Translation studies: linguistic approach

1.

TRANSLATION STUDIES:
LINGUISTIC APPROACH

2.

KEY VOCABULARY
Cognitive
Cohesion
Coherence
Direct
Equivalence
Functional
InterIntraLingual
Linguistic
Loyalty
Oblique
Semantic
Semiotic
Shift

3.

KEY VOCABULARY
going in a straight line towards somewhere or someone
without stopping or changing direction
connected with thinking or conscious mental processes
firm and not changing in your friendship with or support
for a person or an organization, or in your belief in your
principles
connected with the meanings of words
having a sloping direction, angle, or position
the study of signs and symbols, what they mean, and how
they are used
relating to the tongue, language

4.

KEY VOCABULARY
connected with language or the study of language
having the same amount, value, purpose, qualities
designed to be practical and useful rather than
attractive
the situation when the parts of something fit
together in a natural or reasonable way
the situation when the members of a group or
society are united
move or change from one position or direction to
another, especially slightly

5.

APPROACHES RELATED TO TS
linguistic
cognitive
communicative and sociocultural
philosophical and hermeneutic

6.

LINGUISTIC APPROACH
Language is the most
vital component in
translation
Translation is
understood as
transferring the
meaning or the idea
from one language to
another
It is imperative for a
translator to
understand the
meaning of the source
text in the appropriate
context

7.

LINGUISTIC APPROACH KEY ISSUES
AND CONTEXTS
Key Issues
Key Contexts
meaning
equivalence,
shift
text purpose
text analysis
discourse register
•structural linguistics
• functional
linguistics
•semantics
•pragmatics
•sociolinguistics
•stylistics

8.

PART 1
(KEY ISSUES: MEANING, EQUIVALENCE, SHIFT)
PLAN
1) Types of translation: Roman Jakobson
2) Formal and Dynamic Equivalence: Eugene Nida
3) Semantic and Communicative Translation: Peter Newmark
4) Translation Procedures: J.P. Vinay and J. Darbelnet
5) Translation Shifts: J. Catford

9.

THE LINGUISTIC APPROACH KEY
ISSUES
Meaning
Shift
Equivalence

10.

ROMAN JAKOBSON
1896 – 1982
Russian linguist and literary theorist
Linguistic meaning and equivalence are the key issues

11.

3 TYPES OF TRANSLATION:
1)
intralingual
–
rewording
or
paraphrasing, summarizing, expanding or
commenting within a language
2) interlingual – the traditional concept of
translation from ST to TT or the “shifting
of meaning from one language to another”
3) intersemiotic – the changing of a written
text into a different form, such as art or
dance

12.

EUGENE NIDA (1914 –2011)
AMERICAN LINGUIST
DEVELOPED DYNAMIC-EQUIVALENCE BIBLETRANSLATION THEORY
formal
equivalence
dynamic
equivalence

13.

THE TERMS "DYNAMIC EQUIVALENCE"
AND "FORMAL EQUIVALENCE"
originally coined to describe
ways of translating the Bible
the two approaches are
applicable to any translation

14.

FORMAL EQUIVALENCE
translator aims at reproducing as
literally and meaningfully as possible
the form and content of the original

15.

DYNAMIC EQUIVALENCE
dynamic equivalence - functional
equivalence aims at complete
naturalness of expression

16.

BRITISH TRANSLATION THEORIST
PETER NEWMARK (1916 – 2011)
influenced by the work of Nida
semantic translation
communicative translation

17.

SEMANTIC TRANSLATION
“attempts to
render, as closely
as the semantic
and syntactic
structures of the
second language
allow, the exact
contextual
meaning of the
original”

18.

COMMUNICATIVE TRANSLATION
focuses on the
reader, aiming at
making the text more
native and original

19.

JEAN-PAUL VINAY (1910 -1999)
JEAN DARBELNET (1904 -1990)
Stylistique comparée du
français et de l’anglais (1958)
compare the differences
between English and French
identify two translation
techniques: direct and oblique

20.

DIRECT (LITERAL) TRANSLATION STRATEGIES:
1) Literal translation or word-forword
2) Calque, where the SL
expression is literally
transferred to TL
3) Borrowing – the SL word is
transferred directly into the TL

21.

OBLIQUE (FREE) TRANSLATION
STRATEGIES
1) Transposition –
interchange of parts of
speech that don’t effect
the meaning, a noun
phrase
2) Modulation – reversal of
point of view

22.

OBLIQUE (FREE) TRANSLATION
STRATEGIES
3) Equivalence – same
meaning conveyed by a
different expression
(proverbs and idioms)
4) Adaptation – cultural references
may need to be altered to become
relevant

23.

JOHN CATFORD
(1917 –2009)
Shift
A Linguistic Theory of Translation
Two types of shifts

24.

TWO TYPES OF SHIFTS:
1) Level shift where a
grammatical concept
may be conveyed by a
lexeme
2) Category shifts
(structure shifts,
class shifts, unit
shift, and intrasystem shifts)

25.

PART 2 ( KEY ISSUES: ТEXT PURPOSE, TEXT
ANALYSIS)
PLAN
1. The Skopos theory.
Typology of texts for
translation: Katharina Reiss a
defender of Skopos theory.
2. Types of translation. Text
analysis: Christiane Nord

26.

SCOPOS THEORY
The Greek expression “skopos” that
means “aim” or “purpose”
introduced to translation theory by Hans
Vermeer in the 1970s
centers on the purpose of the translation and
the function that the TT will fulfil in the target
culture
the purpose of the ST in the source culture
may differ from TT and TC.

27.

THE IMPORTANCE OF ST
The emphasis once again stays with the
reader of the TT
the translator decides on what strategies to
employ to reach the target audience in the target
culture
Cultural issues in a sociolinguistic context
need to be considered
the same ST can be translated in different ways depending
on the purpose and the guidelines provided

28.

CRITICISM
it applies only to non-literary
work
it downplays the importance of
the ST
It does not pay enough
attention to linguistic detail

29.

PROS AND CONS
CRITICISM
APPROVAL
•applies only to nonliterary work
• downplays the
importance of the ST
• does not pay enough
attention to linguistic
detail
•skopos is a means of
reflecting the ability of the
translator.
• if a TT meets the
requirements stated (type of
translation, deadline,
financial constraints) ► the
linguistic level is not an area
that merits criticism

30.

KATHARINA REISS (1923 -2018)
German linguist and translation
scholar
advocate of the skopos theory

31.

TRANSLATION-FOCUSED
TEXT TYPOLOGY
(1)
content-focused
texts:
the
descriptive function of L dominates
(2) form-focused texts: the expressive
function of L dominates
(3) appeal-focused texts: the appeal
function of L dominates
(4) audio-medial text type: reaches the
receptor not via printed media

32.

(1) THE TRANSLATION OF CONTENTFOCUSED TEXTS
E.g.: press releases, commentaries,
news reports, users’ manuals,
patent specifications, official
documents, non-fiction, specialized
books, essays, reports
focused on conveying information
the translator’s task is to transmit
the SL content in full

33.

(2) TRANSLATION OF FORM-FOCUSED TEXTS
E.g.: literary prose (essays, biographies,
belles-lettres), imaginative prose
(anecdotes, short stories, romances),
poetry
it is not merely what the author says that
matters, but also how he/she says it the
main task of the translator is to reflect
primarily the form and not the contents
Difficulty: the form is closely tied to the SL
cannot be automatically transferred into
the TL

34.

HOW TO OVERCOME THE DIFFICULTY
the translator will not adopt the SL form, but will try to get
inspiration
stimulated by this inspiration he/she will choose the TL form
that best approaches the effect in the TL reader that the SL
form produced in the SL reader
the task of the translator is not to produce identical content,
but to create formal analogy

35.

(3) APPEAL-FOCUSED TEXTS: THE
APPEAL FUNCTION OF L DOMINATES
E.g.: commercials, ads, texts related to
missionary work, propaganda materials
both the content and the form are
intended to provoke a particular
reaction in the listener or reader
(appeals for likes and dislikes, or for
specific actions -- e.g., shopping -or the ceasing of specific actions:
e.g., smoking) the aim of the
translator is not to reflect the
content or the form of the SL text,
but to render its function

36.

HOW TO TRANSLATE
the translator may
deviate from both the
content and the form of
the text
(e.g., advertisements: the
same product must be
promoted using different
hints and allusions in
different countries)

37.

(4) TRANSLATION OF AUDIO-MEDIAL
TEXTS
E.g.: radio and television genres and theatre
plays (operettas, operas, comedies,
tragedies, etc.)
the message reaches the receiver
(audience, listener) via a channel the
characteristic features of which need to be
taken into account

38.

HOW TO TRANSLATE
E.g. translating a libretto: the translator
must not insist on a faithful rendering
of either the content or the form of the
original libretto if in the TL it does not
match the music’s melody and rhythm,
and cannot be sung with ease
E.g. dubbing movies: watch the actor’s lip
movements

39.

WATCH THE VIDEO, ANSWER THE
QUESTIONS
1. Which term does she prefer instead
of “scopos theory”? Why?
2. What term has she introduced?
How does she define it?
3. Which types of this category is she
describing?
4. What are her recommendations to
translators?

40.

WATCH THE VIDEO, ANSWER THE
QUESTIONS
1. How is the conservative approach
defined by Chris?
2. What is her background? Which type
of activity is she successful in at
present? What was her first book?
3. What is characteristic of Translation
Studies in Germany?
4. What remains to be done in TS?

41.

CHRISTIANE NORD TEXT ANALYSIS IN
TRANSLATION (1989/91)
1) Documentary
2) Instrumental
two types of
translation

42.

DOCUMENTARY TRANSLATION
serves as a document of a source culture
communication between the author and the
recipient
the target text allows the receiver access to
the ideas of the source text but where the
reader is well aware that it is a translation
certain culture-specific lexical items are
retained in order to maintain colour of the
source text

43.

INSTRUMENTAL TRANSLATION
an independent message-transmitting
instrument in a new communicative action in
the target culture
the target text receiver read the target text as
though it was written in their own language
e.g. a translated computer manual or software
should fulfill the same functions in any
language (function-preserving translation)

44.

ELEMENTS RELEVANT FOR THE
TRANSLATION-ORIENTED ANALYSIS
subject matter
content (cohesion, coherence)
presuppositions
composition
non-verbal elements
lexicon
sentence structure

45.

SUBJECT MATTER
central theme,
message,
leitmotive
contributes to
the adequate
translation

46.

CONTENT
semantic information contained in the
lexical and grammatical structures (e.g.
words and phrases, sentence patterns,
tense, mood, etc. used in the text)

47.

COHESION
logical linkage between textual
units, indicated by formal markers
of the relations between texts
marked by connectives (such as
and, but, or so)

48.

COHERENCE
relations between texts not indicated by formal
markers of cohesion
e.g. advertising language - no clear markers of
cohesion, but is interpreted as being coherent.
semantic property of discourse formed through
the interpretation of each individual sentence
method for evaluating a text's coherence is topical
structure analysis

49.

PRESUPPOSITIONS
real-world factors of the communicative
situation presumed to be known to the
participants
The real problem for the translator results from
the divergence in cultural background between
the target text and the source text addressees
Presuppositions are closely connected with
cultural literacy

50.

NON-VERBAL ELEMENTS
paralingual elements of face-toface communication (e.g. facial
expressions, gestures, voice
quality, etc.)
non-lingual elements belonging
to a written text (photos,
illustrations, logos, special
types of print, punctuation,
capitalization, italicization, etc.)

51.

LEXICON
The authors underline the importance of the semantic,
stylistic and formal aspects.
Semantic and stylistic characteristics of lexis (e.g.
connotations, semantic fields, register) point to the
dimensions of content, subject matter and presuppositions
Formal characteristics (e.g. parts of speech, word function,
morphology) refer the analyst to predictable syntactic
structures and non-verbal elements

52.

SUMMARY
The linguistic approach to translation
theory incorporates the following
concepts: meaning, equivalence, shift,
text purpose and analysis, and
discourse register; which can be
examined in the contexts of structural
and functional linguistics, semantics,
pragmatics, correspondence,
sociolinguistics and stylistics.

53.

SUMMARY
Roman Jakobson suggests distinguishing 3 types of
translation: intralingual, interlingual, intersemiotic.
Eugene Nida advanced the idea of Formal and Dynamic
Equivalence.
Peter Newmark put forward the idea of Semantic and
Communicative Translation.
J.P. Vinay and J. Darbelnet classified Translation Procedures
into: Direct (Borrowing, Calque, Literal translation) and
Oblique (Transposition, Equivalence, Modulation,
Adaptation).
J. Catford advanced the idea of Translation Shifts and
suggests distinguishing of Level shift and 4 types of
Category shifts (structural shifts, class shifts, unit shifts,
intra-system shifts)

54.

SUMMARY
The Skopos theory, introduced to translation theory by Hans
Vermeer in the 1970s, centers on the purpose of the translation
and the function that the TT will fulfil in the target culture.
K. Reiss, a defender of Skopos theory, suggests a typology of
texts for translation according to their functions: contentfocused texts, form-focused texts, appeal-focused texts, audiomedial text type. She gives recommendations to translation of
each text type.
C. Nord advanced the theory of Text Analysis in Translation and
suggests distinguishing two types of translation:
Documentary, Instrumental. Her translation-oriented text
analysis includes such items as: subject matter, content,
presuppositions, cohesion and coherence, non-verbal elements,
lexicon, sentence structure