Mediating between discourse worlds: developing the symbolic competence of advanced-level bilingual learners of Japanese through translation

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the role that translation may play in developing the symbolic competence of advanced-level bilingual learners. To this end, it examines how a group of bilingual learners engaged with a translation task that was assigned to them as part of their study in an advanced-level Japanese language class at an Australian university. Analysis of the students’ translations and their translation processes showed that they were engaging in a complex process of intercultural communication that prompted them to reflect on the symbolic dimensions of the text: how the text is framed, how the author is positioned, and how prior discourses shape the production and reception of the text. The paper thus argues that translation may be an effective approach for developing advanced-level bilingual learners’ symbolic competence to mediate between interlocutors who belong to different ‘discourse worlds.’

本稿は、日英バイリンガルのシンボリック・コンピテンスの育成における翻訳タスクの役割について考察することを目的としている。事例として、オーストラリアの大学で日本語を学ぶ日英バイリンガル6名が、授業内で取り組んだ翻訳タスクを取り上げる。翻訳過程の分析を行った結果、彼らが翻訳を通して、作者の視点やテクストを形成する言説など、コミュニケーションのシンボリックな側面に注目しながら、異なる世界観(discourse world)をもつ作者と読者の間を仲介していることが明らかになった。

KEYWORDS:

• Translation
• intercultural communication
• intercultural learning
• symbolic competence
• bilingual education
• Japanese

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Kenta Koshiba is currently an assistant professor in the Faculty of Foreign Studies at Kyoto Sangyo University, Japan. His research interests include heritage language education, language and identity and the use of translation in language classrooms.