ITI Cultural Adaptation & Localization 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which term describes source-language words or phrases that are transferred unchanged into the target text because no adequate equivalent exists?
- Calque
- Borrowing (loanword) (Correct answer)
- Paraphrase
- Modulation
Correct answer: Borrowing (loanword)
Borrowing (or loanword transfer) imports a source-language term directly into the target text, often when the concept is culture-specific and no established target-language equivalent exists.
Question 2: A 'calque' (loan translation) is best defined as:
- A verbatim transfer of a source-language word into the target language
- A word-for-word translation of a foreign expression that creates a new expression in the target language (Correct answer)
- An explanatory footnote added by the translator
- A culturally neutral term used to replace a culture-specific item
Correct answer: A word-for-word translation of a foreign expression that creates a new expression in the target language
A calque translates the components of a source-language phrase literally to produce a new expression in the target language, such as 'skyscraper' becoming 'gratte-ciel' in French.
Question 3: When adapting humor from one language to another, which challenge is most fundamental?
- Finding longer words to fill the same space
- Humor often relies on wordplay, cultural references, or shared knowledge that does not transfer directly across cultures (Correct answer)
- Keeping the same number of syllables as the source text
- Using only formal register in the target language
Correct answer: Humor often relies on wordplay, cultural references, or shared knowledge that does not transfer directly across cultures
Humor frequently depends on puns, cultural allusions, or pragmatic implicatures that are language- and culture-specific, requiring creative adaptation rather than literal translation.
Question 4: What is 'back-translation' primarily used for in professional contexts?
- Translating from the target language back to the source language to verify accuracy, often used in medical and legal fields (Correct answer)
- Translating historical texts into modern language
- Converting a translation into a different dialect
- Producing a literal gloss of a source text for academic analysis
Correct answer: Translating from the target language back to the source language to verify accuracy, often used in medical and legal fields
Back-translation renders a translated text back into the source language, allowing reviewers who do not know the target language to spot mistranslations or changes in meaning, particularly in clinical trials and legal documents.
Question 5: In the ITI DipTrans context, 'realia' refers to:
- Fully equivalent terms in the target language
- Culture-specific objects, institutions, or phenomena that have no direct equivalent in the target culture (Correct answer)
- Technical jargon used in legal translation
- Machine-readable translation memories
Correct answer: Culture-specific objects, institutions, or phenomena that have no direct equivalent in the target culture
Realia are items deeply embedded in a source culture — foods, institutions, customs — that resist direct translation because the target culture lacks the referent entirely.
Question 6: Which localization challenge is MOST critical when adapting a text containing color symbolism (e.g., white representing purity in the US but mourning in some Asian cultures)?
- Maintaining consistent font size across locales
- Recognizing that connotations of colors and symbols differ across cultures and adapting accordingly (Correct answer)
- Using a translation memory to ensure consistency
- Keeping color terms in the source language to preserve authenticity
Correct answer: Recognizing that connotations of colors and symbols differ across cultures and adapting accordingly
Color and symbol connotations are culturally determined; a translator or localizer must research target-culture associations and adapt or flag content that could send unintended messages.
Question 7: What is the primary purpose of a 'style guide' provided to a translator by a localization client?
- To list all source-language vocabulary items
- To specify the client's preferred tone, register, terminology, and formatting conventions for the target market (Correct answer)
- To provide a word-for-word glossary of technical terms
- To outline machine translation post-editing rules only
Correct answer: To specify the client's preferred tone, register, terminology, and formatting conventions for the target market
A client style guide ensures consistency in voice, register, terminology, and formatting across all localized content, aligning the translation with the brand's target-market identity.
ITI Cultural Adaptation & Localization 2
Which term describes source-language words or phrases that are transferred unchanged into the target text because no adequate equivalent exists?