Across Languages and Cultures
Volume/Issue:
Volume 24: Issue 2
Testing simplification in translated and creative writing texts: The case of Robert van Gulik's Judge Dee detective stories
Authors:
Juqiang Chen School of Foreign Languages, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

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https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8151-3964
and
Hui Chang School of Foreign Languages, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

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https://orcid.org/0009-0003-1497-5853
Pages:
268–282
Online Publication Date:
04 Sep 2023
Publication Date:
04 Sep 2023
Article Category:
Research Article
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1556/084.2023.00375
Keywords:
translation universals; lexical diversity; entropy; syntactic complexity; readability
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Abstract

Translational language has been reported to have unique characteristics, or translation universals, as compared to native non-translational production. One of the most widely studied features is simplification, i.e., translated texts tend to be less complex than non-translational texts. This study tested this hypothesis by comparing the translated and creative writing texts produced by a single author, Robert van Gulik, on the same topic (Judge Dee's detective adventures). Our well-controlled comparisons showed that the translated text was lexically less diverse, but syntactically more complex and generally less readable. The cognitive load of translation and the source text constrained the amount of vocabulary used in the translation compared with free writings. On the other hand, longer and more complex sentences reflected the translator's efforts to state the information in a more explicit form when conveying the ancient Chinese detective stories to the Western world. Our research, thus, offers some insights into the investigation of the simplification hypothesis and the relation between translation and writing.

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Cover Across Languages and Cultures
Across Languages and Cultures
Print ISSN:
1585-1923
Online ISSN:
1588-2519

Editor-in-Chief: Kinga KLAUDY (Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary)

Consulting Editor: Pál HELTAI (Kodolányi János University, Hungary)

Managing Editor: Krisztina KÁROLY (Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary)

EDITORIAL BOARD

  • Andrew CHESTERMAN (University of Helsinki, Finland)
  • Kirsten MALMKJÆR (University of Leicester, UK)
  • Christiane NORD (University of Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa)
  • Anthony PYM (Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain, University of Melbourne, Australia)
  • Mary SNELL-HORNBY (University of Vienna, Austria)
  • Sonja TIRKKONEN-CONDIT (University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland)

ADVISORY BOARD

  • Mona BAKER (Shanghai International Studies University, China, University of Oslo, Norway)
  • Łucja BIEL (University of Warsaw, Poland)
  • Gloria CORPAS PASTOR (University of Malaga, Spain; University of Wolverhampton, UK)
  • Rodica DIMITRIU (Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” Iasi, Romania)
  • Birgitta Englund DIMITROVA (Stockholm University, Sweden)
  • Sylvia KALINA (Cologne Technical University, Germany)
  • Haidee KOTZE (Utrecht University, The Netherlands)
  • Sara LAVIOSA (Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, Italy)
  • Brian MOSSOP (York University, Toronto, Canada)
  • Orero PILAR (Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Spain)
  • Gábor PRÓSZÉKY (Hungarian Research Institute for Linguistics, Hungary)
  • Alessandra RICCARDI (University of Trieste, Italy)
  • Edina ROBIN (Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary)
  • Myriam SALAMA-CARR (University of Manchester, UK)
  • Mohammad Saleh SANATIFAR (independent researcher, Iran)
  • Sanjun SUN (Beijing Foreign Studies University, China)
  • Anikó SOHÁR (Pázmány Péter Catholic University,  Hungary)
  • Sonia VANDEPITTE (University of Gent, Belgium)
  • Albert VERMES (Eszterházy Károly University, Hungary)
  • Yifan ZHU (Shanghai Jiao Tong Univeristy, China)

Prof. Kinga Klaudy
Eötvös Loránd University, Department of Translation and Interpreting
Múzeum krt. 4. Bldg. F, I/9-11, H-1088 Budapest, Hungary
Phone: (+36 1) 411 6500/5894
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Across Languages and Cultures
Language English
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