Theories of Translation PDF

‫به نام خدا‬ ‫‪Of Theorists and Theories‬‬ ‫مدل‌های ترجمه‬ ‫مدرس‪ :‬محمدرضا‌رضائیان دلوئی‬ ‫دانشگاه‌بیرجند‬ 1. Who are theorists? 2. How do theorists conceive the goals of their theories? 3. What qualifies as a translation theory?  Translators as The...

‫به نام خدا‬ ‫‪Of Theorists and Theories‬‬ ‫مدل‌های ترجمه‬ ‫مدرس‪ :‬محمدرضا‌رضائیان دلوئی‬ ‫دانشگاه‌بیرجند‬ 1. Who are theorists? 2. How do theorists conceive the goals of their theories? 3. What qualifies as a translation theory?  Translators as Theorists: The earliest writings on translation were produced by practising translators.  A translator must have a theory of translation: to translate without a theory is to translate blind.  The process of decision-making  Pym takes the view that ‘translators are theorizing all the time’ and that the very act of translation, which involves generating a range of solutions to a particular translation problem and then selecting from this range one solution, is in itself an act of theorizing.  Pym distinguishes between ‘this private, internal theorizing’ and ‘public theory’, which develops out of ‘disagreements over different ways of translating’.  For Robinson, translators engage in Translation Theory when they ‘write prefaces to or letters about their work’. Thus, translators become theorists when they comment on their work in paratexts such as translator’s notes and prefaces or in correspondence with publishers or friends. For Chesterman, a theory of translation would be a logically linked set of well- corroborated hypotheses (interpretive, descriptive, explanatory and predictive hypotheses). These hypotheses would account for the ways translations (of various types) tend to be related to various kinds of conditions and consequences (historical/cultural/ideological/situational/personal/linguistic etc.). Such a theory would always be open to new refinements etc., and it would always be vulnerable to be replaced by some other theory which better suited some particular purpose.  There is a ‘link between “lived translation” and a relative lack of theorizing’  Largely monolingual cultures are more likely to be aware of translation as a distinct act and more active in theorizing it  The relative dearth of formal theorizing: The culture of scholarship in the region and the (low) status of the academic study of translation  Lay receivers: These are the readers of translations who pronounce judgement on them on the basis of their ‘subjective theory’.  Subjective theories need not be consistent; they often include even incompatible or contradictory elements.  Such subjective theories of translation can then have a considerable impact on the attitude of readers to foreign literature in translation, as well as affecting the sales of work by foreign authors. What Are the Goals of Translation Theory? 1. Description: To describe what translators do, what strategies they use and what roles they play, under given linguistic and socio-cultural conditions. 2. Explanation 3. Prediction: Theory should enable us to say how translators are likely to act or what translations will look like under certain circumstances. What Are the Goals of Translation Theory? The weak predictive power of translation theories can be ascribed to the many variables involved in the translation process. In TS predictions are normally restricted to low- level probabilities. What Are the Goals of Translation Theory? 4. Assistance for Translators: What translation theory does is, first, to identify and define a translation problem (no problem – no translation theory!); second, to indicate all the factors that have to be taken into account in the solving of the problem; third, to list all the possible translation procedures; finally, to recommend the most appropriate translation. Assistance for Translators - Raising their awareness, enabling them to reflect on their work and, even, justify their translation decisions to clients - Providing a basis for professional identity What Are the Goals of Translation Theory? 5. Providing a paradigm for research in TS Theory informs the hypotheses and data of research, but because the results of research interrogate and refine theory, research can result in the reformulation of the largest frameworks that structure a field of inquiry What Are the Goals of Translation Theory? 6. Establishing criteria for the evaluation of translation What Are the Goals of Translation Theory? 7. Providing an analytical tool to understand and critique global trends Translation is central to globalization, not only because it enables the spread and exchange of goods, services, people and ideas across the globe but also because the theoretical questioning of the practice of translation provides a method for understanding the processes and practices of globalization. Translation Theory does this by exposing the complexities of language, difference, identity, culture and communication What Are the Goals of Translation Theory? 7. Providing an analytical tool to understand and critique global trends The seventh goal is the only one which reaches beyond the discipline itself and offers the methods and insights of TS to a wider scholarly community. This in itself is a sign that the discipline is coming of age. What is a Translation Theory? Translation straddles the ‘hard sciences’, in, for example, machine translation, the social sciences, in, for example, community interpreting, and the humanities, in, for example, literary translation. What is a Translation Theory? At one end of this line is the natural sciences paradigm which begins with a research question when a researcher encounters a new or unexpected phenomenon. This leads to the formulation of a hypothesis, a ‘best guess’ explanation for the phenomenon in question. The hypothesis is then tested against empirical data. The more often it is tested and found to be supported by empirical evidence, the stronger it becomes until it reaches a point where it is generally accepted in a particular scientific community and acquires the status of a theory. What is a Translation Theory? Scholars in the social sciences tradition are more aware of the large number of uncontrollable variables in any study of human activity and are therefore often reluctant, or indeed unable, to draw hard and fast conclusions. While the social sciences paradigm allows for large-scale empirical research and quantitative approaches, it also encompasses small-scale research projects based on case studies and interviews. What is a Translation Theory? In the humanities theory is more abstract, conceptual and philosophical. An example of this approach is Chesterman’s definition of theory as ‘a view of translation – or some part or aspect of it – which helps us to understand it better’. For some scholars ‘theories’ are simply synonymous with ‘ideas’ What is a Translation Theory? 1. Theory is consistent in itself, i.e. that it does not contain any logical contradictions. 2. A theory must identify the object or phenomenon being theorized. 3. The methods used in developing and testing the theory must be made explicit so that others can replicate them.  What is a Translation Theory? 1. Address trainees’ questions and problems, 2. Expose students to opposing perspectives on controversial issues, 3. Provide an alternative to the standard dichotomies according to which translations have often been described, 4. Encourage participants to construct their own strategies for solving translation problems, 5. Prepare students for work within the translation industry, and 6. Demonstrate that translation is not an activity which is completely ad hoc and subjective.