Cover not available

Article published In: Converging paradigms in contrastive and translation studies: Crosslinguistic corpus perspectives
Edited by Silvia Bernardini and Adriano Ferraresi
[Languages in Contrast 23:2] 2023
► pp. 226–251

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
EPUB logo with download linkDownload EPUB
authorization required

The Gravitational Pull Hypothesis and imperfective/perfective aspect in Catalan translation

 | Universitat Jaume I (Spain)
 | Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain)
Published online: 5 October 2023
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/lic.00030.bor
Abstract
This article aims to test the Gravitational Pull Hypothesis on the imperfective/perfective aspect distinction in the language pairs English-Catalan and French-Catalan. It draws on the corresponding corpora in COVALT. The GPH posits three cognitive causes of translational effects: source or target language salience and connectivity. Different configurations of these causes, or factors, are expected to result in over- or under-representation of target language features. The imperfective/perfective aspect distinction was chosen as a testing ground for the GPH because it is morphologically marked in Catalan and French but not in English. That may give rise to different configurations of factors and, therefore, to different translational effects. It is predicted that the preterite, which conveys perfective aspect in Catalan, will be over-represented in Catalan translations from English as compared to translations from French and to Catalan non-translations. On the other hand, the imperfect, which conveys imperfective aspect, will be under-represented. Results confirm these predictions. For translations from French, both adherence to the patterns observed in Catalan non-translations and over-representation of the preterite are possible outcomes. Results lend support to the second alternative ― over-representation of the preterite. These results highlight the importance of relying on frequency and other sources of evidence when formulating hypotheses in the framework of the GPH. Research from the field of second language acquisition proved particularly significant in this respect.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The Gravitational Pull Hypothesis
  • 3.The imperfective/perfective aspect distinction
  • 4.Methodology
  • 5.Results and discussion
  • 6.Concluding remarks
  • Notes
  • References
References (29)
References
Ainaud, J., Espunya, A. and Pujol, D. 2003. Manual de traducció anglès-català. Vic: Eumo.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Altenberg, B. 1999. Adverbial Connectors in English and Swedish: Semantic and Lexical Correspondences. In Out of Corpora: Studies in Honour of Stig Johansson, H. Hasselgård and S. Oksefjell (eds), 249–268. Amsterdam: Rodopi. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Andersen, R. 1991. Developmental Sequences: The Emergence of Aspect Marking in Second Language Acquisition. In Crosscurrents in Second Language Acquisition and Linguistic Theories, T. Huebner and C. A. Ferguson (eds), 305–324. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Binnick, R. I. 1991. Time and the Verb. A Guide to Tense & Aspect. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Comajoan, L. 2005. The Acquisition of Perfective and Imperfective Morphology and the Marking of Discourse Grounding in Catalan. In Tense and Aspect in Romance Languages, M. R. Salaberry and D. Ayoun (eds), 35–77. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Comrie, B. 1976. Aspect. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
De Sutter, G. and Lefer, M.-A. 2020. On the Need for a New Research Agenda for Corpus-Based Translation Studies: A Multi-Methodological, Multifactorial and Interdisciplinary Approach. Perspectives 28(1): 1–23. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Diaubalick, T. 2019. La adquisición del sistema verbal español por aprendices alemanes y el papel del aspecto gramatical. Una comparación entre los tiempos del pasado y los tiempos del futuro. Tübingen: Narr.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Grevisse, M. and Goosse, A. 2008. Le bon usage (14th edition). Brussels: De Boeck Duculot.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
2017. Developing a Cognitive Semantic Model: Magnetism, Gravitational Pull, and Questions of Data and Method. In Empirical Translation Studies. New Methods and Theoretical Traditions, G. De Sutter, M.-A. Lefer and I. Delaere (eds), 9–45. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hareide, L. 2017a. The Translation of Formal Source-Language Lacunas. An Empirical Study of the Over-Representation of Target-Language Specific Features and the Unique Items Hypothesis. In Corpus Methodologies Explained. An Empirical Approach to Translation Studies, M. Ji, M. Oakes, L. Defeng and L. Hareide (eds), 137–187. London: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
2017b. Is there Gravitational Pull in Translation? A Corpus-Based Test of the Gravitational Pull Hypothesis on the Language Pairs Norwegian-Spanish and English-Spanish. In Corpus Methodologies Explained. An Empirical Approach to Translation Studies, M. Ji, M. Oakes, L. Defeng and L. Hareide (eds), 188–231. London: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Langacker, R. 2008. Cognitive Grammar: A Basic Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lapshinova-Koltunski, E. 2015. Variation in Translation: Evidence from Corpora. In New Directions in Corpus-Based Translation Studies, C. Fantinuoli and F. Zanettin (eds), 93–113. Berlin: Language Science Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lefer, M.-A. and De Sutter, G. 2022. Using the Gravitational Pull Hypothesis to Explain Patterns in Interpreting and Translation: The Case of Concatenated Nouns in Mediated European Parliament Discourse. In Mediated Discourse at the European Parliament: Empirical Investigations, M. Kajzer-Wietrzny, A. Ferraresi, I. Ivaska and S. Bernardini (eds), 133–159. Berlin: Language Science Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Maingueneau, D. and Salvador, V. 1995. Elements de lingüística per al discurs literari. València: Tàndem.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Marco, J. 2021. Testing the Gravitational Pull Hypothesis on Modal Verbs Expressing Obligation and Necessity in Catalan through the COVALT Corpus. In Empirical Studies in Translation and Discourse, M. Bisiada (ed.), 27–52. Berlin: Language Science Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Oster, U. and Tello-Fons, I. in preparation. Between Source Language Constructions and Target Language Expectations. Translating Passive Construal.
Pérez Saldanya, M. 2002. Les relacions temporals i aspectuals. In Gramàtica del català contemporani (vol. 3): Sintaxi, J. Solà, M. R. Lloret, J. Mascaró and M. Pérez Saldanya (eds), 2567–2662. Barcelona: Empúries.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Riegel, M., Pellat, J. C. and Rioul, R. 2004. Grammaire méthodique du français (3rd edition). Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Salaberry, M. R. and Ayoun, D. 2005. The Development of L2 Tense-Aspect in the Romance Languages. In Tense and Aspect in Romance Languages, M. R. Salaberry and D. Ayoun (eds), 1–33. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schmid, H.-J. 2010. Does Frequency in Text really Instantiate Entrenchment in the Cognitive System? In Quantitative Methods in Cognitive Semantics: Corpus-Driven Approaches, D. Glynn and K. Fischer (eds), 101–133. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tirkkonen-Condit, S. 2004. Unique Items ― Over- or Underrepresented in Translated Language? In Translation universals. Do they exist?, A. Mauranen and P. Kujamäki (eds), 177–184. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Vandevoorde, L. 2020. Semantic Differences in Translation: Exploring the Field of Inchoativity. Berlin: Language Science Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Vendler, Z. 1967. Linguistics and Philosophy. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Verdegal, J. 2011. La pràctica de la traducció francès-català. Vic: Eumo.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wallace, S. 1982. Figure and Ground: The Interrelationships of Linguistic Categories. In Tense-Aspect: Between Semantics and Pragmatics, P. Hopper (ed.), 201–223. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wheeler, M. W., Yates, A. and Dols, N. 1999. Catalan: A Comprehensive Grammar. London: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue