INContext: Studies in Translation and Interculturalism

A Study of the Values of the “Independence Generation” in Post-Soviet Central Asia

2024-11-26T05:37:56-08:00

This study examines the values of the youth in post-Soviet Uzbekistan. Those born during the era of strong nationalism following Uzbekistan’s independence in 1991 grew up under an education system conducted in Uzbek rather than Russian. This study identifies this group as the “Independence Generation” or the “youth generation” of Uzbekistan and explores how their values differ from those of their parents’ generation, often referred to as the “socialist generation.” The analysis draws on statistical data from the 2008 report “The Youth of the New Uzbekistan: Life Positions and Value Priorities” (published by Ijtimoiy Fikr). The priorities and values of the Uzbek Independence Generation in their personal lives directly shape their core values in broader social contexts. The study reveals that the main values cherished by this generation include health, love, family happiness, interesting and well-paying work, and friendships. Young people emphasize intelligence, responsibility, and self-confidence as essential qualities for realizing universal human values. Additionally, they strive for success in life and believe they can achieve it in fields of personal interest. About half of the youth surveyed had long-term goals, such as running their own business, pursuing education, or creating a happy family. However, the study also identifies challenges faced by the youth, with approximately half already experiencing material prosperity but also expressing concerns about economic insecurity, difficulties in starting a family, and fear of unemployment. The Independence Generation views a successful life as one grounded in moral actions and attitudes, with family formation and child-rearing seen as central life goals. Given Uzbekistan’s youthful population, with an average age of just 27.8 years, the future of the nation will likely be shaped by this generation. The academic significance of this study lies in its potential to inform further research on the values and identity of Uzbek youth. It also aims to serve as foundational material for comparative studies on the Independence Generations across the five Central Asian countries that gained independence during the same period.

The Folklore Surrounding House Nameplates in Contemporary Japanese Society

2024-11-25T01:41:55-08:00

This paper investigates the superstitious custom of stealing house nameplates (hyōsatsu), a practice believed to exemplify the characteristics of Japan’s nameplate culture. Drawing on newspaper and magazine articles, essays, novels, and previous academic studies, the paper aims to extract the defining features of this custom and explore its background. To date, there has been limited scholarly examination of this topic. One background factor that may have contributed to nameplates becoming tools of superstition is the beliefs and superstitions surrounding earlier symbols affixed to doors or rental property signs displayed outdoors before the modern appearance of nameplates. This suggests a continuity between premodern traditions and modern nameplates. The idea of preventing misfortune from entering the home has been inherited, albeit in changing forms, from premodern times. Additionally, like graves, seals, and other items, nameplates were considered objects imbued with spiritual significance, believed to influence fortune when specific actions were taken. This is likely because they display the name of the household head, which symbolizes the home itself. An examination of superstitions surrounding modern nameplates reveals that these small objects represent a unique aspect of Japanese material culture. The superstitions related to nameplate theft are likewise specific to Japanese culture. The distinct feature of nameplates—explicitly displaying names—has enabled their association with contagious magic. This magical aspect of nameplate theft connects to Japan’s premodern cultural traditions. In other words, the concept of contagious magic has not disappeared; rather, it has transformed, finding expression in digital forms and other manifestations, a trend that seems likely to continue. When intangible aspects of folklore, such as beliefs and rumors, intersect with tangible elements like nameplates, a clearly defined tradition emerges—or has the potential to emerge. This paper argues that such a convergence may represent the crystallization of a new cultural tradition.

How Does Generative AI Function as an Active Cross-cultural Communication Agent?

2024-11-11T07:04:28-08:00

This study explores how generative AI, specifically ChatGPT-4, transcends its role as a mere translation tool to become an active agent in cross-cultural dialogue and meaning generation. Against the backdrop of the rapid evolution of AI translation technologies, this research employs a posthumanist framework, drawing on Karen Barad’s (2007) agential realism and Roland Barthes’ (1967) concept of the “death of the author,” to examine how AI can function as a dynamic mediator in translation processes. Using the Japanese novel Jimmy as a case study, the research highlights a dual-method approach: translating the original Japanese text into English and Chinese using ChatGPT-4 and conducting a transnational reading session in Penang, Malaysia. The novel, chosen for its accessibility and themes of cultural intersection, served as a medium to examine the potential of AI in fostering cross-cultural understanding. Participants from Japan and Malaysia engaged in discussions on key chapters, offering interpretations shaped by their unique cultural contexts. The findings reveal that generative AI, through mechanisms like critical reading question generation and knowledge base updates, enables translations to incorporate deeper cultural nuances and reflect dynamic interpretations. The process illustrates AI’s capacity to facilitate a “diffractive” translation approach, where intersecting perspectives generate new layers of meaning. However, limitations emerged, such as ChatGPT-4’s RAG filtering, which restricted certain translations and necessitated human intervention.
This interplay between AI and human translators underscores the evolving nature of their collaborative relationship. The study highlights generative AI’s potential to transform cultural dialogue and translation practices. By acting as a bridge between diverse cultural perspectives, AI can contribute to educational initiatives, enhance the quality of translations in the industry, and foster mutual understanding in cross-cultural interactions. Future research should explore the scalability of this approach across different languages and cultural contexts, further refining the collaborative dynamics between AI and human participants.

From the Land of Morning Calm to Dynamic Korea

2024-11-11T07:09:17-08:00

Contemporary Korean society is often described as dynamic, a view shared by both Koreans and foreigners. This perception contrasts sharply with Korea’s historical image as backward and stagnant. To understand this shift, we must explore whether Korean culture and society have fundamentally changed or if we had a misconception of Korean culture.

Some attribute Korean dynamism to the “bbali-bbali” (hurry-up) spirit, a cultural trait. Others point to Korea’s rapid economic transformation over the past seven decades, which fostered a strong work ethic and a can-do spirit. However, these explanations raise further questions: Why are Koreans so driven by the “bbali-bbali” mentality? What underpins their work ethic and dedication to economic growth?

This paper aims to provide a social scientist’s perspective on Korean cultural dynamism, focusing on the Korean character, social structure, and social mobility. First, it examines the social character of Koreans, defined by core traits developed through shared experiences and lifestyles. Second, it traces the emergence and evolution of Korean social character from ancient times through significant historical periods, such as the Hwarang in late Silla, Chondo-gyo in late Joseon, and the March First Movement of 1919. These periods highlight the continuity and adaptability of Korean cultural traits, such as egalitarianism, collective spirit and enjoyment, often overlooked in interpretations focused solely on Confucianism or characteristics of the declining late Joseon society. In the last 70 years, the egalitarian and humanistic Korean character manifested itself and shaped in the process of building a new republic, encouraging education, overcoming hardships due to the Korean War, the democratic struggle and the pursuit of rapid economic development.

By adopting a historical and evolutionary perspective, we can better understand the link between ancient Korea, late Joseon, and contemporary Korea, integrating contrasting views of Korean culture as both stagnant and dynamic. The paper concludes with conjectures on how current changes might impact Korean dynamism and with a discussion of the theoretical relevance of our perspective.

Relay Translation as Collaboration

2024-11-22T18:34:33-08:00

The present study aims to establish relay translation as a new representative mode of collaborative translation. The conventional stigmatic labeling of “indirect” “less authentic” translation and the prevalent myth of single translatorship have hindered research on the topic. Intriguingly, interest in the issue did not come from academia. The extension of the global network made possible by the advent of advanced technologies and the expansion of media access by worldwide viewers have given rise to an exploding need for subtitling audiovisual (AV) content being created around the globe. Global streaming service (GSS) providers immediately recognized the need to maximize the distribution of what they offer. Thus, the significance of the relay-based, centralized subtitling of AV content into multiple languages proliferated, with or without the sanctions of TS researchers.

Admittedly, “relay translation” is not a new coinage, but recently, albeit belatedly, there has been a surge in the number of international conferences, special journal issues, and independent publications. However, their focus is mainly on its relational nature vis-à-vis the original text, terminology differentiation, and remote case discussions centering around literary translation. The present study is a theoretical endeavor to place the issue in the appropriate research context by proposing a dual definition of relay translation: the broad, conventional definition of translating source texts indirectly and a narrower, audio-visual translation (AVT)-focused definition as an industrialized form of process-centered, collaborative work. The role of pivot templators, i.e., specialists responsible for the creation of pivot templates, stand out in the latter as “translators for subsequent translators” and cultural mediators. As a qualitative approach, the study introduces a case study of an in-depth semi-structured interview with a seasoned practitioner. In doing so, the collection of field-resonant data, the collaboration among agents, the process of creating and annotating pivot templates, and implications and challenges of relay translation as collaboration will be reported, leading to the salience of the topic as an emerging form of collaborative translation.

The study is an early endeavor to revisit and establish relay translation as a significant mode of collaborative translation. Enriching the findings by furthering research on multilingual subtitling and other forms of relay translation from a wider array of angles will be instrumental in understanding the complexity and significance of relay translation.

A Crisis Translation Maturity Model for Better Multilingual Crisis Communication

2024-10-06T00:44:17-07:00

Accurate, timely, and trusted communication in appropriate languages and cultural frames and through appropriate channels is vital to achieving principles of equity and inclusivity in crisis settings. However, organizations engaging in multilingual and multicultural crisis communication can struggle to know how to achieve such communication and assess their communicative capacities. Maturity models are well-established instruments to understand, review, and assess the processes and practices within organizations. This article discusses the development of a crisis translation maturity model to assist organizations to evaluate and improve their multilingual crisis communication efforts. The model presented here builds on a previously published iteration. This second iteration aimed to refine the model and was co-designed with stakeholders from 11 relevant organizations across two design workshops using a multiagency design-thinking methodology. Design thinking was chosen for this research because it is a collaborative approach to problem solving that prioritizes creativity and innovation, user-centeredness and involvement, iteration and experimentation, and interdisciplinary collaboration. This approach allowed us to co-design with stakeholders a model that considers crisis translation capabilities along 17 evaluative categories, with each category described across five maturity levels: ad hoc, repeatable, defined, managed, and optimizing. The categories are all defined in detail and the corresponding maturity levels are explained in a way that permits members of an organization to evaluate their current crisis translation capabilities and discern the changes that would be required to improve their level of crisis translation maturity. The objective of the research described in this article is to present a version of a crisis translation maturity model that will now be field-tested, customized, and refined. We plan to conduct further tests with stakeholders in authentic settings to produce improved versions of the model going forward.

The Translatability of Multilingualism in a Taiwanese Novel

2024-11-19T00:47:20-08:00

This paper focuses on the issue of language use in literature, examining the techniques employed in multilingual literary works and the possibilities of translating such works. The subject of analysis is Taiwanese author Wu Ming-yi’s 2015 novel, The Stolen Bicycle [單車失竊記]. While the novel is primarily written in Mandarin Chinese, it incorporates written representations of over a dozen languages. The study begins with the question of how these languages were blended and integrated into a cohesive work. Through analysis, it became clear that, aside from Mandarin, only four languages—Taiwanese Hokkien, Tsou, Japanese, and English—appear frequently in the text. Other languages make only a single appearance. Among these four, Taiwanese Hokkien appears most frequently, represented in Chinese characters, with romanized pronunciations thoughtfully appended to certain words. In contrast, Tsou in romanized letters, Japanese in kana, and English in the Latin alphabet are translated into or paraphrased in Mandarin, primarily through third-party translations or indirect speech, and are limited to proper nouns and proverbs. By relegating languages other than Taiwanese Hokkien to the background, the novel effectively reveals its multilingual nature, despite being structurally composed of only two dominant languages—Mandarin and Taiwanese Hokkien. After analyzing the original text, the study then compares it with the English translation by Darryl Sterk. One of the most noteworthy findings is that in the English translation, Japanese replaced Taiwanese Hokkien as the primary element representing the novel’s multilingualism. Not only were sections originally written in Japanese retained, but even parts originally written in Chinese characters were rendered in Japanese reading. A similar approach was applied to Tsou. Conversely, Taiwanese Hokkien, which played a central role in the original, was significantly reduced in the English translation, with only a few distinctive words or expressions retained. Additionally, the mixing of Mandarin Chinese and English, discernible in the original text, became harder to identify in the translation. These observations reveal that the language structure of the English translation differs significantly from the original, and the visibility of the text’s multilingualism is diminished. Based on these findings, the paper concludes that the methods of expressing multilingualism in a literary work are influenced by the characteristics of the dominant writing systems and the distances between the languages involved. Similarly, the translation of such works is inevitably subject to these constraints.