Description
Translating Academia: Shaping the academic author (Chrysoula Gatsiou)
Discoursal norms and conventions are highly important in shaping academic texts. What we assume the identity of an academic author is like, is a matter of convention and may differ cross-culturally. Translation, in academic discourse contexts, allows a comparative analysis of cross-cultural norms potentially favoured in the exchange of specialized knowledge. The study examines assumed author identity in source and target versions of Carr’s book, What is History?, translated from English into Greek. Pragmatic features shaping the identity of academic author cross-culturally include Hofstede, Hofstede and Minkov’s (2020) high-/low- ‘uncertainty avoidance’ and high-/low- ‘power distance’ variation, among others. Features identified in an etic approach to the data are verified with an emic approach (through a questionnaire). Findings suggest that there are significant differences in the way academia uses language cross-culturally. The study shows that Greek academic discourse reinforces certainty and establishes high tenor, thus generating assumptions about a superior social status of academic authors which are two highly favoured tendencies. The significance of the study lies in that it reflects culturally inscribed authorial style in local academic discourses which vary from English.
