The Discourse of Tourism Week 5

We will try to understand what «equivalent» means and how equivalence can be achieved

The most difficult word to translate https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNV7CsKI5m8

What is translation? Newmark defines translation as “a craft consisting in the attempt to replace a written message and/or a statement in one language by the same message and or statement in another language”.

…continues a translator ‘’works on four levels: translation is first a science, which entails the knowledge, can be identified; secondly, it is a skill, which calls for appropriate language and acceptable usage; thirdly, an art, which distinguishes good from undistinguished writing and is the creative, the intuitive, sometimes the inspired, level of the translation; lastly, a matter of taste.

Newmark’s Translation Process Diagram

Analysing a text Reading the text The intention of the text The intention of the translator Text types The readership Setting Connotations and denotations The last reading

SL and TL Source language Target language

Reading the text ’You begin the job by reading the original for two purposes: first, to understand what it is about; second, to analyze it from a 'translator’s point of view, which is not the same as a linguist's or a literary critic's. You have to determine its intention and the way it is written for the purpose of selecting a suitable translation method and identifying particular and recurrent problems.’’ Discourse analysis

Genrral and close reading ’Understanding the text requires both general and close reading. General reading to get the gist ‘’ the core meaning’’; here you may have to read encyclopedias, textbooks, or specialist papers to understand the subject and the concepts, always bearing in mind that for the translator the function precedes the description’’ ’Close reading is required, in any challenging text, of the words both out of and in context. In principle’’, for example; finding TL equivalents for acronyms used in the SLT’’ and making sure what the SL author means by them.

The intention of the text ‘’In reading, you search for the intention of the text, for example; two texts may describe a battle or a riot or a debate, stating the same facts and figures, but the type of language used and even the grammatical structures (passive voice, impersonal verbs often used to disclaim responsibility) in each case may be evidence of different points of view. The intention of the text represents the SL writer's attitude to the subject matter.’’ To summarize this nature, when you render a text you must pay careful attention to each and every word used by the SL author, to the grammatical structure in order to determine the aspect from which the SL author sees the matter and deliver the same message and arouse same feelings “reaction” in the TL readership.

The intention of tourist texts Informative or persuasive?

The intention of the translator ‘’Usually, the translator's intention is identical with that of the author of the SI - text. But s/he may be translating an advertisement, a notice, or a set of instructions to show his client how such matters are formulated and written in the source language, rather than how to adapt them in order to persuade or instruct a new TL reader-ship. And again, s/he may be translating a manual of instructions for a less educated readership, so that the explanation in his translation may be much larger than the 'reproduction'. Question of foreignization or domestication

Text types Following Nida, Newmark distinguishes four types of (literary or nonliterary) text: (1) Narrative: a dynamic sequence of events, where the emphasis is on the verbs. (2) Description, which is static, with emphasis on linking verbs, adjectives, adjectival nouns. (3) Discussion, a treatment of ideas, with emphasis on abstract nouns (concepts), verbs of thought, mental activity. (4) Dialogue, with emphasis on colloquialisms and phaticisms.

The readership A translator has to ‘’characterize the readership of the original and then of the translation, and to decide how much attention he has to pay to the TL readers, (In the case of a poem or any work written primarily as self-expression the amount is very little,. A translator may try to assess the level of education, the class, age and sex of the readership’’ In summary, translators have to know who the target receivers are, they may have to conduct some research on them and inquire about them.

Setting ‘’You have to decide on the likely setting: Where would the text be published in the TL? What is the TL equivalent of the SL periodical, newspaper, textbook, journal, etc., or who is the client you are translating for and what are their requirements? Assess whether the readership is likely to be motivated, familiar with the topic and the culture and the variety of language used. Consider whether you are translating for the same or a different type of TL readership. Finally, if you are translating a poem or an important authoritative statement, should you consider the TL reader at all?

Connotations and denotations Whilst all texts have connotations, an aura of ideas and feelings suggested by lexical words (crudely, 'run' may suggest 'haste', 'sofa’ may suggest 'comfort'), in a non-literary text the denotations of a word normally come before its connotations. But in a literary text, you have to give precedence to its connotations, since, if it is any good, it is an allegory, a comment on society, at the time and now, as well as on its strict setting.’’

The last reading Finally, you should note the cultural aspect of the SL text; you should underline all neologisms, metaphors, cultural words and institutional terms peculiar to the SI, third language, proper names, technical terms and Untranslatable words. Untranslatable words are the ones that have no ready one-to-one equivalent in the TL; they are likely to be qualities or actions - descriptive verbs, or mental words -words relating to the mind, that have no cognates in the TL. it is often helpful to study such an item first in context, then in isolation, as though it were a dictionary or an encyclopedia entry only, and finally in context again.’

Comprehension and formulation The analysis of the SLT involving all the previous norms is just the first milestone of a translation process that is “Comprehension” which means to decode and fully understand the text before moving to the following step, which is; Formulation or Recreation. Formulation (recreation or reproduction)

The dynamics of translation

Types of translation SL emphasis 1. Word-for-word translation 2. Literal translation 3. Faithful translation 4. Semantic translation TL emphasis 5. Adaptation 6. Free translation 7. Idiomatic translation 8. Communicative translation

Word for word translation ‘’This is often demonstrated as interlinear translation, with The TL immediately below the SL words. The SL word-order is preserved and the words translated singly by their most common meanings, out of context. Cultural words are translated literally. The main use of word- for-word translation is either to understand the mechanics of the source language or as a pre-translation process.’’

Literal translation ‘’The SL grammatical constructions are converted to their nearest TL equivalents but the lexical words are again translated singly, out of context. As a pre-translation process, this indicates the problems to be solved.’’

Faithful translation ‘’A faithful Translation attempts to reproduce the precise contextual meaning of the original within the constraints of the TL grammatical structures. It 'transfers' cultural words and preserves the degree of grammatical and lexical 'abnormality' (deviation from SL norms) in the translation. It attempts to be completely faithful to the intentions and the text-realization of the SL writer.’’

Semantic translation ‘’Semantic translation differs from 'faithful translation' only in as far as it must take more account of the aesthetic value (that is, the beautiful and natural sounds of the SL text, compromising on 'meaning' where appropriate so that no assonance, word-play or repetition jars in the finished version. Further, it may translate less important cultural words by culturally neutral third or functional terms but not by cultural equivalents. The distinction between 'faithful' and ^semantic' translation is that the first is uncompromising and dogmatic, while the second is more flexible, admits the creative exception to 100% fidelity and allows for the translator's intuitive empathy with the original.’’

Adaptation ‘’This is the 'freest' form of translation. It is used mainly for plays (comedies and poetry; the themes, characters, plots are usually preserved, the SL culture converted to the TL culture and the text rewritten. The deplorable practice of having a play or poem literally translated and then rewritten by an established dramatist or poet has produced many poor adaptations, but other adaptations have 'rescued period plays.’’

Free translation ‘’Free translation reproduces the matter without the manner, or the content without the form of the original. Usually it is a paraphrase much longer than the original, a so-called 'intralingual translation*, often prolix and pretentious, and not translation at all.’’

Idiomatic translation ‘’Idiomatic translation reproduces the 'message' of the original but tends to distort nuances of meaning by preferring colloquialisms and idioms where these do not exist in the original.’’

Communicative translation ‘’Communicative translation attempts to render the exact contextual meaning of the original in such a way that both content and language are readily acceptable and comprehensible to the readership.’’

Differences between semantic and communicative translation In order to learn the difference between the two methods, you first need to know that according to Buhler, language has three main functions: It’s either Expressive, Informative or Vocative

Functions *Expressive is to do with the mind of the speaker, writer, the originator of the utterance which he used to express his feelings irrespective of any response. Expressive text types are imaginative literature authoritative statements, autobiographies, essay and personal correspondence. *Informative is to do with the external situation, the facts of a topic including reported ideas or theories. They’re considered with any topic of knowledge and often have standard formats such as: textbooks, technical reports, scientific papers or agenda of meeting. Informative texts convey information. *Vocative is to do with the readership, the addressee. The readership is called upon to act, think or to react in the way intended by the text. Typical types of vocative texts are: notices, publicity, propaganda, persuasive writing and advertisements.

Semantic vs Communicative

Semantic and communicative translation Semantic translation attempts to render as closely as the semantic and syntactic structures of the second language, allow the exact contextual meaning of the original. Communicative translation attempts to produce on it’s readers an effect as close as possible to that obtained on the readers of the original. (Newmark-1981)

Dynamic and formal equivalence This description of communicative translation resembles Eugene Nida’s dynamic equivalence, in the effect it is trying to create on the tt reader, while, semantic translation has similarities to Nida’s formal equivalence. Eugene Nida (Oklahoma City,1914 – 2011)

…continues Dynamic equivalence  sense for sense translation Formal equivalence  word-for-word translation dynamic equivalence is the "quality of a translation in which the message of the original text has been so transported into the receptor language that the response of the receptor is essentially like that of the original receptors.“ The desire is that the reader of both languages would understand the meanings of the text in a similar fashion. "dynamic equivalence" or "functional equivalence suggests not just that the equivalence is between the function of the source text in the source culture and the function of the target text (translation) in the target culture, but that "function" can be thought of as a property of the text. It is possible to associate functional equivalence with how people interact in cultures.

Features Generally, a communicative translation is likely to be smoother, simpler, clearer, more direct, more conventional, conforming to particular register of language, tending to under translate, i.e., to use more generic, hold-all terms in difficult passages.

Features A semantic translation, on the other hand, tends to be more complex, more awkward, more detailed, more concentrated, and pursues the thought-processes rather than the intention of the transmitter. It tends to over translate, to be more specific than the original, to include more meanings in its search for one nuance of meaning.

Features (2) A semantic translation is more source text focused. Although not necessarily a literal translation, it follows the source text more closely. A communicative translation, on the other hand, is focused on the target text and aims to ensure that the reader will understand the message of the text.

Faithful and semantic translation The distinction between faithful and semantic translation is that the first is uncompromising and dogmatic, while ,the second is more flexible and allows for the translator’s intuitive empathy with the original.

Accuracy and economy According to Peter Newmark, only semantic and communicative translation fulfils the two main aims of translation which are first accuracy and second economy. A semantic translation is more likely to be economical than a communicative translation unless the text is poorly written.

A few remarks In general, a semantic translation is written at the author’s linguistic level, a communicative at the readership’s. Badly and inaccurately written passages should be corrected in communicative translation. A semantic translation is normally inferior to its original (problem of translation status), as there is both cognitive and pragmatic loss. A communicative translation is often better than it’s original. Semantic translation is accurate, but may not communicate well; whereas communicative translation communicates well, but may not be very precise.

Criticism Newmark’s semantic and communicative translations could be considered as medium restricted, text type restricted and problem restricted theory, as it deals with human translation only, is restricted to the translation of expressive, informative and vocative texts, and is concerned with the problem of matching text type with translation method.