Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development
Editor and Book Reviews Editor: John Edwards (St Francis Xavier University, Canada)
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Volume: 20 Number: 3 Page: 194–208
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The Discourse of Official Texts and How it Can Impede Public Service Translators
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Janet Fraser
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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.
© Multilingual Matters 1999
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