4/13/2018 Theories of Translation

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Theories of Translation

Monday, April 12, 2010 Overview

Orientation: Domestication or Foreignization?
This blog is aimed to give some
Cultural problem commonly arising in translation is related to knowledge about translation
studies, to give some additional
the cultural differences between the two languages involved. The references to everyone, and to
give some insights in the field of
strategy used by a translator to face this cultural problem may be translation. I realize that this blog
is still far from being perfect, but I
determined by his/her ideology. Newmark in Nugroho et al (2009: 8) really hope that this can be a
contribution for those who are
states that the choice between communicative and semantic is partly interested in the study of
translation.
determined by orientation towards the social or the individual, that is,

towards mass readership or towards the individual voice of the next

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producer. The choice is implicitly presented as ideological.
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A translator is facing two choices: whether he/she is oriented to Facebook Badge

the target readers, or keeping the text with all aspects inside it. There are Shafa Firda N | Create Your Badge

two contradicting tendencies called domestication and foreignization.

a. Domestication

Domestication is chosen due to a belief that the target text Facebook

should be equal with the culture of the target readers (Hoed in Nugroho http://www.facebook.com

et al, 2009: 9). A translator tends to be oriented to the target text

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readers. Therefore, the methods used are communicative, idiomatic,
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free, or adapted translation.
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Table 12: Advantages and Disadvantages of Domestication http://www.deplu.go.id

Advantages Disadvantages Followers

Followers (6)

The target text readers can easily The aspects in the Source
understand the target text. Language are often faded.
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The target text sounds natural The target text readers cannot Blog Archive
and communicative. interpret the text because the
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4/13/2018 Theories of Translation

interpretation has been done by Orientation: Domestication or

Foreignization?
the translator.
Simplification in Translation

Cultural assimilation may The target text readers do not get Translation Reliability
happen. knowledge of the source Translation Process
language. Translation Shifts

Kinds of Translation

Notions of Translation

Notions of Language
b. Foreignization

Foreignization in translation can be used to keep the culture of

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the source language by involving cultural aspects in the Source
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Language to the Target Language. It is hoped that intercultural learning View my complete profile

can be done through the translation. Translators who use this ideology

tend to be oriented to the Target Language. They will use word-for-

word, literal, faithful, or semantic translation method.

Table 13: Advantages and Disadvantages of Foreignization

Advantages Disadvantages

The target text readers can The target text readers may feel
understand the culture of the unfamiliar with some terms of
Source Language. the Source Language.

The target text gives the taste of The target text sometimes sounds
the Source Language culture to complex and unnatural.
the target text readers.

Intercultural learning may Some negative aspects in the

happen. Source Language may easily
influence the target text readers.

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Simplification in Translation

Many experts define translated texts into three kinds based on

contrastive analysis between translations and its source language. One

of them is simplification. According to Toury (1995: 181),

simplification is tentatively defined as the tendency to simplify the

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language used in translation. The phenomena in simplification are

shortened sentences, simpler structure, and less ambiguous expression.

According to Simensen in Crossley et al (2007: 16), simplified texts are

texts written (a) to illustrate a specific language feature, such as the use
of modals or the third-person singular verb form; (b) to modify the

amount of new lexical input introduced to learners; or (c) to control for

propositional input, or a combination thereof. In addition, simplified

texts are often seen as valuable aids to learning because they accurately

reflect what the reader already knows about language and have the
capacity to extend this knowledge (Davies and Widdowson in Crossley

et al, 2007: 16). Simplified texts also contain increased redundancy and

amplified explanation (Kuo in Crossley et al, 2007: 16). The validity of

simplification was confirmed by comparison made between Source Text

and Target Text. Simplification brings many consequences. It can make

the target reader understand the text more easily or it also can make the
target reader dissatisfied.

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Labels: simplification in translation, theory

Translation Reliability

For different people, translation can be a different thing. According to Robinson (2001:

07), there are eight kinds of translation reliability viewed from the reader's point of view.

Literalism

In literalism, the translation follows the original word for word, as close to that

ideal as possible. The syntactic structure of the source text is painfully evident in

this kind of translation reliability.

Foreignism

The translation can have a lot of similarity with the original one, but one who

had read it fluently, can conclude that it is a translation, not an original work since

he has a slightly alien feeling when reading it.

Fluency

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Fluency translation is so accessible and readable for the target language reader

as to seem like an original in the target language. It never reflects that in fact, it is a

translation.

Summary

The translation covers the main points of the original.

Commentary

The translation unfolds the hidden complexities of the original, exploring at

length implication that remains unstated or half-stated in the original.

Summary – Commentary

The translation summarizes some passage briefly while commenting closely on

others. The passages in the original that mostly concern the user are unpacked; the

less important passages are summarized.

Adaptation

The translation recasts the original to have the desired impact on an audience

that is substantially different from that of the original. According to Bastin (in

Robinson, 2001) adaptation may be understood as a set of translative operations

which result in a text that is not accepted as a translation but is nevertheless

recognized as representing a source text of about the same length.

Modes

Mode is the way in which adaptations are carried out on the work of the

adapter. The procedures used by the adapter can be classified as follows:

· Transcription of the original: it is word-for-word reproduction of part of

the text in the original language

· Omission: the elimination or reduction of part of the text.

· Expansion: explicitation of some information that is implicit in the

original, either in the main body or footnotes or a glossary.

· Exoticism: the substitution of stretches of slang, dialect, nonsense words,

etc. in the original text by rough equivalents in the target language.

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· Updating: refer to replacement of outdated or obscure information by

modern equivalents

· Situational Equivalent: refers to the insertion of a more familiar context

than the one used in the original

· Creation: refers to a more global replacement of the original text with a

text that preserves only the essential message/ideas/ functions of the

original.

Motivations

Motivations are the most common factors which cause translators to resort to

adaptation. Some of the motivations are:

· Cross-code breakdown: it occurs where there are simply no lexical

equivalents in the target language

· Situational inadequacy: it occurs where the context referred to in the

original text does not exist in the target culture.

· Genre switching: it refers to a change from one discourse type of

another. For example is an adult text to children text. It is often entails a

global re-creation of the original text.

· Disruption of the communication process: it refers to the emergence of a

new epoch or approach or the need to address a different type of

readership often requires modifications in style, content or presentation.

Restriction

As a case of translation, adaptation is carried out under certain restriction. The

most obvious of restriction are:

· The knowledge and expectation of the target reader: that is, the adapter

has to evaluate the extent to which the content of the original text

constitutes new or shared information for the potential audience.

· The target language: the adapter must find an appropriate match in the

target language for the discourse style of the original text and look for

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coherence of adapting modes.

· The meaning and the purposes of the original and target text.

Adaptation may be applied to isolate parts of the text in order to deal with

specific differences between the language or culture of the source text and that of the

target text.

Encryption

The translation recasts the original so as to hide its meaning or massages from

the group while still making it accessible to another group.

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Labels: theory, translation reliability

Friday, April 9, 2010

Translation Process

Larson (1984: 4) states that translation can be seen as a process.

The source language consists of cultural context and situational context.

They can be divided into expressed text, lexicon, and grammar

structure. These elements consist of meaning. In translation process,

meaning is analyzed and discovered. After being discovered, the

meaning is transferred into another language or the receptor language.

Then, the meaning is re-expressed by the translator based on the

receptor language. The source language is expressed in re-expressed

text, lexicon, and grammar structure according to the receptor

language.

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Labels: theory, translation process

Translation Shifts

Shift represents some changes occurring in a translation process. Translation

shifts occur both at the lower level of language, i.e. the lexicogrammar, and at the higher

thematic level of text. Catford (1978: 73) states that by shift we mean the departure from

formal correspondence in the process of going from the source language to the target

language. Further, he states that basically, in shift of translation, or transposition he says,

it is only the form that is changed. In addition, he urges the translation shift is done to

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get the natural equivalent of the source text message into the target text (1978: 76).

Translation shifts also occur when there is no formal correspondence to the syntactic

item to be translated (Machali, 1998: 3). According to Bell (1991: 33), to shift from one

language to another is, by definition, to alter the forms.

Catford (1978) divides the shift in translation into two major types, level/rank

shift and category shift. Level/rank shift refers to a source language item at one linguistic

level that has a target language translation equivalent at a different level. In other words,

it is simply a shift from grammar to lexis.

Category shift refers to departures from formal correspondence in translation.

What is meant by formal correspondence is any grammatical category in the target

language which can be said to occupy the same position in the system of the target

language as the given source language category in the source language system (Machali,

1998: 13). The category shift is divided again into structure shifts, class shifts, unit shift,

and intra-system shifts. Structure shift is the changing of words sequence in a sentence.

Class shift occurs when the translation equivalent of a source language item is a member

of a different class from the original item. Unit shift is the changes of rank; that is,

departures from formal correspondence in which the translation equivalent of a unit at

one rank in the source language is a unit at a different rank in the target language. Intra-

system shift refers to the shifts that occurs internally, within the system; that is for those

cases where the source and the target language possess systems which approximately

correspond formally as to their constitution, but when translation involves selection of a

non-corresponding term in the target language system.

Machali (1998: 152) also proposes the kinds of translation shift. She divides the

shift in translation into two kinds: obligatory shift and optional shift. An obligatory shift

refers to the kinds of shift that occurs when no formal correspondence occurs in the

translation. It is the shift that its occurrence is dictated by the grammar. The other kind of

shift is the optional shift. It refers to a case of shift that is caused by the translator's

discretion It is called optional shift since the translator could have chosen the more

equivalent clauses with the readers’ orientation in the target language text.

In addition, Machali (1998: 160) states that there are two basic sources of

translation shifts: source language text-centered shift and target language text-centered

shift. The source language text-centered shifts are of three kinds, namely, grammatical

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shift, which mainly concerns particle markedness, foregrounding, and tenses; shifts

related to cohesion, which mainly concern ellipsis; and textual shifts, which mainly

concern genetic ambivalence, and embodiment of interpersonal meaning. The target

language text-centered shift causes the main problem concerned with achieving

effectiveness, pragmatic appropriateness (including the cultural one), and information

(referential) explicitness.

Nida and Taber (1969: 171) say that some of the most common shifts in

meaning found in the transfer process are modifications which involve specific and

generic meaning. Such shifts may go in either direction from generic to specific or

specific to generic. A shift may result from a difference of the system in both languages.

The difference can be in the form of vocabulary or structure, the shift caused by the

vocabulary results in a shift in meaning. It can be concluded that there are two kinds of

shifts in meaning. The first is the meaning shift from general to specific meaning. The

second is the meaning shift from specific to general meaning. These kinds of shifts often

cause incorrect translation. The shift of structure, however, usually does not change the

meaning or the message of the original text.

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Labels: theory, translation shifts

Kinds of Translation

According to Larson (1984: 15) translation is classified into two main types,

namely form-based translation and meaning-based translation. Forms-based translation

attempts to follow the form of the source language (SL) and it is known as literal

translation, while meaning-based translation makes every effort to communicate the

meaning of the SL text in the natural forms of the receptor language. Such translation is

called idiomatic translation. A literal translation sounds like nonsense and has little

communication value (Larson, 1984: 15). The literal translation can be understood if the

general grammatical form of the two languages is similar. Larson (1984: 16) says that

idiomatic translations use the natural forms of the receptor language both in the

grammatical constructions and in the choices of lexical items. A truly idiomatic

translation does not sound like translation. It sounds like it was written originally in the

receptor language. Therefore, a good translator will try to translate idiomatically. This is

his/her goal.

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Catford (1978: 21) divides the three aspects of translation differently, those are:

extent, level, and ranks.

Based on the extent, the types of translation are:

1) Full translation, it is a type of translation in which the entire SL text

is reproduced by the TL text materials.

2) Partial translation, there are only some parts of the SL text to be

translated into the TL text.

In terms of level, the types of translation are:

1) Total translation, the TL material replaces all levels of the SL text.

2) Restricted translation, it is the replacement of SL textual material

with equivalent TL material at only one level; whether at the

phonological level, graphological level, or at the level of grammar and

lexis.

In terms of rank, translation is divided into:

1) Rank-bound translation, it means that the selection of TL text

equivalent is limited at only one rank, such as word-for-word

equivalence, morpheme-for-morpheme equivalence, etc.

2) Unbounded translation, it can move freely up and down the rank-

scale.

Based on the purposes of translation, Brislin in Choliludin (2007: 26-30)

categorizes translation into four types, namely:

1) Pragmatic translation: it refers to the translation of a message with an

interest in accuracy of the information that was meant to be conveyed

in the SL form and it is not conveyed with other aspects of the original

language version. Example: the translation of the information about

repairing a machine.

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2) Aesthetic-poetic translation: it refers to translation in which the

translator takes into account the affect, emotion, and feeling of an

original version, the aesthetic form used by the original author, as well

as any information in the message. Example: the translation of sonnet,

rhyme, heroic couplet, dramatic dialogue, and novel.

3) Ethnographic translation: its purpose is to explicate the cultural

context of the SL and TL versions. Translators have to be sensitive to

the way words are used and must know how the word fits into

cultures. Example: the use of the word ‘yes’ versus ‘yeah’ in America.

4) Linguistic translation: is concerned with equivalent meanings of the

constituent morphemes of the SL and grammatical form. Example:

language in a computer program and translation machine.

In his famous essay, On Linguistic Aspect of Translation, Jacobson in Leonardi

(2000) identifies three kinds of translation: intralingual translation (monolingual

translation), interlingual translation (bilingual or multilingual translation), and

intersemiotic translation (verbal sign into non-verbal sign). Intralingual translation refers

to a translation in which verbal signs are interpreted by means of other signs of the same

language. It happens within the same language (monolingual). Interlingual translation is

the one which refers to different languages whether it is bilingual or multilingual.

Intersemiotic translation refers to an interpretation of verbal signs by means of other

signs of non-verbal sign systems.

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Labels: kinds of translation, theory

Notions of Translation

Catford in Choliludin (2007: 4) states that translation may be defined as

follows: the replacement of textual material in one language (Source Language) by

equivalent textual material in another language (Target Language). Nida and Taber in

Choliludin (2007: 3) say that translating consists of reproducing the closest natural

equivalence of the source language message in the receptor language, firstly in terms of

meaning and secondly in terms of style.

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Massoud in Abdellah (2002: 2) gives criteria for a good translation: 1) A good

translation is easily understood. 2) A good translation is fluent and smooth. 3) A good

translation is idiomatic. 4) A good translation conveys, to some extent, the literary

subtleties of the original. 5) A good translation distinguishes between the metaphorical

and the literal. 6) A good translation reconstructs the cultural or historical context of the

original. 7) A good translation makes explicit what is implicit in abbreviations and in

allusions to sayings, songs, and nursery rhymes. 8) A good translation will convey, as

much as possible, the meaning of the original text.

El Shafey in Abdellah (2002: 2) proposes criteria for a good translation based

on three main principles: 1) The knowledge of the grammar of the source language plus

the knowledge of the vocabulary, as well as good understanding of the text to be

translated. 2) The ability of the translator to reconstitute the given text (SL text) into the

TL. 3) The translation should capture the style or atmosphere of the original text; it

should have all the ease of an original composition.

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Labels: notions of translation, theory

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