DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS & MODERN LANGUAGES 2ND INTERNATIONAL - TopicsExpress

DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS & MODERN LANGUAGES 2ND INTERNATIONAL TRANSLATION DAY CELEBRATION 23 SEPTEMBER 2014 PROGRAMME DIRECTOR - MR ERIC MABASO 08:00 – 08:30 Registration 08:30 – 08:45 Welcome – Prof Koliswa Moropa (UNISA) Introduction of guest lecturer – Mrs Amanda Nokele (UNISA) 08:45 – 09:30 Keynote Address: – The Translator as a bridge builder – Dr Sylvia Zulu (DUT) 09:30 – 10:00 Language rights factor in achieving equitable language policy implementation in Higher Education Prof Nathi Ngcobo (UNISA) 10:00 – 10:30 Tea 10:30 – 11:00 Presentation (Prof Inge Kosch UNISA) 11:00 – 11:30 Literature and translation: An alternative tool for learning a foreign culture – Prof Munzhedzi J Mafela (UNISA) 11:30 – 12:00 Upholding linguistic human rights in the „caring‟ professions in South Africa: the role of translation and interpreting Dr Kim Wallmach (Wits) 12:00 – 12:30 Democratising language: access to information through plain language – Dr Eleanor Cornelius (UJ) 12:30 – 13:00 Language directionality: training and the real world – Mr Albertus Barkhuizen (UNISA) & Dr K. Ferreira-Meyers (UNISWA) 13:00 – 14:00 Lunch CHAIR: Prof Rose Masubelele 14:00 – 14:30 You dare not bring the “what do you calls…” into academia for it is an exclusive God-given realm of the English language: The “de-righted” indigenous African languages in South Africa – Dr Mpho Monareng (UJ) 14:30 – 15:00 The translation of a public speech transcript into English: A Case study Dr Riah Mabule (UNISA) 15:00 – 15:30 South African court interpreters caught between Scylla and Charybdis: Who’s in charge? - Mr Samuel Lebese (UNISA) 15:30 – 15:35 Closing Remarks Dr Ketiwe Ndhlovu (UNISA) ABSTRACTS 1. Dr Sylvia Zulu: The translator as a bridge-builder The objective of this paper is to discuss the translator’s indispensable role in ensuring the materialisation of language rights of humans. Used metaphorically, the translator is a bridge-builder as aptly illustrated in the theme of this year’s International Translation Day, Language Rights: Essential to all Human rights. Given the irreversible experience at Babel, translators are deeply involved not only in communication bridge-building, but also in ensuring that language rights of human beings are adhered to. The paper relies on participant observation and desk research to highlight instances of translation. The paper argues that the translator is largely invisible (Venuti 1995) but his/her invisibility does not reduce his/her relevance in or impact on the society. It concludes that the translator’s sacrificial yet powerful position in society is foregrounded as a common human language is eternally banished. Key words: translator, human rights, bridge-builder, invisible, communication 2. Prof Nathi. Ngcobo: Language rights factor in achieving equitable language policy implementation in Higher Education This paper discusses the concept of rights as one of the main factors in language policy implementation. In addition to document analysis, the paper uses primary data from the focus groups and interviews that were conducted in various centres of the University of South Africa (UNISA). The research provides strategic grounds for a better language policy implementation at UNISA. The rationale of the research was to find out why students preferred English. Student involvement and the use of rigorous methodology were required in order to get students‟ views on language preference. The participants in the focus groups and interviews were students who, although they preferred English, strongly voiced out the views of implementing a language policy that is based on human rights. Although, the concept of rights may provide a strong motivation for language policy implementation, the concept may be problematic as it is socio-historically derived. It may be associated with the liberal conceptions of democracy, transformation and development. Reliance on this concept also illuminates a demonstration against the use of former colonial languages as a current standard practice. The results of the study reveal that students seem to prefer language equity while preference for English reflects global communication needs. Key words: Language rights, language policy, language policy implementation, globalization 3. Prof Munzhedzi Mafela: Literature and translation: An alternative tool for learning a foreign culture Increasing mobility and interaction across borders have led to increased linguistic and cultural diversity and the consequent demand for effective intercultural communication, not only in the major world languages but also in those which are less widely spoken (Nelson, 2007). The prevailing situation makes translation an important part of communication. The translation of literature is crucial to cultural interaction between different cultural groups. Through translation of literature, the culture becomes richer and the literary works themselves become more widely known in the world as a whole (Pogadaev, 2005). Many literary texts have been translated into African languages from languages such as English. As a result, Africans have learnt much about western culture. However, translation has taught the West very little about African culture since only a few African texts have been translated into English or other western languages. If more African literary texts were to be translated into English and other western languages, the speakers of these languages might form a better understanding of African culture. The purpose of this article is to highlight the existence of cultural practices in African languages which are totally unknown in languages such as English but which can be learnt through translated texts. 4. Dr Kim. Wallmach: Upholding linguistic human rights in the ‘caring’ professions in South Africa: the role of translation and interpreting Access to healthcare as a result of language and cultural barriers is a problem that countless South Africans face (Pfaff & Couper 2009). In order to achieve the aims set out in South Africa’s National Policy on Quality in Health Care (2007:4), the gap between standards and actual practice must be measured, reduced, and ultimately, eradicated. One of the most obvious gaps in our health service is the failure to ensure that patients and healthcare professionals understand each other. Without successful communication, the provision of quality patient-centred care will always hang in the balance. The language barrier in South African public hospitals has been shown to cause frustration for both medical staff and patients as well as errors in diagnosis and treatment (Schlemmer and Mash 2006; Penn, Watermeyer and Evans 2011), with doctors having to “request more tests, hospitalise patients more often and frequently delay initiation of treatment” as a result (Deumert 2010: 54). Non-compliance and treatment default are also a factor when patients do not understand doctors and therefore neither understand their conditions, nor their treatment options (Deumert 2010:54). The services of ad hoc untrained interpreters (such as relatives, fellow doctors, nurses, cleaners, porters and other patients) are used to bridge communication barriers, since there is no statutory interpreting service in South Africa. However, the use of ad hoc untrained interpreters has been shown to lead to more complications, including breach of patient confidentiality, distortion and/or omission of information (Leanza 2007:11-12; Wallmach 2013). While effective patient-centred communication is of paramount importance for all clinical encounters, this is even more true in certain contexts where proper communication with the patient is vital for treatment, such as cancer care, where the diagnosis can be life threatening, the treatment arduous, and the effect of psychosocial factors on the patient substantial (Kissane et al. 2012; Surbone 2009). Other healthcare contexts which could be designated as „caring‟ professions, where communication is seen as vital for proper patient treatment would include counselling in mental health contexts and the treatment of haemophilia, to mention just a few. In this paper, I investigate several language practices which make use of translation and interpreting in an attempt to uphold patients‟ linguistic human rights within the caring professions. This paper therefore forms part of a larger project to investigate language practices and communication barriers in the caring professions in the Johannesburg area, aiming firstly to evaluate language practices, and secondly to focus on advocating for and facilitating structured change in those language practices which infringe on patients‟ rights. 5. Dr Eleanor. Cornelius: Democratising language: access to information through plain language The complexity of the language used in legal texts denies ordinary citizens access to information. As a direct result, vulnerable members of society are disempowered; they cannot participate in the political and other processes that are the cornerstones of a democracy. Inaccessible language, which is characteristic of power discourses, leads to exclusion and marginalisation on different levels. However, in contemporary South Africa, consumer protection provides a strong impetus for the use of plain language. I argue that the use of plain language, as a form of intralingual translation, can contribute to the democratising of language and access to information. Alternative plain language textualisations of complex texts have as their primary readership ordinary citizens and not highly educated people with sophisticated reading skills. I investigate the issues of text simplification and audience design. I also warn that, although South Africa has progressive plain language laws, there is a need to align language policy and plain language policy. By ignoring the multilingual and multicultural landscape, plain language policy seems to equate plain language with plain English. This begs the question: are some languages less equal than others? I contend that all languages are equally worthy and in need of new registers that are closer to vulnerable citizens primary discourses. In this, the plain language practitioner as intralingual translator has an important role to play; through this, the ordinary citizen becomes powerful. 6. Mr. Albertus. Barkhuizen & Dr. K. Ferreira-Meyers: Language directionality: training and the real world Interpreting training in many South African universities is primarily based on European training methods. Using these European doctrines in training is perhaps not wrong, as some of the world’s most prestigious interpreting schools hail from Western Europe (Lederer & Seleskovitch, 2002; Gile, 2005), but is this truly right for the multilingual South African market? These doctrines insist mainly on a B>A language direction (with A seemingly synonymous with the interpreter’s mother tongue) – a direction that is often ignored in the field and especially in the Southern African professional world. In South Africa, a country where the majority of the population speaks at least two of the 11 official languages, the issue of language directionality in interpreting is not given much thought. It appears that the Southern African job market has the final say and often requires the interpreter to be bi-directional in his/her work, with a tendency to demand that interpreters work into their B languages where these B languages are scarcely available (minority South African languages and other world language such as French and Portuguese). Also, the lack of institutionalised governance in this issue adds to an extremely competitive job market seeing that interpreters who are ready for the required bi-directionality easily dominate the domain. Student-interpreters in South Africa face various difficulties in their training for the bi-directional job market, the biggest challenge being the misunderstanding of language (bi-) directionality in conference interpreting. What steps can and should be taken in order to ensure better market readiness from new graduates? In this study, the researchers will approach the field from a theoretical point of view before analysing the results of a questionnaire. The questionnaire was given to a group of interpreters, selected on the basis that they worked at least twice as interpreters in South Africa since 2012. By limiting the study to two years the results should be concrete and representative of the current situation regarding interpreting and language directionality within the professional domain in South Africa. Recommendations regarding the training of interpreters will conclude the presentation. 7. Dr Mpho. Monareng: You dare not bring the “what do you calls…” into academia for it is an exclusive God-given realm of the English language: The “de-righted” indigenous African languages in South Africa Laudable as the multilingual language policies adopted by some of the South African Institutions of Higher Education are, inherent within policy implementation is a solid bedrock of the linguicism that perpetuates the English language imperialism (and to certain extent Afrikaans) at the expense of the indigenous South African languages. There is however a paucity of a comprehensive account of language practices and directions at institutions of higher learning since the dawn of the new political dispensation that began in 1994. In this paper I critically examine how the current policy practices in institutions of higher learning have inherited discriminatory attitudes since 2006. I compare and contrast policy preferences and practices at several universities and assess governmental policy documents on multilingual to highlight patterns of unilingual dominant grand narrative. The results of the study show that African languages are negatively portrayed both in policy and practice through condescending attitudes encapsulated in the phrase, “What you calls”. I therefore argue that South African multilingualism at universities is not feasible under the present policy pretext, which gives room for avoidance. Instead, a genuine commitment to the national multilingual agenda that gives African languages value in academia is attainable if the mainstays of the exclusivity paradigm is removed from the both the Governmental and Higher Education’s verbal and practical expressions. Recommendations for policy implementations and further research on higher education multilingualism are highlighted at the end of the paper. 8. Dr Riah. Mabule: The translation of a public speech transcript into English: A Case study The purpose of this article is to outline issues involved in the translation of a public speech transcript into English and to analyse methods and strategies employed in the translation of this particular transcript. Translation theories of equivalence and the choices made in transcription link the transcript to the context in which it is intended to be read. Embedded in the details of transcription are indications of purpose, audience, and the position of the transcriber towards the text. The article will also examine how transcription is defined and understood, how transcription is conducted, how transcription is reported and how transcription is translated in this case into English. The analysis will indicate the complexity of equivalence as well as the choices of what to transcribe in cases where the transcriber is faced with nonverbal speech acts such as gestures, gaze, frown, etc. Key words: transcription, translation, multimedial texts, multimodal texts, multisemiotic texts and audiomedial texts. 9. Mr Sam. Lebese: South African court interpreters caught between Scylla and Charybdis: Who‟s in charge? The success of courtroom interpreting as a profession lies in the hands of the service provider, who must give support and nurture the profession and to develop it for the benefit of its citizens in the administration of justice. Countries like Denmark, took measures in ensuring that support is given to the profession. This was done through the “Danish Administration of Justice Act” which was passed in 1919 and which led to recognition of court interpreting as a profession (Nicholson & Martinsen 1995). In South Africa, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development is the service provider because it is the employer of court interpreters. This department has shown no interest or if any, very little, in taking the responsibility of addressing issues pertaining to court interpreters. Instead, it shifted its responsibility of addressing interpreting issues to the judges and magistrates. These court officials are neither linguists nor trained court interpreters. As a result, they do not have knowledge on issues pertaining to processes involved in interpreting. This limitation places them in no position to deal with court interpreting issues. Judges and Magistrates can only ensure that court interpreters perform their duties accurately, fairly and ethically (Grabau & Gibbons 1995). The problem we are facing is that court interpreters find themselves caught between the Scylla and the Charybdis, as it is not clear as to who must take charge and guide them in respect of their duty. The study argues that the employer’s dereliction of its responsibility on court interpreting issues impacts negatively on the administration of justice in the country. Key words: court interpreters, employer responsibility, judges and magistrates, legislation