Transcreation

Abstract: This paper focusses on the real problems involved in promoting the translator's role and status to that of intercultural mediator. Ever since the cultural turn in the 1980s, academics have been equating translation with intercultural mediation (IM) and translators as mediators. The paper first looks at how mediation has been understood in translation, and then investigates a number of issues regarding intervention, both at a theoretical and at a practical level.In theory, as a result of the cultural turn, there should be a more context-based understanding of communication, and hence a more intervenient role for the translator. At a practical level, however, normative roles follow a conduit theory of translation based on language transfer.While academia and the profession wrangle over IM, a number of other options are emerging to cater for the ever-increasing real need for translation and IM. This competition is potentially marginalizing translators and interpreters. It will be suggested that ‘tran...

Abstract: Methods for translating evidence-based behavioral interventions into real-world settings seldom account for the special issues in reaching health disparity populations The objective of this article is to describe an innovative “transcreational” framework for designing and delivering interventions in communities to reduce health disparities We define transcreation as the process of planning, delivering, and evaluating interventions so that they resonate with the community experiencing health disparities, while achieving intended health outcomes The Transcreation Framework for Community-engaged Behavioral Interventions to Reduce Health Disparities comprises seven steps: 1) identify community infrastructure and engage partners; 2) specify theory; 3) identify multiple inputs for new program; 4) design intervention prototype; 5) design study, methods, and measures for community setting; 6) build community capacity for delivery; and 7) deliver transcreated intervention and evaluate implementation processes Communities are engaged from the start and interventions are delivered by community-based interventionists and tested in community settings The framework applies rigorous scientific methods for evaluating program effectiveness and implementation processes It incorporates training and ongoing technical assistance to assure treatment fidelity and build community capacity This framework expands the types of scientific evidence used and balances fidelity to evidence and fit to the community setting It can guide researchers and communities in developing and testing behavioral interventions to reduce health disparities that are likely to be sustained because infrastructure development is embedded in the research

Abstract: Transcreation has recently become a buzzword in Translation Studies. Definitions abound, some of them placing it within a functionalist perspective (e.g. Baker 2011), some interpreting it as a heuristic method to be used in the translation of poetry (e.g. Snell-Hornby 1994), some others relating it to the translation of computer games (O’Hara & Mangiron 2006). Nowadays often used in advertising and the media, transcreation is a portmanteau word made by combining together translation and creation, in order to emphasize the considerable amount of creativity required in the process. Yet, since a varying degree of creativity is implicit in the translation of any type of text, this study argues that creativity is not the discriminating factor in order to recognize the difference between translation and transcreation; the aim, rather, is to restore the original conception of the term, based on the word ‘creation’, i.e. the generation of new words or meanings. From this perspective, no single domain (e.g. poetry, computer games or advertising) can be said to have priority in the use of transcreation. In particular, I argue that even a domain which is thought to impose the heaviest semiotic constraints on the translator, i.e. legal translation, is developing in ways that generate ‘semantic voids’ to be filled; an example is the lack of lexicalization of new concepts. term ‘transcreation’ is not abusive of any other established concept in Translation Studies 2, i.e. it does not duplicate or fully match any other term, not even the more general term ‘translation’, and therefore it has its own right to exist (no case of unlawful appropriation!); b) that the confusion arising around the term transcreation requires thorough investigation of the actual use (or abuse) of the term in the academic, professional translator and LSP business communities; c) that the term transcreation needs (re-)defining to blow away the clouds that are obscuring its intrinsic meaning. The purpose of this paper is therefore to revisit the concept of transcreation to add to and extend previous research referring to this issue. Thus, one contribution of the paper is the semantics debate it introduces around the use of the term transcreation. Past research has also argued that there is a lot of confusion both in academia and in the business world around the concept. This paper tries to shed light on the confusion created by the key players (academia, translators and Language Service Providers) and contribute to resolving it, by challenging the widely accepted (if not, already established) use of the term transcreation. 2. Defining transcreation It is customary that a section on definitions of a particular word or phrase should start by referring to current dictionary entries for that word or phrase. It is therefore rather unusual that the term transcreation has failed to enter any English monolingual dictionary in spite of its being around since the late 1960s. The long gap in the history of its usage – the term seems to have almost disappeared, except in Brazil and India, for about 30 years – may account for lexicographers’ reluctance to add the term to their dictionaries. It will therefore be useful to refer to the seminal studies by Cabré (2003) and the equally authoritative work on terminology processing by Sager (1991) to be able to account for the yet-to-be-standardized term transcreation. In her ‘Theories of terminology’ Cabré (2003: 163) wrote that she was surprised at the sudden revival of interest in terminology in the late 1990s, which parallels the rebirth and renewed use of the term transcreation. In fact, both the term and the concept behind it have developed in new directions ever since and are still being redefined today. Sager (1990: 114) explains that “Provided the validity of a new concept is generally acknowledged, it will become established within the specialist community. [...] This stage can be called regularization of usage and sets of definitions in textbooks, glossaries or manuals are the outward manifestation of this process of promulgation of agreed usage.” Therefore, in order to verify whether transcreation has already gone through this first stage of regularization, we will check if there is agreed usage of the term in the main stakeholders’ communities. 96 VIVIANA GABALLO 2 Transcreation would appear closest to ‘free’ on the literal – free cline (Hatim & Munday 2004: 11-14). E S P A c r o s s C u l t u r e s 9 2 0 1 2 EXPLORING THE BOUNDARIES OF TRANSCREATION IN SPECIALIZED TRANSLATION 97 2.1. The academic standpoint The first attested use of the term transcreation dates as far back as 1957 when Lal (1957), an Indian Sanskrit scholar, used the term to refer to his own versions of classical Indian drama in English, which brought across the richness and vitality of the original. Some twelve years later, in 1969, the Brazilian concrete poet H. de Campos used the term to characterize a new approach to creative literary translation that aimed at phonetic, syntactical, and morphological equivalence achieved by appropriating the best contemporary poetry and the existing local tradition (Milton & Bandia 2009: 259). Following the Indian literary notion of transcreation (Lal 1972; Mukherjee 2004; Trivedi 2005, 2006; Gopinathan 2006;), Bollettieri Bosinelli (2010: 190) used the term to refer to Joyce’s writing strategy of “transforming a commonplace meaning into something new and unexpected” and defines it as follows (ibid.: 191): The term “transcreation” describes some examples of the manipulative use of English, which can best be explained from a post-colonial perspective, and more specifically, the term helps to articulate one of Joyce’s tactics in appropriating the language of the British whose domination over Ireland had tried to erase the native Gaelic language and culture. Recent studies on the localization of games (Mangiron & O’Hagan 2006; O’Hagan 2005) suggest the term transcreation to describe the greater freedom of the games localizer compared with any other translator. With games localization, the translator is expected to convey a game-playing experience that is as close as possible to the original, which implies an adaptive approach with strong domestication tendencies when it comes to the treatment of jokes, plays on words, linguistic varieties and lyrics of theme songs (Mangiron & O’Hagan 2006) 3. A critical voice about the use of the term transcreation as referred to the translation of video games was raised by Bernal (2006: 34) who felt it lacked consistency, although he did not substantiate his conservative position with any relevant details (ibid.: 35): The terms ‘game localisation’ and ‘transcreation’ do not seem accurate enough to be used in Translation Studies, since ‘localisation’ is an industry-used term and includes non-linguistic activities, and we do not have a clear definition of ‘transcreation’. TS do not seem to gain anything from their acceptance. In my opinion, ‘translation’ is still the most adequate term to refer to any type of language transfer, but if ‘localisation’ is to be used it should always be preceded by ‘linguistic’ or ‘cultural’. The influence of the translations in the development of a video game, together with the variety of different texts found in them requiring all the techniques E S P A c r o s s C u l t u r e s 9 2 0 1 2 3 However, the case studies on Final Fantasy (O’Hagan & Mangiron 2004) also found that aspects concerning the traits of main characters require a foreignization approach where overseas fans expect a distinctive original flavour to be retained. utilised for other translation specialities at the same time, is what makes the translation of video games different from any other translational activity. Very few scholars have attempted to investigate the application of the notion of transcreation to non-literary fields of translation. What strikes one most is that every talk or discussion on transcreation as applied to the business area, i.e. in marketing or advertising etc., has been left to the professional counterpart, i.e. translators and LSPs. Translation scholars seem to have abdicated their role as critical investigators of a substantial part of their discipline and passed the buck to the industry, which is free to dictate the preferred terminology to be used in this sector. 2.2. The translators’ voice It is therefore essential that we now turn to the translation business and analyse the main stakeholders’ stance. Below is a selection of contributions by professional translators to the debate about the notion of transcreation at the time when it started to become a buzzword. The idea of the traditional divide between technical translations and more creative translations, the latter being equated to literary translations due to their expressive power, emerges quite clearly. Figure 1. Translators’ contributions to the debate about the notion of transcreation 98 VIVIANA GABALLO E S P A c r o s s C u l t u r e s 9 2 0 1 2 More recent contributions by translation professionals only confirm the underlying ‘assonance’ with literary translations and the particular ‘resonance’ of a text tailored to the specifics of a target audience in the local markets, i.e. a TT should not only epitomize everything the brand stands for but also resonate with the target audience. However, while transcreation seems to offer a culturally-specific solution to the translation of marketing texts, translators agree in arguing that good translation already involves cultural adaptation; therefore, a good translator will already be a transcreator. Which brings us to the question: “What makes a good transcreator?” To this question Patricia L., a native French and English professional offering copywriting, translation and adaptation, replied 4: Short list and in no particular order! To be a lateral thinker, to have a strategic view, to be very creative (and not only in playing with words), to k