ABSTRACT

Translation is an essential and extensively-used tool in research and development projects, yet is frequently sidelined as an insignificant or minor component in the initial design. This often leads to assumptions regarding translation tasks, by both the translator and the end-user or the commissioner. Addressing this lack of awareness and the resultant misunderstandings concerning the translation outcome, this article examines translation processes that take place when translations are commissioned. It draws on empirical data from an NGO radio development project in Africa’s Sahel, including semi-structured interviews with translators working from Fulfuldé, Tamashek, and Zarma-Songhai into French with responses clustered around four themes: identity, agency, source text knowledge and transcription/translation processes. Contributing to translation studies and to development studies, the article provides recommendations on implementing changes to overcome dismissive attitudes towards translation, and to promote its consideration as a core element of development and research projects.

摘要

翻译是研究和开发项目中必不可少的且广泛使用的工具，但在初始设计中，翻译常常被视为无关紧要或次要的组成部分。这通常会导致翻译人员，最终用户或专员对翻译任务的假设。针对这种意识不足和对翻译结果的误解，本文研究了委托翻译时发生的翻译过程。它借鉴了来自非洲萨赫勒地区非政府组织无线电发展项目的经验数据，包括对来自福尔富尔德，塔玛谢克和扎玛·松海的法语翻译进行的半结构化访谈，回答围绕四个主题进行：身份，代理，源文本知识和转录/翻译过程。