Something on Translation
No Short Cut in Translation
As for my personal opinion, the principle that a translator should follow may be
divided into three aspects: First of all, he must have a full understanding of the literal
meaning and the contents of the source language; secondly, he must be proficient in
the target language; and thirdly, he must be well trained in the art of translation.
The Standards of Translation
Note: No good translation can be done by consulting dictionaries alone.
1. The translation should be a complete transcript of the ideas of the original work.
2. The style and manner of writing should be of the same character with that of the
original.
3. The translation should have all the ease of the original composition.
That is,
1. The translator should be responsible to the original text;
2. The translator should be responsible to the reader;
3. The translator should be responsible to artistry.
The standards of Fidelity to the Original Text
The concept, “fidelity” to the original, may be interpreted in two ways. The
translation may either adhere to the original word for word or be fully subjective,
accepting or refusing what the original has stated in order to make the translated text
fluent and readable.
Word Translation and Sentence Translation
Word translation is the interpretation of every single word (or character) in the
original language by using words (or characters) in the target language. Those who
support this method of translation believe that the meaning of each word (or
character) can exist independent of the context. Therefore, one need only translate
each word (or character), and the whole meaning of the sentence may be acquired by
piling up these independent fragments. In contrast, a sentence translator should avoid
using words (or characters) in a mechanical way, because each word (or character) is
alive, changing its meaning or property in different context. A sentence translator
uses words (or character) vividly, regarding them as something so well arranged
and organized that they constitute the vital part of a sentence only by their
collective meaning. A sentence translator’s method of translation is, first, to
understand thoroughly and precisely the total meaning of the original, and then to
re-present it in the target language through a combination of words (or characters),
grammar, idioms, diction, and syntax. If the total meaning of the original can be
“literally translated,” then there is no problem, but if not, the translator must find a
new way to express it as appropriately as possible in the target without regard for
individual words. If he can find nothing equivalent to translate a certain phrase or
metaphor, the best way is to use an approximate phrase; even it if is somewhat
different from the original, it does not matter. My personal opinion is that it is better
to express the semantic meaning of the original than to adhere strictly to the
individual word (or character)
The Fallacy of Word Translation Fidelity does not mean word-for-word
translation. The first reason that literal translation (or even transliteration) is
unfeasible is that word translation is basically wrong. The meaning of each word is
alive and constantly changing with different usages. Generally speaking, some words
are quite definite in meaning, while others are more fluid. The simpler the word is and
the oftener it is used, the more complicated its usages will be, and the less suitable it
will be used in literal translation, because you can never grasp the real meaning of the
whole sentence if all these words are considered separately. Such words as “problem,”
“study,” “purpose,” or “tool” are seldom variable, but “the parson’s nose,” “a street
Arab,” and “drumstick” will be mistranslated if the translator adheres to their literal
meaning.
The Unreliability of Dictionaries
The mistake that average beginners often make
lies in adhering to the dead meaning of each word found in the dictionary. Thus the
would-be translator should take note of the importance of a translator’s profound
stock of knowledge of English which is to be regarded as the prerequisite to any
translation. It is always the same case that if a translator wants to know each
respective word thoroughly, he must read broadly; then, he is able to get at the
contextual, historical, and idiomatic meaning of each word.
Fidelity Means Pertinence “Fidelity” does not mean the relationship between
individual words or characters in two different languages. A good translator should
not only be faithful to the meaning of the original text, but he should also do his best
to make what he has translated as pertinent as possible to the emotional tone and
connotations of the original, because literature not only symbolizes ideology, but
interconnects the emotions between two peoples.
The Impossibility of Absolute Fidelity Ordinarily, even the best translated texts
only express eighty percent of what the original contained. A word, in its country,
there is a long history, and through a long historical process it has been associated, in
the mind of those who use it, with many things and scenes. So two different words
that belong to two different cultures but indicate the same thing may rose different
emotions in two different peoples.
Examples:
*bookmaker
*bald eagle
*bank holiday
*board of directors
*He had two left feet.