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1470899_MLT076
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Text 1 – What the row over banning Germaine Greer is really about
Target Language: French
This text is an opinion article by Helen Lewis arguing that Germaine Greer was
excessively punished for her controversial views on transgender people due to her gender. It
was published online on the 27 October, 2015 on The New Statesman website and in print in
the 30 October – 5 November 2015 issuei
. The New Statesman is a British left-wing political
and cultural magazine with an educated target audience. Its target audience is expected to be
interested in and aware of British current events. They may or may not agree with Lewis'
position because, as the article observes, this issue is divisive across the political spectrum.
The article on the website includes paratext not present in the assignment (a photo of Greer
standing before an audienceii
).
Because this expressive text is an opinion article, the author's background, politics,
and style should be noted. Lewis is a journalist and the Deputy Editor of The New Statesman.
She writes widely on international political topics, often from a feminist positioniii
. This article
supporting Greer continues in this vein and is exemplary of Lewis' informal, irreverent style. It
would be important and challenging to convey the original text's use of wordplay and popular
culture references.
The text's lexical challenges pertain mostly to feminist and gender politics terminology,
as well as British-specific acronyms. France has a long history of feminism, and therefore I
expected a well-developed vocabulary in French. I browsed the websites of French
newspapers of similar stature to The New Statesman to observe contemporary usage of
feminist and transgender terms in contextivvvi
. French, like English, permits the unexpected
use of feminine forms for effect in feminist writings. In translating, I must be conscious of
French articles', nouns', and pronouns' ability to be feminine in ways not possible in English.
One unexpected discovery was that 'transgender' is often translated as 'transsexuel'; it
appears that 'transgenre' is somewhat of a French neologism.
Cultural differences between source and target cultures are also significant. Lewis'
article assumes knowledge of the Greer controversy, the role of British Students' Unions, and
British popular culture. I followed the Greer incident at the time, but reread articles about
itviiviiiix
to refresh the dispute's details in my mind. The source text does not explicitly mention
Greer's controversial opinions, so paratext or gloss should be added (if possible within the
translation brief) to provide context for target text readers unfamiliar with the story.
Furthermore, the political role played by British Students' Unions is different than that of
French 'Bureaux des Eleves' or 'Syndicats Etudiants'. From personal experience studying in
France, I know that French students protest at least as much as their British counterparts, but
by different means. Student protest is not an alien concept, but (again, if the brief permits)
paratext should be added to highlight the Students' Unions' political role. Likewise, I would
provide glosses to contextualize the British public figures mentioned in Lewis' article. The
same treatment would apply to particularly British-specific acronyms, like NUS (National
Union of Students) and BNP (British National Party), which have no direct equivalent in
French.
Perhaps the most challenging aspect of the text to translate would be Lewis' wordplay
with well-known phrases in English. The first example is her quip, “Let's not beat about the
bush, although that's not the happiest phrase in the light of what I'm about to say.” This uses
an idiomatic expression, then emphasizing the double meaning of 'bush' both as plant and
pubic hair. I would attempt to convey this irreverent style by using a well-known idiom with
similar meaning (e.g. “tourner autour du pot”) and inserting an informal term with a mildly
sexual connotation. The double entendre would be lost, but the stylistic equivalent would
remain. In a second example, Lewis re-purposes a line from the 2008 film The Dark Knight in
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support of her argument. I found a French-language trailerx
of the film containing the relevant
dialogue and would use this as a guide to maintain the relevant cultural associations. A third
example of this is the closing line of the article adapting the Biblical adage from John 8:7, “Let
she who is without unpopular views cast the first e-petition.” The Association Épiscopale
Liturgique pour les pays Francophones has a copy of the Bible used in French Catholic (the
predominant Christian sect in France) massxi
. I would again attempt to recreate the Biblical
undertones by modifying the religious phrase to match Lewis' text.
In this exercise, I would use several dictionaries. For general non-specific terms, I
would rely on Wordreferencexii
. Wordreference is a comprehensive dictionary and thesaurus
for general terms and is complemented by the more respected Collins English French
Electronic Dictionary. For more specific terminology, I would search on Proz.com's KudoZxiii
and Lingueexiv
for examples used a similar context. KudoZ is a glossary developed by
contributions from translators and Linguee is a dictionary that provides context from online
documents. Since Wordreference and KudoZ are both somewhat crowd-sourced, I would
confirm that the terms I found were appropriate in Collins. For Linguee, I would check that the
original source of the translation to ensure appropriate context. For idiomatic expressions, I
would use Collins Easy Learning French Idiomsxv
, a reference book of French idiomatic
expressions for Anglophone students.
When planning my timetable for translation, I would give myself thirty minutes to read
and reread the source text. I would highlight any potentially difficult phrases for translation
and areas that required research. Since I am neither British nor French, I would give myself
three hours to research the story and cultural differences between the source and target
audiences. A professional translator can be reasonably expected to translate approximately
2,500 words in an 8-hour working day, or around 312 words per hour. Since I am not
particularly experienced and will be translating away from my mother tongue, I expect to work
perhaps half as quickly. Therefore this text of 943 words will take me a little over six hours to
translate. I would then proofread the text for another thirty minutes before ideally giving the
text to a native French speaker for review. I would not use CAT tools like Trados, because this
text has little repetition and requires careful attention to the stylistic voice of the author. Voice
recognition software could be very useful, however, as it might facilitate creation of the target
text faster than my typing would permit.
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Text 4 – Funding shortfall forcing WFP to further cut food assistance to Syrian refugees
Target Language: French
This text is a news article by Khetam Malkawi informing its target audience that lack of
funding is forcing the World Food Programme (WFP) to cut food assistance to Syrian
refugees. This article appeared on the Jordan Times website on 3 June, 2015. The Jordan
Times is the main daily English-language newspaper in Jordan and would have a target
audience of Anglophone expatriates living in Jordan, Anglophone Jordanians, and other
people interested in Jordanian current affairs. Therefore, the audience is expected to be
interested in and aware of Jordanian and regional (the Levant) current events. As this text is
not primarily expressive, but informative, it should not contain any particularly controversial
claims, however the text comes across as sympathetic to the Syrian refugees and supportive
of the WFP's work. The article on the website contains paratext in the form of a photo of
refugees shopping with WFP food vouchersxvi
.
Because this is an informative article in a newspaper, the newspaper's editorial staff's
decision to publish the text is a greater sign of influence on the text than that of an individual
journalist's. In an opinion column, the point of view expressed is perceived to be the
columnist's first and foremost. For a factual news article, the atmosphere in which the editorial
staff work should be examined to better understand its effects. The Jordan Times describes
itself as “an independent English-language dailyxvii
.” However, Freedom House, an American
watchdog organization, rated Jordan's press as “not freexviii
” in 2015, due to laws that prevent
criticism of the government. This article notably does not mention any Jordanian government
position on the situation it describes. Nonetheless, it is written in a formal newspaper style,
with similar conventions to other international media. It would be important to ensure the
translation is written according to French news conventions.
The source text contains a great deal of terminology particular to non-governmental
organizations working with refugees. Because the WFP is an international organization
working under the auspices of the United Nations, it publishes its documents in several
languages. I visited their French-language websitexix
to read press releases related to their
work with Syrian refugees. The press releases are written in a similar formal style to the
original text and notably focus staunchly on the effects of the crisis without focusing on the
causes. These communiques obviously also have an appelative function to garner funds and
support for the WFP, but the source text also appears to share this as a secondary function.
As a result, this should not dissuade me from referring to these press releases to inform my
final translation. Additionally, I found an article on the well-regarded French newspaper Le
Monde's websitexx
on a similar issue, which could be useful as a stylistic and lexical guide.
This article's cultural background does not appear to be as significant an issue as a
more expressive text would be, because it is written in a conventional style. The source text
does not assume extensive previous knowledge of the Syrian refugee crisis or even cultural
knowledge of the Islamic practice of Ramadan. Still, I would not expect a general French
audience to be aware of Jordan's currency (the Jordanian dinar) or its current value (around
€1.29 at the time of this writing). Depending on the translation brief's requirements, I would
use the full name of the currency in the first instance of its use and abbreviations thereafter. I
would also provide glosses with approximate conversion rates into euros to give context to
the target text audience and convey the extent of the WFP's financial shortfall.
When translating this text, the journalistic formal register must be conveyed along with
the sense that the Jordanian Times is sympathetic to the plight of the Syrian refugees and
supportive of the work of the WFP. By describing the refugees as such and not as 'migrants,'
the newspaper recognizes their precarious situation. This sentiment is echoed in word
choices such as 'vulnerable' and 'lost generation'. The WFP's position is also presented
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supportively. The source text emphasizes that the inability to meet demand was not
intentional by repeatedly using the passive voice ('was forced'). I would be sure to maintain
the sympathetic language and grammatical structure in translation, which exists with a similar
effect in French.
In this exercise, I would again use several dictionaries. For general non-specific terms,
I would rely on Wordreferencexxi
for its wide-ranging dictionary and thesaurus for general
terms. It is available in conjunction with the Collins English French Electronic Dictionary. I will
again be sure to review all translated terms from Wordreference in the more reputable Collins
dictionary. Similarly, the online dictionary Lingueexxii
proves useful by showing examples of
different possible translations in multiple contexts. Since Linguee is a form of machine
translation, it is vital that I double check the contexts shown by clicking the links provided on
Linguee's results page.
In preparation for this translation, I would plan to spend thirty minutes reading and
making notes on any expressions that required research in the source text. I have some
background translating similar news stories from French to English, but I would still give
myself two hours to research French newspaper style conventions and the story and players
mentioned in the text. Since I will be translating into my second language, I expect to work
perhaps more slowly than into English. If I assume that I will work at a rate of around 156
words per hour, this 656 word text will require less than four and a half hours. I would then
look over the text for another thirty minutes and if time permits, ask a native French speaker
for feedback. I might use termbases or glossaries if I translated texts like this often. CAT tools
like Trados could be useful because informative texts like this tend to have fewer 'artistic'
constructions and follow a standard convention. Voice recognition software might prove
useful, because it could allow me to produce the translation faster than by typing.
i Exact Editions. “New Statesman (30 October – 5 November 2015).” Exact Editions. Exact Editions Ltd, 2015. Web. 9
December 2015. <https://www.exacteditions.com/read/newstatesman/30-october-5-november-2015--46845/4/3 >
ii Lewis, Helen. “What the row over banning Germaine Greer is really about.” The New Statesman. New Statesman, 2015:
n. pag. Web. 9 December 2015. <http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/feminism/2015/10/what-row-over-banning-
germaine-greer-really-about>
iii The New Statesman. “Writers.” The New Statesman. New Statesman, 2015. Web. 9 December 2015.
<http://www.newstatesman.com/writers/helen_lewis>
iv L'Obs BibiObs. “Lire Proust? Du temps perdu...” L'Obs BibliObs. Le Nouvel Observateur, 2009: n. pag. Web. 9
December 2015. <http://bibliobs.nouvelobs.com/romans/20091110.BIB4391/lire-proust-du-temps-perdu.html>
v Allain, Xavier. “Caitlyn Jenner : sa téléréalité ne fait pas recette.” Le Scan Télé. Le Figaro, 2015: n. pag. Web. 9
December 2015. <http://tvmag.lefigaro.fr/le-scan-tele/people/2015/07/29/28008-20150729ARTFIG00126-caitlyn-
jenner-sa-telerealite-ne-fait-pas-recette.php>
vi L'Obs. “SUEDE. Au pays des enfants sans sexe.” L'Obs Monde. Le Nouvel Observateur, 2013: n. pag. Web. 9 December
2015. <http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/monde/20130218.OBS9257/suede-au-pays-des-enfants-sans-sexe.html>
vii BBC News. “Calls to ban Germaine Greer lecture over trans comments.” BBC News. BBC, 2015: n. pag. Web. 9
December 2015. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-34613148>
viii South Wales Evening Post. “200 petitioners call to ban Germaine Greer from speaking at Cardiff University lecture.”
South Wales Evening Post. Local World, 2015: n. pag. Web. 9 December 2015. <http://www.southwales-
eveningpost.co.uk/200-petitioners-ban-Germaine-Greer-speaking/story-28040470-detail/story.html>
ix Dearden, Lizzie. “Germaine Greer will not give Cardiff University lecture because of abuse over views on transgender
peopole.” The Independent. ESI Media, 2015: n. pag. Web. 9 December 2015.
<http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/germaine-greer-will-not-give-cardiff-university-lecture-because-of-abuse-
over-views-on-transgender-a6707236.html>
x The Dark Knight, Le Chevalier Noir, BA VF 2. Dir. Christopher Nolan. 2008. Digital Film Trailer. Warner Brothers,
2008. Web. 10 December 2015. <http://www.canalplus.fr/c-cinema/c-les-films-en-salles/cid82133-the-dark-knight-le-
chevalier-noir.html> (Dialogue cited available from 1:51-1:57).
xi Association Épiscopale Liturgique pour les pays Francophones. “Evangile de Jésus-Christ selon saint Jean – Chapitre
8:7.” Web. 10 December 2015. <http://www.aelf.org/bible-liturgie/Jn/Evangile+de+J%C3%A9sus-
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Christ+selon+saint+Jean/chapitre/8>
xii Wordreference.com. Home page. Web. 10 December 2015. <http://www.wordreference.com/>
xiii ProZ.com. “ProZ.com term search.” Web. 10 December 2015. <http://www.proz.com/search/>
xiv Linguee.com. Home page. Web. 10 December 2015. <http://www.linguee.com/>
xv Easy Learning French Idioms (Collins Easy Learning French). Ed. Collins Dictionaries. 1st
ed. Glasgow: HarperCollins
Publishers, 2010. eBook.
xvi Malkawi, Khetam. “Funding shortfall forcing WFP to further cut food assistance to Syrian refugees.” The Jordan Times.
The Jordan News, 2015: n. pag. Web. 9 December 2015. <http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/funding-shortfall-
forcing-wfp-further-cut-food-assistance-syrian-refugees>
xvii The Jordan Times. “About us.” The Jordan Times. The Jordan News, 2015. Web. 9 December 2015.
<http://www.jordantimes.com/static/about-us>
xviii Freedom House. “Jordan Country Report Freedom of the Press 2015.” Freedom House. Freedom House, 2015.
Web. 10 December 2015. <https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2015/jordan>
xix Programme Alimentaire Mondial. “Communiqués.” Programme Alimentaire Mondial. Programme alimentaire mondial,
2015. Web. 10 December 2015. <http://fr.wfp.org/actualites/communiques>
xx Le Monde. “Faute de moyens, l'ONU suspend son aide alimentaire à 1,7 million de réfugiés syriens.” Le Monde. Le
Monde.fr, 2014: n. pag. Web. 10 December 2015. <http://www.lemonde.fr/proche-orient/article/2014/12/01/le-pam-
suspend-son-aide-alimentaire-a-1-7-million-de-refugies-syriens_4532163_3218.html>
xxi Wordreference.com. Home page. Web. 10 December 2015. <http://www.wordreference.com/>
xxii Linguee.com. Home page. Web. 10 December 2015. <http://www.linguee.com/>
