Variáveis contextuais na produção de significado: a tradução de instrumentos de mensuração para uso nos serviços de saúde

Abstract

This article examines the role of contextual variables in translated text production and presents a study based on the translation of a questionnaire for use in healthcare services. Drawing on systemic-functional theory ((HALLIDAY; MATTHIESSEN, 2014) and systemic-functional approaches to translation (MATTHIESSEN, 2001),three versions of the translated text were analysed. One of them was the product of translation and cross-cultural adaptation, a conventional methodology in health science, while the other two were obtained after the performance of a complementary stage in translation and cross-cultural adaptation, namely cultural adequacy, a procedure aimed at guaranteeing that the translated text is fully functional for use with the target population (CECÍLIO, 2016). Text analysis focused on the context of situation variables of the original text and of each of the three translated texts and their linguistic realizations. Results showed analogous patternsof language choice in the original text and the translated and cross-culturally adapted text, both being written texts of a more monologic nature, whereas the texts produced after the stage of cultural adequacy showed language choices responding to the need for their being functional as spoken texts of dialogic nature. The study points to the relevant role of text analysis in translation tasks and of interdisciplinary collaboration in translation of the text type analysed.