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Microsoft Word Unit 1 DỊCH ĐẠI CƯƠNG docx 1 UNIT 1 BASIC FEATURES OF TRANSLATION The Main Contents What is the theory of translation? Definitions of translation The nature of translation Types of equi.

UNIT 1: BASIC FEATURES OF TRANSLATION The Main Contents

- What is the theory of translation?

- Definitions of translation

- The nature of translation

- Types of equivalents of correlated units

- The relationship between meaning, style and culture

- What does the translator do?

What is the theory of translation?

The surface meaning of the two will be approximately similar

Now we have to take some general points of translation into consideration It is necessary to put forward the matter of meanings You have to make some comparison and contrast with the surface meaning of the two languages before rendering If possible, keep the original meaning of the text

The theory of translation

Basically, there are two competing theories of translation In one, the predominant purpose is to express as exactly as possible the full force and meaning of every word and phrase in the original, and in the other the predominant purpose is to produce a result that does not read like a translation at all, but rather moves in its new dress with the same ease as in its native rendering

Definitions of Translation Part I

Translation is basically a change of form

When we speak of the form of a language, we are referring to the actual words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, etc The forms are referred to as the surface structure of a language It is the structural part of language which is actually seen in print or heard

in speech In translation the form of the source language is replaced by the form of the receptor/target language

Translation is the expression in another language of what has been expressed in one language

In this definition, you should preserve semantic and stylistic equivalencies You should be careful when you express the other people's ideas It is very easy to be erroneous

Translation is the replacement of a representation of a text in one language by a representation of an equivalent text in

a second language

In this case you can understand that there must be an equivalent text in the second language You should try to find and create

as many as equivalents as possible

Translation is rendering a written text into another language in a way that the author intended the text

You should bear in mind that it is important to understand the author's intention If you have no idea about the author's intention, you will be in the middle of the road

Translating may be defined as the process of transforming signs or representations into other signs or representations

If the originals have some significance, we generally require that their images also have the same significance, or, more realistically, as nearly the same significance as we can get Keeping significance invariant is the central problem in translating between natural languages

Translation may be defined as follows: the replacement of textual material in one language by equivalent material in another language

In this definition, translation is expressed in the most general aspect The replacement of the textual material is not really easy

Definitions of Translation Part II

To translate means “to produce a text in a target setting for a target purpose and target addressees in target circumstances"

One of the most important factors determining the purpose of a translation is the addressee, who is the intended receiver or audience of the target text with their culture-specific world-knowledge, their expectations and their communicative needs Every translation is directed at an intended audience

Translating consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source-language message

In this aspect the reproduction of a language is put forward The natural equivalent is paid much attention to Of course, the translator has to spend much more time on the nature of the target language

Translation leads from a source-language text to a target-language text which is as close an equivalent as possible and presupposes an understanding of the content and style of the original

In translation the understanding of the content and style of the original is very necessary It is the key factor to render a text The presupposition is a must for the translation process

Translation can be conceived as an integral communicative performance, which without any extratextual additions (notes, explanations etc.)

When the translation is an end in itself, in the sense of simply seeking to extend an originally monolingual communicative process to include receivers in another language, it provides an insight into the cognitive meaning, linguistic form and communicative function of the SL text

Translating as a code-switching operation

With the more pragmatic reorientation at the beginning of the 1970s, the focus shifted from the word or phrase to the text as a unit of translation Equivalence as a basic concept or even constituent of translation was never really questioned

The ideal translation would be one in which the aim in the target language is equivalence as regards the conceptual content, linguistic form and communicative function of a source-language text

This means that the source-language content, form, style, function, etc must be preserved, or at least that the translation must seek to preserve them as far as possible

THE NATURE OF TRANSLATION Reproducing the Message

You should bear in mind that translating must aim primarily at “reproducing the message.” To do anything else is essentially false to one’s task as a translator But to reproduce the message one must make a good many grammatical and lexical adjustments

A meaningful equivalent is "tender compassion,” and it is precise in this manner that many translations attempt to reproduce the significance of this source-language expression

Equivalence rather than Identity

The translator must strive for equivalence rather than identity In a sense this is just another way of emphasizing the reproduction

of the message rather than the conservation of the form of the utterance, but it reinforces the need for radical alteration of a phrase such as I think or in my opinion which may be quite meaningless

Equivalence in translation is considered mainly in terms of form and meaning However, over the past years, translation scholars have focused more on the communicative function than on the notion of equivalence of the target text The translator is seen as

a bilingual communicator in an intercultural situation, who can competently produce utterances which are also appropriate in the given sociocultural circumstances

Natural refers to three areas of the communication process: a natural rendering should fit the whole receptor language and culture, the context of the specific message, and the receptor-language audience Therefore the translation should bear no obvious trace of a foreign origin A natural translation would have to deal with two main areas of adaptation, that is grammar and lexicon

THE RELATIONSHIP OF MEANING, STYLE AND CULTURE Significance of Meaning

As the matter has already been indicated in the definitions of translating, meaning must be given priority, for it is the content of the message which is of prime importance in translating Working in this way we may have formal consistency of word, phrase, and clause order (word order is, however, more difficult to retain than phrase or clause order), length of sentences, and classes

of words, e.g., translating nouns by nouns and verbs by verbs All of these formal features combine to produce what is called

“formal correspondence.” However, when we speak of verbal consistency in translating, we focus primary attention upon the way in which specific words are translated, but words are not the only formal features involved in formal consistency

The Significance of Style

Though style is secondary to content, it is nevertheless important One should not translate poetry as though it were prose, nor expository material as though it were straight narrative In trying to reproduce the style of the original one must beware, however,

of producing something which is not functionally equivalent

Some difficulties can arise when translating One key factor is cultural sensitivity: Not only do translators have to communicate the message from the source language into the target language, but they also have to take into account the culture of the target language In order to avoid misunderstandings, translators have to look out for the lexical content and syntax, as well as ideologies, value systems and ways of life in a given culture – translators need to know their audience in both languages and also consider the variants of the target language, like European French and Canadian French, among other things

TYPES OF EQUIVALENTS OF CORRELATED UNITS Regular equivalents

The structural similarity of ST and TT implies that relationships of equivalence are established between correlated units

in the two texts Depending on the type of the language units involved regular equivalents can be classified as lexical equivalents, phraseological equivalents or grammatical equivalents The choice of the equivalent will depend on the relative importance of a particular semantic element in the act of communication

Non-permanent equivalents (variable equivalents)

The existence of a number of non-permanent (or variable) equivalents to a SL units implies the necessity of selecting one of them in each particular case, taking into account the way the unit is used in ST and the points of difference between the semantics

of its equivalents in TL

Occasional equivalents (contextual substitutes)

We have seen that words with regular equivalents are not infrequently translated with the help of contextual substitutes It is very important to find some related context clues in order to find out the true meaning of the text

Types of context Linguistic context

The linguistic context is made up by the other Sourse Language units in the Sourse Translation The linguistic context will enable the translator to make a correct choice among the Vietnamese equivalents to an English noun and vice versa

Situational context

The situational context includes the temporal, spatial and other circumstances under which Sourse Translation was produced as

WHAT DOES THE TRANSLATOR DO?

Translators should be familiar with the source language

You should have a perfect knowledge of the language from which you are translating and an equally excellent knowledge of the language into which you are translating At this point you must have a wide knowledge in both languages for getting the equivalence in the target language

Translators should be familiar with: the target language

The translator discovers the meaning behind the forms in the source language and does his best to produce the same meaning

in the target language - using the forms and structures of the target language Consequently, what is supposed to change is the form and the code and what should remain unchanged is the meaning and the message

Translators should be familiar with: the subject matter

The translator should understand perfectly the content and intention of the author whom he is translating The principal way to reach it is reading all the

sentences or the text completely so that you can give the idea that you want to say in the target language because the most important characteristic of this technique is translating the message as clearly and naturally as possible

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION I

What is the aim of translating?

Students yourselves have to make a contribution to the answer to the question Different students of you may bring out different ideas The matter is that you have to brainstorm

What are the basic characteristics of translation, according to the definitions of translation given above?

For this question you have to show your understandings on the characteristic features of translation activities You have to exchange your ideas

What is the nature of translation?

You have to take hold of the nature of translation Show your understandings among your friends

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION II

What are the different kinds of equivalents in translation?

If possible, show your strength in finding the equivalents in translation It is better for you to make use of this For more information you can look back at the previous parts of the collections of the lectures

What qualities do you think a translator needs to have to do the job based on the characteristics described in your definition?

You can choose to mention the things that you are able to do It is better for you to visualize the tasks and responsibilities of the translator Try to adopt the qualities that suit you

Point out the basic tasks the translator must perform in the job Give examples

The tasks of translator are really heavy You can perform the most essential and basic ones first

Reproducing the Message Aspects to be reproduce in translation

It is necessary to reproduce the main ideas of the sourse texts You have to pay attention to the matter of how, when, what and where to reproduce the message Especially, the styles of writing and the genres of the texts

The nature of the message

In some messages the content is of primary consideration, and in others the form must be given a higher priority The purpose of the author and of the translator is to give information on both form and content; to aim at full intelligibility of the reader so he/she may understand the full implications of the message

Equivalence rather than Identity Understanding equivalence

Little attempt was made to objectify the subjective importance of equivalence as a concept It is one thing is to argue that substantial equivalence is an illusion, but quite another to understand why anyone should be prepared to believe in it

Equivalence must be given a higher priority

Only equivalence can create the value of the translation Identity is who we are The paradox of identity is that on the one hand it is about ‘sameness’; what we have in common with other groups, but on the other hand, identity is about being unique It doesn't help much for the translation

Dynamic Equivalence over Formal Correspondence Dynamic Equivalence

We can see that dynamic equivalence tends to favour a more natural rendering, for instance when the readability of the translation is more important than the preservation of the original grammatical structure Dynamic equivalence is the quality of

a translation in which the message of the original text has been so transported into the receptor language that the response of the receptor is essentially like that of the original receptors

Formal Correspondence

Formal correspondence tends to emphasize fidelity to the lexical details and grammatical structure of the original language In some business settings people may insist on formal correspondence because they believe that fidelity to the grammatical structure of the language equals greater accuracy whereas in literature a novel might be translated with greater use

of dynamic equivalence so that it may read well

A Natural Equivalent at at different levels General points

Equivalence that can appear at word level and above word level, when translating from one language into another Equivalence at word level is the first element to be taken into consideration In fact, when you start analyzing the ST, you look

at the words as single units in order to find a direct 'equivalent' term in the Target Language This means that you should pay attention to a number of factors

We know that grammatical rules may vary across languages and this may pose some problems in terms of finding a direct correspondence in the Target Language Different grammatical structures in the Sourse Language and TL may cause remarkable changes in the way the information or message is carried across These changes may induce the translator either to add or to omit information in the TT because of the lack of particular grammatical devices in the TL itself

Textual equivalence

Texture is a very important feature in translation since it provides useful guidelines for the comprehension and analysis of the

ST which can help the translator in his or her attempt to produce a cohesive and coherent text for the TC audience in a specific context It is up to you to decide whether or not to maintain the cohesive ties as well as the coherence of the SL text

Implicature is not about what is explicitly said but what is implied Therefore, you need to work out implied meanings in translation in order to get the ST message across Your task is to recreate the author's intention in another culture in such a way that enables the readers to understand it clearly

Meaning in translation General points

Translation is not merely concerning on meaning as a unit of lexical meaning The process of rendering meaning involves some aspects as diction, grammatical structure, communication setting, and cultural context of the source text Meaning of the source and target texts must be equivalent The meaning of a given word or set of words is best understood as the contribution that word or phrase can make to the meaning or function of the whole sentence or linguistic utterance where that word or phrase occurs

Referential Meaning

Referential meaning is word as symbol which refers to an object, process, abstract thing, and relation We should know that referential meaning is also known as ‘the meaning of reference, is often referred to as the "referential" meaning, the "lexical" meaning, the "conceptual" meaning, or the "denotative" meaning’

Style in translation Officialese Language

Officialese or bureaucratese language is a derogatory term for language that sounds official It is the "language of officialdom" Officialese is characterized by a preference for wordy, long sentences; a preference for complex words, code words or buzzwords over simple, traditional ones; a preference for vagueness over directness and a preference for passive over active voice

Official language

An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction Typically

a country's official language refers to the language used within government (e.g., courts, parliament, administration) The term

"official language" does not typically refer to the language used by a people or country, but by its government

Colloquial

It is the characteristic style of writing that seeks the effect of informal spoken language as distinct from formal or literary English Colloquial language is a variety of language commonly employed in conversation or other communication in informal situations It is the variety of language that speakers typically use when they are relaxed and not especially self-conscious

Culture in translation Untranslatability

Untranslatability is a property of a text, or of any utterance, in one language, for which no equivalent text or utterance can be found in another language when translated Terms are, however, neither exclusively translatable nor exclusively untranslatable; rather, the degree of difficulty of translation depends on their nature, as well as on the translator's knowledge of the languages in question

Adaptation

An adaptation, also known as a free translation, is a procedure whereby the translator replaces a term with cultural connotations, where those connotations are restricted to readers of the original language text, with a term with corresponding cultural connotations that would be familiar to readers of the translated text

Cultural elements

The cultural elements are the name of a company or a product, humor, material culture such as names of food, the style

of the language and the target audience, pictures, symbols, colors, gestures, habits, traditions as well as cultural references on which you can rely to correctly convey a cultural equivalent in the target language

Regular equivalents in translation Lexical equivalence

Lexical equivalence deals with translation of words and rendering their meanings which consists of two componenst – denotation and connotation There are a lot of differences in the range of denotational and pragmatic semantic units when comparing a lexical item with its equivalent in a different language

Phraseological equivalence

Phraseological units are lexical combinations, the meaning of which is defined by the whole expression The most distinctive feature of phraseological unit is its emotional expressiveness and conciseness of thought expression Phraseological units are functioning in the newspaper style It should be noted that defining phraseological units in the text and the ability to find an equivalent to it during the translation process is the most important stage for the translator

The choice of grammatical units in TT largely depends on the semantics and combinability of its lexical elements Therefore there are practically no permanent grammatical equivalents The variable equivalents in the field of grammar may be analogous forms in TL or different forms with a similar meaning As often as not such equivalents are interchangeable and the translator has a free choice between them

Occasional equivalents in translation Loan-word usage

We use loan-words imitating in TL the form of the SL word or word combination, or using an explanation to convey the meaning

of the SL unit followed by a foot-note explaining the meaning of the equivalent-lacking word in ST

Approximate substitute usage

We use approximate substitutes (approximate translation) when we want to make use of a Targget Language form partially equivalent to the equivalent-lacking Sourse Language unit

We use transformations (transformational translation) (nouns into verbs, phrases into clauses…), when we want to make our translations more vivid and interesting

Zero translations

We use zero translations when the meaning of the grammatical unit is not rendered in the translation since it is non-existent in

TL or practically identical to the meaning of some other unit and can be safely left out

Tips for better translation Tip 1

You should understand perfectly the content and intention of the author whom he is translating The principal way to reach it is reading all the sentences or the text completely so that you can give the idea that you want to say in the target language

Tip 2

You should have a perfect knowledge of the language from which you are translating and an equally excellent knowledge of the language into which you are translating At this point you must have a wide knowledge in both languages for getting the equivalence in the target language

Exercises for practice 1: Translate the following sentences into Vietnamese

1 A man’s wife had scratched the side of their new car as she backed it out of the garage

2 A man was injured in an accident aboard a bus, and his friends told him that he should sue for damages

3 A crew was unloading a tank car of highly explosive chemicals when it exploded

4 Her grandmother, willing to break her neck to please her little granddaughter, took away the cereal and went to work preparing

a bacon and egg breakfast

5 Even though he had made a lot of money with several inventions, some of his neighbours thought he was a bit of an oddball Being rich, they referred to him as eccentric

6 My dad was fixing the roof and the ladder slipped out from under him and he is hanging from the eaves

Suggested answers for the exercises

1 Vợ một người nọ làm xước thành xe trong lúc lùi xe ra khỏi gara

2 Một hành khách xe buýt bị thương trong lúc đi xe Bạn bè khuyên anh ta đi kiện đòi bồi thường

3 Một toán công nhân đang bốc dỡ hàng dễ cháy trên một chiếc xe bồn, thì xe nổ

4 Sẵn lòng chiều cháu mình, bà cất bát cơm đi rồi làm món thịt hun và trứng cho nó ăn sáng

5 Mặc dù ông kiếm được nhiều tiền nhờ các sáng chế của mình, nhưng vài người hàng xóm cho rằng đầu óc ông ta không bình thường Thậm chí họ còn bảo ông là dở người

6 Bố tôi đang dọi lại mái nhà thì bỗng nhiên thang đổ và giờ đây ông đang bị lơ lửng dưới xà nhà

Exercises for practice 2: Translate the following sentences into Vietnamese

1 By the end of the first quarter of the nineteenth century a number of our Eastern institutions – Harvard, Yale, Columbia, and Pennsylvania – had some of (1) the necessary ingredients of a university, but hardly yet the point of view

2 They were (2) little clusters of schools and institutes Indeed, just after the Revolution, the schools of Pennsylvania and Harvard had assumed the somewhat pretentious title of university, and, shortly after, the University of Virginia was founded under the guidance of Thomas Jefferson

3 (3) In the South, Georgia and later North Carolina began (4) to rise (5) The substance in all these was mainly lacking though the title was honored

4 (6) There were rather feeble law, medical, and divinity schools, somewhat loosely attached to (7) those colleges

5 It has been (8) commonly recognized, however, that the first decade after (9) the close of the Civil War, that is, from about 1866 to 1876, was (10) the great early flowering of the university idea in America

Suggested answers for the exercises

1 You may render it with the use of occasional equivalents as follows: (1) Một số phòng ban cơ bản ban đầu

2 You may render it with the use of non-permanent (variable) equivalents as follows: (2) các cụm trường nhỏ lẻ

3 You may render it with the combination of lexical equivalents and occasional equivalents as follows: (3) Tại miền nam nước Mỹ, các trường … Bắt đầu (4) mọc lên (5) Cơ sở hạ tầng trong tất cả các trường………

4 You may render it with the use of the lexical and grammatical equivalents as follows: (6) Ngày trước có nhiều …… (7) những trường như thế này

5 You may render it with the use of the lexical and occasional equivalents as follows: (8) Ai ai cũng biết rằng… (9) kết thúc … (10) thời kỳ chớm nở huy hoàng của ………

Exercises for practice 3: Translate the following sentences into English paying attention to the underlined and bold ones

1 Sinh viên của một trường đại học Mỹ thường (1) chơi khăm nhau khi bạn gái mới của một sinh viên nào đó (2) đến chơi lần đầu

2 Thường thì họ mang tất cả đồ đạc ra khỏi phòng của người sinh viên đó,

(3) để cho khi cô bạn của anh ấy đến sẽ không có vật gì để ngồi

3 Ted Jones là một thanh niên nông thôn, (4) cho đến khi được nhận vào đại học, chưa bao giờ rời quê Lần đầu đến trường

và khi nghe nói về sự nghịch ngợm này, (5) anh ta tỏ ra không thích và tuyên bố với các sinh viên khác, “Tôi nhất định rằng điều đó sẽ không xảy ra với tôi

4 Tôi sẽ khóa cửa phòng lại.” Các sinh viên khác đều (6) cười trước lời lẽ tự tin của anh

5 Lần đầu tiên khi Ted đưa bạn gái về phòng, anh kinh ngạc thấy tất cả đồ đạc vẫn còn đó nhưng (7) cửa phòng đã bị lấy

đi mất

Suggested answers for the exercises

1 Students at an American University often play tricks on each other when anyone's new girlfriend pays the first visit to his campus

2 Normally all of the furniture is taken out of his room so that his girl friend won't have anything to sit on

3 Ted Jones is a fellow countryman He has never left his home village until he is a university student It is the first time that he has ever heard of this trick He showed his annoyance and said to other students that".I am sure that it won't happen to me."

4 "I will lock up my room " All other students laughed at his confidence

5 For the first time when Ted took his girl friend to his room, he was very surprised to find that all the furniture remained untouched but the door dissapeared (was removed)

SUMMARY

In this lecture we have learned all the main points about the general concepts as well as the characteristic features of translation At least we have known something about the nature of translation together with its meaning, style and culture I hope that after this lecture you will get

to know what you should and shouldn't do when you face a task of doing the translating Finding the right equivalents for the translation is a really difficult task for most of you It is essential for you to pay attention to the style of writing and the culture of the target language Don't forget to have a look at the tasks of the translator Luck always stays with you!

UNIT 2: ELEMENTS OF TRANSLATION AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN The Main Contents

- ELEMENTS OF TRANSLATION

- QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

- THE FEATURES OF TRANSLATION

- THE FEATURES OF INTERPRETATION

is the language which your client understands very well, so your expertise in this language can even be up to a moderate level

If you can comprehend this language very well, but cannot think much in this language, then its fine Don’t worry about it

Each language has its own system of grammatical structures It is important to analyze the grammatical structure of the source language first The basic character of any language is determined by features of a structural The usage rules help ensure that a language is used in formal writing and speaking so as to make our writings and speeches clear, efficient, and effective, given our purposes in communicating and the characteristics of our audiences Rules that tell us which forms to choose or what syntactic patterns to avoid or to use are prescriptive Ideally they prescribe what are taken to be the most generally used formal writing and speaking practices at a particular time

It may well happen that the translator chooses a text either out of personal interest to translate or as a task given by another

authority (teacher or test) or a publisher In most cases, the translator cannot, without a good reason, change any part of the source text The source language, as has been seen earlier, is not only the very central and initial point for the start of the translation process but also is the background for all translation processes A source text contains writer’s personal emotions, backgrounds, preferences, experiences, beliefs and other personal stuff One of the tasks for a translator in the translation process

is to adjust the location of a source text between himself and a writer

The rules of translation for the source text

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 language to language You must translate the meaning of what is being said, rather than do it word-forword This is because languages are not just different words Different languages also have different grammar, different word orders, sometimes even words for which other languages do not have any equivalents The English spoken by a scientist may have words which a simple farmer cannot even start to imagine And the farmer is likely to have words for things the technologist never dreamed of

The translational norms of the source text

Norms play a role in all the respects since they are related to assumptions and expectations about correctness and/or appropriateness Norms are defined as ‘the social reality of correctness notions’ That is, in each community there is a knowledge

of what counts as correct or appropriate behaviour, including communicative behaviour In a society, this knowledge exists in the form of norms Norms are developed in the process of socialisation They are conventional, they are shared by members of

The translator/ interpreter is the most important element in translation, since the study of translation and the language of translation is no more than the study of the translator's linguistic ability and the translator's output of translated texts The translator is the initial knower of two languages, or more, who has the ability to move between two languages

He/she is the interpreter of the source text, and the producer of the final interpretation which determines the meaning(s) which readers of the translation will read

Besides being a bilingual, or a multilingual, individual, the translator/ interpreter is philosophically in a unique position between two cultures, since he/she is supposed to be beyond the influences of the social and cultural environment of any of the two languages In this sense, the translator, like the linguist who takes all human languages to be on an equal footing, is among the first candidate to be liberated from the dominance of one language/culture, no matter how old, great or powerful that language/culture may be

ELEMENTS OF TRANSLATION: To be a Good Translator/ Interpreter (1)

We all know that theoretical knowledge and practical skills alone are not adequate to prepare you to face the developments in the field There is a need for ability to adapt; therefore, it is necessary to focus on your self-updating and to develop your relevant mental, communicative, and planning skills Training translators/ interpreters is an important task which should be given a high priority The service that translators render to enhance cultures and nurture languages has been significant throughout history

The first step is extensive reading of different translations of different kinds of texts, since translating requires active knowledge, while analyzing and evaluating different translations requires passive knowledge Therefore, receptive skills should be developed before the productive ones; i.e by reinforcing their passive knowledge, you will eventually improve your active knowledge Receptive skills improve your language intuition and make you ready for actual translating

"Writing" skills, the ability to write smoothly and correctly in both source and target languages, are also important Writing is

in fact the main job of a translator You should become familiar with different styles of writing and techniques and principles

of editing and punctuation in both source and target languages Editing and punctuation improve the quality and readability of the translation

Moreover, translation trainees should have a good ear for both source and target languages; i.e they should be alert to pick up various expressions, idioms, and specific vocabulary and their uses, and store them in their minds to be used later This is in fact what we call improving one's "intuition." Intuition is not something to be developed in a vacuum; rather, it needs practice and a solid background It needs both the support of theory and the experience of practice

Language intuition is a must for a competent translator

One of the most important points to consider in the act of translating is understanding the value of the source text within the framework of the sourcelanguage discourse To develop this understanding, you must be aware of the cultural differences and the various discoursal strategies in the source and target languages Therefore, the hidden structure of the source text should be discovered through the use of various discoursal strategies by the translator A good translator should be familiar with the culture, customs, and social settings of the source and target language speakers She should also be familiar with different registers, styles of speaking, and social stratification of both languages

You have to be aware of various information-providing sources and learn how to use them These sources include: different monolingual and bilingual dictionaries, encyclopedias, and the Internet Using dictionaries is a technical skill in itself Not all of you know how to use dictionaries appropriately Words have different meanings in different contexts, and usually monolingual dictionaries are of utmost value in this regard You need a great deal of practice to find the intended meaning of words in a particular context, using monolingual dictionaries

You also need to be familiar with the syntax of indirect speech and various figures of speech in the source language such as hyperbole, irony, meiosis, and implicatures Awareness of these figures of speech will reinforce your creativity and change your passive knowledge into active skill

While there is a strong emphasis on developing source and target language competencies, the ways in which you can develop them should not be neglected Group work and cooperation with peers can always lead the translating process to better results Anyone who practices translation with his/her peers will be able to solve problems more easily and will also more rapidly develop self-confidence and decision-making techniques Although there is a possibility of making mistakes during group work, the experience of making, detecting, and correcting mistakes will make your minds open and alert

Another important point is that successful translators usually choose one specific kind of texts for translating and continue to work only in that area; for example a translator might translate only literary works, scientific books, or journalistic texts Even while translating literary works, some translators might choose only to translate poetry, short stories, or novels Even more specific than that, some translators choose a particular author and translate only her or his works The reason is that the more they translate the works of a particular author, the more they will become familiar with her or his mind, way of thinking,

ELEMENTS OF TRANSLATION (Attributes that make a Good Translator) 1

This is perhaps the most important thing to look for in a translator The translator must be a native speaker of the target language This ensures a thorough knowledge of the language’s culture The art of translation is not limited to linguistics It also requires cultural adaptation that only a native speaker can provide A fluent, non-native speaker may be able to produce a “good” translation, but a native speaker will be capable of producing a natural translation every time

Assuming English is the source language, it is equally important that the translator have a near-native command of the English language Without near flawless English, a translator may miss some of the nuances in the source text, and thus will leave them out of the translation

Pricing & Rates

You must always be mindful of the project budget A translator should be mindful of the going rate for their language combination and expertise, otherwise they may price themselves out of work that is suited for them It is also important for the translator not to under-value themselves, as a too-low price should make you question the quality of work that the translator might deliver

A translator’s experience is a factor in deciding if the translator is qualified, and determining a reasonable rate for services Both years of experience and type of experience are important for you to consider Education and work experience related to linguistics, language teaching, and translation are all desirable Years of experience doing translation work are also desirable, but too many years can sometimes be something to take an extra look at

ELEMENTS OF TRANSLATION (Attributes that make a Good Translator) 2

Your project may require a certified translator Collecting certifications from organizations with national or state recognition is

a good idea in order to expand the number of projects a translator is eligible to work on If there are no specific requirements for certifications for a certain project, a translator with good experience can be considered

If you are working with a language service company, that company will almost surely be working with one or more CAT tools on a regular basis, funneling all their projects through them Depending on the size of your organization, you may also have in-house CAT tools

ELEMENTS OF TRANSLATION (Attributes that make a Good Translator) 3

It’s important to have a pool of translators for everyday projects But many projects require specialized knowledge that

a general translator cannot provide You should focus on specializing in your particular field Being a qualified translator is the only way to guarantee high-quality translations

A translator shows that he is credible and professional when he only accept assignments that he is truly a good fit for

It is always better for a translator to decline a project if he is uncomfortable with it or does not have time for it than to accept when the circumstances aren’t right A project that is rushed due to a translator’s overloaded schedule, or a project that is done

by a translator who is not familiar with the topic, will inevitably be of low quality

You may have different expectations for a reasonable response time depending on the project – but faster is always better A translator should check his email several times a day and should respond immediately to decline or accept a project once he has made his decision

A translator who is always available moves to the top of the list very quickly Turning down projects due to heavy workload or not being familiar with a topic is a good thing, but rejecting too many projects may lead others to believe that the translator is uninterested in working with them If they are always sending projects for topics the translator is uncomfortable with, the translator should remind them of his areas of expertise

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

You have to remember that all the elements of translation are related to each other In some aspects they are like the two sides

of a matter; the right side and the wrong side The existence of one element depends on the other ones

QUESTION 2: In translating, is the source text the main basis or the target source is? Why?

You have to rely on the characteristic features of the source text and the target text in order to find out the clues for the answer to the question The main basis belongs to the one that is unchangeable

QUESTION 3: What is/are the role(s) of the translator in translation?

The roles of the translator are just the kinds of activities that the translator does when translating texts For example:

the analyst, writer or editor etc …

QUESTION 4: Point out the basic differences between oral and written translation

You should have a look at the part "INTERPRETING VS TRANSLATING " in the lecture 2 in order to find out the clues

QUESTION 5: What are the qualities/ skills of the translator/ interpreter?

You can choose some of the following ones for the qualities of the translator: vocabulary, pronunciation, hand writing, reading skills mobility, flexibility and creativity, linguistic competence (grammar, syntax, semantics ), fluency, analytical thinking, sense of humor, spelling/reading

ELEMENTS OF TRANSLATION (Attributes that make a Good Translator)

Translators who communicate well are significantly easier to work with Communication about availability, such as travel plans,

is just as important as project-related communication Project-related communication should be timely and clear

When there is feedback, a translator is expected to review the feedback and provide his professional recommendations as to how to proceed A translator should be professional and open-minded, but also do his best by providing a clear explanation for his mistakes

ELEMENTS OF TRANSLATION: The translated text

If the source text is taken to be the starting point of the translation process, then the translated text is the text which results from the translation process Thus, the translated text is the actual definite material, which has been produced by conveying the meaning of a source text in terms of another language and culture

Translated text properties

Translation properties owing to the translation process were only investigated in the light of the psycholinguistic

experiment, but also on the basis of examples in the context of the cross-linguistic and the psycholinguistic analyses This leads

to the description of the nature of translated text

The changes of the translated texts

In addition to the changes resulting from the movement from one language to another, translation necessarily changes the receiver or addressee of the text While the source text is addressed to a certain readership, the translated text changes this factor in the situation of the language event to new readers in a new language This change in the addressee has far-reaching implications for the equivalence of the translated text at different levels of meanings, grammar and culture of the target language

ELEMENTS OF TRANSLATION: The nature of translated text

English translated fiction is more narrative and situationdependent than English original fiction texts (the typical

features being overused) At the same time, English translated fiction is more abstract and less edited than original texts (the untypical features being overused) Thus, English translated narrative texts are more typical than English original narrative texts

as regards the use of typical features, whereas they point towards a more neutral register owing to the extensive overuse of untypical fiction features

Anti-normalization of the untypical fiction features and normalization of the typical fiction features are mainly due to

re-metaphorization and, in second and third place, due to de-metaphorization and metaphorization This means that in most cases the typical and untypical fiction features are re-metaphorized since, to realize the register of fiction, the same constructions are used in the SL texts and the TL texts

ELEMENTS OF TRANSLATION: The language of translation

Fidelity (or faithfulness)

Fidelity is the quality of being faithful or loyal Faithfulness is the extent to which a translation accurately renders the meaning of the source text, without distortion Its original meaning regarded duty in a broader sense than the related concept of fealty Both derive from the Latin word fidēlis, meaning "faithful or loyal" Fidelity also denotes how accurately a copy reproduces its source

Transparency is the extent to which a translation appears to a native speaker of the target language to have originally been written in that language, and conforms to its grammar, syntax and idiom

ELEMENTS OF TRANSLATION: The target language

The target language is the language into which a text from another language is translated The readers to whom the translated text is addressed are native or nonnative users of the target language The translated text is formulated in accordance with the linguistic systems and the socio-cultural norms of the target language (In this sense, a Vietnamese-English translated text should follow the language rules and social-cultural features of the English - not Vietnamese - language and vice versa) That is why, compared with the source language text, the target language translated text may be so long, longer, or even shorter and may have new features which may not be found in the source language

Grammaticality

Grammaticality has been differentiated from ACCEPTABILITY, which is based on the judgements by native speakers

as to whether they would use a sentence or would consider it correct if they met it Judgements about what is acceptable may reflect views that a sentence is nonsensical, illogical, stylistically inappropriate, or socially objectionable Many linguists believe that they can rely on their own introspection to provide samples of clearly grammatical and clearly ungrammatical sentences that would be adequate for compiling and testing the rules

Understandability is enhanced when information is aggregated, classified, characterized, and presented in a clear and concise manner Relevant information should not be excluded because it is too complex or difficult for certain users to understand It is the quality of information that enables users to perceive its significance

Readability is the ease with which a written text can be understood by a reader The readability of a particular text depends both on its content (for example, the complexity of its vocabulary and syntax) and on its typography (for example, its font size, line height, and line length) Various factors to measure readability have been used, such as "speed of perception,"

"perceptibility at a distance,"

"perceptibility in peripheral vision," "visibility"

THE FEATURES OF TRANSLATION: INTRDUCTION

Normalization can be described as the tendency to conform to patterns and practices that are typical of the target language, even to the point of exaggeration The normalization strategy is manifested by an effort to meet normative criteria of the target language It shows the translator's sometimes conscious, sometimes unconscious rendering of idiosyncratic text features in such a way as to make them conform to the typical textual characteristics of the target language

Levelling out adheres to the tendency of translated text to gravitate around the centre of any continuum rather than towards the fringes This entails lower lexis rate, use of more standard sentence structures and generally sticking to the standards

of the target language

THE FEATURES OF TRANSLATION: Simplification

The range of vocabulary used in the translational texts is narrower than the range of vocabulary in the non-translational texts and this difference is independent of the source language variable.The use of less varied lexical elements in translational material, as opposed to non-translational texts, is a form of lexical simplification Its universal character comes from the independence from the source language

The translational texts have a lower ratio of lexical to running words than the non-translational texts and this difference

is independent of the source language variable Information load may be measured by the ratio of lexical items to running words

A simpler text contains less lexical words therefore the ratio to running words is expected to be lower in translational, simplified texts

The translational texts have a lower average sentence length than the nontranslational texts and this difference is independent of the source language variable Short sentences are more readable A simplification strategy may reasonably be assumed to influence the readability of the text by shortening the sentences length

THE FEATURES OF TRANSLATION: Exploitation

Exploitation involves adding material in the target text that is implicit in the source text Textual indicators of explicitation may occur in the form of lexical, syntactic, or semantic additions, expansions, or substitutions: for example, a higher ratio of function words to lexical items (lower lexical density) because function words make grammatical relations explicit, specific terms replacing more general terms, disambiguation of pronouns, increased grammatical and lexical cohesion, supplying of elided material, adding modifiers, greater sentence length or a longer text overall

Explicitation is obligatory when the grammar of the target language forces the translator to add information which is not present

in the source text, but can occur voluntarily when, for no grammatically compelling reason, translators distance themselves from the source text in a way that makes the target text easier to comprehend It is caused by lexicogrammatical differences between the source language and the target language It is predominantly grammatical

Translation-inherent explicitation

It is determined by the nature of the translation process itself In spite of the alluded expectation, there is no empirical justification for explicitation to take place in this case Explicitation at this level lacks the scientific evidence and a strait jacket type of understanding therefore can not be readily applied that explicitation is a translation universal The universality of explicitation appears therefore shrouded in mystery and it therefore reinforces the researcher to be keen to verify this particular phenomenon

THE FEATURES OF TRANSLATION: Normalisation

Normalization is the tendency to exaggerate features of the target language and to conform to its typical patterns to the extent that the translated text’s conventionality exceeds both that of the source text and of target language texts The shifts may involve punctuation or vocabulary or syntax Just as some features may be explained as either explicitation and simplification, many normalization shifts could also be explained as simplification Some researchers see simplification as a subcategory of normalization

We can believe that any texts demonstrating conservativeness embody the feature of normalization To learn if a text carries such a feature, we need to manifest whether fewer instances of unattested or “abnormal” usage, less foreignness, and lower frequencies of function words occur in translated texts In other words, we need see if translated texts are lexically normalized

THE FEATURES OF TRANSLATION: Levelling out

Levelling out was a term applied to shifts that take place along the oralliterate or any similarly pre-defined continuum

in either interpreting or translating That is, through the process of translation, oral-type texts acquire more written features, and written-type texts take on more oral characteristics

The translated texts will generate more harmonious sets of scores and show a central tendency in a continuum of measurement In other words, compared to nontranslated texts, translated texts will generate a narrower range of scores; their scores will have a lower standard deviation, indicating greater closeness This time we introduced the term standard deviation

to measure whether a set of scores are homogeneous or kind of distantly dispersed

THE FEATURES OF INTERPRETATION

In simultaneous interpretation, the interpreter renders the message in the target-language as quickly as he or she can formulate it from the source language, while the source-language speaker continuously speaks; an oral-language SI interpreter, sitting in a sound-proof booth, speaks into a microphone, while clearly seeing and hearing the source-language speaker via earphones The simultaneous interpretation is rendered to the target-language listeners via their earphones

Consecutive Interpretation

In consecutive interpreting, the interpreter speaks after the source-language speaker has finished speaking The speech

is divided into segments, and the interpreter sits or stands beside the source-language speaker, listening and taking notes as the speaker progresses through the message When the speaker pauses or finishes speaking, the interpreter then renders a portion of the message or the entire message in the target language

Judicial, legal, or court interpreting occurs in courts of justice, administrative tribunals, and wherever a legal proceeding

is held (i e., a police station for an interrogation, a conference room for a deposition, or the locale for taking a sworn statement) Legal interpreting can be the consecutive interpretation of witnesses' testimony, for example, or the simultaneous interpretation

of entire proceedings, by electronic means, for one person, or all of the people attending

Medical interpreting is a subset of public service interpreting, consisting of communication among medical personnel and the patient and his or her family or among medical personnel speaking different languages, facilitated by an interpreter, usually formally educated and qualified to provide such interpretation services

A sign language interpreter must accurately convey messages between two different languages An interpreter is there for both deaf and hearing individuals The act of interpreting occurs when a hearing person speaks, and an interpreter renders the speaker's meaning into sign language, or other forms used by the deaf party (ies) The interpreting also happens in reverse: when a deaf person signs, an interpreter renders the meaning expressed in the signs into the oral language for the hearing party, which is sometimes referred to as voice interpreting or voicing

By its very nature, media interpreting has to be conducted in the simultaneous mode It is provided particularly for live television coverages such as press conferences, live or taped interviews with political figures, musicians, artists, sportsmen or people from the business circle In this type of interpreting, the interpreter has to sit in a sound-proof booth where ideally he/she can see the speakers on a monitor and the set

INTERPRETING VS TRANSLATING

Spoken versus written

We should know that interpretation is the transference of meaning between spoken languages, while translation is the transference of meaning between written languages

Interpreting occurs in real time It happens in person, on the phone, or through a television/video service Because translation involves the written word, it typically takes place long after a text is created, which gives the translator time to access resources (dictionaries, glossaries, subject matter experts, etc.) to produce an accurate and effective end document

Level of accuracy

Interpretation and translation demand different levels of accuracy While interpreters aim to be completely accurate, it’s difficult to achieve in a live conversation They may omit some details of the original speech as they interpret into the target language Conversely, translators have time to evaluate and revise each word and sentence before delivering their product, so they can achieve a greater level of accuracy and greater fidelity to the original

An interpreter must be fluent enough in both the original language and the target language to be able to translate in both directions, on the spot, without any reference material Interpreters are highly qualified people,and the work is quite demanding! Typically, professional translators only work in one direction — translating into their native language Translators do not have

to be as fluent in the source language The key skills of a translator are to understand the source language and to use their knowledge of the target country’s cultural and language norms

Both translators and interpreters are faced with the challenge of making metaphors, analogies, and idioms understandable to the audience in the target language However, interpreters must also capture tone, inflection, voice quality, and the other intangible elements of the spoken word and and convey those meaningfully to the audience

EXERCISE I: Translate the sentences into English

- Phía trước tôi, một con chó to đang sủa thằng bé với nét mặt hoảng sợ

Suggested answer: In front of me, a big dog is barking at the frightening boy My translation is just an example for you to read as a reference You may try to produce different other versions on your own

- Lúc đó, trời nhiều mây; gió bắt đầu thổi mạnh

Suggested answer: At that time, it was cloudy and the wind was blowing hard

- Bữa tiệc bắt đầu được 10 phút anh ta mới đến

Suggested answer: 10 minutes after the start of the party, he came or He arrived after the party had started for about 10 minutes

- Sự bất cẩn của người lái xe đã gây ra tai nạn thương tâm đó

Suggested answer: The driver's carelessness had caused that serious/ disastrous accident

- Mọi người gia đình nhà vợ đều coi anh ta là người ở của họ

Suggested answer: Every member in his wife's family considers him to be a slave/ servant

EXERCISE II: Translate the underlined and numbered parts in the passage into Vietnamese

(1) Smashing Stereotypes

In a study titled Male and Female Drivers: How different are they? Professor

Frank McKenna of the University of Reading

(2) looked at the accident risk between men and women

Suggested answer:

(1) Quan niệm rập khuôn về việc gây tai nạn

(2) đã từng nghiên cứu nguy cơ gây ra tai nạn

My translation is just an example for you to read as a reference You may try to produce different other versions on your own

He found that men drive faster, (3) commit more driving violations, and (4) are more inclined to drink and drive They look for thrills behind the wheel, while women seek independence And, although anecdotal evidence might (5) suggest

otherwise, women are not starting to drive as aggressively as men

Suggested answer:

(3) vi phạm luật giao thông nhiều hơn

(4) có khuynh hướng uống bia, rượu rồi lái xe

(5) chứng minh khác đi

My translation is just an example for you to read as a reference You may try to produce different other versions on your own

The question of whether, as drivers, women, differ from men is important, because it could affect insurance premiums, (6)

which are closely geared to accident statistics

Suggested answer: (6) gắn liền với con số các vụ tai nạn giao thông

Despite the increase in women drivers, McKenna's researchers found no evidence that this is (7) changing accident

patterns It seems that age is far more important than gender in the car It is the biggest single factor (8) in accident patterns

Suggested answer: (7) đang thay đổi các kiểu tai nạn giao thông xảy ra (8) trong số các vụ tai nạn giao thông xảy ra

and, while inexperienced new drivers of both sexes ( 9 )are more likely to be involved in accidents, the study found

striking new evidence to confirm that young men drive less safely than any other group

Suggested answer: (9) có xu hướng gây ra các vụ tai nạn

(10) The survey shows that men and women aged 17 to 20 are most likely to be involved in bend accidents-men

almost twice as often-but the difference decreases as driver’s mature

Suggested answer: (10) Khảo sát cho thấy rằng nam nữ tuổi từ 17-20 thường hay gây tai nạn giao thông tại các khúc cua

Nam gấp đôi nữ về số vụ tai nạn nhưng sự khác biệt giảm dần khi họ trưởng thành hơn

EXERCISE III: Translate the sentences into English (Vietnamese)

- Khi phát hiện anh ta không đáng tin nữa cô ấy quyết định chia tay

Suggested answer: Knowing that he was untrustworthy, she decided to say goodbye to him/ to take leave of him

My translation is just an example for you to read as a reference You may try to produce different other versions on your

own

- Mãi hôm qua họ mới gửi công văn phúc đáp cho chúng tôi

Suggested answer: Not until yesterday did they send us the document for response

- Giá mà tôi biết trước cô ấy không đến tôi đã không phải chờ lâu đến thế

Suggested answer: If I had known that she didn't come, I wouldn't have waited for her for so long

- Con nhớ mang theo ít tiền nhỡ có phải mua gì thêm nhé

Suggested answer: Remember to take some money on you in case you want to buy something more

- Climate change in Russia’s Arctic tundra

It is one of the world’s last great wildernesses, a 435-mile-long peninsula of lakes and squelching tundra stretching deep into

the Arctic Ocean

Suggested answer: Biến đổi khí hậu ở vùng lãnh nguyên bắc cực của Nga

Nơi đó là một trong những vùng đất hoang vu rộng lớn Đó là một bán đảo dài 435 dặm có nhiều hồ và vùng đất sình

lầy đóng băng kéo dài cho đến tận Bắc Băng Dương

- For 1,000 years, the indigenous Nenets people have migrated along the Yamal peninsula In summer they wander northwards,

taking their reindeer with them In winter they return southwards

Suggested answer: Xuyên xuốt cả nghìn năm nay, người dân Nenets bản xứ vẫn thường hay di cư dọc theo bán đảo

Yamal Vào mùa hè họ thường hay đi về phương Bắc lùa theo đàn tuần lộc của mình Về mùa đông họ lại quay trở lại phương

Nam

- But this remote region of north-west Siberia is now under heavy threat from global warming Traditionally the Nenets travel

across the frozen River Ob in November and set up camp in the southern forests around Nadym

Suggested answer: Nhưng khu vực miền Tây Bắc Sibêri này bây giờ đang phải hứng chịu hiểm họa hiệu ứng nóng lên

toàn cầu nặng nề Xưa nay người Nenets vần thường hay vượt qua sông Ob đóng băng vào tháng 11 và dựng trại tại khu vực

rừng phía Nam quanh khu vực Nadym

- These days, though, this annual winter pilgrimage is delayed Last year the Nenets, together with many thousands of reindeer,

had to wait until late December when the ice was finally thick enough to cross

Suggested answer: Ngày nay quá trình hành hương hàng năm vào mùa đông bị gián đoạn Năm ngoái người Nenets cùng với

hàng ngàn con tuần lộc của mình đã phải dùng chân đợi cho đến lúc mặt sông đóng băng vào cuối tháng 12 thì mới đi qua được

SUMMARY

In this lecture we have learned all the main points about the general concepts as well as the characteristic features of

ELEMENTS of TRANSLATION At least we have taken hold of something about the nature and the inter-relations of the source

text, the source language, the translator, the target text, the target language and the difference between INTERPRETING and

TRANSLATING Most important of all, you have already learned THE FEATURES of TRANSLATION and THE FEATURES

of INTERPRETATION However, "practice makes perfect " You should discuss the matters related to the elements of

translation with your friends for more understandings as well as do more translating work I hope that you will get better

UNIT 3: TYPES OF TRANSLATION GENERAL CLASSIFICATION: Classification criteria (1)

On the one who does the translation

I have to repeat that the classification of translation types are of many according to different points of view, based on

either structure, function, or semantics of language Nowadays translation may be done by a human translator or by computer

The entire purpose of translation is achieving equivalence The target text must match the source text as fully as possible

Linguistic meaning and equivalence are the key issues There are three kinds of all: Intralingual translation, Interlingual

translation and Intersemiotic translation

On the basis of forms of translation

In this aspect translation can be divided into

1: Written and oral (literary, informative, semantic)

2 Mixed

3 Computer-assisted/aided translation (CAT)/Machine translation (MT) – still involving human pre & post editing

On the basis of the number of translators

On the basis of the number of translators involved in translation, it can include: 1 Individual and 2 Committee/group

On the basis of means of communication

On the basis of means of communication, translation can be divided into four types: 1.Written translation - written (translation), 2 Spoken translation - Spoken (interpretation), 3 Written translation – Spoken (transcripted translation), 4

Spoken translation - Written (Dicto-translation)

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION: Classification criteria (2)

On the basis of purposes of translation

If we rely on the basis of purposes of translation, there are 2 kinds of translation They are Interpretating and Translating

On the Form of speech

According to this criterion, translation as a written form, sight translation (or translation-at-sight, on-sight translation)

as the oral translation of written text, and interpreting as oral translation of oral discourse are differentiated This criterion also involves subtitling, that is visual translation involving the superimposition of written text onto the screen, and dubbing, or the replacement of the original speech by a voice track which attempts to follow as closely as possible the timing, phrasing and lip movements of the original dialogue

On the Binary-opposition

We have the general kinds of them as follows: (1) free vs literal translation (2) covert vs overt translation (House), (3) semantic vs communicative translation (Newmark), and documentary vs instrumental translation (Nord)

On the Time lapse between the source text perception and translation

Relying on the Time lapse between the source text perception and translation, we can see that there are consecutive and simultaneous interpretings

On the process of translation

Roughly, the human translation theories may be divided into three main groups which quite conventionally may be called transformational approach, denotative approach, and communicational approach We have to pay a special attention to their limitations and ability to explain the translation process

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION: Classification criteria (3)

On the number of languages in translation situation

Relying on the number of languages in translation situation, we have either one-way or two-way translation

On the Direction of translation

Basing on the Direction of translation, we carry out direct translation, that is, translation into the mother-tongue, and inverse translation, or translation into a foreign language

In this type we may have note-taking interpretation, phrase-by-phrase interpretation

On the technical materials

The main goal is to identify the situation described in the original The predominance of the referential function is a great challenge to the translator who must have a good command of the technical terms and a sufficient understanding of the subject matter to be able to give an adequate description of the situation even if this is not fully achieved in the original The technical translator is also expected to observe the stylistic requirements of scientific and technical materials to make text acceptable to the specialist

On Functional style and genre of the text

We can see that very often literal translation is not necessarily a word-forword translation, although it is often associated with a rather negative evaluation of the translation Literal translation is sometimes referred to as formal, or grammar translation, though it is not the same We need to look into literary works and informative texts

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION: On linguistic Aspects

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION: On Functional style and Genre of the text

Informative translation (referential function in translation)

This kind of translation inform the reader about the phenomena of the real world and it is assumed to be universal - i.e applies both to SL and TL texts Used in judging whether an utterance is true or false, the translator should try to give a correct and complete representation of the source text's content (guided by TL and culture as far as stylistic choices are concerned)

Expressive translation (expressive function)

You have to pay attention to the aspect complemented or suppressed by the aesthetic component The translator tries to produce an analogous aesthetic effect on the receiver (it relates to speaker’s feeling or attitude) All the stylistic choices are guided by those made in the SLT

Operative translation (appellative and phatic function)

In these texts both CONTENT and FORM are subordinate to the extralinguistic effect that the text is designed to achieve The translator should be guided by the overall aim of bringing about the same reaction to the audience This, however, might involve changing the CONTENT/stylistic FEATURES of the original one

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION: Dicrect/ Literal Translation

Calque’s status in translation is that of a sandwich between pure borrowing and TL/receptor’s expectations A calque

is a peculiar kind of borrowing whereby a language borrows an expression form of another but then translates literally each of its elements There are many fixed calques like borrowing, which, after a period of time, become an integral part of the TL

Literal translation

Literal or word-for-word translation is the direct transfer of explicit features of SL text into TL text It is like an imitation, an adaptation or a parody Here the translator’s task is adhering to the surface linguistic needs of the SL and TL Literal translation is not appreciable both for SL and TL

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION: Oblique/ Indirect Translation

Transposition involves replacing one word class (SL) with another (TL) but without changing the meaning of the message From a stylistic point of view, the source and the tansposed expression do not necessarily have the same degree of communication The translator should preferably choose to transpose the SL text if this translation fits better into the text, or allows a particular stylistic nuance to be retained

Modulation is a variation of the form of the message, obtained by a change in the point of view This procedure is considered unsuitable, unidiomatic or awkward in the TL It involves subjectivity which certainly lacks reliability in communication of the message hence quite unacceptable both for SL and TL readers

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION: On The Process of Translation

In the transformational approach we shall distinguish three levels of substitutions: morphological equivalencies (" both word-building and wordchanging" of the target language are substituted for those of the source), lexical equivalencies (words and word combinations of the target language are substituted for those of the source), and syntactic equivalencies and/or transformations (syntactic structures of the target language are substituted for those of the source)

Denotative approach

It should be noted that, according to this approach during translation we deal with similar word forms of the matching languages and concepts deduced from these forms, however, as opposed to the transformational approach, the relationship between the source and target word forms is occasional rather than regular

Communicational approach

The communicational approach is the process of translation as an act of special bilingual communication in which the translator acts as a special communication intermediary, making it possible to understand a message sent in a different language

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

QUESTION 1: Point out the main differences between word-for-word translation and literal translation although many translators consider these two methods just one and the same?

You should have a look at the part "PRACTICAL TYPES OF TRANSLATION " In this part you can find out the

characteristic features of the "word – for - word translation "and" literal translation " You have to make some comparison and contrast

QUESTION 2: Point out the main differences between literal translation and communicative translation Give examples

You also have a look at the part "PRACTICAL TYPES OF

TRANSLATION" for more information and then make some comparison and contrast It is necessary for you to give five eaxmples to show your understandings about the kinds of translation

QUESTION 3: Point out the basic features of idiomatic translation and give two examples for illustration

Idiomatic translation is rather difficult for you to identify when you want to find out the suitable examples Be careful

of this kind of translation because one idiom may produce different versions of translation

QUESTION 4: Point out the main differences between semantic translation and communicative translation Give examples

Sometimes it is rather confusing to make a clear distinction between semantic translation and communicative translation When you give examples, you should choose the typical ones

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION: On the basis of purposes of translation

Translation is a means of interlingual communication It is a complicated task, during which the meaning of the language text should be conveyed to the target-language readers In other words, translation can be defined as encoding the meaning and form in the target language by means of the decoded meaning and form of the source language It consists of Non-commercial language and Professional translation

Interpretation consists of (1) Sectional interpretation: Seminars, tour-guides, conversations and (2) Simultaneous interpretation (cabin interpretation): Conferences Interpreting may take place in two directions when the interpreter has to work for both language participants This is a two-way, or bidirectional, translation and it requires a special skill of switching the languages to speak to, suppose, a Vietnamese participant in Vietnamese and to an English participant in English and not vice versa A one-way interpreting means translation from one language only and is usually employed for summit meetings

PRACTICAL TYPES OF TRANSLATION (GENERAL INTRODUCTION PART I)

“You are going where? “whereas the correct version must be “ Where are you going?”, or in the situation where an Englishman is giving a consolence, saying “ No worries or no problem” (không sao đâu), a Vietnamese word for word translation may be “ No star where”

Literal translation

Literal translation is featured by the fact that grammatical structures and the meaning of words are translated almost as closely as those in the target language without paying attention to the situation or context (In this sense, many theorists coincide literal translation with word-for-word translation) For example, the question “Can you sit down?” can be literally translated into Vietnamese Anh có thể ngồi xuống được không?, but in fact it is really a request which can be communicatively translated “ Anh hãy ngồi xuống”, “Anh ngồi xuống đi”

PRACTICAL TYPES OF TRANSLATION (GENERAL INTRODUCTION PART II)

Semantic translation focuses to a great degree on meaning (semantic content) and form (syntax) of the original texts of high status such as religious texts, legal texts, literature, or speeches Using this strategy, the translator tries to come as close as possible to the meaning conveyed by the words by means of word order change or word choice (synonyms/antonyms) so that the true meaning is conveyed

For example, in the case of idioms, “It’s water under the bridge” or “Past waters don’t power mills” if translated literally these idioms make little or no sense; however, their meanings (Hãy để cho quá khứ ngủ yên) could possibly be clear if semantic translation is to be exploited

Communicative translation is freer than the above-mentioned types This strategy gives high priority to the message communicated in the text where the actual form of the original is not closely bound to its intended meaning For example, if the sentence “*Do you mind closing the door, please? No, I don’t” (Anh có phản đối việc đóng cửa ra vào không? Không, tôi không phản đối was translated this way, then the message of the sentence has not yet been interpreted correctly since this sentence implies a request rather than a question, so the following translation could be accepted (Nhờ anh đóng hộ cửa ra vào Vâng/Được

PRACTICAL TYPES OF TRANSLATION (GENERAL INTRODUCTION PART III)

Free translation

As indicated by the word “free”, free translation (sometimes dynamic translation) focuses more on content than form

in the target language; as a result, sometimes the grammar structure or the form of the words in the target language may change; the number of words and the sentence length may vary, depending on the subjectivity of the translator when he/she adds explanation or comment to make clear the meaning of the original For example, “business is business” could be translated freely

as Công việc là công việc, không chen tình cảm vào đây được

Adaptation is a highly free type of translation Here the focus is on sociocultural phenomena or practices that are absent

in the target culture, rather than on linguistic units, although these are of course inevitably concerned In other words, adaptation translation aims to create an equivalence of the same value applicable to a different situation than that of the source language For this reason, we can use this method for plays, adapting them to an audience from a different cultural background, or for advertising & subtitling when characters and function of original text are preserved to get the same effect on the audience

Adaptation can also be considered a translation technique used when the context in the original text does not exist

in the TT culture In this situation the translator’s task is recreate some form of language to convey the same meaning Imagine

a situation in which speaker A sees B leaving for a journey where the Vietnamese speaker will tend to express a wish: Chúc thượng lộ bình an (Have a safe trip)

As the word “gist” indicates, gist translation is characterized by keeping the main idea/gist of a text, omitting all of its supporting details and subsidiary arguments It is the most free type of translation Gist translation can be used in language learning situations (using the same language) to summarize a written text at a written test or a viva voce or in professional circumstances (using different languages) to summarize for example an article in a newspaper or a journal As in all summary,

a text could be translated into anything, ranging from one sentence to usually one third of the original length, depending on specific situations It goes without saying that all the types of translation mentioned above may be justified in particular circumstances

PRACTICAL TYPES OF TRANSLATION IN DETAILS Word – for - word translation

Word for word translation is a translation method in which the translator translates the text word by word and keeps the structure of the target text similar with the source text It is the word-for-word translation in which the Sourse Language word order is preserved and the words translated singly by their most common meanings, out of context Word-for-word translation

is the direct transfer of explicit features of Sourse Language text into Target Language text

The translator’s task is adhering to the surface linguistic needs of the Sourse Language and Target Language First, the niceties of SL and context of the message is not given due consideration; second, for a common reader it looks like a random collection of lexical items, hence makes no sense towards comprehension of a message whereas translation is meant for receptors

so their difficulties of comprehension need to be emphasized

The phrase ‘explicit features’ is self-evident that word-for-word translation has no priorities/regard for deep structure, cultural convention, linguistic and nonlinguistic contexts On the other hand it may not be appreciated by the receptor in Target Language because of its expected difficulties It is perhaps unfortunate but inevitable that the norms and standard appropriate for one group of users should be generalized to apply to all

The translator are required to illustrate the most common basic principles, problems, challenges and strategies before translating important and sensitive texts and particularly revealed Message If a translator is unfamiliar with basic principles of translating, injustice, both with SL text and its rendering in TL is certain Translation is not merely substitution and replacement

of linguistic items, instead it is a complex and challenging job

PRACTICAL TYPES OF TRANSLATION IN DETAILS Literal translation

The Aim of Literal Translation

Truly, literal translation is one of the most important translation techniques in language translation Using this method provides accurate translation that is easily understood by the target audience of the language On the other hand, this method is designed to deliver the intended meaning of the source language, without paying too much attention to the style of the text and syntax of the original text, but it definitely aims to create an accurate translation product as well, just in a very different way

The major characteristic features

1 Literal translation takes sentences as its basic units and the whole text into consideration at the same time in the course

of translation

2 Literal translation strives to reproduce both the ideological content and style of the entire literary work and retain as much as possible the figures of speech and such main sentence structures or patterns as SV, SVO, SVA, SVOO, SVOC, SVOA

The Usefulness of Literal Translation

Literal translation can reproduce the spirit of the original, keep the style and tone as well as the author’s thought of the original In translation, both faithfulness and smoothness is necessary If such goals can’t achieve, then faithfulness should be put in first place In the prerequisite of faithfulness, make sure the translated works to be smoothly and readable

PRACTICAL TYPES OF TRANSLATION IN DETAILS Faithful translation

Faithful translation attempts to produce the precise contextual meaning of the original within the constraints of the TL grammatical structures It imply means the translator aims to convey the author's intention of the text (what the author was intending to communicate) as faithfully as possible into another language

The Notion of Faithfulness

Much has been said and written about the notion of faithfulness (or fidelity) in translation Obviously, like everything else, “faithfulness” depends on how you define it – a principle of loyalty or honesty or a matter of exactness and accuracy; or both; or much more that that) – and also it depends on what you relate it to – word or meaning; the source language or the target language; the source text or the target text; the author or the reader

The Extent of Faithfulness

Faithfulness will also depend on the different choices you make and the strategies you use in different translating situations (oral

or written), with different texts (literary or technical; philosophy, poetry, logics, etc…) And accordingly, it raises different types

of difficulties Usually technical translators are envious of literary translators because they do not have technical problems to solve, and literary translators are envious of technical translators because they only have technical questions to deal with

Three Types of Allegiances in Faithfulness

1 Speaker’s intention If the translation is not faithful to what the speaker means, it is not faithful to the meaning This implies that the translator should have enough linguistic and non-linguistic knowledge to understand the message

2 Target language If the translation contains language errors, it is not faithful to the meaning The translator must accommodate to target linguistic conventions This implies that the translator should have complete mastery of the target language and finds proper equivalents

3 Recipient of the translated text If the translation is not clear to the recipient, it is not faithful to the meaning This implies that, if necessary the translator might add extra information to adjust to the reader with a different background, so that the translation might be pleasant to hear or to read

PRACTICAL TYPES OF TRANSLATION IN DETAILS Semantic translation

Semantic translation is carried out with reference to grammatical deep structure and it aims at establishing semantic equivalence If a translation follows the path through semantic representations, it can demonstrate how sentences in the source language and target language are related to a common deep structure In this method, the translator tries to reproduce the precise contextual meaning of the author within the bare syntactic and semantic constraints of the target language Semantic method emphasizes the content of the message rather than the effect There is more emphasis on naturalness than in faithful translation, and translation of certain cultural words into neutral equivalents in the Target Language

The nature of Semantic translation

Semantic translation remains within the original culture and assists the reader only in its commutations if they constitute

the essential method is that where is a conflict Semantic translation tends to be complex, awkward, detailed, concentrated, and

to process the thought-process rather than the intention of the transmitter

Semantic translation is objective and neutral, only to translate naturally It is not adding, reducing or repairing It only changes the meaning and text force of source language to the target language Semantic translator should consider elements

of estetict text of source language with compromise the meaning since in fittingness

Semantic translation requires that data elements in the source and destination systems have "semantic mappings" to a

central registry or registries of data elements The simplest mapping is of course where there is equivalence There are three types of Semantic equivalence:

1, Class Equivalence indicating that class or "concepts" are equivalent For example: "Person" is the same as

"Individual"

2, Property Equivalence indicating that two properties are equivalent For example: "PersonGivenName" is the same

as "FirstName"

3, Instance Equivalence indicating that two individual instances of objects are equivalent For example: "Dan Smith"

is the same person as "Daniel"

Real applications

The meaning of a given word or expression needs to be grasped as one element situated within the total language that constitutes a theory of knowledge and experience, rather than just as one free-standing label or pointer for one equally free-standing object or event in the world We can then explore how these meanings mutually constrain each other on the plane of the discourse and not just how any one meaning might be defined in isolation in terms of ‘reference’, ‘denotation’, and the other familiar terms of conventional semantics Again, we can assume that the several participants in a discourse seeking to negotiate

a version of ‘meanings’ which hold adaptive value for their own goals, e.g., by making them seem obvious, transparent, commonsensical, and so forth

PRACTICAL TYPES OF TRANSLATION IN DETAILS

Communicative translation

Communicative translation attempts to render the exact contextual meaning of the original in such a way that both content and language are readily acceptable and comprehensible to the readership In this case, learners are embedded in communicative situations relevant to them This means that students meet real communicative needs and they perform real communicative acts

in many different contexts what can be considered only positive way Communicative translation arose to emphasize communicative potential of translation It does not involve mechanical word-for-word translation in any case Communicative translation is the real activity considering both language elements and language functions; generally it performs how language

is actually used

The nature of the communicative translation

Communicative translation is considered to be real-life activity Despite the fact that for many students translation is the only activity, connected with foreign language, probably to happen after finishing their studies, communicative translation activities prepare students for real life situations in which they will need a skill of translating Furthermore communicative translation makes learners thinking about meaning rather than about form It provides whole-task practice considering both foreign language and mother tongue, learners learn to think comparatively and they make them aware of differences in particular languages, so they are likely to avoid typical mistakes caused by negative mother tongue transfer Things to be considered

Every communicative translation activity has to keep the meaning – translated version should reflect accurately the meaning of the original Another principle is form, meaning is of course primary, and on the other hand students should match the original form as closely as possible Students have to be aware of register too It says to which extend the material is formal

or informal so it has much to deal with context Source language influence has negative impact on naturalism of the product of translation It is good for students to khow how to avoid it Learners should keep style and clarity in order to give the real impression of the original Specific principle takes into account idioms Idiomatic expressions such as similes, metaphors, proverbs, sayings, jargon, slang and colloquialisms should be paid extra attention to

PRACTICAL TYPES OF TRANSLATION IN DETAILS

Idiomatic translation

Idiomatic translation reproduces the 'message' of the original but tends to distort nuances of meaning by preferring colloquialisms and idioms where these do not exist in the original In translating idioms, the translator meets various difficulties that are not so easy to overcome The main problem is the lack of equivalence on the idiom level It would be perfect if a translator could find an idiom in the target language which was the same in its form and meaning as that of the source language However, even though each language has its idioms, it is still hard to find the exact equivalent

Idioms are considered to be one of the hardest and most interesting parts of the English vocabulary On the one hand, they are considered one of the most peculiar parts of the language; on the other hand, they are difficult because of their unpredictable meaning and grammar Moreover, idioms may be culture bound and this may cause even greater problems for the translator Therefore, in order to transfer a source idiom into the target language the translator must choose the most appropriate strategy

1, Pure Idioms They are always non literal, however they may be either invariable or may have little variation In

addition, idioms are said to be opaque

2, Semi-idioms Semi-idioms are said to have one or more literal constituents and one with non literal sub sense Therefore, this type of idioms is considered partially opaque

3, Literal idioms This sub-class of idioms are either invariable or allow little variation In addition, literal idioms are considered to be transparent as they can be interpreted on the basis of their parts

Strategies used translating idioms

(1) Translation by using an idiom with similar form and meaning in the target language (2) Translation by using an idiom of similar meaning but dissimilar form

(3) Translation by paraphrase (4) Translation by omission

Advice

The translator must learn a lot about the function of idioms in the source and the target languages, must know the characteristics

of idioms in both languages Moreover, in order to deal with the problems that arise in the process of translation, translators use various strategies The examination and classification of strategies is very useful and helpful for the work of the translator

PRACTICAL TYPES OF TRANSLATION IN DETAILS Free translation

Introduction

Free translation produces the TL text without the style, form, or content of the original Free translation requires a

translator that has extensive knowledge about language translation In addition, free translation is suitable if the text is difficult

to understand by the readers A free translation bases the test on its own language It is the task of the translator to release in his own language that pure language which is under the spell of another, to liberate the language imprisoned in a work in his re-creation of that work

The nature of the Free translation

The idea of free translation questions the democratic process of engaging I proposed that we should not put others versus spectators or creators versus others, but this does not mean we have to displace them or simply replace their roles On the contrary, it means only by a free translation are we able to make explicit the tension which leads us to a space for removing the language territories of both sides This democratic space of activities is a space of storytellers and translators who dialect in order to expand their ability for understating and not consuming the meanings which are produced on both sides

The consequences of free translation

The consequences of free translation are providing a conflictual and agonistic space for engagement, as well as giving the opportunity for self-reflexivity to the researcher by looking into their cracks while they are doing the act of translation from one field to another, from one context to another One more consequence is of course to challenge the discipline of the researcher/ practitioner – design – in order to expand it through the inspiration from the destination language

The Politics of Free Translation

A critical politics of translation, called a free translation approach for example, could intervene within the existing or established sensible order, in which those involved actively redistribute the sensible order, thereby also intervening in the social and political order In this way, an interruption or intervention into the realm of materiality and sensibility can constitute a redistribution of order, a new aesthetical regime of politics

PRACTICAL TYPES OF TRANSLATION IN DETAILS

Adaptation translation

Adaptation, also known as ‘free translation’, is a translation method in which the translator replaces references to the source society or culture with corresponding features of the target society or culture which are more appropriate for readers of the target text Adaptation may be understood as a set of translative operations which result in a text that is not accepted as a translation but is nevertheless recognized as representing a source text of about the same length As such, the term may embrace numerous vague notions such as imitation, rewriting, and so on

Adaptation is, perhaps, most easily justified when the original text is of a metalinguistic nature, that is, when the subject matter of the text is language itself This is especially so with didactic works on language generally, or on specific languages Newmark (1981) points out that in these cases the adaptation has to be based on the translator's judgment about his/ her readers' knowledge Larson, M.L (1998) argues that this kind of adaptation gives precedence to the function over the form, with a view

to producing the same effect as the original text However, while such writers start from the principle that nothing is untranslatable, others like Bassnett, S (2001) claim that the adaptation of metalanguage is an unnecessary form of exoticism

• Transcription of the original: word-for-word reproduction of part of the text in the original language, usually accompanied by a literal translation

• Omission: the elimination or reduction of part of the text

• Expansion: making explicit information that is implicit in the original, either in the main body or in footnotes or a glossary

• Exoticism: the substitution of stretches of slang, dialect, nonsense words, etc in the original text by rough equivalents

in the target language (sometimes marked by italics or underlining)

• Updating: the replacement of outdated or obscure information by modern equivalents

• Situational equivalence: the insertion of a more familiar context than the one used in the original

• Creation: a more global replacement of the original text with a text that preserves only the essential message/ideas/functions of the original

Conditions to resort to adaptation

• Cross-code breakdown: where there are simply no lexical equivalents in the target language (especially common in the case of translating metalanguage)

• Situational inadequacy: where the context referred to in the original text does not exist in the target culture

• Genre switching: a change from one discourse type to another (e.g from adult to children's literature) often entails a global re-creation of the original text

• Disruption of the communication process: the emergence of a new epoch or approach or the need to address a different type of readership often requires modifications in style, content or presentation

Adaptation under certain restrictions

• The knowledge and expectations of the target reader: the adapter has to evaluate the extent to which the content of the original text constitutes new or shared information for the potential audience

• The target language: the adapter must find an appropriate match in the target language for the discourse style of the original text and look for coherence of adapting modes

• The meaning and purpose(s) of the original and target texts

PRACTICAL TYPES OF TRANSLATION IN DETAILS

Gist translation

“Gist” translation may also be known as summary translation or preliminary translation However, this these terms are not standarized within the translation industry Some translation agencies can take gist translation to mean simply a machine

translation For others a preliminary translation can be a draft That is, when the document first gets translated by the

translator A review by the editor and proofreader has still not been performed It should be noted that these types of

translations are usually intended for in-house use, not publication Language analysts who create summary translations provide just the “gist”—that is, they summarize in English key information from a foreign language text

The aims of gist translation

The aim of a gist translation is usually to allow the reader to understand the key points of the original

document It is not a word-for-word translation of the original This can be applied, for example, to merger and acquisition

transactions, or litigation discoveries These often entail large volumes of material that need to be examined for relevance; if a

document is found to be irrelevant then there is no need for a full translation For this case a summary translation is the most

costeffective option

The usefulness of gist translation

Gist translations may also be beneficial in situations where the turnaround time is very tight A professional translator will read through a document to assess the most important points The document is then summarized and translated into the target language This will provide the reader with a basic and essential understanding of the context Although a summary translation is not ideal for publishing or distribution, it may meet the specific needs within a given situation

Gist translation is the identification, distillation, and presentation of essential information contained in the original material, often in response to an information request

Process for gist translation

1 Prepare by assessing customer needs and skimming the source material for overall meaning

2 Comprehend the source item by reading and listening carefully and consulting reference materials

3 Analyze the intelligence value of the information in the source material

4 Write the summary translation

5 Check the work for quality and accuracy

EXERCISE I: State the Types of translation for the various versions of the sentence " He treats her like a doormat " below

Suggestion: Before you make a decision, you have to think of the nature of each kind of the translation

Anh ấy coi cô ta như cái thảm lau chân

- Anh ấy rất coi thường cô ta

- Anh ấy coi cô ta như cái giẻ lau mâm

- Anh ấy coi cô ta không là cái gì cả

- Dưới con mắt của anh ấy, cô ta chỉ là cái rơm cái rác, không hơn không kém

- Cô ta chẳng là cái gì đối với anh ta cả

EXERCISE II: Paraphrase the following sentences with the words given

(practising using different kinds of sentence structures)

- ‘I’m sorry I have to leave so early,’ John said ( apologised ) => John……… ……… leave so early

Suggestion: You should think of the way to change from Direct Speech to Indirect Speech

This is the worst production of this play I have ever seen (bad) ==> I have … ………production of this play

Suggestion: You should think of the use of the present perfect tense with "nerver"

- Mary moved here in 2005 ( living ) => Mary 2005

Suggestion: You should think of the use of the present perfect continuous tense with the use of "since "

- I haven’t decided yet whether to move or not (mind) => I haven’t… ………… whether to move or not

Suggestion: You should think of the structure "to make up one's mind"

- You can’t blame me for your stupid mistakes ( fault ) => It isn’t… ……… ……… stupid mistakes

Suggestion: You should think of the structure "to make mistakes"

- It is increasingly difficult for me to read without my glasses ( finding ) => I am ………… to read without my glasses

Suggestion: You should think of the structure "to find smth + adjective" and comparatives

- I don’t normally go into town by car (used ) => I ……… into town by car

Suggestion: You should think of the stucture "used to do smth "

EXERCISE III: Practise translating the italicized and underlined parts in these sentences into Vietnamese

- “Well” replied the teacher with a smile on his face

George, who lives and works in a U.S city on the border of Mexico, announced to his friend Juan that he intended to ask a young woman from Mexico to be his wife

- Suddenly, a brilliant idea came to him

- Visiting Hanoi or HoChiMinh city without ever taking a pedicab means missing out on a very unique experience

- There was a place that the aunt knew where a lot of fruit grew

- He’s as ignorant as the scarecrow when it comes to letters and figures

- In the end, he found himself in the middle of a thick jungle; he heard a cold stone of fear inside him

Suggestion: You should think of the different types of translation and their characteristic features in order to do the translating

EXERCISE IV: Translate the following sentences into Vietnamese

- Probably the most dumbfounding of nature’s extraordinary creations is the horned toad of our Southwest

- A herpetologist once invited me to observe one of these lizards right after it had molted

- In a sand-filled glass cage I saw a large male Beside him lay his old skin

- The herpetologist began to annoy the beast with mock attacks, and the old man of the desert with his vulnerable new suit became frightened

- Suddenly his eyeballs reddened A final fast lunge from my friend at the beast and I froze in astonishment – a fine spray

of blood shot from the lizard’s eye, like fire from a dragon!

The beast struck back with a weapon so shocking that it terrifies even the fiercest enemy

Suggestion: In the part of the exercises you have to apply your own knowledge on translation as well as your own experience

in order to analyze the main things/ ideas in both direct and indirect meanings It is necessary for you to rely on the situations/ the contexts in the texts

SUMMARY

We have already gone through different kinds of translation At least you have been familiar with the general kinds and practical kinds of translation in details as well as their particular characteristic features I hope that after this lecture you can master the main approaches (methods) of doing the translating However, you have to equip yourselves with a lot of other things for your background knowledge in translation such as social behaviours, science, technology, cultures and even economic and political matters concerned It is important for you to practise more and more Using only one method is not enough for you In some cases you need to comebine several methods in order to make your translation complete and meaningful The more you practise, the more you learn and the better your translation skills are

UNIT 4: WORD - RELATED ISSUES IN TRANSLATION

- THE TRANSLATION OF PROPER NAMES

- THE TRANSLATION OF CULTURAL WORDS

- EXERCISES

WORD STRUCTURE (part I: Words and morphemes in general) General introduction

The definition of the word is one of the favourite puzzles of linguistics However, it is clear that words are made up of

by morphemes For example, the word book has one morpheme and book-s two morphemes, book meaning something and -s meaning plurality In other words, English words can be monomorphemic (containing one morpheme) or polymorphemic (containing more than one morpheme) The word is a speech unit used for the purposes of human communication, materially representing a group of sounds, possessing a meaning, susceptible to grammatical employment and characterized by formal and semantic unity

Bound Root Morphemes

There are not many bound morphemes of this kind They are bound because they can not stand alone They are used in combination with other morphemes to make their meanings complete For example, ter- (terrible, terror, terrorist, terrorize), hor- (horrible, horror, horrific, horrid, horrify), -clude (include, exclude, conclude)

The morphemes which stand before or after the free morpheme are bound morphemes For example: doing, oversleep, eggs They convey abstract information: “continuous action”, “excessive degree”, “plurality” Unlike English, Vietnamese is

a non-inflectional language Vietnamese words do not change their forms Translators should bear in mind that the meanings that correspond to those of bound morphemes in English words are expressed by isolated words In Vietnamese, if words are defined as having space and sound boundary, then one English word can correspond to one Vietnamese and in many cases to more than one words books (nhiều sách), hardly (khó có thể), imbalance (mất cân bằng)

WORD STRUCTURE (part II: Prefixes) General introduction

In word formation, morphemes which occur at the front of a word are called prefixes Prefixes can have the possibility

of changing meanings of words For example, dislike, unable, imbalance….In English, all prefixes are derivational This contrasts with English suffixes, which may be either derivational or inflectional

Selectional restrictions

As is often the case with derivational morphology, many English prefixes can only be added to bases of particular lexical categories (or "parts of speech") For example, the prefix re- meaning "again, back" is only added to verb bases as in rebuild, reclaim, reuse, resell, re-evaluate, resettle It cannot be added to bases of other lexical categories Thus, examples of re- plus a noun base (such as the ungrammatical *rehusband, *remonopoly) or re- plus an adjective base (*renatural, *rewise) are virtually unattested

Different meanings for the same prefix

The word meanings on what base a prefix can be attached to can be used to distinguish between otherwise sounding prefixes For instance, there are two different un- prefixes in English: one meaning "not, opposite of", the other meaning

identical-"reverse action, deprive of, release from" The first prefix un- "not" is attached to adjective and participle bases while the second prefix un- "reverse action" is attached to either verb or noun bases Thus, English can have two words that are pronounced and spelled the same and have the same lexical category but have different meanings For example, unlock, undo, unpack, unhappy, unlucky, uneven

Changes in lexical category

Unlike derivational suffixes, English (derivational) prefixes typically do not change the lexical category of the base (and are called class-maintaining prefixes)

Thus, the word "do", consisting of a single morpheme, is a verb as is the word redo, which consists of the prefix re- and the base root do

WORD STRUCTURE (part III: suffixes) General Introduction

In word formation, morphemes which occur at the end of a word are called suffixes Suffixes can often (not always) create new words, as well often as shift words from one category to another worker (V-N), careless (N-Adj) (books, doing, learned: no word category change)

General kinds of suiffixes

In linguistics, a suffix (also sometimes called a postfix or ending or (especially in older literature) affix) is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns or adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs Suffixes can carry grammatical information (inflectional suffixes) or lexical information (derivational suffixes) An inflectional suffix is sometimes called a desinence

Nominal suffixes are often employed to derive abstract nouns from verbs, adjectives and nouns Such abstract nouns

can denote actions, results of actions, or other related concepts, but also properties, qualities and the like Another large group

of nominal suffixes derives person nouns of various sorts Very often, these meanings are extended to other, related senses so that practically each suffix can be shown to be able to express more than one meaning, with the semantic domains of different suffixes often overlapping For example, -age

(state,place,progress,collectiveness): village,blockage; -al,-ial (act) :refusal,burial; ance,-ence (act, state, quality, condition)assistance, appearance, existence, audience; -an,-ian (agent, follower, resident) :republican, guardian, Cambodian; ant,-ent (agent) :assistant, student;

Adverbial suffixes

There are only some suffixes that are used to form adverbs It is rather difficult for the learners to identify or make a distinction between an adjective and an adverb For example, -ly (coldly), -ward (s) (upward (s), -wise (likewise), -long (sidelong), -way(s) (crossways) headlong They are all adverbs but the following are all adjectives: friendly, manly, cowardly, motherly, fatherly

WORD STRUCTURE (part IV: infixes) General introduction

Morphologists usually agree that English has no infixes However, there is the possibility of inserting expletives in the middle of words to create new words expressing the strongly negative attitude of the speaker (e.g kanga-bloody-roo, absoblooming- lutely) Thus we could say that English has a process of infixation of (certain) words, but there are no bound morphemes that qualify for infix status

Such forms raise two questions The first is what structural properties these infixed derivatives have, and the second is whether we should consider this type of infixation as part of the English word-formation component or not

Expletive infixation

The expletive is always inserted in the same prosodic position The expletive is represented by ‘EXPL’, and primary

and secondary stresses are marked as usual by acute and grave accents, respectively Infixation in English is determined by the metrical structure of the base, or, more specifically, by its foot structure Expletive infixation can be regarded as a case of prosodic morphology, i.e a kind of morphology where prosodic units and prosodic restrictions are chiefly responsible for the shape of complex words For example, Speedometer, salesman, Anglosaxon, doomsday, fisherman, sportsman

The Nature of Infixes

Some scholars hold that “morphological operations that produce outputs that are not classifiable as either distinct words

or inflectional word forms are not part of morphological grammar” and exclude expletive infixation from word-formation,

“because neither new words nor inflectional word forms are formed” From a semantic point of view, one could perhaps argue that expletive infixation does not create a new lexeme because the core meaning of the base word is not affected

The aspects of emotional attitude

Treating expletive infixation as regular word-formation is also in line with the idea (to which the aforementioned authors subscribe) that diminutives (like doggy) and augmentatives (like super-cool) are instances of word-formation Even big dogs are called doggy by their loving owners, which shows that diminutives do not generally add the meaning ‘small’

WORD STRUCTURE (part V: DERIVATION WITHOUT AFFIXATION)

Conversion (zero-affixation)

Conversion can be defined as the derivation of a new word without any overt marking In order to find cases of conversion we have to look for pairs of words that are derivationally related and are completely identical in their phonetic realization For each type of conversion (noun to verb, verb to noun, adjective to verb, adjective to noun) we would have to find

at least one affix that expresses exactly the same range of meanings as conversion If so, we can safely assume the existence of

a zero-affix, if not, we have to reject it You might wonder why such a decision is necessary anyway After all, in both cases, both conversion and zeroaffixation would fulfill the same function, i.e do their job properly

For example, the bottle => to bottle, the hammer => to hammer, the file => to file, the skin => to skin, the water

=> to water, poor => the poor, rich => the rich, well-fed => the well-fed

Clippings:

These types of formation are rather common and comparatively productive, the obvious question is how such words are formed, and what kinds of rules or restrictions are at work Clippings appear as a rather mixed bag of forms abbreviated from larger words, which, however, share a common function, namely to express familiarity with the denotation of the derivative Thus, lab is used by people who work in laboratories, demo is part of the vocabulary of people who attend demonstrations, and

Abbreviations and acronyms:

There is one other popular way of forming words, namely abbreviation Abbreviations are similar in nature to blends, because both blends and abbreviations are amalgamations of parts of different words Abbreviation has in common with truncation and blending that it involves loss of material (not addition of material, as with affixation), but differs from truncation and blending in that prosodic categories do not play a prominent role Rather, orthography is of central importance

BA => Bachelor of Arts

DC => District of Columbia

FAQ => frequently asked question BSc => Bachelor of Science

Norf => Norfolk

WORD STRUCTURE (part VI : Morpheme Properties)

Properties of Root Morphemes

There are totally 6 properties of the roots

• main part of word

• must be at least one in a word

• in English, limited to two in a word (simple words have one, compound words have two); where roots are bound,

as in Latin or Greek, more can occur in a word, but the number of roots in a particular word is generally small

• can occur independently (free roots) although bound roots, particularly classical, occur

• tend to have richer, more specific semantic content

• position is relatively free with respect to other roots (cf photograph vs

telephoto)

Properties of Affixal Morphemes

There are seven Properties of Affixal Morphemes

• subordinate part of word

• not necessarily present some words occur without any

• multiple affixes can occur in a word (e.g in-divis-abil-ity)

• are dependent (bound) elements (where independent form found, generally to some degree dissociated from the bound version)

• have more "schematic" (non-specific) content; often grammar-like function

• can either precede or follow their roots (prefixes and suffixes, respectively)

• position for a given affix with respect to root is fixed

Function Words:

A third type of linguistic element is a function word, which occurs in certain languages like English, which don't have much bound morphology that is, languages with lots of free morphemes, instead of mostly words with roots and attached bound morphemes

A noun is a word that functions as the name of some specific thing or set of things, such as living creatures, objects, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas Linguistically, a noun is a member of a large, open part of speech whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition Lexical categories (parts of speech) are defined in terms of the ways in which their members combine with other kinds of expressions The syntactic rules for nouns differ from language to language In English, nouns are those words which can occur with articles and attributive adjectives and can function as the head of a noun phrase

A verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word (part of speech) that in syntax conveys an action (bring, read, walk, run, learn), an occurrence (happen, become), or a state of being (be, exist, stand) In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive In many languages, verbs are inflected (modified in form) to encode tense, aspect, mood, and voice A verb may also agree with the person, gender, and/or number of some of its arguments, such as its subject, or object Verbs have tenses: present, to indicate that an action is being carried out; past, to indicate that an action has been done; future, to indicate that an action will be done

Adjectives

An adjective is a "describing word", the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified Adjectives are one of the English parts of speech, although historically they were classed together with the nouns Certain words that were traditionally considered to be adjectives, including the, this, my, etc., are today usually classed separately, as determiners

An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, adjective, other adverb, determiner, noun phrase, clause, or sentence Adverbs typically express manner, place, time, frequency, degree, level of certainty, etc., answering questions such as how?, in what way?, when?, where?, and to what extent? This function is called the adverbial function, and may be realised by single words (adverbs) or by multi-word expressions (adverbial phrases and adverbial clauses)

WORD CATEGORIES (part II) Pronouns

A pronoun is a word that substitutes for a noun or noun phrase It is a particular case of a pro-form Pronouns have traditionally been regarded as one of the parts of speech, but some modern theorists would not consider them to form a single class, in view of the variety of functions they perform Subtypes include personal pronouns, reflexive and reciprocal pronouns, possessive pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, relative pronouns, interrogative pronouns, and indefinite pronouns