A Textbook of Translation.pdf

8/9/2019 A Textbook of Translation.pdf

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A textbook of translationTheoretical and practical implications


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A extbook o ranslationheoretical and Practical Implications

Said M. Shiyab


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Said M. Shiyab

A extbook o ranslationTeoretical and Practical ImplicationsAntwerp Apeldoorn

Garant2006

192 p. 24 cmD/2006/5779/62

ISBN 90-441-1996-6ISBN 978-90-441-1996-1

NUR 630

Cover Design: Koloriet/Danni ElskensLay-out: Jurgen Leemans

Said M. Shiyab & Garant Publishers

All parts o this book are protected by copyright. Every use beyond the narrow limitations

o the copyright law is inadmissible, without the prior written permission rom the copyright owners.

Tis is also valid or photocopying, translations and microfilm copiesas well as storage and utilization in electronic systems.

Garant

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www.garant-uitgevers.nl [email protected]


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ABLE OF CONENS

Foreword

Preace

Acknowledgement

Dedication

CHAPER 1: Introduction

Perspectives on Translation

. Definition o ranslation . ranslation: Past and Present . What is a ranslator? . Methods o ranslation

.. Word or Word ranslation .. Literal ranslation .. Free ranslation

. ranslation: Art or Science? . Why Do We Need ranslation? . est Your Knowledge o Chapter (1) . ext-Comprehension and ranslation

Importance of Translation and Interpretation

CHAPER 2

Fallacies of Translation

. Introduction . Misconceptions about ranslation . Students and eachers Perceptions . Other Perceptions


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A exbook o ranslation

. Ethics and Rules in ranslation . est Your Knowledge o Chapter (2) . Multiple Choice Questions about Chapter (2)

CHAPER 3

Some Relevant Terms in Translation

. Introduction . Linguistic and ranslation erms . est Your Knowledge o Chapter (3)

CHAPER 4

Translation Theory and Practice

. Introduction . ranslation Teory . Unit o ranslation . Effect o ranslation Teory . How to Assess ranslation . Effective and Successul ranslation . est Your Knowledge o Chapter (4)

CHAPER 5

Text and Context in Translation

. Introduction . ext-ypes and ext-Functions . Discourse, ext-ypes and ranslation . ext-ype Categorization . ranslation and Factors o Success

.. Pragmatics

.. Semiotics .. Communicative Context

. est Your Knowledge o Chapter (5)

CHAPER 6

Translation: State of the Art

. Introduction . ranslation and Meaning


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able o Contents

. ranslation and Culture . ranslators Perception . ranslating vs. Writing

. ranslating is Personal 6.7 est Your Knowledge o Chapter (6) 6.8 Analysis and ranslation o exts

CHAPER 7

Punctuation and Translation

. Introduction . What is Punctuation?

. Importance o Punctuation . Punctuation in Arabic .. Te semicolon (;) .. Colon (:)

. est your Knowledge o Chapter (7) . Analysis and ranslation o exts

CHAPER 8

Translation and Literature

. Introduction . Characteristics o exts

.. Expressive .. Denotative .. Formal vs. Functional Characteristics

. Nature o Literary ranslation . Writer-ranslator Relationship . Linguistic Context and Literary ranslation . est Your Knowledge o Chapter (8)

. Analysis and ranslation o exts

CHAPER 9

Translation and Language Teaching

. Introduction . ranslation and Language eaching . Strategies in Foreign Language Learning . est Your Knowledge o Chapter (9)


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CHAPER 10

Translation and Pragmatics of Discourse

. Introduction . Intercultural and Interpersonal Communication . Culture and Communication . Grices Maxims . Assessment . Pragmatic Variables and Interpreting . est your Knowledge o Chapter (10)

CHAPER 11

Translation and Scientific Texts

. Introduction . Global Language and Science . Language o Science vs. Language o Literature . est Your Knowledge o Chapter (11) . Analysis and ranslation o Sentences and exts . Finding Equivalent erms in the arget Language

CHAPER 12

Translation and Legal Texts

. Introduction . Legal Language vs. Legal ranslation . Characteristics o Legal exts . Problems in ranslating Legal exts . Strategies or ranslating Legal exts . est Your Knowledge o Chapter (12) . Finding arget Language Equivalents

. Analysis and ranslation o exts

Bibliography


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Peter Newmark, in his well-known bookA extbook o ranslation (New York: PrenticeHall International, 1988), states unequivocally that a translator has to have a flair and aeel or his own language. He goes on: Tere is nothing mystical about this sixth sense,but it is compounded o intelligence, sensitivity and intuition, as well as o knowledge(1988: 4). Proessor Said M. Shiyab not only has this sixth sense or his native language,Arabic, but he has also developed it or todays number one international language, Eng-lish. Shiyab is a specialist in linguistics and translation theory and application with vastteaching and research experience in the Middle East and the USA. With an outstandingflair and eel or both Arabic and English, he is the ideal author or this superb pedagogi-cal work. Students as well as their instructors can look orward to many delightul hourso intellectual stimulation exploring the thought-provoking ideas in the textbook whichollows. ranslators and interpreters perorm a very valuable service in every country inthe world today. In act, the 2005 acclaimed movie Te Interpreter, starring Nicole Kid-man and Sean Penn, the first venture filmed at the United Nations headquarters in NewYork City, demonstrates the glamor, the splendor, and the crucial importance o transla-tion work in todays increasingly interconnected global marketplace.

ranslators have been around, however, long beore the United Nations, practicing bothan art and a science (here the author and I are in agreement that translation is both an artand a science). Witness the multilingual scribes o the ancient Near East who producedmonuments such as the Rosetta Stone (a trilingual inscription long housed in the BritishMuseum in London) and numerous other texts o various sorts.

Te student will find this textbook to be both lucid and enjoyable. Te author has pre-pared a unique book or the next generation o translators, and i students careully studyits pages, they will come away with a fine appreciation o this academic, scholarly, and

FOREWORD


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practical field where many o todays linguists are earning their living by oral and/or writ-ten translation-interpretation endeavors. Proessor Shiyab notes in his preace to the tomethat he has been involved in this exciting area o intellectual inquiry since 1980. Chomsky

was challenging or him, or as he writes, provoked me at the beginning, yet somehowlacked the ascination he would soon develop or systemic linguistics and discourse anal-ysis. Indeed the author has succeeded in amalgamating the two aorementioned fieldso systemic linguistics and discourse analysis with the theoretical and applied aspects otranslation studies. His 23 years o teaching experience, vast reading in the field and al-lied areas, and personal research efforts resulting in numerous publications all combineto engage the student to channel him or her into a stimulating journey into a wonderulspecialization within the area o general and applied linguistics. Te book, convenientlyorganized into a dozen chapters, is a thorough and comprehensive survey o a vibrant and

exciting discipline with a rich bibliographical tradition (see the exhaustive bibliographyat the end o the volume).

Chapter 1, Introduction: Perspectives on ranslation,looks at the history o the dis-cipline rom the point o view o leading 20th-century linguists, such as Roman Jakobsonand John Rupert Firth. I certainly agree with Shiyab when he asserts: ... translating anytext rom one language into another yields a particular kind o ambiguity which cannotbe clarified unless the intentions o the text-producer within his/her own social, cultural,denotative, connotative, and rhetorical contexts have been accounted or (p. 22).

Chapter 2, Fallacies o ranslation,stresses that one course in translation cannot andwill not make the student a good translator (p. 32). Shiyab paints a very vivid picturethat translation is an intricate process and he is certainly speaking or the proession itselwhen he affirms that translation entail[s] artistic strategies and scientific methods andprocesses (p. 34). Tere is much ood or thought to engage even the least curious o stu-dents into a real dialogue involving provocative essay and multiple-choice questions thatorce the students to come to grips with the most pertinent and significant issues.

Chapter 3, Some Relevant erms in ranslation,presents the necessary tools o the

trade the relevant terminology o important concepts, among which are: back transla-tion, borrowing and loanwords (Arabic kumbyuutar< English computer), calques (loantranslations) such as haatitelephone, idiomaticity, and so on. Every scientific field hasits jargon, so to speak, and translation studies are no exception.

Chapter 4, ranslation Teory and Practice,convincingly argues that translation workcombines both theory and practice. A translator can thus be compared in many ways toa surgeon. Just as the M.D. studies human anatomy and the causes o diseases or manyyears, only then learning how to use a scalpel and cut into organs and tissues to assist in


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Foreword

the eventual healing o the patient, so too the translator studies semantics and stylistics,e.g., beore becoming a proessional practitioner. Moreover, experience counts or a lotin both spheres. I having cataract surgery, a surgeon with 10,000 successul operations is

preerable to the novice surgeon just beginning a surgical career! So true or a translatoras well! In other words, one gains experience on the job itsel.

Chapter 5, ext and Context in ranslation,is a tribute to teaching total communica-tive competence over mere linguistic competence. Shiyab is right to argue that transla-tion is to be based on the interpretation o the contextual variables such as pragmatics,semiotics and the communicative contexts (p. 59). In this regard, it should be empha-sized that language is the symbolic system par excellence, which justifies consideringlinguistics as a part o semiotics in general.

Chapter 6, ranslation: State o the Art,makes the all-important point that translationinvolve[s] conveying what is implied and not what is said (p. 76). Using a Shakespear-ean example (Hamlet), Shiyab contrasts the implications o our published translations othe English word scholar: (1)aqiih, (2)aSHii 9aalim; (3) rajul muthaqqa wa aSiiH; and(4) rajul muta9allim(p. 81). Tese real-lie examples will stimulate productive studentdiscussion yielding a real understanding o many tangential cultural issues.

Chapter 7, Punctuation and ranslation,examines the uses o the colon and semico-lon, specifically, and other punctuation marks, such as the comma, in both English andArabic. Te author is correct to emphasize that the entire system o Arabic punctuationdoes not have well-established, universal rules in use throughout the Arab world today.Tereore, he rightly maintains, much work needs to be done in order to identiy whatis considered to be the sentence in Arabic i one wants to establish a coherent system opunctuation (p. 97).

Chapter 8, ranslation and Literature,is geared to be o service to the more advancedstudent who already has a solid command o translating newspaper and magazine arti-cles. ranslating literary works, such as Shakespeare or Naguib Mahouz (the Nobel Prize

winner or literature in 1988), but especially poetry, drama, and religious works (e.g. theBible, the Koran, etc.), is the most difficult and sophisticated material or a translator. Aprose vs. a verse translation o an Arabic poem shows the beauty o the latter over theormer (p. 107).

Chapter 9, ranslations and Language eaching,presents some good arguments thattranslation can provide a solid oundation or teaching oreign language structures as, e.g.collocational nominals in the two languages. For instance, the expressionfish and chips


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collocates in English but not in Arabic, whereas xubz wa milHbread and salt collocatesin Arabic but not in English.

Chapter 10, ranslation and Pragmatics o Discourse,looks at the crucial matter opragmatic variables in an intercultural and interpersonal context (p. 117). Here Shiyabintroduces the importance o H. P. Grices pragmatic Maxims, which were made amousin a series o William James Lectures at Harvard University in 1967.

Finally, Chapters 11 and 12, ranslation and Scientific exts and ranslation andLegal ranslation,give marvelous examples in the arenas o translating scientific andlegal texts two o the most difficult oci. Many recent texts provide valuable trainingto achieve practice to attain competence and fluency; e.g., xabiithmalignant; cancerous

and mujrimor mudhnibcriminal (depending on the context). Indeed the differences be-tween Islamic Law (sharii9ah) and western (e.g. American) law are excellent pieces o evi-dence one may use to demonstrate the interrelationships between language and culture.

Proessor Shiyabs translation textbook is an up-to-date and well-organized presentationo all the important linguistic, pragmatic, and cultural ramifications necessary or successas a working translator and/or interpreter. But keep in mind that as with all textbooks,student progress is ofen measurable by the amount o concentrated, ocused study o thecontents, which can be satisying and enjoyable.

Alan S. KayeCaliornia State University, Fullerton (USA)May 2006


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I started my journey with translation in 1980 afer which I started to look at language ina somewhat unique way. How do languages express various messages and what effect dosuch messages have on the audience? Every time I heard a politician talking, I got tunedto his/her tone, winks, gestures in an attempt to understand the many different implica-tions behind such acts. It was those moments that enabled me to look urther into howlanguages work. Indeed, languages always ascinated me since they represent human be-ings, their culture and traditions. Language is an important means o communicationwhere communication at times and under certain circumstances does not take place ina verbal orm. It was then that I realized that studying languages across cultures can be arewarding experience.

Languages, in the real sense o the word, maniest real people. Behind each piece o lan-guage, there is a vehicle o thought. Only those, I thought at that moment, who scrutinizeor look deeply into language codes and symbols can understand the real meanings be-hind the uses o language. I have to admit that Chomskys syntactic structures provokedme at the beginning, but not to the extent where I see language in everyday work. Ten Imoved into systemic linguistics and discourse analysis, and there I started to see where I

belong. What a ascination!

Te ascination o translation studies prompted me to look urther into languages acrosscultures. I ound that translation is not only a matter o decoding and re-encoding mes-sages. In act, it is the transmission o one culture into another. It is an approximationbetween two different people.

In this book, I define many different theoretical and practical aspects o translation. Myattempt is to enable translation students and translation teachers understand the real

PREFACE


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core o what translation is all about, minding the reader that a lot has been written abouttranslation, and unortunately such writings created more conusion about this impor-tant proession. With this modest work, I hope readers would discover what is transla-

tion, what are the different types o translation, what is translation theory and what isits effect, translation in its linguistic and cultural contexts, and above all translation andits literary orms. Tis book not only explains and discusses all these aspects, but alsopresents real and live examples rom everyday writings.

Furthermore, I always thought that once I finish my teaching career, I will start writingbooks on translation. However, afer 23 years o teaching linguistics and translation, Istarted to see many orgotten areas that are not accounted or. Tereore, this book ex-plains many o these areas.

In this book, I have included 12 chapters. Chapter one defines translation, provides read-ers with a background on the past and present history o translation. It also providesthem with methods o translation, and explains whether translation is a science or anart. In chapter two, I tried to clariy some allacies about translation whether they arestudent-teacher allacies or communal allacies. In order to amiliarize the reader withtranslation, chapter three defines the most important concepts in translation. Some othese concepts may have to do with linguistics as well. In chapter our, I attempt to answerthe dilemma whether translation is a theory or practice, ollowed by chapter five where Idiscuss the importance o context in translation.

ranslation as the state o the art is the main ocus o chapter six*. Tis chapter discussesdifferent concepts that are interrelated to translation. Tese are translation and mean-ing, translation and culture, perception and translators, and translation. Tis chapter alsocompares between translating and writing. Chapter seven explains the importance ousing punctuation marks in translation. Although this chapter makes reerence to theArabic punctuation marks, most o the issues discussed in this chapter can be applied toother languages as well. Chapter eight discusses one o the important areas in translationand that is the translation o literature. Te characteristics o literary texts, their nature,

writer-translator relationship, and linguistic context and literary translation are all de-fined in this chapter.

As or chapter nine*, it demonstrates how translation can help learners to enhance theirsecond language. It introduces strategies or learning a oreign language, and the prob-lems associated with it. Chapter ten examines the pragmatic variables in translation, andshows how such variables can give rise to intercultural and interpersonal communica-tion. Grices maxims and how they are relevant to successul communication are alsodiscussed. In chapter eleven, the process o translating scientific texts is introduced. Since


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Preace

not many textbooks have included material on scientific translation, this chapter providesthe missing link. Tereore, English as a global language and its relation to science wasdiscussed. Also, a distinction was made between the language o science and the language

o literature. Tis is ollowed by a list o scientific terms where students were asked to findtheir equivalents in the target language.

Last but not least, chapter twelve examines the link between language and law. It high-lights the characteristics o legal texts, and how the construction o language can affectthe interpretation o law. Te chapter also defines the characteristics o legal texts and theproblems associated with their translation. One o the important sections in this chapteris the discussion o the problems o translating legal texts. Tis is, o course, ollowed bya list o legal terms that are commonly used in legal texts.

All in all, the twelve chapters are all important in teaching any translation course, simplybecause they deal with both theoretical and practical aspects o translation. Tese chap-ters can also be used to teach any course introducing students to the field o translation.One other distinguished aspect o this textbook is that at the end o each chapter, thereis a set o questions, testing the students knowledge o the chapter. In addition, somerelevant texts are provided or students to translate into the target language. Tis is some-thing that is hardly ever ound in textbooks on translation.

* Some o topics discussed in chapters six and nine were taken rom two co-authored articles withKhanji, Latee and Shiyab (2001).


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ACKNOWLEDGEMEN

In addition to those who helped this textbook along its way, I would like to thank my col-leagues Proessor Alan Kaye, University o Caliornia Fullerton, Proessor Ben Bannani,and Dr. Michel Lynch, UAE University or their valuable input and observations. I alsowould like to thank the Scientific Research Office at the United Arab Emirates Universityand the Office o Rare Diseases in Bethesda, Maryland (USA) or providing me with in-ormation used in this book.

Grateul acknowledgment is also made to my amily, particularly my wie, ammy, whoconstantly supported me throughout my work. Without their insight and encourage-ment, this textbook would never have seen the light.


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DEDICAION

Tis book is dedicated to all those who have contributed to its production,especially those who happen to read it, review it and write about it.


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equivalent o the source language message, first in terms o meaning, and second in termso style (Nida & aber 1969: 210). Newmark (1988: 5) defines translation as rendering themeaning o a text into another language in the way that the author intended the text.

From a linguistic point o view, De Beaugrande (1978: 13) suggests several hypotheses towork with when it comes to the theory o poetic translating. De Beaugrande believes thattranslating should not be studied as a comparison and contrast o two texts, but as a processo interaction between author, translator, and reader o the translation. Te act o translat-ing is guided by several sets o strategies responsive to the directives within the text.

Whatever definitions we come across, almost all o them can be subsumed under twodefinitions. Te first definition is the replacement o one written text rom one language

to another in which the main goal o the translator is meaning. Te second is the transer-ence o a message communicated rom one text into a message communicated in another,with a high degree o attaining equivalence o context o the message, components o theoriginal text, and the semiotic elements o the text (i.e. social, connotative, addresser-ad-dressee relationship, etc.).

As or literary translation, it lies within these two definitions o translation. Sometimesit may even go beyond these two extremes, as the characteristics and the norms o liter-ary translation are o different nature. Literary translation is mainly concerned with textunctions maniested in the texts characteristics (Shiyab 1994: 234-235).

1.2 Translation: Past and Present

Despite the large amount o literature that has been produced on the process as well as thetheory o translation, it can be said that translation is still viewed as a mysterious phenom-enon that defies understanding (Bell 1991). Tere is, o course, a considerable variationas ar as speculating on this process; this variation has made a small, but useul, contribu-tion to the attempt o identiying the theoretical rameworks or doing such translation.

In some respect, there is very little consensus among linguists, translation theorists, andtranslation practitioners regarding the principles, rules, and methods o translating. Tebest indication o such disparity o views is the act that translation has many definitions.Tis reflects the act that it involves many DIFFEREN strategies. ranslation has beendefined in many different ways. However, or the sake o clarity, these definitions, roughlyspeaking, will be classified into meaning-based definitions such as Nida & aber (1969),Nida (1964), Rabin (1958), Newmark (1981, 1988), and semiotic-based definitions suchas Jakobson (1959), Steiner (1975), Frawley (1984), etc. Meaning-based definitions arethose which take meaning as the base or interpreting and then convey the meaning o


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Introduction

the original text into that o the target. Here, meaning necessitates reerence to linguisticcharacteristics such as lexical, grammatical, phonological, etc; it also necessitates reer-ences to non-linguistic characteristics such as thought, situation, knowledge, intentions,

and use. Semiotic-based definitions, on the other hand, are those definitions which taketranslation as the study o signs, symbols, codes, etc. Within this semiotic approach, thecultural, social, rhetorical, and communicative patterns o human behaviors are studied.Also all aspects o human communication are analyzed as systems o signals; they arethe means which semioticians use or the interpretation and analysis o texts. Te inter-relation o these definitions is illustrated in the ollowing table. Te letter (M) stands ormeaning based definitions, (S) stands or semiotic based definitions, and (S or M) standsor either one.

Nida & aber(1969: 210)

ranslation is the reproduction in the receptor language o theclosest natural equivalento the source language message, first interms o meaning, and second in terms o style. (M)

Steiner(1975: 414)

ranslation is the interpretation o verbal signsin one languageby means o verbal signsin another. (S)

Rabin(1958: 123)

ranslation is a process by which a spoken or written utterancetaken place in one language which is intended and presumed toconvey the same meaningas previously existing utterance in an-other language. It thus involves two distinct actors, a meaning,or reerence to some slice o reality. (M)

Catord(1965: 20)

ranslation is the replacement o textual material in one lan-guage (SL) by equivalent textual materialin another (L). (M)

Savory

(1957: 11)

ranslation, the surmounting o the obstacle, is made possible

by an equivalence o thoughtwhich lies behind the different ver-bal expressions o thought. (M)

Jakobson(1959: 233)

Inter-lingual translation or rewording is an interpretation overbal signsby means o other signs o the same language.

Inter-lingual translation or translation proper is an interpreta-tion o verbal signsby means o some other language.

Inter-semiotic translation or transmutation is an interpretationoverbal signsby means o signs o nonverbal signsystems. (S)


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able (1) Interrelation Definitions o ranslation

In act, there are many other definitions and principles that give more or less the sameinormation, and a ull account o these definitions as well as their shortcomings is be-

Frawley(1984: 159)

ranslation means re-codification. (S)

Firth(1968: 76)

Te basis or any total translation must be ound in the linguisticanalysis at thegrammatical, lexical, collocational, and situationallevels. (M)

De Beaugrande(1978: 13)

ranslation should not be studied as a comparing and contrast-ing o two texts, but as a process o interaction between author,translator, and the reader o the translation. (S or M)

ytler(1979: 9) ranslation should give a complete transcript o the ideas o theoriginal work.

Te style and manner o writing should be the same characterwith that o the original.

ranslation should have all the easeo the original. (M)

Newmark(1988: 5)

ranslation is rendering the meaningo a text into another lan-guage in the way that the author intended the text. (M)

Ross(1981: 9)

Te most natural view is that translation preserves the mean-ingo the original in another language or orm. ranslationis not a restatement, where differences are minimized, buthighlights certain equivalencein the context o important dis-similarities. (M)

Diaz-Diocaretz(1985: 9)

ranslation will be understood as the final product o problem-solvingand sign productiono a receptor-text (R)unctionally

equivalent to a source text (S), by a human being in a givenlanguage or a given group o text receivers. (S)


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Introduction

yond the scope o this book. However, the existence o these various definitions suggeststhat translation is ar rom having a generally accepted theoretical ramework. What isalso clear is that different translation theorists have concentrated on different types and

strategies o translation. For example, there are strategies or theories that are mainly con-cerned with translation in a literal sense (Vachon-Spilka 1968). Tese theories demandword-or-word translation. Other theories, on the other hand, are mainly concerned withthe reproduction o equivalent lexical items o the original text (Nida 1964; Nida & aber1969). Different attempts have been made to look at translation rom a pragmatic andsemiotic view in which the essence o translation is treated as an interaction betweentext-producer and the message along with social and cultural contexts in which a particu-lar piece o language is used (Jakobson 1959; De Beaugrande 1978; Mason 1982; Wilss1982: 135; and Hatim 1987). What is meant by pragmatics here is the study o purpose

or which the texts are used; it is the intentionality behind all the choices made (Newmark1988). Tis includes the text-producers intentions and the intended unction o the text.

As or semiotics, it is the interaction o various elements in the text as signs; it includes thesocial, cultural and psychological reality o a particular community. In this component,the social, cultural, and anthropological characteristics o a text are brought together toassess its meaning. Te interaction o these signs with one another creates the semioticmeaning o a text.

Although these context specifications illuminate the intentions o the text-producer andshed some light on the semiotic contexts in which the text is used, there is still some kindo uncertainty as to what constitutes these particular contexts. Tat is, it is very hard toalways make accurate and complete predictions about the intentions o the text-producer.Even Halliday (1985: 345) seems skeptical o the possibility o studying the HOW and theWHY choices made by the text-producer. Also, it could be argued that there are somechoices that are easily decoded by the writer and can thereore be more easily interpretedthan others. All that we do is in act speculate/ make predictions on his communicativeintent through the structure o the text. Tese contexts do in act acilitate translationbut do not make it adequate in all respects, because understanding the pragmatic and

semiotic meaning o a text is not an easy task, since this involves more than changing thewords o the original into that o the target.

While the translator tends to ignore the unction and style in a word-or-word transla-tion, in a sense translation (i.e. one in which the translator relies on how the text eelsby using his own senses), there is an imitation o the source text in terms o its unction,style, semiotic and pragmatic values. By the same token, there is a tendency to stress onthe aesthetic criteria o the target text.


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Te above discussion is only brie. However, most writers on translation emphasize theimportance o language within its own cultural context, as the meaning o words or lexi-cal items is rooted in their text-producers intentionality and within his own culture. Lado

(1957) argues that learning the structure o a language involves learning its culture. Onecannot really understand a oreign language without taking into account the culture owhich it is a part. Tis is why translating any text rom one language into another yieldsa particular kind o ambiguity which cannot be clarified unless the intentions o the text-producer within his/her own social, cultural, denotative, connotative, and rhetorical con-texts have been accounted or.

1.3 What is a Translator?

Many definitions have been proposed to illustrate the role and the unction o a transla-tor. While the majority o linguists and translation theorists define a translator as the onewho transers the meaning and the orm o a text rom one language to another, otherslook at the translator in a broader context. Adams and Telen (1999), in Te Journal o

American History,beautiully argue that at a time when people and their cultures andideas travel across the world, translation becomes the only possible way to interact. Teyargue that being a translator is not easy, simply because it involves making crucial choiceson how to transer the text across the barriers behind which cultures have developedcharacteristics and linguistic ways o seeing and thinking things in other cultures. Adamsand Telen state that all throughout history, people can see the creativity o individualtranslators pushing their texts through filters o culture and language.

Delisle and Woodsworth (1996), in ranslators through History, highlight the importanceo a translator by saying that the ancient Greek word or translator-interpreter is her-mneus, related to Hermes, the messenger o the gods, the god that presided over travel,trade, and communications. Te verb hermneuo means to interpret oreign tongues,translate, explain, expound, put into words, express, describe, write about.Te many ur-ther meanings o the Greek word or translator-interpreter (mediator, go-between, deal-

broker, marriage-broker) suggest that interpreters almost certainly had to exist duringprehistory the period beore writing was even invented. For more inormation, seeDelisle and Woodsworth (1996).

In ancient times, Delisle and Woodsworth (1996) suggest that ideas used to be prima-rily transormed into other civilizations and cultures through travelers and tradesmen.Slowly but surely,translation became a key actor in the growth and expansion o otherworld civilizations and cultures. One may point out the role translation played in trans-erring knowledge rom Ancient Greece to Persia, rom India to the Arab world, above


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Introduction

all rom Islam to Christianity and rom Europe to China and Japan. In a nutshell, Delisleand Woodsworth (1996: 68) argue that:

ranslators have invented alphabets, helped build languages and written dic-

tionaries. Tey have contributed to the emergence o national literatures, thedissemination o knowledge and the spread o religions. Importers o or-eign cultural values and key players at some o the great moments o history,translators and interpreters have played a determining role in the develop-ment o their societies and have been undamental to the unolding o intel-lectual history itsel.

Along the same line, Robinson (2003: 162) makes a distinction between a novice and atranslator. He states that the key term is experience. According to Robinson, a translator

has experience, whereas a novice does not. Also, a translator talks, acts, and writes likea translator, a novice does not. A translator has certain proessional assumptions abouthow language works and how translation is done, but a novice does not have any o thesequalities. All these characteristics can clearly make the difference between a proessionaltranslator and a mediocre one.

Tere are many instances in which translation played an important role in introducingone civilization to another. For example, translation helped introduce the Buddhist litera-ture rom different Indian languages into Chinese. Another example is the introduction oGreek philosophical works into Arabic, and in so doing it introduces them to the Islamicworld. It is this constant exposition o ideas and values that made translation a key elementin the development o cultures and societies. Robinson (2003: 35) eloquently elaborates onthe undamental assumptions underlying his approach to translation by saying:

1. ranslation is more about people not words.2. ranslation is more about the jobs people do and the way they see the world.3. ranslation is more about the creative imagination than about rule-governed

text-analysis.4. Te translator is more like an actor or a musician (a perormer) than a tape

recorder.5. Te translator, even o highly technical texts, is more like a poet or a novelist

than a machine translating system.

1.4 Methods of Translation

Many different methods o translating a text have been proposed. In his book entitled Aextbook o ranslation, Newmark (1988) highlights the different methods o translating


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texts: word-or-word-translation, literal translation, aithul translation, semantic transla-tion, communicative translation, idiomatic translation, ree translation, and translation asadaptation. While Newmarks classification o translation methods is undoubtedly helpul,

his categorization o the types o translation methods is a bit conusing. In other words,which o his methods have no bearing on meaning? In act all o them, otherwise the trans-lation becomes incomplete or unacceptable. What is the difference between semantic trans-lation and ree translation, i the ultimate goal o the translator is to capture meanings at di-erent levels? Also, in reality, how is aithul translation different rom semantic translation?Because o such overlapping, I believe Newmarks classification o translation methods isa bit over exaggerated. Based on this, one can say that when we attempt to translate a textrom one language to another, we understand that the translation is made rom the sourcetext (S) into a target text (). Te criterion or doing such translation is that the mean-

ing or these two texts corresponds. ranslation proessionals generally agree that there aremany types o translation, but one can sum up these types into three:

1.4.1 Word for Word Translation

Tis kind o translation involves translating a word in the source language to a word in thetarget language. Although this seems very much like literal translation, in act it is not. Teproblem with this kind o translation is that the outcome may not be meaningul; it couldbe awkward and discomfited, simply because meaning was not the center o translation.

1.4.2 Literal Translation

Tis kind o translation ocuses on the linguistic structure o the source text. It actually ig-nores the semiotic, pragmatic and contextual connotations o text-structure, while takinginto account the linguistic conventions o the target language. While literal translation isnot commonly used in translating texts, it is undamental or the study o language struc-tures. It is not recommended or the casual reader where adequacy and clarity o mean-ing are involved. For example, in translating religious texts, adherence to the word ordero the text and idiomatic expressions may make the translation difficult to understand.

Tereore, interpreting or explaining the word may give rise to clarity o meaning.

1.4.3 Free Translation

Tis kind o translation is sometimes called idiomatic translation. Other times, it is calledelegant translation. What is involved in ree translation is texts are translated into theother language based on their meaning not structure. Interpretation and paraphrasingare two ways o understanding and translating the text into the target language. Tis kind


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Introduction

o translation is the best simply because the translation outcome is meaningul, clear andeffective as in the source text.

aking the above three types o translation into account, it should be pointed out that thetype o texts, skill o the translator, text context and cultural dimensions are all actorsthat can help determine successul and effective translation.

1.5 Translation: Art or Science?

Te status o translation whether it be an art or a science has been controversial or the lasttwo decades. Only those who work in translation can envisage whether translation should

be considered an art or a science. From my proessional experience, I believe that transla-tion is both an art and a science. ranslation is not concerned mainly with finding wordsin the dictionary and replacing them with their equivalents in another language. Tis is noteven called translation. ranslation requires artistic skills and sometimes systematic andlogical decisions. Apart rom their grammatical differences, or differences in word-order oridioms, very ew words may have one-to-one correspondence. However, some words mayhave many possible interpretations; others may have words that are replaceable by otherwords in another language. Tereore, knowing which words to utilize in a given text neces-sitates good understanding o the text. It also requires good mastery o the target languagepatterns o thinking, in addition to long experience in text analysis and text rendition.

Te examples below may seem common to almost all languages. However, they en-tail different types o meaning when used in a specific context. Consider the ollowingexamples:

DecorHonorAttachment

EnclosuresDepartmentDirectorScannerChairVehicleDating


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Now, can you think o the equivalent words in your native language and compare themwith those o the target ones? Have you discovered that they entail different lexical items?For example, the word vehicle in English could entail car, bicycle, bus, automobile, etc.

Can one explain the different lexical items such words entail in another language? Anydiscussion o the equivalent meanings o such words may entail moving rom the domaino science into the domain o art. Furthermore, do other languages use the same wordsor different concepts? What about the word dating as in Jane is dating John.Does theword datingcontain an equivalent word in the other language? Sometimes, one may findthe dictionary inormation conusing, simply because it does not provide the translatorwith good solutions. Even in similar languages, one may find that certain words may lookor sound the same, but in actuality, they express different meanings. Tereore, whetherthe term is cultural, religious, linguistic, or literary, the artistic talent o the translator and

his skills are a liesaver here.

Peter Newmark, in his extbook o ranslation(1995), points out that translation shouldbe looked at as a combination o art (applied) and a skill, a taste, and an exercise o choic-es and decisions. At the same time, others believe that translation is a scientific process odealing with codes (Eco 2003). However, taking these two views into account, one maylook at translation as a systematic way o looking at a particular thing. In medical sci-ence, or example, translation is used scientifically and systematically. In social sciences,particularly literature, it is used artistically. Also, all branches o scientific investigationso translation whether linguistic, stratificational, computational, or even machine trans-lation describe translation as a science.

1.6 Why Do We Need Translation?

One o the most undamental purposes o translation lies in its definition. Tat is, thepurpose o translation is to transpose the meaning o the original text into the target text.Apart rom this, translation is done or different reasons. ranslation has an importantrole to play in the cultural lie o a particular society. Tat is, translation o literature

provides a society with inormation about its cultures, lie habits, patterns o thinking,and above all its values. In another context, translation is important as it provides us withup-to-date inormation about the latest discoveries. One cannot imagine him or herselisolated rom knowing what innovations and contributions other cultures or societieshave i their work has not really been translated. So transmitting knowledge throughtranslation is a key component to the societys development and progress.

Within a pedagogical context, Kasmer (1999), in an article entitled Te Role o ransla-tion in the EFL/ESL Classroom, believes that there are useul aspects o translation when


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Introduction

used in the ESL or EFL classroom. ranslation can oster a students natural ability to learna oreign language. It can also enhance a students confidence and security level through theusage o bilingual immersion, co-teaching, and bilingual text usage. Above all, conscious-

ness raising helps the students ability to recognize similarities and differences between hismother tongue and the oreign language as ar as culture, language structure, use o specificand general vocabulary, and the order o presentation o inormation are concerned.

1.7 Test Your Knowledge of Chapter (1)

. Give two different definitions o translation. Illustrate your definitions with examples. . Define a translator, and show how a translator is different rom a writer.

. Draw a comparison between the three types o translation and demonstrate in whatcontext each type will be used. . Do you think translation is an art or a science? Explain your answer. . Demonstrate how translation is important in everyday lie. Can you show the impact

o translation activities on your culture?

1.8 Text-Comprehension and Translation

o test your knowledge o the English language and to see how much meaning you cancapture at the text level, read the ollowing article on the Importance o ranslation andInterpretationvery careully, and translate it into your native or target language using asummary method. Te article is taken rom the Te Ukrainian Weekly, August 17, 1997,No. 33, Vol. LXV. Remember, a summary method ocuses on the main ideas in the article.Tereore, literal translation is not recommended here.


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Importance of Translation and Interpretation

by IRYNA KOVALSKA

KYIV - Literary translation has always played a very important role in thecultural lie o Ukrainians. In act, it is a actor in nation-building. Almostall major Ukrainian writers have also been translators, being well aware thatcultural isolation has always been dangerous.

Tus, translators have been the enlighteners o their downtrodden peo-ple and fighters or their better lie, having chosen literary translation as aweapon side by side with their original creativity. Afer the second world war owing to the brilliant school o Ukrainian literary translation Ukrainiantranslated literature developed as a kind o compensation or Ukrainian orig-

inal literature whose development was being thwarted. It has also become atreasure-trove as an effective medium or creating, collecting and preservingexpressive means (lexical, prosodic, structural), which now may be widelyused by Ukrainian authors.

Recently the importance o training translators and interpreters becameevident in Ukraine. Te country needs highly qualified interpreters andtranslators or the United Nations, UNESCO, Council o Europe, Organiza-tion or Economic Cooperation and Development, or embassies and a hosto other organizations in Ukraine and throughout the world.

Tus, discussing various problems o translation and interpreting be-came an urgent need in Ukraine. On May 29-30, aras Shevchenko StateUniversity in Kyiv hosted the international conerence ranslation on theTreshold o the XXI Century: History, Teory, Methods (organized by theCommon European Project EMPUS ACIS 85422-94: Ukraine Spain France Italy). Te program included over 80 reports, which covered vari-ous problems o modern translation studies.

Issues in the history o translation were highlighted by Pro. Oleksand-er Cherednychenko, who gave a general overview o the development o lit-erary translation in Ukraine and defined the main directions o Ukrainian

translation studies, while Pro. Roksoliana Zorivchak discussed the legacyo Hryhoriy Kochur as a translator and a translation studies researcher.Among other speakers, Dr. Orest Zemlianyi spoke about Ukrainian trans-lations o Irish literature.

Te researchers accentuated the role o translation as a actor important tothe development o intercultural communication. Tus, Pro. Maryna Novyk-ova underlined that translation is part o the spiritual legacy o a nation, a wayo thinking that is developed in constant contact with other nations.


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Introduction

Te majority o the speakers dealt with the theory o translation, suggest-ing various approaches to the translation norm, methods o research, under-standing the nature o the literary translation, etc.

Pro. Efim Etkind not only a brilliant researcher but a fighter or hu-man rights as well shared his views concerning the notion o metatransla-tion. According to the researcher, the latter is an umbrella term or all textspresented as translations but actually created as something different (e.g. reerendering, transusion, etc.). Tus, the word translation does not cover allthe diverse types o contacts between language and literature.

One o Pro. Etkinds studies is titled Poeziyai Perevod (Poetry andranslation), but he considers that the German version Dichtung andNachdichtung reflects the essence o this notion, better introducing the ele-

ment o secondary creativity, and the involvement o a co-creator. Pro. Et-kind analyzed different levels and types o metatranslation, providing exam-ples rom German, Italian and English literatures as interpreted by Russianclassical writers.

Methods o teaching interpreting and translating were discussed by IonChobanu, Nelli Kalustova, Zenoviy Partyko, Eduard Skorokhodko and manyother researchers. In his report on Inormation echnologies in ranslatorsraining, Pro. Viacheslav Karaban stressed the necessity o updating theprocess o translators training, helping them to develop computer skills, andteaching them how to use sofware and the internet.

Te participants o the conerence had ample opportunity to listen to theoutstanding Ukrainian lexicographer Mykhailo Balla, who spoke about hisexperience in compiling a great English-Ukrainian dictionary. Te new two-volume edition comprising o about 120,000 words was published in Kyiv in1996. It is an important contribution to Ukrainian lexicography.

Te first (rather small) English-Ukrainian dictionaries were published inCanada in the 1920s and 1930s. Te first rather substantial English-Ukrain-ian dictionary (comprising o 40,000 words) appeared in 1946. Its compiler,Mykhailo Podvezko, continued his lexicographic research in cooperation

with Mr. Balla. In 1974 they produced a bigger English-Ukrainian dictionary(about 65,000 words).

According to Mr. Balla, he started working on the newest edition o thedictionary almost immediately afer 1974. Te 1996 edition can be char-acterized as more convenient or users: proper names and geographicalnames are not given in the appendices but along with common words inalphabetical order, each derived word is supplied with a translation andlisted as a separate item.


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Te Kyiv conerence contributed to the establishment o contacts among re-searchers in translation studies, helping them exchange opinions and sharetheir experience. Conerence participants passed a resolution on the need to

organize a ederation o translators and interpreters in Ukraine.Te experience o such ederations in other countries shows that such a

body would be able to perorm a number o significant unctions: to arrangeorums or discussions on controversial subjects and research; to protect therights and privileges o translators and interpreters; to represent them at in-ternational conerences and seminars; to gain recognition or the importantrole translators play in modern Ukraine; to create more appreciation or thefield o translation; and to improve the quality o translations.

Te resolution was passed unanimously. Tus, one can expect that the

All-Ukrainian Federation o ranslators and Interpreters will soon become areality, and that through the organization Ukraines proessionals will join theInternational Federation o ranslators, uniting national societies o transla-tors into a single international body.


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2.1 Introduction

Tis section is not intended to discourage students rom majoring or studying transla-tion, but to clariy misconceptions about translation. Unortunately, translation was per-ceived as an easy task which requires only basic knowledge o the two languages involved.Tis erroneous assumption about translation has misled and is still misleading studentsabout the proession o translation. ranslation is like any other discipline; it requireshard work, good knowledge o other disciplines, awareness and good understanding othe cultures and traditions o the two languages, and above all an artistic talent in analyz-ing and synthesizing a message. As Gentzler and ymoczko (2002) state, translation isnot only a process o aithul reproduction; it involves deliberate acts o selection, con-struction, and omission. So, in this section, and based on my teaching experience, I genu-inely want the translation students to be aware o translation and what it requires beorethey embark on this very important discipline.

2.2 Misconceptions about Translation

In an article entitled Knowing Beore Learning, Rubrecht (2005) highlights ten con-cepts he believes translation students should know beore they embark on any translationmajor. Rubrecht believes that in an age where media and ast communication have trans-ormed the world into an interconnected community, the world is getting smaller andsmaller. With the generation and dissemination o new technology, one is more likely tobelieve that there is a need to prompt global level thinking, and this can be accomplishedonly through institutions offering translation and interpretation courses. For oreign lan-guage specializations, minding you translation students, translation and interpretation

CHAPER

Fallacies of Translation


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courses are very undamental simply because they are instrumental tools or languagelearning. Others make it clear that translation and interpretation courses are becomingmore popular. I mysel belong to the latter group. However, with the proper understand-

ing, translation and interpretation courses are seen as valid literary pursuits or learn-ing the literary language. Tey are also seen as important means or learning a oreignlanguage.

Whether such courses are part o a university curriculum or offered as a our year degreemajor, universities as well as teachers must understand there is a mismatch between stu-dents expectations and what students can actually accomplish during these two or ouryear courses. Students as well as teachers have too many assumptions as to how thesecourses are taught and how much students can get out o this lecturing process. In many

cases, these assumptions turn out to be alse.

Let there be no doubt that academic institutions are not proessional translation and in-terpretation schools. No matter how experienced the teacher is and how well planned thesyllabus is, there will always be a limit as to how much the teacher can give, and by thesame token how much students can learn, particularly under the limitations (i.e. time)imposed by a course spanning a period o only one or two semesters. It is extremely im-portant or students to be aware o certain acts about translation and interpretation be-ore they choose a major or enroll in a translation or interpretation course. As pointed outearlier, this is not to discourage students rom embarking on translation or interpretationcourses, or learning but rather provide them with the knowledge and understanding othe expectations o engaging in such courses.

Newmark (1991) has outlined the responsibilities o instructors involved in teachingtranslation and interpretation courses. He believes that students should know importantacts about translation and interpretation courses. Tese are:

1. Like any other discipline, translation has difficulties and students should beaware o such difficulties beore they engage in any translation and interpreta-

tion courses.2. Students should be aware o their responsibility towards translation difficulties,

not blaming other courses or teachers.3. Students should have already been involved in some orm o translation activi-

ties beore they embark on a translation major.4. Like physicians, translation teachers cannot cover all that is relevant to literature

in one term. Tey can only cover some important works o literary figures suchas Shakespeare. One course in translation cannot and will not make the studenta good translator; it can only introduce him or her to the nature o the transla-


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Fallacies o ranslation

tion process and provide him or her with the methods and strategies on how tolook at or approach a text.

In order to help students understand the nature, responsibilities and requirements otaking translation and interpretation courses, and according to Rubrechts ten concepts, Ibelieve students and teachers perceptions o each other are undamentally significant.

2.3 Students and Teachers Perceptions

First, one o the perceptions students have about translation is that they can be amiliar-ized with the techniques and methods o translating a text rom one language to another

in one course. Tis perception is really not true. Learning the two languages will not en-able students to be proessional translators, simply because translation requires a lot opractice and this will happen over a long period o time. Students, and sometimes teach-ers, erroneously believe that it is possible that students can be acquainted with all relevantissues in translation or that they become good translators once they finish a semester ortwo. Tis, I believe, is something that is impossible to accomplish in one or two semes-ters. Let there be no doubt that translation students should undergo extensive training intranslation activities; they should also be aware o the primary requirements behind anytranslation course. As or interpretation courses, students must have skills or immediacyo response, good overall knowledge o the subject-matter, and above all good memory.Students should also be equipped with computer skills. Ward (1992) and Chriss (2000)believe that students cannot appreciate the undamental effect such requirements have ontranslation students lives. Tereore, lack o students understanding with regard to theseissues may have negative repercussions on their accomplishments.

Second, rom personal experience, I believe translation is a complex process. It requiresthat students have good mental capacity that is extremely important to do the work.Tere are in-class activities and homework assignments that are mentally and physicallydraining. One can imagine himsel or hersel sitting or hours checking all kinds o dic-

tionaries, thinking o all possible meanings, writing and re-writing the text or hours. It iseven more draining or students involved in interpreting as the demand on such studentsis high and they have to adapt themselves to stressul and atigued environments. Inter-pretation students should get used to the idea o working without using dictionaries in ashort period o time. As or good knowledge, students must have a working knowledgeo the oreign language beore getting involved in translation and interpretation courses.Tey should have good knowledge o the native countries o that language.


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Tird, learning a oreign language and translating a text are two completely differentthings. Learning a oreign language is a prerequisite or translating a text; translation maypartially help students learn a oreign language, but it will not be enough to make them

good translators. Tere is very little overlap between learning a language and conductingtranslation and students should be aware o this act. Students should also know that theyshould be willing to continue learning, as language changes over the years, and transla-tors have to continuously update their knowledge.

Fourth, the main objective o translating a text is to convey its similar meaning to an-other language. ranslators or students o translation must worry about communicat-ing meaning very accurately to the reader. eachers should also teach students ways tocommunicate a message rom one language to another. Communicating a message de-

pends on context, and teachers must make students aware o the importance o contextin translation. Without understanding the context, communicating a message will be im-possible or even i it can be communicated, it will be erroneous. Here one can reer toVinay and Darbelnet (1995) where they state that translation is a matter o equivalence.ranslation should maintain the stylistic impact o the source language text in the targetlanguage text. According to them, equivalence is the ultimate method or the transla-tion o proverbs, idioms, clichs, nominal or adjectival phrases and the onomatopoeia oanimal sounds (ibid: 342). From a different perspective, Vinay and Darbelnet believe thatthere are three areas o translation: educational, proessional and linguistic. Educationaltranslation ensures reading and understanding a text to assess its accuracy. Proessionaltranslation ensures text quality and precision. As or linguistic translation, it is mainlyconcerned with how texts are rendered into the other language and what linguistic meansare used to convey text meaning. All these areas o translation should be mastered beorestudents take translation courses.

2.4 Other Perceptions

Tere is a misconception among linguists and some translation teachers that having a

bachelor degree in English language or literature makes you a good translator. Tis as-sumption, based on my personal experience and some studies (Chriss 2000) turns outto be alse. In order or translation students to be good translators, they have to masterthe translation skills, including fluency or near native fluency o both languages. Tismay not sound good or our translation students, simply because translation to them isnot associated with mastering both languages to an acceptable level. At the same time,translation teachers should not expect to have students with perect command o bothlanguages, particularly beore they enroll in any translation or interpretation courses.


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Another misconception about translation ed to students by teachers who lack good knowl-edge o translation studies is the belie that translation is an easy discipline. Anyone teach-ing or majoring in translation knows very well that translation is a rigorous discipline. It is

a problem-solving technique, entailing artistic strategies and scientific methods and proc-esses. It is time consuming and requires a lot o hard work. Students must realize that doingwell in translation helps them do well in other subjects. Tereore, disciplining and organ-izing their lie and above all independency and sel-discipline rom the beginning o theirstudy are key components to their success. As Ward (1992: 580) states:

A translator must be a sel-starter, an independent worker, with a good dose operseverance and determination to see a project through without any guidanceor supervision, and ofen without any help even with specialized terminology.

Te translator should also have solid integrity to do the very best job possible,to be absolutely accurate, to avoid any shortcuts or doing any udging.

As previously stated, translation should be taken seriously and sensibly, i and only i thetranslator wants to avoid poor results. Also, education and training in translation are vitaland translators must juggle not only languages, but also understand cultures, and the re-ligious and political environment in which texts are produced. Tis is not an easy task, itranslators or those embark on translation have thought about the ethics o translation.

2.5 Ethics and Rules in Translation

Once scholars come to grips with reality, they will come to their senses that translationhas rules and principles. Eco (2003) believes that translation is not about comparing twodifferent languages, but an interpretation o a text in two different languages, thus involv-ing a shif between cultures. He also states that irrespective o the act that some linguistsand philosophers claim that there are no rules on whether one translation is better thanthe other, translators have to use their common sense based on their long experience oreading, editing, and translating. Within the field o translation, thereore, there is a crisis

o ethics. Some might be pertinent to translation; others may be pertinent to interpreting.Te question involving translation evolves around whether the translator is loyal or not,and whether he is competent or not. Te comparison made by some Italian translators thatranslation is like women: the less aithul, the more beautiul, or the more aithul, theless beautiul, highlights the quarrel translators had with such questions or many years.


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2.6 Test Your Knowledge of Chapter (2)

1. Give our misconceptions students have about majoring in translation.

2. According to your understanding o this chapter, do you believe that masteringthe two languages involved in the translation is sufficient or someone to be agood translator? Please explain your answer with exemplifications.

3. Argue whether or nor not you agree with the types o misconceptions outlinedin this chapter.

2.7 Multiple Choice Questions about Chapter (2)

Based on your understanding o Chapter (2), answer the ollowing questions:

1. Te term allacy means:a. something goodb. something correctc. something alsed. (a) & (b)

2. According to Chapter (2), i someone has a B.A. in English Language & Litera-ture, he or she will be:a. a good translatorb. unable to translatec. able to translate but will ace many problemsd. both (b) & (c)

3. Most allacies about translation studies were ed by:a. studentsb. teachers

c. both students and teachersd. none o the above

4. According to this chapter, translators are . perceived by thecommunity.a. positivelyb. negativelyc. not at alld. somewhat positively


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5. Within the field o language learning and language acquisition, studies haveshown that translation is a useul means or:

a. learning a oreign languageb. learning only ones languagec. enhancing both oreign and native languagesd. only ( c)

6. Since translation deals with my native language, then it is:a. an easy subjectb. a subject that does not need a lot o reading and writingc. a subject that only needs practice

d. a subject that needs excellent knowledge o the two languages involvedand good knowledge o other subjects with lots o translation practice.

7. ranslation rom one language to another can be acquired rom:a. just one simple courseb. two coursesc. the more you practice, the better you become in translationd. just good knowledge o English

8. Ethics o translators have to do with:a. whether they are polite or notb. whether they lie or notc. whether they are loyal to the text or notd. both (b) & ( c)

9. In order to translate effectively, the translator has to ollow:a. his own eelingsb. rules and principlesc. what his riends tell him/her

d. only (c )

10. In translation, there are:a. correct translations and incorrect translationsb. poor translations and good translationsc. well written texts and badly written textsd. both (a) & (b)


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3.1 Introduction

In this chapter, an attempt will be made to define concepts and terms in translation stud-ies. While it is very difficult to survey and define all terms in the studies o translation, myattempt here is to identiy terms that are relevant to the content o this book. For thosewho are interested in a more complete translation glossary, see Leman (2005).

3.2 Linguistic and Translation Terms

Accuracy

It is a term that reers to maintaining the meaning o the source text. Te term overlapswith the meaning o aithulness, although the two concepts are somewhat different romone another. Consider the ollowing words or expressions:

jell-O _________________________He died. _________________________wo heads are better than one. _________________________Update me . _________________________computer _________________________ax _________________________television _________________________mobile _________________________surfing _________________________

CHAPER

Some Relevant Termsin Translation


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While it is easy to provide an equivalent or the phrase he died, it is very difficult toprovide an equivalent word or jello, simply because the word does not ring a bell inthe mind o the reader. Even though the Arabic equivalent word or jello is hulam, it

still makes no sense whatsoever to the common reader. In most cases, i not all, peopleuse the word jello rather than hulam. Te same thing applies to words such as ax,computer, mobile, etc. Tese words have equivalent words in Arabic, but they arenot used at all. What about the equivalent words or expressions in other languages? Dothey have the same equivalents? In French, or example, the word jello meansgelatine.Such a word, however, is not used in the French culture and instead, they use the sameEnglish word jello. Te same can be applied to words such as mobile or cellular(inFrench), among other words.

Audience

Tis term involves those who read or hear a text. ranslation practitioners must take intoaccount the kind o audience. In order or the audience to clearly and effectively under-stand the meaning o the translated text, translators must use a language that conorms tothe expectations o their audience.

Back Translation

Tis kind o translation involves the process o translating a document that has alreadybeen translated into a target language back to the original language. Te translation isusually done literally. Te objective behind this kind o translation is to enable a transla-tor or a translation consultant who speaks other languages to understand what a trans-lated text means in the target language. Literality is undamental here so as to enable thetranslation consultant to identiy the rules and structure o the target text.

Borrowing

Tis term involves the idea o taking a word rom another language. Te word that is

taken is called a loan word.

Calques

Tis term reers to a word that is created through loan translation. It involves translat-ing the meaning parts o one language to the meaning parts o another. Te process otranslating such meaning parts creates what is called neologism (using new words inthe language).


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Some Relevant erms in ranslation

Choppy

Tis is a term that reers to the quality o the translation. I the translation is clear,accurate and effective, it is called clear translation; but i it is not, it is called choppy

translation. Tereore, choppy translation means a translation in which the parts o thetext are disjointed.

Clarity

Tis is a term that reers to the quality o the translation. I the translation is clear, accu-rate and effective, it is called clear translation. Clear translation has the quality o beingeasy to understand and ree rom any ambiguous or unnatural structures.

Cohesion

Cohesion reers to the quality o the text and involves connectedness throughout thewhole text. Cohesion also aims at preserving smooth connection and internal unityamong the sentences used in the text.

Collocation

Collocation involves placing or associating two words with one another. Tese words arealways used together and more likely in similar contexts. Collocation also involves therelationship between two words that requently go together. Tese two words always co-exist with one another.

Consecutive Interpreting

Tis is a strategy where the interpreter starts interpreting a spoken message afer thespeaker finishes the sentence. Consecutive interpretation is ofen used at smaller coner-ences, diplomatic talks, courtroom sessions, etc. It is usually carried out by one inter-preter who accompanies the delegate or ollows the speaker. Consecutive interpreting is

less stressul, simply because there is no time pressure and the interpreter is ofen closeto the speaker.

Context

Tis is a term that reers to the environment in which sentences are used. Context also re-ers to the parts o a written or spoken discourse that precede or ollow a specific word.


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Inadequate Meaning

When we translate a text rom one language to another we may end up conveying an in-adequate meaning, simply because the meaning conveyed is wrong or partially expressed.

Sometimes, inadequate meaning involves translating a text in which the translation out-come does not make sense (i.e. incoherent and incohesive).

Intention

Tis term involves the intention o the speaker. It also involves the effect the speakerwants to impinge on his reader. It should be pointed out here that in the study o litera-ture, critics avoid assuming an absolute knowledge o the writers intention. All readingso intention rom a text are at best provisional.

Interpretation

Tis term involves the process o determining the meaning o something. It reers to bothwritten and spoken orms o language. Interpretation can also reer to reading the text tofigure out its implicit and explicit meanings.

Legal Translation

Legal translation is the translation o legal texts and binding documents. Tese texts ordocuments are culture-dependent subjects, which means they are embedded with the tar-get language culture. Legal translation is not simple, because any misinterpretation or mis-translation o a legal text can lead to jail or lawsuits. Also, the language o legal texts is veryprecise and requires good understanding. Tereore, translators have to be amiliar withthe legal systems o both languages. Tey should also have good knowledge o the targetlanguage culture and good knowledge o the relevant disciplines and subject matters.

Literal Translation

Literal translation ocuses on the linguistic structure o the source text. It aims at preserv-ing the orms o the source language. While literal translation actually ignores the semiot-ic, pragmatic and contextual connotations o text-structure it also takes into account thelinguistic conventions o the target language. While literal translation is not commonlyused in translating texts, it is undamental or the study o language structures. It is notrecommended or the casual reader where adequacy and clarity o meaning are involved.For example, in translating religious texts, adherence to the word order o the text andidiomatic expressions may make the translation difficult to understand. Tereore, inter-preting the word and paraphrasing it may give rise to clarity o meaning.


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Loan word

A loan word is a word that is borrowed rom another language. Tat is, a translator maycreate a word that does not exist in the target language, provided it conorms with the

meanings o the source word. Consider the ollowing examples:

jello _________________________computer _________________________ax _________________________t.v. _________________________mobile _________________________

Machine Translation

Tis is another means o translating a text where the text is translated automatically by amachine. Te computer or any other machine made or this purpose does the translating.O course, machine translations are aster and cheaper, but they are less accurate thanhuman translators. Although machine translation is not as requently used as humantranslators, it is still helpul when the main idea o a particular text needs to be expressedand done in a limited period o time.

Meaning

When one wants to express a message, he expresses its meaning. Tat is, whatever isexpressed by somebody, it involves the expression o meaning. Meaning is not only ex-pressed in lexical items, but it is in how such lexical items relate to one another.

Natural

When translation is natural, it means that the text is translated in a way where native speak-

ers o that language eel that the patterns o constructing and translating the text, whetherlexical or grammatical, match and conorm with the patterns o the native language. Also,the text is natural when its sentences are clear and display the same normal discourse.

Pragmatics

It is the relationship between language user and language use. Pragmatics is also understoodas language in context. It can also reer to the implicit meanings expressed by the speaker.


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Simultaneous Interpreting

Tis is a strategy where the interpreter starts interpreting a spoken message beore thespeaker finishes the sentence. At conerences, simultaneous interpretation is ofen used to

interpret seminars, conerences, and meetings. It is usually carried out by panelists usingspecific equipment. Simultaneous interpreting is a stressul act, simply because o timepressure, unamiliarity o subject matter, voice and accent o speaker, and environment.

Target Text

Te language into which translating or interpreting is carried out.

Telephone Interpreting

It is a kind o interpreting where the act is done over the telephone.

Translation

ranslation can be defined as the process o conveying the meaning o sentences romone language to another.

Translation Theory

ranslation theory involves an examination o the rules and principles o translation. Itreers to how language unctions and under what circumstances. Understanding howlanguage works is a key element to all translators.

Translating vs. Interpreting

ranslating a text has to do with the written orm whereas interpreting has to do with thespoken orm. In both cases, we translate reely rom the original.

Unit of Translation

Unit o translation can be defined as the smallest entity in a text that carries a discretemeaning. It varies all the time, ranging rom individual words through phrases and sen-tences right up to an entire paragraph.


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What Determines Skin Color?

Melanin is the substance that normally determines the color o the skin, hair,and eyes. It is the pigment produced in the cells called melanocytes. I melano-cytes cannot orm melanin, or i their number decreases, skin color will becomelighter or completely white as in vitiligo.

Leukoderma is a general term that means white skin. Severe trauma, like aburn, can destroy pigment cells resulting in leukoderma. Vitiligo is just one othe orms o leukoderma.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In this agreement, save where the context otherwise requires, the ollowing ex-pressions should have the ollowing meanings:

1. State = the country in which this document is issued2. Laws = laws o the country

3. Governor = governor o the country

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Text1

Text1


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Philip Morris Incorporated is a corporation organized and existing under theLaws o the Commonwealth o Virginia; it is a cigarette company in the United

States o America, and its principal office is located in New York (USA).

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Employees Satisaction and Organization Prosperity

Te success o economic corporation is judged by the extent o their profit mak-ing abilities and by the power o developing their capabilities so as to enablethem to go in sound harmony with the market conditions

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Translate the following expressions into the target language.

He is the top dog around here.______________________________________________________________

He passed the buck.______________________________________________________________

He is beating around the bush.______________________________________________________________

She broke my heart.______________________________________________________________

Text3

Text4

Text5


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It is raining cats and dogs.______________________________________________________________________

His eyes are bigger than his stomach.______________________________________________________________________

He is still horsing around.______________________________________________________________________

Adam spilled his guts.______________________________________________________________________

She hit the nail on the head.______________________________________________________________________

You are just pulling my leg.______________________________________________________________________

He punched his lights out.______________________________________________________________________

He ell off the wagon.______________________________________________________________________


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4.1 Introduction

During the past two decades or so, many views have been put orward towards the im-portance o teaching translation theory to students o translation. Other views advocatethe idea that students o translation need only translation practices. In this chapter, Iwould like to first look at translation as an exercise. Second, I would like to argue thattranslation is a combination o theory and practice; it is neither a practical nor theoreticalexercise, but rather a combination o both. Te comments made here are not intended tobe applied only to the process o translating a text rom Arabic into English, but can alsobe applied to the process o translating all texts.

In his article on Te Role o ranslation Teory in the ranslation Classroom, Mason(1982) points out that graduate or undergraduate translation students, enrolling in atranslation course, will definitely benefit rom making themselves aware o the prin-ciples and rules o translation theory. Such rules involve different kinds o topics suchas semantics, contrastive linguistics, communication strategies, and above all, the ideao equivalence. Tere may be some theoretical arguments students may capture, but

these are at an ab

A Textbook of Translation.pdf

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