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Article published In: Target
Vol. 11:1 (1999) ► pp.103–129

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Oral History Texts in Translation

 | Binghamton University
Published online: 5 November 1999
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https://doi.org/10.1075/target.11.1.06ree
Abstract
In the current trend toward greater reflexivity in scholarship, both translators and oral historians are re-examining their roles as mediators in the process of interpretation and representation. Based on my own interviews with Bulgarian women, I am attempting to develop model translation strategies for oral history narratives using Neubert and Shreve 's textual approach to translation. Guided in my decisions by the potential audience response, my objective is to provide historical information while retaining the emotional ring of the original interview and showcasing the unique features of the individual narrators' voices. Wary of the need to avoid "doing violence" to the people whose stories I recorded, I want to practice enough resistance while translating to complicate the reading process without resorting to subversive tactics.
Résumé
Les traducteurs et historiens contemporains ont pris une conscience plus aiguë de l'investissement subjectif dans leur travail d'interprétation et de représentation des discours historiques. Cette nouvelle réflexivité inspire mes traductions des récits de vies de femmes bulgares. En me référant au modèle textuel de Neubert et Shreve, j'essaie de mettre au point des strategies-types en vue de la traduction de ces récits. Guidée par l'horizon d'attente des lecteurs, ma démarche vise à concilier la restitution d'informations historiques et le respect de la valeur émotive de l'interview d'origine, tout en soulignant les particularités des voix des narratrices. N'ayant nullement l'intention de "faire violence" à celles qui m'ont raconté leurs histoires, je veux cependant conserver à ma version assez d'opacité pour complexifier le travail du lecteur, sans pour autant avoir recours à des stratégies subversives.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Conceptual Framework
    • 2.1.Oral History Production
      • 2.1.1.Oral History as Joint-Venture Production
      • 2.1.2.Transcription
    • 2.2.Oral Narrative as Genre
    • 2.3.Textual-Contextual Approach to Translation
    • 2.4.Feminist Perspectives on Oral History and Translation Theory
    • 2.5.The Integrated Translation Situation
  • 3.Translation Strategies
    • 3.1.Focusing on Paralinguistic Elements
      • 3.1.1.Source-Text Excerpt as Transcribed
      • 3.1.2.Translating and Editing for Clarity
      • 3.1.3.Source-Text Excerpt in Poetic Transcription
      • 3.1.4.Translation of Poetic Transcription
    • 3.2.Dealing with Superfluities
      • 3.2.1.Source-Text Excerpt as Transcribed
      • 3.2.2.Translating and Editing for Clarity
      • 3.2.3.Retaining Colloquial Emphatics
    • 3.3.Reconsidering Punctuation
      • 3.3.1.Source-Text Excerpt as Transcribed
      • 3.3.2.Translating and Editing for Clarity
      • 3.3.3.Creating One Sentence
  • 4.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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