Dictionary of Translation Studies: with terms of semiotics, psychology textology, linguistics, stylistics
By Bruno Osimo
()
About this ebook
Related to Dictionary of Translation Studies
Titles in the series (25)
Manuale di semiotica della traduzione: Osnovy obŝego i mašinnogo perevoda Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCognitive distortion, translation distortion, and poetic distortion as semiotic shifts Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOn Psychological Aspects of Translation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLa traduzione totale di Peeter Torop: Spunti per lo sviluppo della scienza della traduzione Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Translation of Culture: How a society is perceived by other societies Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dictionary of Translation Studies: with terms of semiotics, psychology textology, linguistics, stylistics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBasic notions of Translation Theory: For B.A. students Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLa traduzione dei realia: Come gestire le parole culturospecifiche in traduzione Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLiterary translation and terminological precision: Chekhov and his short stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTraduzione: aspetti mentali.: Saggi di Peirce, Levý, Mahony, Schreier Rupprecht, Ullmann, Favareau Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHistory of Translation: Contributions to Translation Science in History: Authors, Ideas, Debate Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPrototext-metatext translation shifts: A model with examples based on Bible translation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRoman Jakobson's Translation Handbook: What a translation manual would look like if written by Jakobson Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Traduzione e qualità: La valutazione in ambito accademico e professionale. Seconda edizione Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSemiotica per principianti: ovvero Impara la disciplina più astrusa con le canzonette Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJuri Lotman's Translator's Handbook: What a translation manual would look like if written by Lotman Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTraduzione della cultura: Problemi traduttivi in relazione alle differenze culturali Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHandbook of Translation Studies: A reference volume for professional translators and M.A. students Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTraduzione letteraria e precisione terminologica: Con esempi dai racconti di Antón Pàvlovič Čechov Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLa lingua non salvata: Case study di strategia traduttiva Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTraduzione giuridica e scienza della traduzione Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTranslation Studies. Contributions from Eastern Europe Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDistorsione cognitiva, distorsione traduttiva e distorsione poetica come cambiamenti semiotici Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTerminologia semiotica e scienza della traduzione: Esempi nella combinazione inglese-italiano Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLa memoria della cultura: traduzione e tradizione in Lotman Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related ebooks
Discourse analysis A Complete Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsProblems in Lexicography: A Critical / Historical Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCritical Terms for Literary Study, Second Edition Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Languages of Nature - When Nature Writes to Itself Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Language of Localization Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Linguistic Diversity in Space and Time Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dialect and Language Variation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cognitive distortion, translation distortion, and poetic distortion as semiotic shifts Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAbstracts and Abstracting: A Genre and Set of Skills for the Twenty-First Century Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLinguistic modality in Shakespeare Troilus and Cressida: A casa study Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRhetorical Minds: Meditations on the Cognitive Science of Persuasion Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSDL Trados Studio – A Practical Guide Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Semiotics for Beginners: Survival guide for the ordinary citizen Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMultilingual Information Management: Information, Technology and Translators Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSummary of Jonathan Culler's Literary Theory Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMachine Translation A Complete Guide - 2020 Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChanging the Terms: Translating in the Postcolonial Era Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCommunication Across Cultures: The Linguistics of Texts in Translation (Expanded and Revised Edition) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTranslation Strategies for English Language Learners Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNation, Language, and the Ethics of Translation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Comparative Study on the Translation of Detective Stories from a Systemic Functional Perspective Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCognitive Semiotics: Integrating Signs, Minds, Meaning and Cognition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCritical Approaches to Literature Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsQuality in Translation: Proceedings of the IIIrd Congress of the International Federation of Translators (FIT), Bad Godesberg, 1959 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsConference Terminology: In English, French, Spanish, Russian, Italian, German and Hungarian Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Magic Mirror of Literary Translation: Reflections on the Art of Translating Verse Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsConcise Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Translation and Nation: Negotiating "China" in the Translations of Lin Shu, Yan Fu and Liang Qichao Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Language Arts & Discipline For You
Shut Up and Write the Book: A Step-by-Step Guide to Crafting Your Novel from Plan to Print Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Talk Like TED: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World's Top Minds Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Craft of Research, Fourth Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Verbal Judo, Second Edition: The Gentle Art of Persuasion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Take Off Your Pants! Outline Your Books for Faster, Better Writing (Revised Edition) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary of Lessons in Chemistry Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Barron's American Sign Language: A Comprehensive Guide to ASL 1 and 2 with Online Video Practice Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Writing to Learn: How to Write - and Think - Clearly About Any Subject at All Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Get to the Point!: Sharpen Your Message and Make Your Words Matter Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Metaphors We Live By Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Making Sense: Conversations on Consciousness, Morality, and the Future of Humanity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Write Your First Novel: The Stress-Free Guide to Writing Fiction for Beginners: Author Level Up, #2 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Romancing the Beat: Story Structure for Romance Novels: How to Write Kissing Books, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5We Need to Talk: How to Have Conversations That Matter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fluent in 3 Months: How Anyone at Any Age Can Learn to Speak Any Language from Anywhere in the World Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5500 Beautiful Words You Should Know Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Speed Reading: How to Read a Book a Day - Simple Tricks to Explode Your Reading Speed and Comprehension Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lost Art of Handwriting: Rediscover the Beauty and Power of Penmanship Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Learn Sign Language in a Hurry: Grasp the Basics of American Sign Language Quickly and Easily Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Everything Sign Language Book: American Sign Language Made Easy... All new photos! Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Talk Dirty Spanish: Beyond Mierda: The curses, slang, and street lingo you need to Know when you speak espanol Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAs We Speak: How to Make Your Point and Have It Stick Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Easy Spanish Stories For Beginners: 5 Spanish Short Stories For Beginners (With Audio) Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5It's the Way You Say It: Becoming Articulate, Well-spoken, and Clear Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Dictionary of Translation Studies
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Dictionary of Translation Studies - Bruno Osimo
Bruno Osimo
Dictionary of translation studies
with terms of semiotics, textology, linguistics, stylistics
with the help of the students of Civica Scuola per Interpreti e Traduttori «Altiero Spinelli»
Copyright © Bruno Osimo 2020
Bruno Osimo is an author/translator who self-publishes himself
Print edition made as print on sale by Kindle Direct Publishing
ISBN 9788898467761 for the paper edition
ISBN 9788890859755 for the electronic edition
To get in touch with the author-publisher-translator: osimo@trad.it
Introduction
This Dictionary of Translation Studies reflects my experience as a translation scholar, and a translation teacher, and a translator from Russian. The knowledge of the Russian language allowed me to read (and translate into Italian) crucial authors like Popovič, Lyudskanov, Torop, Revzin and Rozentsveyg. Since not many Western translation scholars know them, we get as a consequence a translation theory which is split between West and East according to a sort of 'cultural Berlin wall'.
In this dictionary I tried to synthesize both Western and Eastern points of view about the translation process.
The terms that are used belong to both worlds.
For an explanation of a more narrative character, you can use my other book, Handbook of Translation Studies
, available both in paper and in ebook form.
I have been teaching translation at the Civica Scuola Interpreti e Traduttori «Altiero Spinelli» in Milan, Italy for 30 years, and translation theory for 20 years. My students made an important contribution to this book, through their feedback during lectures and exams. Year after year I had the opportunity to edit my text accordingly.
In particular, this dictionary was partially written by M.A. translation students in the form of papers presented at the end of their terms.
Bruno Osimo
Milano, 3 July 2019
Abduction: it is a kind of reasoning, sometimes also called retroduction
, aimed at retrogressively reconstructing the relationship between a rule and a result. It is complementary to the other two kinds of inference (deduction and induction) but is the first step in scientific reasoning
(Peirce 1931:203) and the only one that can actually create new knowledge. In particular deduction is the process of deriving the consequences of what is assumed, for example: ‘All bachelors are unmarried men
. It is true by definition and does not depend on sense experience. On the other hand, induction is the process of inferring probable antecedents as a result of observing multiple consequences; for example, the statement it is snowing outside
is invalid until one looks outside to see if it is true or not. Induction requires sense experience. At any rate we must take into account that Peirce’s writings are voluminous and fragmentary and there is disagreement over whether Peirce meant precisely the same thing by abduction
and retroduction
. In translation, abductive reasoning allows translation critics to formulate hypotheses that, although not very probable, have a strong creative impact and can then be checked in what remains of the text.When reading, we continually make conjectures about what the text leaves unsaid. By abduction we make hypotheses on the author that wrote it, on their writing strategy, on the characters, on what brings them to behave in a certain way. As in the solving of a riddle, some possible solutions have repercussions on other parts of the whole interpretation, in some cases confirming them, in others denying them. Critical reading is an abductive game that, in the case of translation, has somewhat complex features. The applications of Peirce’s notion of abduction
in the field of translation criticism can be viewed in these terms: 1) there is a first degree of abductive reconstruction applied to literary criticism, that is to say abduction about the author, attempts to infer the narrative strategy; 2) a second degree of abduction is translation, a process in which it is necessary to make conjectures both on the author and on the model reader of the metatext, to elaborate a strategy used instead of the narrative strategy of the prototext; 3) the third degree operates in the case of translation criticism where, on the basis of a second-degree result (the translation of a prototext), conjectures go beyond the author (first degree), the metatext (second degree), the translator and the translation strategy (third degree). Eco (1983) describes abduction as the search for a general rule from which a specific case would follow. He identifies three kinds of abduction: 1) given a specific case, the reasoner may be aware of only one general rule from which that case would follow, Hypothesis or overcoded abduction
; 2) if there are multiple general rules to be selected from, Eco calls the abduction undercoded abduction
; 3) if the reasoner does not know general rules that imply the specific case, it is possible to make up a new one. This act of invention can also occur when the general rules known by the reasoner would lead to unsatisfactory explanations. An abduction that involves the invention of a new rule is called creative abduction
.
Aberrant decoding: concept introduced by Umberto Eco in 1968, which is strictly related to those of model reader, empirical reader, open text and closed text. Though the adjective aberrant
is employed, it doesn’t mean that the decoding produced is awful or totally wrong. What Eco means by aberrant decoding
is, in fact, a reader’s interpretation of the text that the author had not foreseen. Depending on the strategy employed by the author, a text can be interpreted in a number of ways or in just one way. When writing, indeed, the author usually imagines the model reader he wants his text to be addressed to, and produces a text which can be closed or open. A closed text implies just the one interpretation foreseen by its author. On the contrary, an open text implies that more interpretations of the text can be given. Every interpretation of a closed text not expected by the author is considered illegitimate
. Anyway, what Eco argues is that closed texts are the most ‘open’. As a matter of fact, the narrower a narrative strategy, the more probabilities there are for the text to be subject to unforeseen decoding, which actually makes these texts extremely open. By contrast, when the range of model readers is wider, the several decodings by the different empirical readers have a much higher chance to be legitimate, while the possibility of aberrant decoding is abundantly lower. Aberrant decodings, of course, occur because of various factors affecting the reader’s interpretation of a text. Some of the more common ‘deviating’ factors are: private biases, deviating circumstances, aleatory connotations, interpretive failures, personal encyclopedia and communication loss. By the way, it should be noted that aberrant decodings may provide interpretations that, though not foreseen, are possible, or even more appropriate than those the author had figured out.
Acceptability: one of the two elements of the dichotomy adequacy/acceptability introduced by the Israeli scholar Gideon Toury. This dichotomy is strictly related to the first kind of translation norms Toury identified, that is to say initial norms
. As Leuven-Zwart said, by initial norms
Toury meant the translator’s (conscious or unconscious) choice as to the main objective of his translation, the objective which governs all decisions made during the translation process
. The dichotomy is based on the translator’s subjection to the norms coming from the prototext or to those coming from the metatext. In the former case, the translation will tend toward adequacy, while in the latter it will tend toward acceptability. In other words, according to Toury’s distinction, adequacy is the adherence to source text norms, while acceptability is the adherence to norms originating in the target culture. Of course, since these two concepts imply that translation has to be seen as a social activity within a given society or culture, the translator decides to follow the norms of either the source culture or the receiving culture. At this point, it is very useful to mention Even-Zohar’s polysystem theory, which helps explaining how the status of the translated literature in the receiving culture determines the translation strategies that are employed. If the position of the translated literature is primary, the translator will focus on adequacy, while if its position is secondary, he will focus on acceptability. More concretely, acceptability is a principle of translation according to which a translated text is converted in complete accordance with the linguistic and cultural norms of the target language. So, the translator will choose the readability of the metatext as its dominant, and his work will be characterized by the modification of all the cultural elements of the prototext, by replacing them with elements belonging to the receiving culture or with standard elements. Acceptable translations are far easier to read, but they are also the ones that give the smallest contribution to mutual cultural enrichment.
Accuracy: term used in translation evaluation indicating the extent to which a translation matches the prototext. It usually refers to the preservation of the information content of the prototext in the metatext; to be accurate, a translation has to be generally literal rather than free, so the actual meaning of accuracy
, as regards a given translation, must depend on the type of ‘equivalence’ found in the translation. To establish the accuracy of a translation is very difficult: this procedure has to be carried out unit by unit at the level of the phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph and the whole text
(Sager, 1994:148). Departures from strict accuracy are generally considered as shortcomings; however, to deviate from the prototext is often inevitable above all in the translation of literary texts, where translators have to introduce shifts to reproduce the prototext in its totality, as an organic whole
(Popovič 1970:80).
Achronization The word achronization
comes from Greek α- + χρóνος [a + kronos] without time
. In translation, achronization is the omission of any element that could connect the text to a precise temporal chronotope. It is to time what atopization is to space. Achronization is also one of the micro-structural shifts in van Leuven-Zwart’s comparative model. When translating a text, it is necessary to consider the possible shifts between the PT and the MT. Van Leuven-Zwart’s model aims at describing shifts in very small text units (like words), without considering the textual context. She identifies three kinds of relationship that can occur between one element of the PT and one of the MT: contrast, and modulation. Contrast
is produced when an element of the PT is transformed in the MT so that it is no more recognizable; modulation
or binary change
is the modification of an element according to a dichotomy along the continuum generalization vs. specification. A non-binary shift
occurs when there is no dichotomy but many possibilities among which the MT element can be chosen. Achronization is one of the subcategories of modulation ― the other two being historization and modernization ― concerning time. More precisely, it is a generalization of time.
Actualization this term has two important meanings in translation studies. Firstly, it refers to each process where the prototext is actualized, i.e. turned into another text different from the original one or into another form. It is always an intersemiotic process, because the source and the target text have two different codes. Here are some examples: the actualization of a script
means that the source text, made up of words and phrases, has been turned into an acted film or a play which is made up of words, music, images, gestures and actions; the actualization of a song
means that the lyrics are rendered by the singer: in this case, the prototext is a written text, whereas the metatext is an oral text, whereby not only words, but also sounds, voice timbre and expressiveness play an important role; the actualization of a dream
is the act of telling someone a dream, in other words the act of turning mental pictures into words. If we consider all the stages of the translation process, every translation can be defined as an intersemiotic process, because the prototext is turned into mental information in the form of inner language and then expressed in written words. The second meaning of this term indicates a translation strategy on the diachronic axis that involves Bakhtin’s concept of time chronotope: the translator chooses to adapt the metatext to the current situation of the receiving culture, without preserving historical elements of the prototext. See also modernization.
Adaptation: This term has undergone great changes in meaning and fortune during the centuries. A modern and objective definition of adaptation
was given by Vinay and Darbelnet (1958): adaptation is a procedure which can be used whenever the context referred to in the prototext does not exist in the culture of themetatext, thereby necessitating some form of re-creation
. Thus, the procedure of adaptation aims at achieving an ‘equivalence’ of situations whenever a cultural gap between prototext and metatext defies comprehension. The most common kinds of adaptation are local and global adaptation. The former is required when problems come up from the prototext itself and concern just some parts of it; the latter is required when it’s the outside context to cause translation problems, and the prototext needs therefore a global revision. Adaptation is based on adequacy and acceptability, and regards the relationship established between the emitting and receiving cultures within the cultural polysystem. The divide between translation and adaptation dates back to the Latin tradition, when Cicero and Horace analyzed adaptation in relation to the concept of translation as a more ‘faithful’ mode of transfer. The golden age of adaptation was in the XVII and XVIII Centuries, the epoch of the belles infidèles, while the XIX Century saw the reaction to this ‘infidelity’, to this violation of the prototext and to this ‘betrayal’ of the original author. In the XX Century, the transparency required in the translation of technical, scientific and commercial texts has legitimated a form of adaptation that is necessary in order to preserve the global message and the purpose of the prototext as well as a communication balance between the author and a foreign readership. Adaptation is also regarded as a form of translation characteristic of particular genres, such as drama, advertising, subtitling and children’s literature, whose aim is actually to achieve the same effect of the prototext on an audience with a different cultural background. Adaptation is especially applied to handbooks, where it has to be based on the translator’s judgement about his/her readers’ knowledge
(Routledge 1998). Any interlingual translation is ultimately a form of adaptation to the target culture.
Adequacy: one of the two elements of the dichotomy adequacy/acceptability introduced by the Israeli scholar Gideon Toury. These terms refer to the two orientations that translators can give to their metatext. As the German philosopher F. Schleiermacher declared during a lecture in 1813: there are only two. Either the translator leaves the author in peace, as much as possible, and moves the reader towards him, or he leaves the reader in peace, as much as possible, and moves the author towards him.
Adequacy corresponds to the first method he mentions. In terms of translation as cultural mediation, the reader has to move toward the prototext as an element of the source culture. This approach is an important contribution to the cultural exchange, as many specific elements of the source culture are preserved in the metatext. The prototext is therefore perceived as an expression of the source culture, and the translator should help the readers fill the chronotopic distance between the prototext and themselves. While reading, indeed, the reader has to face an uneasy text where realia are maintained, proper names are not adapted, the deictics remain the same, the syntactic structures are reproduced as they are – whether they are standard or marked – the meter of the source culture is imported and the proverbs and idioms are preserved – if they are difficult to understand, they will be explained in the metatextual apparatus. In short, when an adequate translation is published, a text belonging to the source culture enters the receiving culture and enriches it, though it requires a little extra effort from the reader.
Adequate translation: it aims at conveying in the metatext the exact form and content of the prototext. It represents also the commitment of the translator to reproduce exactly all the historical and national peculiarities of the prototext (Toper 1995:95). It is a trend to a wider sense of faithfulness which developed in the first decades of the 17th century, when an agreement was reached for the first time among translators on the fact that any translations had to maintain the invariant information of the prototext. The concept of adequate translation
developed as a consequence of the spreading of technical, scientific and documentary translation, that in Ancient Times had been almost unknown, or so unusual that it could by no means influence the aesthetic sense of literary translation. On the contrary between the 18th and 19th century technical translation was very important for social life. It only aimed at the accuracy of the content with no regard for its form (Cary 1956). This new conception was so widespread that it also influenced the field of literary translation. Thanks to the Soviet School of Translation, which gave the name to this historical type of translation (Smirnov, Alekseev 1934), the adequate translation was further improved. The theory and the practice of the adequate translation implied for the first time two important questions: is it possible to obtain a metatext equivalent to the prototext? And if so, how? These are still the fundamental questions of the modern Translation Studies.
Aging of translations: the same prototext can be re-translated many times over the years for different reasons. The most obvious one, is that the language of the previous version has become obsolete, but it is not the only cause. According to Osimo (2004:38), analysing different translations of the same prototext into the same language in a certain lapse of time, it is possible to infer the cultural development of that period, the aversions of the single translators, the social taboos, the socio-cultural influences and the lexical trends. When we talk about dated translations, we have to take into account that, beyond the aging of the language, there are also readers and critics that need and are curious to consult another version, another point of view on the original text. Concerning the facility with which a translation becomes dated
, Popovič focuses on the specific nature of the translatory communicative act: The seriality of the translation as mode of its existence as compared to the completeness of the original creative work is a dangerous propriety. Due to its more elevated degree of ‘openness’, a translation is sooner subject to aging. It can find itself excluded from the literary ‘swim’. This fact also determines the place of the translation within the literary process
(Popovič 1975: 128). According to him, it is the re-translation itself that highlights the aging of a previous translation. In other words, it would be the appearance of a new version of a given prototext to emphasize the deficiency and the translation loss implied by a previous version and until that point considered as ‘canonical’, wholly accepted as ‘representing
that prototext’ (Osimo 2000-2004, 4). Osimo states that
the cause of aging must be sought in the circumstances upon which the translation’s language and style depend on the expressive canon effective at the moment the translation is done. The receiver also abides by such a canon, the receiver being, in the case of translation, the group of readers, among whom also is found the proto-reader
, i.e. the translator. The receiver evaluates the translation both in comparison to previous actualizations of the same prototext in the receiving language, and in relation to the original. According to Toury, translations tend to age more quickly when the translators adopt the acceptability strategy: the metatext is created for contemporary readers, therefore, its requisites are dictated by the criteria of acceptability of a given generation of readers and critics. Actually, the aging of a translation is not an absolute phenomenon, it is a relative one:
Examples taken from practice show that readers are interested also in the oldest translations. In them there is the attraction of what is old, a sort of archaic gloss, the same of the prototexts of antique origin (Popovič 1975:129). So,
the acceptability canon of readers of each generation determines, depending on its historical moment, a given readers’ propensity for given types of loss […] translation is the communicative act that is a repeatable, bearer of loss, in relation to which a reader’s taste can also be expressed ex negativo: and the predilection of one version as compared to the others is also a predilection for a given loss of the message’s content as compared to other losses represented in other versions, be they real or potential (Osimo 2000-2004:4). Aging of translations also induces Popovič (1975) to reflect on the way in which a culture receives a translated text (129). On this subject, Osimo (2000-2004:5) states that
the fact that, for example, the translation of a classical work done a century ago can be considered no longer readable and therefore the use of a new more ‘modern’ translation indicates that the reception canon of a culture is a determining factor, that the canon could be different (and is so in different countries), and changes with time. A contrastive diachronic approach […] is a way to overcome the obstacles that the critic finds owing to the cultural implicit.
The comparison between the published versions and the original texts is the best method to elaborate a general and particular theory of translation" (Gak 1979, quoted by Torop 1995: 159).
Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words or stressed syllables. The term is sometimes applied to the repetition of any sound, whether a vowel (assonance) or a consonant (consonance), in any position within the words (Encyclopædia Britannica 2009). Assonance is used to create internal rhyming within phrases or sentences, and together with alliteration and consonance serves as one of the building blocks of verse. The repetition of vowels is more a feature of verse than prose and can also be frequent in proverbs, often a form of short poetry (Encyclopædia Britannica 2009). Consonance is a stylistic device often used in poetry and characterized by the repetition of two or more consonants, whereas vowels are different. Alliteration differs from consonance insofar as the former requires the repeated consonant sound to be at the beginning of each word, while in the latter the repeated sounds can occur anywhere within the word, although often at the end (Encyclopædia Britannica 2009). In poetry half rhyme is due to the repetition of the final consonant of the words involved. A particular type of consonance known as sibilance
concerns a series of sibilant sounds (/s/ and /sh/ for example). Alliteration may also include the use of different consonants with similar properties (labials, dentals, etc.). Apart from assonance and consonance there are other types of alliteration: 1) parallel or cross alliteration which involves the repetition of interwoven consonants (big time/bus trip); 2) hidden or internal alliteration as regards consonants in the middle of words (runner/flannel); 3) bracket alliteration which concerns initial and final consonants (grain/groin); 4) submerged or thesis alliteration where unstressed syllables of words are repeated (mailbox/carob); 5) suspended alliteration which refers to the reversal of a consonant-vowel combination found in one word in another word that follows (tawny/aeronautics) (Druri, Gioia 2005). Alliteration is a common literary or rhetorical device in all languages, although its accidental occurrence is often considered a defect. The relative formal accessibility of alliteration makes it one of the most commonly used literary tools. This rhetorical device seems to retain an important, though perhaps more subtle, part in modern poetry. In prosody alliterative verse uses alliteration as the principal structuring device to unify lines of poetry, as opposed to other devices such as rhyme. The most commonly studied traditions of alliterative verse are those found in the oldest literature of many Germanic languages (Encyclopædia Britannica 2009). The Old English epic Beowulf, as well as most other Old English poems, uses alliterative verse. It can be found in many other languages as well, although rarely with the systematic rigor of the Germanic forms. Like rhyme, alliteration is a great help to memory (Nellen 2008). It survives in magazine article titles, advertisements and business names (Coffee Corner), comic strip or cartoon characters (Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse), common expressions (busy as a bee) and books aimed at young readers, as it captures the children’s interest. It is important to remember an essential difference between alliteration/assonance and onomatopoeia. Alliteration and assonance do not involve an imitation of sounds (unless they happen to coincide with onomatopoeia). Every time alliteration recurs in a text it coincides with a vital moment in the narrative, so that it very soon acquires emphatic force, underlining crucial textual and thematic points. A major strategic decision for the translator of a text characterized by alliteration arises on the phonic/graphic level, but affects also the grammatical one. This decision is whether to create a corresponding pattern of lexical items in the metatext to underline the crucial parts of the text and, if so, whether to make systematic phonic/graphic recurrences the hub of that metatext pattern. The phonic qualities (sound-symbolism) of a text, such as alliteration and onomatopoeia, play such an important textual role that translating the text without some attempt at producing appropriate sound-symbolic effects in the metatext would mean incurring severe translation loss. The more a text depends for its very existence on the interplay of onomatopoeia, alliteration and assonance, the more difficult the translator’s task becomes because sound symbolism is not only language-specific, but a very subjective matter as well. The translator isn’t obliged, or even well-advised, to reproduce the phonic qualities of the prototext. A translation technique known as phonemic translation
concentrates on sounds and allows the sense to emerge as a kind of vaguely suggested impression (Hervey, Higgins, Loughridge 1995).
Anaphora: this term comes from the ancient Greek ἀναφορά, "carrying back". In linguistic terms, it refers to the coreference of one expression with an antecedent word. The antecedent expressions provide the information necessary to interpret the anaphoric element. That is why anaphora is also defined as an expression referring
back to its antecedent. A simple example of anaphora is: "Paul asked Flora to pass him the book, where
him" is an anaphoric pronoun referring back to Paul. However, in poetry, the term anaphora
is used to describe a figure of speech in which a word or an expression is repeated at the beginning of neighbouring phrases, clauses, sentences or verses in order to obtain rhetorical or poetic effect. An illustrious example of poetic anaphora is Shakespeare’s "Mad world! Mad kings! Mad composition!" from King John. Anaphora is a form of endophora and is traditionally opposed to cataphora.
Applied translation studies is a branch of translation studies (other branches: descriptive translation studies and theoretical translation studies) that includes translator training, translation aids, translation policy, translation criticism (Holmes 1988). According to Wilss (1996), translation is a particular form of information processing consisting of many different dimensions which are not easily teachable and/or learnable – contrary to e.g. grammar. In his opinion, the general aim of translation is to facilitate communication between individuals with different cultural, linguistic or communication backgrounds. The process of translation can either be studied in a more theoretical way, e.g. by analysing translation processes and elaborating translation models, or with a more practical approach consisting in the transposition of the theoretical findings into programs aiming for practical use (Wilss 1996:3-4). The necessity of a practical approach is due to the fact that translators nowadays are facing an increasing number of specialized texts (about 90%), they are forced by the market to work rapidly and, therefore, have to increase their efficiency. The major problem of applied translation studies is the impossibility to formulate minimal standard requirements for translators and – connected to this fact – the inexistence of a standardized certificate for translators (Wilss 1996:10). In addition, educational institutions struggle with the organization of their course of studies because they cannot orientate to employers’ needs (the spectrum of subjects is too vast) but have to find a middle course which includes average standards of all kind of translation services. To better organize higher education of translators, Wilss suggests creating areas of competence in types of text – e.g. translation of children’s books, translation of specialized texts, audiovisual translation etc – and in the direction of translation: either into or from the translator’s mother tongue.
Archaism/archaicism: An archaism is the use of a form of speech or writing that is no longer current. It can be a word, a phrase or the use of spelling, letters, syntax, formula or as part of a specific jargon that have passed out of use. The compound adverbs and prepositions found in the writing of lawyers (e.g. heretofore, hereunto, thereof) are examples of archaisms as a form of jargon. This can either be done deliberately for instance to achieve a specific effect, e.g. ‘Ye Olde Tea Shoppe’ is a spelling archaism, used to suggest a traditional English atmosphere. Archaisms are most frequently encountered in poetry, law, and ritual writing and speech or nursery rhymes. Archaisms are kept alive by ritual and literary uses and by the study of older literature. The examples of archaism are: the use of the archaic familiar second person singular pronoun thou
(the singular form of you
) to refer to God in English Christianity or spake
is an archaic form of the past tense of the verb speak
. There
is a modern form of thither
, we use to it
instead of thereto
; of which
, of this
in place of whereof
, hereof
; till then
or up to that time
instead of theretofore
or except
-save
; perhaps
-perchance
; before
- ere
; though
-albeit
.The archaicism was not a phenomenon of vocabulary alone, but a complex of historical factors, impossible to isolate
(Steiner 1975:367). In seeking to penetrate the sense and logic of form of the original, the translator proceeds archeologically or aetiologically. He attempts to work back to the rudiments and first causes of invention in his author. … Master translations domesticate the foreign original by exchanging an obtrusive geographical-linguistic distance for a much subtler, internalized distance in time
(Steiner 1975:365).
Architranseme: in Leuven-Zwart’s translation shift model, it is the common denominator between prototranseme and metatranseme, i.e. the invariant core sense of the prototext and metatext transeme. For example, between "mettersi a sedere (Italian) and
se enderezó" (Spanish), the architranseme is to sit
. Even if it isn’t always easy to recognize an architranseme , practice shows that in most cases an architranseme can be identified with the help of a good descriptive dictionary in the two languages involved
(Leuven-Zwart 1989: 158).
Artificial language: it denotes any language, whose phonology, grammar, syntax, semantics and/or vocabulary was deliberately created by a group of people in order to reach certain purposes otherwise not achievable using natural languages. There are thousands of artificial languages designed for different purposes. Programming languages, for example, differ from the others because they are not used for interaction between people; they are used instead