About Translation

1. CLASS - II M.A English literature
SUBJECT -Translationtheory and practice
UNIT-I
Translation and its types
Preparedby
S.Dharmaraj
Asst.professor
Englishdepartment

2. Translation is primarily conceived as an intercultural
communication as the process of conveying the
meaning of an utterance form
or
Translation studies is an academic interdisciplinary
dealing with the systematic study of the theory,
description and application of translation, interpreting,
and localization

4.  Translation is Important Because Not Everyone Speaks
English
 Translation is Important Because People Prefer Their
Native Language
 Translation Connects the Global Economy
 Emerging Markets Mean Emerging Languages
 Translation Spreads Ideas and Information

5.  Translation is independent and radically different from the
four skills which define language competence: reading,
writing, speaking and listening.
 Translation takes up valuable time which could be used to
teach these four skills.
 Translation is unnatural.
 Translation misleads and prevents students from thinking
in the foreign language.
 Translation is a bad test of language skills.
 Translation produces interference.
 Translation is only appropriate for training translators.

6.  Free translation
 Literal translation
 Communicative/dynamic/idiomatic
translation

7.  A free translation is a translation that reproduces the
general meaning of the original text. It may or may
not closely follow the form or organization of the
original.
 Literal translation is the translation of text from one
language to another "word-for-word", rather than
giving the sense of the original. For this
reason, literal translations usually mis-
translate idioms.
 Communicative translation is a translation method
that attempts to render the exact contextual meaning
of the source language so that both content and
language are readily acceptable and comprehensible
to the readership.

8.  Accuracy is the most important feel of a fine translation. An
accurate translation is one that conveys the same meaning
as the indigenous, or at least it tries to get bond of as close
as realizable to what has been identified as the main
intended meaning.
 Clarity- An immense translation will make the meaning as
certain as realizable that is, it will not be indefinite or
ambiguous. People will not enter the translation and
admiration what it means. An uncertain translation will
cause people to misunderstand.
 Naturalness- A pleasant translation will be natural and will
not hermetically seal later a translation at each and every
share of one. Readers will think that it sounds considering it
was originally written in the receptor language.

9.  Passion. A translator should be passionate about their translation
job. They should use all their means and efforts to deliver every
project in excellent shape, as if it was their baby.
 Translation Skills. A good translator must have a specific
linguistic education. They should master not only the foreign
language they work with, but also the skills of translation.
 Curiosity. A translator must be curious and motivated to keep on
learning new words and expression. The learning process of a
translator should be never-ending.
 Rich Vocabulary. A good translator must have a wide lexicon,
not only in the foreign language but also in their mother tongue.
This will make the translation process easier and the quality of
the translation higher. It is also convenient for translators to
acquire technical terms in specific fields, such as business, law,
sciences, engineering, etc…

10.  Clarity. A good translator’s goal is to express the idea of the source text as
clearly as possible, without ambiguity. They should avoid difficult
structures when they can use simple ones.
 Translation Quality. A good translator should be obsessed with quality.
 Resources. In order to achieve the aforementioned quality, a good
translator should use all available resources at their disposal.
 Accuracy. A good translator should provide an exact transfer of
information. Despite it being tempting sometimes, the translator should not
correct the source text, trying to maintain its “spirit” instead.
 Honesty. Translators are humans after all, therefore it is normal for them to
not know some expressions or words. Nevertheless they shouldn’t just skip
it, but they should conduct research and note it down for future reference.
 Humble Pride. A good translator should always deliver a translation that
they can be proud of, but at the same time be humble enough to accept
possible corrections from the editor/proof reader. The most important thing
in the end is always the quality of the translation.

11. In the preface to Ovid’s Epistles John Dryden talks about 3
types of translation-
 Metaphrase, or turning an Author word by word, and Line by
Line, from one Language into another. eg Horace his Art of
Poetry translated by Ben. Johnson.
 Paraphrase, or Translation with Latitude, where the Author is
kept in view by the Translator,so as never to be lost, but his
words are not so strictly follow’d as his sense, and that too is
admitted to be amplyfied, but not alter’d. eg
Mr. Waller’s Translation of Virgils Fourth Aeneid.
 Imitation, where the Translator taking only some general hints
from the Original, to run division on the ground-work, as he
pleases. eg Mr. Cowley’s practice in turning two Odes
of Pindar, and one of Horace into English.

12. In his essay “On Linguistic Aspects of Translation” Roman
Jakobson arrived at three forms of translation
 Intralingual translation: Translation within a language which
would involve explaining it in words of the same language
 Interlingual translation: Translation from one language into
another or reinterpretation of the message in another linguistic
code
 Intersemiotic translation: Translation from one linguistic
system to another which means the transference of meaning from
a verbal to a non-verbal system or from one medium to another