1. TRANSLATION STRATEGIES 11 novembre 2008

2. Translation Strategies
From J.L. Malone, The Science of Linguistics in the Art of Translation
(see C. Taylor, Language to Language, pp )
Using examples from several language Malone provides a list of NINE translation strategies, i.e. nine different ways to deal with the differences between Source Language and Target Language at structural and lexical level.

3. Translation Stategies
Equation
Divergence
Amplification
Diffusion
Reordering
Substitution
Convergence
Reduction
Condensation *

4. EQUATION/SUBSTITUTION

5. LOAN WORDS Culturally specific words are often loan words:
Italians play rugby or football
The English eat lasagna or pesto
This also happens when the equivalent term exist:
Italians play volley (pallavolo)
The English buy rucola (rocket)
corner/calcio d’angolo
Loan words are typical of technical language:
-software, business, screening…

6. Never take equation for granted: the same word may not mean the same thing in two languages
false-friends:
actually = effettivamente (NON attualmente)
eventually = alla fine (NON eventualmente)
effectively = efficacemente (NON effettivamente)

7. cultural differences:
the experience evoked by a word may not be the same in TL and SL
> spaghetti, caffé…
> città/paese ≠ city/town
> REALTA’ > REALITY?

8. REALTA’/REALITY
In this case the English equivalent has too high a level of abstraction: L’arte come imitazione della realtà/Art as imitation of REALITY? La realtà è dura/REALITY? is hard La sua malattia è una realtà/Her illness is A REALITY? Spesso la non vediamo realtà... /Often we don’t see REALITY? La realtà economica/The economic REALITY?

9. L’arte come imitazione della realtà/Art as imitation of NATURE La realtà è dura/LIFE is hard La sua malattia è una realtà/Her illness is GENUINE Progetti che diventano realtà/Plans which are REALISED Spesso non vediamo la realtà /Often we don’t see THINGS Ha il senso della realtà /He is REALISTIC Bisogna tenere presente la realtà locale/We must keep local NEEDS in mind La realtà economica/The economic SITUATION

10. CALQUE
The TL adapts the SL term to its own morphological framework: e.g.: dribblare, formattare radice inglese + suffisso italiano e.g.: bravo! parola italiana + assenza di concordanza in numero e genere (come in inglese)

11. Calque is used too often in everyday language…
Questo jeans è un attimino stonewashato!
Li cutto, li pasto e te li sendo!

12. FIXED EQUATION The Holy Bible = La Sacra Bibbia ≠ La Santa Bibbia
≠The Sacred Bible
No smoking = Vietato fumare
≠ Non si fuma
Burning bush = roveto (≠ cespuglio) ardente

13. In more general terms EQUATION refers to the default situation wherby a tarmi s translated with its one-to-one equivalent (e.g. GENTLE = GENTILE)
Lorenzo
fermò la
macchina e
vide un
uomo…
stopped
the
car
and
saw a
man…

14. SUBSTITUTION the antithesis of equation
GRAMMAR
Gulliver’s travels
I viaggi di Gulliver
Farò in modo che si convinca a venire
I’ll try to get her to come
I want you to know that …
Voglio che tu sappia che…

15. SUBSTITUTION SEMANTICS La goccia che fa traboccare il vaso
The straw that broke the camel’s back
PRAGMATICS
Do not lean out
E’ pericoloso sporgersi

16. DIVERGENCE/CONVERGENCE

17. DIVERGENCE (one-to-many)
panna
vetro
Cream
glass
Crema
bicchiere
If it should happen
should it happen
Se dovesse succedere
If it were to happen
Were it to happen

18. She saw a beautiful dress in the window She opened the window
She lowered the window
NIENTE
Non ho niente da dire
Niente male
Niente scherzi
Non hanno un bel niente
I have nothing to say
Not bad
No messing about!
They have nothing at all

19. CONVERGENCE (many-to-one)
Commercialista
Accountant
Ragioniere
Contabile Tu
Lei
You
Voi

20. AMPLIFICATION/REDUCTION

21. Swansea is the birthplace of Dylan Thomas
AMPLIFICATION
Swansea is the birthplace of Dylan Thomas
Swasea è il luogo natale del famoso scrittore e poeta Dylan Thomas
Display
Esporre ben in vista

22. REDUCTION
Carta geografica
Map
Psychologist Raymond Carpenter, PhD
Lo psicologo Raymond Carpenter

23. DIFFUSION/CONDENSATION

24. DIFFUSION
A source text item or utterance is expanded without adding any extra layer of meaning
Cheap
A buon mercato
Weatherwise
Per quanto riguarda il tempo
The nineteen century sex role system
La divisione dei ruoli in base al sesso nel XIX secolo

25. CONDENSATION
A source text item or utterance is contracted without omitting any layer of meaning:
To look at
guardare
To fall in love
innamorarsi
inseguire
To run after

26. The time has not yet come
REORDERING
Procedures introduced to the re-arrange syntactic units into the most familiar patterns of the target language
Black and white
Bianco e nero
Non è ancora
giunto il tempo
The time has not yet come
Something terrible
has happened
È successa
una disgrazia

27. HIGH PRESSURE Pressione alta: high blood pressure
Alta pressione: in the meteorological sense

28. According to figures, 12% of Europe's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is generated by tourism and tourism-related activities and over 20 million jobs have been created in this sector, essentially within Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs). > ... e in questo settore sono stati creati più di 20 millioni di posti di lavoro

29. HOMEWORK Da C. Taylor, Language to Language, pp. 48-64
Suggestions for further practice:
1) download
TRAVELLING IN EUROPE 2008
VIAGGIARE IN EUROPA 2008
2) compare the two texts in terms of translation strategies