Challenges of metarepresentation to translation competence.

One of the outcomes of the inferential framework of communication developed by Sperber and Wilson (1995) is the pursuit of competence-oriented research on translation (CORT), as proposed in Gutt 2000. CORT focuses on the discovery of the mental capabilities involved in the translation task.\ud \ud One of the key concepts recently being explored in the inferential framework is that of metarepresentation. It involves the capability of people to represent in their minds not only the external world but the thoughts (mental representations) other people entertain about that world. Metarepresentations can involve several levels of embedding: thus persons can metarepresent to themselves the thoughts of others about their own thoughts about a certain subject matter etc.\ud \ud While metarepresentation is an important mental faculty for successful communication in general, it is of eminent importance in the translation task where the translator may have to metarepresent several different worlds of thoughts (cognitive environments) and their interaction with one another as mutual cognitive environments in cross-cultural communication events.\ud \ud This paper first briefly outlines the inferential model of translation, including the notions of cognitive environment, context and metarepresentation. The main part of the paper surveys five distinct constellations of mutual cognitive environments found in translation situations. The first – and ideal – constellation is where original author, translator and receptor audience all share essentially the same mutual cognitive environment. More commonly, however, this condition is not fulfilled and the other four constellations can present considerable challenges to the metarepresentational capabilities of the translator. Furthermore, the translator needs to develop strategies that will overcome differences in cognitive environment that would negatively affect the communication process. (This is in addition to the task of overcoming problems caused by language differences.) Suggestions are made about directions in which these problems, which can seriously undermine the success of the translated text, can be sought.\ud \ud References\ud Gutt, Ernst-August 2000 Translation and relevance: Cognition and context. Manchester: St. Jerome.\ud Sperber, Dan and Deirdre Wilson 1995 Relevance: Communication and cognition. Oxford: Blackwell.\u

A multi-tiered approach to Silt'i verb morphology

The replacement of the familiar linear phonological representations of the SPE-type by the multi-tiered configurations proposed in autosegmental phonology has enriched the theoretical apparatus available to the linguist and has opened the way for a better understanding of the workings of phonology. One particular strength of this theory is that it predicts the existence of distinct subsystems within a phonological system and offers a principled account of their interactions. Applied to the aspectual inflection of Silt'i verbs, the multi-tiered approach proves its potential by accommodating two distinct subsystems of inflection, viz. CV-pattern inflection and ablaut inflection, in a unified, principled description. From a more , general point of view, this paper sketches one possible way of integrating syllable theory as a distinct subsystem into an autosegmental system of phonology.</jats:p

A multi-tiered approach to Silt'i verb morphology

The replacement of the familiar linear phonological representations of the SPE-type by the multi-tiered configurations proposed in autosegmental phonology has enriched the theoretical apparatus available to the linguist and has opened the way for a better understanding of the workings of phonology. One particular strength of this theory is that it predicts the existence of distinct subsystems within a phonological system and offers a principled account of their interactions. Applied to the aspectual inflection of Silt'i verbs, the multi-tiered approach proves its potential by accommodating two distinct subsystems of inflection, viz. CV-pattern inflection and ablaut inflection, in a unified, principled description. From a more , general point of view, this paper sketches one possible way of integrating syllable theory as a distinct subsystem into an autosegmental system of phonology

Aspects of “Cultural Literacy” Relevant to Bible Translation

In 1987 E.D. Hirsch published his bestseller Cultural literacy: What every American needs to know. The education system of the time seriously underestimated the importance of background knowledge needed to successfully function in literate American society. Drawing on two decades of experimental research, Hirsch showed that without the background information needed for a given text, readers are effectively illiterate with regard to that text. He argued that quantitatively, too, background knowledge plays a major role in comprehension: the information explicitly stated in any text is only “the tip of the iceberg” of the intended meaning, the bulk needs to be supplied by the reader. In the light of this, Hirsch argued that one of the central goals of the educational system must be to provide American children with an adequate body of knowledge that would enable them to understand all communications addressed to the general public. This body of knowledge he called “cultural literacy.” Based on three decades of experience in Bible translation, the author of this paper sees some striking parallels with regard to the dominant philosophy in Bible translation. While the provision of biblical background knowledge has been given more attention in some quarters in recent years, it is still far from being acknowledged and treated as a key factor in the planning and execution of Bible translation projects, essential to ensure optimal efficiency of the work and to maximise the impact of the products. Applying relevant insights gained by Hirsch, the author examines the extent and nature of biblical literacy, that is, the background knowledge, needed for the successful comprehension of a sample text (Lk 10:13–14). This is done with the help of conceptual tools provided by relevance theory, the currently most developed theory of inferential communication. It goes on to the task of systematically identifying mismatches in background knowledge between original and receptor audience. It draws attention to the importance of timing and processing effort in biblical literacy strategies designed to overcome such mismatches. One of the spin-offs of biblical literacy is the need for closer interdisciplinary cooperation between biblical studies, anthropology and translation.</jats:p

Textual properties, communicative clues and the translator

This paper builds on the relevance-theoretic account of communication. It attempts to show that the question whether a textual feature of the original should be represented in the translated text as a "communicative clue" depends on a) the intentions of the original communicator and b) the translator's notion of what his or her task is. Regarding the impact of the translation, it also depends on how well the translator's intentions match the expectations of the audience

Implicit information in literary translation: A relevance-theoretic perspective

As an instance of human communication, literary translation operates by certain laws and principles assumed to be built into our human make up. These 'natural laws' of communication give rise to implicit information and are responsible for its special characteristics, such as graded strength of communication and its correlates, including poetic effects. They furthermore determine the interdependence of text, context and successful communication, and limit communicability in incompatible contexts. One important contextual factor consists in what kind of interpretive resemblance the audience expects there to be between original and translation. The ultimate test for a translation is whether or not it achieves with the target audience what the translator intended it to achieve, rather than whether it conforms to some translation-theoretical notion of equivalence