Christina Schäffner

The Concept of Norms in Translation Studies

The Concept of Norms In the long history of translation, such notions as accuracy, correctness, or well-formedness have played an important role in assessing the quality of a translation. Depending on what is understood by translation, these notions have been given different significance. Despite much research over the past 50 years, translation studies has not developed into a homogeneous discipline and there is no agreement on its central concepts. Different approaches exist side by side, each of which focuses on specific aspects, looks at the product or the process of translation from a specific angle, and uses or avoids specific terminology. One of the concepts that has been used differently within translation studies and whose value has been both asserted strongly and called into question, is the concept of norms. Both Gideon Toury and Theo Hermans have contributed substantially to this debate and to the development of the concept of norms in and for translation studies. They are the two main contributors to this CILS issue which is based on a seminar on ‘Translation and Norms’ held at Aston University in February 1998. Research within translation studies has been concerned with the description of actual translations, with the formulation of general principles, and with practical applications. Norms play a role in all these respects since they are related to assumptions and expectations about correctness and/or appropriateness. Bartsch (1987: xii) defines norms as ‘the social reality of correctness notions’. That is, in each community there is a knowledge of what counts as correct or appropriate behaviour, including communicative behaviour. In a society, this knowledge exists in the form of norms. Norms are developed in the process of socialisation. They are conventional, they are shared by members of a community, i.e. they function intersubjectively as models for behaviour, and they also regulate expectations concerning both the behaviour itself and the products of this behaviour. Bartsch (1987), who applied the norms concept to linguistics, differentiates between product norms and production norms, which, however, are closely related. Product norms regulate what a product must look like in order to be regarded as correct and appropriate. They concern the correctness and the well-formedness of linguistic expressions (i.e. linguistic norms as related to the language system) as well as the correctness of their use (i.e. communicative norms as related to communicative behaviour). Production norms concern the methods and strategies by which a correct product can be achieved (cf. the ‘operational norms’ in Toury (1995: 58).

Translation practices in political institutions: a comparison of national, supranational, and non-governmental organisations

This article explores the settings and practices of translation at three types of political institutions, i.e. national, supranational, and non-governmental organisations. The three institutions are the translation service of the German Foreign Office, the translation department of the European Central Bank, and translation provision by the non-governmental organisation Amnesty International. The three case studies describe the specific translation practices in place at these institutions and illustrate some characteristic translation strategies. In this way, we reflect on how different translation practices can impact on translation agency and how these practices in turn are influenced by the type of institution and its organisational structure. The article also aims to explore to which extent the characteristics of collectivity, anonymity and standardisation, and of institutional translation as self-translation are applicable to the institutions under discussion.

Bringing a German Voice to English-speaking Readers: Spiegel International

Translation is a regular phenomenon for news production, even if this is not always explicitly indicated. It is quite common that journalists themselves perform translations in their text production processes. Online media have added new possibilties to these processes. This paper looks at the transfer between print and online media texts from the point of view of translation. On the basis of case studies of English translations made available online by Spiegel International, the text production practice and its reflection in the linguistic structure of the translations is illustrated. The declared aim of putting English translations on the Spiegel website is to bring its ‘unique voice’ to English-speaking readers. This paper argues that this ‘unique voice’ will not be seen by the readers in the actual linguistic make-up of the texts, but that it is as a result of the text selection process that English-speaking readers can get access to a different point of view.

Cultural functions of translation

Illustrates that translation as a culture transcending process is an important way of positioning cultures. The focus is on the role of translation for the formation of cultural identities, and on effects of globalization for translating advertising.

Metaphor and interdisciplinary analysis

(1997). Metaphor and interdisciplinary analysis. Journal of Area Studies: Vol. 5, Theory and Practice of Interdisciplinarity, pp. 57-72.

Intercultural intertextuality as a translation phenomenon

Abstract Texts as communicative occurrences are characterised by their interdependence on other texts, either of the same genre or of a different genre. This characteristic feature is known as intertextuality (or discursivity). The relationship can either be to texts originating in the same language and culture, or to texts originating in another language and culture. This paper comments on the discourse phenomenon of ‘intercultural intertextuality’ from the point of view of translation (studies). It illustrates strategies employed in the original texts for referring to the source language/culture. Subsequently, the paper explores the translation strategies used in authentic target texts in dealing with the phenomenon of intercultural intertextuality. A variety of political speeches (mainly of the language pair English and German) are used as illustrative examples.

Translation and the EU ‐ Conditions and consequences

Abstract Translation plays an important role in the EU institutions. The description and explanation of the conditions of translation work and of the products of this work pose challenges to Translation Studies. For example, it needs to be tested whether traditional concepts do apply to the translation activity and its products, or whether modified or new concepts need to be introduced. Some of these concepts are reconsidered in view of the new contexts. Cross‐references are made to the individual contributions in this issue which provide specific information.

Discourse Analysis for Translation and Translator Training: Status, Needs, Methods

Introduction The discipline of TranslationStudies is becoming increasingly recognised as a discipline in its own right, having outgrown such disciplines as (applied) linguistics and/or comparative literature to which it was originally seen to belong. However, the concepts (or terms) we use to speak about translation are concepts that originate from linguistics and its neighbouring disciplines. In the course of time, some of these concepts have been modified (e.g. the notion of the ‘unit of translation’), others have been added on (e.g. ‘skopos’, ‘loyalty’, ‘ethics’), but only rarely have concepts been completely discarded (as reflected in the controversies about the term ‘equivalence’, for example). Such conceptual developments are evidence of the increasing awareness of the complexity of translation as both a cognitive and a social activity, which cannot be fully explained by reference to concepts derived from (structural) linguistics only. It has also to be acknowledged, however, that over the last 50 years, the very discipline of linguistics has undergone developments too. The main object of research of linguistics is no longer the language system qua system (cf. de Saussure’s (1959) langue), but also aspects of how language is actually used in various communicative situations, and how contextual, generic, cognitive, sociocultural, historical, ideological, etc. factors influence structures and functions of language in use, and vice versa. In linguistics, these developments are reflected in labels such as textlinguistics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, cognitive linguistics, critical linguistics, etc. which indicate the focus of the new sub-disciplines (although it could be argued whether they indeed constitute sub-disciplines of linguistics or rather disciplines in their own right). These developments have also had an impact on Translation Studies, with the discipline adopting and, where necessary, modifying concepts and methods from textlinguistics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, etc. (cf. Neubert & Shreve, 1992: 12ff. on various models of translation, also Munday 2001, Stolze 1997). Recently, concepts and analytical methods from other disciplines have also become more prominent in speaking about translation, most notably from Cultural Studies and Anthropology, which again have added to our insights into the phenomenon of translation as an activity and the role translations as products play in and for society. Translation Studies by its very nature can thus be characterised as an interdiscipline (cf. Snell-Hornby et al., 1992). Speaking about translation with reference to concepts and methods derived

Translational encounters in a globalized world

Globalization has become a buzzword in our current discourse, and its consequences for economy, trade, politics, and technology have been widely discussed by economists, politicians, and journalists. Technological developments have resulted in increasingly simplified opportunities, basically for everybody, to reach almost any place or get access to information about the world beyond one’s own local space. This can be first-hand experience, through travel, or mediated experience, through literature and media reports (television, radio, the press, the internet). Admittedly, access to other parts of the world is not equally possible for every human being, and neither is access to information. Economic inequality as well as political and ideological factors may prevent such access at all or may put limitations to it. Moreover, those who are not part of the global network because of such inequities may find themselves even more marginalized than before (cf. Cronin, 2009). Another consequence of globalization is increased migration, either voluntarily, making use of new opportunities which freedom of travel offers (such as the right for citizens of the member states of the European Union to live and work anywhere within the European Union), or involuntarily, as experienced, for example, by refugees who flee civil wars, persecution, or socio-economic problems in their home countries. Such direct or indirect access to new countries means encountering different cultures, different values, and often different languages. In the era of globalization, direct encounters with ‘the other’ can happen in our home country, when we meet foreigners who have come to find work, asylum, or as tourists, and equally abroad, when we travel to another country for whatever purpose. Similarly, indirect encounters via literature, film, or mass media can occur if we are in our home country or abroad. In any case, such encounters normally involve some form of comparison (and evaluation) of the self and the other, be it in terms of values, attitudes, and behaviour, including linguistic behaviour. Effects of globalization on communication and language have been of interest to linguists, who have analysed, among others, communication problems of immigrants, and the emergence of linguistic varieties or hybrid forms of a language. In fact, such studies have highlighted the close relationship between language and identity (cf. Cronin, 2006), which becomes particularly noticeable in contexts of

Editorial: globalisation, communication, translation

Introduction Globalisation has become one of the dominant ‘buzz words’ in social sciences debates and in the media. It is, of course, not just a word, but it denotes very real developments in the world of today, and even more so in the world of the coming 21st century. Although globalisation processes are especially obvious in the areas of economy and marketing, they effect all spheres of life, political and social systems, institutions, and values, and also the daily activities of individual people. Companies are selling their products worldwide, and they themselves become supranational, i.e. they are less and less identified as belonging to one country only. Mergers and acquisitions result in multinational or supranational giants with an ever-increasing scope of products. At the same time, traditional forms of business, commerce, education, etc. are changing. Companies buy and sell their products (or other companies) via e-mail or the Internet. Our daily lives too, are affected by all these developments. Not only is life quicker, but people spend their time differently and they do certain things differently compared to what they did a few years ago. For example, cooking is no longer an essential and time-consuming daily activity, because pre-prepared food is put in a microwaveand ready for consumption within seconds. Shopping and banking can now be done online, due to the spread of the Internet. Advertising campaigns are praising the virtues of working from home – provided we have (or buy) the necessary electronic tools to be connected to the outside world. The Internet, thus, becomes the digital marketplace for e-commerce and a lot of other activities. It has been predicted that, by 2004, one billion people will be a part of this ‘virtual seventh continent’ (Der Spiegel, 8 February 1999, p. 89). In the same article in this German news magazine, it is argued that it took radio, TV, and telephone decades to change the world. The Internet revolution, however, will only need a few years to do so. In 1993, about 10 million people used the Internet, nowadays the number of the users doubles every 100 days. In the UK alone, a new web page is created every two seconds (Der Spiegel, 8 February 1999, p. 89). These developments also influence the way people learn, how they search for information, how they communicate. Finding information is becoming fairly easy these days: with books being replaced by web sites, a large amount of knowledge in the world of today is available at a mouse click. New communities are formed as well, i.e. communities of users and/or chatters on a particular web site, or on an e-mail list. That is, people are communicating, they are sharing