scholarly journals Experimental Metafunction Study of Ode to the West Wind and Its Chinese Translations

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 151
Author(s):  
Xiaoying Hu

Guided by Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistics, this paper attempts to apply functional approach to translation studies by making a contrastive analysis of Shelley’s Ode to the West Wind and its two Chinese versions from the perspective of Experimental Metafunction. It aims to exemplify how a literary text, especially for poetry, can be interpreted properly and systematically with the assistance of linguistic theories, and also testify the applicability of Systemic Functional Linguistics to translation studies, both in English and Chinese.

Babel ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 484-504
Author(s):  
Eirini Chatzikoumi

Abstract This article addresses the contribution of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) to translation and, specifically, the use of Halliday’s metafunctions in translation studies research. The aim is to provide the state of the art of the main findings and proposals of these studies regarding the role of metafunctions in translation and translation teaching, thus evaluating their relevance and applicability in this field. In order to achieve this, six studies were reviewed, three of them dedicated to metafunctional shifts and three to the use of metafunctions in translation teaching and evaluation. This critical bibliographic review allowed for the corroboration of the contribution of SFL to the field of translation, and for the deduction of relevant aspects for future research and teaching proposals. More precisely, the relevance of the incorporation of semantic metafunctions in translator training and evaluation is confirmed, and the possibility of a distinction between obligatory and optional metafunctional translation shifts is suggested.


2014 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 373-396
Author(s):  
Gyung Hee Choi

In translation studies, genre and grammar have each flourished in their own right as a subject of study by a number of scholars. But research solely dedicated to the complementary relations between genre and grammar has been rare, particularly from the translation education perspective. Neither genre nor grammar can function properly without the other in a text because context (genre) and ‘wording’ (grammar) are inseparable. The aim of this paper is to examine the correlation between genre structure and grammar in the analysis of errors in student translations of news story texts. Drawing on Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), translations of two subtypes of news-reporting texts from English to Korean are analyzed. The main data include two source texts and their translations by nine Masters’students. The findings of this paper show that a large majority of translation mistakes arise from a lack of knowledge of genre structure and its interconnection with logical meaning (how clauses, sentences and paragraphs are combined). The research reported in this paper indicates that genre structure and grammar together constitute useful resources for teaching the translation of news-reporting texts, with more studies of genre structure in other subject fields desired.


Author(s):  
Pattama Patpong

Advertisements, as a distinct register or text type, are characterized by particular patterns of language with underlying meaning of purchasing a promoted product (Toolan, 1988). Thus advertisement is a good example of the creative use of persuasive strategies which can be illustrated through language. This study aims to explore amulet advertisements as examples of persuasive discourse widely found in Thailand. In the Thai context, the advertising of amulets and Buddha images seem prevalent in a wide range of printed media – leaflets, newspapers, magazines, and books. Data for this paper are drawn from three amulet advertisements (collected from March 2005 to March 2007). All of them are taken from Thailand’s best selling printed newspaper – Thairath. The linguistic framework used in this study is Systemic Functional Linguistics, initially developed by Michael A. K. Halliday. Two key aspects of SFL are analysed – context and lexicogrammar strata. Based on the Thai context, three contextual values – field, tenor, and mode are discussed. In terms of lexicogrammatical analysis, the study will focus on an exploration of three metafunctions – textual, interpersonal, and experiential.


Author(s):  
Arsen Nahum Pasaribu ◽  
Erika Sinambela ◽  
Sondang Manik

Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) refers to some kind of text analysis, including an analysis of literary language. Some research has verified the study of the literary text using this linguistic apparatus; however the use of SFL in literary text analysis is relatively rare. Therefore, this study investigated the contributions of SFL to literary text analysis. The data of the study were 20 scientific articles focusing on literary text analysis using SFL. The analysis used content analysis to expose the segments of the story analyzed and the components of SFL to analyze them. The findings showed that the method of analysis using SFL on the literary text has brought new perspectives to the researchers, and provided some possible future studies in literary works. Moreover, the study of literary texts is regarded not merely as interpretative practices but as explanatory categories for each segment of a literary text.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Margo Lecompte-Van Poucke

Abstract Systemic functional linguistics focuses on the study of language use within its registerial context of situation. The theory offers a meaning-based approach for the analysis of discourses in generic and culture-specific settings. When it comes to the analysis of conflict discourses across cultural boundaries, SFL may be integrated into a framework that relates language use to the notions of power and ideology and the dimensions of culture and history to provide a broader picture to inform future political decision-making. This paper presents a pragma-functional approach combining systemic functional linguistics, argumentation theory, critical theory and postcolonial insights. The analytical tool is illustrated with reference to the New Caledonian independence debate through the analysis of salient linguistic patterns and discursive moves in two open letters, published in April 1988, by Kanak independence leader Jean-Marie Tjibaou and former French President François Mitterrand.


Author(s):  
Ladjane Maria Farias de Souza

AbstractFrom a systemic functional perspective, translation has been dealt with mostly by means of the hierarchy of realization and has been modeled against parameters of difference between language systems – equivalence and shift. Such a concern with equivalence between language systems reflects the primary focus of research on the supporting language theory itself. As recent developments in systemic functional linguistics have shifted focus from system to uses and users, proposing three complementary hierarchies – realization, instantiation, and individuation – a more comprehensive perspective on translation has been enabled, which includes the systems, uses, and users involved. In tune with recent developments in translation studies, it views translation as a negotiation of meanings (including the notion of “equivalence”) between users via a specific use – the translated text. This article introduces this new model, its foundations, proposed concepts, and suggested methodology, as well as a glimpse of the model at work.


Author(s):  
Elaine Espindola

The present article contemplates two complementary dimensions, namely: (i) Audiovisual Translation Studies; and (ii) Linguistic studies giving direct attention to the language of subtitling to put forward a theoretical basis for studies focusing on The Language of Subtitles. Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) provides theoretical tools to allow for a language-based understanding of the meaning making resources of subtitling on the basis of text analysis. It is argued that this complementarity allows for fruitful comparison and contrast of texts in a translational relationship in that it provides categories for describing similarities and differences emerging from investigations of the choices made in spoken texts translated into written language in subtitles. Investigations carried out along these lines may lead to insights in terms of the construals existent in source and target texts in order to understand the choices made in the realization of the texts.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 706
Author(s):  
Jing Chen

With the developments in Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), the functional approach to translation studies (TS) has offered new perspective into understanding how translation can be viewed as the re-instantiation of Source Text (ST) in another language system as Target Text (TT).In literary texts, language variations such as literary dialects have long been considered challenges in translation, but literary dialects are also believed to be “valued” linguistic elements since non-standard language such as dialects are socially related and may trigger linguistic stereotypes among readers. In tune with the new development in SFL, the current research focuses on the English translations of dialects in Li Jieren’s Si Shui Wei Lan (死水微澜) which is rich in Sichuan dialects and are with linguistically varied voices. The purpose of this article is threefold: firstly, to briefly present the linguistic features of ST, revealing author’s intentional arrangement in his choices of dialects; secondly, with case studies to compare and discuss the translators’ choices in re-instantiating dialects from the perspective of coupling and commitment; finally, to offer suggestions for translating literary dialects. This paper argues that SFL helps translators pinpoint the linguistic features that are valued in ST and inform translators of alternative renderings. This paper adopts a descriptive approach to the triplet on how translators re-coupled and re-committed the language variations in the ST into TT, and it serves as a manifestation of how SFL applies to TS from a new angel.


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