Taylor Christopher, Language to Language: a practical and theoretical guide for Italian/English translators (Cambridge University Press)

Open to re-interpretation, re-thinking, reformulation Introduction THE PROCESS OF TRANSLATION is not straightforward:during this phase of neither being a St nor a TT the phase VT has to be faced   Source text → Virtual text → Target text Virtual text: in a state of only partial completion, requiring some finishing touch. Open to re-interpretation, re-thinking, reformulation

Layers of meaning: several levels of meaning: inherent difficulty   1. Semantics: denotation and connotation 2. Pragmatics: force that original writer might have intended 3. Stylistic conventions: register and genre

Some texts require:   Contrastive lexicogrammatical skills Specific technical terminology Attention to discourse structure Attention to phonological features Semantics of word play Wide knowledge of the world Sensitivity to the pragmatic content

a) Use of contrastive lexicogrammatical skills:   È arrivato il direttore. The manager has arrived.

b)Use of specific technical terminology Primarily degenerative dementia is a disorder whose essential feature is the presence of dementia of insidious onset and gradually progressive course. Demenza degenerativa primaria è un disturbo la cui caratteristica essenziale è la presenza di una demenza ad insorgenza subdola e a decorso gradualmente progressivo.  

c) Attention to discourse structure   Guardavano fuori dalla porta, si guardavano l’un l’altro, sbadigliavano, sospiravano. (C. Cassola, “Il taglio del bosco”) They would look out of the door, they would look at each other, they would yawn, they would sigh. (in Dodds 1994:199)

d) Recognition of phonological features   From Taylor, p. 6. … ma neanche con lei dicevo una parola, anche con lei chinavo il capo. (E. Vittorini, Conversazione in Sicilia) ... not even with her did I say a word, even with her my head hung heavily. (translated by J. Dodds, 1994)

e) Semantics of word play TOAD: …I could eat a horse ALBERT: (a horse) Oh, could you? Well I wouldn’t say no to some toad-in-the hole. (A. Bannet. ‘The wind in the willows) ROSPO: …Potrei mangiarmi un cavallo ALBERT: Ah, sì? Beh, io non rifiuterei di certo qualche coda di rospo.   .

f) Wide knowledge of the world Pandora’s father has come out of the closest and admitted he is a Bennite. (S. Townsend, 1982, The secret diary of Adrian Mole” Il padre di Pandora si è tolto la maschera e ha ammesso di simpatizzare addirittura per Tony Benn e la sinistra laborista.

g) Sensitivity to pragmatic content What say we adjourn to hostelry, see what mine host can do in the way of fodder? (The Wind in the Willows) Che ne dici di andare in quella locanda, e vedere che vettovaglie può offrirci il mio oste?  

Text as amalgams of different linguistic components A text need to be analysed thoroughly before it is translated. Translators need «to read between the lines».

Holistic picture  Contrastive lexicogrammatical skills Specific technical terminology Attention to discourse structure Attention to phonological features Semantics of word play Wide knowledge of the world Sensitivity to pragmatic content   Some translators may be able to work on all seven layers simultaneously. Others may work in stages.

From Tongues of Flame by Tim Parks (1985: 19)   Then that next Thursday he was expelled from school. He was caught smoking cannabis with two friends in the cricket nets so they scarcely had any choice really, and it was very embarrassing for Father because this was a church school and he was the chaplain. They had a furious row about it in the study and Adrian said he was quite happy to be expelled because he could now apply to a sixth-form college to do his A-levels in music and art. Translated by R. Baldassare (1995: 32) Poi il giovedì seguente fu espulso dalla scuola. Era stato sorpreso a fumare la marijuana con due amici nel campo di cricket, perciò il preside non poteva agire diversamente, e per mio padre era doppiamente imbarazzante perché era una scuola religiosa e il cappellano era proprio lui. Litigarono come due belve nello studio e Adrian disse che gli faceva molto comodo quell’espulsione perché poteva andare altrove per studiare musica e arte.

Analysis of translation in the previous slide

Devise of Rolling translation: Italian/English a sourse text is seen to unfold in interim versions as the results

J.R. Firth’s translation typology Interlinear word-for-word – literal transposition Bit-for-bit – flexible method involvig large chunks of a text Free – a much freer approch based on the semantic message of the discourse