Political Discourse Analysis from the point of view of Translation Studies

Abstract

Political discourse very often relies on translation. Political Discourse Analysis (PDA), however, has not yet taken full account of the phenomenon of translation. This paper argues that the disciplines of Translation Studies (TS) and PDA can benefit from closer cooperation. It starts by presenting examples of authentic translations of political texts, commenting on them from the point of view of TS. These examples concern political effects caused by specific translation solutions; the processes by which information is transferred via translation to another culture; and the structure and function of equally valid texts in their respective cultures. After a brief survey of the discipline of Translation Studies, the paper concludes with outlining scope for interdisciplinary cooperation between PDA and TS. This is illustrated with reference to an awareness of product features, multilingual texts, process analysis, and the politics of translation.

Applying Critical Discourse Analysis in Translation of Political Speeches and Interviews

“…in this thesis the materials for the analysis were both some political interviews and some political speeches. The integration of the CDA model in the translation process was based on the earlier considerations within TS by such CDA/TS scholars as Basil Hatim and Ian Mason (1990;), Christina Schäffner (19972002;2004), Robert S. Valdeón (2007), etc. The framework created in this thesis may be considered as an optional supplementary tool or a set of guidelines for the ST and TT analysis during the process of translation of highly culture-bound political texts which display significant power and ideological struggle between the interlocutors of the communicative act.…”

“…Some researches have been done to analyze this relationship applying different approaches such as textual analysis of Anna Trosborg (1997;2002) and more frequently political discourse analysis or critical discourse analysis whose leading features can be Christina Schaffner and Hatim and Mason (Christina Schäffner 1997;2002;2004;Hatim and Mason 1990;. A factor which received most of emphasis was considering this fact that when analyzing political discourse, the surrounding societal and ideological context in which the text is produced should be taken into consideration (Schäffner 1997:119).…”

Language plurality as power struggle

“…Institutional norms set by the federal government in Canada are not the sole explanation for the journalists' writing habits. For instance, journalists from Agence France Presse also quote translations in a covert manner (Wishart 2004), andChristina Schäffner (2004) has found similar examples in European and North American newspapers.…”

La “visibilidad feminista” de Flora Ossette en su traducción de Woman and Labour de Olive Schreiner

“…Most translated texts analyzed by CDA analysts are journalistic, political and institutional ones (Schäffner 2004, Kuo and Nakamura 2005, Baumgarten 2007, Calzada Pérez 2007, Valdeón 2007. However, despite these areas being those in which their ideology tends to present itself in a more obvious way, not only can a -critical‖ analysis be carried out, but it is really effective in other types of texts (Olk 2002, Alves andMagalhães 2004).…”