Abstract
The article addresses a phenomenon that is often referred to either as a “gap in translation,” or as an element that is “lost in translation.” The argument is that rather than a hurdle or a “loss” to be circumvented, bridged, covered and smoothed over, the gap in translation often represents the most valuable part in the act of translation. It is further argued that the tendency to bridge the gap of translation is the result of the cultural tradition of a horror-vacui (a fear of empty space) that is both gender-based and in the service of a dominant narrative that uses the notions of harmony and consistency to stifle alternative voices. It is for this reason that the gap of translation often contains the most critical information for understanding the cultural context in which translation is performed. The article discusses the gap of translation as a vehicle for cultural communication (and miscommunication); in relation (and opposition) to equivalences; in Media and New Media; in the relationship between Gender and Translation; and in relation to Gender.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
A few examples: Four Seasons in Havana, Chief of Staff, and Fauda.
- 2.
There is a vast literature available on the topic of gender and translation. Two important publications in this field are: Gender in translation: Cultural identity and the politics of transmission (1996) by Sherry Simon and Translation and Gender: Translating in the ‘Era of Feminism’ (1997) by Luise von Flotow.
References
2015 Chrysler 200 Commercial Japanese Quality. (2014, October 27). Retrieved July 22, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZ46xnoqOFo.
Babylonian Talmud. (~500 AD).
Baker, M. (Ed.). (1998). Routledge encyclopedia of translation studies. London: Routledge.
Benjamin, W. (1968). The task of the translator. In W. Benjamin (Ed.), Illuminations (H. Zohn, Trans., pp. 69–82). New York, NY: Schocken.
Bridges, L. (Performer). (2018). Give love. Give gap. Retrieved July 22, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mXpa5Qeb98.
Brown, L. (1993). Kenophobia. The new shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 1: A-M (p. 360). Oxford: Clarendon Press.
CBS/AP. (2007, October 29, 8:31 AM). The gap falls into child labor controversy. Retrieved July 22, 2019, from CBS News: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-gap-falls-into-child-labor-controversy/.
Coppola, S. (Director). (2003). Lost in translation [Motion picture].
Courbet, J. D. (1866). L’Origine du monde [The origin of the world]. Paris: Musée d’Orsay.
da Vinci, L. (1503–1519). Mona Lisa. Paris: Musée du Louvre.
Dean, D. (2006). The Madonnas of Leningrad. New York, NY: Harper Perennial.
Delabastita, D. (2004). If I know the letters and the language: Translation as a dramatic device in Shakespeare’s plays. In T. Hoenselaars (Ed.), Shakespreare and the language of translation (pp. 31–52). London: Arden Shakspeare.
Delabastita, D., & Grutman, R. (2005). Fictional representations of multilingualism and translation. Linguistica Antverpiensia, 4, 11–34.
Delabastita, D., & Hoenselaars, T. (2015). Introduction: ‘If but as well I other accents borrow, that can my speech diffuse’—Multilingual perspective on English Renaissance drama. In D. Delabstita & T. Hoenselaars (Eds.), Multilingualism in the drama of Shakespeare and his contemporaries (pp. 1–16). Netherlands: John Benjamins.
Der Moment. (1924, May 20). Shylock. Der Moment, 1.
Derrida, J. (1979). Border lines. In G. H. Hartman, J. Derrida, H. Bloom, P. de Man, & H. J. Miller (Eds.), Deconstruction and criticism (J. Hulber, Trans., pp. 62–142). London: Continuum.
Dreyfus, H. L., & Wrathall, M. A. (Eds.). (2007). A companion to Heidegger. Malden, MA: Wiley.
ElShiekh, A. A. (2012, February). Translation: Bridging the gap, or creating a gap to bridge? Reflections on the role of translation in bridging and/or widening the gap between different cultures with particular reference to religion and politics. International Journal of English Linguistics, 2(1), 28–34.
Ensler, E. (1996). The Vagina monologues. New York, NY: HERE Art Center.
Even-Zohar, I. (1979). Polysystem theory. Poetics Today, 1(1–2), 287–310.
Felner, P. P. (Director). (1923). Der Kaufmann von Venedig [The merchant of Venice] [Motion Picture].
Freud, S. (1957). Assessment of the unconscious. In S. Freud (Ed.), The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud (J. Strachey, Trans., Vol. XIV, pp. 196–204). London: Hogarth Press.
Freud, S. (2018). Three essays on the theory of sexuality (A. A. Brill, Trans.). New York, NY: Global Grey.
Gessain, R. (1957). “Vagina dentata” dans la clinique et la mythologie. Psychanalyse, 3, 247–295.
Google. (n.d.). Google arts & culture. Retrieved July 22, 2019, from Google.com: https://artsandculture.google.com/.
Harlan, V. (Director). (1940). Jud Süß [Motion Picture].
Large, D., Akashi, M., Józwikowska, W., & Rose, E. (2018). Untranslatability. NY: Routledge.
Maheshwari, S. (2017, February 2). Super bowl commercials feature political undertones and celebrity cameos. New York Times. Retrieved July 22, 2019, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/02/business/media/super-bowl-advertising-fox-border-wall.html?action=click&module=RelatedCoverage&pgtype=Article®ion=Footer.
Malmkjaer, K. (2019). Translation and creativity. NY: Routledge.
Merriam Webster Dictionary. (n.d.). Horror vacui as defined in the Merriam Webster Dictionary. Retrieved July 19, 2019, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/horror%20vacui horror vacui as defined in the Merriam Webster Dictionary.
Müthel, L. (Director). (1943). Merchant of Venice (W. Krauss, Performer). Vienna: Burgtheater.
Nida, E. A., & Taber, C. R. (1969). The theory and practice of translation. Leiden: Brill.
Payne, J. (2007). ‘An expensive death’: Walter Benjamin at Portbou. European Judaism, 40(2), 102–105.
Pollack, S. I. (Director). (2005). The interpreter [Motion Picture].
Robinson, D. (1991). The translator’s turn. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Robinson, D. (1997). Western translation theory from Herodotus to Nietzsche. Manchester: St. Jerome.
Shore, D. (Director). (2004–2014). House M. D. [Motion Picture].
Simon, S. (1996). Gender in translation: Cultural identity and the politics of transmission. London: Routledge.
Thorp, J. (1990, June). Aristotle’s Horror Vacui. Canadian Journal of Philosophy, 20(2), 149–166.
Venuti, L. (1995). The translator’s invisibility: A history of translation. London: Routledge.
Venuti, L. (2011). The poet’s version; or, an ethics of translation. Translation Studies, 4(2), 230–247.
Von Flotow, L. (1997). Translation and gender: Translating in the ‘era of feminism’. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press.
Wang, L., & Zhao, G. (2011). Function-oriented approaches in commercial advertisement translation. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 1(15), 521–524.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Abend-David, D. (2020). Welcome to the Gap: The Cultural Gap of Translation at the Age of New Media. In: Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk, B. (eds) Cultural Conceptualizations in Translation and Language Applications. Second Language Learning and Teaching. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-43336-9_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-43336-9_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-43335-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-43336-9
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)