Full metadata record
| DC Field | Value | Language |
|---|---|---|
| dc.contributor | Faculty of Humanities | en_US |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Li, Dechao (CBS) | en_US |
| dc.creator | Huang, Yueyue | - |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://theses.lib.polyu.edu.hk/handle/200/13600 | - |
| dc.language | English | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Hong Kong Polytechnic University | en_US |
| dc.rights | All rights reserved | en_US |
| dc.title | Modal stance in Chinese to English translation of research article abstracts : a corpus-based study | en_US |
| dcterms.abstract | Research on translation shifts, particularly changes in modality, that occur in English translations of Chinese research article abstracts (RAA) is rare yet vital for understanding how local knowledge is communicated to the global academic community. This study aims to examine the shifts and additions of modality use, a linguistic device expressing authors' evaluative judgement, and explore how these modality changes operate at lexical-semantic, syntactic, and textual-information levels in translations from Chinese to English RAAs. Employing a mixed-method approach grounded in Systemic Functional Linguistics and contextualised in the discourse of Language for Specific Purposes, the study analyses cross-linguistic modality shifts, including retainment, modification, and omission from source texts (ST) to target texts (TT), as well as modality additions in value, type, and orientation from both qualitative and quantitative perspectives. | en_US |
| dcterms.abstract | The quantitative analysis reveals the patterns of modality shifts and additions as: 1) a significant number of modality shifts can be observed from ST to TT, predominantly in value, followed by type and orientation. These shifts indicate a stronger objectivised authorial modal stance in translated RAAs, stemming from the losses of modality. These losses primarily present as low-value implicit modality in propositions. 2) Additions of modal markers in translated RAAs do not offset these losses. However, there is a notable increase of modality in proposals, suggesting translators' efforts to provide their additional evaluations when translating offers or commands from ST to TT. 3) A closer examination of modality additions in TT shows greater losses of low-value modal stance than gains through translation, while median-value modal markers are more frequently added, suggesting a translatorial preference for a centralised stronger modal stance. 4) Despite significant gains in both explicit subjective and objective stances in the translated English RAAs, a substantial number of losses in implicit modal orientation occur with insufficient compensation in the translated RAAs. Taken all together, the compensation between the losses and gains of modality suggests a stronger tone and objective manner of modal stance are favoured by translators in the translation of Chinese to English RAAs. | en_US |
| dcterms.abstract | The qualitative analysis further identifies Chinese-specific lexical-semantic, syntactic, and textual-information levels of transfer where these shifts and additions occur. Lexical-semantic factors include lexical ambiguities, particularly with the modal verbs "会" (hui) and "要" (yao), and culture-based rhetorical differences in reporting verbs and other lexical descriptions. The syntactic levels of transfer include syntactic restructuring by sentence division or combination. The textual-formation levels primarily present as a representation with retainment, reduction, or expansion of information from ST to TT. The qualitative findings serve a basis for discussions on how translators of academic texts modulate authorial and translatorial modal stance between the discursive differences of Chinese and English academic discourse. | en_US |
| dcterms.abstract | The quantitative and qualitative findings provide insights on translators' interventions in the original authorial modal stance and their articulation of translatorial modal stance into academic discourse. This research provides theoretical, practical, and pedagogical implications for translators' mediative and agentic roles in formulating the modal profile of translated RAAs in the English academic discursive community. | en_US |
| dcterms.extent | 1 volume (various pagings) : color illustrations | en_US |
| dcterms.isPartOf | PolyU Electronic Theses | en_US |
| dcterms.issued | 2024 | en_US |
| dcterms.educationalLevel | DALS | en_US |
| dcterms.educationalLevel | All Doctorate | en_US |
| dcterms.LCSH | Translating and interpreting | en_US |
| dcterms.LCSH | Chinese language -- Translating into English | en_US |
| dcterms.LCSH | Modality (Linguistics) | en_US |
| dcterms.LCSH | Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations | en_US |
| dcterms.accessRights | restricted access | en_US |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8058.pdf | For All Users (off-campus access for PolyU Staff & Students only) | 2.53 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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