Cover not available
Article published In:
Discourse Analysis in Translation Studies
Edited by Jeremy Munday and Meifang Zhang
[Target 27:3] 2015
► pp. 406–421

Engagement and graduation resources as markers of translator/interpreter positioning

| University of Leeds
This article examines the application of appraisal theory (Martin and White 2005) to the analysis of translation. It develops the findings in Munday (2012), which focused on attitudinal meanings, and explores the potential for the use of engagement resources and graduation as a means of determining translator/interpreter positioning. Using a range of examples from texts of international organizations, it discusses the translation of reporting verbs and intensification as a signal of the translator’s/interpreter’s degree of ‘investment’ in a proposition and control over the text receiver’s response. This is framed within the concept of ‘discourse space theory’ (Chilton 2004) to provide a reference for future work in this field.
Keywords: discourse analysis, translation, evaluation, appraisal theory, reporting verbs, translator positioning
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Systemic functional linguistics and appraisal theory
    • 2.1Engagement
    • 2.2Reporting verbs
  • 3.Deictic positioning
  • 4.Graduation
  • 5.Concluding remarks
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 22 October 2015
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/target.27.3.05mun
References (27)
References
Alba-Juez, Laura, and Geoff Thompson. 2014. “The Many Faces and Phases of Evaluation.” In Evaluation in Context, ed. by Laura Alba-Juez and Geoff Thompson, 3–24. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ardekani, Mohammed Ali Mokhtari. 2002. “The Translation of Reporting Verbs in English and Persian.” Babel 48 (2): 125–134. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Assis Rosa, Alexandra. 2009. “Narrator Profile in Translation: Work-in-Progress for a Semi-automatic Analysis of Narratorial Dialogistic and Attitudinal Positioning in Translation Fiction.” Linguistica Antverpiensia New Series 71: 227–248.Google Scholar
. 2013. “The Power of Voice in Translated Fiction, or Following a Linguistic Track in Descriptive Translation Studies.” In Tracks and Treks in Translation Studies, ed. by Catherine Way, Sonia Vandepitte, Reine Meylaerts, and Magdalena Bartłomiejczyk, 223–245. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Calzada Pérez, María. 2007. Transitivity in Translating: The Interdependence of Texture and Context. Oxford: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Chilton, Paul. 2004. Analysing Political Discourse: Theory and Practice. London: Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Collins Spanish Dictionary. 2009. 9th ed. Glasgow: HarperCollins.Google Scholar
Fairclough, Norman. 2001. Language and Power. 2nd ed. London: Longman.Google Scholar
Halliday, M.A.K. 1978. Language as Social Semiotic: The Social Interpretation of Language and Meaning. London: Arnold.Google Scholar
Halliday, M.A.K., and Christian Matthiessen. 2004. An Introduction to Functional Grammar. 3rd ed. London: Arnold.Google Scholar
Hermans, Theo. 2014. “Positioning Translators: Voices, Views, and Values.” Language and Literature 23 (3): 285–301. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hunston, Susan. 2011. Corpus Approaches to Evaluation: Phraseology and Evaluative Language. Abingdon: Routledge.Google Scholar
Hunston, Susan, and Geoff Thompson, eds. 2000. Evaluation in Text: Authorial Stance and the Construction of Discourse. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Hyland, Ken. 2004. Disciplinary Discourses: Social Interactions in Academic Writing. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan.Google Scholar
. 2005. Metadiscourse: Exploring Interaction in Writing. London: Continuum.Google Scholar
Martin, J.R. 2000. “Beyond Exchange: Appraisal Systems in English.” In Evaluation in Text, ed. by Susan Hunston and Geoff Thompson, 142–175. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Martin, J.R., and Peter R.R. White. 2005. The Language of Evaluation: Appraisal in English. London: Palgrave. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Munday, Jeremy, ed. 2007. Translation as Intervention. London: Continuum.Google Scholar
. 2012. Evaluation in Translation: Critical Points of Translator Decision-making. Abingdon: Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
O’Grady, Gerard. 2013. “Introduction.” In Choice in Language: Applications in Text Analysis, ed. by Gerard O’Grady, Tom Bartlett, and Lisa Fontaine, 1–28. Sheffield: Equinox.Google Scholar
Oxford Spanish Dictionary. 2003. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Pym, Anthony. 2015. “Translation as Risk Management.” [URL]
Qian, Hong. 2012. “Investigating Translators’ Positioning via the Appraisal Theory: A Case Study of the Q&A Part of a Speech Delivered by the U.S. Vice President Cheney.” Sino-US English Teaching 9 (12): 1775–1787.Google Scholar
Stockwell, Peter. 2002. Cognitive Poetics: An Introduction. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Thompson, Geoff, and Ye Yiyun. 1991. “Evaluation in Reporting Verbs Used in Academic Papers.” Applied Linguistics 12 (4): 365–382. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Vandepitte, Sonia, Liselotte Vandenbussche, and Brecht Algoet. 2011. “Travelling Certainties: Darwin’s Doubts and Their Dutch Translations.” The Translator 17 (2): 275–299. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Winters, Marion. 2007. “F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Die Schönen und Verdammten: A Corpus-based Study of Speech-act Report Verbs as a Feature of Translators’ Style.” Meta 52 (3): 412–425.   DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by (14)

Cited by 14 other publications

Xu, Jun & Yuxiao Liang
2023. Negotiating intersubjectivity by interpersonal and appraisal shifts in Chinese-English government press conference interpreting. Frontiers in Psychology 14 DOI logo
Chen, Shukun, Winfred Wenhui Xuan & Hailing Yu
2022. Applying systemic functional linguistics in translation studies. Babel. Revue internationale de la traduction / International Journal of Translation 68:4 ► pp. 517 ff. DOI logo
Liu, Qi Yuan, Lay Hoon Ang, Moniza Waheed & Zalina Mohd Kasim
2022. Appraisal Theory in Translation Studies—A Systematic Literature Review. Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities 30:4 DOI logo
Liu, Qi Yuan, Lay Hoon Ang, Moniza Waheed & Zalina Mohd Kasim
2022. Appraisal Theory in Translation Studies—A Systematic Literature Review. Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities 30:4 ► pp. 1589 ff. DOI logo
Zhao, Minru & Dechao Li
2022. Translator positioning in characterisation: a corpus-based study of English translations ofLuotuo Xiangzi. Perspectives 30:6 ► pp. 1074 ff. DOI logo
Li, Tao & Kaibao Hu
2021. Translation Patterns of Appraisal Epithets and Variations of Stance. In Reappraising Self and Others [Corpora and Intercultural Studies, 6], ► pp. 121 ff. DOI logo
Li, Xin & Ranran Zhang
2021. The diplomatic interpreter’s negotiation of power and solidarity through engagement choices: A case study of the Chinese Foreign Minister’s 2018 press conference. Discourse, Context & Media 39 ► pp. 100459 ff. DOI logo
Farnia, Maryam, Masoud Saeedi & Zahra Ataei
2020. A Cross-disciplinary Study on Evaluative Strategies in Research Articles Conclusion Sections. International Journal of Research in English Education 5:1 ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Kamyanets, Angela
2020. Evaluation in translation: a case study of Ukrainian opinion articles. Perspectives 28:3 ► pp. 393 ff. DOI logo
Schäffner, Christina
2019. Translation and Discourse Analysis. Slovo.ru: Baltic accent 10:3 ► pp. 28 ff. DOI logo
Li, Tao & Fang Xu
2018. Re-appraising self and other in the English translation of contemporary Chinese political discourse. Discourse, Context & Media 25 ► pp. 106 ff. DOI logo
Manfredi, Marina
2018. Investigating ideology in news features translated for two Italian media. Across Languages and Cultures 19:2 ► pp. 185 ff. DOI logo
Munday, Jeremy
2018. A model of appraisal: Spanish interpretations of President Trump’s inaugural address 2017. Perspectives 26:2 ► pp. 180 ff. DOI logo
Xin, Li
2018. Mediation through modality shifts in Chinese-English government press conference interpreting. Babel. Revue internationale de la traduction / International Journal of Translation 64:2 ► pp. 269 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 10 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.