TRANSLATION STUDIES
Dr. Rudi Hartono, S.S., M.Pd.
Translation Studies
1. Introduction to the theory
of translation
The nature of the translator’s
activity = creative activity
The translator faces a number of choices and decisions.
decisions are partly subjective, partly
objective (some of the translator’s subjective choices are based on objective factors)
“their ambition to explain translation
phenomena and create theories is closely related to the very nature of this activity, regulated, on the one hand, by certain objective rules, and permitting, on the other, a number of subjective choices”
The medium of the translator’s
activity = two languages
communicating in two Ls at the same time can never be as instinctive and
unconscious as communicating only in one in translation, even the most instinctive
translator develops ideas about the relationship between the two Ls, their similarities and differences, their
The object of the translator’s
activity = the text
Theories are related to the object of the
translator’s activity, i.e. the text, because every text (e.g., a piece of literature, a
scientific research article, an advertisement or an editorial), allows for several possible interpretations
the translator often has to defend his own
interpretation of the text against the
Is there continuity in the theory
of translation?
Practicing translators will often make
spontaneous contrastive linguistic observations
(”Hungarian prefers verbs as opposed to Indo-European languages which prefer nouns.”)
spontaneous text-linguistic observations (”The
sentences of Indo-European languages start with a longer introductory part than the corresponding Hungarian
sentences and have to be shortened in the Hungarian translation” or ”English, German, and Russian texts are more impersonal than Hungarian texts.”)
spontaneous stylistic observations (”English scientific texts are like small talk compared to German scientific text”), or
spontaneous sociolinguistic observations (”Russians like diminutive suffixes better than Hungarians.”)
The idea of an uninterrupted
and organic development of TS
must be rejected for 3 main
(1) Translation as a profession
Earlier: translation was mostly done for pleasure by writers, poets, statesmen, priests, and scholars to satisfy their
individual literary, political, and scientific ambitions.
Second half of the 20th century: translating became a mass activity (source of earning a living)
(2) Translation as a subject in
training
Second half of the 20th century: many translator and interpreter training
institutions established
theoretical training became necessary (practice was not enough) required certain generalizations on the basis of
experience gathered by translators the formulation of some objective rules
terminology and conceptual apparatus was needed need for theoretical
(3) Translation as an object of
research
Earlier: theorizing = privilege of
non-professional translators (writers, poets, statesmen, priests, scientists, etc.)
Second half of the 20th century: translation scholars (e.g., linguists) separated from
practicing translators
Today’s scholars: also interested in the
The main reason for the 3
changes:
= radical shift in the ratio of literary to
non-literary translation ( = rapid increase in the amount of non-literary translation: political speeches, international contracts, court records, business letters, recipes, price lists, etc.)
the separation of the science of
translation from theories of literature
Differences between the (traditional)
literary and the (new) linguistic
approach:
(1) Literary approach: studies the translation of works of art (i.e. works of outstanding writers, poets)
Linguist: interested in a wide variety of text types (e.g., technical and scientific texts,
advertisements, users’ manuals, as well as literary texts)
(2) Lit.: examines the work of outstanding translators Ling.: (also) interested in the everyday work of
great masses of translators and interpreters. (3) Lit.: focuses on individual, sometimes even
unusual, original and surprising solutions
Ling.: considers “mass” solutions worthy of inquiry too, trying to describe and explain all of the
Cont. lit./ling. approach:
(4) Lit.: concentrates on the product of translation Ling.: also explore the process of translation (what goes on in the mind of the translator)
(5) Lit.: normative (prescriptive) by nature what translation should be like, what translators
should do
Ling.: descriptive what the translation is like and what the translator does while
translating.
(6) Lit.: contains evaluation
Ling.: avoids evaluation and regards
Translation theory and
contrastive linguistics (CL)
birth of the former almost exactly coincided with that of the latter (CL language teaching)
CL developed research methods for the synchronic analysis of languages (vs. traditional comparative linguistics = historical (diachronic) comparison of Ls)
CL often worked (and still work) on translated
materials, because the effects of the two principal categories of contrastive linguistics, ”transfer”
(Jakobovits 1969, Selinker 1972), influencing the
process of FLL positively, and ”interference” (Juhász 1970), influencing it negatively, can easily be
detected in translations.
frequently applied method of CL: ”error analysis”
Differences between TS and CL
(1) CL: contrasts the systems of the two languages TS: comparison involves the realizations of the two linguistic systems, i.e. texts.
(2) CL: contrasts the total system of the two language TS: selective, only deals with phenomena that pose problems in translation.
(e.g., although the system of verb tenses in
English is different from Hungarian, since it does not cause problems in translation, it does not form part of the research on translation.)
(3) CL: compares elements in the two languages occurring on the same level of language (e.g., infinitives in German and Hungarian)
TS: does not necessarily focus on elements on the same level.
Cont. TS/CL
(4) CL: comparison may be bidirectional
TS: comparison is generally unidirectional,
comparing elements occupying different levels in the two languages.
(5) Due to the fact that in translational
comparison it is not abstract Lic systems but specific SL and TL texts that are contrasted, TS will have its own categories, many of
them unknown in CL, such as the concept of “realia”.
(6) CL: intends to provide relevant information for
teachers of FLs
Translation theory and
contrastive text linguistics (CTL)
studies in CTL:
based on texts that are not the translations of one another (independent texts in Ls A and B) translation theory
contrasts the realizations of two Lic systems
that depend upon each other (!) (T = render an idea formulated in language A in language B)
is interested in the extralinguistic elements of the situation of translation, too (e.g., role of
Translation theory as an
interdisciplinary field of study
explore the relationship between the two Ls, the SL and the TL contrastive linguistics
compare the two texts (SL+TL) text
linguistics (terminology: anaphors, cataphors, deixis, ellipsis, etc., developed for the study of coherence)
reveal the behavior and mental processes of people participating in the situation of
translation, especially those of translators and interpreters psycholinguistics
provide a precise description of the historical, cultural, and social circumstances of the
Translation theory as applied
linguistics
Applied
sciences
social
usefulness and interdisciplinary
nature (Szépe, 1986)
TS =
interdisciplinary
field
applies the results, terminology,
research methods, etc. of various
disciplines to investigate the
TS =
useful
science
its results
may be applied widely:
in designing curricula for translator and interpreter training institutions,
developing materials for interpretation and translation,
in devising criteria for the assessment of translations,
in unifying the documentation of multinational companies,
in forming the professional profile of translators and interpreters, in designing market strategies
for translator and interpreter agencies, in calculating prices for translation and interpretation,
The definition of translation
theory/translation studies
is a sub-discipline of
applied
linguistics
studies the
processes, products,
and functions
of translation,
taking into account all of the
linguistic and extra-linguistic
The
linguistic components
of
the situation of translation are:
the source language,
the target language,
The
extra-linguistic components
of the situation of translation are:
the source language sender,
the target language receiver,
the translator (who, in one person,
combines the function of SL receiver
and TL sender), and
the historical, geographical, social,
Kinds/types
of translation
(including “interpretation studies”):
1. written translation of a written text
2. oral translation of a written text (sight translation)
3. oral translation of a spoken text (interpretation)
(a) simultaneous translation of a spoken text (simultaneous interpretation)
(b) consecutive translation of a spoken text (consecutive interpretation)
Factors influencing
translators’s decisions:
not primary (monolingual)
communication
=
secondary communication
influencing factors are duplicated
is also influenced by the
interrelations
between these factors
Level Primary
comm.in L1 Primary comm.in L2 Secondary comm.in L2 Lic
compet. system of L1 system of L2 systems of L1 and L2 Lic
perform. use of L1 system use of L2 system usage in L1 and L2 ExtraLic
reality context of L1 context of L2 contexts of L1, L2
relations betw. systems of L1 and L2
e.g., missing gr.-cal categories
relations betw. usage in L1 and L2
e.g., D structuring
relation betw. contexts of L1 and L2
e.g., political systems, power relations
Relation betw.
translational use in L1-L2
Translation Studies
(Baker, 1998) – synonyms:
“science of translation” (Nida, Wilss)
“translatology” (Goffin)
“translation studies” (James Holmes,
1972:
The Name and Nature of
TS
(Baker, 1998, p.277)
“the academic discipline concerned with
the study of translation at large,
including literary and non-literary
translation, various forms of oral
interpreting, as well as dubbing and
subtitling”;
covers the whole spectrum of “research
and pedagogical activities, from
developing theoretical frameworks to
conducting individual case studies to
engaging in practical matters such as
training translators and developing
