirical section of this thesis consists of a questionnaire and an experiment. The questionnaire determines to what extent interpreters find the potential types of noise from the list created in the theoretical section disruptive in their work. The list of types of noise is also expanded based on respondents' answers. The questionnaire also determines what strategies respondents employ to overcome adverse factors. The new types of noise and strategies employed are described in this thesis using open-ended answers from the respondents. The experiment tests the impact of a burst-noise channel on simultaneous interpreting. A total of 13 respondents took part in the experiment,...

This thesis deals with a specific group of historical sites called World Heritage, which are registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It characterizes the basic elements of the UNESCO World Heritage idea as a cultural and social process, which engages in acts of remembering that work to create ways to understand, present and interpret the past within the present social frameworks. The thesis brings to the attention a range of viewpoints about the nature of heritage in general and the UNESCO World Heritage in specific that have emerged in the relatively new area of academic interdisciplinary heritage studies. For the purposes of exploring different aspects of the World Heritage phenomenon, following themes of heritage discourse have been developed: remembering and making public use of the past, the UNESCO approach and the ways of presenting and interpreting the past. In order to give a sense of what World Heritage looks like on the ground this thesis details some aspects of three different World Heritage sites. To study such matters in the physical world a strategy of undertaking case studies of three specific UNESCO sites and employing the methods of direct observation and a fieldwork were chosen. Closer examinations of the Czech medieval town of Kutná Hora, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park...

The present thesis focuses on the teaching of interpreter`s notes within selected universities in the Federal Republic of Germany. The aim of this theoretical-empirical study is to find out how lecturers teach note-taking, which sources they use, and how much importance they assign to teaching note-taking. Findings from German universities are compared with responses from research participants from a university in the Czech Republic. The theoretical part of this study introduces the topic of note-taking in a wider context of interpreting, discusses the prevailing systems of note-taking in more detail and deals with teaching note-taking and some of its aspects. Tools and technologies used for note-taking are also mentioned. In the second, empirical part of the thesis, the goals, chosen methodology and possible limits of the research are presented. Participants and universities selected for the research are also introduced. The data is collected by means of questionnaires and semi- structured interviews. Findings from both of these methods are then compared based on thematic areas. Although the target group of the research is relatively small, and the results are therefore not fully decisive, a number of noteworthy trends have been identified which may serve as basis for future research. Also, the...

This theoretical-empirical thesis deals with the quality assessment of simultaneous interpreters done by clients not familiar with the original speech, with special regard to self-correction. The aim of this thesis is to find out what effect self-correction has on listeners who are not familiar with the content of the original speech. At the same time, the thesis tries to shed light on the influence of stress on self-correction and it wants to reveal if being under stress leads to a lower level of self-correction, or if it stimulates the interpreters. The theoretical part of the thesis deals with the simultaneous interpretation in general, working conditions of a simultaneous interpreter, self-correction and it shows some of the previous investigations in the field of quality assessment of simultaneous interpreting. Also, the thesis investigates various factors that influence simultaneous interpretation and it presents mistakes typology. The empirical part of the study describes the experiment with students interpreting simultaneously from Spanish into Czech and it presents the results obtained via questionnaire surveys.