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    1. The document discusses models of reading comprehension including top-down and bottom-up models. 2. It describes how background knowledge and schemata play an important role in reading comprehension by providing context. 3. Interactive models of reading propose that successful comprehension requires both top-down and bottom-up processing, and that the amount needed depends on the text and reading purpose.

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    Chapter 5 Presentation

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    1. The document discusses models of reading comprehension including top-down and bottom-up models. 2. It describes how background knowledge and schemata play an important role in reading comprehension by providing context. 3. Interactive models of reading propose that successful comprehension requires both top-down and bottom-up processing, and that the amount needed depends on the text and reading purpose.

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    1. The document discusses models of reading comprehension including top-down and bottom-up models. 2. It describes how background knowledge and schemata play an important role in reading comprehension by providing context. 3. Interactive models of reading propose that successful comprehension requires both top-down and bottom-up processing, and that the amount needed depends on the text and reading purpose.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    40 views78 pages

    Chapter 5 Presentation

    Uploaded by

    Nguyễn Ngọc Huyền
    1. The document discusses models of reading comprehension including top-down and bottom-up models. 2. It describes how background knowledge and schemata play an important role in reading comprehension by providing context. 3. Interactive models of reading propose that successful comprehension requires both top-down and bottom-up processing, and that the amount needed depends on the text and reading purpose.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 78

    CHAPTE

    R5
    READING AND
    TRANSLATIO
    N
    5.1
    Reading
    comprehension: An
    interactive process
    1. Top-down and
    bottom-up models of
    reading comprehension
    a. Top-down
    models:
    • A reader relies on world knowledge (background
    knowledge), contextual information and other higher-
    order processing strategies to understand a text.  

    ● An important contribution of the top-down model is


    increased awareness of the role of background
    knowledge and schemata in reading comprehension.
    b. Bottom-up models:

    • Reading proceeds from smaller units on to larger ones.

    Letter
    Words Sentences Paragraphs Texts
    s

    ● It is a serial process that moves up from part to whole.


    2. Background
    knowledge and
    schemata
    is knowledge possessed by the reader
    that he/she contributes to his/her
    a. comprehension of the text.
    Backgroun
    d It can consist of
    • general world knowledge
    knowledge • expert knowledge
    • Is another word for prior knowledge
    and/or background knowledge.

    b. • People develop a large network of


    knowledge structures (schemas) that
    Schemata connect to many others.

    • Grow and change as a person acquires


    new information through experience and
    reading.
    Example
    In a restaurant situation, in Western culture,
    the schema usually includes participants,
    b. such as the waiter, the manager and other
    Schemata customers, with specific roles, for instance,
    welcoming guest and taking them to their
    table, taking an order, delivering the order,
    bringing the bill, relaying complaints, etc.
    3. Interactive models
    of reading
    comprehension
    • Successful comprehension requires an appropriate combination of
    both top-down and bottom-up processing; how much of one or the
    other may be necessary often depends on the type of text and the
    purpose of reading.

    • Textual meaning is not an objective reality hidden in the text that


    the reader must decipher; rather, it is constructed by the reader in
    interaction with the text

    • One important feature of reading comprehension closely related to


    its interactive nature is its variability.
    Semantic models
    TABLE OF CONTENTS
    Scene
    activation in
    The analysis of
    reading
    01 meaning (semantics)
    Activation of
    comprehensio
    n
    03
    scenes as a Background
    02 function of
    context
    knowledge in
    reading and in
    04
    translation
    Some theories of meaning (e.g.,
    componential semantics) propose that
    The analysis meaning is made up of smaller components
    of meaning that, when contrasted, serve to highlight
    differences within and cross languages.
    In English, “child” made up of the components {+human], [+young},
    {+/-male}
    “man” consists of {+human], [+adult}, {+male}
    In Spanish, niño is {+human}, {+young}, like “{+male}

    ● This type of analysis is not always useful for translator


     It is time-consuming
     Not all meaning can be neatly divided into components or
    contrasted
     It is too focused on word meaning
    Frames-and-scenes semantics offers an explanation of word meaning
    In this model, words are the frames that activate mental scenes or pictures related
    to past experiences and world knowledge.
    For comprehension to take place, frames must activate the proper scenes.

    ● Words (frames) do not have meaning per se, only potential


    meanings (scenes), which are realized through context activation.
    When context activates the relevant meaning of the word to fit a
    particular scene, this meaning is foregrounded or activated, and
    the others are suppressed (or never activated).
    ● Thus, processing is bottom-up, from the word that activates
    various scenes( meanings ) to the potential scenes, and top-down.
    Example 5.1 Activation of scenes
    as a function of context

    How various scenes present in a “word”


    Each of these properties is foregrounded in each of the sentences in
    (a-e) respectively, while others are deactivated.
    Example 5.2 Scene activation in
    reading comprehension

    In this example, the reading comprehension process is purposely


    manipulated to lead the reader astray, thus making it difficult to find
    the answer to the riddle.
    Example 5.3 Background
    knowledge in reading and in
    translation

    The scene foregrounded in German may leave readers wondering


    about why the old lady is interested in bedrooms, definitely not
    the scene evoked by “bedroom” in the English context.
    - Bilingual dictionaries in particular give
    equivalents in the target language for each
    term they list.

    - By offering a target language “frame” -


    recall that frames are words that activate
    mental pictures or scenes- which
    corresponds to an equivalent frame in the
    source language.
    Example p.167
    comprendido

    01 02

    Misunderstanding of the
    nature of word meaning Subjects reading in their
    and of translation may second language often
    lead to the selection of have no scene for a
    inadequate dictionary particular frame or
    equivalents frames
    - The difficulty entailed in the process of target-term
    selection among dictionary equivalents is further
    compounded by the fact that the meaning potential
    contained in language- specific words does not
    match across language.

    - Parallel texts and corpara are useful tools for


    researching and acquiring the scenes associated
    with particular words that do not appear in
    dictionaries.
    Example p.168
    “decompose “: decay, of a dead body, or breaking down
    into smaller pies, of a chemical

    assemble “disassemble”
    To summarize
    - Scene- and - frame semantics highlight that
    dictionary look up is not a matter of linguistic
    replacement

    - Finding the linguistic unit (s) with the rest of


    the author’s directions encoded in the text,
    will permit activation of the meaning(s) that
    are the best fit for the overall textual plan.
    Reading as interaction
    in translation
    Although the context was mostly a
    monolingual one, the reader probably
    realized that the interactive nature of
    reading has significant implications for
    translation.
    Reading comprehension within a
    translation context comprises
    multiple levels of comprehension.
    Readers of a source text can form
    somewhat different mental images of it
    because of the interactive nature of
    reading and the differing world
    experiences of each reader.
    Multiple readers bring in multiple
    perspectives and potential
    variation with respect to reading
    in the context of translation.
    Reading and
    language
    directionality in
    translation
    An additional factor that adds to
    the complexity of reading in a
    translation context
    is
    Language proficiency
    Despite the widely held belief among practitioners
    that translators should be perfectly bilingual
    But

    In reality, most translators are not perfectly


    bilingual (i.e., compound bilinguals), and
    linguistic proficiency, no matter how advanced,
    still be the source of translation difficulties
    The reading
    As a second-language reader, in
    comprehension is addition to linguistic issues, the
    influenced by translator may experience problems
    language accessing the right background
    proficiency knowledge (cultural, situational)
    because the translator will be reading
    in his/her second (or less dominant)
    language
    The Spanish translator of
    the text in Figure 5.5a, who
    drew on mistaken
    background information
    (and mostly likely cultural
    stereotypes) to render
    “Alabama wilderness” into
    “the wild state of Alabama”
    Example 5.5: Overreliance on top-down processes in translation

    English source text:

    ...both men and women share the same images of what makes a marriageable or
    unmarriageable woman, a good husband, a fascinating lover whom any woman would
    be a fool to marry, or a born old bachelor.
    Margaret Mead. 1962. Male and Female.
    Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. p. 271.

    German target text:

    (a) ...einen faszinierenden Liebhaber, den jede Frau auf der Stelle heiraten würde.

    (b) ...einen faszinierenden Liebhaber, den jede Frau sofort heiraten würde.

    -> The German target texts say the opposite of the English source.
    As Kussmaul explains

    01 02
    The female translators let their Impeding the bottom-up
    culturally determined notions of the processing necessary to
    ideal husband take over render the content of the
    comprehension source
    Reading strategies

    To deal with comprehension ● through the understanding of reading processes and coping
    issues
    strategies
    What makes them good
    ● not perfect comprehension, but awareness
    readers ?

    Some of these strategies ● - allocating attention to the major points


    consist of
    - critically evaluating content for consistency with prior
    knowledge
    - self-monitoring to see whether comprehension is happening
    Due to his/her language proficiency and the need to
    work with a wider variety of texts, the translator will
    often face more challenges than a monolingual reader

    Consequently, translators must be aware of when and


    how comprehension fails, in order to: determine how to
    fill in knowledge gaps; and see whether knowledge gaps
    can be filled in a reasonable and timely manner
    Read-aloud protocol research has shown that
    novices and student translators often make
    ineffective use of reading strategies.

    They depend excessively on previous


    knowledge, filling in information that
    is not present in the text.
    Or they get stuck on unknown
    words or linguistic structures
    without realizing that knowledge of
    the world can offer valuable
    assistance.
    Translators can resort to strategic reading to improve
    reading comprehension. General reading strategies
    are closely tied to a better understanding of reading
    in general and, more specifically, in translation.

    In a classroom setting, a fill-in the-blank activity,


    such as in Example 5.6, illustrates a way to make
    students aware of their own reading processes in
    connection with translation, even in their native
    language.
    Example 5.6: Sample fill-in-the-blank exercise: Reading processes in translation

    Exercise: Complete the target text by filling in the blanks. Do not use any
    dictionaries or other resource.

    Dos piezas que datan del período comprendido entre 300AC y 800 son
    especialmente notables, y cada una representa un símbolo mítico.

    ‘Especially valuable are two pieces from the period _______ 300BC and 800, each
    representing a mythic symbol.
    01

    Reading comprehension activities can also be used to activate readers’


    prior knowledge, while familiarizing them with the use of background
    knowledge in reading and in translation.
    The City is conducting a survey to determine what
    type of refuse collection is desired – alley- or
    curbside service. (cover letter)
    or
    I want curbside collection/ I want alleyside
    collection. (survey)

    Example
    Reading for translation in general is one specific
    type of reading, which typically requires detailed,
    close attention and multiple readings. The purpose
    READING of the reading of the source text is, in turn, closely
    FOR related to the purpose of the translation , as the
    TRANSLATItranslator reads to translate, to create a target text
    ON for a particular purpose specified in the brief.
    PERPOSE
    SUMARY
    Leaving aside inaccurate concepts of the past
    related to deciphering or decoding a static and
    objective textual meaning contained in a static text,
    reading comprehension is now conceptualized as an
    interactive process in which the reader contributes
    his/her knowledge to the process in interaction with
    the information presented in the text by the author.
    Comprehension cannot happen without the
    participation of the reader. When the assumptions
    made by the author regarding what the reader
    knows match the reader’s knowledge,
    comprehension will most likely be successful. Yet,
    careful attention to the relevant details in the text is
    SUMARY also important, as overreliance on prior knowledge
    will affect comprehension by filling in information
    not present in the text.
    QUI
    In a bottom-up model, reading
    proceeds from smaller units on
    ___________ ___________

    to larger ones: from letters,


    to words, to sentences, to
    paragraphs and texts.
    In a top-down model, a reader
    relies on background knowledge,
    _____________________ ________________________

    contextual information and other


    higher-order processing strategies
    to understand a text.
    In a top-down model, the reader
    starts by identifying word and
    then combine them to a sentence
    to understand a text.
    a. True b. False
    Background knowledge can
    consist of general world
    knowledge or can be
    specialized, expert knowledge.
    a. True b. False
    Successful comprehension
    requires an appropriate
    ___________

    combination of both top-down


    and bottom-up processing.
    One important feature of
    reading comprehension closely
    related to its interactive nature
    ___________

    is its variability.
    The translator needs to have
    sufficient knowledge target oflanguage
    culture
    the ..................... ...................
    and ......................to determine
    which of the frames in the
    dictionary is associated with the
    2.Parallel texts and corpora are
    useful tool for research and
    acquiring the frames associated
    with particular words that not
    appear in dictionaries.
    a. True b. False
    In Frames and scenes semantics
    model,frames
    words are the …………. that
    culture pictures
    activate mental ……….or ……………
    related to past experiences and world
    knowledge.
    The componential analysis is
    too focused on word meaning
    a. True b. False
    Words (frames) do not have
    meaning per se, only potential
    meanings ( scenes), which are
    realized through context activation.
    a. True b. False
    The difficulty entailed in the process
    of target-term selection among
    compounded
    dictionary equivalents is further
    ………………. meaningby the fact that the
    potential
    ……………………..contained in
    language-specific words does not
    match across languages.
    Some theories of meaning (e.g.,
    componential semantics) propose that
    smaller
    meaning is made up of
    components that, when
    ……………………
    contrasted,
    serve to highlight differences within
    and across languages.
    The reading comprehension is
     influenced  by language
    _______________

    proficiency.
    An additional factor that adds to
    the complexity of reading in a
    translation context is Language
    _______________ ____________________

    proficiency.
    In reality, most translators
    are ______________ bilingual and
    linguistic proficiency.

    a. perfectly b. not perfectly


    c. Complete d. completely
    Translators can resort to
     strategic  reading to improve
    _______________

    reading comprehension.
    Although the context was
    mostly a monolingual one, the
    reader probably realized that
    _______________

    the interactive nature of


    reading has significant
    implications for translation.
    Reading comprehension within a
    translation context comprises
    _______________

    multiple levels of comprehension.


    Readers of a source text can
    form somewhat different mental
    images of it because of the
    interactive nature of reading
    _______________

    and the differing world


    _______________

    experiences of each reader.


    Multiple readers bring in
    multiple perspectives and
    _______________

    potential variation with respect


    to reading in the context of
    translation.
    There is just ONE specific
    type for reading.
    a. True b. False
    Reading for translation is LESS intricate than
    reading per second.

    a. True b. False
    Comprehension CAN NOT happen without the
    participation of the reader.

    a. True b. False
    Careful attention to the relevant details in the text is
    NOT importance.

    a. True b. False
    Organizational structures known to the
    reader and related to a particular situation
    are known as schemata.

    a. True b. False
    The reader brings in his/her
    background knowledge and
    schemata to discover and build
    logical connections marked in the
    _______________

    text through cohesive devices.

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