Types of translation by R. Jakobson
translation methods:
word-for-word - translating words separately
literal - similar to word-for-word, but using gramatical structures
faithful - similar to w-f-w and literal, but staying loyal to author's intentions. Transfers cultural names and words
semantic - concentrates on the beauty of the language, but remains faithfull to the author's intentions
adaptation - the freest method, converts the culture into target language's
free - paraphrasing the message without the form of the original
idiomatic - uses idioms and colloquial language, which doesn't exist in the former language
communicative - meaning + form + focusing on reader
semiotic approach to language ('there is no signatum without signum' (1959:232) - three kinds of translation:
Intralingual (within one language, i.e. rewording or paraphrase)
Interlingual (between two languages)
Intersemiotic (between sign systems)
'translation involves two equivalent messages in two different codes'
from a grammatical point of view languages may differ from one another to a greater or lesser degree, but this does not mean that a translation cannot be possible, in other words, that the translator may face the problem of not finding a translation equivalent
'whenever there is deficiency, terminology may be qualified and amplified by: loanwords or loan-translations, neologisms or semantic shifts, and circumlocutions'
Catford's formal linguistic model
level shifts, where the SL item at one linguistic level (e.g. grammar) has a TL equivalent at a different level (e.g. lexis), and
category shifts:
Structure-shifts, which involve a grammatical change between the structure of the ST and that of the TT;
Class-shifts, when a SL item is translated with a TL item which belongs to a different grammatical class, i.e. a verb may be translated with a noun;
Unit-shifts, which involve changes in rank;
Intra-system shifts, which occur when 'SL and TL possess systems which approximately correspond formally as to their constitution, but when translation involves selection of a non-corresponding term in the TL system' (ibid.:80). For instance, when the SL singular becomes a TL plural.
Nida's translation approach
FORMAL - 'focuses attention on the message itself, in both form and content'
= a TL item which represents the closest equivalent of a SL word or phrase
HOWEVER:
there are not always formal equivalents between language pairs
therefore these formal equivalents should be used wherever possible if the translation aims at achieving formal rather than dynamic equivalence
serious implications at times in the TT since the translation will not be easily understood by the target audience
DYNAMIC - 'the principle of equivalent effect'
= a translation principle according to which a translator seeks to translate the meaning of the original in such a way that the TL wording will trigger the same impact on the Tl audience as the original wording did upon the ST audience.
Chomskian influence (TG Grammar):
'Frequently, the form of the original text is changed;
but as long as the change follows the rules
of back transformation in the source language,
of contextual consistency in the transfer, and
of transformation in the receptor language,
the message is preserved and the translation is faithful' (Nida and Taber, 1982:200).
- dynamic equivalence - a more effective translation procedure (cf. esp. in translating the Bible
CONCLUSION:
the product of the translation process (i.e. the text in the TL) must have the same impact on the different readers it was addressing
BUT:
'dynamic equivalence in translation is far more than mere correct communication of information'
Despite using a linguistic approach to translation, Nida is much more interested in the message of the text, in its semantic quality
Therefore: We must 'make sure that this message remains clear in the target text'
The translator's invisibility
Fluency, translating a text in a way so that no one would find out it is a translation.
Skopos theories
Skopos theory focuses above all on the purpose of the translation, which determines the trnslation methods and strategies that are to be empolyed in order to produce a functionally adequate result.
This result is the TT, which Vermeer calls the TARGET TRANSLATION.
IN SKOPOS THEORIE CRUCIAL FOR TRANSLATION:
is to know why a ST is to be translated and
what the function of the TT will be.
Basic underlying`rules' of the theory:
•A translation (or TT) is determined by its skopos.
•A TT is an offer of information (Informationsangebot) in a target culture and TL concerning an offer of information in a source culture and SL.
•A TT does not initiate an offer of information in a clearly revisible way.
•A TT must be internally coherent.
•A TT must be coherent with the ST
•The five rules above stand in hierarchical order with the skopos rule predominating
Visey & Darbelmet's translation strategies
whenever a linguistic approach is no longer suitable to carry out a translation, the translator can rely on other procedures such as loan-translations, neologisms and the like
recognize the limitations of a linguistic theory and argue that a translation can never be impossible since there are several methods that the translator can choose.
the role of the translator as the person who decides how to carry out the translation
conceive the translation as a task which can always be carried, regardless of the cultural or grammatical differences between ST and TT
Newmark's translation rules & translation procedures
Nida's 'receptor'-oriented approach is 'illusory':
The gap between SLT and TLT will always remain a permanent problem in both TR theory and practice
How can the gap be narrowed?:
SEMANTIC vs COMMUNICATIVE translation
... attempts to produce on its readers an effect as close as possible to that obtained on the readers of the original. (cf. Nida's dynamic eq.)
... attempts to render, as closely as the semantic and syntactic structures of the second language allow, the exact contextual meaning of the original.
Respects the context, interprets or explains (e.g. metaphors)
Word-for-word in its extreme
M. Snell-Hornby's integrated approach
“The concept of equivalence is unsuitable for translation studies.
The term equivalence, apart from being immprecise and ill-defined (…) presents an illusion of symmetry between languages which hardly exists beyond the level of vague approximations and which distorts the basic problems of translation.”
The first section, 'Translation as an independent discipline,' One of the interesting aspects
discussed in this section is that of equivalence, the term that came to
replace the dichotomy of faithful or free.
'Translation as a cross-cultural Event,'. Discusses in great detail how
translation is not a mere process of transcoding words from one
language to another, but that it is a cultural transfer from one culture to
another. The authors stresses the importance of being bi-cultural, not
just bilingual.
'Translation, text and language,' the author
discusses the importance of text analysis in the translation process. A
text, she says, should not be analyzed in parts, but as a whole, from the
'macro-level' to the 'micro-level.' A text is more than a 'linguistic
phenomena,' it has a 'communicative function,' reflecting the culture
and society in which it was written. The analysis begins on the macro
level with "identifying the text in terms of culture and situation," (p. 69)
then it is reduced to the micro level, where the structure of the text (the
title, etc.) are analyzed.
'From special language to literary translation,' examines the relation between situation and status
of the source text and the function of the target text with reference to
four texts in the appendix, three of a specialized nature and one literary.
The author uses these examples to illustrate how translations may need
to be altered for the target culture, depending on the information in
question and the audience.
Polysystem theory
polysystem theory is defined as a theory to account for the behavior and evolution of literary system. The term polysystem denotes a stratified conglomerate of interconnected elements, which changes and mutates as these elements interact with each other (Shuttleworth & Cowie 1997:127).
Covert & overt translation strategies
in favour of semantic and pragmatic equivalence
argues that ST and TT should match one another in function
House suggests that it is possible to characterize the function of a text by determining the situational dimensions of the ST
In fact, according to her theory, every text is in itself is placed within a particular situation which has to be correctly identified and taken into account by the translator.
After the ST analysis we are in a position to evaluate a translation;
if the ST and the TT differ substantially on situational features, then they are not functionally equivalent, and the translation is not of a high quality.
'a translation text should not only match its source text in function, but employ equivalent situational-dimensional means to achieve that function' (ibid.:49).
OVERT
the TT audience is not directly addressed and
there is therefore no need at all to attempt to recreate a 'second original' since
an overt translation 'must overtly be a translation'
COVERT
the production of a text which is functionally equivalent to the ST
this type of translation the ST 'is not specifically addressed to a TC audience'
Domestication & Foreignisation
According to Ventui (1995: 19-20), a foreignising strategy consists in acquiring a translation method which does not conform to norms and values prevalent within the target language system. Employing such an approach, which preserves linguistic and cultural differences between the two systems, requires a translation style designed to make the intervention of the translator visible (Munday 2001: 147), resulting in a non-fluent, alienating TT (Baker 1998: 243). This effect is usually achieved through close reconstruction of the ST structure and syntax in the TT and importation of foreign cultural forms.
Domesticating translation strategy, as a contrast, entails an appropriation, or reduction (Venuti 1995: 20), of the foreign text into target-language conventions and makes use of stylistic devices, which provide for a transparent and fluent reading, minimizing the foreigness of the TT (Munday 2001: 146). Domestication is also said to involve selecting texts which adhere to domestic literary canons, resulting in “a conservative and openly assimilationist approach to the foreign text” (Baker 1998: 242), which is to serve domestic publishing trends and political alignments.
Equivalence
equivalence-oriented translation - a procedure which 'replicates the same situation as in the original, whilst using completely different wording'
this procedure (if applied during the translation process) can maintain the stylistic impact of the SL text in the TL text
TE: ideal method when dealing with proverbs, idioms, clichés, nominal or adjectival phrases and the onomatopoeia of animal sounds
equivalent expressions between language pairs - acceptable as long as they are listed in a bilingual dictionary as 'full equivalents':
However, (glossaries and collections of idiomatic expressions) 'can never be exhaustive
Therefore: 'the need for creating equivalences arises from the situation, and it is in the situation of the SL text that translators have to look for a solution'
even if the semantic equivalent of an expression in the SL text is quoted in a dictionary or a glossary, it is not enough, and it does not guarantee a successful translation
Coherence & cohesion
Coherence in linguistics is what makes a text semantically meaningful. It is especially dealt with in text linguistics. Coherence is achieved through syntactical features such as the use of deictic, anaphoric and cataphoric elements or a logical tense structure, as well as presuppositions and implications connected to general world knowledge.
Cohesion is the grammatical and lexical relationship within a text or sentence. Cohesion can be defined as the links that hold a text together and give it meaning. It is related to the broader concept of coherence
There are two main types of cohesion: grammatical, referring to the structural content, and lexical, referring to the language content of the piece.
Untranslatability
Untranslatability is a property of a text, or of any utterance, in one language, for which no equivalent text or utterance can be found in another language.
An adaptation, also known as a free translation, is a translation procedure whereby the translator replaces a social, or cultural, reality in the source text with a corresponding reality in the target text; this new reality would be more usual to the audience of the target text.
Borrowing is a translation procedure whereby the translator uses a word or expression from the source text in the target text unmodified.
Calque entails taking an expression, breaking it down to individual elements and translating each element into the target language word for word.
Compensation is a translation procedure whereby the translator solves the problem of aspects of the source text that cannot take the same form in the target language by replacing these aspects with other elements or forms in the source text.
Paraphrase, sometimes called periphrasis, is a translation procedure whereby the translator replaces a word in the source text by a group of words or an expression in the target text.
A translator's note is a note (usually a footnote or an endnote) added by the translator to the target text to provide additional information pertaining to the limits of the translation, the cultural background, or any other explanations.
Intertextuality
Culture in translation
Audiovisual translation
Technical translation
Technical translation is a type of specialized translation involving the translation of documents produced by technical writers (owner's manuals, user guides, etc.), or more specifically, texts which relate to technological subject areas or texts which deal with the practical application of scientific and technological information. While the presence of specialized terminology is a feature of technical texts, specialized terminology alone is not sufficient for classifying a text as "technical" since numerous disciplines and subjects which are not "technical" possess what can be regarded as specialized terminology[1]. Technical translation covers the translation of many kinds of specialized texts and requires a high level of subject knowledge and mastery of the relevant terminology [2] and writing conventions.
The importance of consistent terminology in technical translation, for example in patents, as well as the highly formulaic and repetitive nature of technical writing makes computer-assisted translation using translation memories and terminology databases especially appropriate.
Interpreting
Language interpretation is the facilitating of oral or sign-language communication, either simultaneously or consecutively, between users of different languages.
Simultaneous interpreting
Consecutive interpreting
Whispered interpreting
Relay interpreting
Translation of literature
Text structure (theme/rhyme)
PRAGMATIC EQUIVALENCE - focusses on the receiver of the message/text.