Haidee Kruger

Postcolonial polysystems : the production and reception of translated children's literature in South Africa

Postcolonial Polysystems: The Production and Reception of Translated Children’s Literature in South Africa is an original and provocative contribution to the field of children’s literature research and translation studies. It draws on a variety of methodologies to provide a perspective, both product- and process-oriented, on the ways in which translation contributes to the production of children’s literature in South Africa, with a special interest in language and power, as well as post- and neocolonial hybridity. The book explores the forces that affect the use of translation in producing children’s literature in various languages in South Africa, and shows how some of these forces precipitate in the selection, production and reception of translated children’s books in Afrikaans and English. It breaks new ground in its interrogation of aspects of translation theory within the multilingual and postcolonial context of South Africa, as well as in its innovative experimental investigation of the reception of domesticating and foreignising strategies in translated picture books.

Language-in-education policy, publishing and the translation of children's books in South Africa

Abstract The central focus of the article is the roles of translation in the production of childrens books in South Africa, and how issues of multilingualism, power differentials between languages and language-in-education policy affect the uses and functions of translation in the production of childrens books in South Africa. The article first provides a brief overview of the discursive and practical situation relating to education, multilingualism and mother-tongue education in South Africa. Following this background, the investigation proceeds in three parts. The first is a brief analysis of the broader current South African publishing scenario, with emphasis on language issues and books for children. This is followed by a discussion of the uses of translation in the production of childrens books. The results of a survey among publishers are reported alongside an analysis of a sample of data from a recent catalogue of African-language childrens books in South Africa. A few broad trends emerge from the discussion. Most pertinently, it appears that translation plays a very different role in the production of Afrikaans childrens books and African-language childrens books. These differing roles may be related to complex forces in the uniquely postcolonial polysystem of South African literature.

Postcolonial Polysystems: Perceptions of Norms in the Translation of Children's Literature in South Africa

Abstract Polysystem theory provides a useful, though necessarily limited, entry point for an investigation of the complex relationships that underlie the production of children’s books in various languages in South Africa, and the role that translation plays in this process. In particular, it provides a theoretical means of hypothesizing reasons for the tensions between original production and translation in relation to different language groups, and an explanation of the ways in which tensions between domesticating and foreignizing approaches to translation are perceived by various role players. This paper first argues that there is a systemic relationship between different types of literary texts for children in the various languages in South Africa, and that this provides a possible key for explaining the tensions outlined above. Against this background, the paper presents some findings of a survey conducted among South African translators of children’s literature, focusing specifically on translators’ perceptions of preliminary norms and the basic initial norm. Based on these findings, it is then argued that the dynamics and power differentials among the different languages in South Africa may challenge conventional interpretations of systemic relationships and their effects on norms and (possible) laws or universals of translation, particularly relating to binary conceptions of and conventionally held assumptions about the relationship between source-text and target-culture orientation (or domestication and foreignization) as linked to polysystemic position.

Guidelines for the editing of dissertations and theses: A survey of editors’ perceptions

Abstract This article presents the findings of an empirical study undertaken to investigate South African editors’ perceptions of the tasks and responsibilities of the editor working with dissertations and theses. The general lack of explicit policy guidelines for the editing of dissertations and theses in South Africa, and the variation among sets of guidelines that do exist, create a possible ethical dilemma, with potential ramifications for the editor, the postgraduate student and the higher-education institution from which the qualification is to be obtained. As a first step in investigating this problem, this article examines editors’ perceptions of the responsibilities of an editor working on dissertations and theses. An e-mail survey questionnaire was employed to solicit the opinions of a sample of editors on which tasks (of 63 generic editing tasks) and modes (of 9 modes of editing and querying) are appropriate to the editing of dissertations and theses. The data yielded by the questionnaires were analysed using descriptive statistics and significance tests. Based on this analysis, a list of tasks that respondents view as part of the mandate of an editor working with dissertations and theses is formulated. The findings of the study suggest that while editors view the majority of copyediting and stylistic editing tasks to be appropriate when editing dissertations and theses, the same does not hold true for structural and content editing tasks. In addition, some conclusions about appropriate modes of editing and querying are also presented, and some avenues for further research suggested.

Cognition and reception

The Handbook of Translation and Cognition is a pioneering, state-of-the-art investigation of cognitive approaches to translation and interpreting studies (TIS). • Offers timely and cutting-edge coverage of the most important theoretical frameworks and methodological innovations • Contains original contributions from a global group of leading researchers from 18 countries • Explores topics related to translator and workplace characteristics including machine translation, creativity, ergonomic perspectives, and cognitive effort, and competence, training, and interpreting such as multimodal processing, neurocognitive optimization, processoriented pedagogies, and conceptual change • Maps out future directions for cognition and translation studies, as well as areas in need of more research within this dynamic field

Professional and personal ethics in translation: a survey of South African translators’ translation strategies and motivations

The aim of the study reported on in this article was to explore South African translators’ responses to various kinds of ethically contentious material at the textual level, in the context of particular text types and hypothetical translation situations. The study made use of a survey design based primarily on closed-ended questions, administered to an availability sample of 31 South African translators drawn from the membership of the South African Translators’ Institute (SATI). The survey was, in the first instance, designed to solicit respondents’ opinions regarding which translation strategies they would most likely select to deal with particular kinds of ethical challenges. In order to better understand the factors affecting the selection of translation strategies, the impact of two translator factors (experience and age) and two text factors (text type and type of ethical problem) was investigated. In the second instance, the survey aimed to investigate why respondents selected particular strategies, and indirectly how they view their ethical responsibility. To this end, possible reasons for the selection of specific translation strategies were formulated and categorised as primarily influenced by either personal or professional ethics. In addition to this overall analysis, the study analysed differences in the role of personal and professional ethics depending on the type of ethical problem, the type of text, respondents’ age, and different levels of translation experience. The findings of the study suggest an overwhelming preference for faithful translation, but also reveal an interplay between personal and professional ethics as the motivation for this choice, with some differences across text type and kind of ethical problem. It appears that experience leads to a greater preference for both faithful translation strategies and a stronger influence of professional ethics. However, the data also suggest that age and/or generational differences may play a role in the selection of translation strategies, as well as in the effect of personal and professional ethics, with the oldest and youngest respondents in the sample more likely to opt for strategies other than faithful translation, motivated more frequently by personal rather than professional ethics.

Preliminary norms in the selection of children's books for translation in South Africa

Abstract This paper presents the results of a macrotextual and paratextual analysis of a sample of 42 English and Afrikaans childrens books (21 source texts and their translations). The sample consists of books for the age group six to 12, and includes readers and picture books, and books of South African as well as international origin. The aim of the analysis is to explore some of the preliminary norms that may influence the selection of books for translation in the Afrikaans/ English language pair. In this, the focus is on perceived function (specifically as evident in paratextual material), cultural content, and verbal style, as three dimensions that may affect text selection in particularly salient ways. The analysis (primarily of the source texts) indicates potentially significantly different selection criteria for different subgroups of childrens books (for example, readers and picture books, local and international books, Afrikaans and English books).

What's happening when nothing's happening? Combining eyetracking and keylogging to explore cognitive processing during pauses in translation production

This article investigates whether a combination of eyetracking and keylogging can yield a better understanding of the cognitive processing that occurs during pauses in translation production. It analyses the interaction between a number of temporal and spatial variables associated with pausing (including pause duration, the syntactic location of the pause and reading behaviour during the pause). Eight third-year students of translation, translating from English to Afrikaans, translated a 180-word text while their keystrokes and eye movements were recorded. Pauses were defined by means of a predetermined cut-off point, and coded for the temporal and spatial variables above. The relationships between these variables form the focus of the analysis. The findings of the study point to a complex relationship between pause duration, the syntactic position of the pause, syntactic asymmetries between the languages involved, reading behaviour and cognitive effort.

The translation of cultural aspects in South African children's literature in Afrikaans and English: a micro–analysis

Abstract This paper explores the textual-linguistic norms evident in the translation of culturally specific material in a sample of translated South African childrens books in Afrikaans and English, with a view to investigating the tensions between domestication and foreignisation, particularly as related to different types of books, such as primers, local picture books, and international picture books. A detailed qualitative textual analysis of micro-level translation choices relating to cultural orientation is presented, comparing the 21 translations in the sample with their source texts, and comparing subsamples of different types of books with one another. The analysis suggests the prevalence of hybrid translation strategies that orient translated texts in multiple cultural directions, but also indicates potentially significant differences in this regard between different types of books, with translations of international picture books tending towards greater use of domesticating strategies, despite their generally culturally generic background.

Training text editors as part of a general programme in language practice: a process-oriented approach

This article sets out the argument that the training of text editors may be done effectively and productively as part of university undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in language practice, alongside disciplines such as translation and interpreting. It is postulated that such programmes should be broadly based in the humanities and social sciences, but with significant emphasis on and links with the industry for which learners are being prepared. While it is believed that the practical aspects of becoming a text editor are of paramount importance in such a course, a great deal of emphasis is also placed on a solid theoretical foundation, so that learners will be able critically to reflect on the practice of text editing and the decision-making processes that it involves. Based on these assumptions, the article presents an outline of an undergraduate and honours course in language practice (offered at the Vaal Triangle Campus of the North-West University), integrating the training of text editors with other subjects in language practice and the humanities. Furthermore, a process-oriented approach, based on the approach outlined by Gile (1995) for the training of translators, is put forward, together with an idealised sequential model of the editing process that may be useful for teaching-learning purposes.