Resumen de The Discourse of Official Texts and How it Can Impede Public Service Translators
Compounding the problems associated with translating any type of text between any two languages are three issues specific to public service translation. Since text is always a social product, the implicit function of a document produced by a social institution may not be the same as its explicit function. The resulting mixture of styles requires a high level of discourse literacy, not only from the reader in the source language but also from the translator. Particularly where non-native speakers of the source language are concerned, poor drafting also presents an obstacle to efficient translation. Finally, there may as a result be a conflict between 'faithful' translation, functional equivalence, and clear communication in the target language. On the basis of a 'think-aloud protocol' from an experienced public service translator, this article uses some of the tools of Critical Discourse Analysis and Translation Quality Assessment to present a case-study of one such public service translator and to discuss the wider implications for others in the profession.
