The ‘Art’ of

Translation

What is translation?

Defining Translation:  • Process and/or product (interlinked and not linear

sequence: v. drafting and re-drafting, editing; no 'perfect'/'correct'/'definitive' translation).

• Movement between: languages, cultures, media.• Intralingual (rewording), interlingual (translation proper)

and intersemiotic translation (transmutation) (see Jakobson): in Language Teaching we tend to concentrate on interlingual.

However, it is not as simple as that, because there can be various difficulties in the process of translation, such as: idiomatic phrases: “in culo alla balena!”; cultural examples – where a word has slightly differing connotations to its equivalent in various languages e.g. “pizza” or “a cup of tea”; where one word has more than one meaning in another language e.g. “you” – “tu”, “voi” etc.

Relevant vocabulary• Source Text/Target Text (SL/TL)• Source Language/Target Language (SL/TL)• Source Culture/Target Culture • Fidelity (e.g. les belles infidèles): Literal (word-for-word) vs Free (sense-for-sense) • Equivalence • Skopos Theory: text typology and function• Transfer and Manipulation: translation as loss and gain - never neutral, culturally marked, ideologically charged... • Norm-regulated behaviour (Hermans; Levefere) • Foreignising vs domesticating translation (Schleiermacher, Venuti)

Things to consider as a translator

RegisterTone

PurposeContext

Audience

Source Language Bias vs Target Language Bias

The SL bias is Interlinear Translation, where the TT does not necessarily respect TL grammar, but has grammatical units corresponding to TL grammar.

“Chi non risica non rosica”

Who not risks not nibbles

The TL bias is Free Translation, where there is only a generalised correspondence between the textual units of the ST and the TT.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained

Communicative TranslationCommunicative Translation is produced when the ST uses an SL expression standard/appropriate for that situation and the TT uses a TL expression standard/appropriate for that situation.

Senso vietato

Buon appetito

Prego

È nato con la camicia

No entry

Enjoy your meal

You’re welcome

He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth

The Bias ScaleSL bias

TL bias

Literal

Faithful

Balanced

Idiomatic

Free

“Le piace molto la novella di Boccaccio”

Interlinear

Literal

Faithful

Balanced

Idiomatic

Free

To her pleases much the story of Boccaccio

The story of Boccaccio pleases her greatly

She likes the story by Boccaccio very much

She really likes the Boccaccio story

She says the Boccaccio’s just her cup of tea

Boccaccio floats her boat

Intralingual translation - euphemism

Translation lossSometimes it is impossible to transpose the whole meaning into another language.As an example is the UK political scandal “plebgate”

Pleb = ??????

Cultural connotations of the Conservative Party

Cultural connotations of the word “pleb” & British class system

Contemporaneous political context

Popular perceptions of UK politicians

British Tabloid media

Idiomatic Phrases

To ring a bell

Like a bull in a china shop

Good luck

Make a mountain out of

a molehill

Escapee

Dire qualcosa

Come elefante in una cristalleria

In bocca al lupo (In culo alla balena!)

Fare di una mosca un elefante

Piede libero

How would you translate this?

Queen Victoria inquired as to why the plebs were up in arms.

Her butler replied , “Well, your majesty, they seem not to be taking kindly to the new bobbies on the beat”.

“Hmm”, she scoffed, “We are not amused!”

Can you think of any problems you personally might encounter

in translation?

What is your own

definition of translation?