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A Study on the Quality of News Translations by Translators for News Organizations in South Korea — Focusing on Chesterman’s Norms of Translation

Hong Jung Min 1

1이화여자대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This research aims at measuring the quality of news translations by translators working for media organizations in South Korea. To achieve this research goal, norms of news translation were identified based on Chesterman's concepts of norms(1997), which are divided into expectancy norms and professional norms, and the norms of news translation identified were used as a set of gauges of the quality of news translation. Against the gauges, which are principles of news writing and reporting, news texts translated by translators were examined. As for research method, textual analysis on 148 pairs of source texts and target texts were conducted and complemented with interviews with 14 translators, reporters and editors. The major findings of this study are as follows. In substituting or reorganizing source texts, translators' intervention in and transformation of texts help improve news value and news language as well as comply with principles of news reporting, indicating that the process and product of their translation are in line with the norms of news translation. In case of deleting, adding, or synthesizing source texts, however, translators often violate some norms of news translation, such as the principles of news reporting, which in turn can affect the quality of the translations they produce. And a closer look at interview results suggests that translators' failure to comply with the norms of news translations as observed in this research is largely attributed to their lack of knowledge or awareness of the norms of news translation. Based on the findings, this study suggests that the media organization should provide the news translators with more effective and systematic education and training programs focusing on the norms of news translation, such as basic principles of news writing and reporting, as a way to help improve the quality of news translations the translators produce.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.