Translation Studies
Research Seminar Series 2020-21
Speaker: Dr Mavis Ho, University of Edinburgh
Title: Transcreation in marketing texts: achieving persuasion in optional shifts
Date: October 21, 2020
Time: 4-5 pm
Venue: on Collaborate Learn (through TS Bulletin Board) OR Guest Link: https://eu.bbcollab.com/guest/33d999b2dce2484daa39e08101f798eb
Abstract:
While the notion that transcreation is a type of translation is widely acknowledged in academia (Tymoczko, 2005; Bernal-Merino, 2006; Munday and Gambier, 2014; Gambier, 2016; Katan, 2016), what is ‘creation’ in transcreation is under-researched. This presentation demonstrates that optional shifts: shifts made to achieve intended effects in translation (Calzada Pérez, 2007) are the feature that makes a translation creative, i.e., transcreation. In this presentation, translations of English marketing texts into Chinese are taken as a case of transcreation and how persuasion, the intended effect in marketing texts, is achieved through optional shifts is examined. The optional shifts of persuasion are identified in the form of evaluative epithets using Martin and White’s (2005) Appraisal framework, a model of Systemic Functional linguistics. A parallel corpus of English marketing texts (17,268 words) and Chinese translation (19,103 words) is analysed and presented in selected examples. With these examples, I would like to argue that 1) albeit sharing the same intended effect, persuasion in the Chinese translation is more noticeable, forceful and emotive and 2) what is to be transcreated or what is not can be systematically identified.
Bio note:
Mavis Ho is a Lecturer in Translation and Intepreting Studies at the University of Edinburgh. She currently studies translation phenomena of transcreation and translation technology such as Machine Translation with Post-editing (MTPE). She is a member of the Target Online Multilingual Advisory Board, where she reviews and produces Chinese translations for this journal. She has been an active practitioner in translation and interpreting since 2013, specialises in conference interpreting (simultaneous and consecutive), court interpreting, business liaison interpreting and marketing transcreation.