http://www.nebraska.tv/Global/story.asp?S=8741547
Nebraska Sees Shortage of Translators and Interpreters
Posted: July 26, 2008 11:26 PM
Updated: July 26, 2008 11:59 PM
Nebraska meat packing plants draw in hundreds of refugees and immigrants looking for work. Many don't speak English. With more than 40 languages spoken in Nebraska the need for interpreters in the courtroom has never been higher.
Certified Court Interpreter Bob Roos said, "We have 21 certified interpreters who are working in the state and we probably need twice that many. Plus there are now more languages in Nebraska to interpret.
When there is no one available to interpret a case, someone might have to be flown in. This can be very expensive. One New Yorker has helped to fill the gap in Omaha and Lincoln over the years. Court Interpreter Javier Soler said, "Often they were last minute requests. We need you here by the morning. Certainly Nebraska has a shortage of interpreters, as does the rest of the country."
The courts aren't the only ones in need of interpreters. The medical field needs them too. St. Francis Hospital in Grand Island has five interpreters, but some local clinics have none. That can be life threatening. Candy Houdek, Manager of Interpreting Services at St. Francis Hospital talks about the dangers, "If you don't have someone there to communicate the doctor doesn't know if the patient is allergic to any medications."
With more than 75,000 refugees coming to the United States each year the need for interpreters is only going to increase. Janet Bonet of Nebraska Association for Translators and Interpreters said, "People deserve the right to be understood in medical systems and the
courts.
Traducción jurada en Guatemala inglés - español y otros idiomas desde 1992, exactitud, rapidez, confidencialidad, llevamos la traducción a su oficina o residencia; asimismo, capacitamos mediante diplomados 100% en línea en: 1) Formación para estudiantes de traducción jurada, b) Actualización profesional para el traductor jurado en servicio, c) Inglés legal internacional para abogados y personal jurídico; solicite información a ccptradprof@gmail.com
26 julio 2008
Intérprete de Corte en EUA deja su imparcialidad y opina sobre redadas que involucran a inmigrantes guatemaltecos.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080724/NEWS/80724039
Congress panel hears debate on Postville raid
JANE NORMAN • jnorman@dmreg.com • July 24, 2008
Washington, D.C. – The judicial proceedings following the Postville
immigration raid demonstrated “a grave distortion in the legal structure
of government” in which immigrant workers’ rights were denied, a court
interpreter told a congressional subcommittee today.
Erik Camayd-Freixas, a certified Spanish interpreter who served in Iowa
for two weeks, stepped outside of his usual role as an impartial officer
of the court to harshly criticize the way in which immigrants arrested May
12 at the Agriprocessors plant were treated.
Camayd-Freixas said that guilty pleas were obtained under duress, the
defendants did not know what a Social Security number was and were not
guilty of “intent” crimes, and there was inadequate access to lawyers.
He said it is his opinion as an educator that due to the immigrants’ lack
of schooling and low rate of literacy – many are from poor villages in
Guatemala — most had a level of conceptual and abstract understanding
equal to that of a third-grader or less.
He said that “proud working mothers” were “branded like cattle with the
scarlet letter of an ankle monitor, dehumanized and reduced to begging at
the doors of the church” when they were released on humanitarian grounds.
“I saw the Bill of Rights denied and democratic values threatened by the
breakdown of checks and balances,” said Camayd-Freixas, a professor of
Spanish at Florida International University who wrote and distributed a
15-page essay on his experiences and was featured on the front page of the
New York Times.
But a Department of Justice official defended the process, and said that
Immigration and Customs Enforcement for years had been gathering
information that the majority of the kosher meat processing facility’s
employees were in the country illegally. More than 70 percent of those
detained were using fraudulent Social Security documents, she said.
“These were not victimless crimes,” said Deborah Rhodes, senior associate
deputy attorney general.
In booking, “the atmosphere was calm and orderly,” Rhodes said, and no
constitutional rights were violated in the courtroom. The detainees had
access to phones, hot meals were served by a local caterer and public
health officials were on site, she said.
Marcy Foreman, director of the Office of Investigations for ICE, said
workplace actions target employers who “adopt a business model of
employing and exploiting undocumented workers.”
The agency used a humanitarian approach at Postville and took
“extraordinary care,” said Foreman, who added that as a Jewish person she
strongly objected to the use of the term “concentration camp” used by one
critic to describe the National Cattle Congress in Waterloo where
detainees were held. “I equate that to the murder of millions of
individuals,” she said.
Some 389 workers were detained in the nation’s largest immigration raid.
The nearly all-day hearing was before the House Judiciary Committee’s
subcommittee on immigration. The chairwoman, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif.,
said that “the information suggests that the people were rounded up,
herded into a cattle arena, prodded down a cattle chute, coerced into
guilty pleas and then to federal prison.”
She said there were 17 defendants for each lawyer, group hearings, scripts
that instructed lawyers what to say in court and limited time for lawyers
to meet defendants. “Just like a cattle auction,” Lofgren said.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., characterized
the arrests as “brutal” and “there’s a spirit of meanness that seems to
undergird this massive raid.”
But Rep. Steve King, a Kiron Republican and the top member of the GOP on
the subcommittee, said those who had obtained false documents to work at
Agriprocessors had committed a crime that affected real people, and each
was represented by a criminal defense attorney.
“For far too many years, employers have gotten the message that they can
hire illegal immigrant workers with few or no consequences,” said King.
“ICE worksite enforcement actions like the one in Postville put those
employers, and the illegal workers themselves, on notice that if they
choose to violate the law, they are subject to prosecution.”
He also said that “I don’t know if the tone of this hearing encourages
enforcement of the law” and could be “intimidating” to immigration agents.
Lora Costner, of Newport, Tenn., told the subcommittee about how she and
her husband were victims of identity theft when two illegal immigrants –
not connected with Postville — began using their Social Security numbers.
“I have to fight every day to prove who I am,” said Costner, at one point
breaking into tears.
Congress panel hears debate on Postville raid
JANE NORMAN • jnorman@dmreg.com • July 24, 2008
Washington, D.C. – The judicial proceedings following the Postville
immigration raid demonstrated “a grave distortion in the legal structure
of government” in which immigrant workers’ rights were denied, a court
interpreter told a congressional subcommittee today.
Erik Camayd-Freixas, a certified Spanish interpreter who served in Iowa
for two weeks, stepped outside of his usual role as an impartial officer
of the court to harshly criticize the way in which immigrants arrested May
12 at the Agriprocessors plant were treated.
Camayd-Freixas said that guilty pleas were obtained under duress, the
defendants did not know what a Social Security number was and were not
guilty of “intent” crimes, and there was inadequate access to lawyers.
He said it is his opinion as an educator that due to the immigrants’ lack
of schooling and low rate of literacy – many are from poor villages in
Guatemala — most had a level of conceptual and abstract understanding
equal to that of a third-grader or less.
He said that “proud working mothers” were “branded like cattle with the
scarlet letter of an ankle monitor, dehumanized and reduced to begging at
the doors of the church” when they were released on humanitarian grounds.
“I saw the Bill of Rights denied and democratic values threatened by the
breakdown of checks and balances,” said Camayd-Freixas, a professor of
Spanish at Florida International University who wrote and distributed a
15-page essay on his experiences and was featured on the front page of the
New York Times.
But a Department of Justice official defended the process, and said that
Immigration and Customs Enforcement for years had been gathering
information that the majority of the kosher meat processing facility’s
employees were in the country illegally. More than 70 percent of those
detained were using fraudulent Social Security documents, she said.
“These were not victimless crimes,” said Deborah Rhodes, senior associate
deputy attorney general.
In booking, “the atmosphere was calm and orderly,” Rhodes said, and no
constitutional rights were violated in the courtroom. The detainees had
access to phones, hot meals were served by a local caterer and public
health officials were on site, she said.
Marcy Foreman, director of the Office of Investigations for ICE, said
workplace actions target employers who “adopt a business model of
employing and exploiting undocumented workers.”
The agency used a humanitarian approach at Postville and took
“extraordinary care,” said Foreman, who added that as a Jewish person she
strongly objected to the use of the term “concentration camp” used by one
critic to describe the National Cattle Congress in Waterloo where
detainees were held. “I equate that to the murder of millions of
individuals,” she said.
Some 389 workers were detained in the nation’s largest immigration raid.
The nearly all-day hearing was before the House Judiciary Committee’s
subcommittee on immigration. The chairwoman, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif.,
said that “the information suggests that the people were rounded up,
herded into a cattle arena, prodded down a cattle chute, coerced into
guilty pleas and then to federal prison.”
She said there were 17 defendants for each lawyer, group hearings, scripts
that instructed lawyers what to say in court and limited time for lawyers
to meet defendants. “Just like a cattle auction,” Lofgren said.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., characterized
the arrests as “brutal” and “there’s a spirit of meanness that seems to
undergird this massive raid.”
But Rep. Steve King, a Kiron Republican and the top member of the GOP on
the subcommittee, said those who had obtained false documents to work at
Agriprocessors had committed a crime that affected real people, and each
was represented by a criminal defense attorney.
“For far too many years, employers have gotten the message that they can
hire illegal immigrant workers with few or no consequences,” said King.
“ICE worksite enforcement actions like the one in Postville put those
employers, and the illegal workers themselves, on notice that if they
choose to violate the law, they are subject to prosecution.”
He also said that “I don’t know if the tone of this hearing encourages
enforcement of the law” and could be “intimidating” to immigration agents.
Lora Costner, of Newport, Tenn., told the subcommittee about how she and
her husband were victims of identity theft when two illegal immigrants –
not connected with Postville — began using their Social Security numbers.
“I have to fight every day to prove who I am,” said Costner, at one point
breaking into tears.
25 julio 2008
El adjetivo calificativo. Aproximación teórica.
El adjetivo calificativo. Aproximación teórica.
(21.07.2005) -
Teoría general sobre el adjetivo calificativo que contempla su definición desde varios puntos de vista y da una visión
general de esta categoría.
EL ADJETIVO CALIFICATIVO.
Concepto.- Es una categoría gramatical que se puede definir desde diferentes puntos de vista.
- Semántico .- Indica las cualidades de un nombre. Se divide en : especificativos y explicativos.
- Sintáctico .- El adjetivo actúa como complemento del sustantivo. Puede realizar esta función de dos maneras:
- Directamente como adyacente. P.e. Un buen vino.
- A través de la cópula, como atributo. El vino es bueno.
- Formal .- El adjetivo consta de lexema y morfemas. Estos morfemas pueden ser de las siguientes clases:
Morfemas flexivos (género y número) con los que concuerdan con el sustantivo al que complementa. P.e. calles
anchas
Morfemas de grado, tienen sentido apreciativo y son importantes por su valor estilístico, especialmente el diminutivo. P.e.
animales pequeñ -itos, pequeñ-illos, pequeñ -icos.
Lexema: pequeñ-
Morfema de grado: -it- ; -ill-; -ic-
Morfema de género: -o
Morfema de número: -s Adjetivos de una terminación y de dos terminaciones.-
Formalmente distinguimos entre adjetivos invariables o de una terminación y adjetivos de dos terminaciones.
o Los adjetivos invariables o de una sola terminación presentan una sola forma para el masculino y femenino: azul, feliz,
despampanante, valiente
o Los adjetivos de dos terminaciones presentan variación en el género: loco/a, calvo/a, rojo/a Los grados del adjetivo .-
Nos referimos a la mayor o menor intensidad de significación con la que el adjetivo expresa la cualidad: bueno, muy
bueno, bastante bueno, buenísimo, etc.
Los grados del adjetivo son tres:
Positivo. La cualidad no presenta modificación alguna. Un jinete valiente Comparativo. El adjetivo se compara de tres
formas:
1. Superioridad. Un jinete más valiente que....
2. Igualdad . Un jinete tan valiente como...
3. Inferioridad. Un jinete menos valiente que... Superlativo. La cualidad aparece en el grado máximo de intensidad.
Distinguimos entre superlativo relativo y superlativo absoluto:
- Relativo: Expresa el grado máximo dentro de un grupo. El jinete más intrépido de la comarca. El jinete menos
intrépido de la comarca.
- Absoluto: Expresa el grado máximo sin establecer relaciones. Se intensifica por medio de adverbios o sufijos: un
jinete muy valiente; un jinete siempre valiente (adverbio + adjetivo); valient-ísimo ( adjetivo + sufijo);
Hay superlativos absolutos que terminan en – érrimo. Esta terminación afecta a algunos adjetivos cultos que proceden de
adjetivos latinos acabados en –er
LATÍN
ESPAÑOL
Liber
http://lenguayliteratura.org/mb - Proyecto Aula. Lengua y Literatura en internet Powered by Mambo Generated: 13 September, 2005, 00:33
Celeber
Pauper
Miser
Pulcher
Libérrimo (muy libre)
Celebérrimo (muy célebre)
Paupérrimo (muy pobre)
Misérrimo (muy mísero)
Pulquérrimo (muy pulcro)
Hay adjetivos con formas especiales:
POSITIVO
COMPARATIVO
SUPERLATIVO
Bueno
Malo
Grande
Pequeño
Mejor
Peor
Mayor
Menor
Óptimo
Pésimo
Máximo
Mínimo
Adjetivos especificativos y explicativos. El epíteto.-
El adjetivo calificativo puede ir antepuesto o pospuesto al nombre, según la intención del hablante.
- Especificativo.- Como norma general puede decirse que el adjetivo calificativo restringe la significación del sustantivo
cuando se pospone al sustantivo. El zapato grande. Grande es un adjetivo calificativo especificativo y expresa una
cualidad necesaria para la correcta interpretación de la oración.
- Explicativo.- El calificativo que resalta una cualidad del sustantivo y que no es necesario para la comprensión
significativa de la oración recibe el nombre de adjetivo explicativo. Su fin es ornamental y puede anteponerse o
posponerse.
P.e. La alta cumbre. El extenso bosque. El labio, colgante, se contraía.
El adjetivo explicativo recibe el nombre de epíteto: Algunos no aportan nada nuevo, ya que la cualidad es intrínseca al
http://lenguayliteratura.org/mb - Proyecto Aula. Lengua y Literatura en internet Powered by Mambo Generated: 13 September, 2005, 00:33
propio nombre: P.e. nieve blanca, verde hierba
(21.07.2005) -
Teoría general sobre el adjetivo calificativo que contempla su definición desde varios puntos de vista y da una visión
general de esta categoría.
EL ADJETIVO CALIFICATIVO.
Concepto.- Es una categoría gramatical que se puede definir desde diferentes puntos de vista.
- Semántico .- Indica las cualidades de un nombre. Se divide en : especificativos y explicativos.
- Sintáctico .- El adjetivo actúa como complemento del sustantivo. Puede realizar esta función de dos maneras:
- Directamente como adyacente. P.e. Un buen vino.
- A través de la cópula, como atributo. El vino es bueno.
- Formal .- El adjetivo consta de lexema y morfemas. Estos morfemas pueden ser de las siguientes clases:
Morfemas flexivos (género y número) con los que concuerdan con el sustantivo al que complementa. P.e. calles
anchas
Morfemas de grado, tienen sentido apreciativo y son importantes por su valor estilístico, especialmente el diminutivo. P.e.
animales pequeñ -itos, pequeñ-illos, pequeñ -icos.
Lexema: pequeñ-
Morfema de grado: -it- ; -ill-; -ic-
Morfema de género: -o
Morfema de número: -s Adjetivos de una terminación y de dos terminaciones.-
Formalmente distinguimos entre adjetivos invariables o de una terminación y adjetivos de dos terminaciones.
o Los adjetivos invariables o de una sola terminación presentan una sola forma para el masculino y femenino: azul, feliz,
despampanante, valiente
o Los adjetivos de dos terminaciones presentan variación en el género: loco/a, calvo/a, rojo/a Los grados del adjetivo .-
Nos referimos a la mayor o menor intensidad de significación con la que el adjetivo expresa la cualidad: bueno, muy
bueno, bastante bueno, buenísimo, etc.
Los grados del adjetivo son tres:
Positivo. La cualidad no presenta modificación alguna. Un jinete valiente Comparativo. El adjetivo se compara de tres
formas:
1. Superioridad. Un jinete más valiente que....
2. Igualdad . Un jinete tan valiente como...
3. Inferioridad. Un jinete menos valiente que... Superlativo. La cualidad aparece en el grado máximo de intensidad.
Distinguimos entre superlativo relativo y superlativo absoluto:
- Relativo: Expresa el grado máximo dentro de un grupo. El jinete más intrépido de la comarca. El jinete menos
intrépido de la comarca.
- Absoluto: Expresa el grado máximo sin establecer relaciones. Se intensifica por medio de adverbios o sufijos: un
jinete muy valiente; un jinete siempre valiente (adverbio + adjetivo); valient-ísimo ( adjetivo + sufijo);
Hay superlativos absolutos que terminan en – érrimo. Esta terminación afecta a algunos adjetivos cultos que proceden de
adjetivos latinos acabados en –er
LATÍN
ESPAÑOL
Liber
http://lenguayliteratura.org/mb - Proyecto Aula. Lengua y Literatura en internet Powered by Mambo Generated: 13 September, 2005, 00:33
Celeber
Pauper
Miser
Pulcher
Libérrimo (muy libre)
Celebérrimo (muy célebre)
Paupérrimo (muy pobre)
Misérrimo (muy mísero)
Pulquérrimo (muy pulcro)
Hay adjetivos con formas especiales:
POSITIVO
COMPARATIVO
SUPERLATIVO
Bueno
Malo
Grande
Pequeño
Mejor
Peor
Mayor
Menor
Óptimo
Pésimo
Máximo
Mínimo
Adjetivos especificativos y explicativos. El epíteto.-
El adjetivo calificativo puede ir antepuesto o pospuesto al nombre, según la intención del hablante.
- Especificativo.- Como norma general puede decirse que el adjetivo calificativo restringe la significación del sustantivo
cuando se pospone al sustantivo. El zapato grande. Grande es un adjetivo calificativo especificativo y expresa una
cualidad necesaria para la correcta interpretación de la oración.
- Explicativo.- El calificativo que resalta una cualidad del sustantivo y que no es necesario para la comprensión
significativa de la oración recibe el nombre de adjetivo explicativo. Su fin es ornamental y puede anteponerse o
posponerse.
P.e. La alta cumbre. El extenso bosque. El labio, colgante, se contraía.
El adjetivo explicativo recibe el nombre de epíteto: Algunos no aportan nada nuevo, ya que la cualidad es intrínseca al
http://lenguayliteratura.org/mb - Proyecto Aula. Lengua y Literatura en internet Powered by Mambo Generated: 13 September, 2005, 00:33
propio nombre: P.e. nieve blanca, verde hierba
Evento internacional de traducción e interpretación
Announcement: HITA (Houston Interpreters and Translators Association)
The Houston Interpreters and Translators Association
is pleased to announce the following
Upcoming HITA Events
Friday; July 25 HITA Networking Event
Join us for another exciting round of networking with other HITA members and their guests. Bring lots of business cards and a desire to make new friends and expand your social network!
Time: 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Location: Champps Americana, 1211 Uptown Park Blvd., Houston Texas 77056
No admission charge; HITA membership not required.
HITA Networking Events are held on the last Friday of each month.
Monday, August 11 HITA social meeting
Come unwind after a busy Monday. This is a very relaxed, informal way to get to know other members of the association!
Time: 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Location: Oporto Café, 3833 Richmond Ave., Houston TX 77027.
No admission charge; HITA membership not required.
HITA Social Meetings are held on the 2nd Monday of each month.
Saturday, September 6 HITA Quarterly Meeting
Join us at Rice University for our quarterly meeting. This quarter, our meeting will feature a new member orientation as well as the first in a series of workshops on additional ways to use your skill set and continue to grow as a professional. This month, we will focus on the practice of transcription.
Transcription is the conversion of spoken language into written form. Interpreters and translators may be called upon to transcribe and translate anything from a courtroom hearing to a surveillance tape. Mr. Carillo's presentation will cover the transcription process from start to finish and an overview of NAJIT's Tape transcription project. Tips on best practices and common pitfalls will be included. Rafael Carrillo is federally certified and licensed in Texas, and is a member of NAJIT, ATA, and EPITA. He was a staff interpreter for the federal court in the Western District of Texas, and is currently employed as a staff interpreter in the District of New Mexico. He has 12 years of experience interpreting and translating for federal, state, and administrative courts and has been a consultant and expert witness for numerous government agencies. Additionally, Mr. Carrillo has participated in international conferences on international cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico. M
r. Carrillo is a member of NAJIT's Transcription & Translation Project
Agenda:
8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. New Member Orientation
8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Continental Breakfast & Networking
9:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. Opening & Introduction
9:15 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. Transcription presentation
10:15 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. Break
10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. Transcription (continued)
11:45 - Noon Closing and Door Prizes
Location: Rice Universityin Sewell Hall (use entrance 2) - 6100 Main, Houston, Texas 77005-1827
No admission charge; Parking is $1 for ever 17.5 minutes (credit cards only).
Friday, September 26 International Translation Day Celebration
Join us for the largest International Translation Day celebration in the country! This year, the celebration will kick-off the International Translation Day Conference weekend.
Time: 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Location: The Black Swanat the Omni Houston Hotel - 4 Riverway; Houston, TX 77056
Music by: The Groovemeisters, featuring Ramon del Villar
No admission charge; Cash Bar; Hors d'oeuvre courtesy of The Black Swan.
Saturday, September 27 International Translation Day Conference
Experts speakers will present on specialized terminology used in Criminal Law, Immigration, Offshore Oil & Gas, Workers Compensation, Health Services, and Special Education.
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Location: United Way Community Resource Center, 50 Waugh Drive; Houston TX 77007
Registration is now open!
To view the conference website, click here. (coming soon)
To view the conference brochure, click here.
The Houston Interpreters and Translators Association
is pleased to announce the following
Upcoming HITA Events
Friday; July 25 HITA Networking Event
Join us for another exciting round of networking with other HITA members and their guests. Bring lots of business cards and a desire to make new friends and expand your social network!
Time: 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Location: Champps Americana
No admission charge; HITA membership not required.
HITA Networking Events are held on the last Friday of each month.
Monday, August 11 HITA social meeting
Come unwind after a busy Monday. This is a very relaxed, informal way to get to know other members of the association!
Time: 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Location: Oporto Café
No admission charge; HITA membership not required.
HITA Social Meetings are held on the 2nd Monday of each month.
Saturday, September 6 HITA Quarterly Meeting
Join us at Rice University for our quarterly meeting. This quarter, our meeting will feature a new member orientation as well as the first in a series of workshops on additional ways to use your skill set and continue to grow as a professional. This month, we will focus on the practice of transcription.
Transcription is the conversion of spoken language into written form. Interpreters and translators may be called upon to transcribe and translate anything from a courtroom hearing to a surveillance tape. Mr. Carillo's presentation will cover the transcription process from start to finish and an overview of NAJIT's Tape transcription project. Tips on best practices and common pitfalls will be included. Rafael Carrillo is federally certified and licensed in Texas, and is a member of NAJIT, ATA, and EPITA. He was a staff interpreter for the federal court in the Western District of Texas, and is currently employed as a staff interpreter in the District of New Mexico. He has 12 years of experience interpreting and translating for federal, state, and administrative courts and has been a consultant and expert witness for numerous government agencies. Additionally, Mr. Carrillo has participated in international conferences on international cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico. M
r. Carrillo is a member of NAJIT's Transcription & Translation Project
Agenda:
8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. New Member Orientation
8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Continental Breakfast & Networking
9:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. Opening & Introduction
9:15 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. Transcription presentation
10:15 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. Break
10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. Transcription (continued)
11:45 - Noon Closing and Door Prizes
Location: Rice University
No admission charge; Parking is $1 for ever 17.5 minutes (credit cards only).
Friday, September 26 International Translation Day Celebration
Join us for the largest International Translation Day celebration in the country! This year, the celebration will kick-off the International Translation Day Conference weekend.
Time: 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Location: The Black Swan
Music by: The Groovemeisters
No admission charge; Cash Bar; Hors d'oeuvre courtesy of The Black Swan.
Saturday, September 27 International Translation Day Conference
Experts speakers will present on specialized terminology used in Criminal Law, Immigration, Offshore Oil & Gas, Workers Compensation, Health Services, and Special Education.
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Location: United Way Community Resource Center, 50 Waugh Drive; Houston TX 77007
Registration is now open!
To view the conference website, click here. (coming soon)
To view the conference brochure, click here.
23 julio 2008
¿Traduzco el listado completo o no?
Buenas tardes licenciado Muñoz, un gusto saludarle.
Le agradeceré que si es posible me de su opinion respecto de unos certificados de libre venta que tengo para traducir.
Los mismos están acopañados por listados de productos. Dichos listados son muy extensos (75 hojas cada uno) y al cliente únicamente le interesan dos o tres productos de los de dichos listados por lo que me propuso no traducirlos, únicamente enumerar los productos de su interés e indicar que los mismos aparecen dentro del listado. Ahora mi pregunta es: ¿Es esto correcto o tengo que traducir los listados completos?
Disculpe la molestia y agradezco su ayuda.
Le agradeceré que si es posible me de su opinion respecto de unos certificados de libre venta que tengo para traducir.
Los mismos están acopañados por listados de productos. Dichos listados son muy extensos (75 hojas cada uno) y al cliente únicamente le interesan dos o tres productos de los de dichos listados por lo que me propuso no traducirlos, únicamente enumerar los productos de su interés e indicar que los mismos aparecen dentro del listado. Ahora mi pregunta es: ¿Es esto correcto o tengo que traducir los listados completos?
Disculpe la molestia y agradezco su ayuda.
17 julio 2008
Artículo de formación "Translation and Interpretation - Restoration in context"
Compartimos el siguiente articulo, espero complemente nuestra formación para comprender mejor el significado en contexto de cada término. Cualquier comentario u opinión es bienvenido.
"PROTEUS ---- THE NEWSLETTER OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF JUDICIARY INTERPRETERS AND TRANSLATORS --
TRANSLATION and INTERPRETATION as RESTORATION of CONTEXT
Marina Braun
Communication is likely to get disrupted when words are taken out of context. Context is a concept that belongs as much to the sphere of linguistic and psycholin¬guistic research as it does to everyday commu¬nication. A layperson may not know the types of context that linguists single out for analysis, but people intuitively know that context is essential for successful communication.
A translator or interpreter, however, cannot rely on a vague, intuitive understanding of context. A firm grasp of the concept is criti¬cal both to ensure correct decoding of the received message in the source language and its accurate encoding in the target language.
One type of context, for example, is known as linguistic context. The interpreter needs to be aware of how the elements of linguistic context are interconnected, as illustrated in the following sentences:
(1) I’ll mark it as exhibit 2.
(2) Nobody did.
Both examples illustrate the use of the so-called cohesive factors that serve to bind sentences together to achieve cohesion, which makes a text a text rather than a random sequence of sentences (Halliday & Hasan). The pronoun it stands for something referred to earlier in the discourse. (For example, “I want you to take a look at this document. I’ll mark it as exhibit 2.”) The verb did substitutes a verb in the past tense used earlier. (For example, “I didn’t believe him. Nobody did.”)
An interpreter needs to be aware of how the elements of the linguistic context are inter¬connected and to be familiar with cohesive factors in both languages, since they may vary from language to language. For example, the Russian language does not provide for the type of substitution illustrated above (“Nobody did.”) Instead, it requires a repetition of the verb, “Nobody believed.”
The above examples deal with structural elements of a linguistic context. The following sentence demonstrates how linguistic context works on the semantic level:
They will certainly hang.
At the first stage of the translation or inter¬pretation process (decoding of the target lan¬guage message), we examine the linguistic (semantic) context in order to resolve ambi¬guity, specifically in order to determine the meaning of a polysemantic word. A layperson is not usually aware of how ambiguous words can be, and how easily ambiguity can lead to misunder¬standing.
The word “hang” is ambiguous. It is only the linguistic context that can help determine whether it is a jury who will hang, unable to come to a unanimous decision, or whether the phrase refers to a number of defendants who will be executed.
Ambiguity can be created deliberately by placing words in unexpected contexts in order to create a pun or play on words that may be used as a rhetorical device. This is extremely common in the language of journal¬ism, politics, and advertising, and is also frequently part of courtroom discourse (for example, a rhetorical device used in opening statements or closing arguments).
The following sentences represent contexts in which ambiguity is used deliberately.
(1) The heat is up in Martha’s kitchen.
(2) Cooking Martha’s goose.
Examples (1) and (2) are magazine headlines alluding to Martha Stewart’s alleged illegal insider-trading activities.
Some translators or interpreters would dismiss the above instances of ambiguity as “untranslatable” and resort to literal renditions. But to do so is to lose a sig¬nificant portion of the information conveyed. Finding an adequate variant in the target language is not easy, especially during simultaneous interpretation, but it is far from impossible, and there is usually more than one way to cope with the problem.
One approach to the problem would be to find poly¬semantic words or word combinations in the target lan¬guage whose meanings, in the given context, will be simi¬larly juxtaposed. Thus, for example, instead of looking for the equivalent of “to cook somebody’s goose” (a play on words, contrasting the literal cooking of a goose with an expression meaning “to get into trouble,” which probably could not be conveyed by a single phrase in the target language) – a search for a contextual equivalent should be conducted. The Martha Stewart example provides for a whole variety of options: one might think not only of the semantic fields of cooking but also sewing, gardening, or home furnishing (since those are also areas of Martha Stewart’s expertise). A possible contextual equivalent in Russian might be Марте-рукодельнице дали по рукам, literally, “Martha, the handiwork queen, got slapped on the hand.” In this way, the semantic context in the source language is restored with the help of the semantic proper¬ties of the target language.
The next examples illustrate a different type of context, known as situational (or extralinguistic, or non-verbal).
(1) No, I don’t need this one. I meant that one.
(2) She threw the book at him.
The term situational or extralinguistic context refers to circumstances external to the discourse, which include the addresser (the encoder of the message), who sends a message to the addressee (the decoder of the message),1 the setting in which communication occurs (usually includes place and time), the topic, the respective social roles or positions of the addresser and addressee, the channel of communication, and the code itself (assuming the code is shared by the encoder and decoder).2
To correctly decode these sentences, the interpreter needs to be aware of several components of the situational context.
In (1), the place and topic of conversation are impor¬tant, especially if the interpreter is not present at the time of this communicative act and not privy to the gestures accompanying the phrases “this one” and “that one.”
In (2), the addressee and the setting are of primary concern. If “she” refers to a judge in the courtroom, the correct decoding of the sentence will be “She gave the defendant the maximum sentence.” (As opposed to a liter¬al rendition in the context of a woman who might conceiv¬ably have thrown a book during a household argument.)
Two other dimensions may be added to the concept of situational context, that of the interlocutors’ common knowledge and understanding of the circumstances (frequently called shared [background] knowledge) and common evaluation of the circumstances.
If we view situational context as a structure, in which all the above-mentioned components are connected in a certain way, we can say that the target language provides us with a different set of building materials to be used to restore the original structure. This is what the translator’s or inter¬preter’s task at the encoding stage is. The interpreter’s final product in the target language should reflect the linguistic characteristics of each component: addresser, addressee, their respective social and/or gender roles, and others.
It is restoration, rather than preservation, that I advocate, because by encoding the message into the target language, the intepreter restores the balance that existed among the components of the situational context in the source lan¬guage.
For example, there are no pronoun markers in English to indicate different social status, such as that of a judge in relation to an adult defendant. In languages which dis¬tinguish between a formal and a familiar “you”, however, as is the case in Russian, Spanish, French, or German, an interpreter will use the formal pronoun if a judge is addressing an adult defendant directly. Conversely, if a judge addresses a juvenile defendant, the interpreter may opt for the informal “you” (in Russian, for sure).
The next type of context is cultural context. Situational context, as we discussed above, can help the addresser and addressee communicate by providing “common knowledge and understanding of the circumstances” or “shared knowledge of the circumstances” and “a spatial purview common to them” (Bakhtin). However, if people come from two different cultures, they are separated by a lack of shared knowledge that no situational context can compensate for.
In semiotics, culture is seen as a system of shared signs or symbols, which the following examples illustrate.
(1) He was a straight A student.
According to Umberto Eco, “From a semiotic point of view [meaning] can only be a cultural unit… Recognition of the presence of these cultural units (which are therefore the meaning to which the code makes the system of sign-vehicles correspond) involves understanding language as a social phenomenon.” From this perspective, the meaning of the sign “A” in the word combination “A student” is a cultural unit that exists in present-day American culture. It is part of a system of six cultural units (expressed by letters A to F) that the culture uses for grading students’ perfor¬mance. The corresponding system in many other cultures consists of five cultural units (expressed by numbers 5 to 1).
Cultural context, like the other types of contexts we discussed earlier, should be understood as a system, whose elements are interconnected and exist in a state of balance. Dealing with it at the decoding stage, the transla¬tor, instead of tackling the word “A” (in “A student”) as an isolated entity, will analyze it within the cultural context it is an element of. Those cultural units will then be jux¬taposed with the cultural units of the corresponding sys¬tem in the target language in order to establish cultural equivalency.
Dealing with “culture laden” words or word combina¬tions has traditionally been considered one of the biggest challenges in translation. As is the case with puns, such instances are frequently labeled “untranslatable.” One of the arguments given in support of this view is that the average bilingual dictionary does not list them. The other argument is that the target language simply lacks “the concept” expressed by the word in question. Indeed, it is extremely rare that there is a one-to-one equivalence between words and concepts in two different languages. The key to this challenge, it seems, is to adopt a cultural unit, rather than a word, as a unit of translation or inter¬pretation, and to consider restoration of cultural context, rather than verbatim translation, as the goal.
The example is straightforward in this respect (“He was an A student” would correspond, in Russian, to “He got only ‘fives’ in school”). As for the other letter grades, “C” through “F,” the interpreter needs to take into account the whole cultural context, since there is no one-to-one correspondence.
Other challenges of cultural context can be seen in the following newspaper headline:
(2) Boston’s Cardinal Law Felled by Revolt, Scandal.
At first sight, it appears that the article is about an important (cardinal) law that evoked protests in Boston. In reality, the text is about a particular cardinal from Boston, whose name is Law, the scandal surrounding his handling of alleged sexual misconduct by priests, and his resignation in the aftermath of that scandal.
“Revolt” also allows for several interpretations, one of which is “insurrection” or “rebellion.” This meaning would definitely be at odds with the cultural context. It is the shared cultural knowledge about a much-publicized scandal, which affected several high-ranking priests in 2002, that is vital for correct decoding of the sentence. Once decoded, the sentence should not pose any difficulty in translation.
Often, cultural context is the greatest challenge for an interpreter, as in the following sentences:
(3) I’m going to try for a home run.
The best you can do is a base hit.
Outside of the baseball or football field, these words and phrases are always used metaphorically. As Lakoff and Johnson point out, “the essence of metaphor is understand¬ing and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another.” In contemporary American culture, the expressions “base hit” and “home run,” if used metaphorically, are under¬stood to mean “success” vs. “extraordinary success” or “to reach a moderate goal” vs. “to reach the highest goal.”
The underlying concept of these two expressions stays the same regardless of the extralinguistic context (address¬er, addressee, place of communication, topic, etc.), but the latter determines the specific language forms in the target language the translator or interpreter would select.
This example is taken from the popular TV show “Law and Order,” from a dialogue between the district attorney and an assistant district attorney. In saying “I’m going to try for a home run,” the latter means that he is going for a murder indictment. His boss, however, thinks that, under the circumstances, manslaughter is the best they can hope for, and expresses that idea by the phrase, “The best you can do is a base hit.”
Obviously, if the same dialogue were to take place in the film world, the attributes of “success” would be different: for example, two Oscar nominations as opposed to just one.
In interlingual communication, recognition that different cultures conceptualize success (and many
other seemingly universal values) differently is essential. Moreover, each culture uses a unique set of metaphors to denote success. Should the translator resort to literal or verbatim transla¬tion of these metaphors, the end result may be nonsensical because of the differences in cultural context. This, in turn, would lead to the breakdown of communication.
To prevent a breakdown in communication, an inter¬preter needs to restore the cultural context by finding an appropriate cultural unit in the target culture. In other words, the interpreter needs to find a similar meaning that the target culture conveys by means of a certain language form. In this case, a metaphoric or an idiomatic expression would, of course, be preferable. If the target language lacks such expressions, the only way to interpret the phrases in the example above would be to eliminate the metaphor and convey the direct meaning of the phrases, “murder” vs. “manslaughter.”
In the professional literature on court interpreting, con¬servation of meaning is considered the interpreter’s main goal. Restoration, addition and modification are words usually treated with suspicion because these concepts are perceived as incompatible with conservation. The idea of restoration of cultural context is effectively rejected as a court interpreter’s tool since it is believed to be tantamount to cultural advocacy or cultural brokerage. While it is true that advocacy does not coincide with an interpreter’s function, restoration of cultural context is quite another matter, as this article has suggested.
Also missing from the publications devoted to court interpreting is the concept of context. It is not even men¬tioned in the index of subjects of the most exhaustive study to date, Fundamentals of Court Interpretation. This sit¬uation is paradoxical given that modern linguistics takes context as a concept of primary importance. I hope that the ideas expressed in this article will stimulate further linguistic discussion of the problem of context.
[A version of this paper was given at NAJIT’s Northwest Regional Conference in 2002. Marina Braun, Ph.D., is a court-certified Russian interpreter in Oregon and Washington and is accredited by the American Translators Association for English-Russian. She also provides training for interpreters and transla¬tors. She can be reached at marinabraun@faenov.com]
REFERENCES
Bakhtin School Papers. (1983) (Russian Poetics in Translation, 10).
Eco, U. (1979). A Theory of Semiotics. Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press.
Gonzalez, R.D., Vasquez, V.E. & Mikkelson, H. (1991). Fundamentals of Court Interpretation. Durham: Carolina Academic Press.
Halliday, M.A.K. & R. Hasan. (1976). Cohesion in English. London: Longman.
Jakobson, Roman. (1960). Closing Statement: Linguistics and Poetics.
In Sebeok, T.(Ed.). Style in Language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Lakoff, G. and Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors We Live By. Chicago-London: University of Chicago Press.
FOOTNOTES
1 The terms addresser and addressee were used by Roman Jakobson [2], whose model of communication is considered a major contribution to linguistic theory.
2 Some linguists break it down into smaller units: physical context (objects surrounding communication), social context (relationship between communicants) and epistemic context (information shared by communicants."
"PROTEUS ---- THE NEWSLETTER OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF JUDICIARY INTERPRETERS AND TRANSLATORS --
TRANSLATION and INTERPRETATION as RESTORATION of CONTEXT
Marina Braun
Communication is likely to get disrupted when words are taken out of context. Context is a concept that belongs as much to the sphere of linguistic and psycholin¬guistic research as it does to everyday commu¬nication. A layperson may not know the types of context that linguists single out for analysis, but people intuitively know that context is essential for successful communication.
A translator or interpreter, however, cannot rely on a vague, intuitive understanding of context. A firm grasp of the concept is criti¬cal both to ensure correct decoding of the received message in the source language and its accurate encoding in the target language.
One type of context, for example, is known as linguistic context. The interpreter needs to be aware of how the elements of linguistic context are interconnected, as illustrated in the following sentences:
(1) I’ll mark it as exhibit 2.
(2) Nobody did.
Both examples illustrate the use of the so-called cohesive factors that serve to bind sentences together to achieve cohesion, which makes a text a text rather than a random sequence of sentences (Halliday & Hasan). The pronoun it stands for something referred to earlier in the discourse. (For example, “I want you to take a look at this document. I’ll mark it as exhibit 2.”) The verb did substitutes a verb in the past tense used earlier. (For example, “I didn’t believe him. Nobody did.”)
An interpreter needs to be aware of how the elements of the linguistic context are inter¬connected and to be familiar with cohesive factors in both languages, since they may vary from language to language. For example, the Russian language does not provide for the type of substitution illustrated above (“Nobody did.”) Instead, it requires a repetition of the verb, “Nobody believed.”
The above examples deal with structural elements of a linguistic context. The following sentence demonstrates how linguistic context works on the semantic level:
They will certainly hang.
At the first stage of the translation or inter¬pretation process (decoding of the target lan¬guage message), we examine the linguistic (semantic) context in order to resolve ambi¬guity, specifically in order to determine the meaning of a polysemantic word. A layperson is not usually aware of how ambiguous words can be, and how easily ambiguity can lead to misunder¬standing.
The word “hang” is ambiguous. It is only the linguistic context that can help determine whether it is a jury who will hang, unable to come to a unanimous decision, or whether the phrase refers to a number of defendants who will be executed.
Ambiguity can be created deliberately by placing words in unexpected contexts in order to create a pun or play on words that may be used as a rhetorical device. This is extremely common in the language of journal¬ism, politics, and advertising, and is also frequently part of courtroom discourse (for example, a rhetorical device used in opening statements or closing arguments).
The following sentences represent contexts in which ambiguity is used deliberately.
(1) The heat is up in Martha’s kitchen.
(2) Cooking Martha’s goose.
Examples (1) and (2) are magazine headlines alluding to Martha Stewart’s alleged illegal insider-trading activities.
Some translators or interpreters would dismiss the above instances of ambiguity as “untranslatable” and resort to literal renditions. But to do so is to lose a sig¬nificant portion of the information conveyed. Finding an adequate variant in the target language is not easy, especially during simultaneous interpretation, but it is far from impossible, and there is usually more than one way to cope with the problem.
One approach to the problem would be to find poly¬semantic words or word combinations in the target lan¬guage whose meanings, in the given context, will be simi¬larly juxtaposed. Thus, for example, instead of looking for the equivalent of “to cook somebody’s goose” (a play on words, contrasting the literal cooking of a goose with an expression meaning “to get into trouble,” which probably could not be conveyed by a single phrase in the target language) – a search for a contextual equivalent should be conducted. The Martha Stewart example provides for a whole variety of options: one might think not only of the semantic fields of cooking but also sewing, gardening, or home furnishing (since those are also areas of Martha Stewart’s expertise). A possible contextual equivalent in Russian might be Марте-рукодельнице дали по рукам, literally, “Martha, the handiwork queen, got slapped on the hand.” In this way, the semantic context in the source language is restored with the help of the semantic proper¬ties of the target language.
The next examples illustrate a different type of context, known as situational (or extralinguistic, or non-verbal).
(1) No, I don’t need this one. I meant that one.
(2) She threw the book at him.
The term situational or extralinguistic context refers to circumstances external to the discourse, which include the addresser (the encoder of the message), who sends a message to the addressee (the decoder of the message),1 the setting in which communication occurs (usually includes place and time), the topic, the respective social roles or positions of the addresser and addressee, the channel of communication, and the code itself (assuming the code is shared by the encoder and decoder).2
To correctly decode these sentences, the interpreter needs to be aware of several components of the situational context.
In (1), the place and topic of conversation are impor¬tant, especially if the interpreter is not present at the time of this communicative act and not privy to the gestures accompanying the phrases “this one” and “that one.”
In (2), the addressee and the setting are of primary concern. If “she” refers to a judge in the courtroom, the correct decoding of the sentence will be “She gave the defendant the maximum sentence.” (As opposed to a liter¬al rendition in the context of a woman who might conceiv¬ably have thrown a book during a household argument.)
Two other dimensions may be added to the concept of situational context, that of the interlocutors’ common knowledge and understanding of the circumstances (frequently called shared [background] knowledge) and common evaluation of the circumstances.
If we view situational context as a structure, in which all the above-mentioned components are connected in a certain way, we can say that the target language provides us with a different set of building materials to be used to restore the original structure. This is what the translator’s or inter¬preter’s task at the encoding stage is. The interpreter’s final product in the target language should reflect the linguistic characteristics of each component: addresser, addressee, their respective social and/or gender roles, and others.
It is restoration, rather than preservation, that I advocate, because by encoding the message into the target language, the intepreter restores the balance that existed among the components of the situational context in the source lan¬guage.
For example, there are no pronoun markers in English to indicate different social status, such as that of a judge in relation to an adult defendant. In languages which dis¬tinguish between a formal and a familiar “you”, however, as is the case in Russian, Spanish, French, or German, an interpreter will use the formal pronoun if a judge is addressing an adult defendant directly. Conversely, if a judge addresses a juvenile defendant, the interpreter may opt for the informal “you” (in Russian, for sure).
The next type of context is cultural context. Situational context, as we discussed above, can help the addresser and addressee communicate by providing “common knowledge and understanding of the circumstances” or “shared knowledge of the circumstances” and “a spatial purview common to them” (Bakhtin). However, if people come from two different cultures, they are separated by a lack of shared knowledge that no situational context can compensate for.
In semiotics, culture is seen as a system of shared signs or symbols, which the following examples illustrate.
(1) He was a straight A student.
According to Umberto Eco, “From a semiotic point of view [meaning] can only be a cultural unit… Recognition of the presence of these cultural units (which are therefore the meaning to which the code makes the system of sign-vehicles correspond) involves understanding language as a social phenomenon.” From this perspective, the meaning of the sign “A” in the word combination “A student” is a cultural unit that exists in present-day American culture. It is part of a system of six cultural units (expressed by letters A to F) that the culture uses for grading students’ perfor¬mance. The corresponding system in many other cultures consists of five cultural units (expressed by numbers 5 to 1).
Cultural context, like the other types of contexts we discussed earlier, should be understood as a system, whose elements are interconnected and exist in a state of balance. Dealing with it at the decoding stage, the transla¬tor, instead of tackling the word “A” (in “A student”) as an isolated entity, will analyze it within the cultural context it is an element of. Those cultural units will then be jux¬taposed with the cultural units of the corresponding sys¬tem in the target language in order to establish cultural equivalency.
Dealing with “culture laden” words or word combina¬tions has traditionally been considered one of the biggest challenges in translation. As is the case with puns, such instances are frequently labeled “untranslatable.” One of the arguments given in support of this view is that the average bilingual dictionary does not list them. The other argument is that the target language simply lacks “the concept” expressed by the word in question. Indeed, it is extremely rare that there is a one-to-one equivalence between words and concepts in two different languages. The key to this challenge, it seems, is to adopt a cultural unit, rather than a word, as a unit of translation or inter¬pretation, and to consider restoration of cultural context, rather than verbatim translation, as the goal.
The example is straightforward in this respect (“He was an A student” would correspond, in Russian, to “He got only ‘fives’ in school”). As for the other letter grades, “C” through “F,” the interpreter needs to take into account the whole cultural context, since there is no one-to-one correspondence.
Other challenges of cultural context can be seen in the following newspaper headline:
(2) Boston’s Cardinal Law Felled by Revolt, Scandal.
At first sight, it appears that the article is about an important (cardinal) law that evoked protests in Boston. In reality, the text is about a particular cardinal from Boston, whose name is Law, the scandal surrounding his handling of alleged sexual misconduct by priests, and his resignation in the aftermath of that scandal.
“Revolt” also allows for several interpretations, one of which is “insurrection” or “rebellion.” This meaning would definitely be at odds with the cultural context. It is the shared cultural knowledge about a much-publicized scandal, which affected several high-ranking priests in 2002, that is vital for correct decoding of the sentence. Once decoded, the sentence should not pose any difficulty in translation.
Often, cultural context is the greatest challenge for an interpreter, as in the following sentences:
(3) I’m going to try for a home run.
The best you can do is a base hit.
Outside of the baseball or football field, these words and phrases are always used metaphorically. As Lakoff and Johnson point out, “the essence of metaphor is understand¬ing and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another.” In contemporary American culture, the expressions “base hit” and “home run,” if used metaphorically, are under¬stood to mean “success” vs. “extraordinary success” or “to reach a moderate goal” vs. “to reach the highest goal.”
The underlying concept of these two expressions stays the same regardless of the extralinguistic context (address¬er, addressee, place of communication, topic, etc.), but the latter determines the specific language forms in the target language the translator or interpreter would select.
This example is taken from the popular TV show “Law and Order,” from a dialogue between the district attorney and an assistant district attorney. In saying “I’m going to try for a home run,” the latter means that he is going for a murder indictment. His boss, however, thinks that, under the circumstances, manslaughter is the best they can hope for, and expresses that idea by the phrase, “The best you can do is a base hit.”
Obviously, if the same dialogue were to take place in the film world, the attributes of “success” would be different: for example, two Oscar nominations as opposed to just one.
In interlingual communication, recognition that different cultures conceptualize success (and many
other seemingly universal values) differently is essential. Moreover, each culture uses a unique set of metaphors to denote success. Should the translator resort to literal or verbatim transla¬tion of these metaphors, the end result may be nonsensical because of the differences in cultural context. This, in turn, would lead to the breakdown of communication.
To prevent a breakdown in communication, an inter¬preter needs to restore the cultural context by finding an appropriate cultural unit in the target culture. In other words, the interpreter needs to find a similar meaning that the target culture conveys by means of a certain language form. In this case, a metaphoric or an idiomatic expression would, of course, be preferable. If the target language lacks such expressions, the only way to interpret the phrases in the example above would be to eliminate the metaphor and convey the direct meaning of the phrases, “murder” vs. “manslaughter.”
In the professional literature on court interpreting, con¬servation of meaning is considered the interpreter’s main goal. Restoration, addition and modification are words usually treated with suspicion because these concepts are perceived as incompatible with conservation. The idea of restoration of cultural context is effectively rejected as a court interpreter’s tool since it is believed to be tantamount to cultural advocacy or cultural brokerage. While it is true that advocacy does not coincide with an interpreter’s function, restoration of cultural context is quite another matter, as this article has suggested.
Also missing from the publications devoted to court interpreting is the concept of context. It is not even men¬tioned in the index of subjects of the most exhaustive study to date, Fundamentals of Court Interpretation. This sit¬uation is paradoxical given that modern linguistics takes context as a concept of primary importance. I hope that the ideas expressed in this article will stimulate further linguistic discussion of the problem of context.
[A version of this paper was given at NAJIT’s Northwest Regional Conference in 2002. Marina Braun, Ph.D., is a court-certified Russian interpreter in Oregon and Washington and is accredited by the American Translators Association for English-Russian. She also provides training for interpreters and transla¬tors. She can be reached at marinabraun@faenov.com]
REFERENCES
Bakhtin School Papers. (1983) (Russian Poetics in Translation, 10).
Eco, U. (1979). A Theory of Semiotics. Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press.
Gonzalez, R.D., Vasquez, V.E. & Mikkelson, H. (1991). Fundamentals of Court Interpretation. Durham: Carolina Academic Press.
Halliday, M.A.K. & R. Hasan. (1976). Cohesion in English. London: Longman.
Jakobson, Roman. (1960). Closing Statement: Linguistics and Poetics.
In Sebeok, T.(Ed.). Style in Language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Lakoff, G. and Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors We Live By. Chicago-London: University of Chicago Press.
FOOTNOTES
1 The terms addresser and addressee were used by Roman Jakobson [2], whose model of communication is considered a major contribution to linguistic theory.
2 Some linguists break it down into smaller units: physical context (objects surrounding communication), social context (relationship between communicants) and epistemic context (information shared by communicants."
01 julio 2008
Acrónimos
Existen muchos acrónimos en las lenguas, cada vez más, un traductor los encuentra con frecuencia: aka, dba, dob, poa y fka; ¿qué signfican los anteriores acrónimos? ¿podrías compartir tus conocimientos? ---- He copiado un mensaje de una traductora que no pudo entrar por motivos técnicos de informática, este mensaje aparece como el comentario No. 1, Muchas gracias. Ahora ¿alguien nos podría indicar el significado específico de cada acrónimo mencionado dentro de un comentario?
Suscribirse a:
Entradas (Atom)