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Article published In:
Target
Vol. 9:1 (1997) ► pp.1–24

'Acceptability' and Language-Specific Preference in the Distribution of Information

| Humboldt Universität zu Berlin

The paper generalizes upon some basic aspects of acceptability concerning language-specific preferences in the distribution of information in original texts and translations. It is assumed that the pragmatic principle of Optimal Relevance and major grammatical parameters jointly determine language-specific processing conditions for an optimal distribution of information. The claims are illustrated by the German translation of a passage from an English novel, where the preferred translational variants meet different processing conditions in 'right-peripheral' German, as opposed to 'left-peripheral' English. The differences concern word order, including initial and final position in simple and complex sentences, and may have an impact on the semantic readings of formally similar sentence structures, which can require redistribution of information beyond sentence boundaries.

Article outline
  • 1.Acceptability and Applicability—Key Concepts of Translation and Translation Studies
  • 2.Grammar
  • 3.Language Processing
  • 4.Information Structure
  • 5.An Example
  • 6.Complexity
  • 7.Conclusions
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 1 January 1997
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/target.9.1.02doh
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[no author supplied]
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