ASSIGNMENTS

1.  Describe the figure below.

   

Roman Jakobson in his 1959 work On Linguistic Works of Translation states that
there are 3 types of translation:
As translators, we deal with the following types of translation:
1) intralingual - rewording or paraphrasing, summarizing, expanding or commenting
within a language;
2) interlingual - the traditional concept of translation from ST to TT or the "shifting
of meaning from one language to another";

3) intersemiotic - the changing of a written text into a different form, such as art or
dance.

In his 1959 paper “On linguistic aspects of translation,” Roman Jakobson

distinguished intrasemiotic translation among interlingual, intralingual, and
intersemiotic translation. Intrasemiotic translation takes place within the same sign
system – for instance, verbal, visual, acoustic – and a certain code is transferred,
while other codes can be left untranslated.

However, as translators, we also deal with the following types of translation:

Machine Translation: Machine translation (MT) is automatic translation, in which a

computer takes over all the work of translating. Obviously, a computer will work
much faster (and is cheaper) than a human being. It can be a useful method if the
purpose of the translation is a limited one; for example, to gain a rough idea of what a
text contains ('gisting') and/or to process large numbers of documents very rapidly.

Human translation (HT), by definition, is when a human translator—rather than a

machine—translates text. It's the oldest form of translation, relying on pure human
intelligence to convert one way of saying things to another.
Literary translation is a type of translation in which the source document is
fiction. It is the translation of poems, short stories, novels, plays, fables, essays,
articles, and other types of prose.
In his “Descriptive Translation Studies – and Beyond”, G. Toury[1] comes to the
conclusion that the term ‘literary translation’ has at least two senses:
a) The translation of texts which are regarded as literary in the source culture. In an
extreme formulation, which has become rather obsolete, this sense refers to any
translation of such texts; in a modified version – one where the focus is on the
retention (or, better, reconstruction) of the source text’s internal web of
relationships (…) – it takes such a text as a unique instance of performance,
rather than its mere realization in language;

The translation of a text – in principle, any text, of any type whatsoever – in such a
way that the product is acceptable as a literary text in the recipient culture.
Non-literary / informational translation 
Non-literary translation may be of different types. We may broadly speak of
  technical,
  journalistic,
  commercial and
  official translation.
There is also a category of terminological translation which cuts across all these
types.
In technical translation, we include translation of texts from engineering, physics,
chemistry and mathematics and translation from social sciences such as psychology,
sociology, history,  anthropology, linguistics, etc.
Journalistic translation will include translation of news,  interest stories, and
editorials for mass media, including radio and TV.
In commercial translation, we may consist of translation of advertisements, notices
and formative literature of all kinds, for example, information for tourists, publicity
materials and instruction manuals.
Official translation consists of legal, diplomatic and military work. It also includes
interpreting, a task which involves a native-like control of both the languages
involved.
The scientific translation is the translation of scientific research or documents
relating to it. These texts invariably contain domain-specific terminology and often
involve cutting-edge research. The translator must have the necessary knowledge of
the field to understand the text fully. Therefore, scientific translators are typically
either experts in the area who have turned to translation or professionally qualified
translators who also have qualifications and/or experience in that domain.
Occasionally, the translator may have to consult with the author or other domain
experts to fully comprehend the material and translate it appropriately.
The term “official translation” refers to the translation of official or legal forms such
as birth and death certificates, marriage and divorce licenses, wills and consent forms,
and any other official document that requires certification.
 Journalistic translation is the label for translation in news organizations – print and
digital newspapers, magazines, audiovisual media, press syndicates, news agencies
and other communication companies.
Religious translation is conceptualized as an act of divine inspiration firmly based in
a material world.
 Written Translation: Often referred to only by the term “translation,” written
translation is the rendering of a written text in one language in a comparable written
text in another language.

Oral Translation (Interpreting) means the oral translation of a document from

English into a second language. Oral translation involves the translation of every
word, not summarization. However, in oral translation, because of cultural and
technical issues, further explanation may also be required and is encouraged.
Types of oral translation:

Sight translation transforms a written message into a spoken message. It involves

reading a text silently in the source language, and then speaking it in the target
language.

Consecutive oral translation (or consecutive interpreting) is a type of oral

translation that takes place in meetings, negotiations or conferences with a rather
small capacity.

Simultaneous oral translation (or simultaneous interpreting , if you are speaking to

an agency or company in the translation industry) is usually carried out at large
conferences with a large number of participants.
2.  Discuss the following.
1)    What are the different types of non-literary translations?
We may broadly speak of technical, journalistic, commercial and official
translation.In technical translation, we include translation of texts from engineering,
physics, chemistry and mathematics and translation from social sciences such as
psychology, sociology, history,  anthropology, linguistics, etc. Journalistic translation
will include translation of news,  interest stories, and editorials for mass media,
including radio and TV. In commercial translation, we may consist of translation of
advertisements, notices and formative literature of all kinds, for example, information
for tourists, publicity materials and instruction manuals. Official translation consists
of legal, diplomatic and military work. It also includes interpreting, a task which
involves a native-like control of both the languages involved.
2)    Discuss some of the features of non-literary translation.
Non-literary translation

1. Is addressed to a specific section of society (for which it is meant)

2. Must be reader-oriented.
3. Is a process-oriented operation transferring pragmatic information from one
language to another.
4. Is process-oriented teamwork (translator and author)
5. Is creative to a certain extent.
6. Is generally done only once as the translated text should overcome the gaps in
the cumulative knowledge of the target language group. 
7. Involves introducing new terms and concepts to the target language. 

3) What is the difference between specialised translation and technical translation?

Some scholars see specialized translation as a synonym for technical

translation. Sometimes, the term technical translation refers to the translation of texts
outside the fields of science and technology.  LSP (language for special purposes)
texts from law, finance or medicine are also categorized under technical translation.
As J.Byrne[1] rightly points out, it is that “simply because a field or subject area has
unique or specialized terminology does not make it technical.”  Hence:

• specializeded translation should be defined as the translation of texts that

serve practical rather than aesthetic purposes; specialized translation can thus be seen
as a cover term for various more specific modes of translation, such as legal
translation, financial translation and also Sci-Tech-Tr;

• Sci-Tech-Tr is to be understood in the narrower sense discussed above;

when dealing with texts that can be assigned to one of the two fields, we can still
resort to the more specific designations of scientific translation or technical
translation. 

4) What is the difference between scientific translation and technical translation?

We use the term “technical translation” in two different ways:
Broad meaning: any translation where the translator needs specialist knowledge
in some domain or area. This definition would include almost all translation
types.
 Narrow meaning: limited to the translation of engineering (in all its forms), IT
and industrial texts. For example, this narrower meaning would exclude legal,
financial and medical translations, where these would be included in the
broader definition.
Scientific Translation
The translation of scientific research or documents relating to it. These texts
invariably contain domain-specific terminology and often involve cutting-edge
research. The translator must have the necessary knowledge of the field to understand
the text fully. Therefore, scientific translators are typically either experts in the area
who have turned to translation or professionally qualified translators who also have
qualifications and/or experience in that domain. Occasionally, the translator may
have to consult with the author or other domain experts to fully comprehend the
material and translate it appropriately.
Examples.  Research papers, journal articles, experiment/trial results.
 

5) What is the relationship in the following triad: Science → Engineering →

Technology?

Fig. 1 – Relationship “science → engineering → technology”

This triad occurs in corpora of news and academic prose. But there are different
meanings between these 3 words : science → engineering → technology. 

Science is about creating the meaning of a natural phenomenon. This is knowledge of

the natural world put together. And it comes from observation of the world.

Engineering is about creating new devices, tools and processes. This is creating new
tools, devices, and processes based on scientific knowledge put together. And it
comes from acquiring and applying knowledge. 

Technology is about creating a collection of engineered and tested tools for humanity.
This is the total of all the engineered tools, devices and techniques put together. And
it comes from repeated application and approval of the engineered tools
  

6) What are the main approaches to Sci-Tech translation?

According to J.Byrne there are two main approaches to Sci-Tech-Tr equivalence-based

and functionalist approaches. 

Equivalence-based approach: equivalence focuses on recreating the source text in some

form, thereby highlighting the relation between the source text and target text. Here,
the primary claim is that the ST is the sole input determining – by way of linguistic
transformation or transcoding rules – the creation of the target text, to the detriment
of other factors, such as the purpose of the translation or target reader expectations. 
In addition, W. Koller’s five equivalence relations of denotative, connotative, text-
normative, pragmatic and formal equivalence highlight the multidimensional
character of the text and the fact that a source text and its translation can only be
equivalent about a specific parameter or dimension.
 Moreover, multidimensional approaches such as the one proposed by W. Koller
cannot explain which level of equivalence to favour in specific contexts without
recourse to the translation’s purpose, which still sits somewhat uneasy with most
equivalence approaches. Finally, equivalence-based approaches lack clear
definitional equivalence criteria.

Functionalist approaches: Here specifically skopos theory, fully recognize the more
comprehensive professional reality of translation and, by conceptualizing translation
as a specific form of human action. 
In functionalist approaches, the relation between a translation and its source
text does not derive from any ST dimension but rather from the purpose or skopos of
the translation in the target culture. 

7) What is a scientific lingua franca now?

The decline of Latin as a scientific lingua franca and the corresponding rise of vernacular
languages in the 17th century saw a growing number of scientists writing in their
languages, making the dissemination of their works on an international scale more
complex. The Scientific Revolution, which first took shape in 17th century England –
and which saw the birth of the Anglo-Saxon scientific discourse as we know it today,
and the Industrial Revolution generated further scientific knowledge that could now
be easily codified in books and had to be made available in various languages to gain
international attention. 

However, it was only during the last 100 years that translation made its mark on science
and technology. This was a time when scientists were making countless discoveries
and writing about their findings in their native languages.

This translation activity fuelled new research, which resulted in even more recent
discoveries. Imagine how underdeveloped science would be, were it not for
translation; each language area would be intellectually isolated. Each language
 community would have to discover the entire body of scientific and technical
knowledge. This would not simply be a case of reinventing the wheel but of
reinventing the wheel dozens, if not hundreds, of times.

8) What are prerequisites for a wave of translation activity to occur?

According to H.Störig , there are three prerequisites for a wave of translation activity to
occur: (1) there must be a disparity in the intellectual standard of two cultures or
language communities; (2) the societal and intellectual development in the
culture/language community possessing a lower intellectual standard must have
reached a point where a natural demand arises for the reception of external
knowledge; (3) the two cultures/communities must come into contact with each other;
this contact then provides a vital spark igniting a large-scale exchange of knowledge

3.  Are the following statements true or false? Explain.

1)    Religious translation is technical translation. 

False. Religion has a precise terminology and very definite conventions, styles and
document structures, but it is never regarded as “technical.”

2)    Financial translation is an example of specialised translation. 

True. Specialized translation involves specific terminology that refers to a particular

area, such as legal, technical or financial translation

3)    Scientific  translation has just as much to do with literary translation as it does with
technical translation. 

True. The very nature of science means that individual style and creativity are intrinsic
parts of the scientific process. For example, the use of metaphors as a foundation of
scientific language, with terms such as the Big Bang and the Greenhouse Effect
owing their existence to the creativity of scientists and writers. The implication of
this for translators, then, is that they must be able to recognize and negotiate culture-
bound metaphors in much the same way as literary translators must.

4.  Describe Holz-Mänttäri’s  model of “translational action”.

Justa Holz-Mänttäri, finnish translator, developed Translatorial Action Model and
the concept of  “message carrier”.

The main purpose of translatorial action is to allow cooperative, functionally

adequate communication to take place across cultural barriers. 

According to the model of translatorial action the role of source text is very limited.
In the process of translation, Holz Manttari reduces the source text analysis to a mere
'analysis of construction and function' and gives no intrinsic value to the source text,
except for the realization of its communicative function. 

The concept of translatorial action requires a lot more effort on the part of translators
than traditional concepts of professional translation. The translator is expected to
research whether the content of the source text is functionally fit for the target
text and the target culture. According to her theory the source text can go through
many translational changes for the benefit of the target reader. Her theory argues
that the target situation is of utmost importance to the translator and not the source
text, that the translation is just a part of the translatorial action. 

In the model of translatorial action the translator is considered to be the expert in the
function of inter cultural message transfer. The model takes into account relationship
of a translator with all the different members in the process of translation, which
includes his relationship with the client, the original writer of source text and the
target reader as well. This keeps the translator at the centre of the communicative
function, right from the initiator up to the final receiver. Translatorial action therefore
involves not only the translators action as a translation expert, but also the
negotiations with the client with whom the translator must negotiate cooperatively.
5. Explain the main ideas of the article cited below:
Newmark P. Non-literary in the Light of Literary Translation. The Journal of
Specialised Translation, Issue 1 January, 2004.
6. Summarize the following article: Fischer, M. 2014. Terminology in support of LSP lexicography. In: Judit Muráth
(2014) LSP Lexicography (Hungarian Lexicography III), 93-121.