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Article published In:
Target
Vol. 11:1 (1999) ► pp.103–129

Responsibility with Loyalty

Oral History Texts in Translation

| Binghamton University
In the current trend toward greater reflexivity in scholarship, both translators and oral historians are re-examining their roles as mediators in the process of interpretation and representation. Based on my own interviews with Bulgarian women, I am attempting to develop model translation strategies for oral history narratives using Neubert and Shreve 's textual approach to translation. Guided in my decisions by the potential audience response, my objective is to provide historical information while retaining the emotional ring of the original interview and showcasing the unique features of the individual narrators' voices. Wary of the need to avoid "doing violence" to the people whose stories I recorded, I want to practice enough resistance while translating to complicate the reading process without resorting to subversive tactics.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Conceptual Framework
    • 2.1.Oral History Production
      • 2.1.1.Oral History as Joint-Venture Production
      • 2.1.2.Transcription
    • 2.2.Oral Narrative as Genre
    • 2.3.Textual-Contextual Approach to Translation
    • 2.4.Feminist Perspectives on Oral History and Translation Theory
    • 2.5.The Integrated Translation Situation
  • 3.Translation Strategies
    • 3.1.Focusing on Paralinguistic Elements
      • 3.1.1.Source-Text Excerpt as Transcribed
      • 3.1.2.Translating and Editing for Clarity
      • 3.1.3.Source-Text Excerpt in Poetic Transcription
      • 3.1.4.Translation of Poetic Transcription
    • 3.2.Dealing with Superfluities
      • 3.2.1.Source-Text Excerpt as Transcribed
      • 3.2.2.Translating and Editing for Clarity
      • 3.2.3.Retaining Colloquial Emphatics
    • 3.3.Reconsidering Punctuation
      • 3.3.1.Source-Text Excerpt as Transcribed
      • 3.3.2.Translating and Editing for Clarity
      • 3.3.3.Creating One Sentence
  • 4.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 5 November 1999
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/target.11.1.06ree
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