Five turns of the screw. A CADS analysis of the European Parliament

The present paper proposes a CADS-based analysis of European Parliament speeches, by merging (C)DA theoretical constructs (inspired by Laclau and Mouffe 1985 ) and CL tools. In this fashion, the European Comparable and Parallel Corpus of Parliamentary Speeches Archive (ECPC) is examined along synchronic and diachronic, quantitative and qualitative lines, in an inductive study that commutes from the micro-text to the macro-context

Researching the European Parliament with Corpus-Assisted Discourse Studies. From the micro- and macro-levels of text to the macro-context

Parliaments are important and complex institutions. However, they are notably under-researched within linguistics and related fields. This is certainly the case with the European Parliament (EP). Drawing both on Corpus-Assisted Discourse Studies (CADS) and prior, manual research on parliamentary communication, this paper proposes and applies an analytical protocol to examine EP speeches. Although these are disseminated in various forms and through dissimilar means (e.g., live at the EP; the audiovisual format via streaming or recorded videos; or published as parliamentary proceedings), here we focus on proceedings – one of the EP’s main sources of official representation. Following the EP’s (unique) practice, where official proceedings do not distinguish between original and translated speeches but consider all texts of equal (legal) status, this study delves into all speech production in English, without separating source and target texts. In the most orthodox of CADS traditions, analysis proceeds from micro and macro-levels of texts into the macro-context (unlike other academic approaches, in which it proceeds in the opposite direction). This direction forces us to move from tangible, specific data to the enveloping setting in which these data are exchanged.Las cámaras legislativas son instituciones de indisputable importancia y elevados niveles de complejidad. Sin embargo, su estudio se ha visto descuidado por los ámbitos lingüísticos hasta hace poco. Éste es, sin duda, el caso del Parlamento Europeo (PE). Sobre la base metodologógica de los Estudios de Discurso Asistidos por Corpus (o CADS, en sus siglas en inglés) así como la plataforma teórica de análisis manuales del género parlamentario, el presente trabajo propone y aplica un protocolo de estudio del discurso parlamentario. Aunque los discursos del parlamento europeo se publican en formatos y medios diversos (en directo, en la Eurocamára; en formato audiovisual, mediante comunicaciones en línea o enlatadas; o publicadas oficialmente, en el texto de las actas paralamentarias), aquí nos centramos en las representaciones oficiales de las actas parlamentarias. En consonancia con la práctica del PE (única en su género), que no hace distinciones entre discursos originales y traducciones sino que los equipara a todos en cuanto a su estatus (jurídico), este estudio examina la producción discursiva del PE en inglés, con independencia de la lengua origen de cada texto. En línea con la más ortodoxa de las tradiciones de los CADS, el análisis procede desde niveles micro y macro textuales hacia el contexto (y no al contrario, como ocurre en otros enfoques investigadores). Esta dirección nos obliga a concentrarnos en datos concretos y tangibles para luego explorar el medio en el que se emitieron estos

What is kept and what is lost without translation? A corpus-assisted discourse study of the European Parliament’s original and translated English

In July 2011, the European Parliament (EP) stopped providing a written translation of its proceedings. Some years later, it seems apposite to look back and ask: What is kept and what is lost without the EP translating? To answer this question, the present paper adopts the first (modern diachronic) corpus-assisted discourse analysis study (MD-CADS) carried out within translation studies by drawing on the discourse-historical approach (DHA) and corpus linguistics (CL) tools. Hence, along DHA lines, the paper proceeds from texture through strategies to content by focusing on CL key keywords and detailed consistency. It performs analysis upon the European Comparable and Parallel Corpus archive, compiled at the Universitat Jaume I (Spain). This study shows that MD-CADS is a potential source of data for triangulation with other, more qualitative, approaches

Corpus-based methods for Comparative Translation and Interpreting Studies

Comparative Translation and Interpreting Studies (CTIS1) encompasses all research processes resulting from the comparison of theories, products, and practices associated with the tasks performed by translators and interpreters during their work. A specific set of comparative methods and tools are derived from Corpus-based Translation and Interpreting Studies (CTIS2). In an attempt to conduct CTIS1 from a CTIS2 perspective, this article applies (modern diachronic) corpus-based ideas, such as priming theory and corpus tools, to build a comparative methodology and analysis with the European Comparable and Parallel Corpus (ECPC) archive. The article focuses on the notions of difference and similarity to better understand the field

Proactive Translatology vis a vis Advertising Messages

Much good work on Translation Studies (TS) has concentrated on the verbal text. Nevertheless, in our post-modern world, multi-modality is exploited to the maximum, as advertising shows. In turn, hyper-textuality is also a common feature of today’s advertising messages. Furthermore, both multi-modality and hyper-textuality are ideologically designed not only to sell products but to promote entire ways of life. In its second section, the present paper draws on Van Leeuwen (1993), Gastil (1992) and Kress and Van Leeuwen (1998) to approach the notion of multi-modality. It also draws on Askehave and Nielsen (2004) to study hyper-textuality in general and structural/associative links in particular. These theoretical proposals are then applied (in sections 3 and 4) to four translated or translation-related ads on paper and/or on electronic format. Finally, section 5 puts forward a series of conclusions related to the topics under discussion, which are connected to the ideological consequences of the translating (or translation-related) task.Beaucoup d’études de qualité portant sur la traduction se sont concentrées sur le texte verbal. Néanmoins, dans notre monde postmoderne, la multimodalité est exploitée au maximum, comme en témoigne la publicité. D’autre part, l’hypertextualité est aussi une caractéristique des messages publicitaires d’aujourd’hui. En outre, la multimodalité et l’hypertextualité sont idéologiquement conçues non seulement pour vendre des produits mais aussi pour promouvoir de nouveaux styles vie. Dans la première section, cette étude recourt à Van Leeuwen (1993), Gastil (1992) et Kress et Van Leeuwen (1998) pour cerner la notion de multimodalité. Il utilise aussi Askehave et Nielsen (2004) pour étudier l’hypertextualité en général et les relations structurelles/associatives en particulier. Ces propositions théoriques sont appliquées par la suite (dans les sections 3 et 4) sur quatre publicités traduites (ou en rapport avec la traduction) en format papier et/ou en format électronique. Finalement, la section 5 propose une série de conclusions en rapport avec les sujets en discussion, reliées aux conséquences idéologiques du travail de traduction (ou en rapport avec la traduction)

La recepción de las figuras retóricas de textos publicitarios : una experiencia orientada a la enseñanza / aprendizaje del alumnado de traducción

Publicidad y retórica son dos disciplinas entre las que existe una evidente sinergia. Se ha demostrado ampliamente que uno de los procedimientos más utilizados en la publicidad son las figuras retóricas (McQuarrie y Mick, 1993, 1996), que pueden definirse como ingeniosas deformaciones de los asertos. Sin duda, la función de estos artificios retóricos es captar la atención del consumidor, y por ende, invitarle a comprar el producto anunciado. Sin embargo, la traductología se ha acercado a este binomio en muy contadas ocasiones (por ejemplo, Smith, 2006) y eso que, en dichas ocasiones, se demuestra que la traducción desempeña un papel decisivo en el trasvase lingüístico del género publicitario. El presente artículo es consecuencia de un trabajo anterior de la autora. Ante las fuertes presiones globalizadoras a las que se ve sometida la traducción de la publicidad (en lo que hoy se conoce como «aldea global»), presiones que conducen a la homegeneización vertiginosa de las culturas, parece oportuno preparar al alumno de traducción (los traductores de un futuro inmediato) para lidiar con dichas figuras retóricas. A tal fin se propone aquí una investigación educativa -con arreglo a la metodología «investigación en la acción»- para comprobar los eventuales progresos del futuro traductor que se somete a un tratamiento de intervención pedagógica con el objeto de 1) formarlo en la naturaleza de la figuración y sus tipos y 2) exponerlo a los diferentes procedimientos traductológicos. En definitiva, se intenta aquí recabar información del comportamiento del alumnado con vistas a la posterior preparación de programas conducentes al aprendizaje.Advertising and rhetoric are closely connected. In fact, it is widely known that publicity uses rhetorical figures -i.e. artful deviation of a statement- extensively (McQuarrie y Mick, 1993, 1996). Undoubtedly, the purpose of an ad is to attract the consumer's attention (with the help of figuration, among others), and as a result to buy the advertised product. Nevertheless, translation studies has approached the advertising/rhetorical compound on very few occasions (Smith, 2006). And yet, those particular occasions highlight the important role the translation of rhetorical figures plays in the multilingual transfer of ads. Since the translation of rhetorical figures is subject to increased globalising pressures (in our «global village») leading to the homogeneity of cultures, it seems advisable to prepare students of translation (i.e. would-be translators) to deal with rhetorical figures (in advertising and elsewhere). To this end, the present paper carries out an «action research» study in order to investigate the potential advances of students when trained in the understanding and transfer of rhetorical figures. This training aims to: 1) make students familiar with the nature of rhetorical figures and its different categories; and 2) expose them to the most common translation strategies. By and large, we wish to query students with a view to the refinement of future pedagogical instruction

The Impact of Symbolic Culture on the Understanding of Visual Figuration in a Cross-Cultural Environment

This paper focuses on the understanding of visual rhetorical figures as they appear in today's globalized advertising. A sound theoretical model (i.e., Phillips and McQuarrie 2004) is first reviewed to select a good representative sampling (i.e., 9 advertisements) of the behaviour domain measured. Then, a population of 60 English language students are questioned regarding these 9 advertisements. This study uses a combined methodology, resorting to basic quantitative data to reveal qualitative findings. Our discussion supports prior research (Callister and Stern 2008: 148) indicating that culture is essential for image understanding in a crosscultural environment and stands in opposition to those who act on the assumption that visuals are universal and therefore understandable in all cultures of the world (Levitt 1983)

MDA analysis of translated and non-translated parliamentary discourse

Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovació

Ressenyes

Obra ressenyada: María del Carmen África VIDAL CLARAMONTE, El futuro de la traducción: Últimas tendencias, nuevas aplicaciones. Valencia: Alfons el Magnànim, 1998