The Concept of “Distance” (Between Languages-Cultures) in Translation and Translation Studies:

The Case of the Japanese and English Subtitling of French-Language Québec Cinema

Abstract

Although the notion of “distance”, especially linguistic, cultural, and temporal, dots the discourse of Translation Studies (TS), it has never been given due consideration and it thus remains under the radar. In this context, the present thesis explores the concept of “distance”, particularly between languages and cultures, from a firmly translational and translatological perspective. The starting postulate is that it is possible to express the complex nexus of divergences and convergences between two linguistic-cultural systems through a simplified representation, that is a “distance”. Thus, the main question posed in this thesis can be summed up as follows: what influence does distance between languages-cultures exert on translation, and what relevance does the concept have for TS? Excluding the introduction (chap. 1) and conclusion (chap. 8), this paper-based thesis consists of six chapters. The first five of these six chapters are articles that have been published or submitted for publication in various scholarly journals with double-blind peer review. In the thesis, we conduct an empirical research to examine the notion of “distance”. This research begins with a pilot study (chap. 3, in French), which then leads to a more thorough study (chap. 6, in English). Both studies investigate how cultural references found in French-language Québec films are subtitled in Japanese (as a “remote” language-culture) and English (as a “close” language-culture). We also carry out a mapping of the idea of “distance” in itself and as it exists in TS, while discussing the methodological challenges of such an endeavor (chap. 5, in French). This mapping is preceded by a methodologically similar study of a key concept of the thesis, namely that of “culture” (chap. 2, in French). In addition, we develop a rationale for a narrow (re)definition of the concept of “translation” and for a discipline to match (chap. 4, in English). This general stance on TS and its object forms the basis of the last chapter in which we present a number of critical reflections on the concept of “distance” in translation and outline a translatological research program centered on the formulation of translation laws based on distance between languages-cultures (chap. 7, in French). Taken together, these chapters provide a better understanding of the explicit and implicit links that tie the concept of “distance”, particularly between languages-cultures, to translation and TS. In sum, in this thesis, we problematize and conceptualize the notion of “distance” (between languages-cultures) from a theoretical perspective, and we operationalize and test it from an empirical perspective. Furthermore, we legitimize and promote the concept in the discipline, and we develop it through a proposal for a research program. In other words, we strive to bring the concept of “distance” closer to translation and TS.