Think Aloud Protocols (TAPs) and Figurative Language Translation: Investigating the academic vs the professional approach

Elena Xeni
Department of Education
University of Cyprus

The present paper is concerned with the gap between the academic approach of student-translators (traditional language courses training) and the professional translators’ approach ("real-world" demands) while translating figurative language.

Some reasons for this phenomenon are suggested and a report on a think-aloud study is discussed. The strategies a graduate student of an English-Greek translation course follows when translating particular figurative language extracts from a novel are contrasted with the strategies of a professional translator specialized in English-Greek translation.

Since the researcher’s experience in translation has been primarily in the Translation of Literature for Children and Young Adults the examples are taken from that realm. Texts are extracted from a well-known British novel for Teenager’s and Young Adults which is too culture bound. This paper discusses the strategies employed for the translation of figurative language -in particular idioms and fixed expressions, in the framework of TAPs as a methodological tool.

The present work concludes with implications for policy and practice in the fields of interest, as well as relevant fields that should be benefited from attempts as such.

Keywords:
pedagogy of translation; translator training; figurative language translation; humor translation; TAPs and translation studies; translating literature for children and young adults