News Translation on Government Public Relations Department’s Website

Abstract

This article discusses the factors governing Thai-English news translation and ways to handle them from the prospective of a news rewriter, using the Thai and English language news from the website of the National News Bureau of Thailand of the Government Public Relations Department as the case study.  

It is found that the factors influencing Thai-English news translation are both linguistic and non-linguistic ones. The most common linguistic problem is the use of redundant words and sentences in a source text. With regard to the non-linguistic factors, the organization’s policy, the types of media, target groups and the original text’s style determine the choice of translation techniques.

Free translation is frequently used in news rewriting, as it allows a rewriter to choose the essential part of a source text when redundancies are detected, add information to enhance target readers’ understanding or opt for a presentation style that suits the culture of target readers. Reading comprehension is the prerequisite for the study of a text and the selection of translation techniques.