ETI 102 Introduction to Translation A brief history of translation (2)

Outline Linguistic approach – Equivalence – Jakobson (1959) – Nida (1964) – Translation shifts – Vinay and Darbelnet (1958) – Catford (1965) Functionalist approach – Reiss (Text type) – Vermeer (Skopos) – Nord (translation-oriented text analysis)

Linguistic approach—equivalence After the centuries of circular debates about literal and free translation, more systematic analyses of translation begin. Roman Jakobson describes three different types of translation (intralingual, interlingual, intersemiotic) and examines key issues—linguistic meaning and equivalence—of interlingual translation.

Linguistic approach—equivalence For Jakobson, interlingual translation involves “substitut[ing] messages in one language not for separate code-units but for entire messages in some other language.” For the message to be equivalent in ST and TT, the code-units will be different since they belong to two different sign systems which partition reality differently. – cheese, syr, queso, Käse, formaggio, peynir

Linguistic approach—equivalence Differences between languages (gender, aspect, semantic fields) can still be rendered interlingually; only poetry—where form expresses sense—is considered ‘untranslatable’ by Jakobson. The questions of meaning, equivalence, and translatability became a constant theme of translation studies in the 1960’s and were tackled by a new scientific approach followed by Eugene Nida. Developed from his own work in Bible translation, Nida’s theory incorporates recent work in linguistics, and his systematic approach borrows from Chomsky’s theories and concepts of “deep structure” and “surface structure.”

Linguistic approach—equivalence Nida discards the old terms (e.g. literal, free, faithful) in favor of two basic types of equivalence: – Formal equivalence – Dynamic equivalence Formal equivalence is oriented towards ST structure and attempts to render the text word-for-word. It focuses attention on the message itself, in both form and content. Dynamic equivalence (also known as functional equivalence) attempts to convey the thought expressed in a source text (if necessary, at the expense of literalness, original word order, the source text's grammatical voice, etc.)

Linguistic approach—equivalence Newmark distinguishes between communicative and semantic translation in an attempt to bring together the two translation perspectives focusing on ST and TT respectively. Communicative translation aims to achieve an effect on the TT receptor that is as close as possible to the effect achieved by the ST on the original receptor. Semantic translation, in contrast, aims to render as closely as possible the contextual meaning of the ST within the semantic and syntactic structures of the TL.

Linguistic approach—equivalence Werner Koller works extensively on the concept of equivalence and the related concept of correspondence, where correspondence relates to the more abstract concept of langue/linguistic systems and equivalence to concrete parole/ST-TT pairs and contexts. He describes five levels of equivalence (denotative, connotative, text-normative, pragmatic and formal equivalence). From this basis he suggests that translators first need to analyze the ST, then develop priorities for the translation work to be undertaken ('hierarchy of equivalence requirements') depending on the communicative context.

Linguistic approach Vinay & Darbelnet distinguish between direct and oblique translation strategies and within these two strategies between seven procedures: Direct translation comprises borrowing, calque and literal translation with the latter being the preferred procedure unless structure, metalinguistic factors or meaning are compromised. Oblique translation, in contrast, comprises transposition (change from one part of speech in the ST to another in the TT), modulation (change in semantics and point of view), equivalence (different languages describing a situation by different means, e.g. idioms) and adaptation (changing cultural reference).

Linguistic approach Vinay & Darbelnet’s model of translation comprises five stages: – identification of translation units – analysis of these units in the SL – reconstruction of metalinguistic context, – stylistic analysis – production and revision of TT

Linguistic approach—shifts According to Catford, shifts are “departures from formal correspondence in the process of going from the SL to the TL”. He distinguishes – level shifts (between grammar and lexis) – category shifts structural shifts (shift in grammatical structure) class shifts (from one part of speech to another) unit/rank shifts (between morpheme, word, group, clause and sentence ranks) intra-system shifts (where SL and TL systems differ, e.g. in relation to article use).

Functionalist Approaches Reiss (1976) begins with the basic communicative situations in which texts fulfill quite specific and distinct communicative functions in order to set up a text typology relevant to translation Informative: Plain communication of facts where the topic is in the foreground of the communicative intention. Expressive: Creative composition, an artistic shaping of the context. The sender is in the foreground. The author creates his topics himself, consciously exploits the expressive and associative possibilities of the language in order to communicate his thoughts in an artistic, creative way. Operative: Text inducing behavioral responses, as stimuli to action or reaction on the part of the reader. The form of verbalization is mainly determined by the addressed receiver of the text.

Functionalist Approaches Skopos theory is an approach to translation which was developed in Germany in the late 1970s (Vermeer 1978) It reflects a general shift from predominantly linguistic and rather formal translation theories to a more functionally and socio-culturally oriented concept of translation. It argues that translating and interpreting should primarily take into account the function of both the source and target text

Functionalist Approaches Translation is viewed not as a process of transcoding, but as a specific form of human action. Like any other human action, translation has a purpose, and the word skopos, derived from Greek, is used as the technical term for the purpose of a translation. Skopos must be defined before translation can begin; in highlighting skopos, the theory adopts a prospective attitude to translation, as opposed to the retrospective attitude adopted in theories which focus on prescriptions derived from the source text.

Functionalist Approaches Text Analysis in Translation: Theory, Methodology and Didactic Application of a Model for Translation-Oriented Text Analysis Nord’s model takes into account the criticisms of Skopos theory and offers a new functionalist approach. She distinguishes between: – Documentary translation (readers are aware that it is a translation) – Instrumental translation (TT receivers read the TT believing it is a ST written in their own language for a specific communicative situation)

Functionalist Approaches In Translation as a Purposeful Activity (1997) Nord revises her model to make it more flexible. The “three aspects of functionalist approaches that are particularly useful in translator training” are – The importance of the translation brief (Translation commission) – The role of ST analysis – The functionalist hierarchy of translation problems

Sources Aveling, Harry (2004) “A Short History of Western Translation Theory” Munday, Jeremy (2001) Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications. London: Routledge.