The New Jersey Institute of Technology's
Electronic Theses & Dissertations Project

Title:	Translating cyberculture : an analysis of American and Brazilian cultural differences evidenced in the translation of a popular computer text
Author:	Ferrao, Angela M.
View Online:	njit-etd2000-053 (vii, 56 pages ~ 3.2 MB pdf)
Department:	Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
Degree:	Master of Science
Program:	Professional and Technical Communication
Document Type:	Thesis
Advisory Committee:	Steffen-Fluhr, Nancy (Committee chair) Friedman, Robert S. (Committee member) Castro, Patricia (Committee member)
Date:	2000-01
Keywords:	Translation and interpreting. Intercultural communication. World Wide Web.
Availability:	Unrestricted
Abstract:	This thesis examines the translation of a popular American computer book and its translation into Brazilian Portuguese to determine whether current discourses on computers and technology are being literally translated or culturally adapted for their target audience. The selected text adopts a humorous approach to learning new software applications and replaces complicated technical explanations with culturally-bound examples that are inextricably tied to American attitudes toward technology. An analysis of the translation reveals that the ideologies and social codes at work in the book threaten to impede the Brazilian reader's understanding due to the translator's failure to adapt the text for the target audience.