Translation and the Reader: a Survey of British Book Group Members’ Attitudes Towards Translation
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This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. Translation and the Reader: A Survey of British Book Group Members’ Attitudes towards Translation Catherine Campbell PhD University of Edinburgh Department of Translation Studies 2015 DECLARATION This is to certify that that the work contained within has been composed by me and is entirely my own work. No part of this thesis has been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification. Signed: Catherine Campbell 19th August 2015 ABSTRACT In commercial book translation, the reader is the end-user of the translated text; it is for his or her benefit that the translation has been produced, and it is the reading public whose money ultimately goes towards paying the translator‘s wages. Nonetheless, in Translation Studies, far more attention has been paid to the processes of translation or the finished translation product (see Saldanha and O‘Brien 2013) than to the users of such products, with reader-based studies few and far between. For this reason, there is little empirical evidence that the ‗effects‘ and ‗meanings‘ discussed by scholars in analyses of translated texts have any meaningful existence in actual reading situations, while the opinions and preferences of readers with regards to translation are virtually unknown (Leppihalme 1997; Kruger 2013). The present thesis therefore takes a first step in examining the attitudes of non- professional readers (that is, readers who are reading for pleasure rather than for criticism or analytical purposes) to translated books. The project reports on members of book groups in four UK cities, whose thoughts and opinions regarding translated texts, the act of translation and the role of translators were gathered using a written questionnaire and a series of interviews. Thus, the study combines a Descriptive Translation Studies approach with survey research. The results of this survey suggest that many readers have limited knowledge about what translation involves, as well as a certain ambivalence towards the finer details of the translation process. In addition, although they reveal a vigorous interest in considering and discussing linguistic, cultural and translation-related issues, readers‘ primary concern when presented with a text, whether translated or not, is the immediate reading experience. It is hoped that these findings will be useful in informing future approaches to the creation and dissemination of translated books to the British reading public. i TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................. i TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................... ii LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................ vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................... 1 1.1 OPENING REMARKS .................................................................................................. 1 1.2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: DESCRIPTIVE TRANSLATION STUDIES .. 2 1.2.1 Target-oriented research ................................................................................ 2 1.2.2 The descriptive element and objectivity ................................................... 4 1.2.3 Defining ‘translation’ within the descriptive approach ........................ 6 1.2.4 What is a ‘translated book’? .......................................................................... 8 1.2.5 Towards an applicable Translation Studies ............................................. 9 1.3 WHY A READER SURVEY? ..................................................................................... 12 1.3.1 Reader research in Translation Studies .................................................. 12 1.3.2 The value of reader-based studies ........................................................... 13 1.3.3 The present study ............................................................................................ 14 1.4 TRANSLATION IN THE UK ..................................................................................... 15 1.4.1 Statistics on translation in the UK............................................................. 16 1.4.2 The UK publishing industry in context ..................................................... 19 1.5 AIMS AND THESIS STRUCTURE ......................................................................... 21 1.5.1 Aims and research questions ...................................................................... 21 1.5.2 Thesis structure ................................................................................................ 22 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................... 24 2.1 OPENING REMARKS ................................................................................................ 24 2.2 METHODS OF STUDYING THE READER ........................................................... 24 2.2.1 Research on text reception .......................................................................... 24 2.2.2 Experimental reader-response research ................................................. 26 2.2.3 Experimental consumer research .............................................................. 27 2.2.4 Survey research ............................................................................................... 28 2.3 GENERAL PURCHASE FACTORS .......................................................................... 29 2.3.1 Brand .................................................................................................................... 30 2.3.2 Price ...................................................................................................................... 31 2.3.3 Physical features .............................................................................................. 33 2.3.4 Retailer reputation .......................................................................................... 36 2.3.5 Country of origin .............................................................................................. 37 2.4 TEXT-SPECIFIC FACTORS ..................................................................................... 39 2.4.1 Genre .................................................................................................................... 39 2.4.2 Cultural differences ......................................................................................... 42 2.4.3 Fluency ................................................................................................................. 46 2.5 TRANSLATION FACTORS ....................................................................................... 47 2.5.1 Identification of translations ....................................................................... 47 2.5.2 Translator skills ................................................................................................ 49 2.5.3 Translations as status goods ....................................................................... 50 2.5.4 AWARENESS OF TRANSLATIONS .............................................................. 53 2.6 DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS ..................................................................................... 57 ii CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY AND DATA .......................................................... 61 3.1 OPENING REMARKS ................................................................................................ 61 3.2 SURVEY METHODOLOGY AND THE STUDY OF ATTITUDES ..................... 61 3.2.1 Translation Studies and surveys ................................................................ 62 3.2.2 What are attitudes? ........................................................................................ 62 3.2.3 Attitudes towards translation ...................................................................... 63 3.2.4 Status of responses ........................................................................................ 64 3.3 THE PRESENT SURVEY ........................................................................................... 65 3.3.1 Self-administered questionnaires .............................................................. 65 3.3.2 Interviews ........................................................................................................... 67 3.3.3 Integrating questionnaire and interview research .............................. 68 3.3.4 Book group members