Eden Amsellem, Anaïs Clancy, Emily MacDonald, Jennifer Padilla Villegas, Summer Xia
Communication in casual contexts appears to be less directly translatable between languages than communication in formal contexts. Several of our group members are bilingual and have experienced difficulties when translating between the different languages they speak. Based on their personal experiences, we wanted to determine whether language in casual or formal contexts tended to be more untranslatable. To do this, we analyzed texts that had been translated between English and French, Spanish, or Mandarin. Our bilingual group members searched each text for instances where the translation was noticeably inconsistent with the original meaning. These inconsistencies came from a variety of language aspects including tone, connotations, idioms, and slang. The translators recorded these inconsistencies as our data. From that data, we found that the casual texts had more instances of untranslatability than the formal texts. We discuss why this might be and why the greater degree of untranslatability in casual language might suggest it carries more cultural meaning.
[expander_maker id=”1″ more=”Read more” less=”Read less”]
Introduction and Background
We are building our research first on a foundation of literature that defines untranslatability along with its many different variations. Untranslatability is a phenomenon in which the full meaning of some communication does not have an equivalent in another language (Lomas, 2018). There are different types of untranslatability, distinguished by the reason why translation is not possible. One way of dividing untranslatability is into linguistic untranslatability and cultural untranslatability (Cui, 2012). Linguistic untranslatability occurs when two languages do not share the linguistic features necessary to convey meaning in quite the same way (further explanation of one type of linguistic untranslatability). Cultural untranslatability occurs when there is a cultural gap between two language communities that makes it impossible to convey the same meaning in both languages.
Lomas (2018) and Özgen (2004) discuss how language influences a person’s perception of the world by dictating the ways they are able to categorize ideas and conceptualize their experiences through the language available to them, an idea known as the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis. From this perspective, untranslatability indicates not only barriers in available words but barriers in entire frameworks of understanding. Additional literature also explores the importance of cultural differences as a major factor that contributes to untranslatability (Cui, 2012; Lomas, 2016; Talukder, 2020; Witherspoon, 1980). Related to this, Talukder (2020) even points to untranslatability as important to cultural identity, reasoning that the inability to translate parts of a language can keep certain information and practices exclusive to the cultural in-group.
Originally, we planned to examine untranslatability more generally, but as we read through previous studies, we realized that there was no research we could find that touched on the differences between translating formal language and translating casual language. The bilingual members of our group thought that this was an important topic because in their experience, translating casual language is very different from translating standard or formal language. Because of that, we decided that we should fill that research gap and narrow our focus to comparing untranslatability in formal and casual texts.
We approached our research asking the question: How effective are cross-cultural translations in conveying meaning in language in casual contexts compared to language in formal contexts? In response, we hypothesized that more meaning would be lost when translating casual communication compared to formal communication.
Methods
In order to find instances of untranslatability, we collected data in the form of inconsistencies in translations of texts. We analyzed texts that had been translated from French, Spanish, and Mandarin into English or from English into any of those three languages. We included these languages in our research because three of our group members are fluent in each of them. Because we wanted to explore the differences between untranslatability in formal and casual contexts, we included texts which had contexts of differing levels of formality ranging from governmental speeches (Guterres, 2023; 特朗普就职演讲完整版, 2017), which were the most formal, to conversations between highschoolers in television shows (Andem, 2018; Ipartment, 2014), which were the least formal. In the middle was Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech (Mali, 2008; 马丁·路德·金, n.d.), as it is somewhat formal while also intended to be accessible to the average person.
Our translators recorded any inconsistencies they encountered between the original texts and their translations in a table (examples of potential inconsistencies in translation) They noted what aspect of language caused the inconsistency and how it changed the meaning. This allowed us to compare the frequency and causes of untranslatability between the different contexts and between the different languages.
Results and Analysis
Our results support our hypothesis, as we found more inconsistencies in the translations of casual contexts than we did in translations of formal contexts. In all of the languages we looked at, there were more inconsistencies in the translation of the casual speech from the television show than there were in the translations of the formal governmental speeches. In Spanish, our translator found four inconsistencies in the translation of the casual text, four in the translation of the intermediate text, and none in the translation of the formal text. In French, our translator found nine inconsistencies in the translation of the casual text, one in the translation of the intermediate text, and six in the translation of the formal text. Lastly, in Mandarin, our translator found fifteen inconsistencies in the translation of the casual text, eight in the translation of the intermediate text, and none in the translation of the formal text.
The two types of untranslatability discussed by Cui (2012) are cultural untranslatability and linguistic untranslatability. If the greater degree of untranslatability within casual contexts of speech is caused by cultural untranslatability, that would suggest that there are more concepts discussed in casual speech that are culture-specific. Talukder (2020) proposes the idea that untranslatability corresponds with cultural identity, while Cui (2012), Lomas (2016), Talukder (2020), and Witherspoon (1980) cite cultural knowledge as one of the main causes of untranslatability. If cultural meaning is correlated with greater untranslatability as the background research suggests, and our results show that casual speech has more instances of untranslatability, then that might suggest that casual speech tends to carry more culturally specific meaning than formal speech. Talukder (2020) also explains the importance of untranslatability as a mechanism that keeps certain aspects of a culture exclusive to those who belong to that culture. If casual language is less translatable than formal language, it could also be a way of indexing oneself as part of a cultural group and ensuring that the full meaning of what one is talking about is only understood by other cultural insiders. It is also possible, however, that the greater degree of untranslatability we observed within casual speech is due to linguistic untranslatability. In that case, it may suggest that linguistic construction is more standardized, even between languages, in formal contexts.
Another reason why casual contexts hold more meaning than standard contexts of a language can be explained by the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis. As described by Lomas (2018), the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis argues that “language plays a constitutive role in the way people experience and understand life” (p. 478). As we previously stated, standard contexts of a language have a universal aspect to them in that they can be easily translated from one language to another as it is more formal and don’t require too many culture-specific references or words. However, in casual contexts, it is not made to be universally translated and is instead very culture-specific as it holds more untranslatable words or phrases like idioms or slang.
More than formal contexts, casual contexts illustrate people’s perspectives and understandings of life who speak a certain language because it is so unique to that specific culture or language. Indeed, Özgen (2004) researched language and color perception and stated that “Berinmo, a language spoken in Papua New Guinea… has just five basic color terms,” additionally, “these terms seem to have unusual referents, such as the color of dead leaves” (p. 96). If one were to translate colors from Berinmo to English word for word, the meaning would not be understood by an English speaker. Even if the word was translated for the color that it is referring to, significant meaning would be lost as the English speaker would not be aware that the word was translated from a word that does not directly mean the color that it is referring to. Therefore, certain words in certain languages are often hard to translate because they provide a different perspective or insight about the world that itself isn’t easily conveyed to someone who has not grown seeing the world through that perspective.
Discussion and Conclusions
Our research is helpful in that it points to a possible pattern in untranslatability, namely that formal language appears to be easier to translate while casual language presents more instances of untranslatability. This opens the door to possible future research and could help readers and translators be aware of where potential inconsistencies in translation are likely to be found. When people read or listen to a translation, they should be aware that cultural differences might impede their understanding of the original meaning, especially when the translation they are reading is of language in a casual context.
Though our research is an interesting starting point, it is limited by our time and resources. We only looked at three languages, only had one translator per language, and our sample size of texts is small. More research is needed to elaborate on these ideas or to prove or disprove our findings.
References
Andem, J. (2018). Skam France. Season 7. Episode 3.
Cui, J. (2012). Untranslatability and the method of compensation. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 2(4), 826–830. https://doi.org/10.4304/tpls.2.4.826-830
Guterres, A. (2023). UN secretary-general’s remarks to the 52nd session of the Human Rights Council secretary-general. United Nations. Retrieved March 23, 2023, from https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/speeches/2023-02-27/un-secretary-generals-remarks-the-52nd-session-of-the-human-rights-council
https://Agendamagna.wordpress.com/2009/01/20/Discurso-De-Toma-De-Posesion-De-Barack-Obama/, El Comercio Website, 20 Jan. 2009, http://obamaspeeches.com/.
Ipartment. (2014). YouTube. Retrieved March 23, 2023, from https://youtu.be/goQzSuBwBa4
King, M. L. (2023). Martin Luther King, Jr. I Have a Dream. Martin Luther King Jr. I Have a Dream speech – American Rhetoric. Retrieved March 23, 2023, from https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm
Lomas, T. (2016). Towards a positive cross-cultural lexicography: Enriching our emotional landscape through 216 ‘untranslatable’ words pertaining to well-being. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 11(5), 546–558. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2015.1127993
Lomas, T. (2018). Experiential cartography and the significance of “untranslatable” words. Theory & Psychology, 28(4), 476–495. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959354318772914
Mali, U. S. M. (2018, February 8). ” I have a dream ” : Le texte intégral en français du discours de martin luther king. Ambassade des Etats-Unis au Mali. Retrieved March 23, 2023, from https://ml.usembassy.gov/fr/dream-le-texte-integral-en-francais-du-discours-de-martin-luther-king/
Özgen, E. (2004). Language, Learning, and Color Perception. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 13(3), 95–98. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20182921
Talukder, B. (2020). Matijaner Meyera in Translation: Cultural Identity Construction Through Untranslatability of Language. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 10(6), 36-40. https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.10n.6p.36
“The Complete Text Transcripts of over 100 Barack Obama Speeches.” The Complete Text Transcripts of Over 100 Barack Obama Speeches, http://obamaspeeches.com/.
Witherspoon, G. (1980). Language in Culture and Culture in Language. International Journal of American Linguistics, 46(1), 1–13. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1264442
特朗普就职演讲完整版. (2017). 哔哩哔哩_bilibili. Retrieved March 23, 2023, from http://b23.tv/ZEZpQA6
马丁·路德·金《我有一个梦想》伟大演讲全文（中英文对照）-随笔. 【姚从刚】. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2023, from http://www.yaoconggang.com/post96/96.html
[/expander_maker]