CHAPTER

Translation Methods

INTRODUCTION

The central problem of translating has always been whether to translate literally or freely.
The argument has been going on since at least the first century BC Up to the beginning of the
nineteenth century, many writers favoured some kind of Tree 1 translation: the spirit, not the
letter; the sense not the words; the message rather than the form: the matter not the manner-
This was the often revolutionary slogan of writers who wanted the truth to be read and
understood - Tyndale and Dolet were burned at the stake, Wycliff s works were banned.
Then at the turn of the nineteenth century, when the study of cultural anthropology suggested
that the linguistic barriers were insuperable and that language was entirely the product of
culture, the view that translation was impossible gained some currency, and with it
that,ifattemptedatall,it must be as literal as possible. This view culminated in the statements
of the extreme literalists' Walter Benjamin and Vladimir Nabokov.
The argument was theoretical: the purpose of the translation, the nature of the
readership, the type of text, was not discussed. Too often, writer, translator and reader were
implicitly identified with each other. Now the context has changed, but the basic problem
remains.
I put it in the form of a flattened V diagram:
SL emphasis TL emphasis
Word-for-word translation Adaptation
Literal translation Faithful Free translation
translation Semantic Idiomatic translation
translation Communicative translation

THE METHODS

Word-for-word translation
This is often demonstrated as interlinear translation, with The TL immediately below the SL
words. The SL word-order is preserved and the words translated

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46 PRINCIPLES
TRANSLATION METHODS 41
singly by their most common meanings, out of context. Cultural words are translated literally.
so-called 'intralingual translation*, often prolix and pretentious, and not translation at
The main use of word-for-word translation is either to understand the mechanics of the
all.
source language or [o construe a difficult text as a pre-t ran slat ion process.
Idiomatic translation
L i te ra] tra ns I ati on
Idiomatic translation reproduces the 'message' of the original but tends to distort
The SL grammatical constructions are converted to their nearest TL equivalents but the nuances of meaning by preferring colloquialisms and idioms where these do not exist
lexical words are again translated singly, out of context. As a pre-translation process, this in the original- (Authorities as diverse as Seteskovitch and Stuart Gilbert tend to this
indicates the problems to be solved* form of lively, 'natural' translation.)

Faithful translation Communicative translation

A faithful Translation attempts to reproduce the precise contextual meaning of the original Communicative translation attempts to render the exact contextual meaning of the
within the constraints of the TL grammatical structures. It 'transfers' cultural words and original in such a wav that both content and language are readily acceptable and
preserves the degree of grammatical and lexical 'abnormality' (deviation from SL norms) in comprehensible to the readership.
the translation. It attempts to be completely faithful to the intentions and the text-realisation
of the SL writer. COMMENTS IN THESE METHODS

Semantic translation Commenting on these methods, I should first say that only semantic and communi-
cative translation fulfil the two main aims of translation, which are first, accuracy, and
Semantic translation differs from 'faithful translation' only in as far as it must take more second, economy. (A semantic translation is more likely to be economical than a
account of the aesthetic value (that is, the beautiful and natural sounds of the SL text, communicative translation, unless, for the latter, the text is poorly written.^ In general,
compromising on 'meaning' where appropriate so that no assonance, word-play or repetition a semantic translation is written at the author's linguistic leve]> a communicative at
jars in the finished version. Further, it may translate less important cultural words by the readership's. Semantic translation is used for 'expressive' texts, communicative for
culturally neutral third or functional terms but not by cultural equivalents - une nonne 'informative' and 'vocative' texts.
repassant un corporal may become 'a nun ironing a corporal cloth' - and it may make other Semantic and communicative translation treat the following items similarly:
small concessions to the readership. The distinction between 'faithful' and ^semantic' stock and dead metaphors, normal collocations, technical Terms, slang, colloquialisms,
translation is that the first is uncompromising and dogmatic, while the second is more flexible, standard notices, phaticisms, ordinary language. The expressive components of
admits the creative exception to 100% fidelity and allows for the translator's intuitive 'expressive' texts (unusual syntactic structures, collocations, metaphors, words
empathy with the original. peculiarly used, neologisms) are rendered closely, if not literally, bui where they
appear in informative and vocative texts, they are normalised or toned down (except in
Adaptation striking advert isementsV Cultural components tend to be transferred intact in
expressive texts; transferred and explained with culturally neutral terms in informative
This is the 'freest' form of translation. It is used mainly for plays (comediesl and poetry; the texts; replaced by cultural equivalents in vocativt texts. Badly and/or inaccurately
themes, characters, plots are usually preserved, the SL culture converted to theTL culture and written passages must remain so in translation if they are ^expressive', although the
the text rewritten. The deplorable practice of having a play or poem literally translated and translator should comment on any mistakes of factual or moral truth, if appropriate.
then rewritten by an established dramatist or poet has produced many poor adaptations, but Badly and/or inaccurately written passages should be 'corrected1 in communicative
other adaptations have 'rescued1 period plays. translation, 1 refer to 'expressive' as Sacred1 texts; 'informative1 and 'vocative',
following Jean Delisle, as *anonymous\ since the status of their authors is not
Free translation important. (There are grey or fuzzy areas in this distinction, as in every' aspect of
Free translation reproduces the matter without the manner, or the content without the form of translation.)
the original. Usually it is a paraphrase much longer than the original, a So much for the detail, but semantic and communicative translation must also
be seen as wholes. Semantic translation is personal and individual, follows the thought
processes of the author, tends to over-translate, pursues nuances of meaning, yet aims
at concision in order to reproduce pragmatic impact. Communi-