The process of translating

The Process of Translatingby Meibis Gonzalez V.

Process

• Translating is an operational process where two important steps take place:

– First, we choose an approach

– Second, we translate within four levels

Approaches

• We either translate from the word to the sentence, from the sentence to the paragraph, to the paragraph to the chapter…then we get the feel and feeling of it

• We might translate also after reading the whole text several times first until we get the feel and feeling of it.

Comparison of two approachesApproach Process When to use it DisadvantagesSentence by sentence,paragraphby paragraph, or chapter by chapter

From word to sentence to paragraph to chapter

• Easy texts• Literary texts

• Too much revision

• Waste of time

Read wholeText

Read whole text several times first, then translate

• Harder texts• Technical or

institutional texts

• can be mechanical

• Should never stop use of intuition

Translation is for discussion…

• Translation is for discussion because…– When we translate we should propose a

version for discussion and criticism, not impose a view

– There are no absolutes– Everything is more or less– Nothing is purely objective or subjective– There are no cast-iron rules

The Four levels

1.Textual level2.The referential level3.The cohesive level4.Level of naturalness

Textual Level

• The text is the base label. This is the level of literal translations.

• There is transposition of SL grammar into their TL equivalents.

Textual Level

• The translator intuitively and automatically makes certain conversions of the lexical units into the sense that appears immediately appropriate in the context of the sentence (text based).

• The source text itself and its immediate impression on the translator play a role

The Referential Level

• The referential level and the textual level are closely involved with each other.

• The referential level deals with content. The message, or semantics of the text play a major role.

• After decoding the message, a conceptual representation is built. The linguistic level that the text offers is supplemented with the necessary additional information.

The Referential Level

• The translator needs to stand back from the text and have an image of the reality behind it to find the real intention of the writer.

• The translator builds up a referential picture when transforming the SL into the TL text.

• We should not read a sentence without seeing it in its referential level.

The Cohesive Level

• Cohesion is the link of lexical, grammatical, and other relations which connect various parts of a text.

• The cohesive level links the textual and the referential levels.

• It provides organization, and facilitates understanding. It is clear because the network of words and expressions in the surrounding sentences and paragraphs show logical unity.

The Cohesive Level• It has two factors: the structure level and the

mood.

• The structure factor happens through the connective words linking the sentences from the known to the new.

• It ensures thus, that there is a sequel, a sequence of time, space, and logic in the text.

Cohesive Level

• In the mood factor (tone), the translator finds value-laden and value-free passages. The translator is able to differentiate the subjective from the objective in the SL text.

• The cohesive level is a regulator. It secures coherence. It adjusts emphasis.

Level of Naturalness• It allows the translator decide the lengths of

paragraphs and sentences, the formulation of the title, and the tone of the conclusion.

• This level is target text oriented, focusing exclusively on the construction of the target text.

• • Your translation needs to make sense• It needs to read naturally

Level of Naturalness

• Here what counts is that the language sounds natural (as in the target language).

• Finding this level might face some possible problems:– word order – one-to-one translation

Level of Naturalness

– making common structures seem unnatural

– false friends (cognate words)

– participles, infinitives and nominalizations

– old-fashioned or lofty target language diction

Level of Naturalness

– non-corresponding categories and phenomena in the SL and TL such as tense-aspect, definite article use, idioms and metaphors, nominal compounds, collocations etc.

– Presence of random, unpredictable things that just seem unnatural in the target language

Bibliography

• Newmark, Peter. (1988). A textbook of Translation.

Thanks a lot!