scholarly journals YA Literature: A Genre on the Rise. Challenges and Strategies in Translating the Imaginary World of Elizabeth Knox’s Southland Saga

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Florencia Bell

<p>Young Adult (YA) literature has taken the publishing industry by storm since J.K. Rowling published the first novel of her Harry Potter saga (1997-2007). From then on, the genre has exponentially grown expanding to other media, such as the film industry, videogames, theme parks as well as merchandise. The Spanish-speaking markets have mirrored the English-speaking ones thoroughly embracing the genre. Indeed, it is thanks to the continuous sales growth in this sector of the market that the book industry has kept afloat in the last two decades. New Zealand’s recent rise in popularity among young Spaniards and Hispanic Americans alike, in part because of the working holiday visa schemes between New Zealand and several Spanish-speaking countries, and in part on account of the featuring of the country in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings (2001-2003) and The Hobbit (2012-2014) trilogies, has created an opportune moment to introduce New Zealand YA authors to the Hispanic market.  Elizabeth Knox’s Southland saga (Dreamhunter (2005), Dreamquake (2007) and Mortal Fire (2013), with a fourth and fifth novels under way), is a fine example of New Zealand YA literature that has the potential to follow the success of other franchises, such as Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments saga (2007-2014) and Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight saga (2005-2008). Knox’s YA novels have been internationally acclaimed in the English-speaking world and have received several prizes; this makes them an ideal showcase to introduce New Zealand YA writers to the Spanish-speaking audiences.  Therefore, this thesis has a twofold objective. On the one hand, it presents a comprehensive list of challenges and difficulties encountered when translating the imaginary world in which Knox’s three YA novels are set, which can also apply to the translation of other New Zealand YA novels. Each of these challenges is accompanied by one or more strategies to provide possible solutions. On the other hand, the thesis aims at producing a commercially viable version of the novels targeting a wide Spanish-speaking readership A theoretical discussion precedes the translation samples in which issues such as foreignisation versus domestication (Venuti 1995) are considered, as well as the suitability of a standardised target language. The translations are carried out under the umbrella of a potential Skopos (Reiss and Vermeer 2014) as if they had been commissioned for a wide Spanish-speaking market. General issues including target language considerations and the translation of cultural words (Newmark 1988, 94) are analysed within the frame of the previous theoretical discussion. In addition, specific linguistic and textual issues particular to Knox’s YA novels are tackled to illustrate the complexities of rendering the imaginary world of the Southland saga into Spanish.  The aim of this thesis is to produce a version which, complying with a potential Skopos, is suitable for the Spanish-speaking market as well as compiling a comprehensive list of translation challenges and possible solutions particular to the genre with a focus in New Zealand. The result is a translation that not only preserves but also heightens the New Zealand origin of the source text while maintaining readability and fluidity in the target language.</p>

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Florencia Bell

<p>Young Adult (YA) literature has taken the publishing industry by storm since J.K. Rowling published the first novel of her Harry Potter saga (1997-2007). From then on, the genre has exponentially grown expanding to other media, such as the film industry, videogames, theme parks as well as merchandise. The Spanish-speaking markets have mirrored the English-speaking ones thoroughly embracing the genre. Indeed, it is thanks to the continuous sales growth in this sector of the market that the book industry has kept afloat in the last two decades. New Zealand’s recent rise in popularity among young Spaniards and Hispanic Americans alike, in part because of the working holiday visa schemes between New Zealand and several Spanish-speaking countries, and in part on account of the featuring of the country in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings (2001-2003) and The Hobbit (2012-2014) trilogies, has created an opportune moment to introduce New Zealand YA authors to the Hispanic market.  Elizabeth Knox’s Southland saga (Dreamhunter (2005), Dreamquake (2007) and Mortal Fire (2013), with a fourth and fifth novels under way), is a fine example of New Zealand YA literature that has the potential to follow the success of other franchises, such as Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments saga (2007-2014) and Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight saga (2005-2008). Knox’s YA novels have been internationally acclaimed in the English-speaking world and have received several prizes; this makes them an ideal showcase to introduce New Zealand YA writers to the Spanish-speaking audiences.  Therefore, this thesis has a twofold objective. On the one hand, it presents a comprehensive list of challenges and difficulties encountered when translating the imaginary world in which Knox’s three YA novels are set, which can also apply to the translation of other New Zealand YA novels. Each of these challenges is accompanied by one or more strategies to provide possible solutions. On the other hand, the thesis aims at producing a commercially viable version of the novels targeting a wide Spanish-speaking readership A theoretical discussion precedes the translation samples in which issues such as foreignisation versus domestication (Venuti 1995) are considered, as well as the suitability of a standardised target language. The translations are carried out under the umbrella of a potential Skopos (Reiss and Vermeer 2014) as if they had been commissioned for a wide Spanish-speaking market. General issues including target language considerations and the translation of cultural words (Newmark 1988, 94) are analysed within the frame of the previous theoretical discussion. In addition, specific linguistic and textual issues particular to Knox’s YA novels are tackled to illustrate the complexities of rendering the imaginary world of the Southland saga into Spanish.  The aim of this thesis is to produce a version which, complying with a potential Skopos, is suitable for the Spanish-speaking market as well as compiling a comprehensive list of translation challenges and possible solutions particular to the genre with a focus in New Zealand. The result is a translation that not only preserves but also heightens the New Zealand origin of the source text while maintaining readability and fluidity in the target language.</p>


2020 ◽  
pp. 135910532091988
Author(s):  
Cristian Garcia-Alcaraz ◽  
Burcin Ataseven ◽  
Sarah Mills ◽  
Scott C Roesch ◽  
Georgia Robins Sadler ◽  
...  

The English and Spanish versions of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control scales have not been psychometrically evaluated for use with Hispanic Americans. Hispanic American adults ( N = 436) completed the English ( n = 210) or Spanish ( n = 226) Multidimensional Health Locus of Control scales. A multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis did not support equivalent four-factor structures for Spanish- and English-speaking Hispanic Americans. Follow-up exploratory factor analyses of the 24 items supported an 18-item, four-factor structure for English-speaking Hispanic Americans and a 22-item, three-factor structure for Spanish-speaking Hispanic Americans. These results suggest caution when using the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control scales with Hispanic Americans.


2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia H. Manz ◽  
Ageliki Nicolopoulou ◽  
Catherine B. Bracaliello ◽  
Allison N. Ash

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-65
Author(s):  
Karen Glaser

AbstractThe assessment of pragmatic skills in a foreign or second language (L2) is usually investigated with regard to language learners, but rarely with regard to non-native language instructors, who are simultaneously teachers and (advanced) learners of the L2. With regard to English as the target language, this is a true research gap, as nonnative English-speaking teachers (non-NESTs) constitute the majority of English teachers world-wide (Kamhi-Stein 2016). Addressing this research gap, this paper presents a modified replication of Bardovi-Harlig and Dörnyei’s (1998) renowned study on grammatical vs. pragmatic awareness, carried out with non-NEST candidates. While the original study asked the participants for a global indication of (in)appropriateness/ (in)correctness and to rate its severity, the participants in the present study were asked to identify the nature of the violation and to suggest a repair. Inspired by Pfingsthorn and Flöck (2017), the data was analyzed by means of Signal Detection Theory with regard to Hits, Misses, False Alarms and Correct Rejections to gain more detailed insights into the participants’ metalinguistic perceptions. In addition, the study investigated the rate of successful repairs, showing that correct problem identification cannot necessarily be equated with adequate repair abilities. Implications for research, language teaching and language teacher education are derived.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 1283-1297
Author(s):  
Mike Thelwall ◽  
Pardeep Sud

Ongoing problems attracting women into many Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects have many potential explanations. This article investigates whether the possible undercitation of women associates with lower proportions of, or increases in, women in a subject. It uses six million articles published in 1996–2012 across up to 331 fields in six mainly English-speaking countries: Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. The proportion of female first- and last-authored articles in each year was calculated and 4,968 regressions were run to detect first-author gender advantages in field normalized article citations. The proportion of female first authors in each field correlated highly between countries and the female first-author citation advantages derived from the regressions correlated moderately to strongly between countries, so both are relatively field specific. There was a weak tendency in the United States and New Zealand for female citation advantages to be stronger in fields with fewer women, after excluding small fields, but there was no other association evidence. There was no evidence of female citation advantages or disadvantages to be a cause or effect of changes in the proportions of women in a field for any country. Inappropriate uses of career-level citations are a likelier source of gender inequities.


2021 ◽  
pp. 193229682110292
Author(s):  
David Tsai ◽  
Jaquelin Flores Garcia ◽  
Jennifer L. Fogel ◽  
Choo Phei Wee ◽  
Mark W. Reid ◽  
...  

Background: Diabetes technologies, such as insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors (CGM), have been associated with improved glycemic control and increased quality of life for young people with type 1 diabetes (T1D); however, few young people use these devices, especially those from minority ethnic groups. Current literature predominantly focuses on white patients with private insurance and does not report experiences of diverse pediatric patients with limited resources. Methods: To explore potential differences between Latinx and non-Latinx patients, English- and Spanish-speaking young people with T1D ( n = 173, ages 11-25 years) were surveyed to assess attitudes about and barriers to diabetes technologies using the Technology Use Attitudes and Barriers to Device Use questionnaires. Results: Both English- and Spanish-speaking participants who identified as Latinx were more likely to have public insurance ( P = .0001). English-speaking Latinx participants reported higher Hemoglobin A1c values ( P = .003), less CGM use ( P = .002), and more negative attitudes about technology (generally, P = .003; and diabetes-specific, P < .001) than either non-Latinx or Spanish-speaking Latinx participants. Barriers were encountered with equivalent frequency across groups. Conclusions: Latinx English-speaking participants had less positive attitudes toward general and diabetes technology than Latinx Spanish-speaking and non-Latinx English-speaking peers, and differences in CGM use were associated with socioeconomic status. Additional work is needed to design and deliver diabetes interventions that are of interest to and supportive of patients from diverse ethnic and language backgrounds.


1993 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 523-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna Jackson-Maldonado ◽  
Donna Thal ◽  
Virginia Marchman ◽  
Elizabeth Bates ◽  
Vera Gutierrez-Clellen

ABSTRACTThis paper describes the early lexical development of a group of 328 normal Spanish-speaking children aged 0;8 to 2;7. First the development and structure of a new parent report instrument,Inventario del Desarollo de Habilidades Communcativasis described. Then five studies carried out with the instrument are presented. In the first study vocabulary development of Spanish-speaking infants and toddlers is compared to that of English-speaking infants and toddlers. The English data were gathered using a comparable parental report, theMacArthur Communicative Development Inventories. In the second study the general characteristics of Spanish language acquisition, and the effects of various demographic factors on that process, are examined. Study 3 examines the differential effects of three methods of collecting the data (mail-in, personal interview, and clinic waiting room administration). Studies 4 and 5 document the reliability and validity of the instrument. Results show that the trajectories of development are very similar for Spanish-and English-speaking children in this age range, that children from varying social groups develop similarly, and that mail-in and personal interview administration techniques produce comparable results. Inventories administered in a medical clinic waiting room, on the otherhand, produced lower estimates of toddler vocabulary than the other two models.


Author(s):  
Craig Allen

The first completely researched history of U.S. Spanish-language television traces the rise of two foremost, if widely unrecognized, modern American enterprises—the Spanish-language networks Univision and Telemundo. It is a standard scholarly history constructed from archives, original interviews, reportage, and other public materials. Occasioned by the public’s wakening to a “Latinization” of the U.S., the book demonstrates that the emergence of Spanish-language television as a force in mass communication is essential to understanding the increasing role of Latinos and Latino affairs in modern American society. It argues that a combination of foreign and domestic entrepreneurs and innovators who overcame large odds resolves a significant and timely question: In an English-speaking country, how could a Spanish-speaking institution have emerged? Through exploration of significant and colorful pioneers, continuing conflicts and setbacks, landmark strides, and ongoing controversies—and with revelations that include regulatory indecision, behind-the-scenes tug-of-war, and the internationalization of U.S. mass media—the rise of a Spanish-language institution in the English-speaking U.S. is explained. Nine chapters that begin with Spanish-language television’s inception in 1961 and end 2012 chronologically narrate the endeavor’s first 50 years. Events, passages, and themes are thoroughly referenced.


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