Research Methods in Translation and

p
g Studies II
Interpreting

Dr Maeve Olohan
W306
mae e olohan@manchester ac k
maeve.olohan@manchester.ac.uk

Research trends,
trends process and
questions
1. Some trends in TIS research
2 Introduction to the research
2.
process
3 Focus
3.
F
on research
h questions
ti
Getting ideas
Refining initial idea
Formulating questions

Research trends

The future of translation studies

research?

Tymoczko (2005)
Suggests 6 areas of translation
research for the future

Tymoczko 2005

1. Attempts to define translation (1)

Examinations of linguistic,
literary and cultural facets of
translation
Focus on translation product
(e.g. corpus-based studies,
descriptive historical studies))
or on translation process (e.g.
TAP analysis, studies of
translators and interpreters)

Tymoczko 2005

1. Attempts to define translation (2)

LLearn new things
thi
about
b t translation
t
l ti
Test prescriptive or normative
statements by studying processes
and products of translation in
different places, times and cultures
Learn more about concept of
translation and its fuzzy boundaries
(see Halverson 1999); translation as
a cluster concept

Tymoczko 2005: 1084-5

2. Internationalisation of translation
SSee in
i conferences,
f
publications,
bli ti
organisations (e.g. IATIS)
Different concepts of translation
and different associations in nonWestern approaches
Need to challenge Western
assumptions about translation
More non-Eurocentric
non Eurocentric studies of
translation required (e.g. Cheung
2005))

Tymoczko 2005

3. TIS responding to technology and

3
globalisation
Technology changes our
conceptualisation of translation
(e.g. Cronin 2003)
Changes in translation and
interpreting modes, e.g. shift from
individual translators to team
translation via electronic networks,
telephone interpreting, etc.
English as lingua franca (e.g.
(e g
Baumgarten, House and Probst
2004)
Multimedia
M ltimedia brings foc
focuss on
intersemiotic translation

Tymoczko 2005

4. New perspectives from other

4
disciplines
Historically, TIS adapts frames
from other disciplines
e.g. linguistics, systems theories,
discourse theory, cultural
studies, sociology etc.
also smaller frames, e.g.
rewriting,
iti
representation
t ti

Predicted to continue and

become more self-reflexive

Tymoczko 2005

5. Relationship of TS to cognitive
5
science
Study of perception, expert
systems, etc.
Implications: more selfreflexivity in translator training
Predicted growth area due to
extensive cognitive science
research

Tymoczko 2005

6. Relationship of TS to
6
neurophysiology
Studying the brain
monolingual vs.
vs bilingual
brain activity during translation
and interpreting

MRI and PET scans

Predicted
P di t d growth
th area as the
th
technology becomes more
commonplace;
l
shift
hift ffrom
focus on individuals to groups
Tymoczko 2005

Common features of trends

Increased
I
d iinterdisciplinarity
t di i li
it
beyond linguistics and cultural studies,
to social sciences and life sciences

Move away from narrow Western

perspectives
Translation
l ti
as cluster
l t conceptt and
d
open field, becoming ever more
diverse
need for greater sophistication as
regards research structures, methods
more overt discussion of methodology
more flexible, less prescriptive
translation pedagogy
Tymoczko 2005

The research process

What does research achieve?

P
Provides
id new d
data
t
Proposes a new idea
Suggests an answer to a
specific question
Tests or refines an existing
hypothesis
Proposes and justifies a new
hypothesis
Proposes a new methodology
Proposes a new theory
Williams and Chesterman 2002: 6-47

Research process
Identify issue of interest
Formulate research question(s) or
hypotheses
Identify relevant theoretical
framework or concepts, possible
data and methods of analysis
Collect data
Analyse data
Process results, draw conclusions,
answer research questions

Formulating research questions

Getting ideas for research

Id
Identify
tif area off own interest
i t
t
Explore current state of research
in the area
resources: human, library/IT and
professional

Find out if its feasible to work in

that area
scope
resources
time
Williams and Chesterman 2002: 6-47

Refining the initial idea

Contextualising
C t t li i
the
th id
idea

To what general area does the topic belong?

What are the different parts of the topic?
How are they related?
What is the history of the topic?
What are the main categories of the topic?
What are the main concepts for the topic?

Name it be able to answer what,

what how
and why questions, e.g.
I am working on X because I want to find
outt why/what/how
h / h t/h
iin order
d tto understand
d t d
why/how/whether

Williams and Chesterman 2002: 6-47

Research questions
FFormulate
l t questions
ti
which
hi h research
h
project will answer
often one overarching question and
several subquestions
it must be possible to answer those
questions by the end of the project
questions may need to be refined as we
proceed

Use research questions when exploring

and describing data
Use research questions when we are not
explicitly predicting the outcome
Use hypothesis if we can formulate
specific answer or expectation

Hypotheses
Hypothesis = tentative answer to a
research problem, expressed in terms
of relations between variables
Hypotheses help us to generalise
hypothesis then
We propose and test a hypothesis,
hypothesis is supported; accept into body
of knowledge
OR
hypothesis is rejected; new hypothesis can
be proposed, tested

How are hypotheses and questions

derived?
Deductively, from theories,
f
from
lit
literature
t
Inductively, from direct
observations
y intuition
By
By a combination of these

For reflection
Identify your area(s) of interest in
translation or interpreting studies
Identify
Id tif some topic(s)
t i ( ) off interest
i t
t
within your chosen area
Try to make these topics more
precise, e.g. by identifying specific
partss o
pa
of the
e topics
op cs which
c are
a e of
o
most interest
questions on these
Think about q
topics which you would like to
explore further

Reading
Tymoczko, Maria (2005) Trajectories of Research in Translation Studies, Meta 50(4):
1082-1097.
Williams, Jenny and Andrew Chesterman (2002) The Map: A Beginner
Williams
Beginnerss Guide to
doing Research in Translation Studies, Manchester: St. Jerome.
and at least one of the following publications by Chesterman:
Chesterman, Andrew (2001) Empirical Research Methods in
Translation Studies, Erikoiskielet ja knnsteoria (VAKKIsymposiumi XX) 27, 9-22.
-------- (2000a) A
A Causal Model for Translation Studies
Studies, in Maeve
Olohan (ed.) Intercultural Faultlines. Research Models in
Translation Studies I: Textual and Cognitive aspects. Manchester:
St. Jerome, pp.15-27.
-------- (2000b) What
What Constitutes Progress
Progress in Translation Studies?
Studies?,, in
Birgitta Englund Dimitrova (ed.), versttning och tolkning.
Rapport frn ASLA:s hstsymposium, Stockholm, 5-6 november
1998. Uppsala: ASLA, pp. 33-49.
-------- (1998) Causes, Translations, Effects, Target 10(2): 201-230.

Other references
Baker, Mona (2001) The Pragmatics of Cross-cultural
Baker
Cross cultural Contact
and Some False Dichotomies in Translation Studies, CTIS
Occasional Papers 1: 7-20.
Baumgarten, Nicole, Juliane House and Julia Probst (2004)
English
English as Lingua Franca in Covert Translation Processes
Processes,
The Translator 10(1): 83-108.
Cheung, Martha P.Y. (2005) To Translate Means to
Exchange? A new interpretation of the earliest Chinese
attempts
p to define translation,, Target
g 17(1):
( ) 27-48
Cronin, Michael (2003) Translation and Globalisation, London
and New York: Routledge.
Frankfort-Nachmias, Chava and David Nachmias (1996)
Research Methods in the Social Sciences,, London: Arnold.
Halverson, Sandra (1999) Conceptual Work and the
Translation Concept, Target 11(1): 1-31.
-------- (2004) Assumed Translation: Reconciling Komissarov and
Toury
y and moving
g a step
p forward, Target
g 16(2):
( ) 341-354.
Tymoczko, Maria (2002) Connecting the Two Infinite Orders:
Research Methods in Translation Studies, in Theo Hermans
(ed.) Crosscultural Transgressions. Research Models in
Translation Studies II: Historical and Ideological Issues,
Manchester:
h t
St.
St Jerome, pp. 9-25.
92

Next:
Data, theoretical frameworks,
methods
th d off analysis
l i