From week 1 we know we want to KEEP THE MEANING and we want to DROP THE FORM in our goal for IDIOMATIC Translations.   Ok -- so if we want to keep the meaning, it seems like we should know what "meaning" means... Ironically meaning is one of those concepts that is difficult to define -  Meaning is what it means.  Right?

Luckily, William Isham gives us 7 elements of meaning that give us a checklist while we're analyzing the source text for meaning.  This is called Message Analysis or Discourse Analysis.   You should read Isham's article in Blackboard on the Role of Message Analysis.  

1. Context

2. Content

3. Function

4. Register

5. Affect

6. Contextual Force / Dynamic Equivalence

7. Metanotative Qualities / Speaker Style

On to Isham! 

2. Content: facts, ideas, information expressed.  This information is expressed through "propositions" which are "idea units".  One sentence can have multiple propositions. 

These propositions can be either IMPLICIT or EXPLICIT.  

• Implicit information is not stated directly by the speaker, but the meaning is suggested or understood.  The information is IMPLIED.

• Explicit information is directly stated in the text.

Ms Ferraro's  sample text from the article is broken down into both implicit and explicit propositions.    How many propositions of each type are there?   When there are MANY propositions in just a few words, that is when we have what we call a "dense" text.  A lot of meaning packed into a small package.  This sample is quite dense. 

This process of breaking down the content into propositions of meaning is what we call "unpacking" the meaning.  One of the first steps for all of your projects is unpacking the meaning, unpacking all of the implicit and explicit propositions.   We will be getting a lot of practice at this.

Example:  I didn’t teach after all because Mr. Jones arrived.
      Some examples of propositions we can unpack - can you think of more?: 

• Mr. Jones normally taught this class.

• Mr. Jones was not supposed to teach class today.

• I was asked to teach today for Mr. Jones.

• Mr. Jones showed up unexpectedly. 

• Because Mr. Jones showed up to teach his class, I did not teach today afterall.

             Example:  No time.  Let's handle it with a phone call.  -- What meaning can you unpack?

We will listen for ideas / meaning not for words or form.  Content includes topics, main points, supporting points, data and details (which will come up later when we discusss Gish's Interpreting process model).

Implied messages are sometimes unknown to us as the interpreter because we know have enough of the shared information.  We need to leave that information implied and let the consumer ask for clarification if needed or ask for clarification from the speaker ourselves.  Many times the Deaf consumer may know the situation well enough to understand without having the interpreter make the implied message explicit.  

   Example: "Uncle Oscar is coming over tonight, I'd better lock up the liquor!"

More propostions to unpack: 

1. He gorged himself on pizza.

2. I need half a dozen eggs. 

3. Can you come in 30 minutes? 

4. I penned a letter. 

5. I wrote a letter. 

Are these all equivalent? Are they a perfect paraphrase?

I wrote a letter. ⬄ I penned a letter. ⬄ I created a letter. ⬄ I crafted a letter. 

 4. Register: Variations in the surface structure of the message based on, or to establish social distance.  The formality of the language.  

 We discussed register in Linguistics I -- do you remember the 5 registers we discussed? 

Frozen, Formal, Consultative, Informal, Intimate

 Of these 5 registers, which registers do you think interpreters work in most most often?

Look at the sample text in the artcle -- what register is Ms Ferarro using?   How does the tone of the message change when the article modifies it to fit other registers?   You can see how meaning can be changed if we don't get the register right.   We are not only responsible for the content, we are also responsible for HOW they are expressed.

Register changes based on speakers and situations.  Register can change and shift in a moment's notice.  For example in church if the pastor is giving the sermon it's formal register, but then he turns to someone in the congregation and asks how they're doing, that's a shift to informal.   

The EIPA emphasizes register.   They want to see a clear shift in register when you interpret for the teachers as opposed to when you interpret for the children.   You'll shift postures, use different language choices.

6. Contextual force (CF) / Impact:  The relative impact the message has on the audience (high or low).  Also called significance of the message to the audience.   The Deaf consumer could be emotionally connected to the topic (high impact), or not (low impact)... they could be super interested in the topic (high impact), or just there because attendance is required (low impact).  The topic could stimulate past memories, e.g. "Oh I had a bike like that too!" (high impact) or there could be no emotions attached to the message... (low impact). 

 For example if you were sitting in class and Greg told you that you were going to have to come to the front of the class and sign a story for a grade with no preparation, that would have a really high Contextual Force on you.  You would FEEL that.  But if you were visitng the Fingerspelling class and they had to get up in front of the class, you might find it interesting, but you wouldn't have the same increase in blood pressure.  

In order to know how a message might impact our audience, we have to know our audience, their goals, and their values.  

Our interpretation needs to have the same impact on the target audience as the original message.

Conclusion:  Message analysis gives us a way to understand meaning, so that we can then put that meaning into the target language.  

 “When we become aware of the message as a whole, we can hope to interpret the wholeness of the message.”

*** Be sure to read the Isham article if you haven't already***