Srimad Andavan Arts & Science College
Department of English
Centre for Research
I M.A. .English – Translation: Theory and Practice
1. What is the primary aim of translation?
The primary aim of translation is to convey the message or the meaning of the
original text.
2) Why does the need for translation arise?
The need for translation arises when people want to read material/texts written
in a language they do not know. We also need translation when a writer wishes
to communicate with readers of another language.
3) Draw a distinction between source language and target language.
Source language is the language from which we translate while target language is
a language into which we translate.
4) What are the essential requirements for being a good translator?
A good translator should have adequate command over the source language as well as the
target language. She should also be able to understand the stylistic, nuances of both the
languages.
5) Why is translation considered a science?
Translation, is considered a science because it is a rule-governed activity
following systematic laid down procedures.
6) Distinguish between literal and word-for-word translation.
Literal translation is one in which each and every word is translated, and then the structure
is modified to suit the grammar of the target language. In word-for-word translation
however, no such modifications are made. For instance, literal and free translation can be
contrasted. Word-for-word translation is in direct contrast with conceptual translation. And
finally, elaborate translation is different from abridged translation.
7) Why is a translation generally longer than the original text?
A translation is generally longer than the original text because a number of
things which are implied in the original need to be made explicit in the
translation.
8) Why is back-translation undertaken?
Back-translation or re-translation is generally undertaken to find out problem
areas of translation in a text. Also, back-translation helps us in evaluating a
translation.
9) How does machine translation work?
A bilingual dictionary of the two languages involved in translation is stored in
the memory of the machine. Also, a set of instructions for carrying out the act of
translation is put in it. When a text prepared in a special format is inserted
and instructions are given, the machine gives out the translation.
10) Differentiate between literal and figurative meaning.
Literal meaning is the most obvious meaning which is generally given as the first
meaning of a word in a dictionary. It is also the most commonly used meaning
of the word. Figurative meaning, on the other hand. is a meaning in which the
same word is used in a different but partially related meaning to the most
commonly used one.
11) Draw a distinction between denotative meaning and connotative
meaning.
Denotative meaning is the literal meaning of a word. Connotative meaning, on
the other hand, is a meaning in which factors like the user, the circumstances of
the usage and the linguistic association of the word with other words modifying
it are also significant.
12) In what way does the nature of meaning determine the type of
translation?
If the meaning of the words used is primarily literal, we may choose literal or
word-for-word translation. A text with more connotative meaning may need a free or
conceptual translation.
1. GENESIS OF TRANSLATION:
The Practice and the theory of translation are five hundred years old. In 3000 BC,
there is a double inscription on a steep rock on the banks of the river Nile, containing a
message in two languages.
Later the discovery of the famous ROSSETTA STONE (the stone which was found
near the ROSSETTA arm of the Nile) and the much more famous trilingual BEHISTUN (a
trilingual inscription carved by Darius contains three languages – BABYLONIAN – ASSYRIAN
and SUMERIAN) helped the researcher to know about early translations.
The BIBLE itself was translated in the third century BC. Thereafter many cases where
people belonging to different linguistic and ethnic groups have communicated with one
another through translation.
In the words of Newmark, translation is “often, through not by any means always, it
is rendering the meaning of a text into another language, in the way that the author
intended the text. Common sense tells us that this ought to be simple, as one ought to be
able to say something as well as in one language as in another language”. But if one makes
an attempt to translate the source language into target language, one can come to the
conclusion that it is a complicated task and it needs constant study and in this practice
alone makes perfect.
If one indulges in translation, one must have flair and feel for both the languages. In
short one must be well versed in both the languages.
Translation is a new profession, though an old practice. There are plenty of
conferences and workshops held to expose the knowledge of the discipline up to date.
Several heated conferences, bitter debates, and controversies are formed against the
principles, theories, methods, practices etc.
The work of translation has undergone many transformations for the past 5000
years. In order to satisfy the demand a number of schools have started translation courses.
2. TRANSLATION – ITS DIFINITION, THEORY
AND PRINCIPLES:
Translation is treated as the branch of literary study and forms an integral aspect of
comparative literature. The ultimate objective of the translation is to show the beauty,
grandeur and poetic technicalities of a particular language into one’s desirable language.
The general notion about translation is that it will destroy the balance of thought, feeling,
written word, sound and originality. But it is not so. In some cases the translated work
beats the original language i.e. source language and it can be fully evident from the
Fitzgerald’s translation of OMAR KHAYYAM.
There is a close association between literature and translation. Translators foremost
task is concerned with words, the tale and the ideas that he perceived. Andre Gide points
out that every creative writer owes it to his country to translate at least one foreign work
into one’s mother tongue. The very idea concludes the fact that translation is inevitably an
adaptation.
The general understanding of translation involves two main things
1. The surface meaning of the two languages will be appropriate and similar.
2. While translating, the structures of the source language must be preserved but
not destroyed in the target language structures.
Translation is a fusion of two different spheres of languages. It involves “rerecoding”. Language is “coding” and literature and art are ‘recoding’. And translation is
nothing but ‘re-recoding’.
Translation is a vehicle for conveying one’s thoughts and concepts of particular
language into another across linguistic and cultural barriers.
Anton Popovic opines that, the aim of translation is to transfer certain intellectual
and aesthetic values from one language to another.
Alexander Tytler’s “Essay on the principles of Translation” was the first theoretical
attempt at defining the theory of translation in 1791. He says that it is a systematic and
scientific study and further more Tytler has illustrated three basic principles in translation,
They are :
1. Translation should give a complete transcript of the original work.
2. The style and manner of writing should be of the same character with that of the
original.
3. The translation should have all the case of the original composition.
Theodore Savory’s ‘The Art of Translation’ illustrates the following principles.
1. A translation must give the words and the ideas of the original.
2. A translation should read like an original work as well
as a translation.
3. A translation should reflect the style of the original and possess the style of the
translator.
4. A translation should read as a contemporary of the original and the translator.
5. A translation may add or never add or omit or never omit from the original.
6. A translation of verse should be in prose or in verse.
Translation Justifications:
1. It is a communicative activity, text bound, confined to reading and writing skills,
which also involves oral and written interactions.
2. It is not suitable for classroom exercises and the general need of the language
learners.
Translation requires three qualities essential to all language learning processes
namely.
1. Accuracy
2. Clarity
3. Flexibility
3. KINDS AND METHODS OF TRANSLATION:
For several decades, the word was considered the unit in translation and the
translator went word by word in his work.
It is known as literal translation and is
considered so valid that it is used even today in many works. Many scriptures are printed in
this process and this method ensures that nothing important is left out and nothing from
outside is included in the structure or meaning.
Word-to-word translation is easy in the case of nouns and verbs but when it comes
to qualities, one has to translate adjectives and adverbs thinking of strategies other than
one-to-one-correspondences.
The recent theory of translation is more a process of interpretation and a
reformation of ideas than a transformation of words.
Recreative Translation:
Recreative translation is also called contextual recreation, which operates in
transmitting the thoughts behind the words or between the words. It was generally
believed that this method is the best, as it is the heart of the art of translation. Their
objectives are to interpret the sense and not the words. While one translates the source
language into the TL one may follow the following methods.
(1) Word-for-word Translation:
In this translation, words that are exact equivalents in the target language are often
used. Cultural words are translated literally.
(2) Literal Translation:
The literal translation of words SINGLY the SL structure is converted to the
corresponding TL syntax.
(3) Faithful Translation:
It attempts to get at the contextual meaning of the original within the constraints of
the TL grammatical structures.
Cultural words are transferred and grammatical
abnormalities are preserved.
(4) Semiotic Translation:
It pays attention to the aesthetic value of the SL text. Instead of using cultural
equivalence, use is made of culturally neutral words while faithful translation is rigid
whereas semiotic translation is more flexible.
(5) Adaptation:
Freest form of translation, used in translating plays, poems, while themes, plots and
characters are preserved, and the SL culture is freely changed into the TL culture. The text
is almost rewritten.
(6) Free Translation:
It aims at communication of the matter without much care for the manner. The
stress is only on the content and not the form.
(7) Idiomatic Translation:
Here, the message of the original is faithfully conveyed, but nuances of the meaning
are lost. Idioms and colloquial phrases not in the SL are used in the TL.
(8) Communicative Translation:
It attempts to transmit the exact contextual meaning in such a way the content and
language are made acceptable to the receptor.
Semantic language is at the author’s linguistic level while communicative translation
is at the readers level.
Equivalent Effect
It aims at producing an effect that is equivalent to the original. Nida calls it dynamic
equivalent. For invocative texts like notices, instructions, publicity etc equivalent response
is absolutely necessary. And the readers' response is the only goal.
(4) TRANSLITERATION:
In this process, the translator replaces each SL letter or other graphological unit by a
TL letter or other unit of the basis of a conventionally established set of rules. The process
of setting up a transliteration system involves three steps.
1. SL letters are replaced by SL phonological units. This is the normal literate process
of converting from the written to the spoken medium.
2. The SL phonological units are translated into TL phonological units.
3. The TL phonological units are converted into TL letters or other graphlogical units.
Most languages use the Roman alphabet and so transference is easy and
transliteration offers no difficulty. But in the case of Non-European languages, especially
Indian Languages transliteration offers great difficulties.
5. TRANSFERENCE:
Transference that consists of transferring SL word to a TL text, Catford’s
‘transference’ includes ‘transliteration’ which consists of writing SL word in the TL alphabet,
he further says, “Transference can be carried out at the level of grammar. In grammatical
transference, SL grammatical items are represented in the TL text by quasi-TL grammatical
items deriving their formal and contextual meanings from the systems and structures of the
SL, not the TL”.
Newmark defines transference is one of the important strategies using translation as
“The process of transferring a SL word to a TL text” as a translation procedure. It is as same
as Catford’s transference and includes transliteration which relates to the conversion of
different alphabets . . . . . . The word then becomes a loan word”.
According to Nida, transference is common among the priests and theologicians.
They have a special problem in learning how to translate for a level lower than that at which
they operate.
The theoretical basis for semantic adjustments lies in the essential distinction
between the form and the content of the message. The content is the conceptual intent of
the message; the form is the external shape that the message takes to make its passage
from the source to the receptor.
The commonest problems in content transfer arise in areas of 1. Idiom 2. figures of
speech 3. pleonastic expression etc.
Idiom can be changed to other idioms or non-idioms.
In the case of figures of speech also, corresponding figures may be found or the
language made non-figurative.
Pleonastic expressions when translated can lead to awkward expressions and they
are to be avoided as the Greek word spirit went Holy Spirit and the precious gem ruby.
They are to be avoided.
6. PROBLEMS OF TRANSLATION
In translation, no two languages are even sufficiently similar to be considered
representing the same social reality. If the TL and SL stand on the basis of equality, when
the problems of translation are cultural and social.
The problem arising out of the proper investigation of the process and product
translation in terms of the interaction between the internal and external structures
operating within and without the semiotic products of the work of Art.
The translation of "The Song of God-Bhagavad Gita" by swamy Prabhavananda and
Christopher Isherwood possess problems in a variety of styles, partly prose, and partly
verse.
Fitzgerald in "Rubaiyat" of Omar Kmayyam concerned himself little with theological
or philosophical problems but found in the epigrammatic stanzas of the Persian poet some
answers to his own feelings, of doubt, to his questions concerning life after death, to the
complexities of modern life.
The central problem of translation is establishing equivalence between the source
text and the target text. All types of translation involve.
a) a loss of meaning
b) additional meaning
c) skewing of meaning
In the case of English translation of the text alone, the sentences appear to have
been translated at face value, rather than as component limits in a complex over all
structure. English versions show several types of negative shift involving:
1. Mistranslation of information
2. Sub-interpretation of the original text
3. Superficial interpretation of connections between
intentional correlatives.
To begin with the attitudes to translation are discussed. 1. Translation is treason,
says an Italian proverb – clearly a negative attitude. Again Russians (in 19th Century)
regarded a translation as something inferior, as is implied by the following quotation from
Dostoevsky’s "Crime and Punishment".
Risimuhin (to Raskolinov) : “If you weren’t a fool . . . . . .
if you were an original instead of a translation..”
Susan Bassnett-McGuire, a leading authority on translation would assert that
translation is the only viable praxis now that CL (in her opinion) is dead. It would then be
safe to conclude that translation is something necessary, even if it be an evil.
Now, we must have a working definition of translation. It is, as E.A. Nida defines it,
“a process which a person who knows both source and the Receptor Language, decodes the
message of the Source Language (SL) and encodes it not in an appropriate form of the
Receptor Language (RL)”.
Translation is also important to a comparatist for the following reasons.
It enables a comparatist to overcome linguistic barriers in the pursuit of scholarship.
That is to say that through translation, works in other languages, which are otherwise
inaccessible to a comparatist, become accessible.
Translation can be regarded as a sign, source and channel of influence. Through
translation, literary movements and trends spread rapidly.
Last but not the least, translation enriches the receptor language (by challenging its
semantic potential). A comparatist, then ought to know the attributes of a good
translation, attributes of a good translator; and also the taxonomy of translation.
Attributes of a good translation:
A good translation, as Rolfe Hamphrim says, should on the whole sound more
familiar than strange without sacrificing the spirit of the original. This is, what Goethe
implies by saying that through translation a foreign author should be brought over to us so
that we can regard him as our own.
As generic qualities are inseparable from the meaning of the text, the genre of the
original text must be retained in the translation too. As a counter example, one might cite
C.D. Lewis’s prose translation of Virgil’s poetry.
A good translation according to Cicero must be free, true and faithful to the source.
Attributes of a good translator:
A good translator must be bilingual and bicultural. He must, that is, be good at both
the Source Language and the Receptor Language (or Target Language) and also be familiar
with the peculiarities of the respective cultures.
Again, a good translator should be able to capture not merely the words but “the
manner and movement” of the original without which the translation would be lifeless.
A creative writer can be a good, if not better translator, as implied by Andre Gide in
his appeal. Every creative writer owes to his country one translation.
Taxonomies of Translation
Modern linguists offer a wide-ranging taxonomy of translation, with transliteration
and adaptation at either end of the scale and a variety of categories in between like claque,
borrowing coinage, transposition, liberal translation, paraphrase etc. But Dryden’s threepoint scale is fairly sufficient for a comparatist.
DRYDEN’S CATEGORIES
MODERN EQUIVALENTS
1. Metaphrase
Literal Translation
2. Paraphrase
Paraphrase
3. Imitation
Adaptation
All these categories, new or old can be broadly divided into two groups: Bounded
(or Horizontal) Translation, the emphasis is on word for word equivalence rather than on
the sense of the text. But in Free translation, the emphasis is on the sense of the text rather
than word for word equivalence. Now, let us define Dryden’s categories. or their modern
equivalents.
Literal Translation (Bounded):
It is a word for word translation. But then the translated text conforms to the syntax
of the Receptor Language, but this overemphasis on lexical (word) and syntactic (grammar)
equivalence often leads to a distortion of the sense of the text.
E.g. (SL) Tamil
(RL) English
"Kanmani"
eyeball
Literary example
Ben Jonson’s Translation of Horace’s
"Art of Poetry"
Paraphrase: It is a free translation involving often a slight amplification of the text,
but at the same time expressing its meaning and sense. In other words, it is an idiomatic
rendering of the SL text in the RL.
E.g.
SL (Tamil)
RL (English)
1. "Kanmani"
- the apple of my eye, darling
Literary example a) Waller’s Translation of Virgil’s "Aeneid".
b) P.N. Appusamy’s translation of HG Wells’s
'Time Machine’
Adaptation:
This is a free and broad translation varying not only in words but also in sense. What
is retained is just the original theme. Transposition is Jakobson’s term for it. This mode
seems to be gaining ground in the Postcolonial world, especially in India and Africa.
Indian Examples
1. Deval’s "Zunzar Rao" - a Marathi adaptation of Othello where the locale, the
names of characters and certain culture – specific items have been turned Indian, besides
the language. The theme alone is adopted.
2. Jambunathan’s "Kannadi Bommaigal" which is an adptation in Tamil of Tennessee
William’s “Glass Menagerie”.
African (Nigerian) Examples
1. Ola Rotimi’s "The Goda are Not to Blame", an adaptation of "Oedipus Rex".
2. Duro Laidpos’s "Eda" is an adaptation of "Everyman" Lapido has, in his
adaptation, introduced ‘Money’ as a character and would not let ‘Everyman’ die:
Other Taxonomies of translation:
Collins Cobuild English Language Dictionary (1982) defines the term translate as
follows:
If you translate something that someone has said or written.
1. 1. You say it or write it in a different language.
1. 2. You express it in a different way, using a different system, alphabet, etc. e.g. The
temperature is sixteen degrees centigrade or, if you translate into Fahrenheit, sixty
degrees. If you translate something such as an idea you express it in a different way,
for example by putting the idea into practice.” If you translate a remark, gesture,
action, etc. it means e.g. I gave him what I hoped would be translated as a thoughtful
look. A translation is a piece of writing or speech that has been translated from a
different language. Translation is the translation of speech or writing from one
language to another. Translation is also the expressing of something in a different
way. e.g. The novel cannot survive translation into film. Roman Jakobson (1959) has
given a three level classification of translation.
Intralingual Translation:
It means an interpretation of verbal signs by means of other signs in the same
language.
e.g.
A poem translated into a drama
e.g.
Lamb’s Tales of Shakespeare.
Interlingual Translation
It means an interpretation of the verbal signs of one language by means of the signs
of another language.
e.g.
A translation of poetry from Tamil into English. Translation of Bharathiyar’s
songs into English.
Intersemiotic Translation
It means an interpretation of verbal signs by means of signs of non-verbal signs
systems.
E.g.
A verse form or narrative form translated into another art form like painting.
Catford claims that Translation is the replacement of textual material in one
language (SL) by equivalent textual material in another language (TL).
And also Catford has introduced different types of translation such as phonological,
graphological, grammatical and lexical translations.
But Catford’s distinction between substitution and transference (an implantation of
SL meanings in TL text) initiated a debate on semantic equivalence. For example, Levy
(1963, in Holmes, 1970) pointed out that translation should not be considered a ‘monistic
composition’ but an interpretation and conglomerate of two structures. In the terminology
of Text Linguistics, translation is the interaction between an actualized system (SL) and a
virtual system (TL). In this process there will be loss as well as gain. Where the concept of
loss and gain are to be viewed in a broader perspective. In the production of the SL text
there will be loss when the author moves from experience and thought to immediate
expression and in translating a text there will be further loss; but a resourceful translator
may compensate for the loss through gains in the process of reproduction through ‘shifts’.
Catford’s distinction between linguistic and cultural untranslatability is quite useful.
Popovic (1976) provides a detailed explanation of untranslatability. While Catford starts
from within linguistics, Popovic starts from a theory of literary communication. Popovic
distinguishes several types of shifts that take place during translation.
a) Constitutive Shift: This takes place as a result of difference between SL and TL.
b) Generic Shift: The constitutive features of the text as a literary genre may change
from one language to another.
c) Individual Shift:
idiolect.
This may take place owing to the translator’s own style and
d) Negative shift: This may take place as a result of incorrect translation, due to
‘misinterpretation’.
e) Topic Shift: This happens in changing the topical facts in the original.
But we are primarily concerned with the lexical and the grammatical aspects here in
this project.
A Theory of Eugene Nida (1975) on Translation:
Translation as a process which ‘consists in producing in the Receptor Language (RL)
the closest natural equivalent to the message of the Source Language (SL) first in meaning
and secondly in style’.
Nida’s model moves from a purely syntax – oriented semantic theory or translation
to a pragmatic one: this is the main contribution of Nida to the theory of Translation. His
theory is discourse – based and receptor – oriented but Nida is concerned exclusively with
the problem of Bible translation. Nida’s concept of dynamic equivalence brings in the notion
of equivalent effect – the relationship between the reader and the text in the SL and the
reader and the text in the receptor language.
Peter Newmark’s (1981) theory
Translation is an attempt at proposing a model, which is discourse and receptor –
oriented. By stating that semantic
(in context) meaning should be taken into
consideration.
Also New mark has presented Text Function and Translation Levels.
shown as following:
This can be
Text Function
A
B
Expressive
Informational
C
Communicative
Translation Level
X
Referential
Y
Textual
Z
Subject
Newmark has pointed out that there are two main methods of Translation.
Semantic Translation
That remain as faithful as possible to the Semantic and Syntactic Structures of the SL
as allowed by the TL
Communicative Translation
That attempts to produce the same effect on the TL readers as was produced by the
original on the SL readers.
This Classification can be shown as follows:
Source Language Bias
Literal
Target Language Bias
Free
Faithful
Idiomatic
Semantic / Communicative
Machine Translation:
In machine translation (MT) instructions will have to be formulated in such a way
that they are intelligible to a computer; the instructions will have to be worked out and
programmed in great detail leaving nothing to the imagination of the computer. Thus, in
MT the problem is not so much of the machine, as of the explicit and systematic
formulation of the process of translation. In other words, there is an urgent need for
formulating a detailed theory of translation. All issues like equivalence and relevance,
polysemy and ambiguity, meaning - literal and metaphorical, cultural, intertextual, etc., and
all things expressed and suppressed in a text will have to be worked out before a machine is
asked to translate a text. The most important advantage of the machine over a human
translator is speed and cost; in addition, the machine’s vast storage capacity and its
retrieval speed can be exploited. These advantages make CATS (Computer Aided
Translation System) very popular. In CATS texts are pre-edited before being fed into the
computer as machine-readable texts for equivalence retrieval; after being processed, texts
are post-edited to check for possible discrepancies. It is thus hoped that translators can use
computers as effective aids to enhance and speed up human translation skills so that in the
technological era MT can become the translator’s best companion.
Limits of Translation:
Inevitably, a translation is a distortion as well as an approximation. This distortion
(or loss of meaning) is due, among other things, to
i. the difference in linguistic and cognitive structures of the SL and the RL
ii. the translator's ability and his socio-linguistic background; and
iii. the demands of the readers.
There are, for these reasons, seven different versions of Agamemnon as illustrated
by Reubeu Bower (in his Seven Agamemnon).
For these reasons, translation is indeed a necessary evil. When all is said and done,
the wearer knows where the shoe pinches. The translator alone has firsthand knowledge of
the problems and possibilities of translation. It is for acquiring this firsthand knowledge, as
mentioned earlier, that this project is undertaken.
The definition in the old days
The British scholar Dr. Samuel Johnson once said: “To translate is to change into another
language, remaining the sense.”
The current definition(1)
Translation consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalence
of the source language, first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style. ---------Nida
A good translation is one which the merit of the original work is so completely transfused
into another language as to be as distinctly apprehended and as strongly felt by a native of
the country to which that language belongs as it is by those who speak the language of the
original work.---------Tytler
In summary
Translation is the information transferring between two languages and the cultural
communication between two language families.
Translation is a rendering from one language into another. Translation is a science, an art, a
bilingual art, a craft, a skill, an operation and communication.
Translation is a representation or recreation in one language of what is written or said in
another language.
Translation is a kind of science because it was a whole set of rules governing it and certain
objective laws to go by in the process of translating.
Essay on the Principles of Translation, 1791
A translation should give a complete transcript of the ideas of the original work;
The style and manner of writing should be of the same character as that of the original;
A translation should have all the ease of the original composition.
Eugene A. Nida’s : Dynamic equivalence or Functional equivalence or Equivalent-effect
theory.
The translator is to produce as nearly possible the same effect on his readers as was
produced on the readers of the original.
Peter Newmark’s : Semantic translation and Communicative translation.
Semantic translation: The translator attempts, within the bare syntactic and semantic
constraints of the TL, to produce the precise contextual meaning of the author. Semantic
translation focuses primarily upon the semantic content of the source text.
Communicative translation: The translator attempts to produce the same effect on the TL
readers as was produced by the original on the SL readers. Communicative translation
focuses essentially upon the comprehension and response of receptors.
Translation criteria
Faithfulness refers to that content and style of TL should be faithful to the SL.
Smoothness requires that version should be clear and distinct, flowing and easy to read
without signs of the mechanical word-for-word translation, of obscure language, of
grammatical mistakes, confused structure and logic.
Prerequisites of a translator
The enhancement of our political consciousness
The betterment of our command of the relevant languages
The broadening of the range and scope of our general knowledge.
Translation strategies: foreignization and domestication
Foreignization: If the translator’s preference is placed on preserving the language and
cultural differences of the Source Text, we call this kind of approaches or its translation
foreignizing or foreignization.
Domestication: the method or practice of adapting the translation to the norms and values
of the Target Language and culture is called domesticating or domestication.
Two basic translation methods
Literal Translation means word-for-word translation. It takes sentences as its basic units
and the whole text into consideration at the same time in the course of translation. It
strives to reproduce both the ideological content and the style of the entire literary work
and retain as much as possible the figures of speech.
Liberal Translation is also called Free Translation. It is a supplementary means to mainly
convey the meaning and spirit of the original without trying to reproduce its sentence
pattern or figures of speech.
Terms
Polysemy: One word has various parts of speech and various meaning. Firth said: “Each
word when used in a new context is a new word.”
Commendatory and derogatory words: Commendatory word means a praising word, or a
word in good sense. Derogatory word means a word to lessen or impair the power or
authority or a word in bad sense.
Diction: It means proper choice of words in translation on the basis of accurate
comprehension of the original.
Repetition: In translation we are required to repeat words over and over again for
clearness, for the sake of emphasis and for attractiveness (vividness).
Amplification: It means supplying necessary words in our translation work so as to make
the version correct and clear. Words thus supplied must be indispensable either
syntactically or semantically.
Omission: In the process of translation we may make proper omission of some individual
words in accordance with the corresponding laws inherent in the two languages concerned
in order to retain and better express the original meaning.
Conversion: It means that in translation a word in one language belonging to a certain part
of speech is not necessarily to be turned into one of the same part of speech in another
language.
Inversion: By inversion in translation we mean that the constituent elements of a sentence
are arranged in way different from the general rules of word order of the language in
question.
Negation: It means in translation some words, phrases or sentences with negative
expression in SL may be transformed into affirmative expression in TL. Vice versa, some
affirmative expression in SL may be transformed into negative expression in TL, to make the
version clearer and more explicit.
Division: It means the necessary splitting of a long sentence into shorter ones.
1.
What is the process of transferring the meaning into the receptor lg. text?
Translation consist of studying the lexicon, grammatical structure,
communication situation, and cultural context of the source language text, analyzing it in
order to determine its meaning, and then reconstructing this same meaning using the
lexicon and grammatical structure which are appropriate in the receptor language and its
cultural context.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
2. What are the characteristics of language which affect translation?
Meaning components are “packaged” into lexical items, but they are ‘packaged’
differently in one language than in another. Many times a single word in the source
language will need to be translated by several words.
It is characteristic of language that the same meaning component will occur in
several surface structure lexical items (forms).
It is further characteristics of languages that one form will be used to represent
several alternative meaning.
Whole sentences may also have several functions. A question form may be used for
a nonquestion.
A single meaning may be expressed in a variety of forms.
3. What is the goal of a translator?
The goal of a translator should be to produce a receptor language text
(translation), which is idiomatic; that is, one which has the same meaning as the source
language but is expressed in the natural form of the receptor language. The meaning, not
the form, is retained.
4. Is it necessary to change the form when translating?
Anything that can be said in one language can be said in another. It is
possible to translate. The goal of the translator is to keep the meaning constant. Whenever
necessary, the receptor language form should be changed in order that the source language
meaning not be distorted. Since a meaning expressed by a particular form in one language
may be expressed by quite a different form in another language, it is often necessary to
change the form when translating. It is not uncommon that passive constructions will need
to be translated with an active construction or vice versa, depending on the natural form of
the receptor language.
6. What is literal Translation?
Literal translation or form-based translation attempt to follow the form of the
source language.
7. What is idiomatic translation?
Idiomatic translation or meaning-based translations makes every effort to
communicate the meaning of the source language text in the natural forms of the receptor
language. The basic overriding principle is that an idiomatic translation reproduces the
meaning of the source language (that is, the meaning intended by the original
communicator) in the natural form of the receptor language.
8. How does a translator know that he is successful in his translation task?
He will know that he is successful if the receptor language readers do not
recognize his work as a translation at all, but simply as a text written in the receptor
language for their information and enjoyment.
9. How does a translator make his translation as dynamic as the original text?
For the translation to have the same dynamics as the original, it will need to
natural and easy to understand so that the readers will find it easy to grasp the message,
including both the information and the emotional effect intended by the source language
writer.
10. What is non-equivalence?
Non-equivalence at word level means that the target language has no direct
equivalent for a word which occurs in the text.
11. Why non-equivalence?
Culture-specific concepts (Religious belief, a social custom, or a type of food and tools).
12. How do we handle a non-equivalence
Translation by a more general word (superordinate)
Translation by a more natural/less expressive word
Translation by cultural substitution
Translation using a loan word or loan word plus explanation
12. How do we handle a non-equivalence
Translation by paraphrase using a related word
Translation by paraphrase using unrelated words
Translation by omission
Translation by illustration
Courtesy: Internet - Language Websites