AN OVERVIEW OF REFLECTION ON THE TERMS RELATED TO TRANSLATION To begin with a brief definition of translation, it can be stated that it is basically transferring the words included in one language to the other by making necessary changes and sticking to the source language taken from either the source text or source speech. With the help of rapid technology and the network among countries, the significance given to translation has become an indispensable part of wide range of business and communication purposes. The source determines whether it will be a job of translators or interpreters. It is important to refer each of them by explaining the differences between them at this point. In the first one, the source is a printed material …show more content…
To show an example to grasp the difference between the two of them, it is enough to claim that in its most basic sense, if the translator cannot find an equivalent for the target language, it is at word level. However, if it is above the word level, the job of the translator becomes tougher because she/he needs to deal with more complicated language elements such as collocations, idioms and fixed expressions as clearly stated by Baker. By referring to the Baker’s reasons for non-equivalence, culture-specific concepts should be counted as the first because it is very obscure that each language reflects its culture in its language and that’s why each language differs from one another. For example, a translator may not find an equivalence for the word ‘speed-dating’ just because it doesn’t exist in the target language. Lack of a superordinate word, specific term; differences in terms of form, expressive meaning and semantic complexity of the languages can be added as other cases where we come across with difficulties. In fact, the skills of the translator is needed at this very point to deal with each situation separately by using various strategies. Using a general word, translating by cultural substitution, paraphrasing and omitting the problematic lexical element can be included as the most common strategies. To refer back to what has been explained previously, the complexity of the translation is determined by such factors. Indeed, interpreters seem to come across with more difficulties since they need to think on the
Language and culture are problematic issues when it comes to international marketing. When a company enters the global markets it has to deal with many issues, which do not exist when it comes to the local market. Language is one of the problems and is always a challenge. Even though English is spoken around the world in most cases it cannot be used as a language for international campaign. Therefore the translation of the campaign into the foreign language is very important.
Throughout the semester I have learned an astounding amount of information. The English 101 curriculum has not only taught me how to write in general, but also taught me a variety of ways to get my point across to the reader. Before I took English 101 I was an average writer at best, but now that I am taking a class that focuses on writing strategies I feel that I have been able to improve as a writer. During the course we were taught how to write an informative essay as well as how to write a persuasive essay. The type of writing that this class has taught me will most definitely help me with future classes as well as my future in the real world. Throughout the English 101 course I have been able to improve as a writer by composing essays
"For the translator, who stands astride two cultures, possesses two different sensibilities, and assumes a double identity" —Husain Haddawy
Being bilingual is good enough to understand what others say and able to reply faster and fluently. However, it is not enough for qualifying a bilingual as an interpreter. The interpretation activity goes beyond linguistic level and requires several important elements need to be found in a bilingual. Interpreting requires faultless command of both the source and target source, a deep insight of the subject matter and mastery of the correct methodology needed to carry out the interpreting process(…the interpretive). Interpreters do not only need to speak English fluently, but also they have to understand the cultural back ground of that language which plays a role in comprehension process. Moreover, interpreters trained to work under pressure
This book mainly focus on the relationship between translation and culture. It addresses the shift of focus from translated block of text to the binding of translations and the cultures involved in generating these translations. It also covers the significance of translation for cultural planning.
In 1995, Gideon Toury published Descriptive Translation Studies and Beyond -- a book that reassessed the polysystem approach disliked by some scholars for its over-emphasis on the target system. Toury (1995) maintains that since a translation is designed primarily to fill a need in the target culture, it is logical to make the target system the object of study.
In order to overcome the language barrier and communication problem, the company should hire an interpreter who can smoothen the business run by aiding the negotiation process and provide understanding to the contract agreement for the
In human society, translation plays a significant role, which helps realize effective communication among people. Benjamin (as cited in Venuti, 2000) indicates translation is the mode, which plays a function of transmitting information; hence translatability determines whether the information could be effectively and appropriately delivered and is regarded as the “essential quality of certain works”. Throughout history, many scholars have developed translation theories, which provide various effective translation strategies and methods, to explore the translatability. Equivalence theory points out that all languages always share some similarities; hence the languages could be exchanged (Nida, as cited in Venuti, 2000). The skopos theory emphasizes
The procedure we are going to examine here is the equivalence in translation at word level, or, as we will see, the lack of equivalence. This procedure is possible when the translator in able find a SL textual item replacement in the TL, the closest possible to the original meaning and style. Many people could think that this is an easy task and that many languages can be translated by using this particular method; we will see how complicated it can be.
This view of translation and translation studies was dominant until the emergence of the so-called “cultural turn” in the 1980s. With the shift
The essential problem with translation is an obvious one. A word has more qualities than just its denotation. For one, a word has a sound, an attribute which has great importance in poetry (though we should not underestimate its significance in prose, as well). Also, a word consists of various connotations, meanings which only rarely cross over from language to language. Complicating matters is the nature of literature itself. Writers and poets put pressure on the language; they often choose words because of their rich variety of meanings, complicating rather than clarifying their subjects. Unfortunately, then, for the translator of literature, the currency of words is not as easy to exchange as the other kind of currency.
“Translating means comparing cultures” (Nord, 2001: 34). Culture involves almost everything in the world, whether material or spiritual. “Everything we observe as being different from our own culture is, for us, specific to the other culture” (ibid). Every action takes place in the context of a specific culture. Since everybody lives in a society, culture is succinctly defined as “the totality of beliefs and practices of a society” (Nida, 2001: 78). Translation is not done in vacuum but also conducted under cultural contexts.
Translator education is currently practiced around the world extensively and Iran is no exception. Through the last decade or so, the number of Iranian universities offering academic translation programs plus the number of the candidates entering such programs has been increasing. While in the mid-1980's just one university in Iran (Allameh Tabatabai University in Tehran) offered this program at B.A. level, now the number of Iranian universities offering just the English translation program at M.A. and B.A. level exceeds to 130. Over eight thousand translation students in Iranian academic centers are studying at different branches of State University, Islamic Azad University, Payame Noor University and Private Universities. Accompanied by such an extreme increase in quanti...
In fact, Arabic translator may face difficulties in translating the Holy Quran to the English language. The main problem that faces Muslim translators in translation Holy Quran is no equivalent of Islamic terms that lead them to use Communicative translation, For example, Zakah which means (alms giving - زكاة) and Taqwa (piety - تقوى) So the way of translating these terms into English language only gives the close meaning (Ali et al, 2012, p. 588). Additionally, translation of holy texts is difficult because sometimes the translators interpret superficially and biased of choosing the right equivalents (Khosravi, Pourmohammadi, 2016, p. 152). Hence, Amjed (2013, p.141) suggested that it is not enough to only read one translation of the Holy Quran if Arabic is not the first language, the greater the number of translation read the easier to find the essence of the original text. It could be difficult task to translate Islamic expression since it may have non- equivalent words in the English
One of the most important concepts in Translation Studies is equivalence put forward by Eugene Nida (1964). There are two types of equivalent relationship between the source and the target texts according to him, formal equivalence and dynamic equivalence. Formal equivalence focuses on reproducing the surface structure, i.e. form and content of the source message. On the other hand, dynamic equivalence emphasizes equivalent effect, which implies that translators should aim to produce a similar response in the target audience to that in the source audience. However, scholars have criticized the concept of equivalent effect for being too vague. Moreover, it is almost impossible to create equivalent effect for readers from a different culture. ()