The Linguist

24 The Linguist Vol/64 No/1 ciol.org.uk/thelinguist FEATURES Mehmet Yildiz considers the academic risks of researchers using translations as if they are source text P seudo-retranslation refers to an academic author's appropriation of another academic author's translation without giving them proper credit, and presenting it as a translation of the source. It was in 2017 that I came across my first case. I was commissioned to translate a PhD candidate's manuscript into English, but I had difficulty understanding a reference (Drmrod), which turned out to be a typo (for Ormrod) in a reference that had been translated. An online search revealed that many other Turkish academic works incorporated this translation, including the errors. It dawned on me that there was a pattern that I needed to investigate to describe its mechanisms and probable impacts on academia. I searched Turkish journal and thesis repositories for similar instances, only to discover that pseudo-retranslation is pervasive in Turkish academia – especially where institutional oversight is not stringent. The graph below is illustrative of how this phenomenon operates. It begins with an academic source text (in this case published by the American Psychological Association in 1997; APA) which is translated (in this example for a thesis in 1999; T1999M). Through this target text, which I call the 'proto-translation', some scholarly knowledge is acquired by the target community. Then an academic author appropriates the proto-translation verbatim, partially or as modified, which constitutes our first pseudo-retranslation (Y2007M). The subsequent pseudo- retranslations (E2012A and Y2018M) can be derived from the proto-translation or the predating pseudo-retranslations. The graph draws on instances from the Turkish context, 2 but I have also observed pseudo-retranslations in other languages, including Spanish, Portuguese and German, while Michael Dougherty has identified it in English. 3 We can see how the process distorts meaning. For example, the graph shows how the word 'physiological' becomes 'physical' in the proto-translation. While the original text and proto-translation allege that "prolonged restriction of an individual's activities" leads to "loneliness", the first pseudo-retranslation proposes that it also causes "deteriorating physical condition" and "long-term stress". Interestingly, the first pseudo-retranslation is appropriated verbatim by the second, and reappears 11 years later in the third. So what's the problem? To understand why this is so problematic we should consider that academic knowledge is collectively and accumulatively generated – that academics avail themselves of previously produced knowledge. As the saying goes, 'we stand on the shoulders of giants', grateful for what they have achieved and bequeathed to us. However, this places some weighty responsibility on us as academic authors. Deceptive research Graph showing an example of pseudo-retranslation 1 1. A perceived or actual stressor or loss can be an antecedent to hopelessness (NANDA, 1996), including a prolonged activity, restriction that leads to isolation 2. Deteriorating physiological condition 3. Long-term stress 1. Prolonged restriction of an individual's activities due to various factors and loneliness arising from this [restriction] 2. Deteriorating physical condition 3. Long-term stress 1. Prolonged restriction of an individual's activities due to various factors and loneliness, deteriorating physical condition, long-term stress arising from this [restriction] 1. Prolonged restriction of an individual's activities due to various factors and loneliness, deteriorating physical condition, long-term stress arising from this [restriction] 1. Prolonged restriction of an individual's activities due to various factors and loneliness, deteriorating physical condition, long-term stress arising from this [restriction] APA (Source Text) T1999M (Proto-Translation) Y2007M (Pseudo-Retranslation 1) E2012A (Pseudo-Retranslation 2) Y2018M (Pseudo-Retranslation 3) Knowledge Acquisition and Distortion via Transmission Knowledge Distortion via Transmission Knowledge Transmission Knowledge Transmission Knowledge Transmission

• Cover