Translation Fundamentals

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Questions and Answers

What is likely to happen when a translator translates literally from their own language?

Their speech in the receptor language will be perfect

Their speech in the receptor language will sound unnatural (correct)

Their speech in the receptor language will be fluent

Their speech in the receptor language will sound natural

What is the main problem with the brochure extract?

It is too long

It is too short

It uses unnatural English (correct)

It uses complex vocabulary

What is the role of a translator in effective translation?

To use complex vocabulary to impress readers

To translate word-for-word from the source language

To discover the meaning of the source language and use natural forms of the receptor language (correct)

To shorten the original text

What does a good translation aim to do?

Communicate the same meaning to the receptor language speakers as understood by the source language speakers Signup and view all the answers

What is a key aspect of a good translation?

Using the normal language forms of the receptor language Signup and view all the answers

What is the goal of a good translation in terms of evoking a response?

To evoke the same response as the source text attempts to evoke Signup and view all the answers

What is the literal translation of the Ewe sentence 'Meni ku-m Alɔ le tsɔ nye-m' into English?

Sleep is taking me Signup and view all the answers

What is the main difference between the Akan and Ewe translations of the sentence 'I am sleepy'?

The grammatical forms used Signup and view all the answers

What is the main challenge in translating everyday conversations?

Dealing with differences in lexical and grammatical forms Signup and view all the answers

What is the literal translation of the Akan sentence 'Yԑfrԑ wo sԑn' into English?

They call you what? Signup and view all the answers

Why do translations often sound strange and foreign to speakers of the target language?

Because the translator is influenced by the source language Signup and view all the answers

What is the difference between the English and Ewe sentences expressing the meaning 'a person, who is the speaker, possesses money'?

The grammatical structure used Signup and view all the answers

What happens when translators move into unfamiliar material or higher levels of syntactic structure?

They become more influenced by the source language Signup and view all the answers

What is translation according to Bell (1991)?

The expression in one language of what has been expressed in another language Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary goal of translation?

To preserve the semantic and stylistic equivalences of the source language Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the language from which translation is made?

Source Language Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the language into which translation is made?

Receptor Language Signup and view all the answers

What is the surface structure of a language?

The part of the language that is actually seen or heard Signup and view all the answers

What is involved in the translation process?

All of the above Signup and view all the answers

What is the Akan sentence

Alɔ le tsɔ nye-m Signup and view all the answers

What is the meaning of the Akan sentence

My eye is killing me Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Definition of Translation

Translation is the expression of the same meaning in a different language, preserving semantic and stylistic equivalences.
It involves transferring meaning from the source language into the target language, while the form normally changes.

Translation Process

The process involves studying the lexicon, grammatical structure, communication situation, and cultural context of the source language text.
The translator then analyzes the text to determine its meaning and reconstructs this same meaning using the lexicon and grammatical structure of the target language.

Key Factors in Translation

The source language (SL) and target language (TL) have different grammatical forms and lexical selections to express the same meaning.
The translator must study the semantic features of the SL text to make a credible translation.
Translation is not just a matter of different word choices, but also of different grammatical structures.

Examples of Translation

Akan sentence "Meni kum" translated to Ewe as "Alɔ le tsɔ nye-m", and to English as "I am sleepy".
English sentence "What is your name?" translated to Akan as "Yԑfrԑ wo sԑn/wodin de sԑn?" and to Ewe as "ŋkɔwo ɖe?/Aleke woyɔna woe?".
English sentence "I have money" translated to Akan as "Mewɔ sika" and to Ewe as "Ga le asinye/Mekpɔ ga".

Common Challenges in Translation

Translators may be influenced by the lexical and grammatical forms of the source language, resulting in unnatural-sounding translations.
Literal translations can lead to forms that sound strange and "foreign" to speakers of the target language.

Effective Translation

The best translation uses the normal language forms of the target language, communicates the same meaning to the target language speakers, and maintains the dynamics of the original source language text.
To achieve effective translation, one must discover the meaning of the source language and use the target language forms to express this meaning in a natural way.

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Description

Learn about the basics of translation, including its definition and process. Understand how translation involves transferring meaning from one language to another while preserving semantic and stylistic equivalences.