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Article published In: Babel
Vol. 72:2 (2026) ► pp.148–174

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Examining the impact of footnotes and cultural memory references on empathic evocation through translation

A socio-cognitive exploration of reader reception

ORCiD logo with link | National University of Singapore
Published online: 23 October 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/babel.25070.che
Abstract
This paper aimed to investigate how footnotes and cultural memory references (CMRs) influence empathic evocation through a questionnaire-based study. To assess the impact, Chinese translations of two English stories by Singaporean writer Alfian Sa’at, namely “Shallow Focus” and “Reunion,” were selected as research materials, and Taiwanese adults were considered the target participants. A recruitment effort that included email distribution and social media advertising resulted in a total of 85 participants, who were randomly assigned to three groups to read three translation versions: translation with footnotes (Group 1), translation with lead-ins on cultural memory (Group 2), and translation with both footnotes and lead-ins on cultural memory (Group 3). A questionnaire was designed based on existing studies to measure the participants’ empathic responses. The results showed that both footnotes and CMRs could promote empathic evocation, with the highest reaction observed in Group 3. Additionally, CMRs could generate greater empathic evocation, possibly because they helped target readers feel a stronger sense of involvement in the stories.
Résumé
Cet article, par le biais d’un questionnaire, vise à examiner comment les notes de bas de page et les références à la mémoire culturelle (RMC) influencent l’évocation empathique. Pour évaluer cette influence, les participants cibles, des adultes taïwanais, ont été invités à évaluer un corpus composé des traductions chinoises de deux nouvelles en anglais de l’écrivain singapourien Alfian Sa’at, à savoir « Shallow Focus » et « Reunion ». Une campagne de recrutement par courriel et par publicité sur les réseaux sociaux a permis de recruter 85 participants, répartis aléatoirement en trois groupes pour lire trois versions des traductions : une traduction avec des notes de bas de page (Groupe 1), une traduction avec une introductions sur la mémoire culturelle (Groupe 2), et une traduction avec à la fois des notes de bas de page et une introduction sur la mémoire culturelle (Groupe 3). Un questionnaire a été conçu, basé sur des études existantes, afin de mesurer les réactions empathiques des participants. Les résultats ont révélé que les notes de bas de page et l’introduction sur la RMC pouvaient ensemble faciliter l’évocation empathique, le niveau de réaction le plus élevé étant observé dans le Groupe 3. De plus, les RMC peuvent susciter une évocation empathique plus élevée, probablement parce qu’elles permettent aux lecteurs cibles de ressentir une implication plus forte dans les nouvelles.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical background
    • 2.1Empathy and its importance in literature and literary translation
    • 2.2Notes in translation
    • 2.3Cultural memory references and the potential for evoking empathy
  • 3.Research method
    • 3.1Materials
    • 3.2Participants
    • 3.3Procedures
    • 3.4Questionnaire design
  • 4.Results and discussion
    • 4.1Research findings
      • 4.1.1The four major findings
        • Finding 1: Positive correlation between empathic/sympathetic evocation and use of footnotes and of CMRs, with the latter achieving a stronger effect
        • Finding 2: Footnotes and CMRs impose different impacts on reading experiences
        • Finding 3: Footnotes and CMRs fulfill dissimilar effects in different topics
        • Finding 4: Written comments reveal how footnotes and CMRs guide readers’ interpretation
      • 4.1.2Consolidated insights
    • 4.2Research limitations
    • 4.3Research implications
  • 5.Concluding remarks
  • Acknowledgements
  • Note
  • References
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