translation studies and avt
TRANSCRIPT
Department of European,
American and Intercultural Studies
2016-2017
Translation Studies and AVT
WEEK 2 - LECTURE 1
Dr. Margherita Dore
Overview
• Translatability and equivalence in meaning
• Different types of meaning
• Formal and dynamic equivalence
• Equivalent effect (focus on the receptor)
• Semantic and communicative translation
• Koller’s double linkage
• Tertium comparationis
Equivalence in meaning
• Saussure’s starting assumption:
• langue -> e.g. English, Italian, Swahili
• Parole -> “I read a book”, “ho fame”
• Saussure’s Theory of Langue – Sign = arbitrary signifier + signified
(e.g. CHEESE is an acoustic signifier that denotes a “food made of pressed curds”, that is the signified)
• We can understand what is signified by a word even if we haven’t ever experienced it (e.g. nectar, ambrosia)
Equivalence in meaning
‘There is ordinarily no full equivalence between
code-units’
(Jakobson 1959/2004: 139) (e.g. CHEESE is not identical to the Russian syr – or the
Spanish queso or the Italian formaggio – because it does not
Include the concept of cottage cheese)
• The question of translatability – linguistic relativity/determinism, differences in
languages shape different conceptualizations of the world
– linguistic universalism, although languages differ in the way they realise meaning, there is a shared way of thinking and experiencing the world.
Equivalence in meaning
‘Languages differ essentially in what they must
convey and not in what they may convey’
(Jakobson 1959/2004: 141)
Differences in terms of equivalence:
– Gender level: house is feminine in Italian and
neuter in English
– Aspect level: morphology of verbs
– Semantic field level: fratelli in Italian means
‘brothers and sisters’
Different types of meaning
• Nida (1914-2011) was an American Baptist
minister, linguist and translator
• He had enormous experience organizing the
translation of the Bible into indigenous
languages.
• He applied analytical concepts from Noam
Chomsky’s generative-transformational grammar
to his ‘scientific’ approach towards translation
theory and lexical meaning
Different types of meaning
Nida (1964) and Nida and Taber (1969) –
‘scientific’ approach to the analysis and transfer
of meaning is based on the following
assumptions:
Lexical meaning can be categorised as: – Linguistic meaning, relation between different words (his
return may mean when he returned)
– Referential meaning, the dictionary meaning of a word (cf. cheese above)
– Emotive, or connotative, meaning, the associations a word may have (don’t worry about it, son)
Analysis of meaning
Linguists can use a a series of techniques to
establish the referential and emotive meaning of
words:
– Hierarchical structuring: superordinate (animal) and
hyponims (dog, cat, cow)
– Compositional analysis: family relationships (mother,
grandmother, father, etc.), gender (male, female)
– Semantic structure analysis: different meanings
within different context (e.g. spirit or Holy Spirit)
Formal equivalence
Formal equivalence (later ‘formal correspondence’) –
‘message should match as closely as possible the
different elements in the source language’
(Nida 1964: 159)
In other words, formal equivalence is focused on the
message of the ST, which produces a TT which follows
the content and the linguistic structures as closely as
possible.
Dynamic Equivalence
Dynamic equivalence (later ‘functional equivalence’) – ‘the
closest natural equivalent to the source-language message’
(Nida 1964: 166, Nida and Taber 1969: 12)
In other words, in dynamic equivalence, the message of the
ST is transferred in such a way that the effect on the receptor
is as similar as possible to the effect on the ST reader. This
requires the translator to adjust the text to the target culture.
Equivalent effect?
• ‘The relationship between receptor and message should
be substantially the same as that which existed between
the original receptors and the message’ (Nida 1964:
159)
• Q1: But how is this to be achieved when the TT
audience is far removed from the ST context?
• Q2: How does the translator determine who the
audience is and what the ST author’s intention was?
Equivalent Effect – Humour - Ex 1
“And then, I got really
freaked out, and that’s
when it hit me: how
Much Barry looks like
Mr Potato Head.
Y’know, I mean, I always
knew he looked familiar,
but...”
Friends , Episode 1, Rachel has just run away from her wedding
and describes her ex-fiancée Barry by saying :
E allora mi sono davvero
spaventata e mi sono
anche accorta di come
Barry assomiglia a E.T.
Cioè capite, mi era
sempre sembrato un viso
familiare ma...
Peter Newmark
Peter Newmark (1916-2011) was a UK-based
translation theorist. His approach departs from
Nida’s receptor-oriented focus and rejects the idea
that full equivalent effect can ever be fully achieved
in translation (e.g., in the case of very old texts).
Semantic and Communicative Translation
‘Communicative translation attempts to
produce on its readers an effect as close as
possible to that obtained on the readers of
the original. 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’
(Newmark 1981: 39)
Koller’s Double Linkage
Werner Koller was German translation theorist
based in Norway. He proposes a hierarchy of five
types of equivalence according to the
communicative situation:
– Denotative equivalence (extralinguistic context)
– Connotative equivalence (lexical choices)
– Text-normative equivalence (text types)
– Pragmatic equivalence (receiver-oriented)
– Formal equivalence (style and aesthetics)
Koller’s Double Linkage
• Correspondence is a concept from contrastive
linguistics that describes the resemblance and difference
between words and structures in their linguistic forms.
• In Koller’s model, correspondence falls within the field of
contrastive linguistics, which compares two language
systems, and describes differences and similarities
contrastively. For instance, the identification of false
friends and signs of interference.
Tertium Comparationis
An invariant against which two text segments
can be measured to gauge variation from a
core meaning
ST TT ‘A bit with fire:’ Desperate situations
The medicine for a mad horse require desperate measures
Tertium comparationis
‘Strong action is needed to control a difficult person’?
Food for Thought
• Why do you think that there has been such heated debate
over equivalence? How can the concepts discussed
above be used in translator training today?
• Newmark (1981: 39, see Further Reading) states: ‘In
communicative as in semantic translation, provided that
equivalent effect is secured, the literal word-for-word
translation is not only the best, it is the only valid method
of translation.’ Do you agree or disagree? Why?
Bibliography
What we studied so far:
• Munday, Jeremy (2016), Introducing Translation Studies.
Theories and Applications, 4th edition, Routledge,
London/New York – CHAPTERS 1, 2, 3
Department of European,
American and Intercultural Studies
2016-2017
Translation Studies and AVT
WEEK 2 - LECTURE 2
Dr. Margherita Dore
Overview
• Translation strategies and procedures
• Vinay and Darbelnet’s model
• Catford and ‘translation shifts’
• Option, markedness and stylistic shifts
• The cognitive process of translation
• Ways of investigating cognitive processing
Vinay and Darbelnet
Jean Paul Vinay (1910-1999) and Jean
Darbelnet (1904-1990) – In their Stylistique
comparée du français et de l’anglais (1958,
Comparative Stylistics of French and English,
1995) carried out a comparative stylistic
analysis between English and French and noted
differences between the languages and
translation shifts and identified different
translation strategies and procedures.
Translation Strategies and Procedures
Strategy – is an overall orientation of the translator
(e.g. towards ‘free’ or ‘literal’ translation, towards
the TT or ST)
Procedure – a specific technique or method used
by the translator at a certain point in a text (e.g.
the borrowing of a word from the SL, the addition
of an explanation or a footnote in the TT)
Vinay and Darbelnet’s Model
Strategies: – Direct translation occurs when two languages show
close correspondence in terms of lexis and structure; it uses borrowing, calque and literal translation.
– Oblique translation applies when restructuring is involved; it uses transposition, modulation, equivalence and adaptation.
These categories operate at different levels of
language: the lexicon, the syntactic structures
and the message.
Three Strategies
:
Strategy Explaination Examples
Borrowing the SL is transferred
directly into
the TL
perestroika, datcha,
sushi, kimono,
kebab, computer, mouse
Calque the SL expression
or structure is
literally translated
Science-fiction; flea
market
Finestra a bovindo;
Literal
Translation
Word-for-word
rendering
The pen is on the table
La penna è sul tavolo
Four Procedures
:
Procedure Explaination Examples
Transposition Change of one part of a
speech for another
We try harder= Ci facciamo in
quattro per voi!
For patrons only= Riservato ai
clienti.
Modulation Change the semantics
or point of view of the
SL
It is not difficult= è facile
No smoking = Vietato fumare
Equivalence Same situation
by different stylistic or
structural means
Like a bull in a china shop=
Come un elefante in un
negozio d cristalli
Adaptation Changing the cultural
reference that does not
exist in the TC
Mr Potato Head= ET*
*although it should normally be a
target culture reference.
Other Techniques
:
Procedure Explaination Examples
Amplification TL uses more words The charge against him= la
condanna a suo carico.
False Friend Similar term in SL and TL
but different meaning
This is a library=
Questa è una biblioteca (non
una libreria)
Compensation If a ST nuance can’t be
save in the TL, one can
be insert in another place
Tu/lei= Mr/Sir; Mrs/Madam
Explicitation Implicit information in the
ST are made explicit in
the TT
The doctor=
dottore/dottoressa?
Generalization A more general word is
used in the TT
Cottage cheese= formaggio
fresco
‘Servitude’ and ‘option’
Servitude refers to the obligatory transpositions and
modulations due to a difference between the two
language systems (e.g. cold water -> acqua fredda)
Option refers to non-obligatory changes that may be
due to the translator’s own style and preferences, or to
a change in emphasis. It is ‘option’, according to Vinay
and Darbelnet, that should be the translator’s main
concern (e.g. my mother calls at 6.00pm -> alle 6:00 mi
chiama mia madre)
John Catford
John C. Catford (1917-2009) – In his book A Linguistic
Theory of Translation (1965), Catford applies advances
in linguistics to translation by following the linguistic
model of Firth and Halliday.
Catford distinguishes between formal correspondence
and textual equivalence in Translation. He also makes
a detailed description of the translation shifts that take
place in the translation process.
Formal Correspondence
and Textual Equivalence
• Formal correspondent is defined as ‘any TL category (unit, class, element of structure, etc.) which can be said to occupy, as nearly as possible, the "same" place in the "economy" of the TL as the given SL category occupies in the SL’
(e.g. belongings= effetti personali)
• textual equivalent refers to ‘any TL text or portion of text which is observed… to be the equivalent of a given SL text or portion of text’
(e.g. he searched through my belongings= controllò la mia borsa)
(Catford 1965: 27)
translation shifts and Taxonomies • In Catford’s own words (1965: 73; 2000: 141), translation shifts are
‘departures from formal correspondence in the process of going from the SL to the TL’
– level shifts (when something is expressed by grammar in one language and by lexis in another, (e.g. due turisti sarebbero stati uccisi = two tourists have been reported killed)
– Category shifts:
– structural shifts (grammar structure)
– class shifts (parts of speech, e.g. adj. vs adv.)
– unit (or rank) shifts (sentence vs clause)
– intra-system shifts (advice= consigli)
Taxonomies are classifications of such shifts in an
attempt to uncover the translation procedures and
strategies
Markedness and Stylistic Shifts
Jiří Levý (1926-1967) Literary and translation
theoretician. In his book, The Art of Translation
he introduces the literary aspect of the
‘expressive function’ or style of a text and the
goal of a translation is achieving and equivalent
aesthetic effect.
• Markedness – a choice or patterns of choices that stand out as unusual or prominent
• Stylistic shifts – linguistic fingerprint of the translator
Markedness – Ex 1
You haven’t all the time been
here if not seen, not thought
of as present, for when I
looked I saw nothing, when
I looked again, you had
returned. This echo, sweet
spring, makes a human sound
you have no need of, facts
so precede, but you hear; you
hear it, must feel the intent
wetness, mushy. I melt again
into you ample presence.
Bob Creeley “Translation” (from Echoes, 1982)
Invisibile sei sempre stata
Non pensata come presente
Perché quando ti cercavo
Vedevo niente
E quanto guardavo ancora
Eri tornata.
Eco, dolce sorgente
Che crea suono umano
Di cui non c’è bisogno
I fatti lo precedono
Ma senti, soltanto
Devi sentire l’intento
Molle umore
Mi sciolgo ancora
Alla tua immane presenza
The Cognitive Process of Translation
• Observation of the translation process and what
skills and competences are required (Bell)
• Seleskovitch and Lederer’s Interpretative model,
initially applied to conference interpreting, explains
translation as an overlapping three-stage process
of: understanding, to grasp the sense of the ST
deverbalization, rephrase the sense of the ST
re-expression, create the TT on the basis of the
deverbalized sense.
The Cognitive Process of Translation
• Relevance theory: Gutt describes translation as
an example of a communication based around a
cause-and-effect model of inferencing and
interpretation. Translators need to decide if it is
possible to communicate the informative intention,
whether to translate descriptively or interpretively,
what the degree of resemblance to the ST should
be, and so on. These decisions are based on the
translator’s evaluation of the cognitive
environment of the receiver.
Ways of Investigating Cognitive Processing
• Think-aloud protocols is a method of investigating the
translation process, coming from the field of psychology
and developed by Ericsson and Simon (1984). The
translator is asked to verbalize his/her thought processes
while translating or immediately afterwards (the latter
known as ‘retrospective protocol’), often with no prompting
on content.
• Triangulated with technological innovations:
– Video-recordings
– Interviews/questionnaires
– Key-stroke logging (recording of keyboard activity)
– Eye-tracking
Food for Thought
• Translation style. Can the translator’s ‘linguistic
fingerprint’ be found if the TT is compared to that of
the ST and its author’s?
• Examine more closely Seleskovitch and Lederer’s
Interpretive model of translation. In what ways does
the model differ from Nida’s three-phase model
studied in Chapter 3? Which do you feel has more
potential for explaining the translation process?
Bibliography
What we studied so far:
• Munday, Jeremy (2016), Introducing Translation
Studies. Theories and Applications, 4th edition,
Routledge, London/New York – CHAPTERS 1, 2, 3, 4