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Introduction
The three main areas of translation are: (a) science and technology, (b)
social, economic and/or political topics and institutions, and (c) literary
and philosophical works.
A translator has to have a ‘sixth sense’ which tells him when to translate
literally, instinctively or when to break all the ‘rules’ of translation.
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Everything without exception is translatable.
Translation is, first, a science, secondly a skill, thirdly an art, and lastly, a
matter of taste.
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CHAPTER 2
In reading, you search for the intention of the text, which represents the
SL writer’s attitude to the subject matter.
Usually, the translator’s intention is identical with that of the author of the
SL text.
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In passages making evaluations and recommendations, you have to
assess the standards of the writer.
The three typical reader types are perhaps the expert, the educated
layman, and the uninformed. You then have to consider whether you are
translating for the same or a different type of TL readership.
The quality of the writing and the authority of the text are two critical
factors in the choice of translation method.
Underline only the items where you see a translation problem, study
such an item first in context, then in isolation, and finally in context again.
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CHAPTER 3
The second method is usually preferable. You may prefer the first approach
for a relatively easy text, the second for a harder one.
Your base level when you translate is the text. This is the level of the
literal translation.
You should not read a sentence without seeing it on the referential level.
For each sentence, when it is not clear, when there is an ambiguity, you
have to ask yourself: for what purpose? Can you see it in your mind? If
you cannot, you have to ‘supplement’ the linguistic level, the text level
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with the referential level, the factual level with the necessary additional
information from this level of reality.
The referential goes hand in hand with the textual level.
You are working continuously on two levels, the real and the linguistic,
life and language.
There is a third level linking the first and the second level: the cohesive
level.
This cohesive level secures coherence. At this level, you reconsider the
lengths of paragraphs and sentences, the formulation of the title, etc.
For the vast majority of texts, you have to ensure: (a) that your
translation makes sense; and (b) that it reads naturally, by reading your
own translation as though no original existed.
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(5) The usage of words and idioms possibly originating in bilingual
dictionaries.
(6) The use of the articles, progressive tenses, collocations, etc.
You abandon the SL text, literal translation only when its use makes the
translation inaccurate, when it is unnatural.
Since the sentence is the basic unit of thought, the sentence is your unit
of translation.
The chief difficulties in translating are lexical, not grammatical, i.e. words,
collocations and fixed phrases and idioms.
Difficulties with words are of two kinds: (a) you do not understand them;
(b) you find them hard to translate.
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Most noun, verbs or adjectives can be used figuratively and therefore
can have figurative meanings.
The words may have an archaic or a regional sense, may be used
ironically or they may be misprinted.
Be accurate: you have no license to change words that have plain one-
to-one translations just because you think they sound better than the
original.
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CHAPTER 4
The core of the expressive function is the mind of the speaker. He uses
the utterance to express his feelings.
Few texts are purely expressive, informative or vocative: most include all
three functions, with an emphasis on one of the three. However, strictly,
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the expressive function has no place in a vocative or informative text: it is
there only unconsciously.
Metaphor is the link between the expressive and the aesthetic function.
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CHAPTER 5
Translation Methods
The central problem of translating has always been whether to translate
literally of freely.
Adaptation: This is the ‘freest’ form of translation, used for plays and
poetry. The themes, characters, plots are preserved but the text is
rewritten.
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Only semantic and communicative translation fulfill the two main aims of
translation, which are first, accuracy, and second, economy.
Translate as literally or as closely as you can, and then make sure you
have accounted for each word in the SL text. There are plenty of words
which for good reasons you may decide not to translate.
There are other definitions of translation methods, such as: plain prose
translation, which is the prose translation of poems. No sound-effects are
reproduced, the reader can appreciate the sense of the work without
experiencing equivalent effect.
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CHAPTER 6
● The more cohesive, the more formalized a text, the more information it,
as a unit, affords the translator.
● If the SL text title adequately describes the content, and is brief, then
leave it. The title should sound attractive, allusive, suggestive, even if it is
a proper name, and should bear some relation to the original.
● The translator has to bear in mind the main differences between speech
and dialogue: speech has virtually no punctuation.
● Sound effects, even at the level beyond the sentence, should be taken
into account.
● Connectives are tricky when they are polysemous, since they may have
meanings contradicting each other.
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● Linguistic synonyms are also used as a cohesive device to avoid
repetition, particularly in a reinforcing sentence.
● If we include chapter or section under “text”, the next lower unit is the
paragraph, which is Nietzsche’s unit of thought. Typical paragraph
schemes: (a) start with a generealisation and then produce two or three
examples; (B) introduce and relate an event and give the result: (C)
introduce and describe an object or brief scene.
● Grammar always has more alternative forms, is more flexible, than lexis.
● Most translation is done at the level of the smaller units (word and
clause), leaving the larger units to “work” automatically, until a difficulty
occurs and until revision starts.
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CHAPTER 7
Literal Translation
● The only unit of translation is the text. Literal translation is correct and
must not be avoided, if the secures referential and pragmatic
equivalence to the original.
● The translation of poetry is the field where most emphasis is normally put
on the creation of a new independent poem, and where literal translation
is usually condemned. A translation can be inaccurate; it can never be
too literal.
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● Some transparent institutional terms are translated literally in at least
Western European languages even though the TL cultural equivalents
have widely different functions. The terms are normally so important in
their relation to the TL culture that a literal translation rather than
transference is indicated.
● The SL word may: (a) be used more frequently; (b) have a wider
semantic range than the corresponding TL word.
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CHAPTER 8
● The following are normally transferred: names of all living and most dead
people, geographical and topographical names, newspapers, names of
private companies and institutions, names of public or nationalized
institutions, street names, addresses, etc. Where appropriate, a
culturally-neutral TL third term, i.e. a functional equivalent, should be
added. The argument in favour of transference is that it shows respect
for the SL country’s culture. The argument against it is that it is the
translator’s job to translate, to explain.
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equivalent, and the word is not important in the text, in particular for
adjectives or adverbs of quality.
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● Other Procedures: 1) Equivalence; 2) Adaptation
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CHAPTER 9
Translation Culture
● Culture is the way of life and its manifestations that are peculiar to a
community that uses a particular language as its means of expression.
Most “cultural” words are easy to detect, since they are associated with a
particular language and cannot be literally translated.
● Food is for many the most sensitive and important expression of national
culture; food terms are subject to the widest variety of translation
procedures.
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to movements, process and organizations generally depends on the
putative knowledge of the readership.
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CHAPTER 10
Sense: the literal meaning of the metaphor; usually this consists of more
than one sense component. Usually the more original the metaphor, the
richer it is in sense components.
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Usually cultural metaphors are harder to translate.
Whenever you meet a sentence that does not appear to make sense,
you have to test its apparently nonsensical element for a possible
metaphorical meaning.
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Original metaphors: Created or quoted by the SL writer. In authoritative
and expressive texts, these should be translated literally.
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CHAPTER 11
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The first and most obvious use of componential analysis is in handling
words that denote combinations of qualities, or actions and qualities.
Normally you should include at least one descriptive and one functional
component.
Componential analysis is used for the words that have become symbols
of untranslatability and cultural consciousness (the American ‘baseball’,
the Italian pasta).
An ordered account of the cultural difference between two words with the
same referent but different pragmatic components is offered by
componential analysis.
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CHAPTER 12
There are four main categories of case-gaps: (1) mandatory; (2) implied;
(3) optional; and (4) supplementary.
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The translator automatically fills in the case-gap, because the syntax of
the TL requires it or because a sentence in the SL text is ambiguous.
The translator would normally fill in gaps for trivalent verbs only if the SL
text required clarification.
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The main use of case grammar in translation: nouns, adjectives,
infinitives and gerunds are more likely to require filling out than verbs in
their tense forms.
There are a large number of adjectives formed from verbs that imply
case-partners. Translators frequently prefer to supply the missing
partner.
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CHAPTER 13
They are usually translated either by a word that already exists in the TL
or by a brief functional or descriptive term.
Nowadays, the main new coinages are brand or trade names. These are
usually transferred unless the product is marketed in the TL culture under
another name; or the proper name may be replaced by a functional or
generic term, if the trade name has no cultural or identifying significance.
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They are generally trough-translated. However, this does not mean that
the translator can apply the process automatically. First, he has to assure
himself that the neologism is not in competition with another. He has to
consult the appropriate ISO glossary in order to find out whether there is
already a recognised translation; secondly, whether the referent exists in
the target-language culture; and thirdly how important it is, and therefore
whether it is worth “transplanting” it at all. He should put it into inverted
commas.
In all derived words you have to distinguish between terms which have a
slid referential basis and fulfil the conditions of internationalisms, and
those which do not at present warrant the formation of a TL neologism.
The computer terms are given their recognised translation –if they do not
exist, you have to transfer them (if they appear important), and then add
a functional –descriptive term- you have not the authority to devise your
own neologism.
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When derived from people´s names (e.g. Keynesian), tend to rise and
fold depending on the popularity or vogue of their referent and easy of
composition. When they refer directly to the person, they are translated
without difficulty.
When derived from objects, eponyms are usually brand names, and can
be transferred only when they are equally well known and accepted in
the target language (e.g. nylon). Brand name eponyms usually have to
be translated by denotative terms (e.g. Bic ballpoint).
They are generally transferred together with a generic term and the level
of detail that the readership requires.
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The translator has to beware of pseudo-neologisms where a generic
word stands in for a specific word.
In non-literary texts, you should not normally create neologisms. You can
create one only: (a) if you have authority and (b) if you compose it out of
readily understood Graeco-Latin morphemes.
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CHAPTER 14
Technical Translation
● Technical translation is one part of specialised translation; institutional
translation is the other. Technical translation is potentially non-cultural,
therefore “universal”, the benefits of technology are not confined to one
speech community. The terms should be translated; institutional
translation is cultural. Technical translation is distinguished from other
forms of translation by terminology.
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● Professional technical translators have a tendency to reject any
descriptive term where a TL technical term exists; a technical term
(standardized language) is always more precise narrower in semantic
range) than a descriptive term (non-standardized language). Whilst the
technical term may be a translator’s find and will help to acclimate the
professional reader, it is mistaken to invariably prefer it, bearing in mind
that the descriptive term in the SL text may serve other communicative
purposes. Where an SL technical term has no known TL equivalent, a
descriptive term should be used.
● Both text and translation are thing-bound. The SL text is also the basis of
the translation; much of the translation departs from it: (a) owing to its
different natural usage; (b) if it has to be referentially more explicit than
the original. When you approach a technical text you read it first to
understand it, and then to assess its nature, its degree of formality, its
intention, the possible cultural and professional differences between your
readership and the original one. Next, you should give your translation
the framework of a recognized house-style.
● Normally, as a translator, you are entitled to change the title of your text.
Al titles are either descriptive or allusive.
● Read the article through, and underline all words and structures that
appear to contain problems. These may include: (1) Unfamiliar
apparently transparent words in Latin or Greek morphemes; (2)
Figurative symbols. These have to be checked for TL equivalence; (3)
Verbs that do not require a recasting of TL sentence; (4) “Pun Words”.
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● A technical translation is so varied in topic and often diverse in register,
and so badly written, that it is not easy to make helpful generalizations
about it. This is the field, on the frontier of knowledge, where you have to
be most up to date.
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CHAPTER 15
Poetry is the most personal of the forms: no phatic language, the word
has greater importance than in any other type of text. The lexical units
and the lines have to be preserved within a context of corresponding
punctuation and accurate translation of metaphor.
However good as a translation, its meaning will differ in many ways from
the original. A successfully translated poem is always another poem.
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The translator has to decide whether the expressive or the aesthetic
function of language in a poem is more important. Some fusion between
the expression and the aesthetic function of language is required.
In any modern version, the language must be kept modern and formal.
The short story is the second most difficult of the literary forms. The
translator’s version is likely to be longer than the original though, always,
the shorter the better.
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CHAPTER 16
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If the ‘unfindable’ word is found as a little-known proper name, it is
normally transferred with the addition of generic information.
If the word is verified as a neologism, the translator has the choice of:
transference, new coinage, literal translation, cultural equivalent.
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CHAPTER 17
Translation Criticism
The translator has to assess the quality of the language to determine the
translator’s degree of license.
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You distinguish between incompetence and a translation method which
may be too idiomatic or too academic for your tastes but which appears
consistent.
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CHAPTER 18
Shorter Items
Translators translate words, and they have to account for each of them
somewhere in the TL text, sometimes by deliberately not translating
them, or by compensating for them, because if words are translated cold,
then they are usually over-translated. This does not mean that translators
translate isolated words. They translate words that are more or less
linguistically, referentially, culturally and subjectively influenced in their
meaning, words conditioned by a certain linguistic, referential, cultural
and personal context.
The referential context relates to the topic of the text. Often only the topic
will determine the meaning of the word.
Then, there is the cultural context, which deals with words related to
ways of thinking and behaving within a particular language community. It
is important to point out that words may be cultural or universal denoting
a specific material cultural object.
Lastly, there is the individual context; that is to say, the idiolect of the
writer, the fact that we all use words and collocations in a way peculiar to
ourselves.
A translation into dialect runs the risk of being antiquated, therefore, the
translator should not reproduce it, but normalize it to the target language.
Computers are useful for translation, in particular for LSPs (languages for
special or specific purposes). However, its output needs some kind of
editing. Clearly, the more restricted the language and the greater the
proportion of standard or technical terms, the more likelihood there is of
MT being acceptable.
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The main disadvantage of “machine translation” is that it promotes jargon
and unthinkable language provoked by a quickly responsive machine,
rather than by the mind.
44
Normally, translators should not recreate acronyms.
Translators may have to be considering carefully the reasons for the use
of a familiar alternative term before they translate it. It may be used in
order to avoid repetition, for phatic reasons or to show off that the SL
writer belongs to specific groups. It is essential for the translator to
distinguish between politically loaded and familiar alternative references.
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Where the translator is certain that the SL writer has made a referential
slip, a linguistic slip (whether grammatical or lexical), he normally
corrects the slip
8. Jargon
In all cases, the translator will adopt the author’s register, and he can and
must justify modifications to the text only on the basis of its inadequacy.
People’s names:
Names of Objects:
Geographical terms:
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features. A translator is never supposed to invent new
geographical terms.
One makes a pun by using a word, or two words with the same sound or a
group of word with the same sound in their two possible, usually for the
purpose of arousing laughter or amusement, and sometimes also to
concentrate meaning.
2. Lexical ambiguity: words may have more than one sense, and the
senses may be close to or remote from each other. Sometimes a word
has two senses which are both equally effective (pragmatically and
referentially) in the relevant stretch of language. A translator may
translate the word with both senses in mind.
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CHAPTER 19
If students have three hours for a text, then they should develop a
technique which allows him or her to do the do a translational
analysis of the SL text in 15 minutes, do the whole translation in 2
hours and 10 minutes and leave 35 minutes for revision.
Try to make sense in everything you translate, unless you know the
text is purposely irrational.
Compare your version closely with the original, to check that you
have not missed anything.
Take into account that the more context-free word, the more it is
likely to be used in its primary meaning.
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Write well and naturally, unless the SL text is ‘sacred’.
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CHAPTER 20
By Way of Conclusion
Why is translation an activity so difficult to perform?
3AM
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