The Translation-centred Political Mass Communication Model

The TPMC Model has been specifically designed for the interpretation of the findings obtained through the TDSI Model. As the source and target texts are used in political mass communication and as the TDSI Model does not incorporate any political mass communication related aspects, a comprehensive text linguistic analysis must extend to the

intended use of the source and target texts as this will provide further clues to the interpretation of the textual features identified. With a view to this, the TPMC Model accounts for and explains the results generated by the TDSI Model from a functional perspective and will allow for drawing conclusions in connection with translator behaviour and translators’ critical awareness with reference to the translation of political texts.

The TPMC Model is made up of the following two components: Reality, based on Mazzoleni’s (2002) Mediatised Political Reality Theory, and Bias, based on Mazzoleni’s (2002) Theory of Bias. These are the political mass communication related issues with relevance to the current research within the framework of the present undertaking that the TDSI Model does not address. As the TDSI Model reveals textual features connected to the social-political context of source and target texts as well the reproduction of power and ideology in these texts, one can account for and explain these textual features by finding answers as to why the source texts are constructed the way they are and why the target texts are translated the way they are in relation to the political mass communication function of the texts in question. As the primary function of all political texts is to persuade receivers (Oakeshott 2001: 193), the presentation of reality and bias are crucial as through them a certain reality can be presented, explained and politically positioned for receivers to promote certain political interests. That is the reason why the analytical tool developed in the current undertaking must extend to political mass communication related features.

In light of the above, the component of Reality of the TPMC Model focuses on the objective or non-objective presentation of political reality in newspaper articles and their translations. In the TPMC Model, Reality has two aspects: subjective reality and constructed reality. As described in Section 5.3, subjective reality denotes the reality perceived from the perspective of the participants of this political reality and the method of the presentation of this reality. In our research context, this implies that both the journalist and the translator will phrase their own subjective realities in the texts they produce as they are participants of the political events pictured in the source and target texts.

Constructed reality refers to those events that are presented through the interpretation of the media and describes the method of the presentation of this interpreted reality. In our research context, it implies that the journalists will present certain political events through their own interpretation in their argumentative newspaper articles functioning as source texts, while translators in their target texts will also produce their respective interpretation of the political reality in question, naturally within the limits afforded by the source texts.

In our analysis, the other component of the TPMC Model, Bias extends to journalists’ and translators’ personal political convictions and to the professional norms and standards of journalism and of the translation of political texts. The component of Bias incorporates two aspects: personal political bias and structural bias. As described in Section 5.4.1, personal political bias denotes personal political affiliations which realise as bias on a textual level: such bias manifests on the part of the journalists and the translators as personal political affiliation with traceable textual signs. In the context of the current research, this implies that, as the journalists of the source text articles most probably sympathise with the political side whose newspapers employ them, they will include their personal political views in the source texts and likewise translators will have their own political convictions that they may incorporate in their target texts.

The second aspect of Bias, structural bias denotes professional norms and standards associated with text production. In the context of the present research, structural bias can function in the following way: journalists will observe the professional norms and standards required by the journals that employ them, whereas the translators will be guided by the professional norms and standards of translation as perceived by them. It is likely that both the journalists and the translators will strive to produce texts that satisfy the editorial boards or the clients, respectively.

Tables 5-1 display the aspects of the Translation-centred Political Mass Communication Model broken down into the two components of the Model.

Translation-centred Political Mass Communication Model Component: Reality

Aspect Description

subjective reality reality perceived from the perspective of the participants of this reality (journalists and translators) and the presentation of this reality constructed reality events presented through the interpretation of the

media or translation and the presentation of this interpretation

Translation-centred Political Mass Communication Model Component: Bias

Aspect Description

personal political bias journalists’ and translators’ personal political affiliations that realise as bias on a textual level

structural bias the professional norms and standards of

journalism and of the translation of political texts that realise as bias on a textual level

Tables 5-1: The Aspects of the Translation-centred Political Mass Communication Model

The TPMC Model will be used for the interpretation of the findings obtained through the four components of the TDSI Model, the two components of TPMC Model will be linked to the four components of the TDSI Model. This in practice means that the output of the four components of the TDSI Model will serve as the input of the two components of TPMC Model in the current research.

The four-component TDSI Model reveals textual features with reference to the social-political context of source and target texts (component Context), social action hoped to be achieved texts (component Action) and the reproduction of power (component Power) and ideology (component Ideology). The TPMC Model’s component of Reality centres on the presentation of political reality, while the component of Bias on personal political convictions and professional norms and standards of text production. In an attempt to interpret the findings of the TDSI Model with the help of TPMC Model, the findings obtained with the help of the components of Action and Ideology of the TDSI Model will be explicated through the TPMC Model component of Bias, while the findings obtained with the help of the components of Context and Power of the TDSI Model will be explained through the TPMC Model component of Reality. This is justified by the following: the components of Action and Ideology of the TDSI Model reveal achievable social action and ideologically charged text production, which link up with person-specific political and professional attitudes to bias incorporated in the TPMC Model component of Bias. Person-specific political attitudes are observable on the part of the journalists and the translators, while professional attitudes are required by the newspapers publishing the source texts and the “art”, “trade” or market of translation. On the other hand, the components of Context and Power of the TDSI Model uncover social and political contexts and describe the power that provides access for journalists and translators to produce texts about the political reality

and the power such access guarantees in communication. These aspects relate to political reality incorporated in the TPMC Model component of Reality.

Figure 5-1 visually represents two of the constituent models of the analytical tool used in the current undertaking and depicts the relation of the different components of the TDSI Model and the TPMC Model.

Figure 5-1: Visual representation of the relationship between the components of the TDSI Model and the TPMC Model

For a detailed description of the entire analytical tool and its constituent models, see Section 6.4.