Observatoire du discours financier en traduction - Roberto A. Valdeón

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (II)

chantal.gagnon.4@umontreal.ca — Fri, 08 Feb 2019 19:48:33 +0000

Journalistic translation research makes the interdisciplinary nature of translation studies perhaps more evident than before. Embedded in news production processes, translation can be better approached by adopting some of the theories (e.g., gatekeeping) and concepts (e.g., framing) from mass communication and journalism studies. In this regard, one notable aspect of Roberto A. Valdeón’s contributions to research on journalistic translation is his attempts to bridge the gap between the disciplines of translation studies and mass communication. In our previous blog entry, we provided an overview of Valdeón’s research on the historical role of translation in news-making processes. Here, we present his discussions on journalistic translation research as the interface between translation and communication studies.

In his article On the use of the term ‘translation’ in journalism studies, Valdeón (2018) investigates how translation in journalistic settings is understood by communication and translation scholars. His research on a corpus consisting of 186 articles, published in journals such as Media History and Journalism Studies, shows that, in communication studies, translating is equal to adding, omitting, summarizing, etc. In contrast, Valdeón’s research also shows that translation scholars have a wider conception of translation, meaning that textual operations such as addition or omission are parts of journalistic translation practices. Seeking to establish a dialogue between translation and journalism studies scholars, Valdeón (2018) argues that translation in news production environments constitutes a “common ground” (p. 266) for scholars belonging to translation and journalism studies, in order to carry out interdisciplinary research on news-making activities. He believes that such a dialogue between the scholars of the two disciplines can contribute to a better conceptualization of the key issues, such as translation, in news production processes.

Furthermore, Valdeón (2015a; 2015b; 2014) employs the concept of framing, which belongs to research on communication and journalism, to describe translation in journalistic environments. The notion of framing refers to selecting and emphasizing some aspects of an event or a situation in order to promote a particular interpretation or evaluation (Entman, 2004, 5). According to Valdeón (2014, 51), framing entails “the adaptation of a text for the target readership, a process that can lead to appropriation of source material.” He suggests that framing replace the notion of trans-editing (Stetting 1989) in journalistic translation research. Indeed, for Valdeón (2014), framing is a more productive concept than trans-editing, since the political, economic, and social implications of news adaptation and appropriation are much more important than emphasizing on language transfers and edition, as the notion of trans-editing suggests (2014, 60).

Valdeón (2015b) also draws upon the concept of framing to call into question the notions of stable and unstable sources, which were suggested by Hernández Guerrero in her book Traducción y periodismo (2009) to draw a distinction between translational approaches to source texts. The stable sources include opinion columns and editorials, as texts “written by recognized and respected authors, whose opinion is valued” (Valdeón’s 2015b, translation of Guerrero 2009, 45). For Hernández Guerrero, most other news genres such as interviews can be considered as unstable sources, in the sense that journalists can bring many changes to the questions that they pose and the answers that they collect in interviews. However, Valdeón (2015b) argues that the situation can be different in audiovisual media. He refers to some examples taken from Euronews, in which interviews are treated as stable sources. He believes that Hernández Guerrero’s (2009) binary opposition “might not be sufficient to account for all the different processes in news production that involve translation […]” (p. 444). Valdeón (2015b) once again emphasizes that framing is a larger and more flexible concept that can cover the ways in which various news genres are treated in the process of journalistic translation.

Valdeón has also carried out several case studies on the Internet Spanish Services of Anglophone news media, such as BBC Mundo and CNN en Español (2008; 2007a; 2007b; 2005a; 2005b; 2005c), showing, among other things, the influence of ideology on translation in news-making processes. For instance, Valdeón’s (2008) research on Spanish news articles published by BBC Mundo (an Internet news service of the British Broadcasting Corporation) and their source English news texts provided by BBC News reports shows that institutional policies and ideologies influence not only the strategies adopted by “writers/translators” (p. 305), but also the selection of particular news items (or topics) for translation. He concludes that by selecting certain English reports over others and changing the source text information in the process of linguistic transfer the Spanish website “produces a news portal that constructs the world according to Anglophone norms, interests and, most likely, ideological agendas” (p. 323). Whereas comparative analyses of translated news items and their corresponding information sources have often indicated the ideological differences between two different news institutions, this case study by Valdeón is quite interesting in that it indicates how a given news organization may adopt dissimilar editorial policies for its different linguistic news portals.

Overall, as can be understood from some of Valdeón’s publications (e.g., Valdeón 2015b; 2014), there is little consensus among translation scholars on how to approach translation in journalistic settings. Indeed, the inseparability of translation from other journalistic tasks in news production processes (Bielsa and Bassnett 2009) has brought complexity to the conceptualization of translation in news contexts. Valdeón has contributed to the creation of common conceptual ground through the concept of framing, which he imported from communication studies to research on journalistic translation. He has also called for a dialogue between scholars belonging to the domains of translation and communication research, so that translation in news institutions can be approached more efficiently. These are praiseworthy endeavours in a domain of enquiry that still needs to develop a solid conceptual framework and methodology for studying translation in the news media.

Mots-clés libres du blogue:

Journalistic translation

Roberto A. Valdeón

Translation in Global News

Bielsa, Esperança et Susan Bassnett. Translation In Global News. London & New York: Routledge, 2009.

Article(s)

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (II)

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (I)

Van Dijk’s News as Discourse revisited

Projections of power: Framing news, public opinion, and U.S foreign policy

Entman, Robert M. Projections Of Power: Framing News, Public Opinion, And U.s Foreign Policy. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2004.

Article(s)

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (II)

Traducción y periodismo [translation and journalism]

Guerrero, María José Hern. Traducción Y Periodismo [Translation And Journalism]. Bern: Peter Lang, 2009.

Article(s)

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (II)

Transediting – A new term for coping with the grey area between editing and translating

Stetting, Karen. « Transediting – A New Term For Coping With The Grey Area Between Editing And Translating ». The Fourth Nordic Conference For English Studies, 1989.

Article(s)

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (II)

The Translated Spanish Service of the BBC

Valdeón, Roberto A. « The Translated Spanish Service Of The Bbc ». Across Languages And Cultures 6, no 2 (2005), 195-220. doi:10.1556/Acr.6.2005.2.3.

Article(s)

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (II)

Media Translation in BBC Mundo Internet Texts

Valdeón, Roberto A. « Media Translation In Bbc Mundo Internet Texts ». Revista Canaria De Estudios Ingleses 51 (2005), 105–19.

Article(s)

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (II)

The CNN en Español News

Valdeón, Roberto A. « The Cnn En Español News ». Pespectives: Studies In Translatology 13, no 4 (2005), 255-267. doi:10.1080/ 09076760608668996.

Article(s)

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (II)

Political and sexist bias in news translation: two case studies

A., Valdeón Roberto. « Political And Sexist Bias In News Translation: Two Case Studies ». Trans: Revista De Traductología 11 (2007), 231–246.

Article(s)

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (II)

Translating News from the Inner Circle: Imposing Regularity Across Languages

Valdeón, Roberto A. « Translating News From The Inner Circle: Imposing Regularity Across Languages ». Quaderns: Revista De Traducció 14 (2007), 155–67.

Article(s)

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (II)

Anomalous news translation

Valdeón, Roberto A. « Anomalous News Translation ». Babel 54, no 4 (2008), 299-326.

Article(s)

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (II)

News Translation and Biocultural Diversity

Frames of War in News Translation: Butler and Valdeón

From adaptation to appropriation: Framing the world through news translation

Valdeón, Roberto A. « From Adaptation To Appropriation: Framing The World Through News Translation ». Linguaculture, no 1 no 1 (2014), 51-62.

Article(s)

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (II)

Translation Channel in News Gatekeeping Process

Fifteen years of journalistic translation research and more

Valdeón, Roberto A. « Fifteen Years Of Journalistic Translation Research And More ». Perspectives: Studies In Translatology 23, no 4 (2015), 634-662.

Article(s)

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (II)

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (I)

Frames of War in News Translation: Butler and Valdeón

(Un)stable sources, translation and news production

Valdeón, Roberto A. « (Un)Stable Sources, Translation And News Production ». Target 27, no 3 (2015), 442-453.

Article(s)

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (II)

Frames of War in News Translation: Butler and Valdeón

On the use of the term ‘translation’ in journalism studies

Valdeón, Roberto A. « On The Use Of The Term ‘Translation’ In Journalism Studies ». Journalism 19, no 2 (2018), 252 –269. doi:10.1177/1464884917715945.

Article(s)

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (II)

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (I)

chantal.gagnon.4@umontreal.ca — Fri, 08 Feb 2019 19:11:38 +0000

Despite the long-standing role of translation in news production activities, it was more than a decade ago that journalistic translation research became popular among translation scholars and students (see Valdeón 2015). During this short period, however, numerous publications (e.g., Schäffner 2012; Bielsa and Bassnett 2009) have specified the pivotal role of translation in news production and problematized research on journalistic translation. Among the scholars who have made significant contributions to this sub-area of translation studies is Roberto A. Valdeón, a professor at the Department of English, French, and German philology at the University of Oviedo, in Spain. Two significant contributions by Valdeón are his work on the historical importance of translation for news production and his writings on the conceptual problems of research on translation in news contexts. What follows is an overview of this scholar’s research on journalism and translation from a historical perspective (we will discuss the latter aspect of his works in a separate blog entry).

In his paper From the Dutch corantos to convergence journalism: the role of translation in news production, Valdeón (2012a) traces the connection between translation and journalism from the 17th to the 21st century. His review of some studies (e.g., Høyer 2003; Ettinghausen 2001; Harris 1987) on the history of journalism in European countries such as England, Spain, and Scandinavia reveals the crucial role of translation in early news production activities. For instance, during the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648), the news of the war was imported into England in the form of gazettes (or corantos) originally written in Dutch. Since people did not understand that language, the gazettes were translated into English and reported in manuscript newsletters. The first English translations were carried out by London Stationers in 1620-21 (Dooley and Baron 2001).The process of translation was not often governed by the norm of objectivity and faithfulness to the original. Indeed, translation was a means of manipulation, carried out in line with the policy of the government. Valdeón’s (2012a) article shows that from the birth of journalism to present day, translation has been not only an integral part of news production, but also an instrument of controlling the flow of information in society.

Also, Valdeón elaborates on the relevance of research on journalistic translation to the notion of information society (2012b; 2010), which, according to Karvalics is “a new form of social existence in which the storage, production, flow, etc. of networked information plays the central role” (2007, 23). The role that translation plays in the production of news throughout history is discussed by Valdeón in the Handbook of translation studies (2012b), where he addresses the significance of translation for the development of the information society. Again offering an historical perspective, he says that, although the information society grew rapidly as the 20th century came to an end, its origins go back to the birth of journalism in the 16th and the 17th centuries in Europe (p. 67). Valdeón argues that at that time the transfer of information was both physical and linguistic: England, Scandinavia and Spain imported pamphlets produced in the Low Countries, Germany and France and translated the information for new audiences (ibid.). Indeed, translation played a central role in the transmission of news information from one linguistic society to another.

Another contribution by Valdeón that represents his concern with history is his article Fifteen years of journalistic translation research and more (2015), which encapsulates and reviews the scholarship conducted so far on translation in journalistic settings, from the early studies in the 1990s to those carried out in the 21st century. Each section of the article relates to a particular issue and examines the works of translation scholars as well as some relevant studies conducted in the realm of communication and journalism (e.g., Baumann et al. 2011a; 2011b). Valdeón addresses the question of translation in the history of journalism in the United States (e.g., Hamilton 2009), indicating the key role that translation played in the dissemination of foreign-news information in the American society. Other sections of this article address: a) the conceptual problems in journalistic translation research, b) process-oriented vs. product-oriented research on journalistic translation; c) reception studies; and d) medium-based studies, i.e. comparing news translation between broadcasting and newspapers. Among the merits of Valdeón’s historical account (2015) is that it categorizes various studies and offers an encompassing view of journalistic translation scholarship. Moreover, the numerous works cited in this article make it both an inspiring and a valuable source for researchers.

Overall, Valdeón’s research on journalistic translation from an historical perspective highlights that translation is indispensable for the international transfer of news information and has played a political role in projecting a particular image of the world to news consumers throughout the history of journalism. With substantial developments in the media industry that have turned the world into a global village, dissemination and management of news information by means of translation have become perhaps more significant to the construction of social, economic, and political structures. Thanks to the numerous studies conducted in the relatively short history of journalistic translation research, the socio-political role of translation in news production is now apparent. However, journalistic translation is a domain of enquiry still in the making, especially in terms of methodology and conceptualizing translation in news corpora. As mentioned earlier, we will discuss Valdeón’s contributions to the conceptual problems of research on journalistic translation in a second blog entry.

Mots-clés libres du blogue:

Journalistic translation

History

Roberto A. Valdeón

Translation in Global News

Bielsa, Esperança et Susan Bassnett. Translation In Global News. London & New York: Routledge, 2009.

Article(s)

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (II)

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (I)

Van Dijk’s News as Discourse revisited

Transcultural journalism and the politics of translation: Interrogating the BBCWorld Service

Baumann, Gerd, Marie Gillespie et Annabelle Sreberny. « Transcultural Journalism And The Politics Of Translation: Interrogating The Bbcworld Service ». Journalism 12, no 2 (2011), 135-142. doi:10.1177/1464884910388580.

Article(s)

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (I)

Transcultural journalism: Translations, transmissions and transformations

Baumann, Gerd, Marie Gillespie et Annabelle Sreberny. « Transcultural Journalism: Translations, Transmissions And Transformations ». Journalism 12, no 2 (2011), 235-238. doi:10.1177/1464884910388588.

Article(s)

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (I)

The Politics of Information in Early Modern Europe

Dooley, Brendan et Sabrina A Baron. The Politics Of Information In Early Modern Europe. London/New York: Routledge, 2001.

Article(s)

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (I)

Politics and the Press in Spain

Ettinghausen, Henry. « Politics And The Press In Spain ». Dans The Politics Of Information In Early Modern Europe, Brendan Dooley and Sabrina Baron (eds), 199-215. London/New York: Routledge, 2001.

Article(s)

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (I)

London Newspapers in the Age of Walpole. A Study of the Origins of the Modern English Press

Harris, Michael. London Newspapers In The Age Of Walpole. A Study Of The Origins Of The Modern English Press. London/Toronto: Associated University Presses, 1987.

Article(s)

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (I)

Journalism’s roving eye. A history of American foreign reporting

Hamilton, John Maxwell. Journalism’S Roving Eye. A History Of American Foreign Reporting. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2009.

Article(s)

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (I)

Newspapers without journalists

Høyer, Svennik. « Newspapers Without Journalists ». Journalism Studies 4, no 4 (2003), 451-463. doi:10.1080/1461670032000136550.

Article(s)

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (I)

Information Society – what is it exactly?

Karvalics, L.Z. « Information Society – What Is It Exactly? ». Dans Information Society: From Theory To Political Practice, Pintér, R. (ed)., 29–46. Budapest: Gondolat – Új Mandátum, 2008.

Article(s)

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (I)

Rethinking transediting

Schäffner, Christina. « Rethinking Transediting ». Meta: Journal Des Traducteurs 57, no 4 (2012), 866-883. doi:10.7202/1021222ar.

Article(s)

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (I)

Translation in the informational society

Valdeón, Roberto A. « Translation In The Informational Society ». Across Languages And Cultures 11, no 2 (2010), 149-160.

Article(s)

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (I)

News Translation and Biocultural Diversity

Frames of War in News Translation: Butler and Valdeón

From the Dutch corantos to Convergence Journalism: The Role of Translation in News Production

Valdeón, Roberto A. « From The Dutch Corantos To Convergence Journalism: The Role Of Translation In News Production ». Meta: Journal Des Traducteurs 57, no 4 (2012), 850-865.

Article(s)

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (I)

Frames of War in News Translation: Butler and Valdeón

Information, communication, translation

Valdeón, Roberto A. « Information, Communication, Translation ». Dans Handbook Of Translation Studies, Yves Gambier and Luc van Doorslaer (eds), 3:66–72. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2012.

Article(s)

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (I)

Fifteen years of journalistic translation research and more

Valdeón, Roberto A. « Fifteen Years Of Journalistic Translation Research And More ». Perspectives: Studies In Translatology 23, no 4 (2015), 634-662.

Article(s)

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (II)

Roberto A. Valdeón’s Research on Journalistic Translation (I)

Frames of War in News Translation: Butler and Valdeón