Übersetzungsprobleme in der interkulturellen Befragung

Haas, Helene (2009): Übersetzungsprobleme in der interkulturellen Befragung. In: Interculture Journal, Bd. 8, Nr. 10: S. 61-77

Abstract

Cross-cultural psychologists use standardized questionnaires to measure national differences in attitudes and values. The validity of these comparative surveys is contingent upon the translation of the measuring instruments. On the basis of Saussure’s theory, this paper shows how culture’s influence on language, culture-specific concepts and different language structures make equivalent translation of questionnaire items and scales almost impossible. It describes the elaborate techniques that large-scale surveys develop to control the problem and tests their results with a comparison between the original English questionnaire of the World Values Survey 2006 and its German translation. The survey was found to contain bias even when srupulous translation procedures were followed. Given these findings, it follows that survey results deserve a more critical reception.

• Dokumententyp: Zeitschriftenartikel
• Fakultät: Betriebswirtschaft > Professur für International Management
• Themengebiete: 300 Sozialwissenschaften > 330 Wirtschaft
• ISSN: 2196-3363
• Sprache: Deutsch