Application of Translation
Theory to non-literary texts
Belinda Maia
Universidade do Porto
Translation Theory
• Linguistic theories - at different levels:
–
–
–
–
–
general lexicon
terminology
syntax and semantics
sentence organization and word order
text organization
Translation Theory
•
•
•
•
Literary theory
Cultural studies
Philosophy
Translation Studies
– function of original
– function of translation
– context of translation process
Reality!
• Literary translation does not earn one a
living!
• Literary translation accounts for about 5%
of translation done annually in the world
• Real-life translation is very varied
Questions
• Is real-life translation boring?
• Consider the semantics of Bore/Boring
• How does one become interested in
anything - and everything?
• How far do translation curricula prepare one
being interested in everything?
A suggestion
• ROBINSON, Douglas. 1997. Becoming a
Translator: An Accelerated Course. London and
New York: Routledge.
Translation - the User’s view
• Robinson (1997:6) – External knowledge:
• “A non-translator (especially a monolingual
reader in the target language who directly or
indirectly pays for the translation – a client,
a book-buyer) thinks and talks about
translation from ouside the process, not
knowing how it is done” but knowing a
good translation when s/he sees one
User’s priorities
• Reliability
• Timeliness
• Cost
Textual Reliability
• What does the client want?
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Literalism
Foreignism
Fluency
Summary
Commentary
Summary-commentary
Adaptation
Encryption
Points to ponder
• Think about the different circumstances of
translating:
–
–
–
–
–
–
a letter
an agenda for tomorrow’s meeting
advertising copy
instruction manual
a tender
an academic textbook
Points to ponder
• Consider why different users want different
types of translation
• Consider how translators are / should be
responsible for interpreting their client’s
requirements
• Refer back to translation theory
Translator reliability 1
• Reliability with regard to the text
–
–
–
–
Attention to detail
Sensitivity to the user's needs
Research
Checking and Revising
Translator reliability 2
• Reliability with regard to the client:
–
–
–
–
–
Versatility
Promises
Friendliness
Confidentiality
Hardware and software
Timeliness
• Consider time needed to translate from:
– The user's points of view – yesterday!
– The translator's point of view – approximately
10 pages per day?
• Consider importance of team work
• Consider using machine (assisted)
translation
Cost
• VERY IMPORTANT!
• BUT – consider differences of opinion
between User and Translator as influenced
by their different perceptions of the work
The translator’s view
• Robinson (1997:6) – Internal knowledge:
“A translator think and talks about translation
from inside the process, knowing how it’s done,
possessing a practical real-world sense of the
problems involved, some solutions to those
problems, and the limitations on those
solutions”
Who are translators?
Adapted from Robinson (1997:26-7)
• Do you think you want to be a full-time
translator?
• Do you understand why ' translators and
(especially) interpreters all have something of the
actor in them'?
• Would you describe yourself as 'voracious and
omnivorous readers' and 'hungry for real-world
experience'?
• Do you pay attention to how people use language
all about you?
• How multi-lingual and multi-cultural are you?
Professional Pride
and Enjoyment
• Do you agree that 'most people ... would
rather take professional pride in a job that
pays less than get rich doing things they
don't believe in'? ( Robinson (1997:26-7)
• Reliability > Do you think that professional
pride in reliability should override personal
considerations?
Professional pride
• Involvement in the profession
– What do you know about translator associations
in Germany and Europe?
– How do you think you can make contact with
other translators?
• Raising the status of the profession
– Is this necessary in Germany?
Ethics
• Would you translate texts:
– You find offensive?
– You disagree with religiously, politically and
morally?
– That are sexist?
– That are anti-environmental?
– ETC.?
Speed & Project Management
• How fast do you translate/ word-process?
• What alternatives are there to wordprocessing?
• Have you experience of Project
Management?
• What other considerations need to be taken
when you consider speed of work?
The process of translation
Working with people
• Do you prefer to work:
– Alone at home?
– In an office with a team?
– In a ‘virtual’ team?
• Would you like administrative or public
relations work in a translation company?
• What does such work entail?
Using technology
• Can you use:
–
–
–
–
–
Sophisticated Desktop Publishing software?
Translation memories?
Terminology databases?
Translator’s Workbench?
Machine translation?
Acquiring culture
• Describe your cultural interests.
• Do you follow the international news on the
radio or television?
• Do you read serious newspapers?
• What are you reading at present?
• Describe your favourite books.
• Do you often read non-fiction? If so, what?
Exploring knowledge
• When asked to do specialized translation,
what do you do?
– Buy a specialized dictionary or glossary?
– Ask the client for their terminology
database/translation memory?
– Consult the specialist on the terminology?
– Collect and use specialized corpora?
– Acquire specialized knowledge on the subject?
On-line information resources
• Dictionaries, glossaries
• On-line databases – e.g. CELEX,
EURODICAUTOM etc
• Corpora
• Translator’s pages
• Specialized sites
Terminology research
Robinson (1997:158)
Localization
• Localization = Translating software BUT it
involves:
–
–
–
–
Translation
IT knowledge
Project Management
Teamwork
• See Esselink (2000) for more details
Multimedia & Translation
•
•
•
•
•
Sub-titling
Dubbing
Voice over
Hypertext
Webpages
Translation Theory and Reality
• Would you agree that an appreciation of
translation theory:
– will improve a translator‘s ability to respond to
a client‘s needs?
– will make the process of translation more
interesting?
– will contribute to the translator‘s self-respect?
Bibliography
• ESSELINK, Bert. 2000 A Practical Guide to
Localization. John Benjamins
• MAIA, Belinda, Johann Haller & Margerhita
Ulrych. 2002. (eds.) Training the Language
Services Provider for the New Millennium. Porto:
FLUP.
• ROBINSON, Douglas. 1997. Becoming a
Translator: An Accelerated Course. London and
New York: Routledge.
Links
• HLT Central: http://www.hltcentral.org/page83.shtml
• European Commission
• http://europa.eu.int/comm/translation/theory/index
_en.htm
• ETC.