Different Preferences in Strategies

Analyses of the participants’ translations of Text 1 revealed different preferences in strategies.

It should be noted that due to technical problems, some of the participants have to resort to English punctuation (e.g. “,” and “.”) instead of using the proper Chinese punctuation (e.g.

“，” and “。”) during the drafting phase when the interface is Translog.

1. Delaying the response/(Skipping the message and translating it later). While both

of the translators and the interpreters in the present experiment produced already more or less complete translation in their drafts, the interpreters relatively adopted this strategy more.

Below is an example comparing Participants 015 (translator) and 031 (interpreter) (see Table

35). (NOTE: those marked in grey background are translators.)

In the drafting phase, Participant 031 skipped more information in his/her drafting phase than Participant 015 did. Specifically, while the former skipped information such as “from a book I read a long time ago” and “simply,” the latter only skipped “simply” in the drafting phase.

In the revising phase, although Participant 031 added “from a book I read” and “simply”

in his translation, “a long time ago” is still nowhere to be seen. Presumably, s/he did not explicitly translate it because it is not important information.

It should be noted that “simply” is actually implied in the context and hence many of the participants did not explicitly translate it. Such a translation choice, in fact, comes from the

strategy of “Omitting the content of a speech segment/Partical tranon, omission,” which we will discuss later.

Table 35. Comparing Translations of Participants 031 and 015

Participant

Text (including typos)

Original Text

A willingness to care for others—and to show that caring attitude—is very important. Even now I still carry around a quote from a book I read a long time ago. It says, simply, “if you care, you are there.”

Draft 015 真心在乎他人，以及透過行動展現你有多在乎，這兩點非常重

要。即便現在，我仍會隨時將一段文字帶在身邊，這句話是我很久以前在一本書中讀到的：「如果你真心在乎，你人就會在出現在那裡。」

031 願意關心他人－－而且展現出關心的樣子非常的重要。至今我

總是隨身攜帶著一則佳句：簡單來說就是：如果你關懷，你就成功了。

Revision 015 真心在乎他人，以及透過行動展現你有多在乎，兩者都極為重

要。即便現在，我仍然隨身攜帶一段文字，這句簡簡單單的話是我很久以前在一本書中讀到的：「如果你真心在乎，你人就會在那裡。」

031 願意關心他人，而且「表現」出關心非常的重要。至今我總是

隨身攜帶著一則佳句，出自我以前讀過的一本書；簡單來說就是：如果你關心，你就成功了。

2. Consulting documents readily accessible/(Researching for information, such as consulting reference books, doing online research, etc.). The design of the experiment

forbade any access to external resources and hence this strategy is not possible during the process.

3. Replacing a segment with a superordinate term or a more general speech segment/Abstraction change. The interpreters seemed to adopt it more than the translators.

Below is an example comparing Participants 002 (translator) and 026 (interpreter) (see

Table 36).

Compared to the translator’s translation, the interpreter’ version seems less concrete and detailed. For instance, “know all the main things they need to know” is translated by the former as “掌握了所有必須的知識” (literally “have grabbed all the necessary knowledge”) and the latter simply as “都懂了” (literally “know it all”). Also, “cling to their beliefs and remain certain in their assumptions” is translated respectively as “緊抓著信念不放，對於個人成見也毫不質疑” (literally “tightly grabbing [their] beliefs and would not let go, and their own preconceptions are not questioned [by themselves]”) and “堅持己見” (literally “strongly holding one’s own views”).

Table 36. Comparing Translations of Participants 002 and 026

Participant

Text (including typos)

Original Text

A possible explanation is that some people are so lazy they assume that they know all the main things they need to know and they do not bother to ask more. They cling to their beliefs and remain certain in their assumptions – yet they often end up looking foolish.

Draft 002 原因可能是，有些人很懶惰，自以為掌握了所有必須的知識，

因此完全不想發問。這些人緊抓著信念不放，對於個人成見也毫不質疑，然而，這樣往往讓自己顯得很愚蠢。

026 有些人可能是懶得思考所以以為自己都懂了，所以也不需要問

問題；他們堅持己見，因此也常顯得愚蠢。

Revision 002 原因可能是，有些人很懶惰，自以為掌握了所有必須的知識，

因此完全不想發問。這些人緊抓著個人信念不放，對於既有成見也毫不質疑，然而，這樣往往讓自己顯得很愚蠢。

026 有些人可能是懶得思考所以以為自己都懂了，所以也不需要問

問題；這些人堅持己見，也因此常顯得愚蠢無知。

4. Explaining or paraphrasing/Paraphrase. The interpreters seem to adopt more of

this strategy than the translators. Below is an example comparing Participants 020 (translators) and 004 (interpreter) (see

Table 37).

While the phrase “ask questions” appears twice in the source text, as in “asking deep questions” and “ask the deep questions,” the two participants translate it differently.

In the drafting phase, the translator translated them as “問深入的問題” (literally “ask deep/in-depth questions”) and “問深度的問題.” In contrast, the interpreter translated them as

“追尋…[意義]” (literally “search for [the meaning of]”) and “提出深入問題” (literally

“propose deep/in-depth questions”).

In the revising phase, the translator did not change his/her translation while the interpreter changed “提出深入問題” (“propose deep-in-depth questions”) to “深入思考”

(“deep/in-depth thinking”).

In other words, the interpreter explained/paraphrased “ask questions” as “search for [the meaning of]” and “deep/in-depth thinking.”

Table 37. Comparing Translations of Participants 020 and 004

Participant

Text (including typos)

Original Text

The great philosophers spend their whole lives asking deep questions about the meaning of life, morality, truth and so on. We do not have to be quite so contemplative, but we should nonetheless ask the deep questions about the situations we face. It is the best way to get the information we need to make informed decisions.

Draft 020 偉大的哲學家一輩子都在問深入的問題，希望追尋生命的意義

以及道德真理等等。我們不需要像他們一樣做這麼深層的省思，但我們面對事情時，也應該問深度的問題。我們需要資訊才能做出最適當的選擇，而問問題就是得到資訊最好的方式。

004 偉大的哲學家窮畢生之力追尋生命、道德、真理等等的意義。

我們不需和他們一樣陷入長考，但也應對於眼前的境況提出深入問題，這是在決策時獲得所需資訊的絕佳方法。

Revision 020 偉大的哲學家一輩子都在問深入的問題，希望追尋生命的意義

以及道德真理等等。我們不需要像他們一樣做這麼深層的省思，但我們面對事情時，也應該問深度的問題。

004 偉大的哲學家窮畢生之力追尋生命、道德、真理等等的意義。

我們不需和他們一樣陷入長考，但也應對眼前的境況深入思考，這是在決策時獲得所需資訊的最佳方法。

5. Reproducing the sound heard in the source-language speech/(Leaving it as it is and translating it later). This strategy seems rare in the participants’ drafts and revisions

presumably because it is easy to find corresponding translations for simple texts like the source texts. In fact, the only indication of this strategy occurred in the draft of Participant 025 (interpreter). Below is an example comparing Participants 009 (translator) and 025 (interpreter) (see Table 38).

While the interpreter has left “Nor should they be” as it is in his/her draft and revised it later, the translator translated it even in the drafting phase.

Table 38. Comparing Translations of Participants 009 and 025

Participant

Text (including typos)

Original Text

I am not speaking of false caring, or a situation where a person pretends to care about you so she can get something from you. An individual might be able to bluff for a while, but, in any meaningful, long-term relationship, such inbecausere behavior will be discovered—and the consequences won’t be pretty. Nor should they be.

Draft 009 我說的不是虛假的問候，或是對你有所求者的獻殷勤。一個人

或許能夠裝模作樣一陣子，但在有意義的長期關係中，這種不誠懇的行為終將露出馬腳，當然也就不會有什麼好結果。

025 我談的並不是虛情假意的關心，或是假惺惺的關心他人，以便

從中得好處。一時的假裝很容易。但是在長久、誠心誠意的關係之中，這種不誠懇的行為一定會被識破，而且結果通常不會太樂觀。Nor should they be.

Revision 009 我說的不是虛假的問候，或是對你有所求者獻上的殷懃。一個人或許能夠裝模作樣一陣子，但在有意義的長期關係中，這種不真誠的行為終將露出破綻，當然也就不會有什麼好下場。

025 我所談的關心，並不是指裝模做樣的關心，也不是指虛情假意

關心他人，以便從對方身上獲得好處。假裝一時很容易，但是在一段長久、真誠的關係中，這種假惺惺的態度一定會被識破。

假惺惺的人往往不會有好下場，甚至可以說是活該。

6. “Instant naturalization”/Loan, calque. Because this is mainly observed between

languages that are morphologically similar or have a lot of borrowings, the researcher did not find examples that correspond to this strategy. However, the researcher believes that it can be observed in language pairs such as Chinese-Japanese.

7. Transcoding/Loan, calque. The researcher did not find specific examples for this

strategy in the participants’ drafts and revisions presumably because the source texts consist of easy-to-understand contents with a simple vocabulary, and hence the participants did not have to resort to this strategy.

8. Form-based interpreting/Literal translation. Overall, both groups of the

participants used a lot of this strategy, i.e. their translations largely follow the order of words in the source texts, but the interpreters adopted more of this strategy than the translators did.

Below is an example comparing Participants 015 (translator) and 019 (interpreter) (see Table 39).

In contrast to Participant 015’s translation, Participant 019’s draft followed the source text’s structure very closely, such as “真心的關心他人” (literally “true-heartedly care for other people”) for “from a true sense of concern for others.” “以獲取個人利益” (literally “to

gain personal benefits”), the translation of “in search of personal gains,” is also placed at the very end of the sentence as the source text did.

Table 39. Comparing Translations of Participants 015 and 019

Participant

Text (including typos)

Original Text

Caring is something that should flow honestly from the heart, from a true sense of concern for others, not from the head, where one puts forth a robotic, intellectual effort to fake caring in search of personal gain.

Draft 015 在乎他人，應該是種真誠出自內心的感覺，是對於他人的真正

關懷。這種感覺絕非出於你的頭腦，因為頭腦只會產生出機械式、只為私利、虛情假意的在乎。

019 關心應自內心油然而生，是真心的關心他人。關懷不該發自頭

腦，用機械性或算計來假裝關心，以獲取個人利益。

Revision 015 在乎他人，應該是種真誠出自內心的感覺，是對於他人的真正

關懷。這種感覺絕非從你的頭腦得出，因為頭腦產生的是機械死板、精心算計、只為獲得私利的假在乎。

019 關心應發自內心，真誠的為他人著想，而不是發自頭腦，用機

械性的做法或縝密思考來假意關心，好獲取個人利益。

9. Referring delegates to another information source /Visibility changes (notes,

glasses, etc.). The researcher did not find any specific example that suggests the adoption of

this strategy, presumably because both pieces of the source text do not pose particular untranslatability that might need this strategy.

10. Omitting the content of a speech segment/Partial translation. This is observed in

many participants’ translations. Many of the participants did not explicitly translate certain information of the source texts, presumably because it was largely implied already. An example is the comparison between Participant 015 (translator) and 031 (interpreter) illustrated in the strategy of 1. Delaying the response/Skipping the message and translating it

later.

While not specifically listed in Gile’s interpreting tactics, the interpreters also showed obvious preferences in certain translation strategies proposed by Chesterman as well as strategies that have never been mentioned by any previous scholar.

1. Use spoken expressions as long as they are acceptable. On the one hand, a spoken

style of writing fits in certain genres of texts, such as books meant for general readers; in fact, some editors might prefer translations of a down-to-earth tone in order to draw readers closer to the content of the book. On the other hand, the spoken modality is probably more intuitive and can be produced faster in the first place.

It should not be a surprise that the interpreters tended to use more spoken expressions even when they are doing written translation. Although some of the interpreters stressed the importance to use expression that suited the writing style better, they admitted that their translations still seemed to lean more towards the spoken language side instead of the writing one.

Gile’s Gravitational Model also points out that interpreters should try to use simple words and constructions because they are “more available” (Gile, 2009, p. 238). It is possible that interpreters use more spoken expressions in written translation because these expressions, as opposed to written-style ones, are more available to interpreters. It is possible that

interpreters tend to use a vocabulary suitable for both spoken and written modalities, and hence save their time and cognitive capacity.

Participant 019, for instance, mentioned that many genres of texts, especially informative texts such as documents, could be translated with rather spoken expressions.

Below is an example comparing the translations of Participants 006 (translator) and 022 (interpreter). It is obvious that Participant 006 preferred more literary expressions such as “發問,” “是學習良方,” and “無所不知.” In contrast, Participant 022’s translation is more spoken in style, which is evident in his/her expressions such as “提出問題,” “對於學習有這麼大的幫助,” and “通通明白” (see Table 40).

Table 40. Comparing Translations of Participants 006 and 022

Participant ID Text (including typos)

Original Text

If it is obvious that asking questions is such a powerful way of learning, why do we stop asking questions? A possible explanation is that some people are so lazy they assume that they know all the main things they need to know and they do not bother to ask more.

Draft 006 既然發問是學習良方，為何我們停止發問了呢？有一種可能是，某些人過於怠惰，以

為自己無所不知，無須再發問。

022 既然提出問題對於學習有這麼大的幫助，為什麼我們不再問問題了呢？有一個原因是

大家變懶惰了，以為重要的事情，自己已經通通明白，所以不用再費神問問題了。

Revision 006 既然發問是學習良方，為何我們停止發問了呢？有一種可能是，某些人過於怠惰，認

為自己無所不知，用不著費心思提問。

022 既然提出問題對於學習有這麼大的幫助，為什麼我們不再問問題了呢？有一個原因是

大家變懶惰了。我們以為重要的事情，自己已經通通明白，所以不用再費神問問題了。

2. Revise less and pay less attention to the beautiful language. When speaking rather

than writing, people “typically settle on the first words that occur to them” (Chafe &

Danielewicz, 1987). In others words, speakers/interpreters do not tend to spend much time

在文檔中筆譯速度與策略分析：口譯員vs.筆譯員 (頁 104-120)