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The effect of responsibility reframing in translated political news
A reception study
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Abstract
When news texts are translated, their original frames undergo further recontextualization whereby they are reframed to align with the dominant ideologies of the target context. The present study explores whether such reframing in translated news influences readers’ attribution of responsibility in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and whether such effects are conditional on participants’ attitudinal stance toward Russia or Ukraine. In a between-subjects experiment, 421 Chinese university students were randomly assigned to read either a translation that deemphasizes Russia’s responsibility via reframing strategies (Stimulus 1) or a faithful translation preserving the original responsibility framing (Stimulus 2). Participants reported pre- and post-exposure attributions to Russia (5-point scales). Relative to Stimulus 2, responsibility reframing in Stimulus 1 led readers to attribute less responsibility to Russia (about 0.30 points on a 1–5 scale, adjusting for baseline). The effect was conditional on participants’ attitudinal stance toward Russia or Ukraine: negligible among more pro-Ukraine participants, evident around the sample mean, and strongest among more pro-Russia participants. Taken together, the findings raise questions about an imbalance of power relations between the producers and readers of journalistic translations and underscore the importance of critical media literacy to counter the effects of reframing in translated news.
Résumé
Lorsque des textes d’actualité sont traduits, leur cadrage initial fait l’objet d’une recontextualisation supplémentaire, par laquelle ils sont recadrés afin de s’aligner sur les idéologies dominantes du contexte cible. La présente étude examine si ce recadrage dans les actualités traduites influence la manière dont les lecteurs attribuent la responsabilité dans le contexte du conflit russo-ukrainien et si ces effets dépendent de la position attitudinale des participants à l’égard de la Russie ou de l’Ukraine. Dans une expérience en plan inter-sujets, 421 étudiants universitaires chinois ont été assignés aléatoirement à la lecture soit d’une traduction qui atténue la responsabilité de la Russie au moyen de stratégies de recadrage (Stimulus 1), soit d’une traduction fidèle préservant le cadrage initial de la responsabilité (Stimulus 2). Les participants ont indiqué, avant et après l’exposition, leurs attributions de responsabilité envers la Russie (échelles à cinq points). Par rapport au Stimulus 2, le recadrage de la responsabilité dans le Stimulus 1 a conduit les lecteurs à attribuer moins de responsabilité à la Russie (d’environ 0,30 point sur une échelle de 1 à 5, en contrôlant le score de base [prétest]). L’effet dépendait de la position attitudinale des participants à l’égard de la Russie ou de l’Ukraine : négligeable chez les participants plus pro-Ukraine, perceptible autour de la moyenne de l’échantillon, et maximal chez les participants plus pro-Russie. Dans l’ensemble, ces résultats soulèvent des questions quant à un déséquilibre des rapports de pouvoir entre les producteurs et les lecteurs des traductions journalistiques et soulignent l’importance d’une littératie médiatique critique pour contrer les effets du recadrage dans les articles d’actualité traduits.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Related research
- 2.1“Responsibility” reframing in translated news
- 2.2Effects of responsibility framing in news
- 3.Research design and hypotheses
- 4.Methods
- 4.1Stimuli
- 4.2Measures
- 4.3Procedure and participants
- 4.4Data analysis
- 5.Results
- 5.1Baseline comparability
- 5.2The main effect of responsibility reframing on attribution to Russia (H1)
- 5.3The moderating role of participants’ attitudinal stance (H2)
- 6.Discussion and conclusions
- Author queries
References
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