The Relationship between Attitude towards Politics and the Quality of Political Translation

• Main Author: Nazanin Shadman
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lasting Impressions Press 2014-06-01
• Series: International Journal of English Language and Translation Studies
• Subjects: Attitude; Political translation; Translation quality; Translation assessment; Iranian EFL Learners
• Online Access: http://www.eltsjournal.org/pdf_files/The%20Relationship%20between%20Attitude%20towards%20Politics%20and%20the%20Quality%20of%20Political%20Translation.pdf

This research attempted to investigate the relationship between the attitudes of translators towards politics and the quality of their political translations. To this end, 30 students, majoring in English translation, were selected as the participants of the study. An attitude questionnaire was devised and administered to estimate the attitudes of the translator trainees towards politics. They were then asked to translate extracts of three political texts taken from “BBC News”. The translations were rated and the results were compared with their responses to the attitude questionnaire. The study followed an ex post facto design with no treatment. Analysis revealed a significant positive relationship between translator trainees’ attitudes towards politics and the quality of their renderings of political texts. Based upon the findings of the study, the paper also aims at making certain useful suggestions to promote a better instruction on political translation. It briefs on how families, mass-media, most importantly, translation teachers, attempt to implant positive attitudes towards politics in students and, at the same time, how they can play a very crucial role in forming, shaping and affecting attitudes towards politics.