Lecture 1: Brief Introduction to Translation (PDF)

Lecture 1: Brief Introduction to Translation (definition, medium, history) Definitions of Translation ⃝Newmark (1988: 5) defines translation as “rendering the meaning of a text into another language in the way that the author intended the text”. ⃝Hatim and Munday (2004: 6) define translation as “the...

Lecture 1: Brief Introduction to Translation (definition, medium, history) Definitions of Translation ⃝Newmark (1988: 5) defines translation as “rendering the meaning of a text into another language in the way that the author intended the text”. ⃝Hatim and Munday (2004: 6) define translation as “the process of transferring a written text from source language (SL) to target language (TL)” ‫صدر الى لغة الهدف‬+‫يعرف حاتم ومنادي الترجمه على انها نقل النص من اللغه ا‬ ⃝Catford defines translation as, “the replacement of textual material in one language SL by equivalent textual material in another language TL” (1965). ‫صدر بمكونات نصيه تقابلها في اللغه الهدف‬+‫يعرف كاتفورد الترجمه استبدال مكونات النص في لغة ما اللغة ا‬ ⃝Vermeer, who rejects translation as a two-stage process of decoding and recoding, sees translation as, “information about the source text in another language” (1982). ‫ص معنى نص ما واعادة صياغته في لغة اخرى‬U‫ اولها استخ‬W‫ ان فيرميك الذي يرفض ان يرى الترجمة كعملية ذات مرحلت‬W‫في ح‬ ⃝Nida and Taber (1982: 12) state that “translating consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source language message”. ☜ This is the most comprehensive definition of the three definitions as it relates translation to the problems of languages, meaning, and equivalence. It is based on the approach that stresses the importance of preserving the effect of the original text ‫يعرف نايدا وتايلر الترجمه على انها‬ ‫اعادة انتاج نص ما في اللغة‬ ‫ستقبلة بأقرب شكل له في اللغة‬+‫ا‬ ‫صدر‬+‫ا‬ ‫نه اكثر شموليه‬d ‫*انجح تعريف‬ Definitions of Translation ⃝ Nida and Taber (1982: 12) state that “translating consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source language message”. This is the most comprehensive definition of the three definitions as it relates translation to the problems of languages, meaning, and equivalence. It is based on the approach that stresses the importance of preserving the effect of the original text. What does translation include? Since translation involves: two different languages which are carriers of their respective cultures, the process is not only a transfer between languages, but also a communication between cultures. Translation bridges the gap and enables understanding across these boundaries. ‫ اللغات والثقافات مما يساعد‬W‫الترجمة تبني جسور التواصل ب‬ ‫على تخطي الحواجز‬ Definition of Basic Terms : Source Text (ST): The text to be translated. ‫صدر‬+‫النص ا‬ Target Text (TT): The final product. ‫النص الهدف‬ Target Language (TL) : The language that it is to be translated into. ‫اللغة الهدف‬ ‫قابل اللغوي‬+‫ا‬ Equivalence :The relationship of the sameness of meaning that exists between the source text and the target text. Translation Process : is concerned with all related activities utilized in the act of translation. It is a halfway operation between the final output and the theoretical foundations. Translation Theory : refers to the set of methods and strategies used in explaining how translation is or should be done. (See P.13) Translation Studies : is a term used to describe any scholarly work on translation that is not as a fixed theory such as a descriptive analysis of translated works. ‫دراسات الترجمة‬ ‫مفاهيم خاطئة حول الترجمة‬ Misconceptions about Translation: 1. There is a one-to-one relationship between word and meaning. A common misconception is that there exists a simple word-for-word correspondence between any two languages, and that translation is a straightforward mechanical process; such a word-for-word translation, however, cannot take into account context, grammar, conventions, and idioms. Also, If you consider a word such as rebuild, you will note that there are two distinct elements of meaning in it: re and build, i.e. ‘to build again'. Elements of meaning which are represented by several words in one language, say English, may be represented by one word in another, and vice versa. This suggests that there is no one-to-one correspondence between orthographic words and elements of meaning within or across languages. Misconceptions about Translation: 2. Anyone who can speak a second language will make a good translator. In the translation community, many bilinguals may not have the same in-depth knowledge of colloquialisms, slang, and dialect that the born bilingual has. As well, the acquired bilingual will not be able to translate as readily in both directions (from B to A language and A to B language). It is generally accepted that the best translations are produced by persons who are translating into their own native languages, as it is rare for someone who has learned a second language to have total fluency in that language. A brief history of the discipline - First, the word "translation" was derived from a Latin phrase that means "to bring or carry across." Second, another explaining phrase is "metaphrasis," which was derived from Ancient Greek, the word metaphrase was derived to mean "word for word translation". A Brief History of the Discipline It is said that the first known significant translation was of the Hebrew Bible, dated back to the 3rd century. The need for more translation continued to increase with the expansion of spiritual theories and religious texts. The result of religion brought the drive to spread religion and strengthen faith, which means there was the need to translate religious content into multiple languages. A Brief History of the Discipline Throughout history, written and spoken translations have played a crucial role in communication, not least in providing access to important texts for scholarships and religious purposes. Yet the study of translation as an academic subject has only begun in the past fifty years. Up until the second half of the 20th century, translators often differed considerably in the meaning they gave to terms such as 'faithfulness', 'accuracy' and even the word 'translation' itself. The distinction between 'wordfor-word' (i.e. 'literal') and 'sense-for-sense' (i.e. 'free') translation goes back to Cicero (1st Century BC) and St. Jerome (4th Century) that formed the basis of key writings on translation in centuries near our own. A brief history of the discipline While most translators were hidden characters, several people paved the way for translation that allowed some of the greatest contributions to disseminating knowledge and ideas throughout the ages. Some translators were unnamed because translation work was dangerous at the time. Some lost lives because of translating, for instance, William Tyndale, who translated the Bible into the English language. He was executed in 1536 in Holland. A brief history of the discipline In the pre-linguistics period of writing on translation, which may be said to date from Cicero though St. Jerome, Dryden, Tayler, opinion swung between literal and, free faithful and beautiful, exact and natural translation, depending on whether the bias was to be in favour of the author or the reader, the source or the target language of the text. Up to the nineteenth century, literal translation represented a philological academic exercise from which the cultural reformers were trying to rescue literature. Later, Dryden (17th Century) reduced all translation to three categories; 'metaphrase', 'paraphrase' and 'imitation'. He promoted enabling the translator to surpass the original; that is to permit the 'spirit' of the ST to be best reproduced. Dryden's writing on translation was very prescriptive, setting out what has to be done in order for successful translation to take place. Other writers on translation also began to state their 'principles' in similarly prescriptive fashion. In English, the first systematic study of translation after Dryden is Tayler's "Essay on the Principles of Translation" in the 18th Century. A brief history of the discipline In the nineteenth century, a more scientific approach was brought to bear on translation, suggesting that certain types of texts must be accurately translated, whilst others should and could not be translated at all! Since the rise of modern and anticipated by Tytler in the late 18th Century, the general emphasis, supported by communication-theorists as well as by non-literary translators, has been placed on the reader – on informing the reader effectively and appropriately, notably in Nida, Firth, and the Leipzig School. Impact of Printing on Translation and Language Before the introduction of the printing press, when few people could read, most written texts were in Latin. The printing press, though, had a profound impact on language use and people's literacy. The use of Latin declined as texts could now be translated and even published in different local languages, with more people getting a chance to learn and read. Translation Studies in the Academic Discipline - Studying translation in the academic discipline became a concept around the 1950s, when institutions were introduced. The institutions allowed cross-cultural interactions and knowledge sharing where people from different languages gathered to learn how to translate. - Now, machine translation (MT) has been widely adopted to enhance and ease translation, with translators worldwide being aided by computers. It involves the application of language science and computers to the development of translation. It is the computerized system responsible for attaining translations either with or without human assistance. Translation and the Globalization of the Economy - Due to the industrial revolution, the rapid development of the economy evolved into new machinery that allowed swifter and easier production of texts, creating the need for companies to translate and enter into foreign markets. Tracing back to the 18th century, translation helped globalize the economy, with many businesses benefitting from formalized translation services. The development of machine translation and the internet has completely revolutionized the ability to translate, access, and understand documents worldwide. ✓ Today, translators now have several tools, such as the internet and laptops at their disposal to aid in the translation process. Translation services have also become of massive importance in society, as the world becomes increasingly interconnected through the economy, education, sharing of knowledge, and trade. Translation in Society Today ✓ Seeing how far translation has come through the years, we can gain an appreciation for the strenuous translation work done by the early translators in history. In addition, we're glad for the more accurate and widely available translations that we have today. We thank all the translators that work hard to keep the world moving forward.