Language(s) in the global news
Translation, audience design and discourse (mis)representation
Published online: 1 May 2007
https://doi.org/10.1075/target.18.2.03hol
https://doi.org/10.1075/target.18.2.03hol
In September 1999 B.J. Habibie, then President of Indonesia, made a public statement concerning the proposed deployment of UN peacekeeping troops to East Timor. Habibie made ‘the statement’ twice, once in Indonesian, then again in English, and differences between the two resulting texts cannot straightforwardly be explained in terms of the different languages employed. This paper examines the two original versions, along with various representations of these that appeared in British and US news media. Processes of text production and dissemination are discussed, and linguistic and translational choices analysed in relation to context and audience, along with the possible reasons underlying those choices and some of their potential effects upon interpretation. In this case, it is argued, different news audiences may have received significantly different impressions of the content and tone of the original speech—depending, for example, upon the particular media through which they accessed the text.
Keywords: discourse, globalization, media, news, representation, translation
Résumé
En septembre 1999, B.J. Habibie, président de l’Indonésie, a fait une déclaration publique sur le déploiement de la Force des NU chargée du maintien de la paix au Timor-Oriental. Cette déclaration a été faite à deux reprises, d’abord en indonésien, ensuite en anglais. Or, les différences entre les versions ne sont pas simplement imputables aux différences des langues. L’article examine ces versions, ensemble avec les représentations qui en ont été données dans la presse britannique et américaine. Il sera question des processus de production et de dissémination de textes, ainsi que des choix linguistiques et traductifs en relation avec le contexte et l’audience. On essaiera d’identifier les raisons de ces choix, de même que leurs effets sur l’interprétation : il y a lieu de penser que le contenu et le ton du discours présidentiel ont produit des impressions sensiblement différentes sur les audiences concernées, compte tenu, notamment, du média particulier à travers lequel celles-ci ont eu accès au texte.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Newsmakers, media and the public: Language(s) and ‘audience design’
- 3.Contexts and texts
- 4.SE as translation of SI
- 5.The two texts: An agenda for closer analysis
- 5.1invite vs. accept
- 5.2Justifying the ballot
- 5.3Loss of life
- 5.4‘To protect the people...’
- 6.Media representations [1]: The CNN voiceover
- 6.1‘Loss of life’
- 6.2Nation, peoples, and the international community
- 6.2.1Saya mengerti bahwa ... vs. We are fully grateful for ...
- 6.2.2bangsa vs. peoples
- 6.2.3teman-teman di seluruh dunia vs. our friends in the international community
- 7.Media representations [2]: Representing text as text
- 8.Media representations [3]: Representing text as event
- 9.Concluding remarks
- Notes
References
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