Transcript Dangers in hypothesis formation

DANGERS IN HYPOTHESIS FORMATION
ANTHONY PYM
WHAT IS YOUR PROJECT?
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Now halve the number of words.
Now halve the amount of work.
Why are the other words not important?
Now who is going to pay you money?
What will they pay for?
Why is this important?
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HOW SPECIFIC IS YOUR PROJECT?
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Field
Topic
(Object of knowledge)
Hypothesis
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DATA?
• Reverendissimo Toletanae sedis archiepiscopo et
Hispaniarum primati, Joannes Avendehut Israëlita,
philosophus, gratum debitae servitudinis
obsequium. (Jourdain 1873: 449)
• ...Hispaniarum primati Joanni, Avendaut Israelita... /
verba Avendeuth israelitæ (d’Alverny 1954: 27-28)
• (The archbishop is called Johannes, not
Raimundus.)
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HYPOTHESIS
• The role of Jewish intermediaries in the translation
processes in the Toledo cathedral was repressed.
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A GOOD HYPOTHESIS
• Is a simple affirmative statement that relates
variables.
• Is clear.
• Is not obvious.
• Has no modal verbs.
• Can be tested.
• Can be generalized.
• Is falsifiable, as far as possible.
• Is important.
• Need not be true.
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PEDAGOGICAL EXAMPLES
• Bad teachers should be expelled, because they are
the reason for the low standards of universities.
• There are no social inequalities between Martians.
• The idiosyncratic typology of agricultural
maintenance operators is an irrational product of
the combined action of social and cultural
amalgams.
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PEDAGOGICAL EXAMPLES
• The higher the degree of urbanization in a region,
the lower the birth-rate.
• If a Spanish family lives in Lapland, it will be highly
integrated.
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PEDAGOGICAL EXAMPLES
• Men with thin moustaches tend to have stomach
ulcers.
• Drug addiction is higher in immigrant groups than in
non-immigrant groups.
• Drug addiction is higher among men than women.
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GOOD HYPOTHESES?
• Each translation is based on an interpretation.
• Prestigious cultures use domesticating strategies
• Translators become more independent the more
technical their tasks.
• Translators can cause wars.
• Translators have an effect on cross-cultural relations.
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CONTROLLING VARIABLES
• Repression of multiculturality, mobility, writers,
translators, Jewish translators?
• Experimentally: Make sure that only one thing
changes (as far as possible).
• Observationally: Compare cases where only one
thing is different (as far as possible).
• (Write one doctoral thesis at a time!)
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OPERATIONALIZATION
• Define all terms, particularly evaluative terms.
• State success conditions (how many texts /
translators?)
• Draw up a model of how the variables interrelate.
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OPERATIONALIZATION
• Jewish intermediaries: List of non-Christian names on
manuscript translations (Mozarabs?)
• Translation processes: Descriptions in prefaces to
the translations.
• Repression: (Near) omission of names or nonattribution of agency.
• Model: A later monoculture edited the manuscripts
in its favor.
• Importance: Spain should see itself as being
multicultural.
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TASKS
• Propose one hypothesis that is both important and
testable (e.g. ”Translations of novels avoid
rendering dialect”, “Dubbing into Spanish protects
the national culture”, “Women interpret Malinche
more positively than do men”).
• In groups of five, vote for the most important
hypothesis (the one that will have the highest
impact index when published).
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