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This paper thus also plans to discuss the issue, namely the translation deviation in news translation, in terms of the Framing Theory, which makes for further exploration and thoroughly inquire the inner implications of translation deviations in news translation.
3 Theoretical Framework
3.1 Framing Theory
A frame in social theory consists of an outline of interpretation or a collection of anecdotes and stereotypes which inpiduals rely on to understand and respond to events. (Goffman, Erving, 1974) In other words, people build a series of mental filters through biological and cultural influences. They use these filters to make sense of the world. The choices they then make are influenced by their creation of a frame. The concept of “frame” mentioned here is called the inpidual frame. Goffman understands the concept of the Framing Theory from two layers, the first being the media frame, or news frame, while the second being the inpidual frame. (Goffman, 1974) The former means the words, phrases, images or ways of expression that the transmitter of information adopts when conveying information to the audience, while the latter means an inpidual’s recognition towards a certain situation, which also means the preset notions and concepts already built in reader’s minds.
3.2 Framing in Mass Media
From Goffman’s point of view, framing defines how news media coverage shapes mass opinion. To be specific, framing effects refer to behavioral or attitudinal outcomes that are due to how a given piece of information is being framed in public discourse. (Scheufele & Iyengar, 2002) Framing research in communication is often classified into two groups: studies of framing as the dependent variable and studies of framing as the independent variable. (Bryant & Oliver, 2009) The former usually deals with frame building and latter concerns framing setting.
(1)Frame Building
Frame building, or succinctly speaking, the causes of the emerging of news frames, is related to at least three aspects: journalist norms, political influence, and cultural contexts. It assumes that several media frames compete to set one frame regarding an issue, and one frame finally gains influence because it resonates with popular culture, fits with media practices, or is heavily sponsored by elites.
First, in terms of news production, there are at least five elements that may influence how journalists frame a certain issue: larger social norms and values, organizational pressures and constraints, external pressures from interest groups and other policy makers, professional routines, and ideological or political orientations of journalists. The second potential influence on frame building comes from elites, including interest groups, government bureaucracies, and other political or corporate effects. (Goffman, 1974) Traditional studies show that these influences of elites seem to be strongest for issues in which journalists and various participants of political activities can find shared interests.
Finally, cultural contexts of a society are also able to establish frame. Goffman assumes that the meaning of a frame has implicit cultural roots. This context dependency of media frame has been described as “cultural resonance” (Gamson & Modigliani, 2003) or “narrative fidelity” (Snow & Benford, 1988).
(2)Frame Setting
While digesting news discourses, people will accept the concepts and ideas that the journalists plan to convey, but they’re more likely to do so when they have existing frames for these concepts. Through setting frames that intentionally help to build certain mental filters for the readers or the audience, journalists can have a much easier access to what they have intended to achieve, thus altering the readers’ preferences without changing the basic truth of the news. At the same time, when news frames invite people to apply their existing inpidual frames to an issue, its effect depends on what is in their inpidual frames. (Iyengar, 1991) Therefore, the more the audiences know about issues, the more effective the frames are.