Compounding in French-Dutch translation: Source-language priming and creative strategies.

This study examines how novice translators handle Dutch word formation, specifically compounding, when translating from French. While both languages permit multi-word expressions, Dutch more readily employs compounding, presenting challenges for French speakers. Building on previous research using the MulTINCo corpus – which showed that French-speaking learners of Dutch tend to overuse phrasal structures and produce creative or erroneous compounds – this study broadens the scope to include translations by both L1 Dutch and L1 French university students.
The findings confirm that translators tend to overgeneralize phrasal patterns as a result of source-language priming from French, irrespective of their native language. Unexpectedly, this effect is not more pronounced among L1 French speakers, suggesting that explicitation may be a broadly adopted strategy when translating French multi-word expressions into Dutch. Nonetheless, L1 French translators more frequently produce non-idiomatic multi-word expressions, particularly in terms of spelling, linking morphemes, and grammatical structure.
Regression analysis indicates that compound formation is influenced by lexical frequency, structural complexity, and L1 background. However, individual variation accounts for a substantial portion of the unexplained variance.
The results of the study underscore a continuum between creative translation strategies and linguistic errors, and reveal that even native speakers of the target language are not immune to translation challenges.