Call for Papers

Théories et Réalités en Traduction et Rédaction 7

Theories and Realities in Translation and wRiting 7

International conference

Department of Languages and Literatures, Communication, Education and Society (DILL), University of Udine – in collaboration with Bilkent Üniversitesi [Ankara], KU Leuven [Antwerp], Université de Bretagne Occidentale [Brest], Suor Orsola Benincasa University [Naples]

Translate, Write, Simplify

This conference will investigate the relations between the acts of translating, writing and simplifying. Translating and technical writing, the pillars of previous T&R conferences, can be related to the idea of simplifying in various ways. At the same time, simplification can provide a bridge between the two. The idea of simplification can thus be examined in connection with translation, writing or both practices, both to confirm and question its relevance. During the conference we will explore issues pertaining, but not limited, to the following aspects. 

Translate-simplify

Simplification recurs, more or less covertly, in various studies on translation. Many “translation universals”, such as standardization, normalization, explicitation and the use of conventional forms, are, for instance, linked to simplifying trends. Even prescriptive theorists like Bauman (1991) or Venuti (1995) seem to criticize “deformations” (rationalization, explicitation, expansion etc.) that go in the same direction. A more positive view on simplification comes from studies on pragmatic translation; various functionalist theories (e.g. Reiss and Vermeer 1984, or Holz-Mänttäri 1984) explicitly focus on the reception of the translated text, as does Gutt’s application of Sperber and Wilson’s theory of relevance to translation (2000, 2013). Another field of investigation can be machine translation or computer-assisted translation: we need only think of the risk of fluent inadequacy (Bernardini and Garcea 2020) in the former case, or of the standardization caused by translation memories in the latter, which allow translators to unify translation choices, but also hinder innovation even where it would be desirable.

Write-simplify

In the field of professional writing the idea of simplification, intended as the removal of linguistic barriers to comprehension, seems ever-more central. Recent studies on technical writing have shown that the simplification of reader-centred re-writing imposes some strategies that affect the contents namely, by adding or removing information that is considered more or less relevant for the reader (Clerc et al. 2006; Clerc 2019) and by making the communicative macro-act explicit (Vervier 2014; Vecchiato 2021). In other words, simplification and editing strategies have less to do with paraphrasing techniques and more to do with summarizing and explicitation techniques (Gerolimich e Vecchiato 2018; Vecchiato 2021). In this category we can also include re-writings intended for different groups of readers, such as people with cognitive and/or reading/comprehension disabilities, who need “a simplified language”, a leichte Sprache (Bock 2019; Crestani 2020). In general, “audience awareness” is essential for good writing (Schriver 1997; Cho & Choi 2018).

Write-transalte-simplify

These three acts can be explored together in at least one major field, that of popular science. In an ever complex and hyper-specialized world, a good deal of (re)writing will have to be dedicated to forms of simplification that can broaden the audience’s access to certain types of information. It is also well-known that the act of dissemination is often seen as a form of translation (intra- or interlinguistic translation according to the case). In this context a key role is played by terminology and, in particular, by socio-terminology which aims at investigating different types of “linguistic ergonomics” (Gaudin 2003; 2021). The “translation model” of scientific dissemination can be accepted or questioned.

According to the contexts and fields of application, simplification can be seen as something to avoid, an objective to reach, or simply as a trend to acknowledge and come to terms with. This conference – and the proceedings to be published -  wants to investigate all these perspectives, in translation and writing studies.

Info

The conference will be held on November 23-25, 2022 at the Department of Languages and Literatures, Communication, Education and Society of the University of Udine. Please submit an abstract (max 300 words, bibliography excluded, in English, French, German or Italian) for a 20-minute presentation to simple(at)uniud.it by February 28^th, 2022.All abstracts should include: first and last name, affiliation, email address and a short biobibliographical note (max 100 words). Notification of acceptance will be given by April 30^th, 2022.

Organizers: Sonia Gerolimich, Iris Jammernegg, Fabio Regattin, Deborah Saidero, Sara Vecchiato.

Previous T&R conferences were held in Brest in 2011 (T&R1 – Le bon sens en traduction et rédaction (technique) / Common sense in translation and (technical) writing), in Antwerp in 2012 (T&R2 – Le bien faire, faire le bien : éthique et déontologie en traduction et rédaction / Doing the right thing: ethics and deontology in translation and writing), in Brest in 2014 (T&R3 – Traduire, écrire la science aujourd’hui / Translating, writing science today), in Naples in 2016 (T&R4 – Creativity in Translation/ Interpretation and Interpreter/ Translator Training / Créativité en traduction/interprétation et dans la formation des interprètes/traducteurs), in Antwerp in 2018 (T&R5 – Traduire, écrire le voyage / Writing, translating travel) and in Istanbul, online, in 2021 (T&R6 – Traduction/ Rédaction comme mosaïque…? / Translation/ Writing as mosaic…?).

T&R Scientific Board: Emine Bogenç Demirel (Bilkent Üniversitesi, Turkey), Emilia Di Martino (Suor Orsola Benincasa University, Italy), Jean-Yves Le Disez (Université de Bretagne Occidentale, France), Winibert Segers (KU Leuven, Belgium) and Fabio Regattin (University of Udine, Italy).

Selected Bibliography

Berman, A. (1991) La Traduction et la lettre, ou l’auberge du lointain, Paris: Seuil.

Bernardini, S. & Garcea, F. (2020) ‘Come funziona, e quanto ci serve, la traduzione automatica’, Linguisticamente.org, 26 agosto 2020, https://www.linguisticamente.org/come-funziona-e-quanto-ci-serve-la-traduzione-automatica/.

Bock B. (2019) Leichte Sprache – Kein “Regelwerk”. Sprachwissenschaftliche Ergebnisse und Praxisempfehlungen aus dem LeiSA-Projekt, Berlin: Frank & Timme.

Cho, Y., Choi, I. (2018) ‘Writing from sources: Does audience matter?’, Assessing Writing 37, 25-38.

Clerc, I. (2019) ‘Quelles règles d’écriture se donner pour communiquer avec l’ensemble des citoyens du Québec?’, Éla. Études de linguistique appliquée 195, 295–314.

Clerc, I., Kavanagh, É., Université Laval, & Groupe Rédiger (2006) De la lettre à la page Web: savoir communiquer avec le grand public, Québec: Publications du Québec.

Crestani, V. (2020) ‘Mediare in “Leichte Sprache” in tedesco e in italiano’, Italiano LinguaDue 12(1), 586-602.

Delavigne, V. (2012) ‘Peut-on “traduire” les mots des experts ? Un dictionnaire pour les patients atteints de cancer’, in Heinz, M. (ed.) Dictionnaires et Traduction, Frank & Timme GmbH, 233–266.

Delavigne, V. (2019) ‘Littératies en santé et forums de patients : des formes d’ergonomie discursive’, Éla. Études de linguistique appliquée 195, 363–381.

Gaudin F. (2003) Socioterminologie, une approche sociolinguistique de la terminologie, Bruxelles : de Boeck. Duculot.

Gaudin F. (2021) ‘Definitions in dictionaries with a popularization aim: Observations and remarks’, La linguistique 57(1), 93-110

Gerolimich, S. & Vecchiato, S. (2018) ‘«C’est illisible ? Simplifiez-le ! ». Évaluer la compréhension d’un texte à partir de la reformulation par des apprenants de FLE’, Repères DoRiF, 16.

Gutt, E.A. (2000) Translation and Relevance. Cognition and Context, London-NewYork: Routledge.

Gutt, E.A. (2013) ‘Le « bon sens », la théorie de la pertinence et la communication (technique) interlinguistique’, in Le Disez, J.-Y., Segers, W. (dir.), Le bon sens en traduction, Rennes: PUR.

Holz-Mänttäri, J. (1984) Translatorisches Handeln: Theorie und Methode, Helsinki: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia.

Reiss, K. & Vermeer, H.J. (1984) Grundlegung einer allgemeinen Translationstheorie, Tübingen: Niemeyer, (traduz. inglese 2013,Towards a General Theory of Translational Action: Skopos Theory Explained, London: Routledge).

Schriver, K.A. (1997) Dynamics in Document Design: Creating Texts for Readers, New York: Wiley.

Vecchiato, S. (2021) ‘Riassumere, parafrasare, esplicitare: per una modellizzazione della semplificazione testuale’, in Fusco, F., Marcato, C., and Oniga, R. (eds), Studi sul Plurilinguismo. Tematiche, problemi, prospettive, Udine: Forum.

Venuti, L. (1995) The Translator’s Invisibility, London-New York: Routledge.

Vervier, A. (2014) Courrier administratif: un «avant/après» exemplaire, Rédaction claire, http://www.redaction-claire.com/2014/05/23/augmentez-l-impact-de-vos-courriers-exemple-d-avant-après/