Zhao Pengfei, Li Pei-Jung, Qi Wen
Department of Integrated Studies in Education, Faculty of Education, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Department of Applied Psychology in Education and Research Methodology, School of Education, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, USA.
Qual Health Res. 2025 Apr;35(4-5):448-461. doi: 10.1177/10497323251316757. Epub 2025 Apr 2.
In this methodological paper, we raise the question of what a culturally responsive translational practice might look like in qualitative research. Through examining the literature on translation in culturally responsive theories and qualitative research methodology, we distinguish two approaches in addressing the issue of translation: translation as texts and translation as cultures. To enact a culturally responsive translational practice, qualitative researchers should maintain an intimately linked dual-focus in their work, attending to both the practical aspects of translation that directly lead to the production of the final translated texts, as well as translation's multi-layered cultural and political effects. This proposal is further unpacked on three levels: (1) On the level of social and cultural processes and structure, we examine the routes and gatekeepers of translation in the context of knowledge production and mobilization; (2) on the level of intersubjective relationality, we explore the significance of visibilizing translation and translators; and (3) on the level of human-text interaction, we consider how interpretive approaches, untranslatability, and styles of translation may shape researchers' translation practice. While drawing insights from culturally responsive theories, we also substantiate our argument using critical translational studies and examples from our empirical research projects. Taken together, this paper outlines some important considerations qualitative researchers should take into account as they envision a culturally responsive translational practice in qualitative research and calls for researchers to engage in this work with multilingual awareness, reflexivity, and criticality.
在这篇方法论论文中，我们提出了一个问题：在定性研究中，具有文化适应性的翻译实践可能是什么样的。通过审视关于文化适应性理论和定性研究方法中的翻译文献，我们区分了处理翻译问题的两种方法：作为文本的翻译和作为文化的翻译。为了践行具有文化适应性的翻译实践，定性研究人员在工作中应保持紧密相连的双重焦点，既要关注直接导致最终翻译文本产生的翻译实践方面，也要关注翻译的多层次文化和政治影响。这一建议在三个层面上进一步展开：（1）在社会和文化过程及结构层面，我们在知识生产与传播的背景下审视翻译的路径和把关人；（2）在主体间关系层面，我们探讨使翻译和译者可见的重要性；（3）在人与文本互动层面，我们思考诠释方法、不可译性以及翻译风格如何可能塑造研究人员的翻译实践。在从文化适应性理论中汲取见解的同时，我们也利用批判性翻译研究以及我们实证研究项目中的实例来证实我们的论点。总体而言，本文概述了定性研究人员在设想定性研究中具有文化适应性的翻译实践时应考虑的一些重要因素，并呼吁研究人员以多语言意识、反思性和批判性来开展这项工作。
