Title: Thematic structure vs. information structure in the analysis of translation shifts
Source document: Brno studies in English. 2019, vol. 45, iss. 2, pp. [139]-154
Extent
[139]-154
-
ISSN0524-6881 (print)1805-0867 (online)
Persistent identifier (DOI): https://doi.org/10.5817/BSE2019-2-7
Stable URL (handle): https://hdl.handle.net/11222.digilib/142187
Type: Article
Language
License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International
Notice: These citations are automatically created and might not follow citation rules properly.
Abstract(s)
This paper aims to show that the comparison of the source and target text's information structure should be a prerequisite of and take priority over the analysis of their thematic structure (in the Hallidayan sense). Thus, it is argued that in such analysis the original's distribution of communicative dynamism is a more important consideration that its linear arrangement. The article offers a critical analysis of Munday (1998) and contrasts his approach with the one based on the model developed by the Brno branch of the Prague School. It is also pointed out that the conflict between keeping the original's word order and the distribution of communicative dynamism may often be resolved by means of the strategies for avoiding linear dislocation described by Baker (1992: 167–172). The paper also establishes a hierarchy of priorities that the translator should follow to keep the ST's information structure.
References
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[2] Beaugrande, Robert de and Wolfgang Dressler (1981) Introduction to Text Linguistics. London and New York: Longman.
[3] Daneš, František (1974) Functional Sentence Perspective and the organization of the text. In: Daneš, František (ed.) Papers on Functional Sentence Perspective. Prague: Academia, 106–128.
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[7] Firbas, Jan (1992) Functional Sentence Perspective in Written and Spoken Communication. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[8] Fries, Peter H. (1983) On the status of theme in English: arguments from discourse. In: Petöfi, János S., and Sözer, Emel (eds.) Micro and Macro Connexity of Texts. Hamburg: Helmut Buske.
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[13] Munday, Jeremy (1998) Problems of applying thematic analysis to translation between Spanish and English. Cadernos de traducão 1(3), 183–213.
[14] Prus, Bolesław (2003 [1899]) Przygoda Stasia. In: Wybór nowel. Kraków: Wydawnictwo GREG, 79–108.
[15] Svoboda, Aleš (1983) Thematic elements. Brno Studies in English 15, 49–85.
[16] Szwedek, Aleksander (2010) The Thematic Structure of the Sentence in English and Polish. Łódź and Warszawa: SWSPiZ.
[17] Vinay, Jean-Paul and Jean Darbelnet (1995) Comparative Stylistics of English and French. Trans. Sager, Juan C. and M.-J. Hamel. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
[2] Beaugrande, Robert de and Wolfgang Dressler (1981) Introduction to Text Linguistics. London and New York: Longman.
[3] Daneš, František (1974) Functional Sentence Perspective and the organization of the text. In: Daneš, František (ed.) Papers on Functional Sentence Perspective. Prague: Academia, 106–128.
[4] Firbas, Jan (1961) On the communicative value of the modern English finite verb. Brno Studies in English 3, 79–101.
[5] Firbas, Jan (1966) Non-thematic subjects in contemporary English. In: Vachek, Josef (ed.) Travaux linguistiques de Prague, vol. 2. Prague: Academia, 239–256.
[6] Firbas, Jan (1979) A functional view of "ordo naturalis". Brno Studies in English 13, 29–59.
[7] Firbas, Jan (1992) Functional Sentence Perspective in Written and Spoken Communication. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[8] Fries, Peter H. (1983) On the status of theme in English: arguments from discourse. In: Petöfi, János S., and Sözer, Emel (eds.) Micro and Macro Connexity of Texts. Hamburg: Helmut Buske.
[9] Grzegorek, Maria (1984) Thematization in English and Polish: A Study in Word Order. Poznań: Wydawnictwo Naukowe im. A. Mickiewicza.
[10] Halliday, Michael A. K. (1994) An Introduction to Functional Grammar. London: Edward Arnold.
[11] Johnston, Bill (1996) Staś's Little Adventure. By Prus, Bolesław. In: The Sins of Childhood and Other Stories. Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University Press, 1–50.
[12] Kim, Mira and Christian M. I. M. Mathiessen (2015) Ways to move forward in translation studies: A textual perspective. Target 27 (3), 335–350. | DOI 10.1075/target.27.3.01kim
[13] Munday, Jeremy (1998) Problems of applying thematic analysis to translation between Spanish and English. Cadernos de traducão 1(3), 183–213.
[14] Prus, Bolesław (2003 [1899]) Przygoda Stasia. In: Wybór nowel. Kraków: Wydawnictwo GREG, 79–108.
[15] Svoboda, Aleš (1983) Thematic elements. Brno Studies in English 15, 49–85.
[16] Szwedek, Aleksander (2010) The Thematic Structure of the Sentence in English and Polish. Łódź and Warszawa: SWSPiZ.
[17] Vinay, Jean-Paul and Jean Darbelnet (1995) Comparative Stylistics of English and French. Trans. Sager, Juan C. and M.-J. Hamel. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins.