Translation Studies
Alberto Luís González García
Roberto Gallo Soljancic
José Javier López Ramón
Outline
•
Introduction:
• Translation definition.
• Translation vs. Interpretation.
• The role of translator: skills.
•
Translation Process: specifically the different stages carried out
when translating. (According to García Yebra).
• Comprehension stage
• Expression stage
•
Type of translation:
• Direct vs. inverse Translation.
• Specialized vs. Non-specialized Translation.
Outline
(II)
•
Translation techniques: (According to Vinay and Darbelnet)
Morphosyntactic Level
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Loan word
Calque
Literal Translation
Transposition
Equivalence
Adaptation
Modulation
Semantic Level
•
•
•
•
Expansion
Reduction
Compensation
Translation as a tool in SLT/ SLL.
Introduction
Definition of Translation
Munday: “the process of turning an original or "source" text into a text in another language”.
Translation vs. Interpretation
Translation ---> written texts
Interpretation ---> uses oral channel
• 1.3 The role of a translator: skills
What do you need to become a good translator?
1. Complete knowledge of both source and target speech.
2. Write appropiately in both source and target language.
3. Ability to have language intuition ““to grasp various expressions, idioms and specific vocabulary
and their uses””
4. Be aware of the “”cultural divergence and diverse strategies in the source and target verbal
communication””
5. Be aware of diverse registers, styles of speaking, and social stratification of both source and target
language.
6. You have to be provided with encyclopedias and bilingual dictionaries in a specific context
7. You have to take control of the different kind of speeches in both source and target language.
Translation Process:
• Garcia Yebra:
Two stages
• Comprehension stage: The translator decodes
the sense of the source text into an activity
called semasiology.
• Expression stage: recodes the sense of the text
in the target language.
Type of translation:
• Direct vs. indirect Translation:
–
–
Direct: Translating from a foreign language into
your mother tongue. Example: a Spanish
translator who translates from English into
Spanish.
Indirect: Translating from your mother tongue
into a foreign one. Example: a Spanish
translator who translate from Spanish into
English.
Type of translation:
• Specialized vs. Non-specialized Translation.
–
Specialized: The translator requires an excellent
quality and precision into an area of knowledge.
Examples: medical translation; legal translation.
–
Non-specialized: It is not required a great
knowledge in the area to translate.
Translation techniques:
The explanation of each procedure, according to Vinay and
Darbelnet
•
Two levels: Morphosyntax level and Semantic level.
• Morphosyntax level techniques:
-Loan Word: A word taken from a language without translating it:
Coyote (from Spanish), Pizza (from Italian)…
-Calque: A class of loan where syntax is taken from source language and
translated literally. English: week-end Spanish: fin de semana.
English: science-fiction. Spanish: ciencia-ficción. Sangre azul → Blueblood
-Literal Translation: translating word by word from source to target
language, respecting the collocations of the target language. English:
You are rich. Spanish: Tú eres rico.
Translation techniques (II)
• Transposition: Translating one part of the speech to other one,
without changing the sense of the message. English: out of order.
Spanish: no funciona. Le gusta nadar → She likes swimming.
• Modulation: Variation of the message, through a change in the
point of view. English: Puzzle. Spanish: Rompecabezas. You can
have it → Te lo dejo.
Translation techniques (III)
• Equivalence: Transmiting the same situation by
using different stylistic and structural resources.
English: no right of way. Spanish: prohibido el
paso. The Sound of Music → Sonrisas y Lágrimas.
• Adaptation: “Cultural equivalence”. E.G.:French
talking about Belgian jokes → English talking
about Irish jokes.
Translation techniques (IV)
Semantic Level
• Expansion: needed amplification for structural reasons. Example: in Spanish
is needed to specify the gender.
• Reduction: the same as expansion, but it is needed a reduction.
• Compensation: combination of the other two techniques. Tu/Usted (Sp.) →
You (Eng.)
Translation as a tool for SLT/SLL
• SLL is the process by which people learn a second language.
• Translation is teached as a separated skill from L2 acquisition, as first, you
have to master L2 to be a good translator.
Conclussion
• Remind some especifit terms:
–
–
–
Difference between translation and
interpretation
Different kind of translation:
• Loan words
• Calque
• Etc.
Specific vs non-specific translation
Thank you very much for your attention!
References
•
•
•
•
•
www.translationcentral.com/translation_vs_interpretation.php
•
•
•
•
•
•
http://www.jstor.org/pss/392747
http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Skills-Are-Required-To-Be-A-Good-Translator?&id=911804
http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~kemmer/Words/loanwords.html
http://www.translationschools.org/translation/specialized/
López Guix, J.G. & Wilkinson, J.M. (1997). Manual de traducción inglés-castellano. Teoría y
práctica. Gedisa
http://people.umass.edu/bparient/Research/CompleteThesis-BeatrizParienteBeltran.pdf
logos.uoregon.edu/research/second_language.shtml
http://isg.urv.es/publicity/masters/sample/techniques.html
en.wikipedia.org
Stibbard, R. (1994). The Study of Translation in a Foreign Language Teaching.
Perspectives: Studies in Translatology.
• Cordero, A.D. (1984). The Role of Translation in Second Language Acquisition.
The French Review, Vol. 57, No. 3, pp. 350-355.