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Article published In: Target
Vol. 37:1 (2025) ► pp.117–138

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Trade-offs in translation effects

Illustrations and methodological concerns

ORCiD logo with link | Universitat Rovira i Virgili
ORCiD logo with link | University of Melbourne
Published online: 18 October 2024
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/target.23010.pym
Abstract
Trade-offs are solutions to translation problems where two or more apparently incompatible values are sought at the same time. As such, they present an alternative to theories that see translation as operating between two polarities of the one value. Analysis of three illustrative examples suggests that receivers can activate trade-offs that are quite different from those envisaged by translators and that different readerships may seek different kinds of trade-offs. The resulting instability gives rise to problems concerning research methodology. It is proposed that the study of trade-offs is suited to a mixed-methods approach that starts from receiver-produced data, that allows for more than two values, and that recognizes that not all solutions are trade-offs. This approach can also identify situations where one kind of trade-off leads to another, creating chains of value transformation that are informed by translation history.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.What is a trade-off?
  • 3.Working from examples
    • 3.1Study 1: Names explained in footnotes
    • 3.2Study 2: Names in many languages
    • 3.3Study 3: What is a “slumbering fire”?
  • 4.Questions of method
    • 4.1Why look at data on reception?
    • 4.2How can different values be measured?
    • 4.3How many values are involved?
    • 4.4Can all values be reduced to one?
    • 4.5What is the status of self-report data?
    • 4.6Why use mixed methods?
    • 4.7Trade-offs and loss avoidance
    • 4.8Are all translation solutions trade-offs?
  • 5.Closing remarks: Trade-offs in translation history
  • Note
  • References
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