Ideology, Media and Conflict in Political Discourse and Its Translation During the Arab Spring: Syria as a Case Study

Translation, although often invisible in the field of politics, is actually an integral part of political activity. Which texts get translated, from and into which languages is itself already a political decision (Schäffner and Bassnett, 2010: 13). Translation has recently shifted its focus from the notions of originality and equivalence to those of power and patronage. This has proven essential, especially in relation to the translation of political discourse. Samuel Butler maintains that every person’s production, whether literature, music, pictures, architecture, or anything else, is a portrait of themselves. Translation is no exception. The translator’s role is no longer perceived as a transparent means of communication that is expected to relay the exact message of the original producer of the discourse. This thesis will view translation as a rewriting of the original text, recognising the translator as an author who modifies and changes the ST according to his or her ideology, political stand, or general interests. The translator is also foremost a reader who brings his or her own judgments, imposing them upon the text, perhaps reshaping the entire political discourse. Media outlets employ certain strategies and techniques to superimpose the media outlet’s agenda and objectives onto translations, promoting certain ideological convictions and political views. This thesis examines the relationship between a number of issues in relation to ideology, media, political discourse, language, and translation. Illustrative examples are extracted from the political discourse communicated during the Arab Spring. It uses Critical Discourse Analysis and narrative theory as a theoretical framework. It also aims to detect political tools and strategies often used in political discourse production and media discourse to analyse the data circulated on the Arab Spring. It seeks to look for the ideological influence of both translator and patronage on the outcome of the translation process. The data used for analysis in this thesis is taken from the political discourse communicated during the Arab Spring, in particular the Syrian revolution. The data corpus consists of translated interviews, political articles, and political speeches. Examples of revolutionary discourse produced by protesters are also included, alongside their translations. This is a qualitative study that lists and analyses representative samples of the translated political discourse, drawing conclusions and findings conclusions that apply to most of the data found in the context of the Arab Spring.