A creative and recreative conceptualization of source text : The case of journalistic translation

Abstract

<p>This chapter examines the source text concept in journalistic translation, focusing on foreign news reporting. It emphasizes the characteristics of source texts in newswriting, prompting a reevaluation and expansion of the source text conceptualization within translation studies. Drawing on Jakobson’s (1959) translation typology, the article categorizes source texts by their diversity, language, and degree of mediation. A case study on the coverage of the 2022 French presidential election by the Finnish newspaper <em>Helsingin Sanomat</em> exemplifies this categorization. The analysis shows that foreign reporting does not rely solely on traditional interlingual source texts; it also employs intralingual and intersemiotic source texts. Furthermore, it demonstrates the dependence of newswriting on a multitude of disparate, fragmented, and multilayered source texts.<br></p>