Fundamentals of Translation

Unit I: Nature and Scope of Translation

Translation
Translation refers to carrying the meaning of a text from one language to another. This process
involves interpretation of meaning of the text and producing the same meaning in another
language. ...
Different languages give different ways to look at the world but translation provides us the
opportunity to explore and interact with these different views of the world. Translation refers
to carrying the meaning of a text from one language to another. This process involves
interpretation of meaning of the text and producing the same meaning in another language.
Translation as an activity is actually as old as written language or text itself. However as a
discipline of study it is comparatively new.
Since all word of one language may or may not have a corresponding word in the other
language, Linguistic study becomes crucial for the purpose of translation. Linguistics pertains
to scientific study of language. Linguistic approach to translation focuses primarily on the
issues of meaning and equivalence (same meaning conveyed by a different expression).
Linguistics thus tries to discover ‘what’ the language actually means. It is then the work of the
philosophy of linguistics to understand ‘how’ the language means.
Language has certain features like meaning, reference, truth, verification, speech acts, logical
necessity etc. it is through these feature that the linguists try to understand the ‘what’ and the
‘how’ of the text. Any language uses a particular set of signs and symbols to convey a particular
meaning or idea. These signs and symbols are ‘signifiers’. The meaning or idea that is being
conveyed by these ‘signifiers’ is called ‘signified’. All languages are used in a particular social
and cultural context. So the ‘signified’ for a particular ‘signifier’ may change from culture to
culture and society to society. For example, for signifier ‘yellow’ in America, the signified is
cowardice (“yellow bellied”- a popular saying) for Japan yellow signifies courage whereas for
Indians it signifies joy. Thus the translator has to understand what the author of the original
text actually wants to convey.
Beyond doubts language is the most vital component in translation. Translation can actually be
understood as transferring the meaning or the idea from one language to another. It thus
becomes imperative for a translator to understand the meaning of the source text (text to be
translated) in the context in which they are said or written.
Language is formed of grammar, words, syntax etc. this form the structure of the language and
pertains to structural linguistics. However beyond the structural approach the context also
becomes important as said before. This aspect of linguistics approach is termed as functional
linguistics.
There has been a historical debate in the field of translation between ‘word to word’ (literal)
and ‘sense to sense’ (free) translation. Linguistic approach can enter both these aspects of
translation. However the ‘sense to sense’ translation is understood to actually carry to the same
meaning as of the source text. So the translator is expected to maintain a linguistic equivalence
between the source and the target text. Doing so involves an understanding of grammar,
convention, idioms, etc in the social, political, economic and cultural context in which the text
is written.
Thus it can be concluded that a Linguistic approach to translation covers all forms of
translation. It is the right way to move forward towards better language translation.
Translation is a mental activity in which a meaning of given linguistic discourse is rendered
from one language to another. It is the act of transferring the linguistic entities from one
language in to their equivalents in to another language. Translation is an act through which the
content of a text is transferred from the source language in to the target language (Foster, 1958).
The language to be translated is called the source language (SL), whereas the language to be
translated into or arrived at is called the target language (TL). The translator needs to have
good knowledge of both the source and the target language, in addition to a high linguistic
sensitivity as he should transmit the writer's intention, original thoughts and opinions in the
translated version as precisely and faithfully as possible.

Due to its prominence, translation has been viewed differently. According to Ghazala (1995),
"translation is generally used to refer to all the process and methods used to convey the meaning
of the source language in to the target language" (P.1. Ghazala's definition focuses on the notion
of meaning as an essential element in translation. That is, when translating, understanding the
meaning of source text is vital to have the appropriate equivalent in the target text thus, it is
meaning that is translated in relation to grammar, style and sounds (Ghazala, 1995).

Translation is a process and a product. According to Catford (1995), translation is the

replacement of textual material in one language (SL) by equivalent textual material in another
language (TL) ", (p 20). This definition shows that translation is a process in the sense that is
an activity. Performed by people through time, when expressions are translated in to simpler
ones in the same language (Rewording and para-phrasing). It can be done also from one
language into another different language. Translation is, on the other hand, a product since it
provides us with other different cultures, to ancient societies and civilization life when the
translated texts reaches us (Yowell and Mutfah, 1999).

Transliteration:
Unlike a translation, which tells you the meaning of a word that's written in another language,
a transliteration only gives you an idea of how the word is pronounced, by putting it in a
familiar alphabet. It changes the letters from the word's original alphabet to similar-sounding
letters in a different one. In Hebrew, the Jewish winter holiday is ‫חנוכה‬. Its English
transliteration is Hanukkah or Chanukah.
Transliteration is not primarily concerned with representing the sounds of the original but rather
with representing the characters, ideally accurately and unambiguously. Thus, in the above
example, λλ is transliterated as 'll', but pronounced /l/; Δ is transliterated as 'D', but pronounced
/ð/; and η is transliterated as 'ē', though it is pronounced /i/ (exactly like ι) and is not long.
Transcription
Transcription in the linguistic sense is the systematic representation of language in written
form. The source can either be utterances or preexisting text in another writing system
Transcription should not be confused with translation, which means representing the meaning
of a source-language text in a target language (e.g. Los Angeles into City of Angels) or with
transliteration which means representing the spelling of a text from one script to another (e.g.
Jalapeño, which preserves the Ñ from Spanish despite the diacritic having no use in English).
In the academic discipline of linguistics, transcription is an essential part of the methodologies
of (among others) phonetics, conversation analysis, dialectology and sociolinguistics. It also
plays an important role for several subfields of speech technology. Common examples for
transcriptions outside academia are the proceedings of a court hearing such as a criminal trial
(by a court reporter) or a physician's recorded voice notes (medical transcription). This article
focuses on transcription in linguistics.
Transcription systems are sets of rules which define how spoken language is to be represented
in written symbols. Most phonetic transcription systems are based on the International Phonetic
Alphabet or, especially in speech technology, on its derivative SAMPA
Translation and Interpretation
Interpreting and translation are two closely related linguistic disciplines. Yet they are rarely
performed by the same people. The difference in skills, training, aptitude and even language
knowledge are so substantial that few people can do both successfully on a professional level.

On the surface, the difference between interpreting and translation is only the difference in the
medium: the interpreter translates orally, while a translator interprets written text. Both
interpreting and translation presuppose a certain love of language and deep knowledge of more
than one language.

The Skill Profile of Technical Translators

The differences in skills are arguably greater than their similarities. The key skills of the
translator are the ability to understand the source language and the culture of the country where
the text originated, then using a good library of dictionaries and reference materials, to render
that material clearly and accurately into the target language. In other words, while linguistic
and cultural skills are still critical, the most important mark of a good translator is the ability
to write well in the target language.

Even bilingual individuals can rarely express themselves in a given subject equally well in both
languages, and many excellent translators are not fully bilingual to begin with. Knowing this
limitation, a good translator will only translate documents into his or her native language. This
is why we at Language Scientific absolutely require our technical translators only translate into
their native language, in addition to their subject matter expertise.

An interpreter, on the other hand, must be able to translate in both directions on the spot,
without using dictionaries or other supplemental reference materials. Interpreters must have
extraordinary listening abilities, especially for simultaneous interpreting. Simultaneous
interpreters need to process and memorize the words that the source-language speaker is saying
now, while simultaneously outputting in the target language the translation of words the
speaker said 5-10 seconds ago. Interpreters must also posess excellent public speaking skills
and the intellectual capacity to instantly transform idioms, colloquialisms and other culturally-
specific references into analogous statements the target audience will understand.

Interpreter Qualifications
Interpreting, just like translation, is fundamentally the art of paraphrasing—the interpreter
listens to a speaker in one language, grasps the content of what is being said, and then
paraphrases his or her understanding of the meaning using the tools of the target language.
However, just as you can not explain a thought to someone if you did not fully understand that
thought, neither can you translate or interpret something without mastery of the subject matter
being relayed.
 It simply cannot be overstated: when choosing an interpreter, his or her expert knowledge
of the subject matter is equally as important as their interpreting experience

 Thorough knowledge of the general subject to be interpreted

 Intimate familiarity with both cultures
 Extensive vocabulary in both languages
 Ability to express thoughts clearly and concisely in both languages
 Excellent note-taking techniques for consecutive interpreting
 At least 2-3 years of booth experience for simultaneous interpreting
Linguistics and Translation
Linguist ics plays an important role in the translat ion of a document from one
language to another. Translat ing informat ion includes more than just changing
each word from the original language to another. One must also decode and
decipher all the facets and funct ions of the original language into the new
language. This is where the study and understanding of linguist ics comes into play
in translat ion
The study of linguist ics is essent ially the study of human language. It can be
broken down into several sub-categories.

 Grammar: the study of language structure and the system of rules it uses. It
includes several fields as follows.
 Morphology: the study of the format ion of words.
 Syntax: the study of t he format ion and composit ion of these words into phrase s
and sentences.
 Phonology: the study of sound systems. (Phonet ics is a related field concerned
with the properties, production, and percept ion of speech and non -speech sounds.)

Semant ics: the study of word meaning.

 Historical linguistics: the study of language evolut ion over time.

 Sociolinguistics: the study of how language is used in societ y.
 Psycholinguistics: the study of language is processed wit hin the mind.
 Neurolinguistics: the study of the actual encoding of language in the brain.
 Computational linguistics: the study of natural linguist ics by using the techniques
of computer science.
Accurate translat ion of one language to another requires addressing all the
funct ions of linguist ics. One must determine the grammar being used, the meaning
of the words as individual components, as well as the phrases and sentences they
create, how those phrases are placed in t ime and history, and so forth.
Each language differs in it s linguist ic funct ions but there are commonalit ies among
languages as well. An accurate translat ion must determine where the similarit ies
and differences lie. Relying on only one area, grammar for example, will not
produce an optimal translat ion. It may, in fact, be lacking in vital informat ion if
the other funct ions are not fully real ized.
A careful use of the tools provided by linguist ic study will improve the qualit y
and accuracy of a translated document.
Unit II
Source Language and Target Language in Translation:
In translation, the source language is the original language, and the target language is the
language the text is translated into. The “source” text is the text that needs translating, and the
“target” text the one in which the translation shall be delivered. It is a common understanding that
the target language should be the translator’s native language.
Linguistic Structure Related Languages and Unrelated Languages in Translation

Various Notions of Language Relatedness

● Genetic relation → Language Families
● Contact relation → Sprachbund (Linguistic Area)
● Linguistic typology → Linguistic Universal
● Orthography → Sharing a script
Language Families
● Group of languages related through descent from a common ancestor, called the proto-
language of that family
Sanskrit Greek Latin
Father pitah pater pater
foot pad pod ped
blood krura creas cruor
three trayah treis tres

Examples of Cognates
English Vedic Sanskrit Hindi Punjabi Gujarati Marathi Odia Bengali
bread rotika chapātī, roṭī roṭi paũ, roṭlā,chapāti, poli, bhākarī pauruṭi (pau-)ruṭi
fish matsya machhlī machhī māchhli māsa mācha machh
hunger bubuksha, kshudhā bhūkh pukh bhukh bhūkh bhoka khide
language bhāshā, vāNī bhāshā, zabān boli, zabān, pasha bhāshā bhāshā bhāsā bhasha
ten dasha das das, daha das dahā dasa dôsh

● Regularity of sound change is the basis of studying genetic relationships

Linguistic Area (Sparchbund)
● To the layperson, Dravidian & Indo-Aryan languages would seem closer to each other than
English & Indo-Aryan ● Linguistic Area: A group of languages (at least 3) that have common
structural features due to geographical proximity and language contact (Thomason 2000) ● Not
all features may be shared by all languages in the linguistic area
Consequences of language contact
● Borrowing of vocabulary
Sanskrit, Indo-Aryan words in Dravidian languages
○ Most classical languages borrow heavily from Sanskrit ○ Anecdotal wisdom: Malayalam has
the highest percentage of Sanskrit origin words, Tamil the lowest
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Examples Sanskrit word Dravidian Language
Loanword in Dravidian Language
English
cakram Tamil cakkaram wheel matsyah Telugu matsyalu fish ashvah Kannada ashva horse
jalam Malayalam jala.m water
Borrowing of Vocabulary (3)
●English words in Indian languages ● Indian language words in English ○ Through colonial
& modern exchanges as well as ancient trade relations
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Examples
● yoga ● guru ● mango ● sugar ● thug ● juggernaut ● cash

Orthography → Sharing a script

Writing Systems (Daniels & Bright, 1995)

● Logographic: symbols representing both sound and meaning ○ Chinese, Japanese Kanji ●
Abjads: independent letters for consonants, vowels optional ○ Arabic, Hebrew ●
Alphabet: letters representing both consonants and vowels ○ Roman, Cyrillic, Greek ●
Syllabic: symbols representing syllables ○ Korean Hangul, Japanese Hiragana & Katakana ●
Abugida: consonant-vowel sequence as a unit, with vowel as secondary notation ○ Indic
Scripts
Unit III

Types of Translation

Jakobson’s On Linguistic Aspects of Translation (1959, 2000) describes three kinds of

translation: intralingual (within one language, i.e. rewording or paraphrase), interlingual
(between two languages), and intersemiotic (between sign systems).
Meanwhile, Catford (1965:21-22) proposes 3 broad types or categories of translation in
terms of the extent, levels, and ranks.

1. Extent – full vs. partial translation. In a full translation, the entire text is submitted to
the translation process, that is very part of the ST is replaced by the TT material. In
a partial translation, some part or parts of the ST are left untranslated: they are simply
transferred to and incorporated in the TT (Catford, 1965: 21).
2. Level – Total vs. Restricted translation. This distinction relates to the levels of language
involved in translation. By totaltranslation we mean what is most usually meant by
‘translation’; that is, translation in which all levels of the ST are replaced by the TT
material. Strictly speaking, ‘total’ translation is a misleading term, since though
total replacement is involved it is not replacement by equivalents at all levels. Total
Translation may best defined as: replacement of ST grammar and lexis by equivalent TT
grammar and lexis with consequential replacement of SL phonology/graphology by (non-
equivalent) TT phonology/graphology. By restricted translation we mean: replacement of
ST material by equivalent TT material at only one level. That is translation performed only
at the phonological or at the graphological level, or at one of the two levels of grammar
and lexis (Catford, 1965: 22).
3. Ranks – Ranks of Translation. It relates to the rank in a grammatical (or phonological)
hierarchy at which translation equivalence is established (Catford, 1965: 24-25).
Larson (1998) explains that there are two main kinds of translations. One is form-based
which attempts to follow the form of the source language and are known as literal
translations. The other one is meaning-based translation which makes every effort to
communicate the meaning of the source language text in the natural forms of the receptor
language, also called idiomatic translation. Larson (1998) says ’it is not easy to
consistently translate idiomatically. A translator may express some parts of his
translation in very natural form and then in other parts fall back into a literal form.
Translations fall on a continuum from very literal, to literal, to modified literal, to near
idiomatic, and then may even move to be unduly free’ (Larson, 1998: 19).