| The purpose of this study was two-fold. It sought to explore the linguistic and conceptual challenges confronted when conducting this technical translation and to identify and describe the measures needed to ensure that theoretical constructs were not lost during the translation process. To address the two research questions that guided this investigation, a heuristic inquiry approach was used with the collaborative translation team that was formed. This team consisted of the investigator, Marie Clay, the translator, three translation readers, and a back translator. With the exception of Clay, the participants had oral and written proficiency in English and Spanish and represented different geographic regions and different Spanish dialects. In addition, the investigator, Clay, and the three translation readers had prior experience administering and analyzing the six observation tasks found in Clay's An Observation Survey of Early Literacy Achievement. The collaborative efforts of the translation team resulted in testing of the target text for external and internal effectiveness.;During the eight translation phases of this translation, data were collected by using three interaction frameworks developed by the investigator. These frameworks allowed the investigator to capture interactions among participants and their transactions with the source text and target text. Analysis of the data resulted in the identification of linguistic categories and sub-categories as well as conceptual challenges that were negotiated among the participants during the translation process. Findings indicated that 11 of the 17 linguistic sub-categories addressed meaning while the other 6 sub-categories involved socio-cultural or ethnographic issues.;Findings also revealed the complexity of the translation process. It concurred with the literature regarding (a) the role of linguistics, (b) the dynamic role a translation team plays to obtain a target text that is conceptually accurate and complies with the writing discourse conventions of the target language, and (c) how the translation process can be described according to specific phases. More importantly, findings revealed the important role of the three interaction frameworks in capturing the translation team's interactions, negotiations, and text transactions. |
