Chapter 10
Flowing to the reception side
A trade-off model of translation acceptance
The empirical line of reception studies has
staked out new research questions regarding the effects of
translation on actual readers. Nevertheless, the underlying
mechanisms of how the translated text flows towards and is received
by the target reader remain elusive, notably with respect to
attempts to rationalise the individual reader’s decision-making in
compromising situations. Drawing on empirical evidence from a
quasi-experiment in which a group of 22 readers in Australia
responded to various translations of Chinese foreign affairs
discourses, this chapter illustrates how a nonlinear trade-off model
serves to explain the reader’s ultimate judgements in which
linguistic and ethical considerations are weighed against each
other. It is found that a pair of two incompatible but desirable
expectations is (un)consciously calculated by the reader. The extent
to which the translation can be accepted is susceptible to the
degree to which the reader trusts the translator.
Article outline
- Introduction
- Moving beyond linear progression towards a trade-off
model
- This study
- Instrument
- Participants and sampling
- Discussion
- Faithfulness vs fluency
- Explicitation vs implicitation
- Distance vs proximity
- Summary and interpretation of findings
- Conclusion
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References
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Appendix