Translating Dialects: Reader's Perception of Different Translation Strategies

master's thesis

• Title (croatian): Prevođenje dijalekata: kako čitatelji percipiraju različite prijevodne strategije
• Author: Sara Pokorni
• Mentor: Nataša Pavlović (mentor)
• Committee member: Anđel Starčević (predsjednik povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Anda Bukvić Pažin (član povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Nataša Pavlović (član povjerenstva)
• Granter: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; (Department of English language and literature); Zagreb
• Defense date and country: 2023-05-11, Croatia
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: HUMANISTIC SCIENCES; Philology; Anglistics

Abstract

This paper is based on the results of a survey created to investigate how Croatian students perceive three different strategies of dialect translation, so the results could potentially be used as an additional tool in the process of dialect translation. As most current research tends to focus on the translators’ decision-making process, this study is centering on the opinions of the readers. The questionnaire presented to the participants contained three translations of an excerpt written in a non-standard variety and lead the participants to think about the features of each translation, rate them and leave their comments. It was hypothesized that experience with language(s) and translation would influence the participants’ preferred strategy and that the chosen translation strategy would influence their perception of the character(s). Both hypotheses were confirmed. Further hypotheses were that readers would gravitate towards translations written in their own dialect, but that most participants would still choose the colloquialized translation as their favorite. Unfortunately, a significant overlap between participants from the Zagreb area (one translation utilized the Zagreb dialect) and participants with language experience meant there could be no conclusive evidence to support or deny these assumptions. Furthermore, while no strategy was confirmed as the participants’ favorite, the Culturally Transplanted translation was one they east preferred.

Abstract (croatian)

Ovaj je rad baziran na anketi izrađenoj s ciljem istraživanja načina na koji hrvatski studenti percipiraju različite strategije korištene u prevođenju dijalekata kako bi se rezultati potencijalno mogli iskoristiti kao pomoć u procesu prevođenja. S obzirom da je većina prijevodnih teorija i analiza bazirana na odlukama koje prevoditelj donosi tijekom čina prevođenja, u ovom se radu naglasak stavlja na čitatelja. Anketa sadrži tri prijevoda ulomka napisanog na nestandardnom jeziku, promatrajući kako ispitanici reagiraju na pojedine prijevodne strategije u komentarima i ocjenjivanjem značajki svakog prijevoda. Postavljene hipoteze su da da iskustvo u prevođenju te studij jezika imaju utjecaj na to koju strategiju ispitanici preferiraju, te da prijevodna strategija utječe na percepciju lika. Obje hipoteze su potvrđene. Nadalje, hipoteze su također i da čitatelji gravitiraju prema tekstu napisanom na njima bliskom dijalektu, no da većina ipak smatra prijevod na kolokvijalnom hrvatskom jeziku kao najprikladniji. Ispitanici iz područja grada Zagreba većinski nisu odabrali prijevod na zagrebački dijalekt kao njima najdraži, no hipotezu nije bilo moguće ni potvrditi ni opovrgnuti zbog velikog preklapanja te skupine sa skupinom ispitanika s iskustvom s jezikom i prevođenjem. Nije bilo moguće potvrditi koja strategija se ispitanicima svidjela najviše, no prijevod na zagrebački dijalekt svidio im se najmanje.

• Keywords: translation strategy; dialect translation; non-standard varieties; survey; readers’ perception
• Keywords (croatian): prijevodna strategija; prijevod dijalekata; nestandardni jezik; anketa; percepcija čitatelja
• Language: english
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:131:878152
• Study programme: Title: English Language and Literature (double major); specializations in: Linguistics, Literature and Culture, Translation; Course: Translation; Study programme type: university; Study level: graduate; Academic / professional title: magistar/magistra engleskog jezika i književnosti (magistar/magistra engleskog jezika i književnosti)
• Type of resource: Text
• File origin: Born digital
• Access conditions: Open access
• Created on: 2023-05-18 09:29:34