The problem of equivalence in translating texts in international reading literacy studies
A text analytic study of three English and Finnish texts used in the PISA 2000 reading test
Inga Arffman
2007. 350 s. 30 euroa. Tilausnumero T021.
Recent years have witnessed a considerable increase in the number of and interest in international reading literacy studies. Thanks to the widely cited PISA study, for instance, we have been told that Finnish students are the best readers in OECD countries. Such a result, however, would only be valid if all the texts and translations used in the reading test, written in all the different languages, were equivalent and hence equally easy or difficult to read.
This study examines the special problems of equivalence that arise when translating texts in international reading literacy studies, where equivalence of difficulty between all the different language reading texts is a key prerequisite for the validity of the entire test. Knowledge of such problems, in turn, helps to increase the quality and the degree of equivalence of the translations used in these studies and, in the end, the validity, fairness and -equity of these studies.
The book will provide important reading for all those developing and conducting international reading literacy studies. It will also be of relevance to those involved or interested in other types of cross cultural studies and in translation.
Research Reports 21
ISBN 978-951-39-2907-7