Résumés
Abstract
The widespread adoption of translation technologies and the availability of online tools has reshaped not only the translation process, but also research methods, as translators gradually abandon print resources in favour of online ones. What happens when reference materials like dictionaries—generally seen as authoritative in matters of spelling and style—are infrequently updated, or if translators become less reliant on them? Given that one of the major Canadian English reference books, The Canadian Oxford Dictionary (COD), was last published in 2004, translators who work from French and other languages into English have had to complement their research with other sources. What has been the impact on their common practices? In 2022, the author carried out a study composed of a survey, which had 60 respondents, and 11 semi-directed interviews. It sought to ascertain the impact of evolving research methods and the lack of up-to-date reference materials on the habits of working translators in Quebec and Canada and in particular, on how they follow the spelling, style and vocabulary of Canadian English as a language variety. Given that Canadian English is notable in two ways—for the presence of French as a co-official language, leading to numerous borrowings and influences, and for its position as a settler colonial variety of English, whose vocabulary reflects contact with Indigenous languages, particularly with regard to toponymy—one might expect those aspects to provide ongoing challenges to translators in the current environment. The results show that while the role of dictionaries is in transition, respondents consider it a matter of responsibility and a point of identity to follow Canadian spelling and style, and they view linguistic variation more broadly as a source of cultural richness and diversity.
Keywords:
- English language,
- Canadian English,
- French-to-English translation,
- linguistic variation,
- Indigenous Peoples
Résumé
L’adoption généralisée des technologies de la traduction et la création d’outils en ligne ont bouleversé non seulement le processus de traduction, mais aussi les méthodes de recherche, alors que les ressources imprimées sont abandonnées au profit des ressources en ligne. Si l’on considère que les dictionnaires et autres ouvrages de référence font autorité en matière d’orthographe et des conventions linguistiques, que se passe-t-il lorsqu’ils ne sont pas mis à jour ou sont rarement consultés? Au Canada, la publication de l’un des principaux ouvrages de référence, le Canadian Oxford Dictionary, date de 2004, ce qui oblige les personnes qui traduisent vers l’anglais à compléter leurs recherches par d’autres sources. Quel a été l’impact sur les pratiques courantes? En 2022, nous avons mené une étude composée d’un sondage auprès de 60 répondant·es et de 11 entrevues semi-dirigées. Cette étude cherche à comprendre comment l’évolution des méthodes de recherche et le manque d’ouvrages de référence à jour ont affecté la pratique de la traduction au Québec et au Canada, surtout par rapport à l’anglais canadien – son orthographe, ses conventions linguistiques et son vocabulaire. Cette variété linguistique se distingue de deux façons : par la présence du français en tant que langue officielle, ce qui entraîne de nombreux emprunts linguistiques et influences, et par sa position en tant que variété issue d’une colonie de peuplement, dont le vocabulaire, surtout les noms de lieux, témoigne du contact avec des langues autochtones. On peut donc s’attendre à ce que ces aspects posent quelques difficultés dans le contexte actuel. L’analyse suggère que, bien que le rôle des dictionnaires soit en transition, il importe aux répondant·es de respecter l’orthographe et le style canadiens et, plus largement, de concevoir la variation linguistique comme une source de richesse et de diversité culturelles.
Mots-clés :
- langue anglaise,
- anglais canadien,
- traduction du français vers l’anglais,
- variation linguistique,
- Autochtones
Parties annexes
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