Laouini Malak
G : 03
A. What is Translation Theory?
Translation can not be separated from theory, theory is the basis of translation,because if the
translation process is not based on translation will fail and will not succeed. So translation theory is
important.
Discussions of the theory and practice of translation reach back into antiquity and show remarkable
continuities.
So , translation theory is not a theory and not a science just a collection of knowledge.
B. Translation Theory According to Translation Experts
1. Catford Translation Theory
Catford (1978:20) définie translation as:
“...the replacement of textual material in one language (SL) by equivalent textual material in
another language (TL)”.
It means translation is the replacement of language text , the language resources appropriate to
the target language .
Translators should look for the most relevant words, phrases, sentences, or grammatical
structures that can replace a source text that the target audience can easily understand. There
languages where there no tenses ,So translation should read the context of the text before, “Is
this text talking about the present or the past event?” . After wich they can translate it.
2. Newmark Translation Theory
According to Newmark (1988) “Translation is rendering the meaning of a text into another
language in the way that the auther intended the text”.
It means the translation definition according to Newmark means that the messages transferred
to the target text should be equal to the messages in the source text, and he also suggested that
translation is bound to some rules – translation theories.
It means, translation should be done by following the rules of translation theories. In the theory
of translation,
Newmark agreed that translation theory:
a) Semantic translation and communicative translation.
b) The message in course language should be similar with the target language.
c) Translation should make clear meaning from source language.
d) Translation should be informative not expressive. It means the reader must be given
detail explanation, so they know the message in the source language and target
language.
3. Nida and Taber Translation Theory
According to Nida and Taber (1974) “Translation is a rewriting of the message contained in the
source language into the target language to find similarities”.
In other words, translation is a transfer of meaning, message, and style from one SLT to the
TLT. In the order of priority, style is put the last. The study of principles and procedures of
translation by various scholars in different periods of history gave rise to a new field of
scholarship or research called 'Translation Studies'. Translation studies include three
interrelated and mutually interacting aspects of translation: theory, practice and evaluation.
Translation must adapt to the culture of source language and the target language.
The translation must concern with two collocations word, formal and dynamic
collocation.
Dynamic translation is the translation that recognizes the adaptability among
languages, cultures, the content of source language context with the target language.
Nida (1976:66-79) avers that due to the fact that translation is an activity involving language
there is a sense in which any and all theories of translation are linguistic.
He classifies these theories into three: philological theories, linguistic theories and socio-
linguistic theories, the sequel of three diverse perspectives and different approaches to
principles and procedures of translation. If the emphasis is on the literary texts, the underlying
theories of translation are best deemed philological; if it is on structural differences between SL
and TL, the theories may be considered linguistic; and finally if it is on a part of communication
process, the theories are best described as sociolinguistic. However, a more comprehensive
survey subsumes far more than Nida’s three sets of theories as elaborated below.
A) Philological Theories
Philological theories rely upon ‘philology’ as the study of the development of language, and
the classical literary studies.
They simply go one step further; in place of treating the form in which the text was first
composed, they deal with corresponding structures in the source and receptor languages and
attempt to evaluate their equivalences.
Philological theories of translation are normally concerned with all kinds of stylistic features
and rhetorical devices.” (Nida, 1976: 67-68).
B) Philosophical Theories
Primarily emphasizes the psychological and intellectual functioning of the mind of translator.
He defines his ‘hermeneutic approach’ as “ the investigation of what it means to ‘ understand a
piece of oral speech or written text, and the attempt to diagnose the process in terms of a general
model of meaning” (Steiner,1975:249).
C) Linguistic Theories
Linguistic theories of translation, according to Nida (1976:69) , are based on a comparison of
the Linguistic structures of the STs and TTs, rather than a comparison of literary genres and
stylistic features of the philological theories.
and second, the emergence of Machine Translation (MT) which has provided a significant
motivation for basing translation procedures on linguistic analysis as well as for a rigorous
description of SL and TL (Nida, 1976: 70).
In this model, ST surface elements (grammar, meaning, connotations) are analyzed as linguistic
kernel structures that can be transferred to the TL and restructured to form TL surface elements.
His linguistic approach basically bears similarity with Chomsky’s theory of syntax and
transformational generative grammar.
D) Functional Theories
The 1970s and 1980s witnessed a shift from the static linguistic typologies of translation and
the emergence, in Germany, of a functionalist and communicative approach to the analysis of
translation. and Shuttleworth and Cowie, 2oo7:156-157) and text analysis model.
E) Text- type Theory
Built on the concept of equivalence, which is the milestone in linguistic theories, the text, rather
than the word or sentence, is deemed the appropriate level at which communication is achieved
and at which equivalence must be sought (Reiss, 1977: 113-14). Reiss links the functional
characteristics of text types to translation methods.
Informative: It is concerned with ‘plain communication of facts’: information,
knowledge, opinions, etc.
The language dimension used to transmit the information is logical or referential;
Expressive: It denotes the ‘creative composition’ wherein the author uses the aesthetic
dimension of the language. .
Operative: The purpose is to induce behavioral responses, i.e., to appeal to or persuade
the reader or ‘receiver’ of the text to act in a certain way.
F) Sociolinguistic Theories
These theories endeavour to link translation to communicative theory and information theory,
with special emphasis on the receptor’s role in the translation process.
These structures may involve rhetorical devices or figures of speech such as simile, metaphor,
irony, hyperbole, etc., in both literary and non-literary texts. These theories require the
translator exhibit language competence as well as language performance.
G) Interpretative theory (or theory of sense)
It is a reaction against some of the restricted views of linguistics of the time. in Shuttleworth
and Cowie:2007: 85). The corollary is that the focus should be on the intended meaning or the
sense rather than the words of ST. Nida (1969) stated that:
“Translation consists of reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalence of
the source language message, first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style".
It means, Nida considers translation as an activity to look equivalency in the target language.
Translators have to look for the closest equivalence words in the target text.
The definition given by Nida is appropriate to give translators idea that translating is not only
an activity in replacing one word with another word.
