Katharina Reiss' Text Types

Katharina Reiss is a known translation scholar who has made a significant contribution to functional translation theory. In Translation Criticism: Potentials and Limitations, Reiss (1971/2000) prefaces her book with one of the following statements: “It is essential to develop a general framework that will accommodate the range of standards relevant to specific individual translations. This leads to the recognition that different kinds of texts call for different kinds of standards” (p. xii). Reiss’ text type translation model reflects this statement.

Reiss’ decision to consider equivalence on a text-type level rather than a strictly linguistic level puts emphasis on the communicative function of the text, and brings attention to its general aim rather than solely linguistic qualities. Such an approach is indispensable for the translation of webcomics, as their very creation stems from a concrete purpose; that is the reaching of a niche audience. This purpose naturally extends further depending on the function of the text, or rather, the imagetext, using the term introduced at in the first chapter of this thesis. Reiss’ theory centers around text-types, and as Munday (2016) points out, it draws inspiration from the three functions of language established by Karl Bühler, German psychologist and linguist (pp. 114-115). These functions are the following:

(1) informative – the prime function is to give information

(2) expressive- the prime function is to create an aesthetic response (3) appellative- the prime function is to persuade

These three categories form the basis of Reiss’ text types linked to “language <dimensions> and to the text types or communicative situations in which they are used” (Munday, 2016, p. 115). While Reiss’ text types are named after Bühler’s categories, she adds a fourth category, which she defines

as audio-medial texts (Reiss, 1971/2000, p. 45; Munday, 2016, p. 116). The fourth category allows for the consideration of multimodal works, and deftly includes works that are not solely text-based and aided by other mediums. Reiss (1977/1989) summarizes and labels her text types in the following way:

(1) informative text types, which she describes as a “plain communication of facts”, (2) expressive text types, described as “creative composition”,

(3) operative text types, described as “inducing behavioral responses”,

(4) audio-medial text types, which she describes as another category where “language is enhanced and complemented by other elements.” (pp. 108-109)

The description of the first three categories are self-explanatory. The informative text type is meant to inform and reveal facts to the recipient, while the expressive text type is based more on the aesthetics and creativity of language within the text; at the same time, it emphasizes the role of both the author and form of the text itself. The operative text type is based on appeal and persuasion;

here the recipient is at the foreground, who is to be swayed by a text with such a function. Lastly, the audio-medial category is curious in its description; Reiss clearly did not want to ignore the importance of audiovisual works. At the same time, she ascribes to them a very broad description, as follows:

Audio-medial texts (. . .) do not represent the simple transcription of oral communications, but rather are more or less important components of a larger complex. They are distinctive in their dependence on non-linguistic <technical> media and on graphic, acoustic, and visual kinds of expression. It is only in combination with them that the whole complex literary form realizes its full potential (Reiss, 1971/2000, p. 44).

Reiss (1971/2000) exemplifies this category with, among others, radio transcripts, television, stage productions, films, and advertisements (pp. 44-48). Reiss (1971/2000) gives a more general description of her audio-medial category, noting that: “generally speaking, [an audio-medial text is]

any text that requires the use of and a degree of accommodation to a non-linguistic medium” (p.

44). Importantly, Reiss (1971/2000) specifies the recipient as a hearer (p. 45), which in a way may seem to exclude comics and graphic novels from her categorization.

Interestingly, Reiss (1971/2000) further proposes a further classification of the audio-medial category into the content-focused type e.g. radio addresses, the form-focused type e.g. dramas, and the appeal-focused type e.g. tragedies (p. 45). Yet ultimately Reiss admits her classification’s prime focus is on the translation of texts meant for reading, noting that “it would be impractical to assimilate this fourth text type, where language is enhanced and complemented by other elements, among the three text types based on the functions of language” (p. 45). Regardless, Reiss (1971/2000) emphasizes the importance of other elements for some texts, such as the importance of music in an opera, rightfully saying that the text cannot be considered independently from its other

crucial elements (p. 46). While text-types are one of the first functional classifications for translation theory, and as such are imperfect in their design and subject to criticism, they had a great impact on translation theory, as Munday (2016) points out: “Reiss’s work is important because it moves translation theory beyond a consideration of lower linguistic levels (. . .) towards a consideration of the communicative function of translation” (pp. 118-119). Moreover, the notion regarding so-called audio-medial texts, along with the other text-types, allows for a broader interpretation in the context of the imagetext. While Reiss primarily sees the potential recipient as someone who listens, her aforementioned classification can be successfully and helpfully applied to webcomics themselves, as will be evidenced in the following paragraphs.

However, it is also important to mention that accompanying her text-type classification, Reiss (1976) suggests certain translation methods for each text-type (qtd. in Munday, 2016, p. 115);

As such, she notes that:

(1) An informative text should be translated in a way that relays any facts, terms and information within the text without greater concern for style,

(2) An expressive text should be translated whilst keeping in mind the author’s style; it should also emphasize the aesthetic and artistic form of the ST,

(3) An operative text should be translated in a way that invokes the same response of the recipient of the TT as the recipient of the ST,

(4) An audio-medial text should be translated in a way that not only preserves the same effect the source text has on the ST receiver as it does on the TT receiver, but it should also incorporate all non-linguistic elements and focus on the form and effectiveness. Munday (2016) summarizes this method as a supplementary one (p. 116), where e.g. the text of a play is supplemented by a stage production with actors and music.

Additionally, Reiss (1971/2000) further introduces instructional criteria aimed at judging the adequacy of a TT; she divides them into linguistic components (semantic and lexical equivalence, stylistic features) and non-linguistic determinants (situation, subject field, time, place, receiver, sender, and affective implications) (pp. 48-88). These so called adequacy criteria serve to measure not only the quality of TT but also help to decide the translator which components are of utmost priority when translating.

Reiss’ categorization serves as an important springboard for functional translation studies.

However, it was criticized for its low number of functions, its too restricting or too general methods for the translation of each text type, and a far too generalized assignment of text varieties to each text type; after all, each text type often has more than one function (Munday, 2016, p. 119).

Likewise, the audio-medial category too excludes far too many possible texts, and it was not until ten years later that Reiss (1981/2004) rectified this gap by adding the multi-medial text type, which

“[is] supplied by a sign system other than language” (pp. 172-173). It is within this text type that

Reiss mentions the combination of picture and text, thus including comics, and in an extension, webcomics in her category. Regardless of the shortcomings of the text type model, Reiss’ adequacy criteria, translation methods and text types prove to be a preliminary, helpful guide when approaching any kind of source work, and one which can be highly useful in conjunction with other translation methods and theories.

In order to demonstrate how Reiss’ text typology can be applied to webcomics, one can take a look at the independent Canadian comic, graphic novel and webcomic publisher Ad Astra Comix.

The publisher’s website (adastracomix.com) immediately informs potential readers of its political and activist stance with the following slogan: “The Panel is Political”. As can be deduced, all publications, be they published online or in printed form, primarily lean towards Reiss’ operative text type, given their appellative tone regarding, for instance, LGBT or environmental issues.

Naturally, it would be wrongful to assume that all the webcomics lean solely towards the operative text type. One well-known example is the short webcomic titled DOGS: A webcomic history of the North (2015), which draws attention to the slaughter of Inuit sled dogs by the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police). As the webcomic creators and publisher founders detail in the afterword: “[The Inuit Sled Dog Killings] badly needs amplifying. It is part of the larger story of the genocide of indigenous peoples carried out by the Canadian state, but it is not so well known as the violence of the residential schools system” (Goldring & Burton, 2015). Therefore, the webcomic belongs more so to the informative text type category than the operative text type, as the webcomics’ primary goal is to inform and educate the reader. Of course, as an imagetext, DOGS (2015) is expressive as well, containing colorful illustrations which serve to emphasize the tragedy of the situation and present the work in an artistic manner that would appeal aesthetically to the potential reader.

Therefore, taking Reiss’ text typology into account, DOGS (2015) belongs primarily to the multi-medial text type, and therefore, according to Reiss’ translation method, a potential translation should take into account the intended effect and form of the work. If a translator were to consider the three main text types, they could be arranged according to their importance in the following order:

Informative → Operative → Expressive

Such a process already gives the translator the ability to judge what is the most important characteristic and function of the text, and consequently establish which adequacy criteria should be given primary attention. In the case of DOGS (2015), it is the semantic and lexical equivalence that can be deemed as most important; the webcomic for instance includes indigenous vocabulary and government institutions that in no way could be adapted or domesticated into the target imagetext, lest the meaning be entirely lost. Furthermore, the non-linguistic determinants are just as important;

as in most webcomics, place of publication, the receiver and the sender have an important impact on the imagetext; in the case of DOGS (2015), it would be advisable that the translator renders the afterword into the target language, which fully sheds light on the issue.

Therefore, Reiss’ text type model can be a helpful initial approach to webcomics, which as independent works are highly motivated by external factors and purposes. Furthermore, it can be a successful lead-in to the applications of other functional translation theories and approaches that could further aid the translator in the process of their decision-making, especially in the context of longer webcomics.