Lecture II

Theory of Translation
Lecture II
The second half of the 20th century has seen the in-depth study of translation, which is
sometimes called Theory of Translation, Science of Translation, Translation Linguistics,
or Translatology.
In the West, translation studies began in 1972 with Holmes’s paper presented at the Third
International Congress of Applied Linguistics, “The Name and Nature of Translation
Studies”.
Achievements of the Russian school of translation studies. Works by V. Komissarov, A.

Shveitser, A. Fedorov and many others confirmed the status of translation studies as a
discipline of its own even in the 1950s.
The main concern of translation theory is to determine appropriate translation methods

for the widest possible range of texts and to give insight into the translation process, into
the relations between thought and language, culture and speech.
There are several aspects of this branch of linguistics:
• General theory of translation, whose object is general notions typical of translation

from any language.
• Specific (or partial, in terms of Holmes) theory of translation that deals with the
regularities of translation characteristic of particular languages - for example,
translation from English into Russian and vice versa.
• Special (partial) theory of translation that pays attention to texts of various registers
and genres.
• The process of translation is a set of interlanguage transformations; it is transforming
the text written in one language into the text in another.
ASPECTS
a) historical aspects: oral vs. written vs. Mechanical significance /
historical role of TR - contribution to & impact on:
• development an growth of human culture (trade, preachers, military exchanges,
diplomatic affairs, transfer of artefacts)
• civilisation
• individual languages
b) TYPES: literary vs. non-literary
c) METHODS of ORAL TR: simultaneous vs. consecutive
d) FORM: oral (always non-literary) vs. written
e) medium in which TR is performed:

mechanical & computer-aided vs. Human
Machine translation
The first idea of machine translation is known to have been expressed in 1933 by the Soviet
engineer Petr Smirnov-Troyansky but it is not he but Warren Weaver who is credited as
the founding father of Machine Translation (MT) research.
The first demonstration of an MT system took place in 1954 in Georgetown University,

U.S.A., where the experiment of making a computer translate words from Russian into
English was conducted.
Today, machine translation is often called computer-aided translation (CAT). CAT

systems are divided into two groups: machine-aided human translation (MAHT) and
human-aided machine translation (HAMT). The difference between the two lies in the
roles of computer and human translator.
Machine translation
• a procedure whereby a computer program analyses a source text and produces a

target text without further human intervention.
• however, machine translation typically does involve human intervention, in the

form of pre-editing and post-editing
• an exception to that rule:
➢ e.g., the translation of technical specifications (strings of technical terms e.g.,

the translation of technical specifications (strings of technical terms and
adjectives), using a dictionary-based machine-translation system.
➢ In regard to texts (e.g., weather reportsIn regard to texts (e.g., weather reports)
with limited ranges of vocabularyIn regard to texts (e.g., weather reports) with
limited ranges of vocabulary and simple sentenceIn regard to texts (e.g.,
weather reports) with limited ranges of vocabulary and simple sentence
structure, machine translation can deliver results that do not require much
human intervention to be useful.
The first idea of machine translation is known to have been expressed in 1933 by the Soviet
engineer Petr Smirnov-Troyansky but it is not he but Warren Weaver who is credited as
the founding father of Machine Translation (MT) research.
The first demonstration of an MT system took place in 1954 in Georgetown University,

U.S.A., where the experiment of making a computer translate words from Russian into
English was conducted.
Today, machine translation is often called computer-aided translation (CAT). CAT

systems are divided into two groups: machine-aided human translation (MAHT) and
human-aided machine translation (HAMT). The difference between the two lies in the
roles of computer and human translator.
• a procedure whereby a computer program analyses a source text and produces a
target text without further human intervention.
• however, machine translation typically does involve human intervention, in the

form of pre-editing and post-editing.
Computer-assisted translation
• Computer-assisted translation (CAT), also called computer-aided translation or

machine-aided human translation (MAHT), is a form of translation wherein a
human translator creates a target text with the assistance of a computer program.
The machine supports a human translator.
• Computer-assisted translation can include standard dictionaryComputer-assisted

translation can include standard dictionary and grammar software. The term,
however, normally refers to a range of specialized programs available to the
translator, including translation-memoryComputer-assisted translation can
include standard dictionary and grammar software. The term, however, normally
refers to a range of specialized programs available to the translator, including
translation-memory, terminology-managementComputer-assisted translation can
include standard dictionary and grammar software. The term, however, normally
refers to a range of specialized programs available to the translator, including
translation-memory, terminology-management, concordance, and alignment
programs.
• Computers are used in many aspects of modern translation (particularly of

technical texts).

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Theory of Translation

Achievements of the Russian school of translation studies. Works by V. Komissarov, A.

The main concern of translation theory is to determine appropriate translation methods

There are several aspects of this branch of linguistics:

• General theory of translation, whose object is general notions typical of translation

b) TYPES: literary vs. non-literary

c) METHODS of ORAL TR: simultaneous vs. consecutive

d) FORM: oral (always non-literary) vs. written

e) medium in which TR is performed:

The first demonstration of an MT system took place in 1954 in Georgetown University,

Today, machine translation is often called computer-aided translation (CAT). CAT

• a procedure whereby a computer program analyses a source text and produces a

• however, machine translation typically does involve human intervention, in the

• an exception to that rule:

➢ e.g., the translation of technical specifications (strings of technical terms e.g.,

The first demonstration of an MT system took place in 1954 in Georgetown University,

Today, machine translation is often called computer-aided translation (CAT). CAT

• however, machine translation typically does involve human intervention, in the

• Computer-assisted translation (CAT), also called computer-aided translation or

• Computer-assisted translation can include standard dictionaryComputer-assisted

• Computers are used in many aspects of modern translation (particularly of

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