Travelling the paths of discourse traditions
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Ursula Schaefer✝
Abstract
Translation from Latin is credited as an indispensible source for the elaboration of the written medieval vernaculars. In my contribution I will argue that this perception may result from confusing the concept of ‘source’ language with that of a ‘model’ language. Moreover I will show that for English it was not the Latin model – or, in 14th and 15th centuries, the French model – that influenced the indigenous literate language, but the discourse-specific norms established in those model languages. With a concrete example, I will show that some such ‘innovations’ may indeed be the immediate result of an individual translation, but that, in the majority of cases, such innovations tend to give evidence of an attempt to preserve specific discourse norms.
Abstract
Translation from Latin is credited as an indispensible source for the elaboration of the written medieval vernaculars. In my contribution I will argue that this perception may result from confusing the concept of ‘source’ language with that of a ‘model’ language. Moreover I will show that for English it was not the Latin model – or, in 14th and 15th centuries, the French model – that influenced the indigenous literate language, but the discourse-specific norms established in those model languages. With a concrete example, I will show that some such ‘innovations’ may indeed be the immediate result of an individual translation, but that, in the majority of cases, such innovations tend to give evidence of an attempt to preserve specific discourse norms.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Introduction 1
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Part I. Diachronic perspectives
- A tentative typology of translation-induced language change 11
- Travelling the paths of discourse traditions 45
- Evidence of language contact in the Parliament Rolls of Medieval England 71
- Translation-induced formulations of directives in Early Modern German cookbooks 87
- Battlefield victory 109
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Part II. Diachronic perspectives
- Between normalization and shining-through 135
- Linking constructions in English and German translated and original texts 163
- Features of writtenness transferred 183
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Part III. Synchronic perspectives
- Corporate rhetoric in English and Japanese business reports 209
- Assessing the impact of translations on English-German language contact 233
- The impact of English on Spanish-language media in the USA 257
- Revisiting a translation effect in an oral language 281
- Index 311
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Introduction 1
-
Part I. Diachronic perspectives
- A tentative typology of translation-induced language change 11
- Travelling the paths of discourse traditions 45
- Evidence of language contact in the Parliament Rolls of Medieval England 71
- Translation-induced formulations of directives in Early Modern German cookbooks 87
- Battlefield victory 109
-
Part II. Diachronic perspectives
- Between normalization and shining-through 135
- Linking constructions in English and German translated and original texts 163
- Features of writtenness transferred 183
-
Part III. Synchronic perspectives
- Corporate rhetoric in English and Japanese business reports 209
- Assessing the impact of translations on English-German language contact 233
- The impact of English on Spanish-language media in the USA 257
- Revisiting a translation effect in an oral language 281
- Index 311
