Contrastive Multimodal Analysis of Two Spanish Translations of a Picture Book

AbstractThis paper focuses on two Spanish translations of a Children's book titled The story of Ferdinand (1935) written by Munro Leaf and illustrated by Robert Lawson. The comparison of this specific narrative type is made between two translations carried by two different translators, published on different continents and by different publishing houses and whose illustrations were made by two different authors. Consequently, we will check how the imagery and the text of each Spanish edition satisfy some specific communication needs (Moya and Pinar, 2007, p. 22) that determine the reader's reception of a text in a target culture

Aligning qualitative and quantitative approaches in professional translation quality assessment

Translation Quality Assessment in professional translation is a long-debated issue that is still unsettled today, partly, due to the wide range of possible approaches. Given the elusive nature of the quality concept, first, it must be defined from a multifaceted and all-embracing viewpoint. Simultaneously and from a textual perspective, the quality notion must be defined as a notion of relative (and not absolute) adequacy with respect to a framework previously agreed by parties at stake (petitioner and translator). The backbone of this structure is formed by revision parameters. Hence, in former studies, the two mainstream quality assessment models in professional translation were analysed. On the one hand, there are those based on a “bottom-up” approach, which rely on microlinguistic point-deduction error schemes and, on the other hand, the “top-down” approaches, whose assessment provides a macrolinguistic valuation of the target text using assessment rubrics. Both perspectives stand at the ends of the quality continuum, providing essential cues for a holistic analysis of the translated text and, at the same time, reciprocally make up for the deficiencies inherent to the other model. Consequently, and with a view to design a global and comprehensive assessment model for professional translation, it is necessary to set a sound framework of reference based on a limited number of clearly and objectively revision parameters. As a result, in line with what has been explained above, a preliminar alignment between the recurrent and essential revision parameters of those long-lived and reputed models and the dimensions which define a quality construct that brings together the strengths of both mainstream models is put forward.La evaluación de la calidad en el mundo de la traducción profesional es tema largamente debatido para el que, aún en nuestros días, no contamos con una visión unificada debido a la gran cantidad de enfoques existentes. Dada la elusiva naturaleza del concepto de calidad, en primer lugar, es necesario definirlo, lo que requiere de la adopción de una visión polifacética e integradora. Asimismo, y desde una perspectiva textual, la noción de calidad por la que se aboga debe establecerse en términos de adecuación relativa, y no absoluta, respecto de un marco de referencia previamente consensuado entre las partes involucradas (peticionario y traductor). Los criterios que constituyen la espina dorsal de este marco de referencia son los parámetros de revisión. Por ello, se ha analizado en estudios previos las dos principales corrientes de modelos de evaluación de la calidad de la traducción. Por una parte, están los fundamentados en un enfoque del tipo “bottom-up”, basados en esquemas de categorización y penalización del error lingüístico a nivel microtextual, y, por otra, los que consideran las estrategias “top-down”, cuya valoración ofrece una visión macrolingüística del texto analizado mediante el uso de rúbricas de evaluación. Ambas perspectivas, situadas en lo que serían los extremos dentro de un continuo de la calidad, aportan elementos de análisis fundamentales para la valoración holística de texto traducido y, simultáneamente, suplen recíprocamente las carencias inherentes de cada modelo. Por ello, y de cara a diseñar un modelo que permita valorar globalmente una traducción, es necesario asentar un marco de referencia sólido, basado en unos criterios de revisión limitados en número, claros y objetivables. Como consecuencia, y en base al estudio anterior, se propone una alineación preliminar de los parámetros de revisión de los modelos que cuentan con mayor reconocimiento y trayectoria histórica con unas dimensiones que definen un constructo de calidad que recoge la visión de ambas corrientes mayoritarias

Una revisión de la censura en la Literatura Infantil y Juvenil (LIJ) traducida del inglés en España desde la etapa franquista a la actualidad

This paper reviews the evolution of censorship?s measures and outcomes exerted over Children and Juvenile Literature (CJL) translated from English from the outset of Spanish dictatorship, during the post-war and in present times. The scant literary value usually assigned to this literature aimed at children turns it into a more vulnerable target to the fluctuations in opinion of the rulers. Besides, translated children literature is an under-researched area in Spanish literature. The contrastive analysis of some translations proposals made at different times serves to exemplify the most outstanding milestones which censorship evolution has undergone from Franco?s regime up to date. Keywords: Censorship; Children and Juvenile Literature (CJL); translation; dictatorship

The story of Ferdinand: De Nueva York a Salamanca

This paper aims to analyze two Spanish editions of the picture book The story of Ferdinand (1935) written by Munro Leaf and illustrated by Robert Lawson. The comparison of this specific narrative type is made between two translations into Spanish and their illustrations whose release dates are more than 30 years apart and that were published on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean (one in North America in 1962 and the other in Spain in 1994). Special attention is paid to the multimodal interplay between the visual representations and written language in both Spanish translations in order to elucidate the distinct ideological approach adopted by each edition to address the target audience, mainly children. The picture book was written just before the onset of the Spanish Civil War, where history has shown that violence reached extreme levels. It is interesting to look into how this picture book updates its significance with the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War and, a little later, of the Second World War in Europe. Through a metaphorical use of the Spanish traditional spectacle also characterized by its violence and cruelty, the imagery and the text of each Spanish edition satisfies some specific communication needs (Moya y Pinar, 2007, p. 22) that determine the reception of a text in the target culture and reader.El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar dos versiones en lengua española realizadas a partir del álbum ilustrado originalmente escrito en inglés The story of Ferdinand (1935) por Munro Leaf e ilustrado por Robert Lawson. La comparación de este tipo específico de narrativa se establece entre dos traducciones al castellano y sus ilustraciones cuya fecha de publicación dista más de 30 años y cuyo lugar de publicación está separado por el océano Atlántico Norte (una americana de 1962 y otra española de 1994). Este artículo presta especial atención a la relación multimodal que se establece entre el código semiótico visual y escrito de ambas versiones españolas de cara a dilucidar la distinta orientación ideológica que cada traducción asume al dirigirse a un público receptor, principalmente de carácter infantil.  La obra fue escrita a las puertas del estallido de la guerra civil española, donde ya sabemos por la historia que la oleada de violencia había llegado a unos extremos de gran crudeza. Es interesante indagar en la actualidad que cobra en España este álbum ilustrado de origen americano al poco de publicarse con el estallido de la Guerra Civil española y, poco después, en el continente Europeo con la 2ª Guerra Mundial. Haciendo un uso metafórico de una fiesta tradicional española caracterizada también por su violencia y crueldad, la imaginería y la traducción de cada versión en castellano dan respuesta a unas motivaciones comunicativas (Moya y Pinar, 2007, p. 22) que condicionan la recepción del texto en el lector y cultura meta

Adoctrinamiento literario y cinematográfico: la caracterización de la mujer en tres películas de Cenicienta

Extensive research in sociolinguistics (Fairclough, 1995, 2003; Caldas-Coulthard and Coulthard, 1996; Taylor, 2003, Cohen et al. 2007) has disclosed that media, movies among others, play an important role in supporting prevailing language ideology and consolidating linguistic stereotypes. Today, for the transmission and construction of messages, meaning creators make use of different semiotic modes in combination which allow to establish various synergies among themselves, giving rise to new meanings that are influenced, among other things, by social interactions and our vision of the world. In this regard, the main aim of this paper is to show how the various affordances of cinematic discourse may be implemented in order to fulfil specific ideological purposes in three Cinderella film versions aimed at the Spanish audience. This study is embedded in Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis (CDA), Kress and van Leeuwen’s multimodal critical discourse analysis (MCDA) and Propp’s actantial model. The findings reveal that the message conveyed in these films contributes to ingrain gender stereotypes in their addressees. Numerosos estudios sociolingüísticos (Fairclough, 1995, 2003; Caldas-Coulthard and Coulthard, 1996; Taylor, 2003, Cohen et al. 2007) han puesto de manifiesto que los medios de comunicación, entre ellos el cine, juegan un papel fundamental al apoyar la ideología dominante en el uso del lenguaje y en la consolidación de estereotipos lingüísticos. En la actualidad, para la transmisión y construcción de mensajes, los creadores de significados utilizan diferentes modos semióticos combinados, los cuales entablan entre sí variadas sinergias dando lugar a nuevos significados que son influenciados, entre otras cosas, por las interacciones sociales y nuestra visión del mundo. En este sentido, el principal objetivo de este artículo es mostrar cómo se pueden aplicar las diversas posibilidades del discurso cinematográfico, tras su transmediación del discurso literario, para ajustarse a unos fines ideológicos concretos en tres versiones cinematográficas de Cenicienta dirigidas al público español. Este estudio se enmarca bajo los postulados del análisis crítico del discurso (CDA) de Fairclough, en el análisis crítico del discurso multimodal (MCDA) de Kress y Van Leeuwen y en el modelo actancial de Propp. Los hallazgos revelan que el mensaje transmitido en estas películas contribuye a arraigar los estereotipos de género en sus destinatarios

Un modelo explicativo para el desarrollo de la competencia comunicativa oral desde la competencia emocional en la educación secundaria oblogatoria

El alumnado de la educación secundaria obligatoria (ESO) todavía se caracteriza por presentar un bajo nivel de dominio en la competencia comunicativa oral. Esta situación pone de manifiesto la necesidad de articular propuestas didácticas fundadas en el aprendizaje situado, orientado a potenciar el máximo desarrollo competencial en lengua extranjera - inglés- de todos los alumnos. El saber basado en el contenido no debe limitar las posibilidades de escuchar-comprender y de hablar-expresar del alumnado, siendo esencial el papel de las emociones como variables moduladoras de dicho proceso. Por ello, en este artículo se propone un modelo explicativo para el desarrollo de la competencia comunicativa oral, en conexión con la competencia emocional, para la enseñanza del inglés en la ESO de Castilla-La Mancha. Esta propuesta viene avalada por un ejercicio de contextualización y análisis teórico-normativa de ambas competencias.Oral Communicative Competente (OCC) of Compulsory Secondary School Students still shows poor performance. This fact evinces the need to formulate didactical proposals based on contextualized learning, aimed at boosting the maximum L2 (English) competence development of all the students. Content-based knowledge must not limit the students’ chances to listen-understand and speak-chat, placing a strong emphasis on the emotion role as a modulating variable on that process. Therefore, this article puts forward an explanatory model to develop OCC linked up with the Emotional Competence (EC) for English teaching in Secondary Education Schools of Castille La-Mancha. This proposal is backed up by a contextualization effort and a theoretical and normative analysis of both competences

Un modelo explicativo para el desarrollo de la competencia comunicativa oral desde la competencia emocional en la educación secundaria oblogatoria

El alumnado de la educación secundaria obligatoria (ESO) todavía se caracteriza por presentar un bajo nivel de dominio en la competencia comunicativa oral. Esta situación pone de manifiesto la necesidad de articular propuestas didácticas fundadas en el aprendizaje situado, orientado a potenciar el máximo desarrollo competencial en lengua extranjera - inglés- de todos los alumnos. El saber basado en el contenido no debe limitar las posibilidades de escuchar-comprender y de hablar-expresar del alumnado, siendo esencial el papel de las emociones como variables moduladoras de dicho proceso. Por ello, en este artículo se propone un modelo explicativo para el desarrollo de la competencia comunicativa oral, en conexión con la competencia emocional, para la enseñanza del inglés en la ESO de Castilla-La Mancha. Esta propuesta viene avalada por un ejercicio de contextualización y análisis teórico-normativa de ambas competencias.Oral Communicative Competente (OCC) of Compulsory Secondary School Students still shows poor performance. This fact evinces the need to formulate didactical proposals based on contextualized learning, aimed at boosting the maximum L2 (English) competence development of all the students. Content-based knowledge must not limit the students’ chances to listen-understand and speak-chat, placing a strong emphasis on the emotion role as a modulating variable on that process. Therefore, this article puts forward an explanatory model to develop OCC linked up with the Emotional Competence (EC) for English teaching in Secondary Education Schools of Castille La-Mancha. This proposal is backed up by a contextualization effort and a theoretical and normative analysis of both competences

Enhanced CORILGA: Introducing the Automatic Phonetic Alignment Tool for Continuous Speech

The Corpus Oral Informatizado da Lingua Galega (CORILGA) project aims at building a corpus of oral language for Galician, primarily designed to study the linguistic variation and change. This project is currently under development and it is periodically enriched with new contributions. The long-term goal is that all the speech recordings will be enriched with phonetic, syllabic, morphosyntactic, lexical and sentence ELAN-complaint annotations. A way to speed up the process of annotation is to use automatic speech-recognition-based tools tailored to the application. Therefore, CORILGA repository has been enhanced with an automatic alignment tool, available to the administrator of the repository, that aligns speech with an orthographic transcription. In the event that no transcription, or just a partial one, were available, a speech recognizer for Galician is used to generate word and phonetic segmentations. These recognized outputs may contain errors that will have to be manually corrected by the administrator. For assisting this task, the tool also provides an ELAN tier with the confidence measure of each recognized word. In this paper, after the description of the main facts of the CORILGA corpus, the speech alignment and recognition tools are described. Both have been developed using the Kaldi toolki

Validity and Reliability of the Leomo Motion-Tracking Device Based on Inertial Measurement Unit with an Optoelectronic Camera System for Cycling Pedaling Evaluation

Abstract: Background: The use of inertial measurement sensors (IMUs), in the search for a more ecological measure, is spreading among sports professionals with the aim of improving the sports performance of cyclists. The kinematic evaluation using the Leomo system (TYPE-R, Leomo, Boulder, CO, USA) has become popular. Purpose: The present study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Leomo system by measuring the angular kinematics of the lower extremities in the sagittal plane during pedaling at different intensities compared to a gold-standard motion capture camera system (OptiTrack, Natural Point, Inc., Corvallis, OR, USA). Methods: Twenty-four elite cyclists recruited from national and international cycling teams performed two 6-min cycles of cycling on a cycle ergometer at two different intensities (first ventilatory threshold (VT1) and second ventilatory threshold (VT2)) in random order, with a 5 min rest between intensity conditions. The reliability and validity of the Leomo system versus the motion capture system were evaluated. Results: Both systems showed high validity and were consistently excellent in foot angular range Q1 (FAR (Q1)) and foot angular range (FAR) (ICC-VT1 between 0.91 and 0.95 and ICC-VT2 between 0.88 and 0.97), while the variables leg angular range (LAR) and pelvic angle showed a modest validity (ICC-VT1 from 0.52 to 0.71 and ICC-VT2 between 0.61 and 0.67). Compared with Optitrack, Leomo overestimated all the variables, especially the LAR and pelvic angle values, in a range between 12 and 15 . Conclusions: Leomo is a reliable and valid tool for analyzing the ranges of motion of the cyclist's lower limbs in the sagittal plane, especially for the variables FAR (Q1) and FAR. However, its systematic error for FAR and Pelvic Angle values must be considered in sports performance analysis