This article reports a study in which good and poor comprehenders (in 2 age groups: 8- and 10-year-olds) read short passages containing phrases that could be interpreted as idiomatic or not, depending on the context. Familiarity was manipulated by including real (English) idioms and novel (translations of Italian) idioms. Reading times for the…

Deals with a major difference between European languages and Chinese, namely the sparse use of anaphoric reference in Chinese. Suggests that the translator's way of rendering references will affect the interpretational potential of the text in the target language. (NKA)

Focuses on pronouns of address, especially the second person singular, in which many European languages make distinctions according to the degree of familiarity between the speaker and the person addressed. Discusses the problems these distinctions present (especially in literary works) to translators who work in languages where such nuances are…

Perceives a need for new translations and reinterpretations of classical Greek literature. Considers reasons that some translations have passed into oblivion while others remain unsurpassed. Discusses the relationship between modern and ancient languages, the small size of the extant body of classical Greek literature, and the influence of modern…

The necessity for stylistic appropriateness in translation as well as correct content is discussed. To acquire this skill, translators must be trained in stylistics through close examination of their own language and must have practice in translating for different audiences at different levels. (PMJ)

Describes a study that attempts to systematize the criteria required for accurate translations of technical documents. The results of a Linguistic Appreciation Questionnaire-Test, administered to 19 professional translators, were used to categorize the most common translation variables: style, structure, rhythm, and meaning of text in the hope of…

The linguistic complexity of humor is illustrated with examples of word play translated from French to English and English to French. Examples from the writings of James Joyce and Marcel Proust are highlighted. (CB)

Discusses the translator's need for help from structural linguistics and the inadequacy of the response of linguistics to so-called translation problems. Two German-French syntax problems are given as examples and a solution is offered from a translator's point of view. (AMH)

Identifies indicators of register or style in selected portions of two lectures presented in American Sign Language, and in the interpretations of each made by two interpreters. The indicators used are speaking rate, pausing, syntax, intonation, and lexical choice. Transcripts of data are included in Appendix. (Author/LMO)

The performance of two sign language interpreters in interpreting and transliterating two English texts in 1973 and again in 1985 was analyzed. Both interpreters significantly increased their use of four linguistic features of American Sign Language: classifiers; rhetorical questions; noun-adjective word order; and nonmanual negation. (Author/CB)

Compares the cognitive processing of 12 anglophone French students who wrote an argumentative text in their first language (English) and second language (L2) (French). Results indicate that the writers' strategic knowledge and capacity for meaningful multiple-level discourse processing explains the constraining effects of linguistic processing on…