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The Crisis of Translation in the Western Media: A Critical Discourse Analysis of al-Qācida Communiqués

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2009, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, ED Teaching and Learning (Columbus campus).

This dissertation takes into account the forces globalization exerts on international news broadcasts primarily focusing on the invisible (Venuti, 1995), but vital role translation plays in enabling the global news process to take place (Orengo, 2005, p. 169). Particular attention is given to elucidating possible reasons behind translation distortion that occurs when language is transferred from source text to target text. Research for this dissertation revealed three primary causes of translation infidelity and are, therefore, explored, investigated, and analyzed in detail. First, significant evidence uncovered by Conway and Bassnett (2006, p. 5) incriminates two of the three major international news agencies for not offering any type of translator training for anyone on their staff. This fact alone calls into question translation competency and cultural sensitivity of international journalists, reporters, and editors.

Second, the Western Materialism-Eastern Spiritualism ontological dichotomy, which has been explored by scholars (Huntington, 1993; Qutb, 1951) and novelists (Yaḥyā Ḥaqqī, Tawfiq al-Ḥakīm) seems to be causing a natural distortion of fidelity to take place when translating in the Arabic-English language pair; especially when religiously-charged Arabic terrorist communiqués are translated into mainstream western newspaper jargon. Substantial evidence is provided here to establish a causal relationship between this ontological gap and translator choices. Third, scholars from across disciplines (from Lippmann’s work in 1965 in the field of Political Science to Bassnett’s work in 2005 in the field of Translation Studies) have drawn the same conclusion: a journalist’s personal biases—a product of engrained ideologies learned through one’s society, educational system, and language—consciously and unconsciously influence their writing choices.

Through Critical Discourse Analysis, English source text translations presented in this dissertation reveal the role and extent these three causes of translation infidelity impact international journalists’ translations in the English-Arabic language pair. This language pair was chosen due to linguistic misunderstandings that contributed to igniting the first two major wars of the 21st century—The War on Terror and The War in Iraq. Thus, a comparative analysis is made of translated communiqués from known terrorist organizations, such as al-Qācida, whose wording, content, and purport vary greatly between and among the major international press agencies.

To enhance translation fidelity, an argument is made here for assessing journalist translators’ language proficiency using ACTFL reading and listening instruments and establishing a national education policy that requires journalism colleges to develop and implement a curriculum emphasizing experiential learning and real-world practical training in translation. Findings indicate that language maintenance programs should be established for practicing translator journalists in combination with periodic language proficiency examinations and the establishment of a new hiring policy that requires international news agencies to set language proficiency and cultural sensitivity standards for hiring practices.

Keiko Samimy, PhD (Advisor)
William Taylor, PhD (Committee Member)
Joseph Zeidan, PhD (Committee Member)
243 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Clark, A. S. (2009). The Crisis of Translation in the Western Media: A Critical Discourse Analysis of al-Qācida Communiqués [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1257195409

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Clark, Allen. The Crisis of Translation in the Western Media: A Critical Discourse Analysis of al-Qācida Communiqués. 2009. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1257195409.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Clark, Allen. "The Crisis of Translation in the Western Media: A Critical Discourse Analysis of al-Qācida Communiqués." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1257195409

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)