Chapter 1: VIEWS ON TRANSLATION

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I. Introduction
This chapter is concerned with translation and, in particular, with proposing a new
orientation to the study of translation. Translation, as we all know, is an activity of enormous
importance in our modern world. Nowadays, translation has become a profession. It consists of staff
translators, freelancers, contract translators, terminologists, and pre- and post–editors in machine
translation. The format of translation has partly moved away from books to reports, contracts,
brochures, journals and magazines, instructions and advertisements; its topics range from literature
to every type of information with great emphasis to science and technology.
o Translation has been given greater prominence as a consequence of a number of international
developments. These include the increase in the number of international organizations, the
recognition of minority language groups in most countries in the world; world-wide trade and
international trade.
o Translation has been the subject of interest not only to linguists, professional and amateur
translators, and language teachers but also to electronic engineers and mathematicians. A great
number of books and articles have been written about this area of human knowledge. However,
“What is translation?” is still a question that needs to be considered.
II. What is Translation?
1. Definition
Translation, by dictionary definition, consists of changing from one state or form to another,
to turn into one’s own or another’s language.
Translation is the replacement of textual material in one language (source language) by
equivalent textual material in another language (target language). (JC Catford)
Translation is the process of conveying messages across linguistic and cultural barriers. (Ian
Tudor).
Translation is rendering the meaning of a text into another language in the way that the
author intended the text. (Peter Newmark)
 The form from which the translation is made will be called the SOURCE/ORIGINAL
LANGUAGE.
 The form into which it is to be changed will be called the TARGET/RECEPTOR
LANGUAGE.

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 In other words, translation is the transfer of meaning from one language to another language.
That is, translation is the expression in another language (target language) of what has been
expressed in another (source) language, preserving semantic and stylistic equivalences.
However, languages are different from each other; they are different in form having different
codes and rules regulating the construction of grammatical stretches of language and these forms
have different meanings. To shift from one language to another is, by definition, to change the
forms. Also, the contrasting forms convey meanings which cannot but fail to coincide totally; there
is no absolute synonym between words in the same language, why should anyone be surprised to
discover a lack synonym between languages.
Faced by a text in a language, we are able to work out not only the meaning of each word and
sentence but also its communicative value, its place in time and space and information about the
participants involved in its production and reception. We might take, as a light-hearted model of the
questions we can ask of the text:
 What? is the message contained in the text; the content of the signal.
 Why? orients us towards the intention of the sender, the purpose for which the text was is
used. (Informing, persuading, flattering, etc.)
 When? is concerned with the time of communication realized in the text and setting in its
historical context; contemporary or set in the recent or remote past or future.
 Where? is concerned with the place of communication, the physical location of the speech
event realized in the text.
 How? refers to whether the text is written in a formal or informal way.
 Who? refers to the participants involved in the communication; the sender and receiver.
Translation, then, consists of studying the lexicon, grammatical structure, communication
situation, and cultural context of the source language text, analyzing it in order to determine its
meaning, and then reconstructing this same meaning using the lexicon, grammatical structure which
is appropriate in the receptor language and its cultural context.
2. Translation versus Interpretation
Interpreting and translation are two closely related linguistic disciplines. Yet they are rarely
performed by the same people. The difference in skills, training, aptitude and even language
knowledge are so substantial that few people can do both successfully on a professional level.
 Translation is concerned with the written conversion of a text from one language (source
language) into another language (target or receptor language). A translator therefore is a person who
writes or transcribes the message from the source language to the target language.
 Interpreting is the oral rendering (representing) of the meaning of the spoken word from one
language into another language. An interpreter therefore is a person who orally renders the message
of the source language into the target language. In the case of sign language, interpreters render the
meaning of the spoken word by signing or rendering the meaning of sign language into the spoken
words.
On the surface, the difference between interpreting and translation is only the difference in the
medium: the interpreter translates orally, while a translator interprets written text. Both interpreting
and translation presuppose a certain love of language and deep knowledge of more than one
language.
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 Even bilingual individuals can rarely express themselves in a given subject equally well in both
languages, and many excellent translators are not fully bilingual to begin with. Knowing this
limitation, a good translator will only translate documents into his or her native language
An interpreter, on the other hand, must be able to translate in both directions on the spot, without
using dictionaries or other supplemental reference materials. Interpreters must have extraordinary
listening abilities, especially for simultaneous interpreting. Simultaneous interpreters need to process
and memorize the words that the source-language speaker is saying now, while simultaneously
outputting in the target language the translation of words the speaker said 5-10 seconds ago.
Interpreters must also possess excellent public speaking skills and the intellectual capacity to
instantly transform idioms, colloquialisms and other culturally-specific references into analogous
statements the target audience will understand.
Interpreters and translators typically do the following:
 Convert concepts in the source language to equivalent concepts in the target language
 Compile information, such as technical terms used in legal settings, into glossaries and
terminology databases to be used in translations
 Speak, read, and write fluently in at least two languages, including English and one or more
others
 Relay the style and tone of the original language
 Manage work schedules to meet deadlines
 Render spoken messages accurately, quickly, and clearly
Interpreters and translators aid communication by converting message or text from one language
into another language. Although some people do both, interpreting and translating are different
professions: interpreters work with spoken communication, and translators work with written
communication.
Interpreters convert information from one spoken language into another—or, in the case of sign
language interpreters, between spoken language and sign language. The goal of an interpreter is to
have people hear the interpretation as if it were the original. Interpreters must usually be fluent
speakers or signers of both languages, because they communicate back and forth among the people
who do not share a common language.
There are three common modes of interpreting: simultaneous, consecutive, and whispered.
- Simultaneous. Simultaneous interpreters cannot begin interpreting until the general meaning of
the sentence is understood. Simultaneous interpreting requires interpreters to listen or watch and
speak or sign at the same time someone is speaking or signing. It requires a high level of
concentration. For that reason, simultaneous interpreters usually work in pairs, each interpreting for
about 20 to 30 minutes and then resting while the other interprets. Simultaneous interpreters are
often familiar with the subject matter, so they can anticipate the end of the speaker’s sentences.
- Consecutive. Consecutive interpreting begins only after the speaker has said or signed a group
of words or sentences. Consecutive interpreters may take notes while listening to or watching the
speakers before presenting their interpretation. Note taking is an essential part of consecutive
interpreting.
- Whispered. Interpreters in this mode sit very close to the listeners and provide a simultaneous
interpretation in a quiet voice. At least two interpreters take turns.
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 The following are examples of types of interpreters and translators:
- Conference interpreters work at conferences that have non-English-speaking attendees. The
work is often in the field of international business or diplomacy, although conference interpreters
can interpret for any organization that works with speakers of foreign languages. Employers
generally prefer more experienced interpreters who have the ability to convert from at least two
languages into one native language—for example, the ability to interpret from Spanish and French
into English. For some positions, such as those with the United Nations, this qualification is
required.
- Guide or escort interpreters accompany either U.S. visitors abroad or foreign visitors in the
United States to ensure that they are able to communicate during their stay. These specialists
interpret in both formal and informal settings. Frequent travel is common for these workers.
- Health or medical interpreters and translators typically work in healthcare settings and help
patients communicate with doctors, nurses, technicians, and other medical staff. Interpreters and
translators must have knowledge of medical terminology and the common words for medical terms
in both languages.
- Legal or judiciary interpreters and translators typically work in courts and other legal
settings. At hearings, arraignments, depositions, and trials, they help people who have limited
English proficiency. As a result, they must understand legal terminology. Many court interpreters
must sometimes read documents aloud in a language other than that in which they were written, a
task known as sight translation. Both interpreters and translators must have strong understanding of
legal terminology in both languages.
- Literary translators convert journal articles, books, poetry, and short stories from one language
into another language. They work to keep the tone, style, and meaning of the author’s work.
Whenever possible, literary translators work closely with authors to capture the intended meaning as
well as the literary and cultural characteristics of the original.
In general, messages to be translated are written and translated versions are also written.
Messages to be interpreted are generally transmitted orally and the interpretations are rendered
orally. This difference in the vehicle of original message transmission implicates a difference in the
time that will be available for comprehending the original message and the time available for
rendering the message into another language. The time factor in turn affects the different skills and
strategies that will be called upon.
3. Translation: Process and Product
Translation is the process to transfer written or spoken source language (SL) texts to
equivalent written or spoken target language (TL) texts. The basic purpose of translation is to
reproduce various types of texts, comprising literary, religious, scientific, philosophical texts etc. in
another language and thus making them available to wider readers, to a greater number of target
audiences and to bring the world closer. There are three distinguishable meanings for the word
translation:
 Translating: the process (to translate; the activity rather than the tangible object);
 A translation: the product of the process of translating (i.e. the translated text);
 Translation: the abstract concept which encompasses both the process of translating and
the product of that process.
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 4. Approaches to Translation: There are two approaches to translation:
 Formal equivalence: Formal equivalence implies word for word translation or literal
translation. It translates not only the exact appearance of vocabulary but also the idioms and
grammatical structure used in the original. This creates a problem because idioms are expressions
that have meaning which is quite different from the actual meaning of the words used in the idiom.
The drawback of formal equivalence is that idioms or phrases can mislead or confuse the reader.
 Dynamic equivalence: Dynamic equivalence, also referred to as functional equivalence,
implies the essential thought expressed in the source text. This includes, if necessary, literality,
original meaning and word order, the text's active vs. passive voice, etc. It is not following a word-
for- word translation but changing, adding, or subtracting from the original text to make it look as
the translator sees fit.
5. Principles of Translation
The first thing to remember is that translation is the transfer of meaning from one language
to another. It is not the transfer of words from one language to another. Different languages also
have different grammar rules, different word orders, sometimes even words for which other
languages do not have any equivalents. What makes a good translation? => THE IDEAL
TRANSLATION must be:
ACCURATE,
 Reproducing as exactly as possible the meaning of the source text.
BEAUTIFUL,
 Using natural forms of the receptor language (TL) in a way that is appropriate to the kind
of text being translated.
COMMUNICATIVE,
 Expressing all aspects of the meaning in a way that is really understandable to the intended
audience.
- The first criterion is rather obvious—it has to be accurate. Additionally, if a translation is
fraught with bad grammar or spelling errors, the reader tends to lose confidence in not only the
document, but also the company that produced it.
- Clarity is another important factor. A translation has to be easily comprehensible and well
written, regardless of how poor the original document may be. Good translations commonly read
much better than do the originals.
- Naturalness of the translation is the key factor in helping to prevent a translation from
sounding like one. For a translation to convey the same feeling to the reader, it must use words and
expressions which can transmit a similar spirit. Failure to express this accurately can easily mislead
the reader as to the writer’s true feelings and attitudes.
- A translation needs to be culturally appropriate for the target audience. References to
religious figures, sports or country–specific items may confuse or offend the reader.
- The audience needs to be taken into consideration. Sometimes this is a broad group of
people, but more often, it is a narrow, targeted audience.
 The translation should make sense.

 The translation should display the spirit and manner of the original.

 The translated document has a natural and easy form of expression.

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  The translated document produces a similar response.
 A good choice of equivalent structures in both languages

- It took us three days to finish the financial report. ☞

- It is not easy to persuade our foreign partner to sign a new contract. ☞
 A right choice of words - appropriate style / register

- Một số chủ cơ sở sản xuất ở quận Tân Phú đã khai thác quá mức lao động trẻ em. ☞
- The head of our human-resource department got married to his high school girlfriend
last week. ☞
 Avoid literal translation
- I have no close friends at the new job. ☞
- My old classmate invited me to have lunch at 11.00 and the company meeting didn’t
finish until 12.00. ☞
III. What is a translator?
1. Definition
A translator is a ‘bilingual mediating agent between monolingual communication
participants in two different language communities’, i.e., the translator decodes messages
transmitted in one language and re-encodes them in another.
2. Characteristics of a good translator
 The Translator: Knowledge and Skills
The translator, as a communicator, must possess the knowledge and skills (in two languages)
that are common to all communicators. That is, the translator must know:
(1) Semantic knowledge (how propositions are structured.)
(2) Syntactic knowledge (how clauses can be synthesized to carry propositional content
and analyzed to retrieve the content embedded in them.) and
(3) Pragmatic knowledge (how the clauses can be realized as information-bearing text
and the text decomposed into the clause.)
 Ideal Bilingual Competence
The competence of the ‘ideal translator’ or ‘ideal bilingual’ means that s/he knows both
languages perfectly and is not unaffected by such theoretically irrelevant conditions as memory
limitations, distractions, shifts of attention or interest, and errors in applying this knowledge in actual
performance.
 Expertise
This refers to the approach based on inferences drawn from the observation of translator
performance consists of two basic components:
(1) A knowledge base consisting of:
o source language knowledge; the syntactic rule systems of the code, its lexicon and
semantics and its text-creating systems,
o target language knowledge; equivalent to that in the source language,
o text-type knowledge
o domain knowledge
o contrastive knowledge of each of the above

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 (2) An inference mechanism which permits:
o The decoding of texts, i.e. reading and comprehending source language texts
o The encoding of texts, i.e. writing target language texts
 Communicative Competence
(1) Grammatical competence: knowledge of the rules of the code, including vocabulary
and word-formation, pronunciation/spelling and sentence structure.
(2) Sociolinguistic competence: knowledge of and ability to produce and understand
utterances appropriately in context, i.e. as constrained by topic, the status of the
participants, purposes of the interaction, etc.
(3) Discourse competence: the ability to combine form and meaning to achieve unified
spoken and written texts in different genres. This unity depends on cohesion in form
(the way in which utterances are linked structurally to facilitate interpretation of text)
and coherence in meaning (the relationships among the different meanings in a text,
literal meanings, communicative functions or social meanings).
(4) Strategic competence: the mastery of communication strategies which may be used to
improved communication or to compensate for breakdowns (caused by limiting
factors in actual communication or to insufficient competence in one or more of the
other components of communicative competence).
 Memory, Meaning and Language
The translator, like any other communicator, lives in the world of the senses through which
perceptions are integrated as concepts, experiences can be ‘recalled’ and even ‘relived’ through the
systems of memory.
o Sensation: the act of receiving stimuli from the outside world through the senses.
o Perception: the organization of these impressions into an endlessly varied but stable
and consistent world with agreed dimensions of space and time.
 The Communication Process
The translator is by definition a communicator who is involved in written communication.
Below is the process of written communication in which translators are involved.
(1) The sender selects message and code
(2) Encodes message
(3) Selects channel
(4) Transmits signal containing message
(5) Receiver receives signal containing message
(6) Recognizes code
(7) Decodes signal
(8) Retrieves message and comprehends message
 The Translation Process
The translation processes imply an entire process of how a translator produces equivalences from
a text (portions of a text) into another language. The translation process can be described as:
 Comprehension of source text
a. parsing the text (grammar and lexis)
b. access to specialized knowledge
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 c. access to intended meaning
 Transfer of meaning
d. relaying lexical meaning
e. relaying grammatical meaning
f. relaying rhetorical meaning, including applied or inferable meaning for potential
readers
 Assessment of target text
g. readability
h. conforming to generic and discoursal target language convention
i. judging adequacy of translation for specific purpose
In other words, the translation process can be briefly described as:
 Decoding the meaning of the source language text (The analysis of the source
language text-decomposition) and
 Re-encoding or translating this meaning in the target language (The synthesis of that
semantic representation into the target text-recomposition)

Memory
Source
Language Analysis
Text

Semantic
Representation

Target
Synthesis Language text

IV. Perspectives on translation

The following quotes taken from different sources provide an overview of the range of diversity
of opinions on the concept of translation:
o Translation is the replacement of textual material in one language (source language) by
equivalent textual material in another language (target language). (Catford: 1965)
o Translation is the replacement of a representation of a text in one language by a
representation of another equivalent text in a second language. (Hartmann & Stock: 1972)
o Translation is the expression in another language (target language) of what has been
expressed in another (source language), preserving semantic and stylistic equivalences.
(Dubois: 1973)
o Translation consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent
of the source language message, firstly in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style.
(Nida & Taber: 1974)

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 o Translation is a procedure which leads from a written SL text to an optimally equivalent TL
text, and which requires the syntactic, semantic, stylist and text pragmatic comprehension
by the translator of the original text. (Wilss: 1982)
o Translation, as the process of conveying messages across linguistic and cultural barriers, is
an eminently communicative activity, one whose use could well be considered in a wider
range or teaching situations that may currently be the case. (Tudor, cited in Duff: 1989)
o Translating is a communicative process which takes place within a social context. (Hatim
& Mason: 1990)
o Translating is the transformation of a text originally in one language into an equivalent text
in a different language retaining, as far as possible, the content of the message, and the
formal features and the roles of the original text. (Bell: 1991)
Summary
In this chapter, we have looked at the significance of translation in reality and we have
discussed a number of translation theories as developed by various translation scholars in Europe
and North America. First, we started an eminent Bible translation and finished with the theory drawn
on various insights from modern linguistics, psychology, pragmatics, text-linguistics, and
communication theory. Up to this point, it is necessary to bring all the theories together to establish a
kind of starting point and a theoretical framework for that chapter that follows.

Discussion
Give your comments on the following issues.
1. Context and co-text are important factors in determining not only the meaning of the source
language text but also the structural arrangement or the target language text.
2. Meaning is the key issue in translation.
3. Depending on the type of text, the ultimate goal of translation can be communicative or
idiomatic (semantic).
4. Grammatical analysis of the source language text is important.
5. The mention of the text writer is an important factor that should be taken into account in the
translating process.
6. Equivalence is the key concept in translation.
7. Target readership should be an important factor in determining the legitimacy of a translated
text.
8. Translation is both an art and a science. It is an art in the sense that it is performed by human
beings and human beings are creative. It is a science in the sense that it is a process going
through different stages: analysis, transfer and restructuring.

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