Diverging author/translator interventions in the Dutch, French and US translations of the Cuban novel Tres tristes tigres: some explanatory factors

The conditions in which the Cuban novel Tres tristes tigres (Cabrera Infante 1967) was translated into French, English and Dutch were very different, particularly as regards (1) the type of collaboration between the original author and the translators and (2) the publication dates of these translations. In this respect, the French and the US English translations are very similar: both Trois tristes tigres and Three Trapped Tigers were realized in collaboration with the author and both were published in the target cultures shortly after the original (1970 and 1971 respectively). The making of the Dutch translation, on the other hand, is very different: Drie trieste tijgers was published for the first time in 1997 (with a revision in 2002) and was realized without virtually any sort of collaboration between the author and the Dutch translators Fred de Vries and Tessa Zeiler. In the light of these data, it was expected that the collaboration between the author and the French and American translators (Albert Bensoussan and Suzanne Jill Levine respectively), as well as the proximity of the publication dates would affect the textual features of the translations. More precisely, it was expected that the French and US translations would be comparable and that these two would show substantial differences compared to the Dutch one. These initial assumptions were verified on the basis of three stylistic features, selected because they enforce decision-making processes on the translators: (a) intralingual speech variety, (b) (monolingual) language play and (c) intertextual irony. The initial assumption, though, was not corroborated. In fact, for two of the three categories analyzed, similarities were observed not between the US and French translations but between the US and Dutch translations. We will briefly exemplify these data and then explore clarifying factors beyond the two conditions privileged initially. These explanatory elements are organized in a framework that draws on two of Bourdieu’s key concepts (capital and field) but also includes data gathered by ethnographical modes of inquiry that enrich the predominantly relational focus of Bourdieu’s concepts as used in TS. We focus on (1) the cultural and social capital of the different translators and their position in their respective literary fields, (2) the author’s opinion regarding translation as an unlimited creation, and his unequal attitude towards the target cultures and languages involved and (3) the translators’ poetics (including the translators’ stance towards language, their own (in)visibility and the author’s intention and original creation)

Formatos de evaluación en comprensión auditiva : evaluación comprensión auditiva

Este trabajo analiza la correlación positiva entre dos factores a la hora de evaluar la comprensión audiovisual: el formato de la evaluación (tipo test o preguntas abiertas) y los resultados. Se comparan dos pruebas de un mismo ejercicio realizado en clase de ELE (N=66): una primera de preguntas abiertas (N=17) y una segunda que incluye preguntas de selección múltiple e ítems dicotómicos (N=49). En este último caso se analiza además la correlación entre el número de visionados y los resultados obtenidos. Tras revisar la literatura se presentan dos hipótesis: (1) los estudiantes sometidos a la prueba tipo preguntas abiertas puntúan menos que los otros; (2) el número de visionados influye en los resultados. En contra de la primera hipótesis planteada, los participantes a la prueba tipo test no obtienen mejores resultados. La segunda hipótesis sí se comprueba aunque el turno adicional favorece en primer lugar a los estudiantes menos fuertes. El presente estudio proporciona datos empíricos para el análisis de las posibles incidencias que tienen el formato de prueba y el número de repeticiones en los resultados de pruebas de comprensión auditiva en ELE, un tema de investigación poco explorado, en particular en comparación con el inglés como lengua extranjera

The communication matrix: beating babel: coping with multilingual service encounters

Public service interpreting and translation (PSIT) provision can hardly catch up with demand. Simultaneously, the scarce availability of trained public service interpreters and translators is a fact. We need to conceive integrated solutions by coherently bringing together PSIT and other communication supporting ‘tools’. Then, clear usage of the national tongue, PSI, translation, pictograms, video images and language software would be part of one communication assistance concept. But merely ad hoc use of these tools creates more confusion than solutions for service providers and their clients. The Junction Migration-Integration and the University College of Ghent have analyzed over seventy real public service interactions. The objective was to build a methodology to develop a service access support tool: the Communication Matrix. Quantitative research was performed. And benchmarking sessions were organised with policy makers, service providers and language support professionals, as qualitative research. In the paper, we will discover through the research findings whether such a communication matrix -by means of which concrete service provision can be linked to adequate communication tools through a matrix - is attainable

Equal access to health information : evaluating the use of a multilingual website in face-to-face consultations = Igualdad de acceso a la información sanitaria : evaluación del uso de un sitio web multilingüe en las consultas presenciales

In a 21st century superdiverse world, public service providers increasingly resort to technologies facilitating face-to-face consultations. In this paper, we evaluate the use and efficiency of a multilingual website in 11 video-recorded consultations of HIV/STI counselling. We address three central research questions: (i) How is the multilingual website embedded (or not) in the consultations? (ii) For what particular communicative purposes? (iii) How are the interactional routines shaped by the use of the multilingual website? The results show that the website is most efficient in consultations characterized by high levels of institution-specific arrangements of talk enabling varying tasks, e.g. announcing the taking of a HIV test, asking the patient’s consent for taking a HIV test, exploring sexual risk behaviours and infections, empowering the patient in the search for reliable information on sexual health related topics.En un contexto de superdiversidad, los proveedores de servicios públicos recurren cada vez más a tecnologías para facilitar los encuentros multilingües. En este artículo evaluamos el uso y la eficiencia de un sitio web mediante el análisis de 11 consultas sobre VIH/ETS. Abordamos tres preguntas de investigación: (i) ¿Cómo se incluye (o no) el sitio web multilingüe en las consultas? (ii) ¿Con qué fines comunicativos? (iii) ¿Qué efectos tiene el sitio web en las rutinas de interacción? Los resultados muestran que el sitio web es más eficiente en consultas con organizaciones conversacionales específicas y propias de la institución. Así, el sitio facilita comunicar la realización de una prueba VIH, solicitar el consentimiento del paciente para realizarla, explorar conductas sexuales de riesgo, y capacitar al paciente en la búsqueda de información fiable sobre temas relacionados con la salud sexual

Observing briefly trained, non-certified interpreters at work : risk analysis = La observación de intérpretes no certificados tras una formación de corta duración : análisis de riesgos

The exceptional migratory flows in 2015-2016 have entailed several challenges for the Flemish public service interpreting sector, including a mismatch in supply and demand, a shortage of interpreters for lesser-used language varieties, and government budget constraints. In order to meet these challenges head-on, the Flemish Government Integration Agency, responsible for certifying public-service interpreters, has set up a research project designed to determine whether, and under what circumstances, briefly trained volunteer “language assistants” (LAs) could offer a valid additional form of language mediation. First, participants were trained and evaluated when interacting, mainly through role plays, with fellow trainees. Second, their interpreting performances during real-life service provision interactions were video-recorded and assessed. The LAs’ interpreting performances were assessed predominantly as unsatisfactory, with the main risks being linked to low interpreter competence, language proficiency, and deontological awareness. Those findings have been addressed in a follow-up project, by increasing the required CEFR level of Dutch and by changing the content of the training