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COURSE NOTES 2nd

. YEAR

TRANSLATION

THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL ASPECTS

Dr. lector Maria ALEXE


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Introduction

1.1 General frame

In a globalised world characterized by unprecedented development of technology and consequently of

the means of communication, social and economical contacts and exchanges information has become

the key word of the third millennium world. At the same time in global society mankind is confronted

with solving together many problems and establishes an interactive relation with various countries,

some being recently created states. One of the consequences of this new development is the flourishing

of a lot schools, bureaus and agencies of translations and interpreting all over the world as well as the

development of a new academic subject translation studies.

As an exercise of imagination it is useful to compare the figures quoted by Eugene Nida, one of thefounders of modern disciplines of translation studies, in a lecture on The Changing Scene in World

Languages April 23, 1996. At that time the European Community used more than 3000 professionaltranslators, dealing with more than one million pages of documents. Later many other countries joined

the community translators number and work increased. Recently EU started EU Language Industryweb Platform, which aims to disseminate figures and facts about language products and services. It

welcomes contributions from any language industry professional translators, language teachers, people working for companies or public-sector bodies that provide language services, association

members. The main purposes of the platform are designed according to its initiators will to offer a practical instrument to anybody who works in the language domain. To meet the industry's needs

identified by our study, the interactive knowledge base will:

collect more comparable data from EU countries inform language professionals about research on and by the language industry which is set to

grow by 10% a year over the coming years.

1.2. A short history

Translation Studies is a relatively young discipline but translators have existed since the Ancient Times.

Translators had a special position along centuries. In ancient Rome they were generally Greek slaves,used as teachers as well. A long the Middle Age many translators were monks, people with a good

knowledge of Greek and Latin. In the Byzantine Empire, the official Turks used the conquered Greekas translators, because the Turks were forbidden to learn foreign languages by their religion. Due to this

talent the Greeks managed to hold a major position in the Ottoman Empire for many centuries.

At the end f the Middle Age the emerging bourgeoisie need to replace the sacred languages by national

ones. The first translations required were those of religious texts especially The Holly Bible. Thosetranslations were a very difficult task and are considered to be the beginning of the national literature.

One of the most famous translations is that done by Martin Luther (1530) who translated the Biblefrom Latin into German. In Romania the translation of the Bible ended in 1699 and is a collaborative


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work. Because it was supervised and coordinated by Serban Cantacuzino it is known as Biblia lui

Serban Cantacuzinoi.The Romanians used a quite modern procedure as they translated using andcomparing Slavic and Greek sources.

The age of great geographical discoveries underlined the role of translators not only as a political andcultural factor but also as a promoter of economical exchanges.

Today most of the translations are technical texts. That re-launch the debate Is translation an art or ascience. A book published in 1988 The science of linguistics in the art of translation seems to

contribute to maintain the dispute.

1.3 What is Translation?

As many old things which changed their profile along centuries translation has many definitions more

or less scientific. The complexity of translation operation and the various aspects involved have made it

difficult to create a unitary theory and clear description.Here are some of them

1. Translation is the expression in another language (TARGET LANGUAGE) of what has beenexpressed in another (SOURCE LANGUAGE) preserving semantic and stylistic equivalence.

2. Translation is a process of processing information as well as one of interlingual andtranscultural changes between two partners.

3. The process of finding equivalents for something in one language (Source language LS inanother language (target language LT)

4. Translation means to reproduce in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent in thesource language message, first in terms of meaning secondly in terms of style.

5. The traditional Italian formula Traduttore tradittore which defines in an aphoristic way theprocess of translation, underlines the idea that a perfect equivalence is not possible.

Roman Jakobsonii

commented on this statement voicing some of the most frequent concerns of a

translator in an attempt of designing his portrait:If we were to translate into English the traditional formula Traduttore tradittore as the translator is a betrayer we would deprive the Italian rhyming

epigram of all its value. Hence a cognitive attitude would compel us to change this aphorism into amore explicit statement and to answer the questions: translator of what message? Betrayer of what

value? (Roman Jakobson)

As for the academic discipline dealing with translation some name it Translation Theory when others

are in favor ofTranslation Studies. Personally I agree with the last one because is more complex andsuggest theory and practical aspects as well.

The term Translation Studies was coined by James Holmes, a scholar in a paper presented in 1972 atthe 3

rdInternational Conference of applied Linguistics in Copenhagen.

The Key word in defining translation is - EQUIVALENCE

Generally speaking, a good translation means changing the grammar, lexical and phonological features


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of a text from SL to TL, taking into consideration the register of the translated text and the cultural

aspects.

1.4 Different types of translations

Translations are classified according to

A. The content of SLy Literary translations - translation is done for a literary text poetry, drama or prose)y Legal translation - an equivalence of legal terminology and transfer from one legal system to

another is required

y Film translation adapting the text to suit in a certain number of charactersB. The translator attitude

If the translation takes into consideration the equivalence of each word linguistic equivalence ad litteram translation

C. The way in which translation is doney Written translationy Face to face translation A persons speech, who uses LS is translated by another person

in LT, one fragment after another

y Simultaneous Translation - a persons speech, who uses SL, is translated simultaneousby another person in LT, using modern technology.

Some type of translations may influence communication convincing, manipulating

2. TECHNICAL TRANSLATIONS

In technical translation the semantic equivalence is important.

A technical translation has to be accurate. but the style is not as important as in other type oftranslations.

Its role to describe a product

to define a process/activity/ express a rule inform

Why does a specialist mainly a future computer specialist have to learn translations? The answers given

by a large number of IT students are synthesized below and can be read as a good motivation for thiscourse and for a better language knowledge.


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y To get a formal qualificationy To be able to get more informationy To communicate with a larger number of specialistsy To get involved in international programs.

The difference between understanding and translating a text is part of academic education.

Translations are done by translators. To be a good translator one needs:

y Good knowledge of both languages in order to express clearly the ideas of the text.y Cultural knowledge which helps them to find equivalences/ explain the parts that cannot be

translated

y A large professional profile and technical culturey Be aware of the contexty Good dictionaries bilingual and monolingual

Is a translator a writer? Oh, definitely YES. If we accept to consider translation as the attempt to

move the soul of a text into a different body (more difficult than a brain transplant!) we can see howmuch of a writer a translator really is. No one without the writer's touch will be able to handle this

delicate and subtle operation, and the subsequent creation owes its life to the translator as well as theoriginal author.

Like a writer, a translator has to take account of the knowledge of the addressee and of theexpectation they are likely to have about structure of discourse, conventions of particular text type,

the structure of social relationship, certain linguistic and non-linguistic behaviour. Stronger in literarytranslations such aspects have to be taken into consideration in technical translations as well.

2.1 The fidelity of translation

The problem lies in the degree of elaboration, word for wordormeaning for meaning, in other words

in the fidelity either to the spirit or to the letter. As it was often mentioned in related literature a word

for wordtranslation may sound awkward or artificial. Nevertheless in technical translation the

translator has less possibility to translate the meaning or to interpret the text. Even in technical

translation the translator has to add, occasionally some additional cultural information (explaining the

difference between SL and TL)

Translating text about computers or other digital devices the translator has to deal with the fact that

some terms are internationally used therefore they do not need a translation,.

TASK 1 Translate the following text:

The appearance of management science software is one of the most important events in decision making

process. OR/MS software systems are used to construct examples, to understand the existing concepts, and to

discover useful managerial concepts. On the other hand, new developments in decision making process often


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motivate developments of new solution algorithms and revision of the existing software systems. OR/MS

software systems rely on a cooperation of OR/MS practitioners, designers of algorithms, and software

developers.

Then comment on the following statement:

When the linguistic and cultural distances between source and receptor codes are least, one

should expect to encounter the least number of serious problems, but as a matter of fact if

languages are too closely related one is likely to be badly deceived by superficial similarities,

with the result translation done under these circumstances are often quite poor.

Here are some examples of so called FALSE FRIENDS

actually, magazine, provide,


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3. GLOBALIZATION, TECHNOLOGY, TECHNICAL CULTURE

3.1 Globalization

Key words global village, McDonaldization, transnational

When Marchall McLuthan coined the term The global village it was in a spirit of hope and

expectation, in the belief that technology could and would change even the great globe itself. Villagewas chosen because it suggested community a term that was going to bring us together. It was thebeginning of a new era characterized not by the Beatles message on the Christmas satellite 1968 Its

easy. All you need is love but by sharing technology and information.

Globalization means transnational worldwide companies clear communication.

The term McDonaldization turns the fast-food chain into the symbol of global society, routine andsystematic use of global patterns. Sometimes is associated with Coca- Cola.

Lately things have changed, McDonald tries to adapt to each country- variety instead ofstandardization. Respect for each country culture instead of a global language.

Revitalize forgotten languages Irish Gaelic, Scottish, Welsh Rhaeto- Romance , Sardinian Breton(listed byWord program) attitude which relaunched the concept of translation.

Sociologists warn against the dangers of McDonaldization society, but there are some benefits too. Can

you list some of them?Here are some suggestions:1. Same word for same item poster, digital, burger, hacker2. better communication due to the use of certain patterns3. diminished the cultural shock4. OTHERS?William (English sociologist) Only dead cultures have scales that are reliable? A possible explanation

of this statement may be the fact that in living culture things are changing from today to tomorrow anda scale is difficult to be set.

3.2 Technology as culture

Key words: technical, popular culture, national identity

In contemporary society technology shapes culture. The role of digital technology in developing postmodern culture is obvious. In postmodernism culture has become more accessible popular

culture.

At the beginning of the XX century the technological society and the traditional one coexisted in

uneasy tension , the technological was stronger but the traditional was still functional. Technologyeliminates alternatives and increases productivity.

TECHNOLOGY IS A STATE OF CULTURE culture finds in authorization in technology.

Do you agree? Give arguments for your statement

There is a language spoken by people of technological world a language using international words.

Geekish The dictionary of Young Entrepreneurial Technocrats


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Due to technology a new way of writing has been developed writing messages or massager or

facebook way of writing.

No matter which the translation technique is the text has to be considered the primary object of

translation studies. The text type perspective and the particular genre of the text should be transferredfrom SL to TL.

Translation deals with the following main genres, classified on the basis of systematic non-linguistcriteria

y Literary poems, short stories, novels film scriptsy Business business letters, advertisements, brochures, annual reports, meetingsy Legal contracts, wills, statutesy Technical product description, instructions, technical reports, instructions

TASK 2 Translate the following text:

Safety instruc

tions1. Do not operate this appliance if it is damaged or shows signs of damage or it is not functioning

correctly. Pull the mains plug from the socket immediately.

2. Do not place the appliance in a position that is accessible by children.3. Do not use the appliance:

a. Close to heat sources, e.g. a heater or a heating device, tumble dryer, etc.b. In places that can be sprayed with oil or waterc. In places where it is exposed to direct sunlightd. Close to bathtubs, showers or swimming poolse. Close to easily inflammable gases or materialsf. OutdoorsCan you guess to what kind of device they refer to?

TASK 3

Translate the following business texts

1. Following the 2000-01 stock market crash, the US economy staged a miraculous recovery. Thatmiracle is now ending. The US has become a push-me, pull-you economy: companies may be

higher energy prices, tighter monetary policy, an end to tax cuts and, more recently, a housing

market that appears to be in free-fall threatens to poison the upswing. Economic growth in the

early years of this decade appears to have been built on the most fragile of foundations.

2. The rise in commodity prices in recent years is directly related to the strength of activity in thefast-growing emerging giants. China is at the forefront of this change, but is not the only

country involved: many other emerging economies have performed well in recent years. Unlike

the 1990s, their strength appears to be based on solid fundamentals. The majority of emerging

economies now run current account surpluses. Theres greater currency flexibility than in the

1990s.


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4. TRANSLATION STEPSKey words: image, equivalence, meaning

A translation have to consider:

D linguistic equivalence a word from the source language (LS) is equal in meaning with theword of the target language LT

D cultural correspondents a word or a sentence is translated according to the cultural context ofeach language.

D Phonological aspects in certain patterns the expressive value of the word or sentence is due tosome phonological aspects and this aspect has to be taken into consideration.

Technical translation, generally deal with linguistic translation

Film translation has to follow the image and to fit in a certain number of characters. This meansthat the translator has to adapt the text keeping in mind the transfer of the general meaning. Sometimes

the phonological aspect of the message has to be transferred as well.

Newspaper titles

Students learning a foreign language as well as any non native speaker may be shocked by someEnglish newspapers title. In order to attack their readers they use a strange topic

Here are some examples

ARE MOBILE PHONES BAD FOR THE BRAIN?

UK study shows brain cancer risk not increased

CARCLUB PULLS OUTALLSTOPS FORCHARITY

NEW SEASON NEW STYLE


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TASK 4 Read the following text and then translate it

The Computer History Museum is the world's leading institution exploring the history of computing

and its ongoing impact on society. It is home to the largest international collection of computingartifacts in the world, encompassing computer hardware, software, documentation, ephemera,

photographs and moving images. The Museum brings computer history to life through an acclaimedspeaker series, dynamic website, on-site tours, as well as physical and online exhibitions.

One of the permanent exhibition is called The First 2000 Years of Computing is a rich, multimediaexhibition that traces the history of modern computing, everything from the abacus to the smart phone.

Revolution is fun, informative and thought-provoking. It has something for everyone, from technicalexperts and geeks to curious non-techies who wonder how sophisticated computing technology ended

up in, among other places, their microwave ovens. The exhibition spins the stories of computing historyin an orientation theater, 19 galleries and five mini-theaters showing high-definition videos produced

by the Museum. Each gallery is a themed mini-exhibition that covers a particular aspect of theevolution of computing.

1. F

ind out how many words are international ones they do not need a translation.2. Use the word GALLERY with other meaning . Select from the following translations-sala de

expozitie, galerie comercial, balcon, coridor, galerie miniera

5. THINGS TO REMEMBERy In English politeness is expressed by modal verbsy Less articles are used than in Romaniany Impersonal aspects are expressed by Passive Voicey Sometimes Romanian Future Tense is translated by Presenty There is no continuous aspect of verbs in Romanian therefore translators have to find

equivalences

y Idiomatic expression as drop your other shoes or from the bottom of my heart are nottranslated word by word.


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NOTES

iSince then other three main translations were accomplished, but this one is still considered as a masterpiece.

iiR. Jakobson is a pioneer of the structural analysis of language, which became the dominant trend of twentieth-

century linguistics, Jakobson was among the most influential linguists of the century initiating the communicationtheory and used elements from cybernetics in his analysis.

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