TRANSLATION THEORY:

Social Aspects Of Translating

GROUP
5:
Nguyễn Thị Phượng Nhung
Đào Thị Hồng Thắm
Trương Thị Kim Thoa
Nguyễn Hoàng Anh Thư
Cao Thuỳ Vân
 Table of contents
6.
Introduction
6.0
Language variation and change
6.1
Dialectal variation
6.2
Socioeconomic variation
Other language varieties: 6.3
Registersselection in
Register 6.4
translation 5
6.
Translation in multilingual societies 6
Summary &
 6.0 Introduction

- The nature of language change and variation

- Dialectal variation
- Social variation
- Prestigious varieties vs. stigmatized ones
- Registers and translating in multilingual societies.
 6.1
Language variation and
change
Varieties of language develop for a number of reasons:
- differences can come about for geographical reasons;
- belong to a specific group, often academic or professional, tend
to adopt jargon that is known to and understood by only
members of that select group.
Even individuals develop idiolects, their own specific ways of
speaking.
 6.3.2
6.1 Language Function
variation and change
Variation:
an inherent element of language found not only in
previous stages, but also in the present…

Speakers may vary pronunciation (accent), word choice

(lexicon), or morphology and syntax (sometimes called
"grammar"). Sometimes, it is not correct to study language
 6.3.2
6.1 Language Function
variation and change
Variation:
For example:
“yếu điểm” (danh từ) là từ gốc Hán:
- yếu: quan trọng, cần thiết
- điểm: chỗ, vị trí.
=> yếu điểm: chỗ quan trọng nhất, điểm quan trọng nhất, điểm then
chốt.
Ta thường dùng sai nó với ý nghĩa như nhược điểm.
6.1 Language variation and change

Language variation:
Differences in linguistic form at any section of time

Language change:

Differences in linguistic form through historical time

6.1 Language variation and change
 6.1 Language variation and change
Understanding language variation and change:
Why should translators care?

(i) Debunking language myths in translation practice

(ii) Translation is about language use

=> Choosing a language variety for a target text

6.1 Language variation and change

Choosing a language variety for a target text

The same can be say about the language variety

used for particular translation task, where the
situation and purpose of translation often determine
the most adequate target language variety to use
6.1 Language variation and change
Choosing a language variety for a target text
Ms L, translator:
Mr J, translator:
Decide to go for the local variety of
Decide to translate Southwest Spanish found in the
into normative Spanish media in Texas, with help of
Spanish a local colleague

Who is a good translator?

 6.2

Dialectal variation
 6.2.1 Definition

Dialectal Variation

- Type of variation in language

- Due to geographical (sometimes political/

demographic) reasons
 6.2.2 Description

Space
● Closer space:
● → lack of discrete boundaries
● → speak more alike
 6.2.2 Description
Space
AMERICAN ENGLISH For example:
BRITISH ENGLISH
● Accent: within US, vs
●collective
Closer space:nouns
collective nouns
US & UK +
+
●SINGULAR PLURAL / SINGULAR
● Vocabulary:
verb
→ lack of discrete boundaries
● → speak more alike
verb ● Grammar:

Eg: Which team is Eg: Which team is/are

losing? losing?
 6.2.2 Description
Dialect = inferior’ language
variety (!?)
● Dialect = the way a language spoken/ written
in a specific time & place

• Language

collective speech+writing a variety agreed as the standard

behaviors of a community
 6.2.2 Description
Eg:
- Language: English
- Dialects: New York City English, Scottish
English, American English, Australian English,
etc.
- Standard Vietnamese: northern dialect
 6.2.3 Consequence

Social view & perceptions → bias & unscientific view.

Societies & cultures are never the same.

Influence on translation brief, type, function
Connotations & meaning of source language & target
language: rarely duplicate
Translator: aware of social view vs. dialect of
target language
 6.2.3 Consequence

Social view & perceptions → bias & unscientific view.

Societies & cultures are never the same.

Influence on translation brief, type, function
 6.2.3 Consequence
DIFFERENT STYLE OF UNIT SEPARATOR
Vietnam US Germany Sweden
. , .
(period) (comma) (period) (a space)
.
1 234 ,
1 234 .
1 234 1 234
 6.2.3 Consequence
DIFFERENT DATE FORMAT

yyyy-mm-dd: China, Korea, Japan,ect.

dd-mm-yyyy: US, Italy, Finland,ect.
 6.2.3 Consequence

Social view & perceptions → bias & unscientific view.

Societies & cultures are never the same.

Influence on translation brief, type, function
Connotations & meaning of source language & target
language: rarely duplicate
 6.2.3 Consequence

Social view & perceptions → bias & unscientific view.

Societies & cultures are never the same.

Influence on translation brief, type, function
Connotations & meaning of source language & target
language: rarely duplicate
 6.2.3 Consequence
Eg: Describe immense rice field:
Cò bay thẳng cánh
 The South of Vietnam (Plain rice field)
 The North of Vietnam (Terraced rice field)
Eg: Describe white skin
 Vietnam, Western countries : Trắng như tuyết
 Western countries: Trắng như bông bưởi
 6.2.3 Consequence

Social view & perceptions → bias & unscientific view.

Societies & cultures are never the same.

Influence on translation brief, type, function
Connotations & meaning of source language & target
language: rarely duplicate
Translator: aware of social view vs. dialect of
target language
 6.2.3 Consequence
- South China Sea: dịch Biển Đông, không dịch
biển Trung Hoa
- Russian invasion in Ukraine: chiến lược quân
sự đặc biệt
 6.3
Socioeconomic
variation
 6.3.1 Definition

Socioeconomic:

= SOCIAL + ECONOMIC

- Involving both social and economic matters.

Ex: Socioeconomic background: social status, income,
gender, age, cultural norms, etc.
 6.3.2 Function

important role in communicative texts

Eg: Socioeconomic status & education in written text →

educated middle-class speech
 6.3.2 Function

Cultural norm:

influence the relevance and forming of the translation

 6.2.3 Consequence

COLLECTIVISM -> Hierarchy

* Anh, em, tôi – Anh/Chị/Ông/Bà/ Chú Bác
(Depend on ages, social status, type of
relations, ect.)

INDIVIDUALISM -> Equality

* I - you
 6.3.3 Apply
Translator:

consider translation brief, cultural norm, etc.

 6.3.3 Apply
Eg:
* Source: US health instructions (higher background)
* Target: translated for Spanish immigrants (lower background)
→ Simple sentences, bullet points, short paragraph, general
language
 6.4
Other language varieties:
Registers
 6.4 Other language varieties:
Registers
Registers (ngữ vực):

The term register refers to the various ways people

use language based on who they are talking to and
their situation.
 6.4 Other language varieties:
Registers
This part focuses on sources of variation that come from
outside the language user, such as the context and use of the
language.

Some of the factors that influence register are:

● Field of activity
● Medium/ mode
● Level of formality (Tenor)
 6.4.1 Field of activity
The language of specialized fields differs from:
● general language
● and also from one specialized field to another

It emphasizes the occupational, professional and

specialized nature of the activity
For instance:
A linguistics article will often be written differently from a
literary one or one on medical research.

- The field of activity interacts with the audience in non-trivial

ways.
- When an expert writes for another expert in the same field, the
markers of the field of activity are shared by both writer and
reader (terminology, content, textual features, etc.).
Example 6.3
A report created by a physical therapist for a doctor
=> A physical therapist and a doctor are in the same
Field of activity
=> the communication is between two expert
=> Here is a text in The field of expertise
Figure 6.3
A patient education profile created by a physical therapist
for a patient
=> A physical therapist and a patient are not in the same
Field of activity
=> the communication is between an expert and a lay reader
=> Here is a mixed-medium and mixed-audience text in
which a health-care professional assesses the patient’s
understanding of the knowledge

=> The difference between Example 6.3 and Figure 63 are not exclusively due to audience.
=> Textual purpose also differs as a function of audience: Materials written for patients are more likely to be
educational than those written for health-care professionals
 Languages exhibit variation with regard to the field of
activity:
Different languages frequently structure specialized texts
differently and use a variety of language-specific
conventions for a particular field.

Modifications may be needed, depending on the brief, to

adjust to target-text/field conventions
 Culture
For instance: In the case of translations for a lay
An expert writing for a lay audience, some target cultures
audience, the degree of necessitate greater modifications
approximation to the reader or the with regard to technical content,
willingness of the expert to reach terminology and textual features
out to the needs of the audience can than others.
differ according to the culture.

=> We can see the importance of considering the

translation brief and the audience in detail.
 Translator
- Most frequently, the translator is not a member of the
specialized field of activity and has to compensate for
it by acquiring as much knowledge as possible about
the field.

- Even translators with specialized knowledge are rarely

members of the expert community and may not be
privy to the latest developments or writing
conventions.

=> Technical or specialized translation is

challenging for many translators.
 6.4.2.
Medium/
-
-
Mode
A medium is the channel or system through which communications are conveyed.
Medium affects a text lies in the differences observed between works to be put on stage
and those to be read

Examples of the effect of medium on text

is that of subtited television

Subtitles in close-captioned films are to be

≠
read and thus exhibit different features A novel, in that they are shaped by the
from those of the original script, which is visual being this a type of mixed
oral and intended to be listened to medium
 6.4.3. Level of
formality/ tenor
The level of formality and politeness of a text varies according to social
relations among participants (i.e., social distance)

Consider the differences in formality created

by the use of the phrase: Sometimes lexical and
● “I’m sure you know” vs. “As you syntactic choices make a
probably know” text more or less formal
● “didn’t show up” vs. “missed”
This translation is to appear on the outside of a cereal box,
directing the reader to the inside of the box for an order form
for the product advertised on the outside, the text should be
semi-format.
The direct transfer of the source-text form to
the target text can have unintended
consequences in the formality realm,
especially when the directionality is from a
more casual culture to a more formal or
traditional one.

Formality can be indicated in the choice

of vocabulary, syntactic structure, density of
paragraphs, etc
 6.5
Linguistic and translation
competence
6.5.1 Register

Register refers to the Variety of language according to

its use in social situations
 6.5.2
Translators
Need to develop register awareness and learn how their languages mark
and identify registers and other user-based varieties of language;

Need to decide the level of formality required for their target text and
be capable of writing a text that marks it in accordance with the target
language conventions..
 6.5.3 Causes of inadequate
selection
of register
A. Inappropriate Translation Decisions

Figure 6.4
Formality in translation:
Shifts in official letters
 6.5.3 Causes of inadequate
selection
of register
B. Insufficient linguistic or textual competence

Elective Person who knows more than one language

Bilinguals because of a desire to learn these languages.

Circumstantia Person who have learned another language in

l Bilinguals order to succeed in a new environment.
 6.5.3 Causes of inadequate
selection
of register
Translate into their language

Limited competence in register

HERITAGE SPEAKERS

Have little dialectal awareness

E.g., cases of some language spoken in old Soviet Union under the hegemony of Russia
during the Soviet period;
Welsh in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; and
Native American languages in North America, etc.
6.6 Translation in multilingual
societies

Individual Society
Bilingualism Bilingualism
 6.6.1 Individual
Bilingualism
IMPORTANT TO Because of its relation to
translation practice and translator competence and
translation studies linguistic competence
 6.6.1 Individual
Bilingualism
In applied linguistics, bilinguals are people who
can speak two languages with varying degrees of
proficiency and varying competences.

In translation, only fully proficient speakers

(namely, educated native speakers) were
cónidered bilinguals.
Types of bilinguals
 Types of bilinguals
Simultaneou
s Sequential
Bilinguals Bilinguals
Person who has learned or Person who has learned or
acquired more than one acquired more than one
language in parallel language at different periods
in time
Types of bilinguals
 Types
Typesof
of bilinguals
bilinguals

Receptiv
Incipient e
Bilingual Bilingual Productive
s s Bilinguals
Person who has acquired Person who has acquired
Person who in initial stages
the ability to understand the ability to understand
of learning or acquiring
but not produce, more than and produce, more than one
more than one language
one language language
Types of bilinguals
 Types of bilinguals

Coordinate Compound
Bilinguals Bilinguals
Person who has acquired his or
Person who has acquired his or her languages in the same
her languages in different context where they are used
contexts concurrently
6.6.2 Society Bilingualism
 Diglossia

refers to the linguistic relation between two

languages in which one of them is restricted
in use to certain contexts, such as the home
(e.g., heritage languages)
 At a societal level
Language Policy
refers to a body of regulations established with the purpose of solving
communication problems in a community.

Language
Planning
refers to systematic approach to solving communication problems in a community by
studying its language and dialects and developing a policy
 Meaning of awareness
Types of societal multilingualism
Politicians, policy makers,
teacher:
to plan for the needs of a specific society or student population, to design policies
and to participate more fully in the political process.

For translators:
to help develop a comprehension of the role played by translation and translators
in their specific community, and the translators’ larger role in it
Summary & Quiz
 6.1
Summary
● LANGUAGE VARIETY:
○ differences in linguistic form at any section of time
● LANGUAGE CHANGE:
○ differences in linguistic form through historical time
● VARIATION:
○ An inherent element of language found not only in previous
stages, but also in the present.
 6.2
Summary
● DIALECTAL VARIATION:
○ type of variation in language due to geographical (and sometimes
political and demographic) reasons.
- Societies & cultures are never the same.
→ Influence on translation brief, type, function
→ Connotations & meaning of source language & target language: rarely
duplicate
→ Translator: aware of social view vs. dialect of target language
 6.3
Summary
● SOCIOECONOMIC:
○ involving both social and economic matters
● SOCIOECONOMIC BACKGROUND:
○ social status, gender, age, cultural norms,
etc.
 6.4
Summary
● FIELD OF ACTIVITY:
○ emphasizes the occupational, professional and specialized nature of
the activity
● MEDIUM/MODE:
○ a means of communicating.
● LEVEL OF FORMALITY/TENOR:
○ The level of formality and politeness of a text varies according to
social relations among participants.
 6.5 Summary
● REGISTER:
○ refers to the Variety of language according to its use in social
situations
● TRANSLATOR:
○ need to develop register awareness.
○ learn how their languages mark
○ identify registers and other user-based varieties of language
● CAUSES OF INADEQUATE SELECTION OF REGISTER:
○ Inappropriate Translation Decisions
○ Insufficient linguistic or textual competence
 6.6
Summary
● INDIVIDUAL BILINGUALISM:
○ Important to translation practice and translation studies
○ In applied linguistics, bilinguals are people who can speak two
languages
○ In translation, only fully proficient speakers (namely, educated
native speakers) were cónidered bilinguals.
 6.6
Summary

● SOCIETY BILINGUALISM:
○ Diglossia
○ A societal level: Language Policy and Language Planning
○ Types of societal multilingualism: Politicians, policy makers,
teacher and translators.
Quiz
There are many source texts that will reflect an educated ________
speech.

high-class A

middle-class B

C
working-class
All languages are affected by ….. and
all languages are affected by …..

varieties/ change A

change/ nature B

C
variation/ change
What are the factors that influence register?

Field of activity A

Medium/ Mode B

Level of formality (Tenor) C

All of the above D

 Language planning refers to?

systematic approach to solving communication problems in a community by A

studying its language and dialects and developing a policy

a body of regulations established with the purpose of solving B

communication problems in a community

A and B are correct C

A and B are incorrect D

 What is Diglossia?

All the evidence available so far indicates that the type of linguistic change and
the mechanisms involved – sound-change, analogy, borrowing of various kinds – A
are the same

the linguistic relation between two languages in which one of them is restricted in use B
to certain contexts, such as the home (e.g., heritage languages)

there is likely to be a complete lack of inflection in nouns, pronouns, verbs, and C

adjectives. Nouns are not marked for number and gender, and verbs lack tense markers.

None of the above is correct D

 What is the term of variation

An inherent element of language found not only in previous stages, A

but also in the present

many differences in linguistic form at any B

section of time

Depend on region of speaker C

Why is there no clear line separating the language before and after
change?

Change takes place on a continuum in time A

Change is fast process to observe B

C
There is no change in language
If you look at differences in linguistic form at
any section of time.
anguage
It's ariety
l______ v____
Socioeconomic v_____arieties
play an important role
in communicative texts.
 evel ormality
The l___of f______ and politeness of a text
varies according to social relations among
participants (i.e., social distance)
Subtitles in television program or a movie is an
example of the effect of m____ on a translated
edium text
Speaker’s s_________
ocioeconomic
background can shape
language use.
 inguistics
In applied l_______, bilinguals are people who
can speak two languages with varying degrees
of proficiency and varying competences.
 oordinate
C ______ bilinguals acquire their two
languages in different contexts, whereas
compound bilinguals learn their languages in the
same context concurrently
Sociocultural awareness help translator to have better highlights
important aspects of the brief
that could go unnoticed

TRUE

FALSE
French spoken in Canada is a variety

TRUE

FALSE
Gender and age does NOT affect
language use and variation.

TRUE

FALSE
 Different languages frequently structure specialized texts
differently and use a variety of language-specific conventions for a
particular field

TRUE

FALSE
Subtitled television or film productions that have no effect of
medium on text

TRUE

FALSE
Simultaneous bilingual is person who has learned or acquired
more than one language
at different periods in time

TRUE

FALSE
Simultaneous bilingual is person who has learned or acquired
more than one language
at different periods in time

Sequential bilingual

FALSE
Productive bilingual is person who has acquired the ability to
understand and
produce more than one language

TRUE

FALSE
 Thanks
C

!!
Do you have any questions?

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