Abstracts
Abstract
A consequence of the development of modern states has been the concept of “minority” as used to refer to subsets of the population that are differentiated from that portion of the population which is seen as the “majority.” These minorities are at times distinguished from each other using terms such as national minorities and immigrant minorities. Some scholars have challenged the distinctions drawn by these constructs. An example of how such constructs are not always accurate can be found in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, where ethnic and linguistic, immigrant and national, minority and majority are not always clear cut. “The Valley,” as the region is locally known, has a long history of the numerical majority being in a minoritized position. In this context, a local university administered a “speech test” to Mexican American students who enrolled between the 1950s and the 1970s. The purpose, according to Anzaldúa (1987), was to tame their “wild tongue.” This same university, now transformed, proposes to rehabilitate itself, as it becomes bilingual, bicultural, and biliterate. Accordingly, it now undertakes a systematic effort to bilingualize its operations, starting with the localization into Spanish of its website as conducted by the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s Translation and Interpreting Office. A number of terminological strategies and translation challenges stemming from the variegated lectal and diglossic landscapes of the region have arisen, which can be illuminated by the Post-Colonial paradigm found in Translation Studies.
Keywords:
- minority,
- diglossia,
- translation,
- university,
- translation policy
Résumé
L’une des conséquences du développement de l’État moderne tient au concept de « minorité » tel qu’utilisé en référence à une population différente d’une portion de la population décrite comme la « majorité ». Ces minorités sont parfois différenciées les unes des autres par des expressions telles que peuples autochtones, minorités nationales et minorités immigrantes. Certains auteurs ont contesté la nature arbitraire des distinctions établies par ces construits. La Vallée du Rio Grande au Texas – où les minorités et majorités ethniques et linguistiques, immigrantes et nationales, ne sont pas évidentes – présente un exemple montrant que ces construits ne sont pas toujours exacts. La Vallée, comme la région est appelée par ses habitants, possède une longue histoire où la majorité numérique se trouve en position minoritaire. Dans ce contexte, une université locale faisait passer un « test de communication orale » aux étudiants états-uniens de descendance mexicaine qui y étaient inscrits entre les années 1950 et 1970. L’objectif, selon Anzaldúa (1987), consistait à affaiblir leur « accent ». Cette même université, maintenant transformée, souhaite se racheter en devenant bilingue, biculturelle et bialphabète. Ainsi, elle entreprend un effort systématique pour rendre bilingues ses opérations, en commençant par la traduction vers l’espagnol de son site Internet, prise en charge par le Bureau de traduction et d’interprétation de la University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Plusieurs stratégies terminologiques et défis de traduction émanent des paysages lectaux et diglossiques de la région, lesquels sont mis en lumière par le paradigme postcolonial de la traductologie.
Mots-clés :
- minorité,
- diglossie,
- traduction,
- université,
- politiques de traduction
Appendices
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