1.the licture of Mirav and Shay
The lecture of Mirave was interesting in deed , she talked about her experiences in
translating. It was interesting to hear her saying that she would go back again on her
work and erase some lines and do them differently. This reminds me of Baker's lines
that every translator has points of weaknesses and strength and every translation is
open to improvement. As to Shay's lecture ,it was also interesting. In his workshop
he introduced the story of "Pollyana" in two different levels of translation. He tried to
show us different forms of translations to the same text which of course varies from
one translator to another whether in the used language or even in the target audience.
2. Summarizing Section 2 and 3 (Difficulties and Strategies)
Difficulties:
1.One of the main difficulties for the translator may be lack of equivalence in the
target language. Different languages express meanings using different linguistic
means such as fixed expressions, idioms, words, etc and it is very hard to find an
equivalent of the same meaning and form in the target language. The main problem
that causes problems is culture specific idioms or expressions. They are not
necessarily untranslatable, however, they may refer to some specific item or event
common to that particular culture, and therefore it is hard to translate such idiom as
well.
2. The use of the idiom similar in its form and meaning in different context in the
target language. For example" to sing a different tune" - to change one's manner,
usually from bad to good.
3. Idioms may be used in both literal and idiomatic sense at the same time. In this
case, if the target-language idiom does not correspond to the source language idiom in
its form and meaning, then it is hard to make a play of words and transfer the
meaning. For example:
"….He had sufficient influence to be able to poke his nose into the private affairs of
others where less aristocratic noses might have been speedily bloodied."
In this example Mona Baker introduces idiom ‘to poke your nose’ which is used in
both literal and idiomatic sense. To translate such an idiom, translator must find an
equivalent in the target language.
4. All languages have got some "rhetorical‟ formulae which belong merely to their
own language. These rhetorical aspects of languages differ from each other. For
instance while a language may use a high number of honorifics in its pronominal
system as a rhetorical means, another language may make a vivid distinction between
the written and spoken discourse where the written form is regarded as more formal
than the spoken mode.
Strategies
According to Baker, although there are some difficulties in the process of translating
idioms and fixed expressions, there are some strategies to overcome such probable
difficulties:
1. Using an idiom of similar meaning and form which means that translating TL
idiom similar in its form and meaning to the SL idiom.
2. Using an idiom of similar meaning but dissimilar form. In this case, the
translator does not preserve the lexical items and translate as a semantic
equivalent.
Example: SL( English) very much at home ------ TL (Chinese): totally at
ease.
3. Borrowing the source language idiom: This strategy is usually used in dealing
with culture-specific items, modern concepts, and buzz words. Using the loan word
with an explanation is very useful when a word is repeated several times in the text.
At the first time the word is mentioned by the explanation and in the next times the
word can be used by its own. Example: Out of this world – from another galaxy,
beyond the earth environment.
4. Translating by paraphrase: translators often cannot translate a SL idioms as
a TL idiom, therefore they use the paraphrase strategy by using a word or a
group of words in TL exactly related to the meaning of that idiom in SL
which may be a non-idiom. Example: SL (English) shutting the stable
door when the horse has bolted (p.81) –TL(French) : too little too late
5. Translation by omission: According to Baker This means that an idiom is
entirely deleted in the TL because “it has no close match in the target
language, its meaning cannot be easily paraphrased, or for stylistic
reasons” This strategy is done mostly in the sentence or paragraph level.
The reason for this phenomenon is that when an idiomatic expression is
omitted, nearly always there is a „loss‟ in the meaning. To „compensate‟
the resulting loss, one is obliged to mention some supplementary words in
some parts of the sentence or paragraph where an omission has been done.
Example: ….SL (English) :Pre dated bonus for good measure --- TL (Arabic): the
date of which had been previously decided on.
3. Comments on the first group of idioms
a.
‫לשם מה לכל הרוחות אתה צריך אותי‬
What in the world do you need me for?
The strategy that was used here is using an idiom of similar meaning but dissimilar
form.
b.
...‫בעקבות הטעות שלעולם חוזרת‬
As a result of the error that always occurs
The strategy that was used here is the strategy of using an idiom of similar
meaning and form
‫ לא תבשיל ולא פירות‬:‫יחיא קרח מכאן ומכאן‬
c.
Yaha now lost in both directions; neither cooked food nor fruit came his way
The strategy that was used here is translation by paraphrase since the match cannot be
found in the target language.
4. Translating idioms is one of the most difficult tasks for translators. The main
problems consist in recognizing an idiom, understanding it and distinguishing
idiomatic from non-idiomatic usage. Better understanding and using idioms
needs both knowing their historical background and familiarity with both the S
and the T cultures, and having a clear idea about their different situational
context. The idiom ‫ כולי אוזן‬and ‫ מאחורי גבו‬I'm all ears and behind his back
are familiar in both languages thus it was easy to recognize and translate .
However, the frustration that could face someone who is trying to translate the
idiom ‫ לחיות מן היד אל הפה‬could occur when there is no equivalent idiom in the
target language therefore it was translated literally by meaning and form while
its true meaning is totally different " whatever he earns by work immediately
spend it on his daily needs".