Search

This paper investigated contemporary journalistic English translations of Arabic Islamic terms and concepts in light of the current civil wars in the Middle East and North Africa, and the war on terror as well as Islamophobia and the refugee crisis. It studied the critical role of translation agencies in reframing and renegotiating the Islamic glossary through their own lens, which may be ideologically positioned. The paper further examined the English translations of the Arabic Islamic terms and concepts in the target texts which were published by the Washington-based advocacy group the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). The data were collected manually from MEMRI’s online archive from the years 2013 to 2016. The data selection was based on a designed search that linked Daesh (ISIS) and any of its aliases with any of the Islamic terms and concepts which are repeatedly used in media narratives within the context of the ‘war on terror’ and ‘Islamic extremism’. The study employed Baker’s (2006) narrative-informed theory and Newmark’s (1988) translation procedures taxonomy to assist in the data analysis. The findings suggested that transference (transliteration) is a significant procedure used by MEMRI in justifying, legitimizing and normalizing particular narratives to the public and that translators are decisive participants in constituting and informing the social and political reality. The findings also demonstrated that narrativity features, relationality in particular, are significant tools in reconstructing reality in translation. Through translation, MEMRI draws upon the metanarrative of the ‘war on terror’ in promoting its ideologically laden agenda of terrorist Arabs and Muslims.

The proper selection and training of simultaneous interpreting candidates would ensure that they meet all essential requirements and are fully prepared to face any professional assignment they might encounter. Aptitude tests for entrance to training courses may be a step on the path to improving interpreting quality and strengthening the professionalisation of the field. As a result, this study aimed to design a comprehensive, custom-made aptitude test for simultaneous interpreting relevant for the South African context. A further aim for this test was for it to be used in practice to differentiate between those students who have the ability to succeed as interpreters and those who do not, in order to ultimately improve the quality of the professional field of interpreting. This aim was accomplished through a qualitative research design. First, a review was conducted on the available literature on interpreter aptitude testing. Further analysis showed that only eight of these tests had been proven to reliably predict aptitude for interpreting. Second, online surveys and in-person, semi-structured interviews were utilised to gather the opinions of interpreter trainers and potential interpreting students. The trainers were asked, among other questions, which cognitive and personality traits they would wish to test for in prospective students. The students were also asked, among other questions, to rate on a Likert scale their confidence in successfully completing the different available aptitude tests. Through this data, it was found that there is a need for aptitude testing for the training of simultaneous interpreting students in South Africa, and that both trainers and students advocated for its use. Moreover, it was possible to determine the most effective aptitude tests from among those that are available and, furthermore, those that would be easy to administer and complete.

INTRODUCTION: Occupational Therapists should use relevant patient reported outcome measures as part of providing evidence for occupational therapy intervention. Measures must be responsive, valid and reliable for use in all health sectors. An essential requirement is that the measure be available in the language of the populations it is intended for. As most measures are developed in the English language for use in English speaking countries, we put forward an opinion on the practice of community translation during the translation and cross-cultural adaption of patient reported outcome measures towards increased clinical utility in the public health sector of South Africa Keywords: patient reported outcome measures, translation and cross-cultural adaptation, community translation

Over the past decade many studies have shown that ad hoc interpreting services are still the norm for the healthcare sector in the South African context. The healthcare sector in the Western Cape is characterised by primarily Afrikaans and English-speaking doctors, or medical practitioners in general, who do not understand Xhosa-speaking patients. In order to bridge this language gap, ad hoc interpreting services are employed, which are rendered by family members of a patient, nurses, or at times even by porters or cleaners. As a result of the fact that these ad hoc interpreters lack training in interpreting theory and practice, they tend to distort communication, which impacts negatively on the quality of the healthcare that the patient receives. This consequent lack of quality in healthcare therefore can be directly related to the quality of the interpreted product that the interpreter renders. The goal of this article is to investigate interpreting practices within three tertiary hospitals, and to refl...

Health care professionals sometimes have expectations that interpreters cannot meet. In this case, interpreters are expected to declare in writing that they assisted the medical investigator to explain the information in consent forms for parents of paediatric burns patients and volunteers on antiretroviral therapy. These consent forms were translated from English into Afrikaans and isiXhosa. They also have to declare that the patients fully understand the content of the relevant document and all their questions were satisfactorily answered. This investigation shows that the interpreters did not fully understand the information that they have to explain. None of the interpreters interviewed would like to sign the agreement certifying that they explained the information of the trial in the patient's mother tongue and that the patient understood it. Interpreters have to take primary responsibility in bringing the message across. Taking the level of education of the interpreters into account, it see...

The successful performance of many interpreting professionals can be acquired with formal instruction without any reference to formal research. Without any theoretical sessions much can be gained from the practiceoriented instruction by experienced interpreters whom one can regard as masters of the craft. However, research and science are part and parcel of the discipline and status of the interpreting profession. With few exceptions, interpreting research has for many years focused on the cognitive processes of what is happening when one is interpreting (Gile, 1995; Gerver, 1996; Moser-Mecer, 2002). Apart from this research that has been going in the international arena, interpreting in Africa as a profession and as a research discipline is still in its formative years. This article investigates the potential of developing research into interpreting studies for the African context which necessitates its own research options, priorities and methodology.Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 2011, 29(3): 359–371

Met die huidige demografiese verspreiding en die taalopset in ons land behoort die dienste van vertalers en tolke meer sigbaar te word en behoort hulle 'n groter rol in die samelewing te speel. Deur die ondersteuning van gekwalifiseerde vertalers, tolke en vertaalprojekte sal ons meehelp om die talige werklikheid te fasiliteer. Dit behoort dus deel van die demokratiseringsproses in die land te vorm. Hierdie artikel wil die rol van vertaaldienslewering in so 'n konteks ondersoek en hoe dit kan meehelp dat veeltaligheid as 'n bate ervaar word, maar ook taalgebruikers sensitief te maak vir hulle taalregte. Die uiteindelike doel is om die elitistiese en simboliese aard van vertaling sowel as tolking aan te spreek en te verseker dat dit eerder praktiese waarde vir taalgebruikers inhou. The current demography and the language reality in our country necessitate that translators and interpreters should become more visible and need to play a more prominent role in our society. By supporting qualified translators, interpreters and translation projects we will help to facilitate the language reality. This ought to form part of the democratisation process in our country. This article attempts to investigate the role of translation service delivery in such a context and in such a way it can assist that multilingualism is being viewed as an asset, but also to sensitise language users of their language rights. The ultimate goal is to address the elitist and symbolic nature of translation and interpreting and to ensure that it has practical value for language users. Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 2008, 26(1): 59–67

Intercultural communication is by nature a complex activity. In a multilingual society like ours, it will inevitably surface in the health care sector. The services of an interpreter are often considered to break the impasse in this communication process. The communication problem between the two parties, the service provider and client/ patient, is often not simply a matter of language but societal factors of which the liaison interpreter should be aware of also plays a major role for effective extended communication. This article focuses on some of the problems in rendering an oral source text in multilingual and multicultural societies such as South Africa in which there are heterogeneous target audiences for interpreting. It is pointed out that interpreters in such societies must take into account the heterogeneity of the target audiences, or otherwise interpreting will only be symbolic gestures, empty of value, and thus not communicate the message intended. In the process the limitations of the interpreter and how the presence of the interpreter can be facilitated, is also highlighted.

Die behoefte aan doeltreffende kommunikasie in ʼn samelewing, saam met die taalwerklikhede van die openbare domein, noodsaak dat taaldienslewering in ʼn veeltalige land ʼn prominente rol speel. Gevolglik word die opleiding van professionele tolke aan ons tersiere instellings noodsaaklik, aangesien die tolkpraktyk in ʼn veeltaligheidskonteks bevorder behoort te word. Tolkopleiers beskou blootstelling aan en ondervinding in die tolkpraktyk as ʼn onmisbare onderdeel van die opleidingsprogram vir beginnertolke. Hierdie artikel is ʼn voorafstudie wat fokus op die interaksie met taalgemeenskappe en diensleer vanuit die perspektief van tolkopleiding. Winston (2005:223) voer aan dat “practicum, service learning, and interacting with community groups all reinforce the underlying understanding that students need […] to learn through interactive, collaborative experiences with others”. Hierdie aktiwiteite is “student-centered learning activities that foster the development of critical thinking, ecisionmaking, and self-assessment that are essential to interpreting effectively and competently” (ibid.). Kritiese denke, etiese besluitneming en selfassessering is kernvaardighede wat studente benodig vir die tolkpraktyk. Volgens die beginsels van gesonde gemeenskapsinteraksie moet diensleer nie as ʼn lukraak aktiwiteit beoefen word waar die studente vrye teuels gegee word nie, maar dit behoort ingebed te wees in ’n akademiese kursus en formeel geassesseer word. Studente behoort op so ʼn wyse na te dink oor die diensleeraktiwiteit dat hulle verdere begrip van en groter waardering vir die dissipline kry, sowel as ʼn verhoogde bewustheid van persoonlike eiewaarde en verantwoordelikheid teenoor die burgerlike samelewing ontwikkel (Bringle en Hatcher 1995:12). Teen hierdie agtergrond ondersoek die artikel die interaksie van die leerlingtolke met die taalgemeenskappe en die rol wat diensleer in hulle opleiding speel. Die diensleer in hierdie konteks is kursusgebaseerd en kredietdraend. Deur die tolkgebeure behoort die studente insgelyks meer kennis te bekom van en ervaring te verkry in die tolkpraktyk, maar ook in die waarde daarvan vir interkulturele kommunikasie. Die bereiking van hierdie uitkomste word beoordeel deur refleksie oor die diensleerervaring van die leerlingtolke. Die metodologie vir hierdie artikel behels ʼn teoretiese verkenning van die veld, ʼn kritiese ondersoek na die studente se ervaring soos deur hulleself opgeteken en laastens ʼn besinning oor die gepaardgaande uitdagings. Sleutelwoorde : tolking, opleiding, diensleer, gemeenskap

The article discusses problems in rendering source‐texts in multilingual and multicultural societies, such as those in South Africa, in which there are heterogeneous target audiences for a translation. It is pointed out that translators in such societies must take into account the heterogeneity of the target audiences, or otherwise translation will be only symbolic gestures, empty of value, and thus not communicate the message intended. Using an authentic example of an English‐language source text concerning the act of governance of schools in South Africa, the author demonstrates how Afrikaans translators, by means of adaptation, and most of all ‘plain language’ as defined and used by the target audiences, do make a juridical source text understandable to various audiences to whom the message is communicated in Afrikaans. It is argued that such a functional approach ensures that translations are meaningful acts and it may serve as a paradigm for other multicultural and multilingual countries and...

CITATION: Blignaut, J. & Lesch, H. 2014. ʼn Ondersoek na die taalgebruik in Son as verteenwoordigend van Kaaps. Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus, 45:19-41, doi:10.5842/45-0-628.