Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Second Language Competence And Translation Ability: An Investigation Of English-Native Speakers Learning Chinese As A Second Language, Chensimeng Pan

Masters Theses

Translation is an important language skill in multilingual societies and the globalized world. Some scholars even claim that translation skill should be the fifth language skill in addition to the conventional four basic skills of second language competence - listening, speaking, reading, and writing (Newmark, 1991; Naimushin, 2002; Leonardi, 2011). However, the current mainstream communicative teaching approach tries to avoid the use of translation in language classrooms, mainly because of the possible negative transfer of the first language and low priority given to writing. This study aims to identify the pedagogical role of translation in language teaching through the exploration …

Songs Of Limitless Love: A Translation And Critical Exploration Of Suzukake Shin’S Ai Wo Utae, Venezio K. Terranova

Masters Theses

This thesis is a translation and analysis of select tanka from the tanka anthology, Ai wo utae (Sing Love), by Suzukake Shin, an openly gay Japanese contemporary tanka poet. Published by Seidosha in 2019, the anthology contains twenty-eight rensaku (sequences) with a total of 295 individual tanka. In this thesis, I have translated six of the twenty-eight rensaku for a total of sixty-three individual tanka. Tanka are a thirty-one syllable Japanese poem that has its roots in the Heian Period (794-1185). Before presenting my English translations of Suzukake’s tanka, I give a critical introduction that consists …

'Choose A Language Like A Wedding Ring': Polysystems, Norms And Pseudotranslation In Lea Goldberg’S Poetry & Prose, Benjamin Rangell

Masters Theses

Lea Goldberg [1911-1970] is one of modern Hebrew literature’s most significant poet/translators. This thesis approaches her early poetry and prose from the perspective of three theories of translation. ‘Polysystems’, ‘norms’, and ‘pseudotranslation’ grew from the scholarly and translation-lineage in Hebrew literary studies that Goldberg herself contributed to. Utilizing these three methods of reading, this thesis argues that translation’s thematization in Goldberg’s creative work is evidence for the poet’s ideal for a cosmopolitan, multilingual, national literature in the new Jewish State. This receptive stance to previous and concurrent literary traditions was met with much skepticism and criticism from Goldberg’s colleagues, and …

Translation Issues In Modern Chinese Literature: Viewpoint, Fate And Metaphor In Xia Shang's "The Finger-Guessing Game", Jonathan Heinrichs

Masters Theses

The Finger-Guessing Game is a novel with many layers of themes, characterization, and metaphor, and conveying all of these varied aspects requires a detailed, careful approach to translation. With this thesis I aim to show that strictly adhering to a singular translation method, such as “word-for-word” or “sense-for-sense,” will produce unsatisfactory results at certain points within the novel. This is accomplished by an overview of several different unique aspects of the writing style of this novel, viewpoint, the theme of fate, and the use of idioms and metaphors. Following this will be an analysis of these aspects’ functions within the …

Psychological With A Xuanyi Afterthought: A Translation Of Cai Jun's "Kidnapped" And A Critical Introduction To His Popular Suspense Fiction, Katherine G. Holtrop

Masters Theses

Often hailed as “China’s Stephen King,” Chinese psychological suspense author Cai Jun occupies a position at the peak of the new wave of young authors flooding China’s popular literature market. In order to understand Cai’s popularity as an author, the impact his works and writing have on this market, and how he creates his particular brand of suspense fiction, it is both necessary to put his works into a larger context and analyze his writing. This thesis provides a brief overview of the recent literary scene in China, from the rise of internet literature and the comeback of genre fiction …

Golden Palimpsests: America, Cervantes, And The Invention Of Modernity/Coloniality, Antonia Carcelen-Estrada

Doctoral Dissertations

While many theories of colonial discourse emphasize an imperial power imposing its way of thinking and modes of expression onto colonial cultures and peoples, in this dissertation I consider that this imposition affects members of the colonies and the metropolis in different but related ways. In core and periphery alike, the subjects of Spanish colonialism produced documents in which we recognize overlapping, conflicting narratives. I call this strategy for narrative resistance “golden palimpsests” because, as the epigraph suggests, they appear to tell the story of donkeys covered in gold, while in fact they hide the true story of noble horses …

Tragicomic Transpositions: The Influence Of Spanish Prose Romance On The Development Of Early Modern English Tragicomedy, Josefina Hardman

Doctoral Dissertations

The critical origin story for early modern English stage tragicomedy has frequently centered around Italian playwright and theorist Giambattista Guarini, who offered a tragicomic model in his play Il pastor fido (The Faithful Shepherd) and in his treatises on the genre. While Guarini’s impact on playwrights such as John Fletcher is undeniable, tragicomic critics have generally ignored the pervasive influence of Miguel de Cervantes’ work on seventeenth-century English playwrights. This project is the first sustained study of the influence of Cervantean prose romance on the development of early modern English tragicomedy. By looking at English tragicomedies with Spanish …

Translation, Rewriting, And Fan Fiction: A Literary History Of Transformative Work, Shannon K. Farley

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores the relationship between rewritings of source texts and their cultural contexts in an attempt to raise the prestige of fan fiction. In these early years of the twenty-first century, it's becoming increasingly clear that we're living in a “participatory culture,” in which consumers of texts are becoming more and more engaged with the texts they are consuming. Producers of films and television shows create fictional websites for fans to visit and continue interacting with the stories outside of their regular viewing schedule. Fans have created their own communities, mostly online, where they analyze, debate, deconstruct, reconstruct, and …

A Lesson In Loving The Word: Translating Clarice Lispector Into Polish, Agnieszka Gabor

Masters Theses

The goal of this thesis is to discuss Clarice Lispector in the Polish context and address the potential gaps in the reception of her oeuvre. Since the principal vehicle of popularizing her writing outside of the Portuguese-speaking world is translation, my thesis also examines the current situation of the Polish translations of Lispector’s work. Based on my research, I contend that the angle of interpretation related to Lispector’s literary awareness has not been well explored in Poland. Given that the perspective related to the creation process constitutes a recurrent characteristic of Lispector’s narrative, I provide a textual analysis of four …

Songs Of Ishq, Freedom And Rebellion: Selected Kafis Of Bulleh Shah In Translation, Zainab Sattar

Masters Theses

Abdullah Shah (1680-1757) was the birth name of the boy who would later become one of the most eminent Sufi poets of South Asia, and the master of Sufi lyrics in Punjabi—Bulleh Shah. Living during times of strife and major conflict between the Sikhs and the crumbling Mughal Empire, Bulleh Shah wrote poetry with an underlying humanist and tolerant philosophy that challenged the turmoil of his times. Blind to the bounds of religion and caste in an increasingly divided India, Bullah’s spiritual philosophy and his message of equality found voice in his kafis—a genre of poetry indigenous to the …

Colonialism, Education, And Gabon: An Examination Of The Self-Translation Of Gabonese Citizens In Their Post-Colonial Space Through Education And Language, Moussavou F. Batsielilit

Masters Theses

ABSTRACT

COLONIALISM, EDUCATION, AND GABON: AN EXAMINATION OF THE SELF-TRANSLATION OF GABONESE CITIZENS IN THEIR POSTCOLONIAL SPACE THROUGH EDUCATION AND LANGUAGE.

SEPTEMBER 2016

MOUSSAVOU FROY BATSIELILIT, B.A., UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

M.A., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST

Directed by: Professor Maria Tymoczko

Gabon’s educational model, mode, and language of instruction are similar to that of France. Likewise, the official language in Gabon remains French. The similarities between both countries, as a result, have continued to perpetuate and reinforce the indirect, or direct, influence of French culture in Gabon. The resemblance also contributed to the inability of Gabon to create an independent identity …

Eustia Of The Tarnished Wings: The Visual Novel In Translation, Matthew R. Bird

Masters Theses

The center of this thesis proposal is a translation of the first book of AUGUST Software’s Eustia of the Tarnished Wings 穢翌のユースティア, a 2011 dark fantasy visual novel. As visual novels are practically unknown in English or Japanese academic writing, this thesis will provide an introduction to the medium’s history, as well as common display and organizational formats of the medium; a literary overview of Eustia of the Tarnished Wings and its characters and themes of choice and sacrifice; and a discussion of translation methodology and goals pursued in the accompanying excerpts.

The translation presented consists of selected excerpts from …

Buddhist Depiction Of Life In The Verse Of The Tang Dynasty Poet Han Shan, Sijia Niu

Masters Theses

The present works of reading Chinese poetry offers a biographic reading method, but it cannot fit for reading Han Shan’s poetry, as he had unclear recording in history. Focused on exploring the persona and religion in Han Shan’s poetry world, I examine reading Han Shan’s poems in Buddhist way. Chapter 1 provides the biography of Han Shan, and presents his vernacular expression as different from other poets in history. Chapter 2 introduces some new methods on reading poetry brought up by some literature critics. Chapter 3 presents the Buddhist reading method that I have adopted to read and understand Han …

A Brief Introduction To Aoki Rosui And Annotated Translation Of His Text Otogi Hyaku Monogatari, David Reeves

Masters Theses

The world of Japanese literature spans a vast number of genres and media, so much that while it makes sense that English speaking academia is unaware of many prolific and influential authors and works, it might be surprising that some of those same people and publications are not well studied in their original language. Even though this is common among many languages, older Japanese texts have the added challenge of a variant grammar structure and writing style that forces scholars to be aware of the differences in the classical variation of the language. To that end, the author named Aoki …

Translating Travel In The Spanish Sahara: English Versions Of Sanmao's Stories Of The Sahara, Ying Xu

Masters Theses

Sanmao (1943-91), author of over 19 books, is well known in Chinese-speaking communities for her travel writing. The present work offers a critical introduction to Sanmao’s life and work as well as an English translation of three selections from her most recognized travelogue, among both general readers and critics, Stories of the Sahara (1976). This text recounts her experience of travelling in the Western Sahara with her husband José María Quero y Ruíz from Spain. Chapter 1 introduces Sanmao’s career, her travel narratives, and the extant scholarship on her work to the English-speaking audience. More specifically, it highlights her time …

The Practice And Evolution Of Video Game Translation: Expanding The Definition Of Translation, Elizabeth Bushouse

Masters Theses

This paper looks at the practice and history of video game translation, with the goal of expanding the definition of translation. Video game translation is a complex process that incorporates a number of aspects from other types of translation, such as literary, audiovisual, and software translation, to form a dynamic whole. As a new medium, video games also present their own challenges to translation in the form of interactivity, technology, non-textual and extra-textual elements, audience involvement, and new business practices. Even though video games are a relatively new medium, the practice of translating them has undergone drastic transformations over the …

The Unnatural World: Animals And Morality Tales In Hayashi Razan's Kaidan Zensho, Eric Fischbach

Masters Theses

Kaidan is a genre of supernatural tales that became popular during Japan’s Edo period. In 1627, Hayashi Razan translated numerous supernatural tales from China and collected them in five volumes in a work known as Kaidan zensho, the “Complete Collection of Strange Works.” Hayashi Razan was an influential Neo-Confucian scholar and was instrumental in establishing Neo-Confucianism as a dominant ideological force in Tokugawa Japan. As his teachings and stories reached a wide audience, and the government was supportive of Neo-Confucian ideas in Japan, his Kaidan tales, which contained subtle didactic elements, enjoyed success. However, Kaidan zensho was never translated into …

Translating Françoize Boucher’S Le Livre Qui T’Explique Enfin Tout Sur Les Parents For Us Audiences: Playing With Words And Images, Evgeniya Bugaeva

Masters Theses

The focus of this thesis is my translation of Le livre qui t'explique enfin tout sur les parents by Françoize Boucher from French into English. Chapter one begins with a brief history and definition of children’s literature, as well as children’s literature in translation. I discuss the subgenre of informational picturebooks—its objectives, characteristics, and current trends. What follows is a short biographic and bibliographic sketch of Françoize Boucher. Then, I discuss the content, format, style, and illustrations of Le livre qui t'explique as well as examine the work’s audience, aims, and values. Finally, I discuss my English translation of the …

Formación De Intérpretes Y Políticas Lingüísticas En La Provincia Jesuítica Del Paraguay (S. Xvii - Xviii), Ana P. Rona

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores language policies regarding selection and training of interpreters by the Society of Jesus during 17th and 18^th centuries, in the former Paraquaria (the Jesuit Province of Paraguay). The Society of Jesus played a major role in the standardization of indigenous languages, as well as in translation and education policies; all areas of what is now known as language planning. Using as primary sources public and private letters produced by Jesuit authorities during this period, this study identifies overt and covert (Schiffman, 1996) language policies regarding interpreters, their linguistic repertories and the quality of their work. …

Textual Analysis Of Two Translated Transcripts: 2012 Presidential Debate And A Speech Presented By Cyrille De Lasteyrie, Laryssa M. Witty

Masters Theses

Delia Chiaro (2010) describes humor in two broad categories: referential and verbal. The former focuses on the meaning of a story or event and the humor embedded within. In the case of the latter, idiosyncratic features such as word play displays humorous undertones. This Master’s thesis examines oral text transformation to another language via transcription. The transcripts themselves consist of 10 minutes of the 2012 Presidential debate between François Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy and 10 minutes of a monologue presented by French animator Cyrille de Lasteyrie. Both transcripts are linked by the commonality of humor and exhibit the two categories …

Interpreting, Stephanie Jo Kent

Doctoral Dissertations

What do community interpreting for the Deaf in western societies, conference interpreting for the European Parliament, and language brokering in international management have in common? Academic research and professional training have historically emphasized the linguistic and cognitive challenges of interpreting, neglecting or ignoring the social aspects that structure communication. All forms of interpreting are inherently social; they involve relationships among at least three people and two languages. The contexts explored here, American Sign Language/English interpreting and spoken language interpreting within the European Parliament, show that simultaneous interpreting involves attitudes, norms and values about intercultural communication that overemphasize information and discount …

À Lire Et À Voir, Entre Mot Et Image: Selected Translations Of Works By Henri Michaux, Victoria Arend

Masters Theses

This Master’s thesis investigates the language of words and images in the work of Belgian poet and painter Henri Michaux (1899-1984) through the practice of translation. I have chosen to translate texts that serve as critical and poetic inquiries into the nature of verbal and visual representation. In the critical introduction preceding the translations, I analyze Michaux’s relationship to the languages of words and images in the selected works. The selected translations appear in two sections: “On Words and Images” and “Images in Words.” In the first, I translate selections from Michaux’s reflective works on the practice of painting and …

Prison Of The Setting Sun: A Translation Of Ono Fuyumi's Rakushō No Goku, Caitlin F. Orwoll

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

In this thesis, I have presented my translation of the novella Rakushō no goku (落照の獄) by Ono Fuyumi, preceded by a critical introduction. In this introduction, I have provided brief biographical information about the author, context for the story and its place in the Twelve Kingdoms series of novels, an analysis of the story's use of the death penalty as allegory, and an explanation for some of my choices in the translation.

In my introduction, my main purpose was to present the author, who has written multiple best-selling, award-winning novels that have received both popular and critical acclaim, yet has …

Towards A Neopragmatist Understanding Of Translation: A Cross-Disciplinary And Cross-Medial Survey, Steffani Scheer

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Maria Tymoczko (2005) highlights four research trajectories that are likely to be at the forefront of translation studies in coming decades: the attempt to define translation, the internationalization of translation, the impact of technology and globalization on translation theory, and the contextualization of translation studies relative to other areas of academic inquiry. The goal of this thesis is to contribute to the first research trajectory. I hope to enrich current developments in translation studies by offering a new way of conceptualizing translation based upon pragmatist philosophy and its particular approach to language and epistemology. Specifically I build upon certain passages …

"Speak To Me In Vernacular, Doctor": Translating And Adapting Tirso De Molina's El Amor Médico For The Stage, Sarah A. Brew

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Considered one of the greatest playwrights of the Spanish Golden Age, Tirso de Molina (1580?-1648) lived something of a double life, alternating—much like the characters in his plays—between two separate and often conflicting lives. Though Tirso, whose real name was Gabriel Téllez, spent the greater portion of his life in the church as a Mercedarian friar, his dramatic output as a playwright was prodigious in scope. Fewer than 90 of his plays survive today, and only a handful have been translated into English. This M.F.A. thesis therefore presents the first-ever English-language translation and adaptation of one of Tirso’s plays, El …

Un Pie Aquí Y Otro Allá: Translation, Globalization, And Hybridization In The New World (B)Order, Jorge Jimenez-Bellver

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

This thesis explores the role of translation in the production and manipulation of identities in the contemporary Americas as exemplified in the work of Guillermo Gómez-Peña. Underscoring the instrumentality of borders vis-à-vis dominant constructions of identity and in connection with questions of language, race, and citizenship, I argue that translation not only functions as an agent of hegemonic superiority and oppression, but also as a locus of plurivocity and hybridization. Drawing from the concepts “continuous variation” (Deleuze and Guattari [1987] 2004), “coloniality of power” (Mignolo 2000), and “hybridization” (García-Canclini 1995), I discuss the connection of translation with three main topics: …

Genre And Transgenre In Edo Literature: An Annotated Translation Of Murai Yoshikiyo's Kyōkun Hyakumonogatari With An Exploration Of The Text's Multiple Filiations., Yumiko Ono

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

In conjunction with raising some questions regarding “genre” in Edo literature, the purpose of this thesis is to introduce a complete annotated translation of Kyōkun hyakumonogatari 教訓百物語 (One Hundred Scary Tales for Moral Instruction) by the Shingaku teacher Murai Yoshikiyo 村井由清 (1752-1813). Published in 1804 and reprinted several times, this text was intended as a guide to self-cultivation and ethical living based on Shingaku 心学, a philosophico-religious movement of great importance in the latter half of the Edo era. The translation is complemented with a transcription into modern script based on publicly available (online) digital images of an 1815 xylographic …

On Becoming Virginia: The Story Of A Man Who Crashed A Woman's Body: A Translation Of Alejandro Tapia Y Rivera's Postumo El Envirginiado [1882], Aaron M. M. Suko

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

This thesis establishes a biographical and critical context pertaining to the life and work of the nineteenth-century Puerto Rican author Alejandro Tapia y Rivera (1826-1882), and presents a proposed translation of his final novel, Póstumo el envirginiado o la historia de un hombre que se coló en el cuerpo de una mujer (1882). In a discussion of Tapia’s life and work, I highlight important historical factors for comprehending the text’s and Tapia’s relatively obscure status. Then I turn to the text itself to analyze key themes and narrative techniques, referring to literary scholars of Póstumo in order to provide a …

On Becoming In Translation: Articulating Feminisms In The Translation Of Marie Vieux-Chauvet's Les Rapaces, Carolyn P T Shread

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

This thesis discusses aspects of feminist translation as exemplified by my French to English translation of Marie Vieux-Chauvet’s novel, Les Rapaces (1984). Articulating feminist translation as a form of activism, I argue that feminism manifests in translation not only informatively, through linguistic and cultural representation, but also through formative processes that are constitutive of texts. Describing some of the key moments in the creation of The Raptors, I show how these relate to Bracha Ettinger’s concept of metramorphic processes and to my own elaboration of her theory with regard to the generative aspect of becoming in translation. Viewing translation as …