Translation Definitions

Translation has been defined variously by experts in the field. At the surface level it is the substitution of the words of one language with those of another. It is the transference of meaning from one language to another. The Latin word trans means across and latus means to carry. So translation is an operation performed on two languages. The original language is called the Source Language (SL) and the language into which the translation is made is the Target Language (TL). J.C. Catford defines translation as the replacement of textual material in one language by equivalent textual material in another language. The text includes any stretch of language, spoken or written. It may be a whole library of books, a single volume, a chapter, a paragraph, a sentence, a clause etc. Catford approached translation from an analytic angle; Eugene Nidas approach, by contrast, is instinctive. According to Nida, the function of translation consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source language message first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style. He observes that the translator should strive for equivalence rather than identity and naturalness should be preferred to formal fidelity. Kaherine Barnwells definition corresponds to Nidas: Translation is retelling, as exactly as possible, the meaning of the original message in the way that is natural in the language into which the translation is being made. Dr Johnson saw translation as the process of change into another language, retaining the sense. Lawrence Venuti, who has made an in depth study of the history of English translation from the seventeenth century to the present, sees translation as a process by which the chain of signifiers that constitutes the source language text is replaced by a chain of signifiers in the target language which the translator provides on the strength of an interpretation. The concept of translation has undergone changes over the years. In the sixties translation was seen mainly as a linguistic process; in the seventies the text became the focus. Today translation is not looked upon as a mere linguistic activity. As Susan Bassnett remarks, it involves a whole set of extralinguistic criteria also, of which the element of culture assumes great importance. Currently culturebased translation theories have gained prominence over many others. Language is a guide to social reality and no language can exist unless it is steeped in the context of culture. Translation is not just the communication of meaning from one language to another, but a kind of cultural bridge building between two languages. It is a process of transfer across linguistic and cultural boundaries. Absolute fidelity to the source text was once considered the benchmark of a good translation. But most of the recent books on translation uphold the right of the translation to be different from the original. According to Haroldo de Campos, a Brazilian translator, translation is a dialogue; the translator is an all-powerful reader and a free agent as a writer. He likens translation to blood transfusion, where the emphasis is on the health and nourishment of the translator. This is a far cry from the notion of fidelity to the original. Far from being a faithful copy of the original translation has started being looked upon as transformation. Myriam Diaz-Diocaretz is of the view that translation can alter or modify the meaning of texts. The translator is not a mere collector of meanings with passive receptive dispositions. While the readings of the source text engender interpretive operations, the translator produces an equivalent text in the receptor culture which will furnish a new chain of significations that perhaps did not belong to the original response.

The Role of the Translator

The role of the translator is very important especially in the present era of globalisation. Through his translation he brings the writers and readers of one nation into contact with those of others in all fields like literature, law, medicine, science, philosophy, religion, political science etc. He is a facilitator who provides opportunities for diverse and far-flung cultures to come together and thereby interact on a more amicable footing. This intermingling helps in nation building and this is especially relevant in the case of developing countries whose contributions remained unnoticed due to lack of opportunities for wide distribution of translated works. The increased relevance of translations and translators in todays world is summed up by Paul Engle thus: As the world shrinks together like an aging orange and all people in all cultures move together it may be that the crucial sentence for our remaining years on earth may be very simply: translate or die . Amitav Ghosh comments on the importance of translations in a country like India thus: In a country as multilingual as ours, unless you have good translations, you are doomed. According to Eugene Nida, the translator is the focal element in translating. His role is central to the basic principles and procedures of translating. In his opinion the ideal translator is one who has complete knowledge of both the source and the receptor languages, intimate acquaintance with the subject matter, effective empathy with the original author and the content and stylistic facility in the receptor language. Translation was once looked upon as a secondary activity; a translators job was regarded as a thankless one. It did not receive due acknowledgement or recognition. This view has changed in the twentieth century and in recent years there is a strong assertion of the individuality of the translator. The view that the translator is not a servile follower of the Source text but a creative genius on a par with the original author was voiced vehemently from the 1950s. The translator is no longer required to translate the original word by word. He is assigned the status of a creative writer who gives his own interpretation of a work in a different medium.

Translation Art or science

Translation has been defined variously as an art, a craft or a science. Theodore Savory sees translation as an art, thus elevating it to a highly creative activity resulting in a beautiful work. Artistic sensitivity is an indispensable ingredient in any first rate translation of a literary work. The artist in the translator has to be at its best, otherwise translation turns out to be a mere collection of words devoid of beauty or vitality, failing to stir hearts. Eric Jacobson views translation as a craft that requires expertise and can be perfected only through practice. Eugene Nida calls translation a scientific activity involving certain procedures which can be described and studied. The process of translation, according to him, is a subject for scientific description like linguistics. Susan Bassnett argues that distinctions such as scientific and creative are outdated. The use of these old distinctions, she says, seeks to devalue the study and practice of translation. For, the theory and practice of translation are not in conflict; instead they are indissolubly linked. The purpose of translation theory is not to be proscriptive, i.e., to provide a set of norms for effecting the perfect translation, in which case the element of artistic creativity would be downplayed. Instead it seeks to reach an understanding of the processes undertaken in the act of translation, just as literary criticism seeks to understand the structures operating within and around a work of art and not to provide a set of instructions for producing the ultimate poem or novel. Understanding the process of translation can only help in the production. Once this point is accepted the myth of translation as a secondary activity not requiring creative inspiration can be dispelled. 2

Types of Translation
Recreation Recreation occupies the isthmus between translation and creation. Sometimes the translator takes such liberties with the Source Text that it gets rewritten rather than merely rendered in the Target Language. For example, Tagores English Gitanjali is mostly a recreation. Generally, he abridged or modified the original poems, sometimes even incorporated changes. Some are partial translations of the original. Sometimes parts of the same original have been used to produce two separate poems in translation. Sometimes two or three original poems have been telescoped into a single creation. However, they are not that far removed from the original as to be considered separate entities. In recreation there is much scope for the creativity of the translator. Transcreation The people oriented and the time oriented creative translations of the ancient Sanskrit spiritual texts are generally termed as Transcreation. Transcreation has been the general mode of translation in modern Indian languages from the olden days. This term originally used by writers like P. Lal for his English translation of the Shakuntala and Brhadaranyaka Upanishad (1974), is applicable for the whole tradition of creative translation of great classics like the Ramayana, Bhagavata and Mahabharata in the regional languages from Sanskrit. In a general sense, it can be defined as an aesthetic reinterpretation of the original work suited to the readers/audience of the target language in the particular time and space. This re-interpretation is done with a certain social purpose and is performed with suitable interpolations, explanations, expansions, summarising and aesthetic innovations in style and techniques. Transcreation is not all together a new creation because there is always a logical relationship between the original and the translated text. At the same time it reads like a new creation. The three stages of translation The process of translation comprises three stages: analysis, transfer and restructuring. In analysis, the Source Language message is analysed in terms of the grammatical relationships of words and the meanings of words and word combinations or idioms. Grammatical analysis involves the process of back transformation, i.e. reducing the surface structures to their underlying kernels. Semantic analysis includes the analysis of the referential and connotative meanings of words. Transfer is the stage in which the analysed material is transferred in the mind of the translator from the source language to the receptor language. According to Eugene Nida, the transfer of the semantic content is more important than that of form. It is equally important to convey the connotation, emotional flavour and impact of the message. In restructuring the transferred material is restructured, with essential linguistic and stylistic adaptations, to make the final message fully acceptable in the receptor language.

Transcreation Additional Notes Sujeet Mukherji (1981) prefers to call it Translation as New writing. But Transcreation seems to be a better word to express this literary tradition of India. Transcreation can offer the best possible solution for the problems of culturally oriented literary texts. Transcreation in this context can be understood as a rebirth or incarnation (Avatar) of the original work. The relevance of transcreation is universal since it can be used as a device to break the myth of untranslatability. (The Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary defines transcreation as creative translation seen as producing a new version of the original work. In transcreation, the essence of the Source Text is adopted while the details are transformed at the discretion of the translator to create the intended effect. The renderings of The Ramayana and The Mahabharata into English by R K Narayan and Rajaji respectively are examples of transcreation. Transcration may be employed as a technique within faithful translation to ensure maximum readability. P.Lal, for instance, in his translation of ancient Sanskrit plays mingles translation with large measures of interpretation in his endeavour to modernise the ancient text. Transcreation becomes essential even while translating modern works. The situation in Ashers translation of Basheers novel Ntuppuppakkoranendarnnu where Aisha tries to civilise Kunjuppattumma by making her speak a standard dialect is a case in point. Aisha tells Kunjuppattumma: You mustnt say noight. Say night. Neight, said Kunjuppattumma. Not like that. I as in white, say it. Night. In this conversation only night occurs in the original. The other words are substitutions used in the translation to transcreate the same situation as in the original.) Adaptation: Jean-Paul Vinay and Jean Darbelnet in their work Comparative Stylistics of French and English (1958) made a comparative stylistic analysis of French and English texts and identified seven translation strategies and procedures, three of which are direct or literal methods of translating and the rest oblique. Adaptation is a method of oblique translation. Adaptation is used in cases where the type of situation being referred to by the SL message is unknown in the TL culture. In such cases the translator has to create a new situation that can be considered as being equivalent. Adaptation can be described as a special kind of equivalence, a situational equivalence. It is in relation to drama translation that adaptation has been most frequently studied. Some scholars believe that there is no need to use the term adaptation at all because the concept of translation can be stretched to cover all types of transformations as long as the main function of the activity is preserved. Michael Garneau, Quebec poet and translator, has coined the term tradaptation to express the close relationship between the two activities. Imitation: The word imitation in translation theory denotes wandering too far and too freely from the words and sense of the Source text. It was John Dryden who first used the term imitation in translation theory to mean very free translation. In the preface to his translation of Ovids Epistles Dryden reduces all translation to three categories: metaphrase word-by-word and line-by-line translation, paraphrase, which corresponds to sense-for-sense translation and imitation where the translator assumes the liberty to forsake both words and sense as he sees occasion. In imitation the translator uses the Source Text as a pattern to write as he supposes the original author would have done had he lived in the age and country of the translator. Imitation, in Drydens view, allows the translator to become more visible, but does the greatest wrong to the memory and reputation of the dead. Dryden rejects metaphrase and imitation and prefers paraphrase. Literal Translation: Literal Translation is a rendering which preserves surface aspects of the message both semantically and syntactically, adhering closely to ST mode of expression. Jean-Paul Vinay and Jean Darbelnet describe literal translation as being most common between languages of the same family and culture. A debate over whether translation should be free (sense-for-sense) or literal (wordfor-word) ruled the history of Western translation theory for two thousand years. The distinction 4

between literal and free translation goes back to Cicero (1st century B.C.) and St. Jerome (4th century A.D.). Cicero, describing his own translation of the Attic orators Aeschines and Demosthenes did not follow the literal approach, but as an orator sought to preserve the general style and force of the language. Ciceros disparagement of literal translation had great influence on the succeeding centuries. St. Jeromes criticism of the literal method was that by following the form of the ST so closely it produced an absurd translation, cloaking the sense of the original. The debate between the two ways of translating, literal and free continued up until the second half of the twentieth century.

Equivalence
Equivalence is a central, though much criticised, concept in translation theory. It held sway in the 1960s and 70s and continues to be important even today. Equivalence may be defined as the relationship between a Source text and a Target text which allows the Target text to be regarded as a translation of the Source text in the first place. Equivalence is variously regarded as a necessary condition for translation, an obstacle to progress in translation studies or a useful category for describing translations. Each language represents a separate reality and hence absolute equivalence between languages is impossible. The problem of equivalence, however, should not be overemphasized. It focuses on differences in the structure and terminology of languages rather than on any inability of one language to render a message that has been written in another verbal language. Eugene Nida talks of two kinds of equivalence: formal and dynamic. Formal equivalence focuses attention on the message in both form and content. It is a source-oriented translation in which the translators concern is that the message in the receptor language should match as closely as possible the different elements in the source language. Dynamic equivalence is based on the principle of equivalent effect where the relationship between receptor and message should be substantially the same as that which existed between the original receptors and the message. Equivalence is a much used and abused term in translation studies. As Susan Bassnett observes, equivalence should not be approached as a search for sameness since sameness cannot even exist between two TL versions of the same text, let alone between the SL and TL version. It has to be perceived as dialectic between the signs and the structures within and surrounding the SL and TL texts. Untranslatability Untranslatability has been much discussed by translatologists over the ages. Eugene Nida and J.C. Catford have contributed largely to the study of untranslatability. Catford distinguishes two types of untranslatability: linguistic and cultural. Linguistic untranslatability occurs when there is no lexical or syntactical substitute in the TL for an SL item. For example, the question Addeham Keralattinte Etramathe Mukhyamantriyanu cannot be translated into English for English does not have an equivalent structure. Linguistic untranslatability can be mainly due to two factors: Polysemy and Oligosemy. Polysemy occurs when a word has more than meaning. Such words become untranslatable when more than one meaning of a particular word becomes functionally relevant in the source text. Oligosemy is restriction of meaning. For example, the nearest English equivalent of the Malayalam word sakhi is friend, which does not carry the restricted sense of the original, i.e, a female friend. Cultural untranslatability is due to the absence in the TL culture of a relevant situational feature for the source text. Eugene Nida lists three situations of cultural untranslatability. The first situation arises when an SL term does not have a corresponding referent in the TL which performs the same function. For example in languages where snow is outside the range of experience of the speakers expressions like white as snow are difficult to translate. However equivalents like white as milk can convey the 5

meaning. The second situation arises when the referent in the SL is present in the TL but has a different function to perform. For example, Shakespeares sonnet Shall I Compare thee to a Summers Day? cannot be translated into a language where summers are an unpleasant experience. The third situation arises when an SL term has no referent with a parallel function in the TL, in which case transliteration has to be resorted to.

Translation in the Present Context

The process of translation was traditionally viewed as a secondary activity and the translator was thought of as an imitator not capable of creative imagination or original thinking. But recent critical theories refute this line of thinking and emphasize the right of the translation to be different from the original. Terminological distinctions like scientific/creative, original/secondary are no more important in translation studies. Jacques Derrida, the Poststructuralist theorist, opposes the traditional view of the original text as the starting point and argues that each translation creates an original text. In the poststructuralist view a text does not lend itself to a single, invariant reading. Roland Barthes and Julia Kristeva emphasize the changed role of the reader. The reader is not a mere passive consumer; he decodes the text according to a different set of systems and in the process produces meaning. Julia Kristeva put forward the notion of intertextuality. She sees all texts are seen as being linked to all other texts and observes that no text can be completely free of the other texts that surround and precede it. Octavio Paz echoes this view when he comments that every text is a translation of another text. His is a very radical view of translation: No text can be completely original because language itself is already a translation: firstly, of the non verbal world and secondly, since every sign and every phrase is the translation of another sign and another phrase. In the light of the recent linguistic and critical theories translation can no longer be dismissed as an uninspired, mechanical activity, a slavish copying of the original. Translation is more than a mere linguistic activity today. It is a form of communication, a channel for the circulation of ideas, opinions, information and influence. As Haroldo de Campos, a Brazilian translator, observes: Translation is a dialogue; the translator is an all-powerful reader and a free agent as a writer. Specific Problems in the Translation of Poetry Poetry is notorious for its quality of untranslatability. According to Robert Frost, poetry itself is that which is lost in translation. The translation of a poem, it is said, lacks the spontaneity and power of the original work, which is the expression of a poets own emotional, imaginative and intellectual perception of facts and experiences. In poetry form and content are inseparably linked. The retention of form is important in the translation of poetry, especially in poems where the poet makes conscious use of specific forms for definite purposes. E.E. Cummings Among Crumbling People can be cited as an example where the whole poem gives the appearance of a crumbling structure. In such cases the form has to be preserved at any cost as it is an extension of content. It becomes more difficult to know the pulse of poetry than the other modes of literature because it remains hidden under the poetic language. Poetry abounds in figures of speech such as simile, metaphor, irony, paradox and the like and phonological, syntactic and semantic patterns like rhyming, rhythm, metre, alliteration and assonance. It is quite difficult to reproduce any of these peculiarities in another language. The suggestive richness of words and images employed in poetry is difficult to be conveyed in translation. The difficulties notwithstanding, poetry still lends itself to translation. The 6

translator of poetry must take into account both the linguistic and non linguistic aspects of a poem and try to recreate the poem in the target language. To alter Robert Frosts statement, poetry is not what is lost in translation, it is what can be recreated in translation. Specific Problems in the Translation of Drama The dramatic text cannot be translated in the same way as the prose text. To begin with, a theatre text is read as something incomplete, for, it is only in performance that the full potential of the text is realized. This presents the translator with a central problem: whether to translate the text as a purely literary unit or as one element in a complex system. The text forms only one of the many elements in the totality of the theatre discourse: gesture, action, posture, tone, costume, sets, lighting, music and audience all assume importance. Written text and performance are indissolubly linked. Dialogue, for example, gains potency and meaning from the extra linguistic situation. Robert Corrigan argues that the translator must hear the voice that speaks and take into account the gesture of the language, the cadence, rhythm and pauses that occur when the written text is spoken. The problem of performability in translation is further complicated by changing concepts of performance. Acting styles, playing space, the role of the audience and the very concepts of tragedy and comedy undergo changes over the ages. Moreover, concepts of theatre differ considerably in different national contexts. The translator of the drama text will have to take into account all these changes. As the play text is written for voices the literary text contains a set of paralinguistic systems too like rhythm, cadence, interval etc. Besides, the play text contains within it the gestural undertext that determines the movements an actor can make. The translator cannot ignore any of these systems outside the purely literary. A central consideration of the theatre translator must therefore be the performance aspect of the text and its relationship with an audience. Machine Translation Machine Translation (MT) is automatic translation by a computer. The first real developments in machine translation took place after the Second World War with countries like America, France, Japan, the UK and the USSR developing automatic translation systems for the military. The word-for-word substitution, originally used in machine translation, however, is not a solid base for translation and naturally Machine Translation soon fell out of reputation. While the human brain can interpret meanings based on the situation or cultural background, the machine is unable to do so. Words with multiple meanings, sentences with multiple grammatical structures, uncertainty about what a pronoun refers to (eg The police refused the students a permit because they feared violence) and other problems of grammar are all challenges to Machine Translation. However, with the development of Artificial Intelligence, these shortcomings have been remedied to a considerable extent. Computers are immensely useful in the translation of documents dealing with restricted subject matter written in a simple manner, weather bulletins, for instance. The tedious business of looking up unknown words in dictionaries and ensuring consistency in terms can be automated, leaving human translators free to spend time on increasing clarity and improving style. The criticism that machine translation systems can never produce translations of great literature of any great merit is correct. However, literary translation is only a small proportion of the translation that is 7

to be done. Moreover, literary translation is not a job that Machine Translation systems have been designed for. The argument that machines cannot produce perfect translation does not make Machine Translation useless either. First, every translation does not have to be perfect. Even a very rough translation can help, for example, when one has to translate from a Chinese newspaper which contains information of crucial importance to ones firm. To conclude, machine translation will be profitable only in environments that can explore its strong points to the full. The main impact of machine translation in the immediate future will be in large corporate environments where substantial amounts of translation are performed. Specific Problems in the Translation of Prose There is a widespread mistaken notion that a novel or any prose text has a simpler structure and hence is easier to translate than a poem. In fact the integral connection between content and form is as important in prose translation as it is in poetry. Just as the prose paraphrase of a poem is inadequate, so is paraphrasing the material content of a novel straightforwardly. Individual sentences form part of the total structure and a translator is sure to go wrong if he does not consider how a certain section relates to the structure of the work as a whole. Hilaire Belloc stresses the need for the translator to consider the prose text as a structured whole while bearing in mind the stylistic and idiomatic norms of the TL. He says that the translator should block out rather than plod on, i.e., consider the work as an integral unit and translate in sections, render the text idiom by idiom and intention by intention. According to Susan Bassnett, the central problem for the prose translator is perhaps the difficulty of determining the units of translation. The text is the prime unit. But while the poet translator can more easily break the text into units like lines, verses and stanzas, the prose translator has a more complex task. Though many novels are broken down into chapters and sections the structuring of a prose text is not as linear as the chapter divisions might indicate. The prose translator must consider the function both of the text as well as of the devices within the text. Susan Bassnett cites the Russian naming system to illustrate the function of the source text and its devices. Russians have a first name, a patronymic and a surname. There are more intimate abbreviations of surnames too. In a novel like The Brothers Karamazov this naming system can indicate multiple points of view, as a character is perceived both by other characters in the novel and from within the narrative. It is important that in the English translation the reader be made aware of the multiple variants of Russian names. It is essential for the translator to consider the functioning of the naming system rather than the system itself. The use of regional or social dialects can similarly create difficulty for the prose translator. The prose translator must first understand the function of the SL system and then find a TL system that will adequately render that function. Towards a Feminist Poetics Elaine Showalter 4. Theoretical impasse in Feminist Criticism Elaine Showalter in her essay Towards a Feminist Poetics observes that feminist criticism in the 1970s has reached a theoretical impasse. She attributes this impasse to the essentially male character of literary theory. Attempts at synthesis between feminism and theoretical approaches have so far been unsuccessful because the experience of woman is muted or marginalized in male literary theories which mostly focus on the scientific problems of form and structure to the neglect of content. Schooled in this patriarchal critical tradition, feminist critics of the 1970s are also subject to the influence of the new womens movement which imposes new responsibilities on them and expects of them a different kind of commitment. The antithetic pressures of these influences do not allow the 8

feminist critics to achieve their end. The task before the feminist critics is to find a new language, a new way of reading that can integrate their intelligence and experience of suffering and subjugation, their skepticism and their vision.

Machine Translation
Machine Translation (MT) is automatic translation by a computer. The first real developments in machine translation took place after the Second World War. The beginning of the Cold War in the late 1940s prompted significant investment by the US government in automatic Russian-English translation systems for the military; France, Japan, the UK and the USSR had similar programmes. These were word-based direct replacement systems. Each ST word would be looked up and replaced by a corresponding TL term. Word-for-word substitution, however, is not a solid base for translation and naturally Machine Translation soon fell out of reputation, particularly in the wake of Bar-Hillels damning criticism that the real-world knowledge necessary for translation was impossible for a machine to replicate. While the human brain can interpret meanings based on the situation or cultural background, the machine is unable to do so. Words with multiple meanings, sentences with multiple grammatical structures, uncertainty about what a pronoun refers to (eg The police refused the students a permit because they feared violence) and other problems of grammar can all prove obstacles to successful Machine Translation. Despite these shortcomings, computers are immensely useful in the translation of documents dealing with restricted subject matter written in a simple manner, weather bulletins, for instance. Developments of computers is taking place at such an amazing pace that now it is possible to attain rough and ready type of translation of semantically and stylistically restricted texts at comparatively low prices. The tedious business of looking up unknown words in dictionaries and ensuring consistency in terms can be automated, leaving human translators free to spend time on increasing clarity and improving style. Also, they can translate more important and interesting documents, editorials rather than weather reports, for example. The criticism that machine translation systems can never produce translations of great literature of any great merit is correct. However, literary translation is only a small proportion of the translation that is to be done. Moreover, literary translation is not a job that Machine Translation systems have been designed for. The argument that machines cannot produce perfect translation does not make Machine Translation useless either. First, every translation does not have to be perfect. Even a very rough translation can help, for example, when one has to translate from a Chinese newspaper which contains information of crucial importance to ones firm. A machine translation process starts with providing the MT system with usable (machine-readable) input. The text which is submitted for translation needs to be adapted before the system can deal with it. It should come on disc, cartridge or tape or by modem and end up as a text-file. Many specifications need to be given to the machine like the language into which translation should be done, the format of the target text, the intended audience of the target text, whether the level of the language needs to be adjusted etc. Another essential condition is that actual terminological database (a term base) should be supplied with the source text. The processing of the text takes place in the CPU in three stages: analysis, comparison and synthesis. The identification of semiotic units and structural patterns constitutes the analysis stage. The source text and the target text are compared in the comparison stage. In the third stage the semantic and structural specifiers are chosen and the suitable target sentences generated. 9

The best-known automatic translation package is SYSTRANs Babel Fish, used by the search engine Alta Vista. It can translate between at least thirteen language pairs and claims that over one million translations are generated in this way each day. Translation is thus available at the touch of a button for internet users worldwide. To conclude, machine translation will be profitable only in environments that can explore its strong points to the full. The main impact of machine translation in the immediate future will be in large corporate environments where substantial amounts of translation are performed. It is not for the individual self-employed translator working from home or the untrained layperson who has the occasion to write in French, for the aim of MT is to achieve faster and thus cheaper translation.

TYPES OF TRANSLATION
Adaptation: Jean-Paul Vinay and Jean Darbelnet in their work Comparative Stylistics of French and English (1958) made a comparative stylistic analysis of French and English texts and identified seven translation strategies and procedures, three of which are direct or literal methods of translating and the rest oblique. Adapatation is a method of oblique translation. Adaptation is used in cases where the type of situation being referred to by the SL message is unknown in the TL culture. In such cases the translator has to create a new situation that can be considered as being equivalent. Adaptation can be described as a special kind of equivalence, a situational equivalence. Adaptation is particularly frequent in the translation of book and film titles. It is in relation to drama translation that adaptation has been most frequently studied. Some scholars believe that there is no need to use the term adaptation at all because the concept of translation can be stretched to cover all types of transformations as long as the main function of the activity is preserved. Michael Garneau, Quebec poet and translator, has coined the term tradaptation to express the close relationship between the two activities. Imitation: The word imitation in translation theory denotes wandering too far and too freely from the words and sense of the Source text. The use of imitation in translation theory to mean very free translation was most popularly established by John Dryden. In the preface to his translation of Ovids Epistles Dryden reduces all translation to three categories: metaphrase word-by-word and line-byline translation, paraphrase, which corresponds to sense-for-sense translation and imitation where the translator assumes the liberty to forsake both words and sense as he sees occasion. In imitation the translator uses the Source Text as a pattern to write as he supposes the original author would have done had he lived in the age and country of the translator. Imitation, in Drydens view, allows the translator to become more visible, but does the greatest wrong to the memory and reputation of the dead. Dryden rejects metaphrase and imitation and prefers paraphrase. However, Dryden himself changed his stance later. His description of his own approach in the translation of Virgils Aeneid bears resemblance to his definition of imitation: I have endeavoured to make Virgil speak such English as he would himself have spoken, if he had been born in England, and in this present age. Literal Translation: Literal Translation is a rendering which preserves surface aspects of the message both semantically and syntactically, adhering closely to the ST mode of expression. Jean-Paul Vinay and Jean Darbelnet describe literal translation as being most common between languages of the same family and culture. A debate over whether translation should be free (sense-for-sense) or literal (wordfor-word) ruled the history of Western translation theory for two thousand years. The distinction between literal and free translation goes back to Cicero (1st century B.C.) and St. Jerome (4th century A.D.). Cicero, describing his own translation of the Attic orators Aeschines and Demosthenes did not follow the literal approach, but as an orator sought to preserve the general style and force of the 10

language. Ciceros disparagement of literal translation had great influence on the succeeding centuries. St. Jeromes criticism of the literal method was that by following the form of the ST so closely it produced an absurd translation, cloaking the sense of the original. The debate between the two ways of translating, literal and free continued up until the second half of the twentieth century. The three stages of translation The process of translation comprises three stages: analysis, transfer and restructuring. In analysis, the Source Language message is analysed in terms of the grammatical relationships of words and the meanings of words and word combinations or idioms. Grammatical analysis involves the process of back transformation, i.e. reducing the surface structures to their underlying kernels. Semantic analysis includes the analysis of the referential and connotative meanings of words. Transfer is the stage in which the analysed material is transferred in the mind of the translator from the source language to the receptor language. According to Eugene Nida, the transfer of the semantic content is more important than that of form. It is equally important to convey the connotation, emotional flavour and impact of the message. In restructuring the transferred material is restructured, with essential linguistic and stylistic adaptations, to make the final message fully acceptable in the receptor language. Translatology or Translation Studies The term translatology refers to the discipline that concerns itself with the problems raised by the production and description of translations. The discipline covers areas such as the history of translation, translation and training translators, literary translation, translation and linguistics, translation and culture, gender and translation and so on. James S. Holmes divides translation studies broadly into two branches: Pure and Applied. The pure branch of translation studies covers the description of the phenomena of translation and the study of translation from three perspectives, i.e, product, function and process. Product oriented translation study examines existing translations. Function oriented translation study is a study of socio-cultural contexts rather than texts. Process oriented translation study is concerned with trying to find out what happens in the mind of a translator. The applied branch of translation study concerns areas such as translator training, translation aids such as dictionaries, grammars and information technology and translation criticism. Specific Problems in the Translation of Poetry The translation of poetry is held to be the most difficult, demanding and possibly rewarding form of translation. According to Robert Frost, poetry itself is that which is lost in translation. The translation of a poem, it is said, lacks the spontaneity and power of the original work, which is the expression of a poets own emotional, imaginative and intellectual apprehension of facts and experiences. In poetry form and content are inseparably linked. The retention of form is important in poetry, especially in poems where the poet makes conscious use of specific forms for definite purposes. E.E. Cummings Among Crumbling People can be cited as an example where the whole poem gives the appearance of a crumbling structure. In such cases the form has to be preserved at any cost as it is an extension of content. The language of poetry is much removed from ordinary language. It is predominantly connotational. Poetry abounds in figures of speech such as simile, metaphor, irony, paradox and the like and phonological, syntactic and semantic patterns like rhyming, rhythm, metre, alliteration and assonance. 11

It is quite difficult to reproduce any of these peculiarities into another language. This affects the beauty and impact of the poem. The suggestive richness of words and images employed in poetry is difficult to be conveyed in translation. The evocative associations of the word syama in an expression like syama sundari for example the sensuousness and mythical aura that go with the image of Krishna are lost in the English translation. The difficulties notwithstanding, poetry still lends itself to translation. But the act of translating a poem requires the genius as well as the creative talent of the poet in the translator. The translator of poetry must take into account both the linguistic and non linguistic aspects of a poem and try to recreate the poem in the target language. To alter Robert Frosts statement, poetry is not what is lost in translation, it is what can be recreated in translation. Specific Problems in the Translation of Drama
Being asked to study a play on the page seems to me like being Asked to read a cookery book and then describe how the meal Tastes. Once a play is written and published it is in the public domain. Anybody can stage it with whatever interpretations he or she chooses. Ultimately it is the audience who decides if the production is Authentic and what the play means. This arises from one Performance to another, according to the age and experience of the Audience, the venue and even the weather.

The best way to understand a play is to put it on its feet. The dramatic text cannot be translated in the same way as the prose text. To begin with, a theatre text is read as something incomplete, for, it is only in performance that the full potential of the text is realized. This presents the translator with a central problem: whether to translate the text as a purely literary entity or as one element in a complex system. The text forms only one of the many elements in the totality of the theatre discourse: gesture, action, posture, tone, costume, sets, lighting, music and audience are all equally important. The theatre text is written primarily for the actors and not for the readers. So only those who are familiar with the conventions of theatre can produce good translations of plays. Written text and performance are indissolubly linked. Dialogue, for example, gains in potency and meaning from the extra linguistic situation. It will be characterized by rhythm, intonation patterns, pitch and loudness, elements that may not be immediately apparent from a straightforward reading of the written text in isolation. Robert Corrigan argues that the translator must hear the voice that speaks and take into account the gesture of the language, the cadence, rhythm and pauses that occur when the written text is spoken. The problem of performability in translation is further complicated by changing concepts of performance. Acting styles, playing space, the role of the audience and the very concepts of tragedy and comedy undergo changes over the ages. Moreover, concepts of theatre differ considerably in different national contexts. The translator of the drama text will have to take into account all these changes. The linguistic element of the play must be translated bearing in mind its function in the theatre discourse as a whole. 12

As the play text is written for voices the literary text contains a set of paralinguistic systems too like rhythm, cadence, interval etc. Besides, the play text contains within it the gestural undertext that determines the movements an actor can make. The translator cannot ignore any of these systems outside the purely literary. A central consideration of the theatre translator must therefore be the performance aspect of the text and its relationship with an audience. The translator must take into account the function of the text as an element for and of performance.

Equivalence
The concept of equivalence held sway in translation theory the 1960s and 70s and continues to be important even today. Equivalence may be defined as the relationship between a Source text and a Target text which allows the Target text to be regarded as a translation of the Source text in the first place. In the 1950s, Roman Jakobson, examined the issues of equivalence, drawing on Saussures linguistic theory. According to Jakobson, translation involves two equivalent messages in two different codes. Observing that there is ordinarily no full equivalence between languages, Jakobson, however, does not overemphasize the problem of equivalence. For him, languages differ essentially in what they must convey and not in what they may convey. In the 1960s Eugene Nida followed a new scientific approach to equivalence. He discarded the old terms such as literal, free and faithful translations which dominated translation theory until the second half of the twentieth century and adopted in their place the terms, formal equivalence and dynamic equivalence. Formal equivalence focuses attention on the message in both form and content. Dynamic equivalence is based on the principle of equivalent effect where the relationship between receptor and message should be substantially the same as that which existed between the original receptors and the message. Newmark replaces Nidas terms of formal and dynamic equivalence with those of semantic and communicative translation. Though Newmarks descriptions of semantic and communicative translations outwardly resemble Nidas concepts his opinion is that the principle of equivalent effect is inoperant if the text is out of TL space and time. Equivalence is a much used and abused term in translation studies. According to Popovic, every text has an invariant core which exists in common among all existing translations of a single work.

Equivalence
Equivalence is a central, though much criticised, concept in translation theory. It held sway in the 1960s and 70s and continues to be important even today. Equivalence may be defined as the relationship between a Source text and a Target text which allows the Target text to be regarded as a translation of the Source text in the first place. Equivalence is variously regarded as a necessary condition for translation, an obstacle to progress in translation studies or a useful category for describing translations. Each language represents a separate reality and hence absolute equivalence between languages is impossible. Popovic distinguishes four types of equivalence: Linguistic equivalence, where there is homogeneity on the linguistic level of both ST and TT; Paradigmatic equivalence, where there is equivalence of the elements of grammar. Popovic sees this as a higher category than linguistic equivalence; Stylistic (translational) equivalence, where there is functional equivalence of the elements in both ST and TT. In the translation of idioms and phrases translators strive for stylistic equivalence. Textual (syntagmatic) equivalence, where there is equivalence of form and shape. In the 1950s, the Russian-born American structuralist, Roman Jakobson, examined the issues of linguistic meaning and equivalence, drawing on Saussures linguistic theory. According to Jakobson, 13

translation involves two equivalent messages in two different codes. Observing that there is ordinarily no full equivalence between languages, Jakobson, however, does not overemphasize the problem of equivalence. For him, languages differ essentially in what they must convey and not in what they may convey. In short the problem of equivalence focuses on differences in the structure and terminology of languages rather than on any inability of one language to render a message that has been written in another verbal language. In the 1960s Eugene Nida followed a new scientific approach to tackle the questions of meaning, equivalence and translatability. Central to Nidas work is the move away from the old idea that a word has a fixed meaning. He prefers a more functional definition of meaning, i.e, a word acquires meaning through its context and can produce varying responses according to culture. Nida discarded the old terms such as literal, free and faithful translations which dominated translation theory until the second half of the twentieth century and adopted in their place the terms, formal equivalence and dynamic equivalence. Formal equivalence focuses attention on the message in both form and content. It is a source-oriented translation in which the translators concern is that the message in the receptor language should match as closely as possible the different elements in the source language. Dynamic equivalence is based on the principle of equivalent effect where the relationship between receptor and message should be substantially the same as that which existed between the original receptors and the message. In this receptor-oriented approach, adaptations of grammar, lexis and cultural references are considered essential to achieve naturalness in translation. Nidas concept of dynamic equivalence came to be heavily criticized on the grounds that equivalent effect is impossible to achieve and be measured. Nevertheless, Nidas principle of equivalence is significant, for, it marked a paradigm shift in translation theory. Nida deserves credit for introducing a systematic analytical approach to translation; he factored into the translation equation the receivers of the Target text and their cultural expectations. Arguing that Nidas principle of equivalent effect is illusory, Newmark replaces Nidas terms of formal and dynamic equivalence with those of semantic and communicative translation. Though Newmarks descriptions of semantic and communicative translations outwardly resemble Nidas concepts of formal and dynamic equivalence, Newmarks opinion is that the principle of equivalent effect is inoperant if the text is out of TL space and time. An example would be a modern British English translation of Homer. The translator cannot hope to produce the same effect on the TT reader as the ST had on listeners in ancient Greece. Newmarks terms semantic and communicative translation, though often quoted in translation theory, have received far less attention than Nidas formal and dynamic equivalence. This may be because despite Newmarks relevant criticisms of equivalent effect they raise some of the same points concerning the translation process and the importance of the TT reader. Neveretheless, many of the questions Newmark tackles are of important practical relevance to translation. Werner Koller, a German translation theorist, describes five different types of equivalence: Denotative, Connotative, Text-normative, Pragmatic or Dynamic and Formal. Denotative equivalence is content invariance. It is related to equivalence of the extra linguistic content of a text. Connotative equivalence is stylistic equivalence. It is related to the lexical choices, especially between nearsynonyms. Text-normative equivalence is related to text types, with different kinds of texts behaving in different ways. Pragmatic equivalence is oriented towards the receiver of the message. This corresponds to Nidas dynamic equivalence. Formal equivalence is related to the form and aesthetics of the text. It includes word plays and individual stylistic features of the ST. Equivalence is a much used and abused term in translation studies. Theorists like Raymond Broeck challenge the excessive use of the term in translation studies. According to Popovic, every text has an 14

invariant core which exists in common among all existing translations of a single work. For example, while translating the English text hello into Italian, French or German the invariant is the notion of greeting. During the translation process this core can be isolated and the SL term replaced by a TL one that carries the same notion. As Susan Bassnett observes, equivalence in translation should not be approached as a search for sameness since sameness cannot even exist between two TL versions of the same text, let alone between the SL and TL version. It has to be perceived as dialectic between the signs and the structures within and surrounding the SL and TL texts.

Untranslatability
Eugene Nida and J.C. Catford have contributed largely to the study of untranslatability. Anthony Pym defines translatability as the capacity for some kind of meaning to be transferred from one language to another without undergoing radical changes. Catford distinguishes two types of untranslatability: linguistic and cultural. Linguistic untranslatability occurs when there is no lexical or syntactical substitute in the TL for an SL item. For example, the question Addeham Keralattinte Etramathe Mukhyamantriyanu cannot be translated into English for English does not have an equivalent structure. Linguistic untranslatability can be mainly due to two factors: Polysemy and Oligosemy. Polysemy occurs when a word has more than meaning. Such words become untranslatable when more than one meaning of a particular word becomes functionally relevant in the source text. Oligosemy is restriction of meaning. For example, the nearest English equivalent of the Malayalam word sakhi is friend, which does not carry the restricted sense of the original, i.e, a female friend. Cultural untranslatability is due to the absence in the TL culture of a relevant situational feature for the source text. Eugene Nida lists three situations of cultural untranslatability. The first situation arises when an SL term does not have a corresponding referent in the TL which performs the same function. For example in languages where snow is outside the range of experience of the speakers expressions like white as snow are difficult to translate. However equivalents like white as milk can convey the meaning. The second situation arises when the referent in the SL is present in the TL but has a different function to perform. For example, Shakespeares sonnet Shall I Compare thee to a Summers Day? cannot be translated into a language where summers are an unpleasant experience. The third situation arises when an SL term has no referent with a parallel function in the TL where transliteration has to be resorted to. Jakobson is of the view that what is not translatable at one time or place may be quite translatable in another time or place. For example, the term cheese can be rendered as coagulated milk curds in a culture that has no experience of cheese, thus perhaps enabling them to produce cheese. The term will be entirely translatable when the target culture has learned the technology of making cheese. Thus Jakobson is in favour of translatability rather than untranslatability. According to Georges Mounin translation is a dialectic process that can be accomplished with relative success. Untranslatability Untranslatability has been much discussed by translatologists over the ages. Eugene Nida and J.C. Catford have contributed largely to the study of untranslatability. Catford distinguishes two types of untranslatability: linguistic and cultural. Linguistic untranslatability occurs when there is no lexical or syntactical substitute in the TL for an SL item. For example, the question Addeham Keralattinte Etramathe Mukhyamantriyanu cannot be translated into English for English does not have an equivalent structure. Linguistic untranslatability can be mainly due to two factors: Polysemy and 15

Oligosemy. Polysemy occurs when a word has more than meaning. Such words become untranslatable when more than one meaning of a particular word becomes functionally relevant in the source text. Oligosemy is restriction of meaning. For example, the nearest English equivalent of the Malayalam word sakhi is friend, which does not carry the restricted sense of the original, i.e, a female friend. Cultural untranslatability is due to the absence in the TL culture of a relevant situational feature for the source text. Eugene Nida lists three situations of cultural untranslatability. The first situation arises when an SL term does not have a corresponding referent in the TL which performs the same function. For example in languages where snow is outside the range of experience of the speakers expressions like white as snow are difficult to translate. However equivalents like white as milk can convey the meaning. The second situation arises when the referent in the SL is present in the TL but has a different function to perform. For example, Shakespeares sonnet Shall I Compare thee to a Summers Day? cannot be translated into a language where summers are an unpleasant experience. The third situation arises when an SL term has no referent with a parallel function in the TL, in which case transliteration has to be resorted to. Machine Translation Machine Translation (MT) is automatic translation by a computer. The first real developments in machine translation took place after the Second World War. The word-for-word substitution, originally used in machine translation, however, is not a solid base for translation and naturally Machine Translation soon fell out of reputation. While the human brain can interpret meanings based on the situation or cultural background, the machine is unable to do so. Despite these shortcomings, computers are immensely useful in the translation of documents dealing with restricted subject matter written in a simple manner, weather bulletins, for instance. The tedious business of looking up unknown words in dictionaries and ensuring consistency in terms can be automated, leaving human translators free to spend time on increasing clarity and improving style. Also, they can translate more important and interesting documents, editorials rather than weather reports, for example. A machine translation process starts with providing the MT system with usable (machine-readable) input. The text which is submitted for translation needs to be adapted before the system can deal with it. It should be saved as text file. Many specifications need to be given to the machine like the language into which translation should be done, the format of the target text, the intended audience of the target text, whether the level of the language needs to be adjusted etc. Another essential condition is that actual terminological database (a term base) should be supplied with the source text. To conclude, machine translation will be profitable only in environments that can explore its strong points to the full. The main impact of machine translation in the immediate future will be in large corporate environments where substantial amounts of translation are performed.

Time: 1 hr

Unit Test (June)

Mxm Mks: 25

I Fill in the blanks with suitable forms of newspaper words: 1. West Bengal ---------- Centres help (request) 2. --------------- to increase rice production (proposal) bid 16

3. -------------- Union inauguration (University) 4. Mitra --------- Praja Rajyam (resign from) 5. Azad: isolate elements ----------- violence (trigger) 6. Maoist leader appeals for ------------- (discussions) 7. Pachauri to help Maharashtra ---------- climate change (fight/resist) 8. Hurriyat Strike call ----------- Kashmir Valley (affect badly) 9. Scotland Yard -------- into MPs expenses (enquiry/investigation) 10. Russia stiff terms for arms control ---------- (agreement/pact) II Translate into Malayalam: 1. Mousavi insists on vote annulment Tehran: Irans defeated candidate Mir Hosein Mousavi in a letter to the countrys top legislative body on Saturday insisted that the June Presidential election be annulled, his website said. 2. Rain cools Orissa While rain lashed parts of the northern and eastern regions, including Orissa, temperatures soared above 45 degree Celsius in Rajasthan on Sunday. (2 5 = 10 Marks) III Say whether the following verbs are in the active or passive: 1. The play bombed in London, but more successful in New York 2. Azam Khan expelled 3. 12 labourers buried alive in dam site 4. Malvinder exits Ranbaxy 5. 5 held in abduction case (5 Marks) (10 Marks)

Translation Unit Test Answer any ten in not more than three sentences: 1. Who translated Victor Hugos Les Miserables into Malayalam? What is the title it bears in Malayalam? 2. Who introduced the term poly system? What does it refer to? 3. What was the approach of Cicero and Horace to translation? 4. Name the Bible translator who was burned at the stake for heresy. 5. Summarize the poststructuralist approach to translation. 6. Name a 17th century poet who strongly advocated freedom in translation. What was the translation work he undertook? 17

7. Translations in India during the colonial period were largely one sided. Explain. 8. Who proposed the term Translation Studies? What does it deal with? 9. The earliest theories about translation had an empirical focus. What does this mean? 10. What accounted for the popularity of John Wycliffes English translation of the Bible? 11. What was the major concern of the translation theorists and practitioners of the 1950s and 60s? 12. Which are the three types of translation according to Dryden? Which does he consider the most balanced? 13. Explain the cannibalistic view of translation put forward by the Brazilians. 14. Summarize Etienne Dolets views on translation. 15. Describe the pre-colonial approach to translation in India. Translation Test (Chapter 2) Answer any ten in not more than two sentences: 1. Explain the cannibalistic view of translation put forward by the Brazilians. 2. Who translated Victor Hugos Les Miserables into Malayalam? What is the title it bears in Malayalam? 3. Who proposed the term Translation Studies? What does it deal with? 4. Mention some of the sociolinguistic issues in Bible translation. 5. Who proposed the theory of dominion by grace? What does it refer to? 6. The earliest theories about translation had an empirical focus. Explain. 7. Name the Bible translator who was burnt at the stake for heresy. 8. What is poly system theory? Who introduced it? 9. What is the poststructuralist approach to translation? 10. What was the major concern of the translation theorists and practitioners of the 1950s and 60s? 11. Summarise Etienne Dolets views on translation. 12. Name two Romans who contributed significantly to translation theory and exercised tremendous influence on translators of later years 13. Name a 17th century poet who strongly advocated freedom in translation. What was the translation work he undertook? 14. How does Dryden categorise translation? 15. Who wrote The Principles of Translation? 16. What is Tejaswini Niranjanas criticism against William Jones translation of Indian texts into English? 17. What accounted for the popularity of John Wycliffes English translation of the Bible? 18. What does the issue of canonicity refer to in Bible translation? 19. What do you mean by a diachronic study of translation theory? 20. What is the most important factor in Bible translation according to Martin Luther?

Short Questions (University)

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. What does Belloc mean by intention? Define lexical translation When does level shift take place? What is temporal dialect? How do you understand language as a type of patterned human behaviour? Define meaning What is semiotic transformation? Define stylistic (translational) equivalence Explain vertical and horizontal modes of translation 18

10. Alexander Tytlers three principles of translation 11. Bellocs concepts of block out and plod on 12. George Steiners periodisation of the history of translation 13. Define transcription 14. Describe the two major types of shift in translation 15. Differentiate geographical and temporal dialect 16. Define formal relations 17. The distinction between textual equivalent and formal correspondent 18. What is translation studies? 19. What are the three basic types of translation put forth by Dryden in his Preface to Ovids Epistles? 20. Differentiate between semantic and communicative translations. 21. Enumerate the three steps involved in transliteration 22. Explain the term formal correspondent. 23. What is calque? Calques are special kind of borrowing where a language borrows a word or an expression from another language and translates literally each of its elements. Paragraph Questions 1. The problems of period study 2. Explain the problems of transference 3. Negative Shift in Translation 4. Rank Bound Versus Free translation 5. Translation is a creative activity Give your views. 6. The four types of equivalence distinguished by Popovic 7. Translation as Rewriting 8. The development of translation studies in the 20th century 9. Is translation a science or secondary activity? 10. Bible Translation/ The historical relevance of Bible translation 11. The differences in translating prose text and dramatic text. 12. What are the specific issues related to translating idioms and phrases? Essays 1. Elucidate as to what the limits of translatability are. 2. Discuss the educative role of translation 3. Discuss the issue of language varieties in translation. 19

4. Elucidate the circumstances under which untranslatability occurs.

Answers to Short Questions 1. What is transference? Transference is the process of conveying or projecting onto someone the available knowledge or information. The concept of Transference as developed through Freud by Derrida and Lacan suggests the dual process of passing thoughts, feelings, motivations, and conflicts to the "therapist" or what Jacques Lacan calls the "Subject Supposed to Know", the person who is capable of illuminating the "truth" of knowledge better than "patient" alone. But only by refusing the role of the "Subject Supposed to Know" and by initiating a sort of "counter-transference" does the analyst help the patient grow beyond the analyst (so that the therapist and the patient do not become locked in an enduring false relationship). Transference, as Lacan and Derrida both point out, occurs in many contexts outside of psychotherapy. Lacan claims that whenever a person (teacher, friend, priest, military leader) is believed to be the Subject Supposed to Know, transference exists. Likewise, transference is something that can happen to texts, to "authors", as well as to people. Transference operates through the dynamics of languages, in internal as well as external communication. However, not to become locked in the prison house of language and the metaphysics of a unified consciousness in control of languages, is to be aware of the fictions in the structuring of language. As far as the process of translation is concerned, then, it would mean the possibility of "counter-transference" always already existing in the text or which has to be initiated by the translator/analyst. 1. Negative Shift in Translation 20

The term shift is used in translation theory to refer to changes which occur or may occur in the process of translating. Shifts result from attempts to deal with systemic differences between source and target languages and cultures. The concept of shift is dependent on that of invariant, i.e., those elements which remain unchanged in the process of translation. When a certain type of invariance is regarded as a requirement for appropriate translation the corresponding notion of shift is likely to be a normative one stated in an affirmative form as do or in a negative form as dont. In other words we speak of two types of shift: affirmative or positive and negative. The term negative shift refers to transformation of certain source text values or properties which ought to remain, or have remained, unaltered; the result is described as an error or mistranslation. Negative shifts are looked upon as unwelcome results of the translation act, as something to be avoided. Positive, affirmative shifts are seen as required, indispensable changes at specific semiotic levels with regard to specific aspects of the source text. Shifts are the means which allow the translator to overcome the systemic differences. Semantic and Communicative Translations Peter Newmark in his work Approaches to Translation distinguishes between semantic and communicative translations. He defines semantic translation as an attempt to render, as closely as the semantic and syntactic structures of the target language allow, the exact contextual meaning of the original. Communicative translation aims at reproducing on its readers an effect as close as possible to that obtained on the readers of the original. Semantic translation is performed at the authors linguistic level and communicative from the readers. Newmarks descriptions of semantic and communicative translations outwardly resemble Nidas concepts of formal and dynamic equivalence. Nevertheless, Newmarks opinion is that Nidas principle of equivalent effect does not operate if the text is out of TL space and time. An example would be a modern British English translation of Homer. The translator cannot hope to produce the same effect on the TT reader as the ST had on listeners in ancient Greece. Newmarks terms semantic and communicative translation, though often quoted in translation theory, have received far less attention than Nidas formal and dynamic equivalence. This may be because despite Newmarks relevant criticisms of equivalent effect they raise some of the same points concerning the translation process and the importance of the TT reader. Textual Equivalence (Mona Baker) Cohesion is the network of lexical, grammatical and other relations which provide links between various parts of a text. Halliday and Hasan identify five major cohesive devices in English: reference, substitution, ellipsis, conjunction and lexical cohesion. Reference denotes the relationship that holds between a word and what it points to in the real world. Eg: Mrs Thatcher has resigned. She announced her decision this morning. She refers to Mrs Thatcher. Ellipsis involves omission of an item. Eg: John bought some carnations and Catherine some sweet peas. Conjunction involves the use of formal markers to relate sentences, clauses and paragraphs to each other. Eg: They fought a battle. Afterwards it snowed. 21

Answer in not more than two sentences: 1. Bellocs concepts of block out and plod on According to Hilaire Belloc the translator should not 'plod on', word by word or sentence by sentence, but should 'always "block out" his work'. By 'block out', Belloc means that the translator should consider the work as an integral unit and translate in sections, asking himself 'before each what the whole sense is he has to render'. 2. What does Belloc mean by intention? By intention Belloc means the weight a given expression may have in a particular context in the SL that would be disproportionate if translated literally into the TL. He points out that in the translation of intention it is necessary to add words not in the original to conform to the idiom of ones own tongue. 3. Translating intention by intention Hilaire Belloc stresses the need for the translator to consider the prose text as a structured whole and render the text idiom by idiom and intention by intention. By intention Belloc means the weight a given expression may have in a particular context in the SL that would be disproportionate if translated literally into the TL. He points out that in the translation of intention it is necessary to add words not in the original to conform to the idiom of ones own tongue. 3. Differentiate geographical and temporal dialect Geographical dialects are spoken by the people of a particular geographical area within a speech community, cockney in London, for example. A variety of language used at a particular stage in its historical development, such as Prakrit and Pali in ancient India, may be termed as temporal dialect. 4. Language as a type of patterned human behaviour Only humans can assemble fragments of information to form a pattern that they can later act upon. It is just this power to transform imagination into fact that distinguishes human behaviour from that of all other species. It is exactly what enables us to change our behaviour, or invent vast ranges of new behaviour, practically overnight, with no concomitant genetic changes. 5. What is negative shift? The term shift is used in translation theory to refer to changes which occur or may occur in the process of translating. Negative shift refers to transformation of certain source text values or properties which ought to remain unaltered; the result is described as an error or mistranslation. 6. Describe the two major types of shift in translation There are two types of shift: affirmative or positive and negative. The term negative shift refers to transformation of certain source text values or properties which ought to remain, or have remained, unaltered; the result is described as an error or mistranslation. Positive, affirmative shifts are seen as required, indispensable changes at specific semiotic levels with regard to specific aspects of the source text. 7. Explain the term formal correspondent. 22

Catford uses the term formal correspondent to refer to any TL category (unit, class, structure, element of structure etc.) which can be said to occupy as nearly as possible the same place in the TL economy as the given SL category occupies in the SL economy. For example, a TL equivalent of an SL term belonging to the class of adjectives must belong to the same class in the TL economy if it is to be regarded as a formal correspondent of the SL term. 8. The distinction between textual equivalent and formal correspondent Catford while analysing shift in translation makes a distinction between textual equivalent and formal correspondent. A textual equivalent is any TL text or portion of text which is observed to be the equivalent of a given SL text or portion of text. A formal correspondent is any TL category (unit, class, structure, element of structure etc.) which can be said to occupy as nearly as possible the same place in the TL economy as the given SL category occupies in the SL economy. 9. Explain vertical and horizontal modes of translation Gianfranco Folena distinguishes between vertical and horizontal translations while discussing medieval translation. Vertical translation, according to him, means translation into the vernacular from a source language that had a special prestige, Latin for example. In horizontal translation both source and target languages have a similar value, for example, Provencal into Italian or NormanFrench into English. 10. What is transcription? The writing system where the letters or graphological units are in one-to-one correlation with phonological units or with parts of phonic substance is considered as transcription. 11. What is lexical translation? Lexical translation is the translation of individual words and phrases. 12. When does level shift take place? According to Catford, level shift takes place where an SL item at one linguistic level, for example grammar, has a TL equivalent at a different level, for instance, lexis. 13. Gestural patterning of Text According to Susan Bassnett, the theatre text contains within its structure some features that make it performable which she describes as a coded gestural patterning. The theatre translator, she says, must consider its gestural patterning, i.e., the performance aspect of the written text as well as its relationship to its contemporary audience. 14. Paralinguistic systems in Text As the play text is written for performance the literary text contains a set of paralinguistic systems. The written text is in fact part of a larger complex of sign systems which include the spoken text, bodily expression, the actors external appearance (gestures, physical features etc,) the playing space (involving size of venue, props, lighting effects etc.) and non-spoken sound. (Paralinguistic systems in Text Treating a written text as part of a larger complex of sign systems. Tandeusz Kowzan identifies five semiological systems. 1) The spoken text (for which there may or may not be a written text) 2) Bodily expression 3) The actors external appearance (gestures, physical features etc,) 23

4) The playing space (involving size of venue, props, lighting effects etc.) 5) Non-spoken sound) 15. Phonemic Translation Phonemic translation is one of the seven methods employed in the translation of poetry which Andre Lefevere discusses in his book Translating Poetry, Seven Strategies and a Blue Print. Phonemic translation, which attempts to reproduce the SL sound in the TL while producing an acceptable paraphrase of the sense, is a method that works well in the translation of onomatopoeia; but the overall effect is clumsy. 16. Metrical translation Metrical translation is one of the seven methods employed in the translation of poetry which Andre Lefevere discusses in his book Translating Poetry, Seven Strategies and a Blue Print. The dominant criterion in metrical translation is reproducing the SL metre. The method concentrates on one aspect of the ST at the expense of the text as a whole. 17. Translation of Register 18. Translating intention by intention Hilaire Belloc stresses the need for the translator to consider the prose text as a structured whole and render the text idiom by idiom and intention by intention. By intention Belloc means the weight a given expression may have in a particular context in the SL that would be disproportionate if translated literally into the TL. He points out that in the translation of intention it is necessary to add words not in the original to conform to the idiom of ones own tongue. 19. Archaising 20. Define formal relations Paragraphs 1. Negative Shift in Translation The term shift is used in translation theory to refer to changes which occur or may occur in the process of translating. Shifts result from attempts to deal with systemic differences between source and target languages and cultures. There are two types of shift: affirmative or positive and negative. The term negative shift refers to transformation of certain source text values or properties which ought to remain, or have remained, unaltered; the result is described as an error or mistranslation. Negative shifts are looked upon as unwelcome results of the translation act, as something to be avoided. Positive, affirmative shifts are seen as required, indispensable changes at specific semiotic levels with regard to specific aspects of the source text. Shifts are the means which allow the translator to overcome the systemic differences. 8. The problems of period study Examining George Steiners periodisation of the history of translation Susan Bassnett argues that Steiners divisions illustrate the difficulty of studying translation diachronically. Steiners first period covers a span of some 1700 years while his last two periods cover a mere thirty years. His four-fold division is highly idiosyncratic, according to Bassnett. Nevertheless, Bassnett admits that there are certain concepts of translation that prevail at different times which can be documented. Studies on translation like those by Andre Lefevere, R. Steiner and F. O. Matthiesson are attempts at such documentation. Bassnett observes that such studies which are not bound to rigid notions of

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period but which seek to investigate changing concepts of translation systematically are of great value to students of Translation Studies. 9. Is translation a science or secondary activity? Susan Bassnett argues that distinctions such as scientific and creative are outdated in describing the process of translation. The use of these old distinctions, she says, seeks to devalue the study and practice of translation. For, the theory and practice of translation are not in conflict; instead they are indissolubly linked. The purpose of translation theory is not to be prescriptive, i.e., to provide a set of norms for effecting the perfect translation, in which case the element of artistic creativity would be downplayed. Instead it seeks to reach an understanding of the processes undertaken in the act of translation. Understanding the process of translation can only help in the production. Once this point is accepted the myth of translation as a secondary activity not requiring creative inspiration can be dispelled. 10. Loss and Gain in Translation Loss and gain are inevitable in the translation process, for sameness cannot exist between two languages. Loss in translation is mostly the result of the absence of lexical equivalents in the target language for terms or concepts in the SL. Terms relating to ecology, material culture, social culture, description of non-verbal communication etc. pose particular difficulty for the translators. As translation was traditionally regarded as an activity of lower status much of the discussion in translation theory was centred on what is lost in the transfer of a text while what could be gained was ignored. The translator can at times enrich or clarify the SL text as a direct result of the translation process. Moreover, what is often seen as lost from the SL context may be replaced in the TL context. Wyatts translations of Petrarchs sonnets are an example. 11. The development of translation studies in the 20th century Though the process of translation is of long standing, the study of translation as an academic discipline started only in the second half of the 20th century. J.C. Catford and Eugene Nida are major names in translation theory in the period. Both viewed translation as a linguistic process. Theories of translation have undergone a radical change since the 70s. From an exclusively linguistic exercise, translation came to be regarded as a complex cultural practice. The writings of Evan-Zohar, Susan Bassnett and Andre Lefevere mark this breaking away of translation theory from the linguistic slant of the previous decades. After Translation Studies became an independent discipline in the eighties it has attained fresh vigour and energy. Translation Studies has today become interdisciplinary, having alliance with feminism, postcolonialism and poststructuralism. 6. What are the problems of equivalence in translation? The problem of equivalence is of central importance in Translation Studies. Each language represents a separate reality and hence there is no full equivalence between languages. The English, German, Italian and French terms for friendly greeting illustrate this fact. The Italian word pronto can only be used as a telephonic greeting, like the German hallo; whereas English does not distinguish between the word used when greeting someone face to face and that used when answering the telephone. This presents the translator with problems. The process of translation involves far more than the replacement of lexical and grammatical items between languages. It may involve discarding the basic linguistic elements of the source text as in the 25

translation of idioms and metaphors. Popovic distinguishes four types of equivalence linguistic, paradigmatic or grammatical, stylistic or functional and textual or syntagmatic, i.e., equivalence of form and shape. 7. The four types of equivalence distinguished by Popovic Equivalence may be defined as the relationship between a source text and a target text that allows the target text to be regarded as a translation of the source text in the first place. In his definition of translation equivalence, Popovic distinguishes four types of equivalence: linguistic equivalence, paradigmatic equivalence, stylistic (translational) equivalence and textual (syntagmatic) equivalence. In linguistic equivalence there is homogeneity on the linguistic level of both SL and TL texts, i.e. word for word translation. In paradigmatic equivalence there is equivalence of `the elements of a paradigmatic expressive axis', i.e. elements of grammar, which Popovic sees as being a higher category than lexical equivalence. Stylistic (translational) equivalence, is `functional equivalence of elements in both original and translation aiming at an expressive identity with an invariant of identical meaning'.Textual (syntagmatic) equivalence is equivalence of the syntagmatic structuring of a text, i.e. equivalence of form and shape. 8. What is the historical significance of the Bible in translation studies? As Christianity spread, translation came to acquire a new role, disseminating the word of God. The history of translation of the Bible is in fact the history of translation studies in the west in the 16th century. Translations of the Bible by John Wycliffe, William Tyndale, Erasmus and Martin Luther became popular, for, they all underscored the principle of intelligibility and challenged the church authorities who forbade the layman from reading the Bible in his native language. Their views were condemned by the church as heretical and William Tyndale was burnt at the stake for heresy. These translators were equally engaged with the transmission of accurate literary message. The job of the translator during the period went beyond the linguistic and became evangelistic. Eugene Nida, a significant name in translation studies, formulated his views on translation on the basis of his elaborate study of Bible translation. 9. In translation, the translator in many ways does more than the reader of the SL text. Discuss. Translator is not merely a reader; he is a reader, an interpreter and a creator, all in one. Unlike an ordinary, monolingual reader who primarily looks for aesthetic enjoyment in the reading of a text, a translator interprets the text as he reads it and re-creates it in his translation. He must capture all the nuances of the source text and explore its multiple layers of meaning. He has to examine the literary techniques and conventions the author has employed to produce the overall effect and has to ingeniously reproduce this effect for his target reader. According to Haroldo de Campos, a Brazilian translator, the translator is an all-powerful reader and a free agent as a writer. 10. David Crystals categorisation of translation Pragmatic Translation Pragmatic equivalence refers to equivalence between the pragmatic meaning of the source text and the target text.

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Pragmatic meaning is a type of dynamic meaning contextually determined by the intentionality of the speaker and the use of language in communication. 11. Foreignisation and Domestication

The notions of foreignisation and domestication in translation theory were first proposed by Friederich Schleiermacher, a German theologian and philosopher who also dabbled in a range of other subjects, including linguistics. His terms for these concepts, alienation and naturalisation, were later taken up in the twentieth century by Lawrence Venuti, who renamed them foreignisation and domestication. These approaches to translation were based on the idea that in translating a text, the culture of the original text has to be accounted for in the translation, either by 'adapting' it to the culture of the target language, and thus bringing the text to the reader (domestication), or by making the target language adapt to the culture of the source text, and thus taking the reader to the text (foreignisation). Translation in the Present Context
The process of translation was traditionally viewed as a secondary activity and the translator was thought of as an imitator not capable of creative imagination or original thinking. But recent critical theories refute this line of thinking and emphasize the right of the translation to be different from the original. Terminological distinctions like scientific/creative, original/secondary are no more important in translation studies. Jacques Derrida, the Poststructuralist theorist, opposes the traditional view of the original text as the starting point and argues that each translation creates an original text. Roland Barthes and Julia Kristeva emphasize the changed role of the reader. The reader is not a mere passive consumer; he decodes the text according to a different set of systems and in the process produces meaning. Julia Kristeva sees all texts as being linked to all other texts. Octavio Paz comments that every text is a translation of another text. His is a very radical view of translation: No text can be completely original because language itself is already a translation: firstly, of the non verbal world and secondly, since every sign and every phrase is the translation of another sign and another phrase. In the light of the recent linguistic and critical theories translation can no longer be dismissed as an uninspired, mechanical activity, a slavish copying of the original. Translation is more than a mere linguistic substitution of meaning from a source language to a target language. The term describes just about any interaction between two languages and cultures. The translation process is one in which we tentatively and precariously arrive at meanings of one cultural context and reinscribe them in another. It is a form of communication, a channel for the circulation of ideas, opinions, information and influence. As Haroldo de Campos, a Brazilian translator, observes: Translation is a dialogue; the translator is an all-powerful reader and a free agent as a writer.

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Constructing a Model for Shift Analysis in Translation

by Dr. Mohammad Q. R. Al-Zoubi Dr. Ali Rasheed Al-Hassnawi Ph.D. In Linguistics and Translation Ph.D. In Linguistics and Translation Department of English Department of English Irbid National University Irbid National University Jordan Jordan

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Abstract The occurrence of shifts in any translational activity is an unavoidable phenomenon. Unfortunately, the bulk of research carried out in this regard has not perceived the urgent need for a model to analyze or shown interest in identifying these shifts. In this paper, the researchers attempt to construct a workable eclectic model for shift analysis whose major aim is to provide a sound machinery to analyze various types of shifts in translation at various levels of linguistic and paralinguistic description. The construction of such a model benefits from a large number of grammatical, textual, pragmatic, and stylistic theories and approaches that are neatly interwoven and simultaneously operated in search for a comprehensive and objective machinery of shift analysis which translation studies and practice are still lacking.

1.1. Introduction n his attempt to transfer meaning from one language (SL) to another (TL) by means of the universally known practice of translation, the translator faces a plethora of linguistic, stylistic and even cultural problems. In this regard, Popovi (1970: 79) confirms that "this transfer is not performed directly and is not without its difficulties." This means that the act of translation can be analyzed along a range of possibilities, which brings about a number of shifts in the linguistic, aesthetic and intellectual values of the source text (ST). 'shift' should be redefined positively as the consequence of the translator's effort to establish translation equivalence (TE) between two different language systems. In this paper, we will attempt to construct a workable model for shift analysis in translation. We assume a straightforward application of this model regardless of the type of text involved in the analysis process. Moreover, we hold the view that translation is a highly complex phenomenon, which involves a large number of variables other than the linguistic ones. In this regard, we define shifts as follows:

Shifts are all the mandatory actions of the translator (those dictated by the structural discrepancies between the two language systems involved in this process) and the optional ones (those dictated by his personal and stylistic preferences) to which he resorts consciously for the purpose of natural and communicative rendition of an SL text into another language. This process of rendition should be carried out in accordance with the norms and principles of translation science in addition to those inherent to the language systems involved in this process. In accordance with the above statement, the model incorporates various linguistic approaches and methodologies that may have some bearing on the process of translation. 29

1.2. The Model Constructed The proposed model of shift analysis is illustrated by Diagram 1 to be followed by a full description of its components: 1.2.1. A Horizontal Description Generally speaking, the model is productoriented in the sense that it applies to two texts involved in the translation. It is also obvious that the model comprises two levels of analysis, i.e., micro and macro levels with two basic dimensions: the semantic dimension, represented by the message shared by source (ST) and target (TT) texts, which are supposed to conveyroughly speakingthe same message, and the syntactic dimension, where each of the two texts is assigned a different syntactic description, since these texts represent two different embodiments of the same message. This message constitutes the core of the translation task as a whole. Furthermore, the existence of this message, which is shared between the two texts, provides us with a criterion to formulate the tertium comparationis required compare the two texts (cf. James, 1980). Another important point to raise here is the fact that this central position of the 'Message' serves a dual purpose. On the one hand, it provides the model with a good means to form a qualitative balance between the ST and the TT. On the other hand, this position represents the maximum balance between form and content of the message, a case which rarely happens. Based on the above discussion, and to account for the interrelationship between form and content as two essential extremes in any translation act, the position of the 'Message' can be slightly changed in four different ways. The first two are motivated by the orientation of translation whereas the other two are motivated by the relationship between form and content in both texts. The adoption of any of these four versions on the part of the translator will result in certain types of shift which can only be explained by referring to the translator's priorities, his style, purpose, the type of the text to be translated, and some other communicative and stylistic norms. The operation of each level of the model is given below. 1.2.2. Micro-Level Analysis At this level, the analysis is carried out within the morpho-syntactic component of the model based on Systemic Grammar (SG) and Transformational Grammar (TG). A description of the operation of this level is given below. 1.2.2.1 The Morpho-Syntactic Component: An Overview 30

This major component is considered a potential area of microstructural shifts, the analysis of which is one of the main objectives of this model. This component comprises two parts. The first represents some sort of a 'categorial grammar,' and builds on Halliday's (1961) Categories of the Theory of Grammar. The second part borrows much from TG, and it is intended to supplement the first part, which is concerned with the surface structure (SS) analysis. Furthermore, this deep-level part is operated to explore the underlying semantic and syntactic relations existing in each text. The analysis of shifts is then done in the light of these relations which represent the starting point for such an analysis. Two further remarks need to be made concerning the scope and operation of this component. First, the component is basically, but not necessarily exclusively, sentential in nature, i.e., operates at the level of the sentence and its lower constituents. Second, in addition to the structural orientation of this component, it has a functional one as well. In other words, in analyzing the structure of the ST and TT units, the following questions must guide the analysis of each text: (a) What is that unit?, i.e., its grammatical membership, (b) What does that unit do within the given text?, i.e., the function of that unit, and (c) Where does that unit occur?, i.e., the location of the unit. Thus, it is obvious that we are interested in the grammatical units of the two texts from two angles: the units as independent entities and the units as members of other units in the same text. As for the operation, we do not consider it a condition for the simultaneous operation of the whole component that fragments of either text be analyzed. To put it differently, the, model makes it possible to use any of its parameters found suitable for performing the task of shift identification. Hence, one can select any sub-levelif found relevantas a starting point to carry out this analysis. Finally, one should not overlook the need to operate this component in both texts in the same way, i.e., the sub-level chosen to analyze the ST should be the same as that chosen to analyze the TT. So far, we have given an overall description of the morpho-syntactic component. A detailed description of its parts is presented below. 1.2.2.1.1. The Categorial Part (Surface-level Analysis) This part accounts for shifts happening at the SS level in terms of four theoretical categories, namely unit, structure, class, and system, which provide the framework for the syntactic and functional description of the data. In addition to these categories, the categorial part of the syntactic component makes use of some other language-specific categories called 'descriptive' 31

categories. These are used "to talk about the grammar of any particular language" (Halliday et al, 1964:31) and are considered to be instances of the theoretical ones. Hence, the abstract theoretical category of 'unit' may comprise in a particular language such instances as 'sentence,' 'clause,' 'group,' etc. The description of these categories in one language should be made in terms specific to that language and not in terms of any other universal construct. This is a very significant procedural precaution, which the analyst must keep in mind. However, one might think of the problem of comparison at a later stage while making such descriptions. One solution to this problem comes from the fact that these categories are only components of some other universal ones which can be used as the constant entity in the comparison. Another equally powerful solution comes from the hypothesis of language universals: despite their apparent differences, human languages exhibit some syntactic and semantic similarities at various levels of abstraction. The relations among the descriptive categories themselves and their relations with the data are expressed by means of three interrelated scales, namely 'rank,' 'exponence,' and 'delicacy.' From these, the first and the second scales are utilized in the present model. Interlingually, the scale of rank accounts for shifts caused by substituting an SL unit in a particular position on the rank scale by a TL unit in a lower or higher position, e.g., an SL group by a TL clause or word. The scale of exponence, on the other hand, is the scale of realization. It refers to the relation between systems and structures on one hand and to the relation between structures and the formal items of grammar on the other. Hence, terms from systems are realized by structures and the elements of these structures are realized by formal items. In translation, some shifts occur in the realization of SL systems and structures in the TL, e.g., the realization of an English interrogative in Arabic. The following diagram serves as an illustration of overt rank and covert exponence shifts taking place in the category of unit. The following observations concerning the analysis of overt and covert micro interlingual unit shifts are made with reference to Diagram 2. 1. Vertically, overt micro shifts may occur either up or down the scale of rank, hence the vertical arrow; upward shifts take place when an SL unit is substituted by a higher-in-rank TL unit whereas downwards shifts take place when an SL unit is substituted by a lower-in-rank TL unit. In English into Arabic translation, for example, upwards shifts represent the marked type as they seem less common due to the fact that the translator usually does not need to go upwards the TL rank scale in search for a substitution for an SL unit. On the other hand, downwards shifts represent the unmarked type; 32

shifts in this direction are more likely than those in the reverse direction. Usually, when looking for the appropriate substitution, the translator moves, optionally or obligatorily, down the TL rank scale until he reaches the lowest-in-rank unit. Only when these lower-in-rank units fall short, will the translator look upwards. 2. Unless dictated by any structural factor, the overt micro unit shifts must be considered optional. In other words, the translator has to decidein the light of his own translation standardseither to keep the same SL unit rank, or move up or down this rank in the TL. When all factors are the same, translation to the same unit rank provides the maximum degree of structural accuracy; otherwise, the translator has to look for the TL unit nearest in rank to the SL one. 3. Overt micro unit shifts are by no means restricted to the sentence rank; they may occur at any point on the scale, hence, the shadow square is given opposite each move in Diagram 2. 4. Horizontally, Diag. 2 accounts for overt micro shifts motivated by different TL realizations of an SL unit of the same rank. These shifts are more likely to be obligatory rather than optional. This is a typical case in translating between English and Arabic, as the internal systems of these languages are largely different. Before going into the discussion of the microanalysis of shifts in other categories, it is important to emphasize the functional nature of micro unit analysis of shifts. In addition to the structural character of these units, their grammatical meaning, i.e., their functions should also be taken into consideration when micro unit analysis of shifts is carried out. 1.2.2.1.2. Structure The descriptive units of the grammar of any language are arranged into meaningful stretches or patterns. One single instance of these patterns is called 'structure.' This abstract category which applies to all units in the grammar of a language (except the one lowest in rank), accounts for the various ways in which one unit may be realized by the unit next below it. Sometimes, however, a unit may be realized by a unit above it. This phenomenon is known as rank shifting. Languages exhibit a considerable amount of differences both in the realization of similar structures existing in these languages and in the type of structures existing in each language. It is worth mentioning here that the distinction between deep representation of linguistic relations and their surface realizations constitutes an important phase for the analysis of structural shifts. It is essential to state that there are two ways for describing every single structure. The first relates to the sequence of elements realizing it, i.e., their 33

order. The second relates to the class of these elements. These two methods can be adopted for the sake of a more delicate analysis of microstructural shifts. Furthermore, we need to distinguish between two types of choices implied in each element of a structure. On the one hand, one is free to choose, for example, between singular nominal group and plural nominal group in English to realize the function 'subject.' On the other hand, such freedom is lacking in verbal groups with past and future tense forms. This distinction can only be made by referring to the categories 'class' and 'system' (cf. below). This constitutes another potential area of interlingual microstructural shifts. Following Muir (1972:4), we need to distinguish between optional and obligatory elements entering in the realization of a structure. In English, for example, the 'root' is an obligatory element in the structure of any word while affixes are optional ones. When considered interlingually, this distinction leads to another potential area of shifts. Arabic, for instance, exhibits more variations than English with regard to optional and obligatory elements in the structure of the unit 'sentence.' Indeed, interlingual micro structural shifts are likely to occur within each unit that exhibits a structure, i.e., all units except the lowest in rank. 1.2.2.1.3. Class By a 'class' it is meant the grouping of the constituents of a unit according to the way they operate in the structure of another unit next higher in rank. In other words, a class refers to any set of items having the same possibilities of operation in the structure of a particular unit (Halliday et al, 1964:29). The need to refer to this category in the analysis of interlingual micro shifts comes from the fact that languages differ in the restrictions they place on the occurrence of some units in the structure of some other higher units. In English, for instance, not all the members of the unit 'phrase' can operate as 'predicate' in clause structure, and those which can do so cannot operate in another place (Muir, 1972:3). The items of each unit are assigned a class name according to their potential capability of operating in the structure of units next above the one they refer to. Hence, the more delicate the class is, the wider are the differences between the languages involved in the comparison and the greater the number of shifts will be. 1.2.2.1.4. System By a 'system' it is meant the closed number of elements among which a choice must be made, e.g., the system of number in English and Arabic. In fact, the terms available in each system in one language can show fundamental differences 34

from the terms of the same system in another language. This can be considered a major source of obligatory micro shifts at this level of language description. It is worth noting here that the translator is compelled to be bound by the SL writer's choice; otherwise his performance is destined to be erroneous. In cases where compatible terms with the source system are taking place in the target system, the translator has to bridge the gap by using some other means, e.g., the use of a lexical marker of number 'two' to express duality when translating from Arabic into English. The occurrence of shifts here can be accounted for by means of terms existing in the system of individual languages. What increases the possibility of such occurrence is the fact that all the descriptive units required for the description of a language are systemic in nature; they are realized by means of specific choices of the particular systems of that language. Actually, these choices are languagespecific and their applicability is governed by three criteria. The first is specified "in terms of rank of unit to which the system is applicable; the second is specified in terms of the part the unit is playing in the structure of a higher unit"; the third is specified "in terms of the other options which must be chosen before the options of the given system become available." (Berry, 1977:13) Now, we should emphasize the mutual integration of the individual categories. In this regard, two types of structural surface relations, namely paradigmatic and syntagmatic relations, can be stated. Interlingually, different dependency relations are realized by different syntactic means. One important point to talk about is word order, as in the case of the unilateral dependency relation between the head and the adjective in English nominal groups. The order of these elements is Adjective + Head while the same relation is realized by the reverse order in Arabic, i.e., Head + Adjective. The same is true for unilateral dependency relation of possession in both languages, e.g., English Robert's book Arabic /Robert/ /kitaabu/

possessor possessed possessor possessed In these structures, where one element is typically obligatory while other elements are optional, an agreement between the head and its modifiers is usually observed in some languages, e.g., number and gender agreement between 'noun' and 'adjective' in the Arabic nominal group. However, languages vary so widely in the restrictions they assign to this agreement. In the English nominal group, for instance, this agreement is observed between 'articles' and 'nouns' but overlooked between 'nouns' and 'adjectives.' By contrast, Arabic seeks such agreement in both cases. Again, this is another potential area of obligatory 35

structural shifts in translation. As for bilateral dependent structures, the distribution of either constituent elements is different from that of the structure as a whole as in the prepositional groups in English and Arabic. Following Brown and Miller (1980:255), the majority of the syntactic relations in all languages are of this type. Furthermore, the variety of functional labels used to refer to these relations reflects the variation of these relations in different languages. The importance of bilateral dependency relations to the analysis of structural shifts in translation can be appreciated by examining the following sentences: -John beats the dog. -Fido is a dog. -John went home. Although one single string of elements could be assigned to the above sentences, namely NP + V + NP, the relation of V with the NP following it in each sentence is different. In order to account for this difference, various functional labels are used, e.g., 'predicate,' 'complement,' 'object,' etc. Many bi-directional relations presume that one constituent element requires other constituents to be in a particular case, e.g., in a prepositional group with a personal pronoun as a realization of the NP, the preposition requires an oblique case in English, and an accusative one in Arabic. This indicates that languages use different ways for implementing these relations, which adds to the likelihood of structural shifts occurrences in this area. The degree of this likelihood increases with the fact that none of the constituent elements in these structures is optional. In the third type of dependency relations, i.e., co-ordinate dependency, neither constituent depends syntactically on the other and the distribution of each constituent is the same as that of the structure as a whole. In terms of symbols, the description of these structures is: A A' (+) A' (+)...An, where A is any co-ordinate dependent structure and A', A', An are constituent elements of the same distribution. Theoretically, no limit is assigned to the number of these elements in any given structure. Yet languages may exhibit certain restrictions on the order of these elements. The order of adjectives in the English nominal group is a good example of these restrictions which are mostly language-specific. The optional (+) in the above formula of these structures is meant to emphasize the possibility of having a co-ordination marker such as 'and,' 'or,' etc. for some structures. Up to this point, the need for such markers varies interlingually. Hence, another area of shifts can be 36

manifested. The last type of dependency relations is that of the exclusion relation which is useful for defining some grammatical classes such as the verbs of state in English which do not agree with auxiliaries for the progressive aspect, and proper nouns which do not take the definite article 'the.' However, it must be mentioned that "dependency relations cannot always be captured in a straightforward fashion in constituent grammar" (Brown and Miller, 1980:259). What we also need to know is an interpretive machinery to interpret these relations. In the present case, such a machinery can be borrowed from TG which enters as a supplementary part in the syntactic component of this model of analysis (see Diagram 1). The incorporation of this type of grammar is accounted for in the following section. 1.2.2.1.5. Deep-level Analysis The transformational sub-component is considered to bridge the gap in the categorial sub-component. The need for this injunction refers to the fact that in any translation task, the translator needs to employ more or less four transformational syntactic processes, namely, deletion, insertion, permutation, and/or substitution. Each of these processes is binary in nature, i.e., optional (its adoption depends on the translator's own preference) or obligatory (the translator is compelled to apply it in order to produce well-formed TL sentences). It goes without saying that languages exhibit substantial differences in the application of TRs and allow different means for the application of the optional ones. It is these qualitative and quantitative differences which allow us to amplify obligatory and optional syntactic shifts in translation. In other words, we would call the shifts motivated by the application of obligatory TRs as obligatory syntactic shifts and those motivated by the application of the optional ones as optional syntactic shifts. Following Nida (1964:65), two practical advantages can be derived from the adoption of this procedure. First, the equivalence of different formal (syntactic) structures possessing the same meaningful relation can be seen even interlinguistically. Second, the equivalence of formally similar structures possessing different meanings can also be readily seen. And in the same way we would like to add a third one, namely, complex structures can be easily plotted by reference to their kernel, i.e., deep, structures. So far, the description of the micro level of the present model is complete. The rest of the present paper is dedicated to describe in detail the second major level 37

of this model, i.e., the macro level of analysis. 1.3. Macro-Level Analysis At this level, the model is switched to analyze a considerable amount of obligatory and optional shifts which take place at a level higher than the micro level. In order to account for this requirement, the present model presupposes an independent broad level of analysis called the macro-level of analysis. The main difference between this level and the previous one, i.e., the micro level, comes from the direction of analysis. On the one hand, the micro level moves within the domain of the sentence as the maximum unit of the syntactic description. The macro level, on the other hand, moves within the domain of the text. In this sense, the macro level accounts for all variables of texture, culture, style and rhetoric, which contribute to the occurrence of shifts at levels other than the syntactic level. Hence, it is broken down into a number of components, each of which accounts for a particular variable of the above ones. Diagrams 3 and 4 are presented to illustrate this difference between the micro and macro levels of analysis. However, this difference should not be exaggerated. Instead, the two levels should be considered unitary since both would accept the traditional view that the sentence is the locus of structural and stylistic variation, "though with the proviso that it entails spans wider than sentence" (Hendricks 1976:40-41). What follows is a description of the individual components within the macro level of analysis along with their scope of inclusion in relation to the possibility of shifts within each component. 1.3.1. The Semantic Component Meaning should be the main preoccupation of all translation. However, the amount of this interest varies according to the type of meaning conveyed by the lexical items of a given text. As far as translation is concerned, the translator has to do his best to transfer as much of the original meaning as he can into the TL. But since we know that the process of meaning transfer is not a straightforward process, the translator, therefore, is often called upon to make some semantic adjustments in order to accomplish this task. In our case, such semantic adjustments are analyzed as semantic shifts, which can be obligatory or optional. The former are dictated by the unavoidable semantic gaps between the SL and TL. Such gaps are mainly caused by some cultural and conceptual differences between the two languages. The latter in turn arise when the translator attempts to maintain the gist of the original meaning while practicing some means of 38

semantic polishing. The analysis of both types of shifts has to be carried out by extracting the semantic relations within the lexical items of the ST then examining the possibility of conveying similar relations into the TL by similar or different formal devices. It should be mentioned here that meaning extraction should be made in the light of the immediate situation in which the ST functions; otherwise, the analysis is destined to be vague. This relation is discussed below. 1.7.1.1. The Relation between Meaning and Situation Language is performed in order to serve a variety of functions over its 'ideational' function (cf. Halliday, 1976). In performing all these functions, language is determined situationally, i.e., the selection of linguistic elements to convey a particular meaning is determined by the elements of the situation in which these elements are used. This same relation is described as one of inclusion; the former includes or presupposes the latter. As far as the present model is concerned, the relation of inclusion between meaning and situation brings about significant implications, the first of which is the necessity of taking the situational variables into account in defining the meaning of the ST. The second implication goes as follows. In addition to the impact of situation on the realization of meaning, part of this meaning is mapped by the linguistic organization of the language in which this meaning is encoded. Hence, one can safely generalize that if the context of situation is changed "changes will inevitably take place in the linguistic texture. Conversely, if a shift is carried out on the linguistic level, this context of situation will also change." (Wilss, 1982:71). The above generalization necessitates the adoption of a broader view of the concept of meaning. Such an extended view of meaning applies to all text types in general and those having figurative semantic relations in particular, i.e., literary texts. In this regard, Nida (1985:119) states: We are no longer limited to the idea that meaning is centered in words or even in grammatical situations. Everything in language from sound symbolism to complex rhetorical structures carries meaning... In written communications, even the format carries meaning. Even the color of binding is significant. For example, most people do not wish a Bible with a yellow cover, but Bibles with gold cover are very popular. Of course, our model does not go as far as Nida does. His words are cited to emphasize that meaning in its widest sense would serve the purpose of the 39

present paper. To put it differently, the analysis of semantic shifts will be carried out in terms of the situation in which language is used. Hence, only the paradigmatic relations could be considered within the semantic component of the macro level of analysis. This is so because such relations are semantics proper. The other types of relations, due to their textual and stylistic values, will be accounted for within independent components at the same level. 1.3.1.1. Paradigmatic Relations: Synonymy and Semantic Fields The significance of synonymy as a paradigmatic semantic relation to translation is stated by Baldinger (1980:251) as follows: "Translation is nothing than a problem of synonymy." It is evident, then, that Baldinger perceives synonymy in its widest sense to mean, in translation, the search for equivalent meaning on all linguistic levels. However, translation, strictly speaking, cannot be perceived as a simple task of haphazard matching of SL lexical items with their TL counterparts. Any individual can do this by relying on a bilingual dictionary. By contrast, the translator needs to analyze the meaning of the SL lexical items before attempting to find TL equivalents for these items. In his search for efficient lexical equivalents in the TL, the translator has to play the role of a competent proxy on behalf of his readers; he must identify the areas of cultural overlap and linguistic interference between the two languages. His suffering starts at this stage: identical symbols in the two languages do not necessarily convey the same meaning. Much worse is the difference in people's experiences and the variation of conceptual boundaries from one language to another "in a way that defies principled explanation" (Leech, 1974:3). Knowing that lexical items are the vehicles by which people's experience is encoded and their concepts are expressed leads to the conclusion that shifts in interlingual synonymy are inevitable phenomena in translation. Apart from the problem of denotation in the study of synonymy, Nida (1964:89) captures the structural specification of words as another source for semantic shifts in this area. In this regard, he states: The area of cultural specification, however, is likely to provide the greatest difficulties for the translator. In translating a text which represents an area of cultural specification in the source language but not in the receptor language, the translator must frequently construct all sorts of descriptive equivalents so as to make intelligible something, which is quite foreign to the receptor. In our opinion, this process of finding semantically equivalent lexical items is carried out by performing a variety of shifts in the central and/or peripheral components of the ST lexical items. By means of careful contextual conditioning, the translator may remove or insert some componential values associated with 40

the ST lexical items. According to Nida (1969:107), "in many instances, shifts of components involve only a shift from a literal etymological meaning to one which is functionally more relevant." Nida's example for this case is the translation of the word 'devil' whose etymological meaning is 'Satan.' If translated, say, into Arabic, the word would mean nothing unless an etymological shift is used, i.e., the translator has to refer to its etymological origin then transfer it into the TL. Another type of componential shift goes from generic to specific meaning or vice versa. As for the relation between the lexical items and their referents, which is the core of their referential meaning, the translator is likely to face three situations. The first one is "the existence of a term (and its corresponding referent) in the receptor language, but with an equivalent function being performed by another referent" (ibid. 44). A good example for such a situation arises when translating from English into a language which has no word for 'snow.' The translator has to replace the word 'snow' in the phrase 'as white as snow' by another word, which refers to a white-colored object. The second situation is "the existence of the referent in the receptor language, but with a different function from what it has in the source language."(ibid.). The English word 'owl' and its Arabic equivalent 'buum' represent a good example for such a problem. In English, it refers to a class of birds with positive connotation, i.e., wisdom and good omen. Arabic has exactly the opposite connotation for the same referent, the fact which necessitates finding another word referring to an object with similar connotations. The third situation is "the non-existence of the referent in the receptor language and no other referent with a parallel function" (ibid.45). The translation of any lexical item denoting technological inventions from English into Arabic provides a good example for such a problem. Here, the translator is compelled to force foreign words into the TT or to use descriptive phrases to explain the meaning of individual lexical items. In all the situations discussed above, the translator finds himself obliged to adopt some strategies so as to bridge these semantic gaps. In this regard, Jacobson's (1959:234) words would serve to conclude the discussion: Wherever there is deficiency, terminology may be qualified and amplified by loan words or loan translations or semantic shifts and finally, by circumlocutions. 1.4. The Textual Component To be described as such, a text should exhibit two kinds of structural and cohesive 41

relations: local and global (Hendricks, 1976:41). The first can be accounted for by 'Sentence Grammar' on which enough has already been said. The second kind includes the relations which cannot be accounted for "without reference to intersentence features and to portions of the text beyond the sentence under consideration" (Enkvist, 1973:111). Consequently, the inclusion of such a component would inevitably presume reliance on text linguistics. As a matter of fact, the incorporation of this linguistic approach is an essential procedural condition for the macro level of analysis. In other words, the analysis cannot be carried out on randomly chosen sentences without taking into account that these sentences should exhibit the property of global cohesion in addition to their local cohesion. This particular requirement is satisfied by inserting a textual component within the macro level. The analysis within this component will focus on the elements within individual sentences which, in addition to playing a role in the structure of the sentence itself, also contribute to its integration into the textual whole, by making it dependent in some way on other sentences within the same text. These dependent sentences convey information about one another, which makes them constitute a cohesive whole. There are two other sources of this interdependence, namely, textual and discoursal. The former refers to the variety of global and local cohesive markers within the portions of the text while the latter refers to the functional dependency among these portions. The latter dimension imposes the inclusion of another macro discipline of language description, namely, 'discourse analysis.' This means that the question to be asked about any linguistic unit is what the user hopes to achieve with this particular bit of language, i.e., its use,in addition to its form. This issue is accounted for by the pragmatic component within the macro level. The description of this component will be given after the description of the present component. By now, it is obvious that the textual component of shift analysis views the data in their broad scope. Hence, this analysis will be carried out in terms of the textual well-formedness which entails such variables as collocation, reiteration, ellipsis, references, substitution and the like. 1.5.The Pragmatic Component Stalinker (1973:38) defines pragmatics as "the study of purposes for which sentences are used, of the real-world conditions under which a sentence may be appropriately used and alternate." In this sense the meaning of a single expression may vary in accordance with the purposes behind it and the conditions surrounding the communicative act. This view of meaning, which necessitates the inclusion of a pragmatic component in any proper semantic analysis, corresponds to what Widdowson (1973:69) refers to as "the communicative use of sentences in the performing of social actions." Leech (1974:141) uses the term 'connotative meaning' to refer to the 42

same type of meaning. To him, the connotation of an expression is the "communicative value an expression has...over and above its purely conceptual meaning." In contrast to the linguistic meaning, which can be extracted from the grammatical relations within a given text, pragmatic meaning can only be analyzed by referring to the cultural and/or linguistic context of that text. Accordingly, the analysis of pragmatic shifts in translation can only be carried out by attending to the immediate cultural context of situation of the ST and matching it with that in the TL so as to put a finger on the possible areas of shifts when the translator tries to convey the same message into the TL. In this connection, reference is to be made to speech acts theory as initiated by some pragmatists, e.g., Austin (1965 ). This means that the analysis should account for variables such as the intentions of the writer or speaker, his expectation, the time of utterance, the truth value of the propositions expressed, other speech acts being performed in the same situation, and so on. In other words, the analysis will take into consideration the major functions of language as a means of communication in a social setting. What is important here is that the realization of these functions varies greatly from one language to another, which adds to the necessity of using a pragmatic component in the present model. In fact, this variation in the realization of the pragmatic functions of language goes is expressed in two phases. First, languages employ different formal devices for realizing similar speech acts. These formal variations include all lexical and syntactic means allowed by the grammar of each language. Second, the contextual spectrum, which imposes the performing of particular acts, differs considerably from one culture to another. Furthermore, at a higher level of delicacy, "cultures may also differ in the rules for when certain speech acts can be appropriately performed." (Benthalia and Davies, 1989:102). In this regard, one may refer to the considerable differences between English and Arabic in the kind of formulas commonly used to perform the acts of greeting, leave-taking, thanking, apologizing and so on. The content of these formulas and the rules of their use frequently reflect the particular values and beliefs of their....users. To take only one example of these differences, Arab speakers frequently use formulas containing religious references for greeting and thanking, e.g., / baraka Allahu fiik/ (lit. 'blessing of God upon you'); / Allah ykhaliik/ (lit. 'may God preserve you'), etc., while functionally corresponding English formulas do not contain such references. Similar differences between the two languages can be recognized in the formal realization of 'imperatives.' There are many situations in which an Arab speaker uses an imperative construction while intending to convey a polite request or invitation. In such a case he may use some forms of invocation or good wish for the addressee. The above discussion entails that the categorization of speech acts into, greeting, thinking, request, etc., is a universal phenomenon, the linguistic realization of 43

these acts and the rules of their performance in one language "do not necessarily have exact equivalents in another language, and raise a lot of questions related to the theory of translation." (Enkvist, 1973:57). The implication of this statement on the phenomenon of shifts is self-evident: one needs to account for all these differences in order to point out the possible shifts within this particular area. Another requirement for this analysis is to identify in each language which formal devices are used for particular speech acts. Both formal realizations then will be compared so as to point the obligatory and optional shifts between them. The inclusion of the textual component in the present model entails the inclusion of another related, through distinct, component, namely the rhetorical on which a brief account is given below. 1.6. The Rhetorical Component The native speakers of any language are capable sometimes of maintaining the logical relationship that exists between a group of linguistic units even with the absence of explicit maker for this relation. An English native speaker, for example, can give the same interpretation for the following sentences, where the first contains an overt linkage marker, which is lacking in the second: - Medicines can kill and therefore should be kept out of children's reach. - Medicines can kill; they should be kept out of children's reach. Kaplan (1972:ix) attributes this ability to the fact that this is how speakers of English organize their thought by means of culture-specific devices known as 'rhetorical devices.' The cultural restrictedness of these devices implies the inevitable occurrence of shifts in this particular area for which this particular component is dedicated. In his attempt to characterize the rhetorical structure of a number of languages, Kaplan (ibid. 61) views English as 'direct' whereas much oriental writings are 'indirect' or 'circulocutionary.' According to him, the speakers of Semitic languages tend to transfer a complex series of parallel constructions to English. Therefore, this gives evidence for the likelihood of shifts in this particular area. Languages may also exhibit many differences in other phases of rhetoric such as foregrounding, irony, allegory, metaphor, simile, metonym, etc., The reason behind these differences is self-evident: these phases are associated with people's conceptual experiences and ideologies. In this regard, the variations between English and Arabic in the area of simile and metaphor represent a good example. In consequence, this particular component has been included so as to account for the possible shifts that may arise with some major rhetorical devices, e.g., 44

metaphor, idiomatic expressions, foregrounding and metonym. 1.7. The Stylistic Component Style is the last area to be dealt with at the macro level of analysis. Hence, we shall consider certain overall features of style which contribute to the occurrence of shifts of various levels of the TL text. Furthermore, we do not intend to restrict the term 'stylistic' to its literary conception. Instead, following Fowler (1966:15), I hold the view that style is "a property of all texts," without, however, going as far as to overlook the fact that literary texts exhibit some stylistic features more clearly than non-literary ones. With this clear precaution in mind, we assume that every language has its own stylistic conventions which may differ from those of other languages, which may cause stylistic shifts to arise when two languages are involved in terms of the function of these conventions and their formal carriers, i.e., their linguistic realizations. When two or more TL expressions are available at the translator's disposal to express the same SL meaning, stylistic shifts become possible. Obviously, the role of content here is to serve as the starting point for shift analysis. The other issue relevant to the analysis of stylistic shifts is the problem of style definition. The need for a satisfactory definition of the term 'style' would help us get rid of the complexities of literary criticism. In other words, we need to restrict this term so as to account for the measurement of stylistic shifts in the TT regardless of their type. This means that this term should be defined in purely linguistic terms rather than defining it as a literary concept. Here, it is necessary to emphasize the overwhelmingly optional nature of stylistic shifts. In other words, I perceive these shifts as TL structural alternative means of expressing a single SL message at various levels of language use. Interlingually, stylistic shifts can be explained with reference to the same distinction between obligatory and optional application of language rules. An obligatory rule in one language could be optional in another. Accordingly, the analyst's task is to analyze the original writer's typical strategies in utilizing optional transformations and his use of different kinds of transformational operations to compare them with those of the translator. The second important point presumed by Galperin's statement refers to the variety of implications conjoined with the term 'style.' The point can put more concretely as follows: the definition of style "implies that words [and other linguistic units] on a page might been different, or differently arranged, without a corresponding difference in substance" (Ohman, 1964:430). One significant implication of this statement is that a distinction should be made between the form of the message and its content. The following section is a discussion of this issue. 45

1.7.1. Dichotomy of Form and Content: Nida and Taber's (1969:105-6) statement in favor of this dichotomy seems the best start ing point for this section. It reads as follows: In translating the message from one language to another, it is the content which must be preserved at any level; the form, except in special cases, such as poetry, is largely secondary, since within each language the rules for relating content are highly complex, arbitrary and variable... Of course if by coincidence, it is possible to convey the same content in the receptor language in a form which resembles that of the source, so much the better, we preserve the form when we can, but more often it has to be transferred precisely in order to preserve the content. An excessive effort to preserve the form inevitably results in a serious loss or distortion of the message. The implication of the above statement is evident: stylistic shifts are expected with the translator's effort to preserve the balance between form and content of the message on the one hand and his tendency to reflect his character on the other. Although some scholars tend to restrict the criterion of form to literary texts, our position here is that "there is probably no absolute formal distinction between literature and non-literature: neither of these two categories is formally homogenous." (Fowler, 1966:16). However, this generalization should not be misunderstood as to deny the existence of literature. Instead, it is meant as being a working hypothesis necessary for the task of analyzing stylistic shifts within a linguistic framework. To put it more clearly, we assume that all examples of language use exhibit a linguistic form susceptible for empirical investigation (ibid.). Furthermore, it makes no difference if the designation 'literature' is used for a certain class of constructions, since members of this class exhibit formal differences among themselves as well as compared to other members outside this class. In short, "there is no constant, or a set of constants, which differentiates all members of the class 'literature' from the members of the class ''non-literature.'" (ibid.11). Even when we agree on the importance of form to literature, this does not trivialize the fact that linguistic forms exist and should be taken as an essential area of investigation in all other examples of language use. The inseparability of form and content goes with the view that form has a function and the translator has to discover and transfer it to the TL (cf. Crystal and Davy, 1969; Leech and Short, 1981; Hatim and Mason, 1990). In this sense, the translator's task is not only to transfer the content of the message but also to transfer its form as far as possible. However, following Nida (1985:24) "languages clearly do not differ primarily in what they can communicate, but in how they do 46

it." This is an overt reference to the occurrence of stylistic shifts in translation at two levels. On the one hand, there is the intrasentential level where languages differ in their optional and obligatory rules of sentence formation. On the other hand, stylistic shifts are also likely to occur at the inter-sentential macro level where language may exhibit substantial differences in the rules of text formation and message organization. Consequently, the analysis of these shifts will be carried out on both levels in parallel with the axis of obligatory and optional shifts. Now the conclusion to be drawn is that 'stylistic shifts' is a cover term used to refer to the variety of macro formal modifications of the ST when transferred into the TL. The occurrence of these shifts, moreover, can only be predicted by referring to the rhetorical and stylistic conventions of each language in question in addition to the translator's preference, choice, and ability. Before moving to the framework of analyzing stylistic shifts, it should be mentioned here that the contribution of form to the meaning of a text varies according to the text type. The amount of stylistic shifts varies accordingly. In some genres, e.g., prose, poetry, religious texts, etc., form has a cohesive and an aesthetic function which conveys "the creative will of the writer and lend the text an outward shape" (Wilss, 1982:76). 1.7.2. The Role of the Translator Among all factors affecting the occurrence of stylistic shifts, the role of the translator stands as the most recognizable factor. The majority of optional shifts taking place in translation can be attributed to the differences between the original writer and the translator as two text-producers. However, the impacts of these differences are usually suppressed by the literary norms of the TL and the norms of the translation activity itself. More important is the translator's relation to the text given. This relation is neatly described by Popovi (1970:80) as follows: It is not the translator's only business to 'identify' himself with the original; that would merely result in transparent translation. The translator also has the right to differ organically, to be independent, as long as independence is pursued for the sake of the original, a technique applied in order to reproduce it as a living work... Thus shifts do not occur because the translator wishes to 'change' a work, but because he strives to reproduce it as faithfully as possible and to grasp it in its totality. Popovi's statement reminds us of many factors, which affect the translator's adoption of a particular style in rendering a particular text into another language. One of these factors is the literary norms that may differ in the SL and TL, the 47

case which leaves the translator with three choices: to imitate the original style, to rely on the TL stylistic norms, or to compromise the two by practicing his own stylistic prejudice. The last two options would naturally result in a great deal of stylistic shifts. The other point is that some languages may have much more highly developed aesthetic and rhetorical patterns than other languages, which gives the translator more freedom to choose the way he likes in expressing the original message. Moreover, the range and refinement of some literary genres could be more developed in one language than in another. Both cases are typically applicable to the translation of elevated literature such as poems, epics, religious texts, etc. The third factor relevant to the role of the translator in stylistic shifts relates to the 'national features' of the ST. In this regard Zora Jesenka (quoted by Popovi, 1970:81) has the following to say: Both the translator and the reader are the children of their generation, which displays its own character in its manner of perception and expression. And the older the work we translate and the more distant the culture which produced it, the more crucial culture is the question of how to preserve the temporal and national features of the original and to make them accessible to the actual perception of the present reader. Thus, it is the aim of making such literary works accessible to the TL reader that encourages the translator to use stylistic shifts. Following Popovi (ibid.), such shifts are expected as a rule "because the identity and difference in relation to the original cannot be solved without some residue." Up to this point, the translator's dilemma becomes evident: he would never strive to preserve all the singularities of the original but rather he would try to reflect his own identity while preserving the gist of the original message. Furthermore, he will try to make use of contemporary equivalents and comprehensible by his perceptive reader. Doing all these tasks, the translator will display much of his translation skill and literary taste. Skill and literary taste are two prerequisites to produce a 'natural' translation because the act of substituting the SL norms by TL ones is a highly subjective issue that demands creative intuition on the part of the translator. Again, this is so because direct transfer of specific stylistic features from the SL into the TL is hindered by both the organic character of the ST components and the divergence between the two stylistic norms of both languages, on the other. This transfer becomes possible "only by means of an equivalent function, namely by appropriate shifts." (Popovi, ibid.83). To sum up, our perception of the role of the translator is that he is a performer of a dual task. On the one hand, he has to adhere as much as he can to the content of the message, including its form (if it is part of this content); on the other hand, 48

he tries to reflect his identity and tends to produce a 'natural' text. This tendency, we believe, can best be achieved by means of a set of stylistic shifts.

Conclusions The first noteworthy conclusion of this paper is that the phenomenon of 'shift' should be redefined positively as the consequence of the translator's effort to establish translation equivalence (TE) between two different language-systems: that of the SL and that of the TL. Psychologically, the occurrence of these shifts reflects the translator's awareness of the linguistic and non-linguistic discrepancies between the SL and TL. In this sense, shifts can be defined as problem-solving strategies adopted consciously to minimize the inevitable loss of meaning when rendering a text from one language into another. Second, since translation proper is concerned with the transfer of meaning, the analysis of shifts in translation should take into account the non-linguistic factors in addition to the linguistic onesso as to achieve a comprehensive analysis of these shifts. Third, shifts in translation constitute a counterclaim to language universals ; therefore, these shifts can be better examined within the domain of 'difference' in translation. This conclusion is based on the assumption that languages do not differ primarily in what they communicate but in how they do so. Consequently, CA has been proved as a powerful diagnostic tool for shift analysis. Fourth, the distinction between various types of shifts at various levels necessitates the distinction between various types of equivalence in translation, e.g., functional, pragmatic, textual, collocational, rhetorical, etc. Fifth, the distinction between micro-level and macro-level shifts is compatible with the distinction between various types of translation, e.g., literal, free, etc. The same distinction is also compatible with the distinction between various units of translation, e.g., word, sentence, paragraph, etc. Sixth, the postulation of the terms, 'optional' and 'obligatory' shifts satisfies the need to account for linguistic and non-linguistic differences between the languages involved in this process. Finally, we assume for our model, as it is described above, a universal operation regardless of the languages involved in this task. References

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Austin, J. L. (1965) How to Do Things with Words. New York: Macmilan. Baldinger, K. (1980) Semantic Theory. New York: St.Martin's Press. Benthahila, A. and Davies, E. (1989) 'Culture and Language Use: A Problem for Foreign Language Teaching.' IRAL, Vol xxvii/2, 1989, p.102. Berry, H. M. (1977) Introduction to Systemic Linguistics 2. and Links. Batsford and Sons. Brown, E. K., and Miller, J. E. (1980) Syntax: A Levels Linguistic Introduction to Sentence Structure. London: Hutchinson & Co. (publishers) Ltd. Crystal, D. and Davy, D. (1969) Investigating English Style. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Enkvist, N. E. (1973) Linguistic Stylistics. Mouton, The Hague. Fowler, R (1966) Linguistic Theory and the study of literature.' In N.G.Leech (ed.) Linguistics and the Figures of Rhetoric. pp. 135-56. Halliday, M. A. K. (1961) 'Categories of the Theory of Grammar,' Word 1961 17.3.241-92. (Also in G. R. Kress (1976) (ed.) 52-72. Halliday, M. A. K., A. McIntosh and P. Strevens (1964). The Linguistic Sciences and Language Teaching. London: Longman. Halliday, M. A. K., and Hasan, R. (1976) Cohesion in English. London, Longman. Hatim, B., and Mason, I (1990). Discourse and the Translator. London: Longman. Hendricks, W. (1976) Grammars of Style and Styles of Grammar. Amsterdam: North Holland Publishing Company. Jacobson, R. (1959) 'On Linguistic Aspects of Translation.' In R. A. Brower (ed.) On Translation Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1959, pp. 232-9. James, C. (1980) Contrastive Analysis, London: Oxford University Press. Kaplan, F. (1972) -, London: Oxford University Press. Leech, J. (1974) Semantics. London: Hazell Watson & Vinery Ltd. Leech, G. N., and Short, M. H., (1981) Style in Fiction: A Linguistic Introduction

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to English Fictional Prose. New York: Longman Group Ltd. Muir, J. (1972) A Modern Approach to English Grammar. Batsford and Sons. Nida, E, (1964). Toward a Science of Translation. Leiden, E. J. Brill. _______, (1969). 'Science of Translation,' Language, Vol.45, No.3, 1969, pp. 495-497. Nida, E., and Taber, C., (1969). The Theory and Practice of Translation. Leiden: E. J. Brill. Nida, E., (1985) ' Translating means Translating Meaning,' Publication of FIT, UNISCO, PP. 119-25. Ohman, Richard (1964) 'Modes of order,' In Donald C. Freeman (ed.) Linguistics and Literary Style. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc. 1970, pp. 209-42. Popovi, A (1970) "The concept 'shift of expression' in Translation," in Holmes, J. (ed.) The Nature of Translation. Mouton: The Hague. Stalinker, R. C. (1973) 'Pragmatics,' In D. Davidson and G. Harman (eds.) Semantics of Natural Languages.Dordrecht: Foris Publications. Widdowson, H. G. (1973) An Applied Linguistic Approach to Discourse Analysis. Unpublished Ph. D thesis, University of Edinburgh. Wills, W. (1982) The Science of Translation: Problems and Methods. Tubingen: Gunter Narr Verlag.

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Answer any ten in not more than two sentences: 1. Explain the cannibalistic view of translation put forward by the Brazilians. 2. Who translated Victor Hugos Les Miserables into Malayalam? What is the title it bears in Malayalam? 3. Who proposed the term Translation Studies? What does it deal with? 4. Mention some of the sociolinguistic issues in Bible translation. 5. Who proposed the theory of dominion by grace? What does it refer to? 6. The earliest theories about translation had an empirical focus. Explain. 7. Name the Bible translator who was burnt at the stake for heresy. 8. What is poly system theory? Who introduced it? 9. What is the poststructuralist approach to translation? 10. What was the major concern of the translation theorists and practitioners of the 1950s and 60s? 11. Summarise Etienne Dolets views on translation. 12. Name two Romans who contributed significantly to translation theory and exercised tremendous influence on translators of later years 13. Name a 17th century poet who strongly advocated freedom in translation. What was the translation work he undertook? 14. How does Dryden categorise translation? 15. Who wrote The Principles of Translation? 16. What is Tejaswini Niranjanas criticism against William Jones translation of Indian texts into English? 17. What accounted for the popularity of John Wycliffes English translation of the Bible? 18. What does the issue of canonicity refer to in Bible translation? 19. What do you mean by a diachronic study of translation theory? 20. What is the most important factor in Bible translation according to Martin Luther?

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Additional Notes Translation techniques presentation - Presentation Transcript 1. Translation Procedures: The technical Component of the Translation Process Presentation by Dr. ANGELO PIZZUTO 2. o The process of translating o Translation, as perceived in this workshop, is a process during which the translator: o makes a number of decisions on how to interpret the source text (ST); o uses resources and apply technical skills to render the text in the target language; and o c) re-expresses that meaning in the target text (TT); i.e. the translation. o Therefore, translation is perceived as a problem-solving process . 3. o Skills needed in translation o In popular belief, to translate, a person only needs: Reasonable knowledge of a foreign language And a few good dictionaries o For some, translating is an intuitive process that is based on the translators creative capability. o On the opposite extreme, there are those who believe that only specialists like lawyers or scientists can translate. o Those who make these assertions fail to make a distinction between factual knowledge and procedural knowledge.
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4. Distinguishing Factual Knowledge and Procedural Knowledge Factual knowledge is the knowledge of special fields Special terminology Resources available Foreign languages Factual knowledge is essential but not enough. Translators also need procedural knowledge. Procedural knowledge relates to some kind of method or procedure to help the translator in seizing the meaning of the ST and re-expressing that meaning in the TT. 5. o Procedural Knowledge : Options for translation o Basically, a translator has two options for translating: Direct or literal translation Oblique translation o There are several translation techniques available under each option. 6. o Procedural Knowledge : Options for translation Direct or literal translation Oblique translation o Are these approaches applicable to the translation of legal texts? 7. o Direct translation o Possible because of parallel categories o 1. Structural parallelism -> grammatical categories Are you there? -> Voi siete qui ? o 2. Meta-linguistic parallelism -> parallel concepts The book -> il libro The judge -> il giudice 8. o Oblique translation o There comes a time when direct translation techniques would not work because: They are structurally impossible The target language does not have a corresponding expression o And the generated text would have: a different meaning no meaning a foreign structure 9. o Oblique translation o Compare : o He looked at the map. -> Lui ha guardato la mappa o He looked the picture of health. -> Era limmagine della salute. o (Back-translation: He was the image of health itself.)
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(Back-translation: He was the image of health itself. He seemed in good shape.) o I have a headache -> Mi duole la testa I -> mi Have -> duole (verb) Headache -> mal di testa o Both English and italian have the corresponding elements o But the structure of the statement is different in the two languages. A direct translation is no longer possible. The translator needs to use oblique translation techniques. 10.1. Borrowing It is used: To overcome a gap or lacuna (a new technical process, a new concept) -> Dumping (trade law). There is no equivalent in Italian Create stylistic effect -> chic, dj vu To recreate the flavor of the source language (SL) -> Margaritas, tortillas, Pisco sour, sushi, sauerkraut, spaghetti, In the legal field, Latin expressions * are an excellent example of borrowing that have been made through time . Prima facie, nolo contendere, pro se. Generally, borrowings enter a language through translation, and just as with false friends (false cognates) the translator should strive to look for the equivalents in the SL that convey the meaning of the SL more advantageously. *A great number of Latin expressions have evolved differently in the various languages. Beware of spelling, among other things. DIRECT TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES 11. o 2. Calque o (From the French verb "calquer") Calques are special kind of borrowing where a language borrows a word or an expression from another language and translates literally each of its elements. o Lexical calque Football -> Ftbol -> Balompi 4 X 4 -> cuatro por cuatro (4 X 4) o Structural calque Your are intelligent enough to realize that -> o (Back-translation -> Your are intelligent and can realize that) DIRECT TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES 12. o Both borrowing and calque may become lexicalized (fixed) in the TL over time. o Science fiction -> ciencia ficcin; Carburator -> r Menu -> men o In the legal field, structural calque oftentimes arises from oversight of the morpho-syntactic structure of both SL and TL.
o

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As used in this section, "serious violent felon" means a person who has been convicted of: attempting to commit or conspiring to commit a serious violent felony (Back translation -> Attempting to commit a serious violent felony or conspiring to do do.) DIRECT TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES 13. o 3. Literal translation o Literal translation refers to a translation technique that can be used when the languages involved share parallel structures and concepts; NOT to a translation made word for word: Literal translation carries the imprint of the original. o This technique is used when it is possible to transpose the source language (SL) message element by element into the target language (TL) and obtain a text that is idiomatic. The girl is sick -> la bambina sta male How are you? -> come stai ? Good morning -> buon giorno? o Spanish syntax requires that we add s to both words, but this continues to be literal translation. It is just a case of syntax normalization. DIRECT TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES 14. o 4. Transposition o Transposition is the first technique or step towards oblique translation. Operates at the grammatical level Consists of the replacement of a word class by another word class without changing the meaning o Within the same language: Reconstruction of the city is very important Reconstructing the city is very important To reconstruct the city is very important (Back-translation: I dont care about your anger . I dont care about your getting angry .) OBLIQUE TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES 15. Public servants should be held accountable for their management of public goods. -> o The use of the pronominal passive allows a rendition that does not indicate the subject of the sentence, like in the ST. o From a stylistic view point the transposed expression does not have the same value, but the meaning is the same. o Transposed expressions are generally more literary in character.

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It is important to choose the form that best fits the context. OBLIQUE TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES 16. o Transposition can be: o Free : When the transposition used depends mostly on context and desired effect. The course is of interest to all of us. (Back-translation: The course interests all of us) o Compulsory: When only a transposition is acceptable. I will never forget the time when I got lost in the market. (Backtranslation: I will never forget the time that I got lost in the market.) o When (adverb) -> quando (relative pronoun) OBLIQUE TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES 17.Types of transposition Adverb-> verb I only defended myself. (Back-translation -> I did nothing but defend myself.) Adverb-> noun I wrote to you early this year . (Back-translation -> I wrote to you at the beginning of the year) Adverb-> adjective He lives precariously (Back-translation -> He leads a precarious life) OBLIQUE TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES 18. o Types of transposition o Adjective-> noun o He found it difficult to arrange for the trip o (Back-translation -> I had difficulty to make the arrangemets for the trip) o Possessive adjective -> definite article Your hair is too long-> (Back-translation -> Your have the hair too long) o Verb or past participle -> noun I intended to tell you the whole truth. (Back-translation -> My intention was to tell you the whole truth.) o Adverb -> noun o I wrote to you early this year . -> o (Back-translation -> wrote to you at the beginnig of the year. ) OBLIQUE TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES 19.5. Modulation A variation of the form of the message obtained by a change in the point of view. Although the main characteristic of modulation is a change of point of view, it may involve also a change of grammatical categories. It is used when the other techniques would generate a text that is grammatically correct, but unsuitable, not idiomatic, or awkward. OBLIQUE TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES 20.Modulation can be: Free It is not difficult to show (Back-translation -> it is easy to show) Remember -> (if it fits the context better) (Back-translation -> Remember; do not forget) Lexicalized (fixed by use, listed in dictionaries) or
o

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Compulsory Dress rehearsal (Back-translation -> General rehearsal) OBLIQUE TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES 21. Modulation is a technique that experienced translators use to produce an accurate and idiomatic text. It requires an excellent knowledge of both languages involved in the translation. This includes knowing the mechanics of the language. For example: The manner in which negative and positive formulations are used in the two languages. Do not enter. ->Vietato entrare The general register of the language. For example italians tend to use more intellectual terms than English. Eye doctor -> oculista; bird watching -> ornitologa; dog show -> esposizione canina Use of the passive voice. The greater the structural difference between the two languages the greater the challenges for the translator OBLIQUE TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES 22. o Types of modulation o Most of the types are based on metonymy: e.g. referring to a concept by an attribute of it. For example; the crown referring to a monarch or Washington to refer to the United States government. o 1. Abstract -> Concrete or General -> Particular I havent heard a word from him -> Non ho avuto sue notizie (Backtranslation: I have not had news from him.) OBLIQUE TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES 23. o 2. Explanatory modulation : o cause -> effect o Like a deer in the headlights . ->fermarsi paralizzato o (Back-translation: remain paralyzed ) o Blind flying -> volare senza visibilit o (Back-translation: flight without visibility ) o means -> result, or viceversa o Ill drive you home -> Ti accompagno a casa in auto o (Back-translation: Ill take you to your house in [my] car) o substance -> object Brain drain -> Fuga di cervelli (double modulation) (Back-translation: the exodus of experts) OBLIQUE TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES 24. o 2. Explanatory modulation (continued):
o

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A part -> the whole The cathedrals ceiling draws the eye as soon as one enters. (Back-translation: The cathedrals ceiling draws the view .) o A part -> another part I know the city like the back of my hand . Conosco la citt come le mie tasche (Back-translation: I know the city like the palm of my hand.) Hand to hand combat-> Combattere corpo a corpo; (Back-translation: body to body combat.) OBLIQUE TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES 25. o 2. Explanatory modulation (continued): o Term reversal This cage cannot hold an animal this size. -> Questa gabbia non mantiene animali did questa grandezza (Back-translation: An animal this size will not fit in this cage.) o Negative contrast Make sure you call us every week. -> Non dimenticatre did chiamare ogni settimana (Back-translation: Dont forget to call us all of the weeks.) o Active voice -> passive voice (and vice-versa) The votes (in an election) were counted . -> I voti sono stati conteggiati (impersonal form) OBLIQUE TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES 26.OBLIQUE TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES o 2. Explanatory modulation (continued): o Space -> Time In grammar school I was very shy. -> (Back-translation: When I was attending elementary school.) o Intervals and boundaries (in time and space) A. In time: See you in a week -> (Back-translation: Well see each other in eight days from today.) B. In space: No parking between signs -> (Back-translation: Limit of parking.) o Change of symbol He earns an honest dollar. (Back-translation: He earns an honest living.) 27.OBLIQUE TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES o Sensory modulation o A heavy coat -> una giacca pesante
o

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o o o o

(Back-translation: A thick coat) A goldfish -> un pesce rosso (Back translation: a little red fish) In short, modulation is the technique that leads to a solution that makes the reader - or the translator exclaim, Yes, thats exactly what you would say.

28. 6. Equivalence Used to render expressions using different stylistic and structural methods. Most equivalences are fixed, and include idioms, clichs, proverbs, nominal or adjectival phrases, onomatopoeia, etc. Stop splitting hairs -> Non guardare il pelo nelluovo (Backtranslation: Stop looking for five legs in a cat) Challenge: To recognize that the expression to be translated is an idiom / proverb; to know the equivalent expression in the T.L. Equivalence also refers to fixed (lexicalized) terms, such as terminology of a field of knowledge. OBLIQUE TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES 29. o 7. Adaptation Used when the limit to translation is been reached, i.e. when a simple translation would not work or it would produce a result that is shocking in the target language and culture. Titles of books, movies, and characters often fit into this category Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid -> (Back-translation: Two men and a destiny) The Sound of Music (Back-translation: Smiles and tears) OBLIQUE TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES 30. o 1. Concretization or differentiation-> generalization o (Fawcett) o Abstract -> Concrete or General -> Particular modulation Fratelli e sorelle -> brothers and sister, siblings (depending on context and desired effect) o 2. Paraphrasing o Used when there is no equivalent in the target language o Paraphrasing is a type of explanatory modulation To perform hazing [a crime] -> efectuar o someter a actos iniciticos ilcitos (hazing) (Back-translation: to subject to unlawful initiation acts)
o

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Other taxonomies (categorizations) of translation techniques 31.2. Paraphrasing Translation does not mean explaining or commenting on a text, or writing it in our own way. Paraphrasing, according to Vsquez-Ayora, cannot be a translation method because using it the text loses its characteristics. Too many explanations destroys the conciseness of the work and makes it subject to the same distortions of its counterpart literal translation. Other taxonomies (categorizations) of translation techniques 32. o 3. Logical derivation Cause -> effect modulation (logical modulation, according to Fawcett) Shorter [fewer] working hours (hours have become fewer as a result of some action taken) (Back-translation: reduction in working time / working week) Other taxonomies (categorizations) of translation techniques 33. o Direct or literal translation techniques: o Borrowings: borrowing from the source language a term or concept to overcome a lacuna in the target language or to create a stylistic effect. SUSHI, SAUERKRAUT, PIZZA o Calque: a special type of borrowing, consisting of borrowing an expression from the source language and translating literally each element. Calque can be either lexical. CARBURATOR -> or structural MAYO 5, INSTEAD OF 5 DE MAYO o Literal translation: the direct transfer of the source text into the target language in a grammatically and idiomatically proper way. GOOD MORNING 34. o Oblique translation techniques: o Transposition: replacing words from one grammatical word class with another without changing the meaning of the message. RECONSTRUCTION OF THE CITY IS VERY IMPORTANT RECONSTRUCTING THE CITY IS VERY IMPORTANT, TO RECONSTRUCT THE CITY IS VERY IMPORTANT o Modulation: changing the point of view without changing the meaning of the message. (Vinay and Darbelnet identified 10 different types of modulation. IT IS NOT DIFFICULT -> IT IS EASY o Equivalence: generally refers to the commonly accepted and used equivalents of idioms, proverbs, idiomatic expression and lexicalized terms, i.e. terms commonly accepted as equivalents of a source language term. STOP SPLITTING HAIRS -> DEJA DE BUSCARLE CINCO
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PATAS AL GATO. BACK TRANSLATION: STOP LOOKING FOR FIVE LEGS IN A CAT. o Adaptation: adapting a source language situation when it does not exist in the target language or would be considered inappropriate in the target culture. THE SOUND OF MUSIC -> SONRISAS Y L GRIMAS BACKTRANSLATION: SMILES AND TEARS 35.REFERENCES o FAWCETT, Peter (1997). Translation and Language , Manchester, UK: St Jerome. o Sager, Juan C and M.-J. Hamel (tranls) (2000). Jean-Paul Vinay and Jean Darbelnet. A Method for Translation , in Lawrence Venuti (ed.) The Translation Studies Reader , London: Routledge: 85-93. o Vazquez-Ayora Gerardo (1977). Introduccin a la traductologa, Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University. o VINAY, J. P. et J. Darbelnet (1958). Stylistique compare du franais et de langlais , Montral: Beauchemin

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