Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
People who survey the literature on trans- When a field is not seen as part of a discipline,
lation between languages and conference in- it is necessarily viewed as an independent en-
terpretation are almost invariably struck by the tity that is apart from the mainstream of
small amount of empirical research compared research activity.
to other fields within the broad range of the
behavioral/social sciences (e.g., Gerver, 1976.) Additionally, those university-based scho-
One reason for. the lack of an extensive body lars who do enter the field usually admit that
of research evidence on the nature of transla- they are doing so despite problems of which
tion and interpretation is that the field "falls they are quite aware. They realize that transla-
between the cracks" of a number of disciplines. tion/interpretation is not a field that young
Psychologists and sociologists have not studied scholars choose as an effective route toward
the field extensively because there is so much tenure and promotion. Scholars in commercial
of the language sciences involved. But .large research organizations ("think tanks") are in a
numbers of. linguists (the major exception of similar position. Funding agencies, or depart-
Nida, 1964 and 1976, must be mentioned) have ments within the super-grant foundations, do
.. not become immersed in the field, perhaps ' not recognize translation/interpretation as part
because there are so many extra-linguistic as- of their "mission." Within the larger founda-
pects involved, such as interpersonal relations tions, translation/interpretation is very often
in conference interpretation (Anderson, 1976). viewed as part of someone else's department.
ss
..
". . •. /0 __ , '•..' . (: I: - ;,,' ','" ; ' . ' ", '~,> ,("..
'J.I • ~ •• l" . _, It
Bclause of this situation, scholars understand- that take place during simultaneous mterpre-
ably apply their talents in areas for which tation. He has also· been able to enrich the an
funding is more available. Sinaiko and Brislin study of basic thought processes, the area from 3U
(I973) discovered the department-within-mas- which he first borrowed. As part of his analy- co
sive-organization phenomenon while working sis of interpersonal relations between commu- w<
on the problem of translation materials from nicator and interpreter, Anderson (I976) has an
English to Vietnamese. The work was done profitably borrowed from the study of power ps
aspart of the United States government's policy (Simmel, 1964) in small groups. He has also ro
of winding down American involvement in the added to the broader study of interpersonal re- ml
Vietnam conflict. However, jt was discovered lations in social settings. Finally, Etelvia Atjona Ta
net there was no agency or office within the (I978) has demonstrated the interdependence ha
Department of Defense .whose responsibility of the field of translation/interpretation and co
clearly included translation, despite American the broader area known as "intercultural com- dif
presence in many parts of the world. Finally, munication," especially as applied to the train-
a special task force was created to deal with ing of interpreters.
m<
the translation needs for Vietnam.
vie
Researchers in the area of translation/ C~TRIBUTIONS FROM SOCIAL mE
interpretation are partly to blame for the PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOMETRICS pre
relative independence of their field in its re- otl
If the above analysis is accurate, resear-
lation to the major disciplines such as psy-: lan
chers interested in translation should be much
chology, sociology, anthropology, and linguis- als
more explicit about:
tics. Researchers have not always linked their gee
wek on translation/interpretation to major (1) the potential contributions of var- :1 cul
j
'theories within the behavioral sciences, but ious disciplines with which they are Dil
instead have written for like-minded specialists; familiar, and I aff
If they had been more concerned with broader
. ,,
(2) the possible contribution ot their h~
theories, they would have been able to reach a 1
own research to the broader dis-
two audiences: specialists and members of a me
ciplines.
more general audience who are interested in sin
theoretical developments that cut across speci- Social psychology, :1 hybrid of psycholo- fol
fic fields. In addition, writing for the broader gy and sociology, is the broad area the major tio
audience might attract researchers from that concern of which is the study of human behav- CaIl
group so that more people might eventually ior in a social context, or more precisely, bet
work on translation issues. The reverse situation the study of an individual's behavior as a ing
is also true. Researchers in the specific field function of interaction with other people. cui
,P:we. not always profitably borrowed from Another broad area with much to offer
theoretical developments in the behavioral and is that of psychometrics, which is concerned
social sciences to the degree that they might. to
with the measurement of various aspects of dUl
Thus the field of translation/interpretation behavior. The goal in psychometrics is precise,
suffers since application of the theoretical the
reliable, and valid measures which luge num-
concepts could enrich the field. stai
bers of researchers and practitioners will accept
me:
. Perhaps the point about the transfer of as adequate representations of human behavior.
ideas between the field of translation and the An analogy may be helpful: all medical doctors
accept a reading from the level of mercury
• I
ME
broader behavioral and social sciences will be- I
tetf1e clearer if some exceptions to the general in a glass tube as an adequate representation
trend are noted. In borrowing ideas from cog- of a person's body temperature. Psychome-
nitive psychology, Gerver (1976) has been able tricians seek measures of human behavior that .pro
to describe the complexities of human thought are just as precise and as widely accepted. the
THE MEASUREMENT OF AFFECTIVE CONTENf 57
The overlap between social psychology material have recognized that different methods
and psychometrics is concerned with the mea- are appropriate for different types of material
surement of an individual's behavior in a social to be translated. To date, the most precise
context. Such fields as communication net- measures have dealt with either (a) an overall
works, formation of ingroups and outgroups, indicator of original-translation comparability,
and prejudice have received attention from or (b) a more specific indicator of factual con-
psychometricians. The technique that. was bor- tent conveyed. No widely-used measure of
rowed for this research is concerned with the affective (as opposed to factual or infonnative)
measurement of meaning (Osgood, Suci, and content is available, although all students of
Tannenbaum, 1957). Such measurement may translation and interpretation are deeply con-
have utility for the assessment of the affective cerned with the affective or emotional aspects
'j
content in translation, an issue that has been of language. The major purpose of this paper
difficult to investigate in the past. is to describe a measure of affective content in
The measurement of "meaning," and translation. To put the measurement of affect
more specifically "affect," has been the pur- in perspective, however, a short review of other
view of social psychologists skilled in psycho- types of measures may be useful. Although
metrics since the "meaning" of anything is a the comments about the measures may seem
product of a person's lifetime interaction with so critical as to cause a slight demoralization,
others. As will be reviewed in more detail it is felt that all the measures have a valuable
later in this paper, meaning and affect are role if wisely used. The fact that criticisms
also determined by a person's cultural back- can be listed indicates a certain maturity in
ground, and the affective concerns of that a field. The measurement of translation com-
culture are expressed in a certain language. parability has reached such maturity in the
)I Difficulties arise when trying to express. the last 10 years or so.
i affect in another language, which of course A listing of criticisms will help potential
I has long been an issue in translation. Thus if users to decide which of several measures
i a technique which has been found useful in might be used in a given situation. Further,
!i measuring affect can be applied to the special the criticisms listed below are no greater than
I situation of translation between languages, the could be made about any measure or method
I following may result: (a) more precise indica- within the entire range of the behavioraf
! tions of exactly what aspects of affect can and social sciences.
cannot be communicated as part of translation
between languages; (b) a greater understand- Measures of overall translation cornpa-
I ing of a broader area, the relationship between rability include:
I culture and language. 1. Measures of back-translation errors
'~ Psychometrics has already been applied (Werner and Campbell, 1970; Brislin, 1970;
to the measurement of information conveyance Brislin, Lonner, and Thorndike, 1973; Twenty
during translation. An introduction to some of and Hoemann, 1973). In this method, one
the specific techniques may be helfpul in under- bilingual translates from .the source to the
standing the more complex issue of affective target language, and a second bilingual (blindly)
measurement. translates from the target back to the source.
The two source language versions are then
I MEASUREMENT OF FACTUAL MATERIAL compared. The justifiable fear that the two
CONVEYED IN TRANSLATION source language versions may be artificailly
equivalent because (a) the back-translator is
Researchers who have worked on the skillful at making sense out of gibberish, or
.problem of comparing (and/or determining (b) the target version is just a rewrite using
the equivalence 00 original and translated words and structure closer to the source than
I ., ·11'.
th'target language, can be handledby methods the original or translated version. If people can ~I,
I'
detailed elsewhere (Brislin, 1972,' Brislin, answer the same questions to the same degree \~
},.onner, and Thorndike, 1973). The resulting of accuracy, the versions are said to be "equi- \
measure, number of back-translation errors, valent" in terms of factual content conveyed. \; affect
vious
gives an overall indication of translation quality. Two limitations of the technique are that (a)
If the measure indicates multiple errors, how- it is directly applicable only to material which cusstc
ever, this method does not allow insight into lends itself to having its main points being not t
the reasons for the errors, e.g., difficulty in summarized in answers to a set of questions; sure I
and (b) it is dependent upon an acceptance of bles,}
conveying information, affect, important struc-
tural features, and so forth. some authority that such-and-such a set of nique:
questions and answers represents the factual tion c
• 2. The bilingual technique (Prince and linary
!dombour, 1967; Lazo, 1974). This approach content that should be conveyed. The issue
lists
is most suited to formal tests; which of course underlying point (b) will always be a concern
deepf
limits its general usefulness. A test is translated, of translation measurement. Since measure- impos
md bilinguals then take the test by responding ment demands a criterion, someone has to set of ora
to some items in the source language and to a criterion in the form of what information
other items in the target language. Items that is to be conveyed, what response is desired
from consumers of the translation, and so humei
receive a differential response dependent upon ti~ VI
forth. In translation and interpretation, the
language are held suspect. As with the back- criterion is set by the creator of the original object
translation approach, the bilingual method does language version, whether it be a verbal utter- scient
'lot allow much insight into the reasons for a ance, gesture, Written product, or a combina- ly m
po<Jtly translated item. Another problem, and tion. Thetranslator/interpreter sometimes has to feelinl
pe related to the issue of affective measure- discover the criterion (since it is not always belittl
nent discussed below, is that some items explicit) and then convey it in another lan- shoM
lerhaps should yield a different response de- guage. This (
iendent upon langusge, A quite reasonable 2. The performance test (Sinaiko and (inclu:
iypothesis (Ervin-Tripp, 1964) is that bilinguals Brislin, 1973), itt which people carry out a ~ask ists hl
nanifest slightly different personalities depen- after reading either a source or a target lan- hamPE
lent. upon the language they are speaking. guage version. Ability to complete the task has D<
rhus the bilingual technique, in searching only taken
successfully regardless of version is indicative
'or items that show equivalence across langua- empiri
of translation equivalence. This is a power-
~es, may be masking an important and real
much
ful measure of information conveyance, with
)henomenon of personality.differences across its disadvantages being (a) expense and (Tl» its aspect
anguages. To be sure, the hypothesis of per- applicability beinglimited to material that is
1n~ty differences as described here is not concerned with a task of some sort. This type years
,. well-established fmding that is widely accep- of criterion is easily conveyed to laypersons human
ed by behavioral/social scientists. But the since there can be little argument that a trans- not pr
iypothesis.represents an important possibility, lation is adequate with respect to information tion, i
ind one that should be subjected to more conveyance if readers can successfully perfonn are ap
esearch. a complex task (e.g. helicopter maintenance variabl
in the Sinaiko-Brislin study). Its limited use- the in
Measures of the factual content con-"
fulness in actual measurement does not detract and n
reyed in comparisons of original and trans-
from its value as an example of what measure- has hi
9~" materialinclude: ment can achieve. Other researchers canborrow colleag
1. The knowledge test (Sinaiko and Bris- aspects of the performance test, suchas precise- suring
in, 1973), in which people answer the same ness and clarity of objectives, in designing Their
et of questions after reading or hearing either new measures for other types of translation. TheM
11\ 't·' ,'.',j""
prltice. .Students in evaluation courses are They then would complete the scales according 3. (
often told that the semantic differential is a to how they feel about the passage that they t, best
useful, and easily administered technique during have read. The scales would be either lin the dim
~~~l
the second time it is presented to respondents. original language or in the language to which
On the first occasion, the administrator has to the material is translated. The technique could
be quite patient while respondents become ac- be used to pinpoint difficulties during the :11'
mor
som~
customed to the task of thinking about con- development of a translation through the com- 0\,
cepts and then rating the concepts on these parison of individual scales. It would be very pare
types of scales.
• An especially impressive body of research
helpful, for instance, if it were known that
there were problems with the ratings of warm- I I
I
4.
num
(Osgood, 1965; Osgood, May, and Miron, 1975) cold in comparing the original version ratings I
diff
has shown that people from many different with the translation ratings. The' translator ,I lang
countries (over 30 languages have been studied) could then give attention to the warm-cold thro
scattered allover the world use these three di- dimension in developing a subsequent version, stati
mensions when explaining the meaning of con- and then this revised version wouldbe subjected the
cepts. These dimensions have been posited as to additional testing. Ave!
cultural universals. Rating scales have been The reasoning behind the work to be nate
developed in over 30 languages so that the reported below is that almost all literature that
dimensions can be analyzed as they apply is written for people other than the author resp
I
to any concept. Some examples of English and alone, and translators also work so as to com- .1 targl
French scales for the evaluative dimension are: municate .to a large number of people. One
general criterion of translation quality is that asset
• English French
the sourceand target versions "produce ~ similar ion,
response" (Nida, 1964: 164) on the part of pher
likeable-repugnant sympathique-an ti-
readers. Such a response can be measured, and and
pathique so a determination of respondents' feelings to latio
happy-sad gai-triste
translated as compared to original language can
nice-awful gentil-mechant
versions should be of use both to translators , of t!
and to researchers interested in translation. ges f
These ,are not exact translation equivalents,
but, there is an "evaluative feeling tone" (a)
(Osgood, 1965: 102) that is common to the mE PRESENT STUDY: fami
English and· French scales, and it is the total THE MEASUREMENT OF AFFECTIVE whit,
feeling tone that would be used in the compa- CONTENT IN ENGLISH AND FILIPINO I (b)l
rison of meaning acrosscultures. were
In applying previous work by Osgood
• THE MEASUREMENT OF AFFECT
to the measurement of affect in translation,
the .following four points were hypothesized:
mati
(c) ,
IN TRANSLATION Fili~
1. Respondents can indicate their feelings pred
The general argument put forward here
about either original language or translated pas- cont
is that a measuring instrument similar to the
sages by marking specific points on rating Filip
semantic differential can be applied to com-
parisons of the affective content of source- scales.
(d) 1
and target language versions of oral or written 2. Responses will differ according to obvious bot",
material. Written material was investigated in content differences in the passages. Four types (Bris
'til study to be reported, so the following of material were chosen for this investigation:
discussion will deal with how respondents humorous, violent, factual, and passages depic-
would read an original language passage and ting positive affect in interpersonal relation- of b
how some would read the translated version. -ships (hereafter called "interpersonal.") thes
, f ~:. ~ , I
t). Given assurances of translators doing the predictions assume that competent translators
best of work which they are capable, affective have put forth their best efforts.
differences in original vs. target language ver-
sions of a passage will not be large. In other 5. Humorous passages would be rated as more
words, a violent passage will not be rated "hu- humorous in Filipino than in English versions.
morous," but it may be consistently rated This prediction is based upon the observations
somewhat less violent in one language as com- that the Filipino people greatly value a sense
pared to another. of humor and that they use humor a great deal
in their verbal play (Morales-Goulet, n.d.),
4. If responses are gathered from a large Double meanings are common in their verbal
number of raters, the average ratings for the play, perhaps more so than in the United
!ifferent passages (in their original and source States. Enriquez (1976) has observed that
language versions) can easily be determined
people often engage in a teasing sort of verbal
through basic statistical calculations. These play with each other, and that there is a nega-
statistics will then give an indication of how
tive term ("pikon") applied! to the few who
the passage is seen by a large number of people.
cannot "take" being the occasional target of
Averaging over a large number of raters elimi-
such play.
nates the idiosyncrasies of anyone person so
that the overall rating is more similar to the 6. Violent passages would be rated as more
response of a large audience (the eventual violent when presented in English than when
target of most translations). presented in Filipino. This prediction is based.
The study was designed to allow an upon the fact that violence is strongly discou-
rssment of these basichypotheses. Jn addit- raged in the Philippines (Jocano, 1969). Even
ion, we were interested in some more complex among children, parents frown upon fighting
phenomena that are based on the languages back whereas in other societies (including the
and cultures under study. We investigated trans- USA) fighting back would be seen in the light
lation between English (more precisely, Ameri- .of defending oneself against an enemy. The
can Eriglish) and Filipino, the national language .avoidance is related to the very positive value
of the Philippines. We chose these two langua- placed on "pakikisama" or "smooth interper-
ges for four quite different reasons: sonal relations," as documented by Guthrie
(a) They are from vastly different language and Azores (l968). "Pakikisama" involves good
families; English is an Indo-European language feelings and pleasant relations among people,
while FilipiIio is an Austronesian language. which, of course; is impossible with any sort of
violence. Critics of this view make the counter
(b) Large numbers of English-Filipino bilinguals claim that Filipinos have a predisposition to
were available who could assist us by reading violence, as shown by reports of political
.terial and making ratings. assassinations and careless logging operations
(c) A good deal of research has been done on in rain forests for economic gain at the expense
Filipino social behavior to serve as a basis for of indigenous villagers. But others would argue
predicting possible responses to the social that these are atypical examples that have
content depicted in the passages which the been sensationalized. In contrast, the American
Filipinos read in this study. system of interpersonal behavior seems to in-
(d) The present study represents a collaboration clude violence as a common staple, the evidence
between native speakers of American English of which can be seen in books, movies, maga-
zines, television, and so forth. Loud, hostile
('risUn) and Filipino (Enriquez).
arguments in public are much more common
Continuing the numbering from the list in the U.S.A. than in the Philippines, leading
of basic predictions, the more complex hypo- to the prediction that language befitting such
theses; and their rationale, are as follows. All interpersonal hostility is more easily available
- --_.- -------- _. - . y.
i ,62 VIRGiLIO G; ENIUQUEi'·AND 'RldiAR'D VI;i: BRIS'LlN f'
~n .American . English.' ~ "related sociolinguistic '.easily" communicated 'lam<:>Dtfli: eulture'~ 'main- (, ~nl
;bselV3ti:n : ~=a~; 'am;g! married-couples -bersrBxanipl•• are the: illimller of> votabtda'iy in, I li
,o~~ose 'ho , PlDho-En 'sh. bilinguals, ~gu-items"relatedlto snow, h(jrseS'~carsplt1~'knnn H rea,
~e. ts at iome are eld more often in' English the' four cultures' mentioned-above. Vocabulaty 'I lam
. ~~'!?~~~~~~O ,~~~~_?,1?75)" . , .::: "':,:' includes ,nouns,aild,·verbs·'that: describe;'3\ltfon AIr :j
':7. Passages, depicting. i posi~iv~ affect in inter-
j : -associatedwith the"nouns (e.g.:,! IYihat;. ~~ .done I'i wei
;personal.. relations. would: be': rated. as:, .more with: II car; obligations tc)')dn).-;Bu( rthe 'de-ve- ~l Wh,
."sensitive.; to .·relations between people" in lopment of a language to maH:h:'aueultu~'s \!, Uni
Filipino than in English, In discussing "pakiki- .concernsleads to.a.situation.in which translation Ii elec
.ama~' above, the.very.positive value.placed.on out- oLJhat language' is difficult. .It ·js;·Uk~ rat! J
: pleasant interpersonal, relations, was noted. .that.most potential target languages.do n9t,haye i COli
.Fllipinos -state.. for instance, that they must the same' development (to: conunJ.1Diqat~,!tJlte :'\ inst
have, good, :relations:with their co-workers: if . same concerns) as. the source langwtge.I,,1!1iusi it ; ,
.they .expect to accomplishanything in their ,will be difficult{not necessarily itnpossible)rto I tWI
:jobs.'Further, there is not-a niche for the un- depiot certain concerns.fn-one language.as.com- ials
pleasant but productive and respected co-worker pared to .another.: himaJdng :predicijo~:ab0ut pas
as there is in the U.S.A,' As another piece of .the- translation-of humor,'violence, aad inter- ials
evidence' f~r: the: Hypothesis; <many .:Fillpino '), personal relations. between I Bnglish.andFilipino, ges
m6Vies are-very 'romantic and sentimentalr'so ~:w~ ..are predicting that certain.. cultW:al~~~~QS to
"muchsothat :tl1e Hollywood-import Love"S;ory will be reflected in the .two.languages. M~~~Pa1 Ian:
"{b~ooon:Erich·'Segal's'hovel}was.not abighit, .~ep~~~~~ ~,0t;l~ .?{ ~e ,~~,gua~js,~,lfus be- is :
fitlresumably because 'the'story'llnewas common . ~ore ~f~~u~l.t~ ,~W1V~y .m.~~, 9~~~ l~~~~, con
::~are.: ~olIecti()ns 'of 'Fillpino 'poetry support . an 4}his WU ~e}.:eflec~e~ ~,.~sp~n~e~~:,~tin~
"~his 'View;' much' 'ofthe: 'writing would,be con- aft~r, ~~f~a(the: m~~~ri~:' ' '.',. ,,' l,.,:.",,:'" i,',;~\' Mal
\sideredi slightly' maudlin to Americans•.:; .~.. ,8•.The: .ratings.: for .matetial of.a factual ;I}~~"fe
,. ,"bl making pfedic~~~s abouilang6aieand would be ~ateq approximately,equal.asJQ.m,-
lish
.f~~ rei~tioiI' to humor, violence, andInterper- formative .content. Factual materi~,was~4~~,d tWI
's.omil.'.relaponii; the topic known as 'theice Sapir- tothis study as a. sort .of '.'COl)t,{op<~~~ar¢.t
sag'
.' Whod" hypotHesis·, (reviewed by Mi11e'r' 'and on measures ofinformation~conveyan~\iq ,~r~s-
'~.~~eU~ ~ i 9~~)~~ being b~oa~hed. IIi its~trohg- ,latiq~ inWic~t~s }hat factual ,.ma~erial .. Fiffi; ~f En!
in J
'est version, the, Sapit-Wh6tf hypothesis ·states.t~shlt~dA~ ~~~peqple"c~ ~c()y~r;~~i~~n on('
~t tli( llm,gu~g{ people speak shapes their work, with.the ;Jl!for~t~on-f~gar~e~8(\W~~· t oth
'perceptions 'df the 'world arid ultimately: their ther they see the original or translated version. I
, behaVi,or,' The 'causal' ,link"is',propos~d 't<{be ,~iV~ri"~e"possi1)n~it jo/f)trans~atmg"'f~ctijM 'j low and
.~uage~be~aYi~r. E~piricil" research lias'.riot 'inforrilation plus the 6bsentiltion'tha'fa'ffe'Ctive
I
All
supported this strong'version Of the hypothesls, material is more difficult!to:trahslaiei'{NtdA, Enp
' . ",:,.' ..... ,,, . . . ,. ( . ..1976);thenthe:present·rating.techniqueslto.u,l~
. "A modest view-of the hypothesis-Is more -also . indicate..the relatize-. ease ::of. ,transl~u.ng tha
wrii
in line With that accepted by a number'of peo- I information in comparison toaffecti~e.Iffill~IiiaJ. .\
lati:
"pie' who -have .done' research. on translation/ Thus.we.predicted more similarratings b:e~lW~n
pub
.interpretation. (e.g., .Brislin I ,1976). People. in·a versions of the affective material,.as p~t~
this
,
.give.li, culture, place. a, high value: on' certain in hypotheses 5, 6, and 7. :
behaviors, ideas, or ,material possessions.; Exam- II.."", ';. (,d./ . "!'~ ',In: ;!1I the!
pIes ·are snow' for· Eskimos, horses· for Arabs, I SPECIFIC 'METHODOLOGY ,'····'1 ! ';!;
;...... •
I'
. •e .automobile for' Americans, and kinship for OF THE PRESENT'STUDY-; 1;;1.:;-'1 \
. tribes in New; Guinea. These concerns are·then 'Raten , .' ,<I . ' :" .':. ""; ,;',)
reflected ,in the ~ulture's .language,. and ·the . , .',~ Thirty-two.· college .students',; from' , the wit;
language develops ·so 'that· the concerns can.be .University· of the Philippines,: fluentdn ,both and
TH~' MJ::ASU~EMB.NT; ;O~; AFFEOTIVE CONTENT .,,' 63.'
U~iv,efS~.t>.' of ~~: p~ppip~s,.a , number of Pure ~anmaage .Group., I' .. · · : ,; '. .: '."
, elective"Courses'are"
I I ','
I • '..'
'available in Filipino. All'
•\ ,.' ~ I • . •
! '
~ I'
Group 1 E* .r., E..
: " .
E '. :1 E " ~
: t . . I "
raters ~d c~osen tota~e at lea~t one college G.roup2· F* . ,.F, : : F 'i; I F"II
'ourse;in 'which"'Filipinowas the language of ':.. ., , .: ,,1',. " ;.'ii"'·
irl~truction.·:!:i".,q~::T '.'1 . "':: :'. ' ""',' Mixed Language .', ,:, ' .. ,..... ' 'j;::' I."
" jr;II":'fh~\~t~r~"\Jer~":~~d~lniy aSsi~ed 'to: Gmup(MLG) . , ! . , .• .«, ,. ' • •';
• Then Brasi took an axe from its place second time since they had met, his mouth
11f~,
I
against the wall and started hacking at one of was hard on hers. But now his kisshad a tender- )'
I:
the Capone men. He chopped the man's feet ness, an unexpected gentleness thet took her
off, then the legs at the knees, then the thighs
!1
by surprise and drove away her fears. Expert 11:1
(
where they joined the torso. Brasi was an ex- in everythinghe did, Nikolaos wasa 'past master , , I,
" a
tremely powerful man but it took many swings in the art of makinglove. "
"d throws himself to the ground, thrashes ciple that sentences are easier to translate than
and bangs his head. This behavior is not rhyth- single words, (Longacre, R958; Werner and
mical or absorbing and leaves the child ex- Campbell, 1969), and so the former were used
hausted, weakened, and fearful. Most studies since rating scales were prepared in both Eng-
of head banging, however, have focused on lish and Filipino, Second, 5.point scales rather
auto-erotic head banging. than 7.point scales were used because instruc-
Self-mutilating Behavior. David tions about the former are easier to communi.
Lester. Psychological Bulletin, Vol. cate. Given a sentence that labels the end of a
78, No.2, p. 121. The translation in- scale, the 5-point system can be explained gra-
to Filipino is part of this book: phically as follows:
• Ang Pananakit sa Sarili. V. G.
Enriquez at L. Antonio. Panana- (sentence) (sentence)
/iksik sa Slkolohiya: Diliman, Uni-
----
agree agree no ----
agree agree
bersidad ng Pilipinas: Publications very opinion very
Office, 1975, p. 275. much much
4b. Factual(originally written in Filipino) Third, sentences that would measure the affec-
The following can be used as a guide in tive content of the passages were used as dis-
interviewing: cussed in the presentation of hypotheses, in
Before you see your respondent, look contrast to the single words used to measure
into his social status, his personality, hobbies evaluation, potency, and activity in the stan-
and likes,and his environment. dard Osgood procedure.
.. At the start of the interview, introduce The scales in English and Filipino are
yourself. Be sincere. An honest introduction presented below. After reading a passage, raters
will help a lot in obtaining cooperation from indicated their feelings on the scales. The scales
your respondent. they rated were in the same language as the
If possible, memorize your conversation, passage. On the scales below, the numbering
except if the respondent is giving Information system used in analyzing the ratings is also
such as names, statistics or numbers. presented; the raters did not see this numbering
system.
In writing the report, try to quote the
a. I'liked reading 1 2 3 4 5 I did not like rea-
respondent's answers. He will be glad to see
this passage. ding this passage.
n print what he has said. This way he will b. I learned some 1 2 3 4 5 I did not learn
>e more friendly and will have greater trust new things by anything by rea-
nyou. reading this. ding this passage.
c. I understand 1 2 3 4 5 I did not under-
~ Peryodismong Pilipino. Leonardo P. what the author stand what the
Reyes. Cebu City: Habagatan Pub- wanted to author wanted to
lication, 1972, pp. 109-110. (Trans- explain. explain.
lated for this study by Rogelia Pe). d. I feel that the 1 2· 3 4 5 I feel that the
content of the content of the
~ating Scales passage is passage is not
humorous. humorous.
A number of changes were made in the
echniques designed by Osgood which should e. Heel that the 1 2 3 4 5 I feel that the
content of the content of the
,ad to improvements for the present applica- passage fa passage ill not
io~to the analysis of translation. First, com- violent. violent.
fete sentences were used to label the ends of f. I' feel that the 1 2 3 4 5 I feel that the
aeh scale in contrast to the single words used . author under- author does not
y Osgood. This modification follows the prin- stands the sub- underotand the
'-~-----11
r ,,"" l""I."!·"," \", ",. '
• •
translator/interpreter is the person who makes on paper-and-pencil instruments; and (2), they
this decision. Mistakes sometimes arise at this can be used with college-level students (who
step, not in subsequent transformation to ano- are bilingual in most parts 'of the world) who
ther language. Interpreters often have to make will probably enjoy the active involvement in
decisions quickly during fast-moving discussions research which the techniques encourage.
between communicators. In analyzing literary ,;
works, on the other hand, translators have REFERENCES
more time to search out authors' views about
ANDERSON, R. Perspective on the role ofinterpftltor.
their work and to read the opinions of respec- In R. Brislin (Ed.), Translation: A""lication and
.ted critics. If other demonstrations like that Research. New York: WHey/Halsted Division,
in the present study show differences in affect 1976.
across translations, perhaps more attention will BRISLIN, R. Back-translation for cross-cultural re-
be given to a conscious decision about exactly search. Journal of Cross-Culturol Psychology,
what affect should be conveyed. This is ulti- 1970,1, 185-216.
mately the communicator's decision, not the BRISLIN, R. Translation issues: multi-language ver-
translator's. For instance, a communicator sions and writing translatable lEnglish. Proceedings
could write down exactly what affect is to be of the 80th Annual Convention of the Americon
Psycnologica! Association, 1972,299-300.
conveyed as part of a message to another per-
son (e.g., firmness presented in a diplomatic BRISLIN, R., Ed. Translation: Application and Re-
way; willingness to negotiate in the future; search. New York: Wiley/Halsted Division, 1976.
anger, but implicitly rather than explicitly BRISLIN, R., LONNER, W. and THORNDIKE, R.
expressed). This set of notes would be an addi- Cro ss-Cultural Research Methods. New York:
• on to the actual message. Perhaps another Wiley/lnterscience Division, 1973•
method would be inclusion of the translator/ CARlfifO, L. Theory oflanguage an& language acquisi-
interpreter in all discussions that precede the tion: its sociolinguistic aspect, Philippine Journal
actual meeting at which the multi-language for Language Teaching, 1975,8, 58-66.
communication takes place. By sitting in on ENRIQUEZ, V. G. Ang wikang Filipino sa Sikolohiyll.
planning meetings, the interpreter is more Paper read at the informal table conference on the
likely to understand the various aspects of what development of the Philippine National language;
is to be communicated and.so should be more scientific terminology as part of the elaboration
and intellectualization of Pilipino, Peany Room,
effectivein the actual communication situation. Manila Royal Hotel, December 7, 1976.
The techniques described here may be ERVIN-TRIPP, S. L~age and TAT content in
applicable to the broader field of the relation French English billinguals. Journal 01 Abnonnal
between culture, language, and behavior. If and SocialPsychology, 1964,68,500-507.
jarious types of material are examined to GERVER, D. Empirical studies on simultaneous inter-
determine what can and cannot be easily pretation: a review and a model In R. Brislin
described in a certain language, the results may (Ed.), Translation: Application and Research, New
give insights into important aspects of various Yok: Wiley/Halsted Division, 1976,165-207.
cultures. likewise, such results may lead to GUTHRIE, G., and AZORES, F. Philippine interper-
predictions about what aspects of behavior sonal behavior patterns. In W.. Bello and A. de
are likely to be especially sensitive during Guzman (&1s.), Modemication: Its Impact in the
Philippines (IPe Papers No.7). Manila: Ateneo de
cross-cultural encounters. For instance, the
Manila University Press, 1968.
results of this study suggest that Americans
living in the Philippines should be careful JOCANO, F. Growing Up in a Philippine Barrio. New
!bout hostile arguments in public and should York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1969.
cultivate a sense of humor. These techniques LAZO, L. A comparison of translation equivalence
are also practical in their application since indices. Unpublished M.A. thesis, University of the
(I) they are not expensive, being based only Philippines, 1974.
,. THE MEASUREMENT OF AFFECfIVE CONTENT
LONGACRE, R. Items in context - their bearings on OSGOOD, C., MAY, W., and MIRON, M. Cross-
69
: translation theory. Languoge, 1958, 34, 482-491. Cultural Universals of Affective Meaning. Urbana,
MILLER, G., and McNEIL, D. Psychoiinguistics. In G. III.: University of IllinoisPress, 1975.
Lindzey and E. Aronson (Eels.), Handbook of
PRINCE, R., and MOMBOUR, W. A teclmique for im-
Social Psychology, Vol. 3, 2nd ed, Reading, Mass:
proving 1inguistic equivalence in cross-cultural sur-
Addison-Wesley, 1968,666-794.
veys. International Journal of Social Psychiatry,
MORALES·GOULET, R. Bilingualism in the Philip- 1967,13,229-237.
pine Setting. Quezon City: Souvenir Publications,
n.d. SIMMEL, G. The trial. In K. Wolff (Trans, and JEd.),
The Sociology of George SimmeL New York: The
tW>A, E. Toward a Science of Translation. Leiden, Free Press, 1964.
Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1964.
SINAIKO, H., and BRISLIN, R. Evaluating language
NIDA, E. A framework for the analysis and evaluation translations: experiments on three assessment
of theories of translation. In R. Brislin, (Eel.), methods. Journal of Applied Psychology, :i973,
Translation: Applicotions and Research, New 57,328-334.
York: Wiley/Halsted Division, 1976, 47·91.
SNIDER, J., and OSGOOD, C. (Eds.) Semantic Dif-
OSGOOD, C. Cross-cultural comparability in attitude
ferential Technique: A Sourcebook. Chicago: AI-
measure-ment via multilingual semantic differen-
dine, 1969.
tials. In I. Steiner and M. Fishbein (Eels.), Cun-ent.
Studies in Social Psychology. New York: Holt, TWENTY, R., and HOEMANN, H. Back translation: a
Rinehart, and Winston, 1971,95-106. method for the analysis of manual languages. Sign
OSGOOD, C. Exploration in semantic space: a per- LanguogeStudies, 1973,2, 51-80.
sonal diary. Joumal of Social Issues, 1971, 27,
WERNER, 0., and CAMPBELL, D. Translating, work-
.,s~4.
ing through interpreters, and the problem of decen-
OSGOOD, C., SUCI, G., and TANNENBAUM; O. The tering. In R. Naroll and R. Cohen (Eels.), A Hand-
Measurement of Meaning, Urbana, III.: University book of Methods in' Cultural Anthropology. New
oflllinois Press. 1957. York: Natural History Press, 1970,398-420.
•
','
Subscribe
to the
1
PSSC SOCIAL SCIENCE INFORMATION and,
pho
clini
irres
resu
the quarterly newsletter of the hip,l1
the
rem
PHILIPPINE SOCIAL SCIENCE COUNCIL mea
the
fern
'. AIle
1,8]
pict
Hen
can'
Annual subscription rates: PIS.OO/US$8.00 it v
tots
Mar
Back issues available at P4.S0/US$2.S0 per
fled
(19'
dire
itel1
An
tull:
rod
in a
dev'
• con
70 enc
wh