TRS200 Week 3: Equivalence and Equivalent Effect PDF

TRS200: Introduction to Translation Equivalence & Equivalent Effect Department of Languages and Literature Week 3 Dr. Fatima Alblooshi 10/07/2024 1  Saussure...

TRS200: Introduction to Translation Equivalence & Equivalent Effect Department of Languages and Literature Week 3 Dr. Fatima Alblooshi 10/07/2024 1  Saussure (1857 – 1913)  Langue: the system of rules that makes it possible for a person to know how to speak (the legislative side of language)  Parole: the way a particular person speaks (consecutive side of the language) Dr. Fatima Alblooshi 10/07/2024 2  Linguistic Sign Linguistic Sign = Signifier + Signified Dr. Fatima Alblooshi 10/07/2024 3 Let’s test what Saussure said  When I said the word “Nissan, ‫ ”نيسان‬what comes to your mind?  When I said the word “desert, ‫ ”الصحراء‬what comes to your mind?  What if I said the word “bread, ‫ ”خبز‬what comes to your mind? “there is ordinarily no full equivalence between code-units” Jakobson (2959/2004: 139) Dr. Fatima Alblooshi 10/07/2024 4  Equivalence in Translation  EQUIVALENCE : an observed relationship between source text constructs and target text constructs that are seen as directly corresponding to one another – Theo Hermans 1999  At which levels can equivalence be observed across languages? Lexico-grammatical constructs, meaning, ideologies, symbols  Equivalence is not simply a matter of A = B and B = A Dr. Fatima Alblooshi 10/07/2024 5  Equivalence in Translation  It’s virtually impossible for the translator to HOLISTICALLY capture ALL NUANCES of meaning, ideology, and intent embedded in the ST  For this very reason, EQUIVALENCE IN TRANSLATION IS AN APPROXIMATION.  So now this is a well-known fact, there are still a lot of questions revolve around equivalence: 1. How much and what kind of change is acceptable? 2. Who decides this? 3. How can we assess equivalence? 4. If change is unavoidable, what distinguishes a “translation” from “something else”? 5. What are the consequences of “change”? Dr. Fatima Alblooshi 10/07/2024 6  Equivalence at the level of MEANING  We have emphasized the importance of mediating MEANING as opposed to words per se. Yet, it is the words used that ENCODE meaning  According to Nida, meaning is broken down into three levels: 1. LINGUISTIC MEANING  Lexicogrammatical surface level properties Example: His house  he possesses a house His Journey  He performs a journey His Kindness  Kindness is a quality of him Dr. Fatima Alblooshi 10/07/2024 7 2. REFERENTIAL (DENOTATIVE) MEANING  The word’s dictionary definition Example: Son  a male child Daughter?/ Niece? / Nephew? Siblings? 3. EMOTIVE (CONNOTATIVE) MEANING  The associations and emotions the word evokes Example: “Don’t worry about that, son”  The word son is a term of endearment or may in some context be patronizing. Dr. Fatima Alblooshi 10/07/2024 8  Exercise  The following examples have similar denotations, yet what are the connotations of each one? Interested Curious Nosy Stingy Thrifty Saving Dr. Fatima Alblooshi 10/07/2024 9  Levels of Equivalence 1. PHONETIC EQUIVALENCE  sounds, sound patterns, poetic devices (rhyme, alliteration, etc.) Example: Kent Can Create Confidence  Very difficult to maintain; What can be done in such situations? Use a different phonetic device, or use the SAME device elsewhere in the text to create overall balance 2. SEMANTIC (DENNOTATIVE) EQUIVALENCE  words and their underlying “dictionary definitions”  What can be done in instances of lexical gaps across languages? Borrow and explain, or use synonyms, hypernyms (an overarching word = more general than the ST word), hyponyms (a specific type = more precise than the ST word), etc. Dr. Fatima Alblooshi 10/07/2024 10  Levels of Equivalence 3. CONNOTATIVE EQUIVALENCE  At the level of the associations (connotations) and emotions evoked Example: Frogs are a lucky animal in Japan; How would this be rendered in your language? Do you have something similar in your language/culture? 4. TEXT-NORMATIVE EQUIVALENCE  Equivalency in text-type conventions and usage norms Example: Birth certificate, Passport, etc. Dr. Fatima Alblooshi 10/07/2024 11  The vocabulary that we have in our language is what we need o Words to describe :)‫ مرادفات َح ّر (اسم‬o cold weather , ‫ َح َر اَر ة‬, ‫ ِإْح ِتَدام‬, ‫ُأَوام‬ Cool (adj) –Chilly (adj) – Crisp (adj) – Fresh – Brisk – , ‫ َر ْمَضاء‬, ‫ ِدْف ء‬, ‫َح َماَّر ة‬ Freezing (adj) –Biting (adj) ‫ َفْيح‬, ‫ َصْيَهد‬, ‫ ُس عار‬, ‫ُس ُخ ونة‬ – Bitter (adj) – Harsh – , ‫ َلَهَبان‬, ‫ َلْفٌح‬, ‫ َقْيظ‬, Bleak – Snowy (adj) - Sleet , ‫ َهِج ير‬, ‫ َهاِج َر ة‬, ‫َلِهيب‬ (noun) - Frost (noun) ‫ َوْهج‬, ‫َوْغَر ة‬ Dr. Fatima Alblooshi 10/07/2024 12  Are you LOST?  Are you confused?  Is there anything unclear?  Any burning questions? Dr. Fatima Alblooshi 10/07/2024 13  Works Cited  Munday, Jeremy. Introducing Translation Studies, Theories and Applications. London & New York, Routledge, 2001. Dr. Fatima Alblooshi 10/07/2024 14  Graded Exercise  Go to the Blackboard and complete exercise no.3.  If you fail to complete the task, you will lose your participation grade for today's class. Dr. Fatima Alblooshi 10/07/2024 15  What’s Next?  Final Project: The deadline to choose a topic is (Sep 9, 2024)  Week 3: “Functional Theories of Translation”  Skopos Theory  Linguistic Features  Non-linguistic (Situational) Features Dr. Fatima Alblooshi 10/07/2024 16