Translation Studies

1. Introduction to the theory of translation

Krisztina Károly, Spring, 2006

Sources: Klaudy, 2003; Baker, 1998

The nature of the translator’s activity = creative activity

The translator faces a number of choices and decisions.decisions are partly subjective, partly objective (some of the translator’s subjective choices are based on objective factors)“their ambition to explain translation phenomena and create theories is closely related to the very nature of this activity, regulated, on the one hand, by certain objective rules, and permitting, on the other, a number of subjective choices” (Klaudy, 2003, p.23)

The medium of the translator’s activity = two languages

communicating in two Ls at the same time can never be as instinctive and unconscious as communicating only in one

in translation, even the most instinctive translator develops ideas about the relationship between the two Ls, their similarities and differences, their relationship with reality, the similarities and differences in the way the two Ls segment reality linguistically, etc.

The object of the translator’s activity = the text

Theories are related to the object of the translator’s activity, i.e. the text, because

every text (e.g., a piece of literature, a scientific research article, an advertisement or an editorial), allows for several possible interpretations

the translator often has to defend his own interpretation of the text against the potentially differing interpretations of critics, readers, and the public at large.

Is there continuity in the theory of translation?Practicing translators will often make

spontaneous contrastive linguistic observations (”Hungarian prefers verbs as opposed to Indo-European languages which prefer nouns.”)spontaneous text-linguistic observations (”The sentences of Indo-European languages start with a longer introductory part than the corresponding Hungarian sentences and have to be shortened in the Hungarian translation” or ”English, German, and Russian texts are more impersonal than Hungarian texts.”)spontaneous stylistic observations (”English scientific texts are like small talk compared to German scientific text”), orspontaneous sociolinguistic observations (”Russians like diminutive suffixes better than Hungarians.”)

were not pooled for centuries!

The idea of an uninterrupted and organic development of TS must be rejected for 3 main reasons:

(1) Translation as a profession

Earlier: translation was mostly done for pleasure by writers, poets, statesmen, priests, and scholars to satisfy their individual literary, political, and scientific ambitions.Second half of the 20th century: translating became a mass activity (source of earning a living)

has become a profession in its own right

(2) Translation as a subject in training

Second half of the 20th century: many translator and interpreter training institutions established theoretical training became necessary (practice was not enough) required certain generalizations on the basis of experience gathered by translators the formulation of some objective rulesterminology and conceptual apparatus was needed need for theoretical research aimed at providing a principled basis for the teaching of translation.

(3) Translation as an object of research

Earlier: theorizing = privilege of non-professional translators (writers, poets, statesmen, priests, scientists, etc.)

Second half of the 20th century: translation scholars (e.g., linguists) separated from practicing translators

Today’s scholars: also interested in the process of translation (modeling the activity + describing regularities) applied and basic research

The main reason for the 3 changes:

= radical shift in the ratio of literary to non-literary translation ( = rapid increase in the amount of non-literary translation: political speeches, international contracts, court records, business letters, recipes, price lists, etc.)

the separation of the science of translation from theories of literature

thinking about translation has shifted from literature to the science of linguistics

Differences between the (traditional) literary and the (new) linguistic approach:

(1) Literary approach: studies the translation of works of art (i.e. works of outstanding writers, poets)Linguist: interested in a wide variety of text types (e.g., technical and scientific texts, advertisements, users’ manuals, as well as literary texts)

(2) Lit.: examines the work of outstanding translatorsLing.: (also) interested in the everyday work of great masses of translators and interpreters.

(3) Lit.: focuses on individual, sometimes even unusual, original and surprising solutionsLing.: considers “mass” solutions worthy of inquiry too, trying to describe and explain all of the operations (transformations) carried out by the translator.

Cont. lit./ling. approach:

(4) Lit.: concentrates on the product of translationLing.: also explore the process of translation (what goes on in the mind of the translator)

(5) Lit.: normative (prescriptive) by nature what translation should be like, what translators should doLing.: descriptive what the translation is like and what the translator does while translating.

(6) Lit.: contains evaluationLing.: avoids evaluation and regards everything that is intended as a translation by the translator or the publisher as a legitimate object of study.

Translation theory and contrastive linguistics (CL)

birth of the former almost exactly coincided with that of the latter (CL language teaching)CL developed research methods for the synchronic analysis of languages (vs. traditional comparative linguistics = historical (diachronic) comparison of Ls)CL often worked (and still work) on translated materials, because the effects of the two principal categories of contrastive linguistics, ”transfer” (Jakobovits 1969, Selinker 1972), influencing the process of FLL positively, and ”interference” (Juhász 1970), influencing it negatively, can easily be detected in translations.frequently applied method of CL: ”error analysis” (Corder 1973) often conducted on (trainees’) translations.

Differences between TS and CL(1) CL: contrasts the systems of the two languages

TS: comparison involves the realizations of the two linguistic systems, i.e. texts.

(2) CL: contrasts the total system of the two languageTS: selective, only deals with phenomena that pose problems in translation.(e.g., although the system of verb tenses in English is different from Hungarian, since it does not cause problems in translation, it does not form part of the research on translation.)

(3) CL: compares elements in the two languages occurring on the same level of language (e.g., infinitives in German and Hungarian)TS: does not necessarily focus on elements on the same level.(e.g., the comparison of infinitives in German and finite clauses in Hungarian).

Cont. TS/CL

(4) CL: comparison may be bidirectionalTS: comparison is generally unidirectional, comparing elements occupying different levels in the two languages.

(5) Due to the fact that in translational comparison it is not abstract Lic systems but specific SL and TL texts that are contrasted, TS will have its own categories, many of them unknown in CL, such as the concept of “realia”.

(6) CL: intends to provide relevant information for teachers of FLsTS: helps the work of translators and interpreters

Translation theory and contrastive text linguistics (CTL)studies in CTL:

based on texts that are not the translations of one another (independent texts in Ls A and B)

translation theorycontrasts the realizations of two Lic systems that depend upon each other (!) (T = render an idea formulated in language A in language B)is interested in the extralinguistic elements of the situation of translation, too (e.g., role of human participants in the situation: SL sender, TL receiver, translator; context: geographical, historical, cultural, political, religious, etc.)

Translation theory as an interdisciplinary field of study

explore the relationship between the two Ls, the SL and the TL contrastive linguisticscompare the two texts (SL+TL) text linguistics (terminology: anaphors, cataphors, deixis, ellipsis, etc., developed for the study of coherence)reveal the behavior and mental processes of people participating in the situation of translation, especially those of translators and interpreters psycholinguisticsprovide a precise description of the historical, cultural, and social circumstances of the situation of translation sociolinguistics

Translation theory as applied linguistics

Applied sciences social usefulness and interdisciplinary nature (Szépe, 1986)

TS = interdisciplinary field applies the results, terminology, research methods, etc. of various disciplines to investigate the processes, products and functions of translation.

TS = useful science its results may be applied widely:

in designing curricula for translator and interpreter training institutions,developing materials for interpretation and translation,in devising criteria for the assessment of translations,in unifying the documentation of multinational companies,in forming the professional profile of translators and interpreters, in designing market strategies for translator and interpreter agencies,in calculating prices for translation and interpretation,in producing translator desks and interpreter booths, etc.

The definition of translation theory/translation studies

is a sub-discipline of applied linguistics

studies the processes, products, and functions of translation, taking into account all of the linguistic and extra-linguistic elements of the situational context of translation.

The linguistic components of the situation of translation are:

the source language,

the target language,

the source language text,

the target language text.

The extra-linguistic components of the situation of translation are:

the source language sender,

the target language receiver,

the translator (who, in one person, combines the function of SL receiver and TL sender), and

the historical, geographical, social, and cultural context of the SL and the TL.

Kinds/types of translation (including “interpretation studies”):

1. written translation of a written text

2. oral translation of a written text (sight translation)

3. oral translation of a spoken text (interpretation)

(a) simultaneous translation of a spoken text (simultaneous interpretation)

(b) consecutive translation of a spoken text (consecutive interpretation)

4. written translation of a spoken text

Factors influencing translators’s decisions:

not primary (monolingual) communication

= secondary communication influencing factors are duplicated is also influenced by the interrelations between these factors translational language use

Level Primary comm.in L1

Primary comm.in L2

Secondary comm.in L2

Lic compet.

system of L1 system of L2 systems of L1 and L2

Lic perform.

use of L1 system

use of L2 system

usage in L1 and L2

ExtraLic reality

context of L1 context of L2 contexts of L1, L2

relations betw. systems of L1 and L2e.g., missing gr.-cal categories relations betw. usage in L1 and L2

e.g., D structuring relation betw. contexts of L1 and L2e.g., political systems, power relations Relation betw. translational use in L1-L2 e.g., experience of previous translators

Translation Studies(Baker, 1998) – synonyms:

“science of translation” (Nida, Wilss)

“translatology” (Goffin)

“translation studies” (James Holmes, 1972: The Name and Nature of Translation Studies)

TS (Baker, 1998, p.277)“the academic discipline concerned with the study of translation at large, including literary and non-literary translation, various forms of oral interpreting, as well as dubbing and subtitling”;covers the whole spectrum of “research and pedagogical activities, from developing theoretical frameworks to conducting individual case studies to engaging in practical matters such as training translators and developing criteria for translation assessment”

And now let’s see the tasks…