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Translating and Representing Citizens' Quotations of The Translating and Representing Citizens’ Quotations of the Syrian Humanitarian Disaster in English-Language Newspapers: A Narrative Approach Fadi Jaber Under the supervision of Marc Charron, Ph.D. Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a doctoral degree in Translation Studies School of Translation and Interpretation Faculty of Arts University of Ottawa © Fadi Jaber, Ottawa, Canada, 2017 Abstract In March 2011, following the self-immolation of a Syrian man named Hasan Ali Akleh, several demonstrations were staged across Syria, leading to the arrest of many Syrians in the town of Deraa. These demonstrations escalated into an ongoing conflict in most cities and towns, known as the “Syrian Conflict” (aka “Syrian Crisis,” “Syrian Civil War,” or “Syrian Uprising”). The conflict has resulted in the worst humanitarian disaster since World War II and the Rwandan genocide. According to recent published reports by many international organizations (e.g. United Nations, Amnesty International, Europa), 11.5% of Syria’s population has been killed or injured since the conflict erupted in March 2011, more than 500,000 people have died, over 5 million refugees have fled Syria since 2011, and there has been massive destruction in Syrian cities and towns. This dissertation draws on narrative theory, narrative features, narrative framing, media responsibility, and the representation of the Other to provide a theoretical and conceptual foundation and fulfill the dissertation’s objectives. To do this, it has established a theoretical and conceptual model of analysis specific to the event in question to investigate how the quotations and narratives of Syrian citizens, delivered as texts presented in translation in English-language newspapers, narrate, frame, and represent the Syrian humanitarian disaster. This dissertation also scrutinizes media responsibility of the selected English-language newspapers as revealed in the selected and translated quotations and narratives. The dissertation methodologically utilizes a qualitative narrative analysis research design, and analyzes a purposive sample of translated quotations and narratives in 404 news texts from the online versions of the three ii following English-language newspapers: the British The Guardian, the American The New York Times, and the Canadian National Post. The findings of this dissertation ultimately encourage a better understanding of the crucial role that translation plays in narrating, framing, and representing humanitarian disasters within global media outlets. Keywords: English-language newspapers, Syrian citizens, media responsibility, narrative theory, narrative features, narrative framing, representation of the Other, Syrian humanitarian disaster, translated narratives, translated quotations iii Résumé En mars 2011, à la suite de l’auto-immolation du Syrien Hasan Ali Akleh, de nombreuses manifestations ont été organisées à travers la Syrie, entraînant l’arrestation de maints citoyens dans la ville de Deraa. Ces manifestations se sont amplifiées au point de donner naissance au conflit qui se poursuit encore aujourd’hui dans la plupart des villes syriennes et qu’on appelle le « conflit syrien » (aussi appelé la « crise en Syrie », la « guerre civile syrienne » ou, encore, la « révolution syrienne »). Ce conflit a provoqué la pire crise humanitaire depuis la Seconde Guerre mondiale et le génocide du Rwanda. Selon les rapports récents de plusieurs organismes internationaux (par ex. l’Organisation des Nations Unies, Amnistie internationale, Europa), 11,5 % de la population syrienne a été tuée ou blessée depuis le début du conflit en mars 2011 (plus de 500 000 sont morts), le nombre de réfugiés qui ont quitté la Syrie excède les 5 millions, et les villes syriennes ont été en grande partie détruites. La présente thèse a recours à la narratologie, dont les notions de « traits narratifs » et de « contexte narratif », ainsi qu’à la notion de « représentation de l’Autre », afin d’établir les fondements conceptuels et théoriques permettant d’atteindre les objectifs visés. Elle propose également un mode d’analyse conceptuelle et théorique spécifique à l’évènement en question afin d’étudier comment les citations et les versions des faits narrés par les citoyens syriens dépeignent, contextualisent et représentent la crise humanitaire en Syrie dans les traductions qui en sont présentées dans les trois journaux anglophones ici à l’étude. La présente thèse se penche également sur la question de la responsabilité de ces mêmes quotidiens, telle que déployée par les citations et versions des faits narrés qui sont sélectionnées et traduites iv dans les divers articles qui forment ici notre corpus. Quant à la méthodologie, la thèse suit un plan de recherche d’analyse narrative qualitative, en se concentrant sur un échantillon de citations et versions des faits narrés par les citoyens syriens ayant été spécifiquement tirées de 404 articles provenant de The Guardian, de The New York Times et du National Post. Plus globalement, les résultats de la présente thèse permettent de mieux comprendre le rôle crucial de la traduction, à laquelle on a inévitablement recours pour dépeindre, contextualiser et représenter les crises humanitaires aujourd’hui dans les médias du monde entier. Mots-clés: presse imprimée anglophone, citoyens syriens, responsabilité des médias, narratologie, traits narratifs, contexte narratif, représentation de l’Autre, crise humanitaire en Syrie, versions des faits narrés traduites, citations traduites v " َو ُقل َّر بِّ ِّز ْدنِّي ِّع ْل ًما ")My Lord! Increase me in knowledge” (20: 114) )02: 111“ Dedicated to … My father and mother, My beloved parents, thank you for your endless love, support, and sacrifice. You educated and enabled me to reach this level. My wonderful wife, None of my success would be possible without your continuous love and support. My white flower, Fatema, I love you from Ottawa to Beirut and back. My daughters, You are God’s gift to me and the fruits of our love. Yasmeen, your tenderness warms my heart. Haneen, your smile defines the meaning of life and tickles my soul. Tasneem, you are our family’s princess. My little girl, Raseel, God sent you as a special angel to shower us with joy and love. My lovely girls, you made me the happiest and successful father ever. The memory of my professor, Dr. Mahmoud Eid, I knew you as a friend, brother, and great teacher who taught me how to be a man of knowledge. Your scientific contributions and achievements will always inspire me and enlighten my academic journey. vi Acknowledgements I am grateful to my supervisor, Dr. Marc Charron for his supervision, insightful advice, support, and encouragement. My appreciation to my examiners Dr. Chantal Gagnon, Dr. Benoit Léger, and Dr. Luise Von Flotow for their valuable comments, constructive criticisms, and suggestions. A special thanks to my examiner Dr. Aliaa Dakroury. Thanks to everyone who supported me to translate my childhood dream into reality! vii Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... vii List of Figures and Tables ............................................................................................... xi Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Preface ............................................................................................................... 1 1.2 The Syrian Conflict and its Humanitarian Disaster: 2011–Present .................. 6 1.3 Research Problem and Objectives .................................................................. 12 1.4 Thesis Overview ............................................................................................. 16 Chapter 2: Theoretical Overview and Model of Analysis ........................................... 19 2.1 News and Translation ..................................................................................... 20 2.2 The Role of Translation is Still Concealed ..................................................... 23 2.3 Media Representation, Media Framing, and News Translation ..................... 34 2.4 Theoretical Foundation ................................................................................... 40 2.4.1 Narrative Theory and Types of Narrative ........................................ 41 2.4.2 Narrative Features ............................................................................ 48 2.4.3 Narrative Framing ............................................................................ 54 2.4.4 Representation of the Other ............................................................. 63 2.4.5 Media Responsibility ....................................................................... 84 2.5 Building the Theoretical and Conceptual Model of Analysis ......................... 95 Chapter 3: Methodological Approaches ..................................................................... 104 3.1 Concepts and Operationalization .................................................................. 104 3.2 Research Design ............................................................................................ 109 3.3 Sampling and Data Collection .....................................................................
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