A Textbook of Translation PDF

A textbook of translation
Theoretical and practical implications

A Textbook of Translation
Theoretical and Practical Implications
Said M. Shiyab
Said M. Shiyab
A Textbook of Translation
Theoretical and Practical Implications
Antwerp Apeldoorn
Garant
2006
192 p. 24 cm
D/2006/5779/62
ISBN 90-441-1996-6
ISBN 978-90-441-1996-1
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Cover Design: Koloriet/Danni Elskens

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Said M. Shiyab & Garant Publishers
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Table of Contents
Foreword 9
Preface 13
Acknowledgement 17
Dedication 19
CHAPTER 1: Introduction
Perspectives on Translation 21
1.1 Definition of Translation 21

1.2 Translation: Past and Present 22
1.3 What is a Translator? 26
1.4 Methods of Translation 27
1.4.1 Word for Word Translation 28
1.4.2 Literal Translation 28
1.4.3 Free Translation 28
1.5 Translation: Art or Science? 29
1.6 Why Do We Need Translation? 30
1.7 Test Your Knowledge of Chapter (1) 31
1.8 Text-Comprehension and Translation 31
Importance of Translation and Interpretation 32
CHAPTER 2
Fallacies of Translation 35
2.1 Introduction 35
2.2 Misconceptions about Translation 35
2.3 Students and Teachers Perceptions 37
2.4 Other Perceptions 38

A Texbook of Translation
2.5 Ethics and Rules in Translation 39

2.7 Multiple Choice Questions about Chapter (2) 40
CHAPTER 3
Some Relevant Terms in Translation 43
3.1 Introduction 43
3.2 Linguistic and Translation Terms 43
CHAPTER 4
Translation Theory and Practice 55
4.1 Introduction 55
4.2 Translation Theory 56
4.3 Unit of Translation 57
4.4 Effect of Translation Theory 58
4.5 How to Assess Translation 60
4.6 Effective and Successful Translation 61
CHAPTER 5
Text and Context in Translation 63
5.1 Introduction 63
5.2 Text-Types and Text-Functions 66
5.3 Discourse, Text-Types and Translation 67
5.4 Text-Type Categorization 68
5.5 Translation and Factors of Success 75
5.5.1 Pragmatics 75
5.5.2 Semiotics 75
5.5.3 Communicative Context 76
CHAPTER 6
Translation: State of the Art 79
6.1 Introduction 79
6.2 Translation and Meaning 79

Table of Contents
6.3 Translation and Culture 82

6.4 Translators Perception 85
6.5 Translating vs. Writing 88
6.6 Translating is Personal 89
6.8 Analysis and Translation of Texts 90
CHAPTER 7
Punctuation and Translation 93
7.1 Introduction 93
7.2 What is Punctuation? 93
7.3 Importance of Punctuation 94
7.4 Punctuation in Arabic 97
7.4.1 The semicolon (;) 98
7.4.2 Colon (:) 99
7.5 Test your Knowledge of Chapter (7) 102
CHAPTER 8
Translation and Literature 105
8.1 Introduction 105

8.2 Characteristics of Texts 106
8.2.1 Expressive 106
8.2.2 Denotative 106
8.2.3 Formal vs. Functional Characteristics 107
8.3 Nature of Literary Translation 107
8.4 Writer-Translator Relationship 108
8.5 Linguistic Context and Literary Translation 109
CHAPTER 9
Translation and Language Teaching 115

9.2 Translation and Language Teaching 115
9.3 Strategies in Foreign Language Learning 117

CHAPTER 10
Translation and Pragmatics of Discourse 121

10.2 Intercultural and Interpersonal Communication 121
10.3 Culture and Communication 123
10.4 Grices Maxims 124
10.5 Assessment 126
10.6 Pragmatic Variables and Interpreting 127
10.7 Test your Knowledge of Chapter (10) 129
CHAPTER 11
Translation and Scientific Texts 131

11.2 Global Language and Science 131
11.3 Language of Science vs. Language of Literature 135
11.5 Analysis and Translation of Sentences and Texts 137
11.6 Finding Equivalent Terms in the Target Language 140
CHAPTER 12
Translation and Legal Texts 155

12.2 Legal Language vs. Legal Translation 155
12.3 Characteristics of Legal Texts 157
12.4 Problems in Translating Legal Texts 158
12.5 Strategies for Translating Legal Texts 158
12.7 Finding Target Language Equivalents 160
Bibliography 183

Foreword
Peter Newmark, in his well-known book A Textbook of Translation (New York: Prentice
Hall International, 1988), states unequivocally that a translator has to have a flair and a
feel for his own language. He goes on: There is nothing mystical about this sixth sense,
but it is compounded of intelligence, sensitivity and intuition, as well as of knowledge
(1988: 4). Professor Said M. Shiyab not only has this sixth sense for his native language,
Arabic, but he has also developed it for todays number one international language, Eng-
lish. Shiyab is a specialist in linguistics and translation theory and application with vast
teaching and research experience in the Middle East and the USA. With an outstanding
flair and feel for both Arabic and English, he is the ideal author for this superb pedagogi-
cal work. Students as well as their instructors can look forward to many delightful hours
of intellectual stimulation exploring the thought-provoking ideas in the textbook which
follows. Translators and interpreters perform a very valuable service in every country in
the world today. In fact, the 2005 acclaimed movie The Interpreter, starring Nicole Kid-
man and Sean Penn, the first venture filmed at the United Nations headquarters in New
York City, demonstrates the glamor, the splendor, and the crucial importance of transla-
tion work in todays increasingly interconnected global marketplace.
Translators have been around, however, long before the United Nations, practicing both
an art and a science (here the author and I are in agreement that translation is both an art
and a science). Witness the multilingual scribes of the ancient Near East who produced
monuments such as the Rosetta Stone (a trilingual inscription long housed in the British
Museum in London) and numerous other texts of various sorts.
The student will find this textbook to be both lucid and enjoyable. The author has pre-
pared a unique book for the next generation of translators, and if students carefully study
its pages, they will come away with a fine appreciation of this academic, scholarly, and

practical field where many of todays linguists are earning their living by oral and/or writ-
ten translation-interpretation endeavors. Professor Shiyab notes in his preface to the tome
that he has been involved in this exciting area of intellectual inquiry since 1980. Chomsky
was challenging for him, or as he writes, provoked me at the beginning, yet somehow
lacked the fascination he would soon develop for systemic linguistics and discourse anal-
ysis. Indeed the author has succeeded in amalgamating the two aforementioned fields
of systemic linguistics and discourse analysis with the theoretical and applied aspects of
translation studies. His 23 years of teaching experience, vast reading in the field and al-
lied areas, and personal research efforts resulting in numerous publications all combine
to engage the student to channel him or her into a stimulating journey into a wonderful
specialization within the area of general and applied linguistics. The book, conveniently
organized into a dozen chapters, is a thorough and comprehensive survey of a vibrant and
exciting discipline with a rich bibliographical tradition (see the exhaustive bibliography
at the end of the volume).
Chapter 1, Introduction: Perspectives on Translation, looks at the history of the dis-

cipline from the point of view of leading 20th-century linguists, such as Roman Jakobson
and John Rupert Firth. I certainly agree with Shiyab when he asserts: ... translating any
text from one language into another yields a particular kind of ambiguity which cannot
be clarified unless the intentions of the text-producer within his/her own social, cultural,
denotative, connotative, and rhetorical contexts have been accounted for (p. 22).
Chapter 2, Fallacies of Translation, stresses that one course in translation cannot and
will not make the student a good translator (p. 32). Shiyab paints a very vivid picture
that translation is an intricate process and he is certainly speaking for the profession itself
when he affirms that translation entail[s] artistic strategies and scientific methods and
processes (p. 34). There is much food for thought to engage even the least curious of stu-
dents into a real dialogue involving provocative essay and multiple-choice questions that
force the students to come to grips with the most pertinent and significant issues.
Chapter 3, Some Relevant Terms in Translation, presents the necessary tools of the
trade the relevant terminology of important concepts, among which are: back transla-
tion, borrowing and loanwords (Arabic kumbyuutar < English computer), calques (loan
translations) such as haatif telephone, idiomaticity, and so on. Every scientific field has
its jargon, so to speak, and translation studies are no exception.
Chapter 4, Translation Theory and Practice, convincingly argues that translation work
combines both theory and practice. A translator can thus be compared in many ways to
a surgeon. Just as the M.D. studies human anatomy and the causes of diseases for many
years, only then learning how to use a scalpel and cut into organs and tissues to assist in
10
Foreword
the eventual healing of the patient, so too the translator studies semantics and stylistics,
e.g., before becoming a professional practitioner. Moreover, experience counts for a lot
in both spheres. If having cataract surgery, a surgeon with 10,000 successful operations is
preferable to the novice surgeon just beginning a surgical career! So true for a translator
as well! In other words, one gains experience on the job itself.
Chapter 5, Text and Context in Translation, is a tribute to teaching total communica-

tive competence over mere linguistic competence. Shiyab is right to argue that transla-
tion is to be based on the interpretation of the contextual variables such as pragmatics,
semiotics and the communicative contexts (p. 59). In this regard, it should be empha-
sized that language is the symbolic system par excellence, which justifies considering
linguistics as a part of semiotics in general.
Chapter 6, Translation: State of the Art, makes the all-important point that translation
involve[s] conveying what is implied and not what is said (p. 76). Using a Shakespear-
ean example (Hamlet), Shiyab contrasts the implications of four published translations of
the English word scholar: (1) faqiih, (2) faSHii 9aalim; (3) rajul muthaqqaf wa faSiiH; and
(4) rajul muta9allim (p. 81). These real-life examples will stimulate productive student
discussion yielding a real understanding of many tangential cultural issues.
Chapter 7, Punctuation and Translation, examines the uses of the colon and semico-
lon, specifically, and other punctuation marks, such as the comma, in both English and
Arabic. The author is correct to emphasize that the entire system of Arabic punctuation
does not have well-established, universal rules in use throughout the Arab world today.
Therefore, he rightly maintains, much work needs to be done in order to identify what
is considered to be the sentence in Arabic if one wants to establish a coherent system of
punctuation (p. 97).
Chapter 8, Translation and Literature, is geared to be of service to the more advanced

student who already has a solid command of translating newspaper and magazine arti-
cles. Translating literary works, such as Shakespeare or Naguib Mahfouz (the Nobel Prize
winner for literature in 1988), but especially poetry, drama, and religious works (e.g. the
Bible, the Koran, etc.), is the most difficult and sophisticated material for a translator. A
prose vs. a verse translation of an Arabic poem shows the beauty of the latter over the
former (p. 107).
Chapter 9, Translations and Language Teaching, presents some good arguments that
translation can provide a solid foundation for teaching foreign language structures as, e.g.
collocational nominals in the two languages. For instance, the expression fish and chips
11
collocates in English but not in Arabic, whereas xubz wa milH bread and salt collocates
in Arabic but not in English.
Chapter 10, Translation and Pragmatics of Discourse, looks at the crucial matter of
pragmatic variables in an intercultural and interpersonal context (p. 117). Here Shiyab
introduces the importance of H. P. Grices pragmatic Maxims, which were made famous
in a series of William James Lectures at Harvard University in 1967.
Finally, Chapters 11 and 12, Translation and Scientific Texts and Translation and
Legal Translation, give marvelous examples in the arenas of translating scientific and
legal texts two of the most difficult foci. Many recent texts provide valuable training
to achieve practice to attain competence and fluency; e.g., xabiith malignant; cancerous
and mujrim or mudhnib criminal (depending on the context). Indeed the differences be-
tween Islamic Law (sharii9ah) and western (e.g. American) law are excellent pieces of evi-
dence one may use to demonstrate the interrelationships between language and culture.
Professor Shiyabs translation textbook is an up-to-date and well-organized presentation

of all the important linguistic, pragmatic, and cultural ramifications necessary for success
as a working translator and/or interpreter. But keep in mind that as with all textbooks,
student progress is often measurable by the amount of concentrated, focused study of the
contents, which can be satisfying and enjoyable.
Alan S. Kaye
California State University, Fullerton (USA)
May 2006

12
Preface
I started my journey with translation in 1980 after which I started to look at language in
a somewhat unique way. How do languages express various messages and what effect do
such messages have on the audience? Every time I heard a politician talking, I got tuned
to his/her tone, winks, gestures in an attempt to understand the many different implica-
tions behind such acts. It was those moments that enabled me to look further into how
languages work. Indeed, languages always fascinated me since they represent human be-
ings, their culture and traditions. Language is an important means of communication
where communication at times and under certain circumstances does not take place in
a verbal form. It was then that I realized that studying languages across cultures can be a
rewarding experience.
Languages, in the real sense of the word, manifest real people. Behind each piece of lan-
guage, there is a vehicle of thought. Only those, I thought at that moment, who scrutinize
or look deeply into language codes and symbols can understand the real meanings be-
hind the uses of language. I have to admit that Chomskys syntactic structures provoked
me at the beginning, but not to the extent where I see language in everyday work. Then I
moved into systemic linguistics and discourse analysis, and there I started to see where I
belong. What a fascination!
The fascination of translation studies prompted me to look further into languages across
cultures. I found that translation is not only a matter of decoding and re-encoding mes-
sages. In fact, it is the transmission of one culture into another. It is an approximation
between two different people.
In this book, I define many different theoretical and practical aspects of translation. My
attempt is to enable translation students and translation teachers understand the real
13
core of what translation is all about, minding the reader that a lot has been written about
translation, and unfortunately such writings created more confusion about this impor-
tant profession. With this modest work, I hope readers would discover what is transla-
tion, what are the different types of translation, what is translation theory and what is
its effect, translation in its linguistic and cultural contexts, and above all translation and
its literary forms. This book not only explains and discusses all these aspects, but also
presents real and live examples from everyday writings.
Furthermore, I always thought that once I finish my teaching career, I will start writing
books on translation. However, after 23 years of teaching linguistics and translation, I
started to see many forgotten areas that are not accounted for. Therefore, this book ex-
plains many of these areas.
In this book, I have included 12 chapters. Chapter one defines translation, provides read-
ers with a background on the past and present history of translation. It also provides
them with methods of translation, and explains whether translation is a science or an
art. In chapter two, I tried to clarify some fallacies about translation whether they are
student-teacher fallacies or communal fallacies. In order to familiarize the reader with
translation, chapter three defines the most important concepts in translation. Some of
these concepts may have to do with linguistics as well. In chapter four, I attempt to answer
the dilemma whether translation is a theory or practice, followed by chapter five where I
discuss the importance of context in translation.
Translation as the state of the art is the main focus of chapter six*. This chapter discusses
different concepts that are interrelated to translation. These are translation and mean-
ing, translation and culture, perception and translators, and translation. This chapter also
compares between translating and writing. Chapter seven explains the importance of
using punctuation marks in translation. Although this chapter makes reference to the
Arabic punctuation marks, most of the issues discussed in this chapter can be applied to
other languages as well. Chapter eight discusses one of the important areas in translation
and that is the translation of literature. The characteristics of literary texts, their nature,
writer-translator relationship, and linguistic context and literary translation are all de-
fined in this chapter.
As for chapter nine*, it demonstrates how translation can help learners to enhance their
second language. It introduces strategies for learning a foreign language, and the prob-
lems associated with it. Chapter ten examines the pragmatic variables in translation, and
shows how such variables can give rise to intercultural and interpersonal communica-
tion. Grices maxims and how they are relevant to successful communication are also
discussed. In chapter eleven, the process of translating scientific texts is introduced. Since
14
Preface
not many textbooks have included material on scientific translation, this chapter provides
the missing link. Therefore, English as a global language and its relation to science was
discussed. Also, a distinction was made between the language of science and the language
of literature. This is followed by a list of scientific terms where students were asked to find
their equivalents in the target language.
Last but not least, chapter twelve examines the link between language and law. It high-
lights the characteristics of legal texts, and how the construction of language can affect
the interpretation of law. The chapter also defines the characteristics of legal texts and the
problems associated with their translation. One of the important sections in this chapter
is the discussion of the problems of translating legal texts. This is, of course, followed by
a list of legal terms that are commonly used in legal texts.
All in all, the twelve chapters are all important in teaching any translation course, simply
because they deal with both theoretical and practical aspects of translation. These chap-
ters can also be used to teach any course introducing students to the field of translation.
One other distinguished aspect of this textbook is that at the end of each chapter, there
is a set of questions, testing the students knowledge of the chapter. In addition, some
relevant texts are provided for students to translate into the target language. This is some-
thing that is hardly ever found in textbooks on translation.
* Some of topics discussed in chapters six and nine were taken from two co-authored articles with
Khanji, Lateef and Shiyab (2001).
15
Acknowledgement
In addition to those who helped this textbook along its way, I would like to thank my col-
leagues Professor Alan Kaye, University of California Fullerton, Professor Ben Bannani,
and Dr. Michel Lynch, UAE University for their valuable input and observations. I also
would like to thank the Scientific Research Office at the United Arab Emirates University
and the Office of Rare Diseases in Bethesda, Maryland (USA) for providing me with in-
formation used in this book.
Grateful acknowledgment is also made to my family, particularly my wife, Tammy, who

constantly supported me throughout my work. Without their insight and encourage-
ment, this textbook would never have seen the light.
17
Dedication
This book is dedicated to all those who have contributed to its production,
especially those who happen to read it, review it and write about it.
19
CHAPTER 1: Introduction
Perspectives on Translation
1.1 Definition of Translation
In this introduction, I will attempt to provide various perspectives on the term transla-
tion. What do we mean exactly by translation and how is it understood by linguists as
well as translation professionals? First, let there be no doubt that translation is not a new
act performed between two languages. It is as old as the history of our universe. The ques-
tion that always arises is what is translation? To answer this question, numerous and
various definitions come to the surface.
Looking at translation from a semiotic perspective, Toury (1980: 12) believes that transla-
tion, in particular translation of literature, is a matter of transferring entities, underlying
codes, and sets of relationships and signs from one language to another. Translation is
the process of communication in which the translator is interposed between a transmit-
ter and a receiver who use different languages to carry out code of conversation between
them (Tanke 1975). This latter definition may seem applicable to almost all types of trans-
lation, simply because no attempt was made to identify the framework into which literary
translation is used. In a different article, Tanke (1976: 22) provides a more complete defi-
nition of translation. He suggests that translation be viewed as the transfer of a text from a
source language into a text in the target language, the objective being a perfect (my italics)
equivalent of meaning between the two texts. However, this definition lacks clarification
as to what constitutes perfect equivalent of meaning.
Others define translation as that which preserves the meaning of the original in another
language (Ross 1981: 9). Translation is always an interpretation (Bennani 1981: 135); it
is the final product of problem solving and sign production of a receptor (Diaz-Diocretz
1985: 8). Translation is the reproduction in the receptor language of the closest natural
21
equivalent of the source language message, first in terms of meaning, and second in terms
of style (Nida & Taber 1969: 210). Newmark (1988: 5) defines translation as rendering the
meaning of a text into another language in the way that the author intended the text.
From a linguistic point of view, De Beaugrande (1978: 13) suggests several hypotheses to
work with when it comes to the theory of poetic translating. De Beaugrande believes that
translating should not be studied as a comparison and contrast of two texts, but as a process
of interaction between author, translator, and reader of the translation. The act of translat-
ing is guided by several sets of strategies responsive to the directives within the text.
Whatever definitions we come across, almost all of them can be subsumed under two
definitions. The first definition is the replacement of one written text from one language
to another in which the main goal of the translator is meaning. The second is the transfer-
ence of a message communicated from one text into a message communicated in another,
with a high degree of attaining equivalence of context of the message, components of the
original text, and the semiotic elements of the text (i.e. social, connotative, addresser-ad-
dressee relationship, etc.).
As for literary translation, it lies within these two definitions of translation. Sometimes
it may even go beyond these two extremes, as the characteristics and the norms of liter-
ary translation are of different nature. Literary translation is mainly concerned with text
functions manifested in the texts characteristics (Shiyab 1994: 234-235).
1.2 Translation: Past and Present
Despite the large amount of literature that has been produced on the process as well as the
theory of translation, it can be said that translation is still viewed as a mysterious phenom-
enon that defies understanding (Bell 1991). There is, of course, a considerable variation
as far as speculating on this process; this variation has made a small, but useful, contribu-
tion to the attempt of identifying the theoretical frameworks for doing such translation.
In some respect, there is very little consensus among linguists, translation theorists, and
translation practitioners regarding the principles, rules, and methods of translating. The
best indication of such disparity of views is the fact that translation has many definitions.
This reflects the fact that it involves many DIFFERENT strategies. Translation has been
defined in many different ways. However, for the sake of clarity, these definitions, roughly
speaking, will be classified into meaning-based definitions such as Nida & Taber (1969),
Nida (1964), Rabin (1958), Newmark (1981, 1988), and semiotic-based definitions such
as Jakobson (1959), Steiner (1975), Frawley (1984), etc. Meaning-based definitions are
those which take meaning as the base for interpreting and then convey the meaning of
22
Introduction
the original text into that of the target. Here, meaning necessitates reference to linguistic
characteristics such as lexical, grammatical, phonological, etc; it also necessitates refer-
ences to non-linguistic characteristics such as thought, situation, knowledge, intentions,
and use. Semiotic-based definitions, on the other hand, are those definitions which take
translation as the study of signs, symbols, codes, etc. Within this semiotic approach, the
cultural, social, rhetorical, and communicative patterns of human behaviors are studied.
Also all aspects of human communication are analyzed as systems of signals; they are
the means which semioticians use for the interpretation and analysis of texts. The inter-
relation of these definitions is illustrated in the following table. The letter (M) stands for
meaning based definitions, (S) stands for semiotic based definitions, and (S or M) stands
for either one.
Nida & Taber Translation is the reproduction in the receptor language of the
(1969: 210) closest natural equivalent of the source language message, first in
terms of meaning, and second in terms of style. (M)
Steiner Translation is the interpretation of verbal signs in one language

(1975: 414) by means of verbal signs in another. (S)
Rabin Translation is a process by which a spoken or written utterance

(1958: 123) taken place in one language which is intended and presumed to
convey the same meaning as previously existing utterance in an-
other language. It thus involves two distinct factors, a meaning,
or reference to some slice of reality. (M)
Catford Translation is the replacement of textual material in one lan-

(1965: 20) guage (SL) by equivalent textual material in another (TL). (M)
Savory Translation, the surmounting of the obstacle, is made possible

(1957: 11) by an equivalence of thought which lies behind the different ver-
bal expressions of thought. (M)
Jakobson Inter-lingual translation or rewording is an interpretation of

(1959: 233) verbal signs by means of other signs of the same language.
Inter-lingual translation or translation proper is an interpreta-

tion of verbal signs by means of some other language.
Inter-semiotic translation or transmutation is an interpretation

of verbal signs by means of signs of nonverbal sign systems. (S)
Frawley Translation means re-codification. (S)

(1984: 159)
Firth The basis for any total translation must be found in the linguistic
(1968: 76) analysis at the grammatical, lexical, collocational, and situational
levels. (M)
De Beaugrande Translation should not be studied as a comparing and contrast-

(1978: 13) ing of two texts, but as a process of interaction between author,
translator, and the reader of the translation. (S or M)
Tytler Translation should give a complete transcript of the ideas of the

(1979: 9) original work.
The style and manner of writing should be the same character

with that of the original.
Translation should have all the ease of the original. (M)
Newmark Translation is rendering the meaning of a text into another lan-

(1988: 5) guage in the way that the author intended the text. (M)
Ross The most natural view is that translation preserves the mean-
(1981: 9) ing of the original in another language or form. Translation
is not a restatement, where differences are minimized, but
highlights certain equivalence in the context of important dis-
similarities. (M)
Diaz-Diocaretz Translation will be understood as the final product of problem-

(1985: 9) solving and sign production of a receptor-text (RT) functionally
equivalent to a source text (ST), by a human being in a given
language for a given group of text receivers. (S)
Table (1) Interrelation Definitions of Translation
In fact, there are many other definitions and principles that give more or less the same
information, and a full account of these definitions as well as their shortcomings is be-
24
Introduction
yond the scope of this book. However, the existence of these various definitions suggests
that translation is far from having a generally accepted theoretical framework. What is
also clear is that different translation theorists have concentrated on different types and
strategies of translation. For example, there are strategies or theories that are mainly con-
cerned with translation in a literal sense (Vachon-Spilka 1968). These theories demand
word-for-word translation. Other theories, on the other hand, are mainly concerned with
the reproduction of equivalent lexical items of the original text (Nida 1964; Nida & Taber
1969). Different attempts have been made to look at translation from a pragmatic and
semiotic view in which the essence of translation is treated as an interaction between
text-producer and the message along with social and cultural contexts in which a particu-
lar piece of language is used (Jakobson 1959; De Beaugrande 1978; Mason 1982; Wilss
1982: 135; and Hatim 1987). What is meant by pragmatics here is the study of purpose
for which the texts are used; it is the intentionality behind all the choices made (Newmark
1988). This includes the text-producers intentions and the intended function of the text.
As for semiotics, it is the interaction of various elements in the text as signs; it includes the
social, cultural and psychological reality of a particular community. In this component,
the social, cultural, and anthropological characteristics of a text are brought together to
assess its meaning. The interaction of these signs with one another creates the semiotic
meaning of a text.
Although these context specifications illuminate the intentions of the text-producer and
shed some light on the semiotic contexts in which the text is used, there is still some kind
of uncertainty as to what constitutes these particular contexts. That is, it is very hard to
always make accurate and complete predictions about the intentions of the text-producer.
Even Halliday (1985: 345) seems skeptical of the possibility of studying the HOW and the
WHY choices made by the text-producer. Also, it could be argued that there are some
choices that are easily decoded by the writer and can therefore be more easily interpreted
than others. All that we do is in fact speculate/ make predictions on his communicative
intent through the structure of the text. These contexts do in fact facilitate translation
but do not make it adequate in all respects, because understanding the pragmatic and
semiotic meaning of a text is not an easy task, since this involves more than changing the
words of the original into that of the target.
While the translator tends to ignore the function and style in a word-for-word transla-
tion, in a sense translation (i.e. one in which the translator relies on how the text feels
by using his own senses), there is an imitation of the source text in terms of its function,
style, semiotic and pragmatic values. By the same token, there is a tendency to stress on
the aesthetic criteria of the target text.
25
The above discussion is only brief. However, most writers on translation emphasize the
importance of language within its own cultural context, as the meaning of words or lexi-
cal items is rooted in their text-producers intentionality and within his own culture. Lado
(1957) argues that learning the structure of a language involves learning its culture. One
cannot really understand a foreign language without taking into account the culture of
which it is a part. This is why translating any text from one language into another yields
a particular kind of ambiguity which cannot be clarified unless the intentions of the text-
producer within his/her own social, cultural, denotative, connotative, and rhetorical con-
texts have been accounted for.
1.3 What is a Translator?
Many definitions have been proposed to illustrate the role and the function of a transla-
tor. While the majority of linguists and translation theorists define a translator as the one
who transfers the meaning and the form of a text from one language to another, others
look at the translator in a broader context. Adams and Thelen (1999), in The Journal of
American History, beautifully argue that at a time when people and their cultures and
ideas travel across the world, translation becomes the only possible way to interact. They
argue that being a translator is not easy, simply because it involves making crucial choices
on how to transfer the text across the barriers behind which cultures have developed
characteristics and linguistic ways of seeing and thinking things in other cultures. Adams
and Thelen state that all throughout history, people can see the creativity of individual
translators pushing their texts through filters of culture and language.
Delisle and Woodsworth (1996), in Translators through History, highlight the importance
of a translator by saying that the ancient Greek word for translator-interpreter is her-
mneus, related to Hermes, the messenger of the gods, the god that presided over travel,
trade,and communications. The verb hermneuo means to interpret foreign tongues,
translate, explain, expound, put into words, express, describe, write about. The many fur-
ther meanings of the Greek word for translator-interpreter (mediator, go-between, deal-
broker, marriage-broker) suggest that interpreters almost certainly had to exist during
prehistory the period before writing was even invented. For more information, see
Delisle and Woodsworth (1996).
In ancient times, Delisle and Woodsworth (1996) suggest that ideas used to be prima-
rily transformed into other civilizations and cultures through travelers and tradesmen.
Slowly but surely, translation became a key factor in the growth and expansion of other
world civilizations and cultures. One may point out the role translation played in trans-
ferring knowledge from Ancient Greece to Persia, from India to the Arab world, above
26
Introduction
all from Islam to Christianity and from Europe to China and Japan. In a nutshell, Delisle
and Woodsworth (1996: 68) argue that:
Translators have invented alphabets, helped build languages and written dic-
tionaries. They have contributed to the emergence of national literatures, the
dissemination of knowledge and the spread of religions. Importers of for-
eign cultural values and key players at some of the great moments of history,
translators and interpreters have played a determining role in the develop-
ment of their societies and have been fundamental to the unfolding of intel-
lectual history itself.
Along the same line, Robinson (2003: 162) makes a distinction between a novice and a
translator. He states that the key term is experience. According to Robinson, a translator
has experience, whereas a novice does not. Also, a translator talks, acts, and writes like
a translator, a novice does not. A translator has certain professional assumptions about
how language works and how translation is done, but a novice does not have any of these
qualities. All these characteristics can clearly make the difference between a professional
translator and a mediocre one.
There are many instances in which translation played an important role in introducing
one civilization to another. For example, translation helped introduce the Buddhist litera-
ture from different Indian languages into Chinese. Another example is the introduction of
Greek philosophical works into Arabic, and in so doing it introduces them to the Islamic
world. It is this constant exposition of ideas and values that made translation a key element
in the development of cultures and societies. Robinson (2003: 35) eloquently elaborates on
the fundamental assumptions underlying his approach to translation by saying:
1. Translation is more about people not words.

2. Translation is more about the jobs people do and the way they see the world.
3. Translation is more about the creative imagination than about rule-governed
text-analysis.
4. The translator is more like an actor or a musician (a performer) than a tape
recorder.
5. The translator, even of highly technical texts, is more like a poet or a novelist
than a machine translating system.
1.4 Methods of Translation
Many different methods of translating a text have been proposed. In his book entitled A
Textbook of Translation, Newmark (1988) highlights the different methods of translating
27
texts: word-for-word-translation, literal translation, faithful translation, semantic transla-

tion, communicative translation, idiomatic translation, free translation, and translation as
adaptation. While Newmarks classification of translation methods is undoubtedly helpful,
his categorization of the types of translation methods is a bit confusing. In other words,
which of his methods have no bearing on meaning? In fact all of them, otherwise the trans-
lation becomes incomplete or unacceptable. What is the difference between semantic trans-
lation and free translation, if the ultimate goal of the translator is to capture meanings at dif-
ferent levels? Also, in reality, how is faithful translation different from semantic translation?
Because of such overlapping, I believe Newmarks classification of translation methods is
a bit over exaggerated. Based on this, one can say that when we attempt to translate a text
from one language to another, we understand that the translation is made from the source
text (ST) into a target text (TT). The criterion for doing such translation is that the mean-
ing for these two texts corresponds. Translation professionals generally agree that there are
many types of translation, but one can sum up these types into three:
1.4.1 Word for Word Translation

This kind of translation involves translating a word in the source language to a word in the
target language. Although this seems very much like literal translation, in fact it is not. The
problem with this kind of translation is that the outcome may not be meaningful; it could
be awkward and discomfited, simply because meaning was not the center of translation.
1.4.2 Literal Translation

This kind of translation focuses on the linguistic structure of the source text. It actually ig-
nores the semiotic, pragmatic and contextual connotations of text-structure, while taking
into account the linguistic conventions of the target language. While literal translation is
not commonly used in translating texts, it is fundamental for the study of language struc-
tures. It is not recommended for the casual reader where adequacy and clarity of mean-
ing are involved. For example, in translating religious texts, adherence to the word order
of the text and idiomatic expressions may make the translation difficult to understand.
Therefore, interpreting or explaining the word may give rise to clarity of meaning.
1.4.3 Free Translation

This kind of translation is sometimes called idiomatic translation. Other times, it is called
elegant translation. What is involved in free translation is texts are translated into the
other language based on their meaning not structure. Interpretation and paraphrasing
are two ways of understanding and translating the text into the target language. This kind
28
Introduction
of translation is the best simply because the translation outcome is meaningful, clear and
effective as in the source text.
Taking the above three types of translation into account, it should be pointed out that the
type of texts, skill of the translator, text context and cultural dimensions are all factors
that can help determine successful and effective translation.
1.5 Translation: Art or Science?
The status of translation whether it be an art or a science has been controversial for the last
two decades. Only those who work in translation can envisage whether translation should
be considered an art or a science. From my professional experience, I believe that transla-
tion is both an art and a science. Translation is not concerned mainly with finding words
in the dictionary and replacing them with their equivalents in another language. This is not
even called translation. Translation requires artistic skills and sometimes systematic and
logical decisions. Apart from their grammatical differences, or differences in word-order or
idioms, very few words may have one-to-one correspondence. However, some words may
have many possible interpretations; others may have words that are replaceable by other
words in another language. Therefore, knowing which words to utilize in a given text neces-
sitates good understanding of the text. It also requires good mastery of the target language
patterns of thinking, in addition to long experience in text analysis and text rendition.
The examples below may seem common to almost all languages. However, they en-
tail different types of meaning when used in a specific context. Consider the following
examples:
Decor
Honor
Attachment
Enclosures
Department
Director
Scanner
Chair
Vehicle
Dating
29
Now, can you think of the equivalent words in your native language and compare them
with those of the target ones? Have you discovered that they entail different lexical items?
For example, the word vehicle in English could entail car, bicycle, bus, automobile, etc.
Can one explain the different lexical items such words entail in another language? Any
discussion of the equivalent meanings of such words may entail moving from the domain
of science into the domain of art. Furthermore, do other languages use the same words
for different concepts? What about the word dating as in Jane is dating John. Does the
word dating contain an equivalent word in the other language? Sometimes, one may find
the dictionary information confusing, simply because it does not provide the translator
with good solutions. Even in similar languages, one may find that certain words may look
or sound the same, but in actuality, they express different meanings. Therefore, whether
the term is cultural, religious, linguistic, or literary, the artistic talent of the translator and
his skills are a lifesaver here.
Peter Newmark, in his Textbook of Translation (1995), points out that translation should
be looked at as a combination of art (applied) and a skill, a taste, and an exercise of choic-
es and decisions. At the same time, others believe that translation is a scientific process of
dealing with codes (Eco 2003). However, taking these two views into account, one may
look at translation as a systematic way of looking at a particular thing. In medical sci-
ence, for example, translation is used scientifically and systematically. In social sciences,
particularly literature, it is used artistically. Also, all branches of scientific investigations
of translation whether linguistic, stratificational, computational, or even machine trans-
lation describe translation as a science.
1.6 Why Do We Need Translation?
One of the most fundamental purposes of translation lies in its definition. That is, the
purpose of translation is to transpose the meaning of the original text into the target text.
Apart from this, translation is done for different reasons. Translation has an important
role to play in the cultural life of a particular society. That is, translation of literature
provides a society with information about its cultures, life habits, patterns of thinking,
and above all its values. In another context, translation is important as it provides us with
up-to-date information about the latest discoveries. One cannot imagine him or herself
isolated from knowing what innovations and contributions other cultures or societies
have if their work has not really been translated. So transmitting knowledge through
translation is a key component to the societys development and progress.
Within a pedagogical context, Kasmer (1999), in an article entitled The Role of Transla-
tion in the EFL/ESL Classroom, believes that there are useful aspects of translation when
30
Introduction
used in the ESL or EFL classroom. Translation can foster a students natural ability to learn
a foreign language. It can also enhance a students confidence and security level through the
usage of bilingual immersion, co-teaching, and bilingual text usage. Above all, conscious-
ness raising helps the students ability to recognize similarities and differences between his
mother tongue and the foreign language as far as culture, language structure, use of specific
and general vocabulary, and the order of presentation of information are concerned.
1.7 Test Your Knowledge of Chapter (1)
1. Give two different definitions of translation. Illustrate your definitions with examples.
2. Define a translator, and show how a translator is different from a writer.
3. Draw a comparison between the three types of translation and demonstrate in what
context each type will be used.
4. Do you think translation is an art or a science? Explain your answer.
5. Demonstrate how translation is important in everyday life. Can you show the impact
of translation activities on your culture?
1.8 Text-Comprehension and Translation
To test your knowledge of the English language and to see how much meaning you can
capture at the text level, read the following article on the Importance of Translation and
Interpretation very carefully, and translate it into your native or target language using a
summary method. The article is taken from the The Ukrainian Weekly, August 17, 1997,
No. 33, Vol. LXV. Remember, a summary method focuses on the main ideas in the article.
Therefore, literal translation is not recommended here.
31
Importance of Translation and Interpretation

by Iryna Kovalska
KYIV - Literary translation has always played a very important role in the
cultural life of Ukrainians. In fact, it is a factor in nation-building. Almost
all major Ukrainian writers have also been translators, being well aware that
cultural isolation has always been dangerous.
Thus, translators have been the enlighteners of their downtrodden peo-
ple and fighters for their better life, having chosen literary translation as a
weapon side by side with their original creativity. After the second world war
owing to the brilliant school of Ukrainian literary translation Ukrainian
translated literature developed as a kind of compensation for Ukrainian orig-
inal literature whose development was being thwarted. It has also become a
treasure-trove as an effective medium for creating, collecting and preserving
expressive means (lexical, prosodic, structural), which now may be widely
used by Ukrainian authors.
Recently the importance of training translators and interpreters became
evident in Ukraine. The country needs highly qualified interpreters and
translators for the United Nations, UNESCO, Council of Europe, Organiza-
tion for Economic Cooperation and Development, for embassies and a host
of other organizations in Ukraine and throughout the world.
Thus, discussing various problems of translation and interpreting be-
came an urgent need in Ukraine. On May 29-30, Taras Shevchenko State
University in Kyiv hosted the international conference Translation on the
Threshold of the XXI Century: History, Theory, Methods (organized by the
Common European Project TEMPUS TACIS 85422-94: Ukraine Spain
France Italy). The program included over 80 reports, which covered vari-
ous problems of modern translation studies.
Issues in the history of translation were highlighted by Prof. Oleksand-
er Cherednychenko, who gave a general overview of the development of lit-
erary translation in Ukraine and defined the main directions of Ukrainian
translation studies, while Prof. Roksoliana Zorivchak discussed the legacy
of Hryhoriy Kochur as a translator and a translation studies researcher.
Among other speakers, Dr. Orest Zemlianyi spoke about Ukrainian trans-
lations of Irish literature.
The researchers accentuated the role of translation as a factor important to
the development of intercultural communication. Thus, Prof. Maryna Novyk-
ova underlined that translation is part of the spiritual legacy of a nation, a way
of thinking that is developed in constant contact with other nations.
32
Introduction
The majority of the speakers dealt with the theory of translation, suggest-
ing various approaches to the translation norm, methods of research, under-
standing the nature of the literary translation, etc.
Prof. Efim Etkind not only a brilliant researcher but a fighter for hu-
man rights as well shared his views concerning the notion of metatransla-
tion. According to the researcher, the latter is an umbrella term for all texts
presented as translations but actually created as something different (e.g. free
rendering, transfusion, etc.). Thus, the word translation does not cover all
the diverse types of contacts between language and literature.
One of Prof. Etkinds studies is titled Poeziyai Perevod (Poetry and
Translation), but he considers that the German version Dichtung and
Nachdichtung reflects the essence of this notion, better introducing the ele-
ment of secondary creativity, and the involvement of a co-creator. Prof. Et-
kind analyzed different levels and types of metatranslation, providing exam-
ples from German, Italian and English literatures as interpreted by Russian
classical writers.
Methods of teaching interpreting and translating were discussed by Ion
Chobanu, Nelli Kalustova, Zenoviy Partyko, Eduard Skorokhodko and many
other researchers. In his report on Information Technologies in Translators
Training, Prof. Viacheslav Karaban stressed the necessity of updating the
process of translators training, helping them to develop computer skills, and
teaching them how to use software and the internet.
The participants of the conference had ample opportunity to listen to the
outstanding Ukrainian lexicographer Mykhailo Balla, who spoke about his
experience in compiling a great English-Ukrainian dictionary. The new two-
volume edition comprising of about 120,000 words was published in Kyiv in
1996. It is an important contribution to Ukrainian lexicography.
The first (rather small) English-Ukrainian dictionaries were published in
Canada in the 1920s and 1930s. The first rather substantial English-Ukrain-
ian dictionary (comprising of 40,000 words) appeared in 1946. Its compiler,
Mykhailo Podvezko, continued his lexicographic research in cooperation
with Mr. Balla. In 1974 they produced a bigger English-Ukrainian dictionary
(about 65,000 words).
According to Mr. Balla, he started working on the newest edition of the
dictionary almost immediately after 1974. The 1996 edition can be char-
acterized as more convenient for users: proper names and geographical
names are not given in the appendices but along with common words in
alphabetical order, each derived word is supplied with a translation and
listed as a separate item.
33
The Kyiv conference contributed to the establishment of contacts among re-

searchers in translation studies, helping them exchange opinions and share
their experience. Conference participants passed a resolution on the need to
organize a federation of translators and interpreters in Ukraine.
The experience of such federations in other countries shows that such a
body would be able to perform a number of significant functions: to arrange
forums for discussions on controversial subjects and research; to protect the
rights and privileges of translators and interpreters; to represent them at in-
ternational conferences and seminars; to gain recognition for the important
role translators play in modern Ukraine; to create more appreciation for the
field of translation; and to improve the quality of translations.
The resolution was passed unanimously. Thus, one can expect that the
All-Ukrainian Federation of Translators and Interpreters will soon become a
reality, and that through the organization Ukraines professionals will join the
International Federation of Translators, uniting national societies of transla-
tors into a single international body.
34
CHAPTER 2
Fallacies of Translation
2.1 Introduction
This section is not intended to discourage students from majoring or studying transla-
tion, but to clarify misconceptions about translation. Unfortunately, translation was per-
ceived as an easy task which requires only basic knowledge of the two languages involved.
This erroneous assumption about translation has misled and is still misleading students
about the profession of translation. Translation is like any other discipline; it requires
hard work, good knowledge of other disciplines, awareness and good understanding of
the cultures and traditions of the two languages, and above all an artistic talent in analyz-
ing and synthesizing a message. As Gentzler and Tymoczko (2002) state, translation is
not only a process of faithful reproduction; it involves deliberate acts of selection, con-
struction, and omission. So, in this section, and based on my teaching experience, I genu-
inely want the translation students to be aware of translation and what it requires before
they embark on this very important discipline.
2.2 Misconceptions about Translation
In an article entitled Knowing Before Learning, Rubrecht (2005) highlights ten con-
cepts he believes translation students should know before they embark on any translation
major. Rubrecht believes that in an age where media and fast communication have trans-
formed the world into an interconnected community, the world is getting smaller and
smaller. With the generation and dissemination of new technology, one is more likely to
believe that there is a need to prompt global level thinking, and this can be accomplished
only through institutions offering translation and interpretation courses. For foreign lan-
guage specializations, minding you translation students, translation and interpretation
35
courses are very fundamental simply because they are instrumental tools for language
learning. Others make it clear that translation and interpretation courses are becoming
more popular. I myself belong to the latter group. However, with the proper understand-
ing, translation and interpretation courses are seen as valid literary pursuits for learn-
ing the literary language. They are also seen as important means for learning a foreign
language.
Whether such courses are part of a university curriculum or offered as a four year degree
major, universities as well as teachers must understand there is a mismatch between stu-
dents expectations and what students can actually accomplish during these two or four
year courses. Students as well as teachers have too many assumptions as to how these
courses are taught and how much students can get out of this lecturing process. In many
cases, these assumptions turn out to be false.
Let there be no doubt that academic institutions are not professional translation and in-
terpretation schools. No matter how experienced the teacher is and how well planned the
syllabus is, there will always be a limit as to how much the teacher can give, and by the
same token how much students can learn, particularly under the limitations (i.e. time)
imposed by a course spanning a period of only one or two semesters. It is extremely im-
portant for students to be aware of certain facts about translation and interpretation be-
fore they choose a major or enroll in a translation or interpretation course. As pointed out
earlier, this is not to discourage students from embarking on translation or interpretation
courses, or learning but rather provide them with the knowledge and understanding of
the expectations of engaging in such courses.
Newmark (1991) has outlined the responsibilities of instructors involved in teaching

translation and interpretation courses. He believes that students should know important
facts about translation and interpretation courses. These are:
1. Like any other discipline, translation has difficulties and students should be
aware of such difficulties before they engage in any translation and interpreta-
tion courses.
2. Students should be aware of their responsibility towards translation difficulties,
not blaming other courses or teachers.
3. Students should have already been involved in some form of translation activi-
ties before they embark on a translation major.
4. Like physicians, translation teachers cannot cover all that is relevant to literature
in one term. They can only cover some important works of literary figures such
as Shakespeare. One course in translation cannot and will not make the student
a good translator; it can only introduce him or her to the nature of the transla-
36
tion process and provide him or her with the methods and strategies on how to
look at or approach a text.
In order to help students understand the nature, responsibilities and requirements of

taking translation and interpretation courses, and according to Rubrechts ten concepts, I
believe students and teachers perceptions of each other are fundamentally significant.
2.3 Students and Teachers Perceptions
First, one of the perceptions students have about translation is that they can be familiar-
ized with the techniques and methods of translating a text from one language to another
in one course. This perception is really not true. Learning the two languages will not en-
able students to be professional translators, simply because translation requires a lot of
practice and this will happen over a long period of time. Students, and sometimes teach-
ers, erroneously believe that it is possible that students can be acquainted with all relevant
issues in translation or that they become good translators once they finish a semester or
two. This, I believe, is something that is impossible to accomplish in one or two semes-
ters. Let there be no doubt that translation students should undergo extensive training in
translation activities; they should also be aware of the primary requirements behind any
translation course. As for interpretation courses, students must have skills for immediacy
of response, good overall knowledge of the subject-matter, and above all good memory.
Students should also be equipped with computer skills. Ward (1992) and Chriss (2000)
believe that students cannot appreciate the fundamental effect such requirements have on
translation students lives. Therefore, lack of students understanding with regard to these
issues may have negative repercussions on their accomplishments.
Second, from personal experience, I believe translation is a complex process. It requires

that students have good mental capacity that is extremely important to do the work.
There are in-class activities and homework assignments that are mentally and physically
draining. One can imagine himself or herself sitting for hours checking all kinds of dic-
tionaries, thinking of all possible meanings, writing and re-writing the text for hours. It is
even more draining for students involved in interpreting as the demand on such students
is high and they have to adapt themselves to stressful and fatigued environments. Inter-
pretation students should get used to the idea of working without using dictionaries in a
short period of time. As for good knowledge, students must have a working knowledge
of the foreign language before getting involved in translation and interpretation courses.
They should have good knowledge of the native countries of that language.
37
Third, learning a foreign language and translating a text are two completely different
things. Learning a foreign language is a prerequisite for translating a text; translation may
partially help students learn a foreign language, but it will not be enough to make them
good translators. There is very little overlap between learning a language and conducting
translation and students should be aware of this fact. Students should also know that they
should be willing to continue learning, as language changes over the years, and transla-
tors have to continuously update their knowledge.
Fourth, the main objective of translating a text is to convey its similar meaning to an-
other language. Translators or students of translation must worry about communicat-
ing meaning very accurately to the reader. Teachers should also teach students ways to
communicate a message from one language to another. Communicating a message de-
pends on context, and teachers must make students aware of the importance of context
in translation. Without understanding the context, communicating a message will be im-
possible or even if it can be communicated, it will be erroneous. Here one can refer to
Vinay and Darbelnet (1995) where they state that translation is a matter of equivalence.
Translation should maintain the stylistic impact of the source language text in the target
language text. According to them, equivalence is the ultimate method for the transla-
tion of proverbs, idioms, clichs, nominal or adjectival phrases and the onomatopoeia of
animal sounds (ibid: 342). From a different perspective, Vinay and Darbelnet believe that
there are three areas of translation: educational, professional and linguistic. Educational
translation ensures reading and understanding a text to assess its accuracy. Professional
translation ensures text quality and precision. As for linguistic translation, it is mainly
concerned with how texts are rendered into the other language and what linguistic means
are used to convey text meaning. All these areas of translation should be mastered before
students take translation courses.
2.4 Other Perceptions
There is a misconception among linguists and some translation teachers that having a
bachelor degree in English language or literature makes you a good translator. This as-
sumption, based on my personal experience and some studies (Chriss 2000) turns out
to be false. In order for translation students to be good translators, they have to master
the translation skills, including fluency or near native fluency of both languages. This
may not sound good for our translation students, simply because translation to them is
not associated with mastering both languages to an acceptable level. At the same time,
translation teachers should not expect to have students with perfect command of both
languages, particularly before they enroll in any translation or interpretation courses.
38
Another misconception about translation fed to students by teachers who lack good knowl-
edge of translation studies is the belief that translation is an easy discipline. Anyone teach-
ing or majoring in translation knows very well that translation is a rigorous discipline. It is
a problem-solving technique, entailing artistic strategies and scientific methods and proc-
esses. It is time consuming and requires a lot of hard work. Students must realize that doing
well in translation helps them do well in other subjects. Therefore, disciplining and organ-
izing their life and above all independency and self-discipline from the beginning of their
study are key components to their success. As Ward (1992: 580) states:
A translator must be a self-starter, an independent worker, with a good dose of

perseverance and determination to see a project through without any guidance
or supervision, and often without any help even with specialized terminology.
The translator should also have solid integrity to do the very best job possible,
to be absolutely accurate, to avoid any shortcuts or doing any fudging.
As previously stated, translation should be taken seriously and sensibly, if and only if the
translator wants to avoid poor results. Also, education and training in translation are vital
and translators must juggle not only languages, but also understand cultures, and the re-
ligious and political environment in which texts are produced. This is not an easy task, if
translators or those embark on translation have thought about the ethics of translation.
2.5 Ethics and Rules in Translation
Once scholars come to grips with reality, they will come to their senses that translation
has rules and principles. Eco (2003) believes that translation is not about comparing two
different languages, but an interpretation of a text in two different languages, thus involv-
ing a shift between cultures. He also states that irrespective of the fact that some linguists
and philosophers claim that there are no rules on whether one translation is better than
the other, translators have to use their common sense based on their long experience of
reading, editing, and translating. Within the field of translation, therefore, there is a crisis
of ethics. Some might be pertinent to translation; others may be pertinent to interpreting.
The question involving translation evolves around whether the translator is loyal or not,
and whether he is competent or not. The comparison made by some Italian translators that
Translation is like women: the less faithful, the more beautiful, or the more faithful, the
less beautiful, highlights the quarrel translators had with such questions for many years.
39
1. Give four misconceptions students have about majoring in translation.

2. According to your understanding of this chapter, do you believe that mastering
the two languages involved in the translation is sufficient for someone to be a
good translator? Please explain your answer with exemplifications.
3. Argue whether or nor not you agree with the types of misconceptions outlined
in this chapter.
2.7 Multiple Choice Questions about Chapter (2)
Based on your understanding of Chapter (2), answer the following questions:
1. The term fallacy means:

a. something good
b. something correct
c. something false
d. (a) & (b)
2. According to Chapter (2), if someone has a B.A. in English Language & Litera-
ture, he or she will be:
a. a good translator
b. unable to translate
c. able to translate but will face many problems
d. both (b) & (c)
3. Most fallacies about translation studies were fed by:

a. students
b. teachers
c. both students and teachers
d. none of the above
4. According to this chapter, translators are . perceived by the

community.
a. positively
b. negatively
c. not at all
d. somewhat positively
40
5. Within the field of language learning and language acquisition, studies have
shown that translation is a useful means for:
a. learning a foreign language
b. learning only ones language
c. enhancing both foreign and native languages
d. only ( c)
6. Since translation deals with my native language, then it is:

a. an easy subject
b. a subject that does not need a lot of reading and writing
c. a subject that only needs practice
d. a subject that needs excellent knowledge of the two languages involved
and good knowledge of other subjects with lots of translation practice.
7. Translation from one language to another can be acquired from:

a. just one simple course
b. two courses
c. the more you practice, the better you become in translation
d. just good knowledge of English
8. Ethics of translators have to do with:

a. whether they are polite or not
b. whether they lie or not
c. whether they are loyal to the text or not
d. both (b) & ( c)
9. In order to translate effectively, the translator has to follow:

a. his own feelings
b. rules and principles
c. what his friends tell him/her
d. only (c )
10. In translation, there are:

a. correct translations and incorrect translations
b. poor translations and good translations
c. well written texts and badly written texts
d. both (a) & (b)
41
CHAPTER 3
Some Relevant Terms

in Translation
3.1 Introduction
In this chapter, an attempt will be made to define concepts and terms in translation stud-
ies. While it is very difficult to survey and define all terms in the studies of translation, my
attempt here is to identify terms that are relevant to the content of this book. For those
who are interested in a more complete translation glossary, see Leman (2005).
3.2 Linguistic and Translation Terms
Accuracy
It is a term that refers to maintaining the meaning of the source text. The term overlaps
with the meaning of faithfulness, although the two concepts are somewhat different from
one another. Consider the following words or expressions:
jell-O _________________________
He died. _________________________
Two heads are better than one. _________________________
Update me . _________________________
computer _________________________
fax _________________________
television _________________________
mobile _________________________
surfing _________________________
43
While it is easy to provide an equivalent for the phrase he died, it is very difficult to
provide an equivalent word for jello, simply because the word does not ring a bell in
the mind of the reader. Even though the Arabic equivalent word for jello is hulam, it
still makes no sense whatsoever to the common reader. In most cases, if not all, people
use the word jello rather than hulam. The same thing applies to words such as fax,
computer, mobile, etc. These words have equivalent words in Arabic, but they are
not used at all. What about the equivalent words or expressions in other languages? Do
they have the same equivalents? In French, for example, the word jello means gelatine.
Such a word, however, is not used in the French culture and instead, they use the same
English word jello. The same can be applied to words such as mobile or cellular (in
French), among other words.
Audience
This term involves those who read or hear a text. Translation practitioners must take into
account the kind of audience. In order for the audience to clearly and effectively under-
stand the meaning of the translated text, translators must use a language that conforms to
the expectations of their audience.
Back Translation
This kind of translation involves the process of translating a document that has already
been translated into a target language back to the original language. The translation is
usually done literally. The objective behind this kind of translation is to enable a transla-
tor or a translation consultant who speaks other languages to understand what a trans-
lated text means in the target language. Literality is fundamental here so as to enable the
translation consultant to identify the rules and structure of the target text.
Borrowing
This term involves the idea of taking a word from another language. The word that is
taken is called a loan word.
Calques
This term refers to a word that is created through loan translation. It involves translat-
ing the meaning parts of one language to the meaning parts of another. The process of
translating such meaning parts creates what is called neologism (using new words in
the language).
44
Some Relevant Terms in Translation
Choppy
This is a term that refers to the quality of the translation. If the translation is clear,
accurate and effective, it is called clear translation; but if it is not, it is called choppy
translation. Therefore, choppy translation means a translation in which the parts of the
text are disjointed.
Clarity
This is a term that refers to the quality of the translation. If the translation is clear, accu-
rate and effective, it is called clear translation. Clear translation has the quality of being
easy to understand and free from any ambiguous or unnatural structures.
Cohesion
Cohesion refers to the quality of the text and involves connectedness throughout the
whole text. Cohesion also aims at preserving smooth connection and internal unity
among the sentences used in the text.
Collocation
Collocation involves placing or associating two words with one another. These words are
always used together and more likely in similar contexts. Collocation also involves the
relationship between two words that frequently go together. These two words always co-
exist with one another.
Consecutive Interpreting
This is a strategy where the interpreter starts interpreting a spoken message after the
speaker finishes the sentence. Consecutive interpretation is often used at smaller confer-
ences, diplomatic talks, courtroom sessions, etc. It is usually carried out by one inter-
preter who accompanies the delegate or follows the speaker. Consecutive interpreting is
less stressful, simply because there is no time pressure and the interpreter is often close
to the speaker.
Context
This is a term that refers to the environment in which sentences are used. Context also re-
fers to the parts of a written or spoken discourse that precede or follow a specific word.
45
Effectiveness
This term refers to the message communicated by the writer or translator. It refers to the
highest level of achievement of a communicative function or objective.
Equivalent
When two words have a similar meaning or function, they are called equivalent words.
Equivalence involves two words or sentences having the same semantic value.
Faithfulness
Faithfulness is a term that refers to the closeness and accuracy of the translated text to
the original. It also refers to how much meaning is preserved in the source language com-
pared to the target text.
Free Translation
Free translation involves translating the text freely based on its meaning, not structure.
Free translation aims at preserving the original meaning of the text and utilizes normal
features of the target text. Interpretation and paraphrasing are two ways of understanding
and translating the text into the target language. This kind of translation is the best simply
because the translation outcome is meaningful, clear and effective as in the source text.
Idiom
The word idiom is an expression which is exclusive to a particular language. Idioms
cannot be understood by just analyzing their individual words; they have to be examined
with reference to their figurative meanings. For example, when one says It is time to hit
the sack, this expression does not involve hitting at all. Its figurative meaning involves
going to bed. So what we have done is actually translate its figurative meaning.
Idiomatic Translation
Unlike literal translation, this type of translation is used where the meaning of the origi-
nal text is translated into the forms of the target language. These forms should maintain
the implicit and explicit meanings of the source language forms. Idiomatic translation is
synonymous with other methods of translation such as free translation, dynamic transla-
tion and thought-for-thought translation.
46
Inadequate Meaning
When we translate a text from one language to another we may end up conveying an in-
adequate meaning, simply because the meaning conveyed is wrong or partially expressed.
Sometimes, inadequate meaning involves translating a text in which the translation out-
come does not make sense (i.e. incoherent and incohesive).
Intention
This term involves the intention of the speaker. It also involves the effect the speaker
wants to impinge on his reader. It should be pointed out here that in the study of litera-
ture, critics avoid assuming an absolute knowledge of the writers intention. All readings
of intention from a text are at best provisional.
Interpretation
This term involves the process of determining the meaning of something. It refers to both
written and spoken forms of language. Interpretation can also refer to reading the text to
figure out its implicit and explicit meanings.
Legal Translation
Legal translation is the translation of legal texts and binding documents. These texts or
documents are culture-dependent subjects, which means they are embedded with the tar-
get language culture. Legal translation is not simple, because any misinterpretation or mis-
translation of a legal text can lead to jail or lawsuits. Also, the language of legal texts is very
precise and requires good understanding. Therefore, translators have to be familiar with
the legal systems of both languages. They should also have good knowledge of the target
language culture and good knowledge of the relevant disciplines and subject matters.
Literal Translation
Literal translation focuses on the linguistic structure of the source text. It aims at preserv-
ing the forms of the source language. While literal translation actually ignores the semiot-
ic, pragmatic and contextual connotations of text-structure it also takes into account the
linguistic conventions of the target language. While literal translation is not commonly
used in translating texts, it is fundamental for the study of language structures. It is not
recommended for the casual reader where adequacy and clarity of meaning are involved.
For example, in translating religious texts, adherence to the word order of the text and
idiomatic expressions may make the translation difficult to understand. Therefore, inter-
preting the word and paraphrasing it may give rise to clarity of meaning.
47
Loan word
A loan word is a word that is borrowed from another language. That is, a translator may
create a word that does not exist in the target language, provided it conforms with the
meanings of the source word. Consider the following examples:
jello _________________________
computer _________________________
fax _________________________
t.v. _________________________
mobile _________________________
Machine Translation
This is another means of translating a text where the text is translated automatically by a
machine. The computer or any other machine made for this purpose does the translating.
Of course, machine translations are faster and cheaper, but they are less accurate than
human translators. Although machine translation is not as frequently used as human
translators, it is still helpful when the main idea of a particular text needs to be expressed
and done in a limited period of time.
Meaning
When one wants to express a message, he expresses its meaning. That is, whatever is
expressed by somebody, it involves the expression of meaning. Meaning is not only ex-
pressed in lexical items, but it is in how such lexical items relate to one another.
Natural
When translation is natural, it means that the text is translated in a way where native speak-
ers of that language feel that the patterns of constructing and translating the text, whether
lexical or grammatical, match and conform with the patterns of the native language. Also,
the text is natural when its sentences are clear and display the same normal discourse.
Pragmatics
It is the relationship between language user and language use. Pragmatics is also understood
as language in context. It can also refer to the implicit meanings expressed by the speaker.
48
Simultaneous Interpreting
This is a strategy where the interpreter starts interpreting a spoken message before the
speaker finishes the sentence. At conferences, simultaneous interpretation is often used to
interpret seminars, conferences, and meetings. It is usually carried out by panelists using
specific equipment. Simultaneous interpreting is a stressful act, simply because of time
pressure, unfamiliarity of subject matter, voice and accent of speaker, and environment.
Target Text
The language into which translating or interpreting is carried out.
Telephone Interpreting
It is a kind of interpreting where the act is done over the telephone.
Translation
Translation can be defined as the process of conveying the meaning of sentences from
one language to another.
Translation Theory
Translation theory involves an examination of the rules and principles of translation. It
refers to how language functions and under what circumstances. Understanding how
language works is a key element to all translators.
Translating vs. Interpreting

Translating a text has to do with the written form whereas interpreting has to do with the
spoken form. In both cases, we translate freely from the original.
Unit of Translation
Unit of translation can be defined as the smallest entity in a text that carries a discrete
meaning. It varies all the time, ranging from individual words through phrases and sen-
tences right up to an entire paragraph.
49
Word-for-Word Translation
Word-for-word translation involves translating a word in the source language by a
word into the target language. Although this seems very much like literal translation,
in fact, it is not. The problem with this kind of translation is that the outcome may not
by meaningful; it could be awkward and discomfited, simply because meaning was not
the center of translation.
World Knowledge
World knowledge refers to whatever extra-linguistic knowledge is transported into the
process of translation and brought into the mind of the translator. Sometimes, world
knowledge is referred to as shared assumptions, or common ideas that people share with
one another.
A. Questions
1. What is meaning?
2. Make a comparison between a cohesive text and a coherent text. How can coherence
contribute to a successful translation?
3. What are your perspectives on Natural Translation or a Natural Text?
4. What is world knowledge, and how can it help the translator?
5. Discuss the differences between translating and interpreting.
6. What is translation theory?
7. Out of the linguistic terms and concepts listed in this chapter, name seven terms that
are indicative of a good translation. For example, good translation must be natural,
etc.
8. Compare between word-for-word translation and literal translation.
9. Why is idiomatic or free translation effective?
10. What is meant by the notion equivalence?
B. Texts for Translation
Translate the following texts into the target language. Show how world-knowledge is
shared. You may also apply other terms or concepts to the text. Also, explain how context
and text-structure play an important part in the translation of any text.
50
What Determines Skin Color?
Melanin is the substance that normally determines the color of the skin, hair,
and eyes. It is the pigment produced in the cells called melanocytes. If melano-
Text 1
cytes cannot form melanin, or if their number decreases, skin color will become
lighter or completely white as in vitiligo.
Leukoderma is a general term that means white skin. Severe trauma, like a
burn, can destroy pigment cells resulting in leukoderma. Vitiligo is just one of
the forms of leukoderma.
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
In this agreement, save where the context otherwise requires, the following ex-
pressions should have the following meanings:
Text 1
1. State = the country in which this document is issued

2. Laws = laws of the country
3. Governor = governor of the country
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
51
Philip Morris Incorporated is a corporation organized and existing under the

Laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia; it is a cigarette company in the United
States of America, and its principal office is located in New York (USA).
Text 3
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
Employees Satisfaction and Organization Prosperity
The success of economic corporation is judged by the extent of their profit mak-
ing abilities and by the power of developing their capabilities so as to enable
Text 4
them to go in sound harmony with the market conditions
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
Translate the following expressions into the target language.
He is the top dog around here.

Text 5
______________________________________________________________
He passed the buck.

______________________________________________________________
He is beating around the bush.

______________________________________________________________
She broke my heart.

______________________________________________________________
52
It is raining cats and dogs.

______________________________________________________________________
His eyes are bigger than his stomach.

______________________________________________________________________
He is still horsing around.

______________________________________________________________________
Adam spilled his guts.

______________________________________________________________________
She hit the nail on the head.

______________________________________________________________________
You are just pulling my leg.

______________________________________________________________________
He punched his lights out.

______________________________________________________________________
He fell off the wagon.

______________________________________________________________________
53
CHAPTER 4
Translation Theory and Practice
4.1 Introduction
During the past two decades or so, many views have been put forward towards the im-
portance of teaching translation theory to students of translation. Other views advocate
the idea that students of translation need only translation practices. In this chapter, I
would like to first look at translation as an exercise. Second, I would like to argue that
translation is a combination of theory and practice; it is neither a practical nor theoretical
exercise, but rather a combination of both. The comments made here are not intended to
be applied only to the process of translating a text from Arabic into English, but can also
be applied to the process of translating all texts.
In his article on The Role of Translation Theory in the Translation Classroom, Mason
(1982) points out that graduate or undergraduate translation students, enrolling in a
translation course, will definitely benefit from making themselves aware of the prin-
ciples and rules of translation theory. Such rules involve different kinds of topics such
as semantics, contrastive linguistics, communication strategies, and above all, the idea
of equivalence. There may be some theoretical arguments students may capture, but
these are at an abstract level. To this effect, translation students may not understand or
perceive the link between these theoretical issues and the practical exercise of translat-
ing different, non-native texts into their own. Now, translation is taught as a language
teaching exercise. The problem-solution technique involved in the process of reading
the text and comprehending it inevitably encourages the learning of language. It also
promotes learning the vocabularies, understanding syntax, idiom, and style. All these
are to be captured from a close analysis of the source text which translation requires.
The goal of the translation activities should not be limited to these issues; it should
55
involve other modern language exercises at a professional level. For more information
on this issue, see Mason (1982: 18-33).
The objective of translation training, as Mason indicates, is to elicit, from students, activi-
ties which do not merely demonstrate the lack of source text comprehension, but which
also indicate the appropriateness of the translation as a publishable work. The most im-
portant thing, however, is to demonstrate whether linguistics or, in more specific terms,
translation theory, helps students in their translation training.
4.2 Translation Theory
Translation theory involves studying the rules and principles of translation. It also evolves
around how language functions. Translation theory identifies different languages as hav-
ing different forms to encode meaning, although its function is to give translators insight
on how to preserve meaning while maintaining the appropriate forms each language uti-
lizes. In order for translators to produce good and effective translations, they have to
explore the effect of translation principles on the actual text to be translated. In addition
to this, the rhetorical effects and the notions of both cohesion and coherence should also
be examined.
Based on the above assumption, translators must have good knowledge of the two languages
involved along with the subject-matter they are translating. Since translators explore mean-
ing, in its various forms, then understanding language in its multifaceted nature, is a must
for the translator if he/she wants to perform his/her job successfully. Larson (1984) believes
that translators find meanings behind the forms of the source language. The translators
attempt after that is to match it with the meaning of the target language. Such a matching
process has to take into account that the two meanings in both languages are as close as they
could be, including the effect and the intention of the authors/writers.
In terms of the choices and decisions the translators make, Newmark (1988) believes that
translators should utilize the contrastive linguistics approach simply because it is useful
enough to deal with choices and decisions of the source language text (see Mason 1982
for more information on this topic). The contrastive linguistics approach, Newmark con-
tinues, is mainly concerned with the mechanics of the text, the technical aspects of the
text. Translation theory is concerned with choices and decisions, not with the mechanics
of either the source language text (SL) or the target language text (TL).
In view of the above, the invalidity of the contrastive linguistics approach, as demon-
strated by Mason (1982), is asserted simply because translation activity is an entirely
56
different activity from contrastive linguistics. The purpose of the contrastive linguistics
approach is to focus on the differences between one language and another especially in a
language teaching context. It does not focus on establishing a set of rules, principles, and
appropriate methods of handling a particular text. Furthermore, the contrastive linguis-
tics approach is different from translation activity in the sense that it is a text-oriented
activity. That is, the contrastive linguistic approach focuses on language, whereas transla-
tion activity focuses on text (Newmark 1988).
Along these lines, Widdowson (1980) views translation as an important pedagogical de-
vice, especially where a foreign language is being learned. He believes that translation is
an affective means of learning a language. Taking this into account, one may consider the
practicality of the contrastive linguistics approach in improving students performance in
language learning. In other words, the contrastive linguistics approach is a technique for
teaching languages and not for teaching translation activities.
Despite what has been stated against the contrastive approach, Mason (1982) believes
that this approach is not to be entirely avoided. At the language level, generalizations
supporting translation principles and rules can be made. Any consideration of these rules
is indeed helpful for making necessary changes in certain contexts. They are also helpful
in demonstrating the necessary loss of information contained in structures whose con-
stituent parts are not in a one-to-one correspondence. This can simply be manifested in
the different grammatical categories of the two languages. For example, in an Arabic text
where anta you and antum you (singular & amplified) are used, especially when tak-
ing place in a conversation between two people, there is an inevitable loss of information
when translated into English. Both Arabic pronouns are translated as you in English.
In the same way, when you in English is used, there is a gain of information when
translated into Arabic, as it can be translated as anta (masc.), anti (fem.), antum (singular
amplified), antum (plural), antuma (masc. dual) antunna (fem. dual). Other issues like
gender (absent or present), etc. in various languages may give rise to the same problem.
Having said so, languages, as Jakobson (1959) states, are not different in what they can
convey; they are different in what they must convey. Therefore, the contrastive linguistics
approach emphasizes these non-equivalences as such, and the theory of translation at-
tempts to demonstrate how these issues are compensated for in certain situations. For
more information on this issue, see Mason (1982).
4.3 Unit of Translation
It should be made clear that, to the translator, the minimum unit of translation is not
a word or a phrase, but a text. Any attempt to look at translation in terms of words or
57
phrases would definitely yield unacceptable results. Some suggest an approach in which
one can analyze words into their main components. This method is known as the com-
ponential analysis method (Newmark 1988). Unfortunately, however, this method, as
pointed out by Mason (1982), has some drawbacks, some of which are represented in
its unsuitability to the training of translators. Second, this approach focuses on semantic
distinctive features isolated from context. Also, this method is of limited applicability,
simply because a word taken in isolation from its context is not a translation unit. In this
connection, it has been suggested that the relevant language unit for translation is not the
individual word, but rather the text (De Beaugrande 1978).
4.4 Effect of Translation Theory
It was stated that a text is the minimum unit of analysis in translation. Any analysis of
the source text consists of inducing information about form and content together with
information regarding source, authorship, and aim. The relevant branch that focuses on
the analysis as well as the description of texts is called pragmatics. Here, pragmatics refers
to the relationship between the sender of the message, the message itself, and the receiver
of the message. The relation is represented in Figure (1).
Sender Message Receiver

Interaction

Figure (1) Sender-Receiver and Message Interaction
There is a constant interaction taking place between the sender, message, and receiver.
The aim for which the text is written, and the readership for whom the text is addressed
establishes the characters of any text. Here the translator should be able to know wheth-
er or not the text is religious, political, literary, journalistic, legal, or technical. Once
the text is characterized, the translator is not only identifying the text subject matter,
58
but also delimiting the social context in which the text is produced. Therefore, situat-
ing a text in a particular context, and familiarizing himself with the text in a particular
context, and familiarizing himself with the text and its English equivalents is indeed the
translators first priority.
After establishing the domain of the text, features such as tone, function, and feeling are
to be taken into account. Awareness of these, as Mason (1982) points out, will have a great
bearing on the translators rendition of the text. Emphasis should also be placed on the
formal features that are significant to the make-up of the text. Such features are important
in terms of the text-linguistic and text-function categorization, i.e. whether the text is
persuasive, narrative, descriptive, etc.
Within text-function, awareness of the referential meaning of lexes is also significant in

determining the nature or domain of the text. Emotive and associative meanings, in Yules
sense (1985), will partly account for text-function. Words put together are all means of in-
dicating the field, function, and tone of the text. For example, the use of contracted forms
are pointers to informal English. The use of infinitives is also indicative of instructional
texts. These issues are pointers to the texture and structure of the text through which a
number of speech acts can be recognized. Understanding the conditions represented for
an utterance may give insight into how language is used.
In terms of the linguistic categories of text, a scientific text may exhibit a series of acts
or definitions, classifications, generalizations, and/or qualifications, forming larger com-
municative units such as explanations, descriptions, and reports (Widdowson 1980). The
translator may analyze a text in a way in which its formal features are demonstrated.
However, an experienced translator may not need to do that; he may intuitively draw
these conclusions. Therefore, a translation exercise should make the translator more
aware of the multi-faceted nature of translation. It should also enable him to instinctively
single out the texts linguistic features. For more details, see Mason (1982).
Based on the above, any analysis of text may yield information relevant to text-structure.
Once this is achieved, the text-message becomes very clear. It is this message that has to
be rendered effectively and communicatively, simply because, according to Mason, it may
lead us to a particular translation method. However, the question remains as to whether
we should look at this message in terms of its literal vs. free sense, or formal or dynamic
equivalence, or whether emphasis should be placed on form or function. For example,
an Arabic translator may translate Ahmad kicked the bucket as tuwuffiya ahmad. Here
the translator renders this expression functionally, making the meaning of the message
or its function his point of departure. If the translator adheres to form rather than func-
tion, his translation would be unacceptable or irrelevant.
59
Sometimes the translator may resort to adherence to the form of the text. This is applica-
ble to literary translation. In these texts, the main concern of the translator is to highlight
the effectiveness of the same semantic and syntactic structures of the source text. Impor-
tant features should be accounted for such as tone, rhyme, order, etc. because these are all
essential elements to the make-up of texts.
Within literary translation, the textual and contextual pressures are not only semantic.
The visual or physical presence of the text and its international qualities are also signifi-
cant. The non-correspondence between either prosodic or semantic structures does not
necessarily imply the impossibility of translating a given unit (Diaz-Diocaretz 1985). On
the contrary, it can be an opportunity to actualize the potential structures manifested
in the original text, and recorded in the translation of the text that will be semantically
dependent and rhythmically independent.
Furthermore, repeated lexical items, nominal vs. verbal sentences, etc. may not remain
acceptable items or sentences when translated into English. This results from the fact that
Arabic and English are linguistically and culturally remote languages. In order to produce
some publishable work, the translator has to assess the text textually and structurally, and
then find the best strategy and style that would yield adequate translation.
4.5 How to Assess Translation
In his article entitled The Role of Translation Theory in the Classroom Class, Mason
(1982) points out that assessing the final product of a particular text is the translators
main concern. Such an assessment is manifested in what is called a translated text. Look-
ing at a translated text, Mason tried to trace such a text from its authorship to its final
product. One significant feature to be accounted for as a final product, he states, is its ac-
ceptability or readability. Acceptability and/or readability have to be assessed according
to the text-producers intention. To increase the familiarity of significant aspects of trans-
lation, one has to view this along with the communicative theory, as this theory has an
important role to play in bringing up the theoretical course. It also introduces the student
translator to the information theory, i.e. what is important or what is not in a message.
It is possible that some of the natural linguistic and cultural trivialities may be avoided
if not lost in translation, thus bringing forth the important information. For an in-depth
analysis of this topic, see Mason (1982).
The message Mason is trying to convey is that when evaluating a text, the translator
should take into account the intention of the ST and its impact on the reader. The rela-
tionship between author and reader has to be checked. Also, does the translation aim at
60
a reader or particular readers? In any kind of translation, the translators main aim is to
produce a text that is equivalent in response to the ST. From a pedagogical point of view,
the student translator may find comparing the original text and target text significantly
useful. This activity does not involve finding the translators mistakes, but rather analyz-
ing the problem and finding the solution. Similar exercises are also helpful in terms of
enabling students to differentiate between important and unimportant information.
4.6 Effective and Successful Translation
In order to attain effective and successful translation one may ask the following
questions:
1. How long does a quality translation take?

Some translations can be completed within hours. Others may take longer. Translation
depends on the length of the text and the type of text. If the texts language/topic is com-
plicated (i.e. scientific) it would take a long time.
2. What does it mean to translate from one language to another?

To translate is to decode the meaning of the source language text and re-encode it in
the target language text. Encoding requires that the translator recognizes the texts main
features. This is followed by interpreting, analyzing, and understanding the segments of
the text (translation units). The process of decoding a text from one language to another
requires good knowledge of the source language grammar, semantics, syntax, idioms,
and those that are equivalent or similar in the target language. In addition, the cultures of
both languages must be perfectly understood.
3. How can we define a well and effective translation?

In order to guarantee effective translation, the translator has to ensure that both the source
language and the target language texts convey the same message, taking into account the
many different constraints placed on the translator. In almost all circumstances, a good
and successful translation can be assessed according to two key factors:
A. Was the translator faithful while translating the text? In other words, to what extent the
translation accurately conveys and expresses the meaning of the source text, without
adding to it or deleting from it, and without intensifying or weakening any part of the
texts meaning.
61
B. Was the language of the translated text natural? That is, to what extent the translated
text sounds natural to a native speaker of the target language to have originally been
written in that language, and conforms to the languages grammatical, syntactic and
idiomatic conventions.
1. Define translation theory and show how translation theory is important for the
translator.
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a contrastive linguistics approach
to the analysis and translation of a specific text?
3. Can translation be assessed? How? Explain your answer.
4. What is meant by information theory?
5. Define the term pragmatics, and show its relation to translation.
6. In evaluating a text, what criteria should the translator take into account?
7. Teacher should ask students to translate a text and see how understanding translation
theory can contribute to successful and effective translation.
62
CHAPTER 5
Text and Context in Translation
5.1 Introduction
Various attempts have been made to look at translation in terms of words or sentences as
the minimal units of translation (Newmark 1981: 140; Nida 1964: 12-24), but unfortu-
nately, these attempts have achieved little since they ignored the situational elements in
which words and sentences are embodied. In this chapter, I would like to argue that trans-
lation is a text-oriented activity; it involves the approximation of text function. Transla-
tion is to be based on the interpretation of the contextual variables such as pragmatics,
semiotics and the communicative contexts; these are the basic components and the deter-
mining factors that can lead to successful and adequate translation.
It should be pointed out that communication has two appropriate existing forms: lin-
guistic and non-linguistic. If communication takes a linguistic form, then it appears in
textual form (i.e. sentences, paragraphs, texts, etc.). In other words, it takes a form of
written translation. If communication takes the non-linguistic form, then it appears in a
non-textual form (i.e. sign, gesture, intention, movement, implication, etc.). Translation
should combine both forms (linguistic and non-linguistic). Texts, therefore, are the ba-
sic form of linguistic and non-linguistic manifestation. They show various conditions or
origins, structures and various functions. Diagram (1) is a representation of both forms
of communication
To this effect, texts are designed for different types of text receivers; they are produced for
a large spectrum of communicative purposes.
From another perspective, texts have different forms and structures; they also perform
different functions and have different purposes (i.e. entertaining, exposing, informing,
63
Smoking
prohibited
in this area
Diagram (1) Representation of Forms of Communication
persuading, etc.). Texts are written for various readers. Along these lines, Snell-Hornby
(1995: 49) suggests that text, or what she sometimes calls the concrete utterance, is a
real-life situation. It is a real reflection of the system of language. Texts are not neutral
vessels only filled with information. They are actually a piece of writing that carries with
it a section of the world view of the language users (Neubert 1988: 15). One may think
of the following exchange as strange, peculiar or irrelevant, but in fact it represents an
everyday exchange between parents and their kids.
Father: How did you do in school, Sara?

Sara: I got 3 out of 10 in the Math exam.
Father: Wonderful.
Now, one may look at these sentences as unrelated. However, within the context of fam-
ily concerns, we can understand that the father was sarcastic. The word wonderful can-
not be understood here as the fathers admiration of his daughters performance in the
Math exam, but as a negative response showing the fathers feeling about his daughters
low performance.
Another example to show how context plays an important role in understanding a text
is to look at a sentence as a whole, taking into account what comes before or what comes
after. Examine the word rose in the examples below:
People rose.
This is a nice rose.
Only rose!
As shown above, the word rose has been used in the three examples, indicating different
meanings. First, the translator may have in mind the meaning of rose as the past tense
64
of to rise or he/she may have in mind the meaning of rose as the adjective in this is a
beautiful rose, to mean a flower.
The translator here has to understand that a word is part of its multiword expression, and
to render this word accurately and appropriately, he has to think of it as part of a whole,
otherwise, his translation will be ambiguous, incomplete or unintelligible. Therefore, only
context can determine whether the word rose means to rise or a sort of flower. Let us
consider other examples where context has an important role to play in translation:
Adam broke the record this year.
Here, the word record cannot be understood unless it was treated as part of the expres-
sion break the record. If these two words are isolated from the context in which they
are used (i.e. collocational or idiomatic contexts), then break means to shatter or smash
and the word record means a disc. Of course there are other meanings for the word
record, but to take it out of its collocational context may alienate or ambiguate its ac-
tual meaning with the phrase. So, to break the record, as an idiomatic or collocational
expression, has nothing to do with smashing a disc. Its contextual or what is some-
times called collective meaning indicates that break the record has one unit of meaning,
which indicates the act of doing better than anyone else.
Taking all this into account, translation activities should deal with texts and not only
words or phrases unless these words or phrases are preconditioned to meet certain com-
municative functions. That is, they are used in a specific way and denote one particular
meaning. This, in turn, and in addition to real life language and the language system, ac-
tivates the framework for the development of translation theory. These layers of meaning
(i.e. denotative, preconditioned and implied) can be applied to translation simply because
the translator is supposed to go beyond words or sentences, unless these words or sen-
tences have a status of being texts (De Beaugrande & Dressler 1981: 19-21).
Furthermore, texts are of great significance as the clearing-house for thoughts and ideas
(Neubert 1988: 15); they should be regarded as the way in which society is structured;
they should also be considered as a house where information gets sorted out, classified
and distributed. Texts bring together all kinds of transactions among words, sentences
and exhibit the way in which they are organized. This is, in fact, how communication is
carried out and how it provides accurate and deep understanding of a community within
a particular society, particularly when it comes to the use of different symbols, the repre-
sentation of its history, its aspects of life, and the way it divides its communicative labor.
Also, the way texts are produced and received is regarded as an activity that has a bearing
on the bonds that bring the society together.
65
Robinson (2003: 75) believes that the setting in which things exists is fundamental to the
association of meaning. He states that without context, words have no interlocking net-
work of meaningful things. The physical and cultural contexts in which a learner learns
can also help figure out the exact meaning of a specific word.
5.2 Text-Types and Text-Functions
One of the important features of texts is that they should be understood within their
specific contexts. To characterize texts as minimal units of translation, one has to exam-
ine texts in accordance with their communicative functions. That is, texts are supposed
to perform several communicative functions, and it is in this particular context that
texts can be categorized into text-types (argumentative, descriptive, narrative, etc.). As
for translation, I have argued (Shiyab 1994: 7) that every text has its own writing strat-
egy and this implies that it requires its own translation strategy too. In other words, the
methods of transferring the original text into that of the target language are different
from one text to another. For example, in transferring a literary text, does the transla-
tor use the communicative or the semantic approach? According to Newmark (1981:
52-53), communicative translation attempts to produce on its reader the same effect
as close as possible to that obtained on the reader of the original. Semantic translation
attempts to render, as closely as the semantic and syntactic structures allow, the exact
contextual meaning of the original. Also, in semantic translation, there is emphasis on
the content whereas in communication translation, the emphasis is on the force of the
message. To this effect, texts manifest different elements and require different strate-
gies; each strategy tends to emphasize a particular element at the expense of another.
For the translator, it is extremely important to understand the infrastructure of the
text (i.e. the internal structures of texts); he should analyze and interpret the text in a
way that enables him to understand the texts syntactic, semantic, stylistic and pragma-
semiotic dimensions. In the interpretation of texts, the recipients perception and the
meaning of the text should ideally be in agreement with the intentions of the text. As
Hlebec (1985: 130) suggests, interpretation depends on knowledge of language; it also
depends on the cultural background and events in the community in which the text is
produced. Hlebec believes that interpreting the text requires learning the facts about
it that influence its interpretation; it also implies the identification of the significant
codes in a text which require special attention in the reproduction of it. It is only in this
particular way that the translator is able to translate a text from the source language and
carry it over adequately into the target language.
It follows from all this that translation requires combining linguistic, socio-linguistic and
psycholinguistic aspects of the language involved; it should also seek the aid of significant
66
theoretical issues involved such as the definition of text, its delimitation, coherence, cohe-
sion, textuality, inter-textuality, etc.
Taking all this into account, it should be emphasized that while attention should be placed
on contextual factors embodied within the texts, special emphasis should also be placed
on the type of text. The fact that translation deals with different types of texts has led
Neubert (1988: 123) to classify texts into types. The criteria taken for such classification
is translatability. To this effect, Neubert suggests that text-types are never fixed once and
for all; he classifies texts as follows:
1. Easy texts.
2. Intricate texts.
3. Literary or dramatic texts.
Neubert (1988: 123-125) argues that every text-type represents a degree of translat-
ability. That is, texts can be classified into easily translatable texts (i.e. technical and
descriptive texts), intricately translatable texts, and literary or dramatic texts. Texts that
are easily translatable should display clear structure and texture while intricately trans-
latable texts display textual as well as non-textual complexity that the translator may
not find easy to convey into the target language. Therefore, each of these texts requires
a different transferring method, a method that is incongruent with its surface structure
as well as its deep structure. All these have an impact on the translation adequacy and
translatability of texts.
5.3 Discourse, Text-Types and Translation
In the previous section, I examined texts in terms of their communicative functions.

In order to understand the theoretical issues relevant to text-structure, an attempt will
be made to investigate the interrelation between discourse, text-types, and translation.
Since discourse is defined as a social phenomenon by which meaning is communicated
and constructed, it follows that discourse relies heavily on the domain of sociolinguistics
(i.e. the study of language in relation to society (Lyons 1981). The interrelation between
discourse and translation is evident in the fact that translation involves the social func-
tion of discourse within a society, reference to its context of situation, the speakers role
in constructing a text, (i.e. his intentionality), and its contextual configurations, (i.e. field,
mode, and tenor), all of which make up the social reality of the text. These elements are
unequivocally important components for translation. Translation is not mediation be-
tween two languages; it is not the use of one language to convey a message whose form
and content were originally directed to different language users (Neubert 1988). Rather,
67
it is the construction of the social reality, the linguistic and rhetorical patterns of thought
that suit the target language and the community in which language is used.
The history of translation, past and present, has many examples indicative of triumph and
failure in terms of the way translation should be carried out. These examples reflect, in a
way, the gap between the original and the target text. It is the talented translator who is
unequivocally aware of the importance of bringing, as much as possible, the source and
the target texts together. This involves the speakers intentionality, text function with ref-
erence to its semiotic components (i.e. social and cultural), and the context of situation.
All these pragmatic, semiotic, and contextual elements may bridge the gap between the
source text and the target text.
5.4 Text-Type Categorization
Having demonstrated the connection between discourse and translation, and that of
translation, meaning and culture, an attempt will be made to show how text-categoriza-
tion into text-types gives insights to the main components of text. Such categorization
helps us translate the text and then convey it into the target language.
It should be noted here that in the last decade or so, a considerable amount of material has
been produced on methods of text-categorization (Longacre 1976, 1983; De Beaugrande
1980; De Beaugrande and Dressler 1981; Werlich 1983; Zydatiss 1982; Hatim 1983, 1984;
and John 1988). These approaches have not been studied and developed relatively inde-
pendently of each other. Bearing this in mind, this section is an attempt to compare three
approaches: De Beaugrande and Dressler (1981); Werlich (1983); and Hatim (1984).
Conclusions will be drawn and the similarities and differences will be noted.
The above mentioned approaches lead to similar categorizations and definitions of text-
types (i.e. argumentative beliefs). However, they are different in the way they look at and
approach text-types. This is to say that they are different in terms of how they focus on a
particular text. For example, De Beaugrande and Dresslers model is different from that of
Werlichs (1983) in that De Beaugrande and Dressler differentiate text-types along func-
tional lines. Text-types are supposed to perform specific and intended functions and in
so doing contribute to the process of human and social communication. De Beaugrande
and Dressler adopt this analysis because they look at text-types as a linguistic product,
whereas Werlich looks at text-types as a linguistic process occurring in the communi-
cants mind (i.e. judging, planning, comprehension, etc.).
68
In distinguishing between text and non-text, Werlich takes the variables completion
and coherence as the main determining factors. He believes that the categorization of
texts, which is unequivocally significant for the translator, is mainly concerned with their
underlying structures and how these connect or relate to specific contextual factors. In
identifying a particular text, Werlich (1983: 21) believes that texts distinctively correlate
with contextual factors in a communication situation. That is, texts focus attention on
specific circumstances from the total set of factors. As a result, texts can be grouped to-
gether and classified on the basis of their dominant contextual focus. Such groupings are
hypothesized in terms of the following five dominant contextual foci:
1. When the focus is on factual phenomena such as persons, objects, and relations in
the spatial context, texts are called Descriptive.
2. When the focus is on factual and conceptual phenomena in the temporal context,
texts are called Narrative.
3. When the focus is on de-composition (analysis) into constituent elements or compo-
sition (analysis) from constituent elements of concepts, texts are called Expository.
4. When the focus is on relations between concepts, texts are called Argumentative.
5. When the focus is on the formation of future behavior, texts are called Instructive.
Unlike De Beaugrande, Werlich maintains that contextual factors are not sufficient to
determine text-types. Werlich believes that contextual factors and innate biological prop-
erties should be correlated for such a classification. Werlich (1983: 21) states:
Texts do not only correlate distinctively with specific contextual factors but
also appear to correlate with innate biological properties of the communi-
cants mind.
Werlich explains this in the following terms:
A text grammar can be based on the hypothesis that texts, conceived of as

assignable to text types, primarily derive their structural distinctions from
innate cognitive properties. Accordingly, the five basic text types correlate
with forms and range of human cognition. They reflect the basic cognitive
processes of contextual categorization. These are:
(1) Differentiation and interrelation of perceptions in space in the text type

of description;
(2) Differentiation and interrelation of perceptions in time in the text type
of narration;
69
(3) Comprehension of general concepts through differentiation by analysis

and/or comprehension of particular concepts through differentiation
by subsumptive synthesis in the text types of exposition;
(4) Establishment of relations between and among concepts through the
extraction of similarities, contrasts, and transformations from them in
the text type of argumentation;
(5) Planning of future behavior by subdivision or subsumption in the text
type of instruction.
Like Mason (1982), Hatim shares with De Beaugrande and Dressler, in general terms, the
notion of function (i.e. that a text may be known by its function). However, according
to Hatim, this is not the whole story. Hatim believes that it is a definition of text func-
tion which determines the efficiency, effectiveness, and appropriateness of textual occur-
rences (Hatim 1987: 104). Hatim also believes that, for translation purposes, variables
such as pragmatics, semiotics, and communicative purposes should be introduced. These
variables have to be presented to define the interface and the correlation between linguis-
tic expression and categories from social theory. Pragmatics here refers to action on the
environment; semiotics refers to interaction with the environment, and communicative
purpose refers to the transaction which creates an environment in which text-typologi-
cal focus realizes the communicative purpose of a given text. Neither De Beaugrande
and Dressler nor Werlich specify these variables. Hatims interest then may be due to the
fact that his study was conducted at a later stage when there were different approaches to
text-typology that had been explained and developed.
Unlike Werlich, Hatim adopts De Beaugrande and Dresslers notion that a typology of
texts must be correlated with typologies of discourse and situations. Unless the appro-
priateness of a text-type to its setting of occurrence is judged, participants cannot even
determine the means of upholding the criteria of textuality. For De Beaugrande and
Dressler, the demands for cohesion and coherence are less strict in conversation, whereas
the demands in scientific texts are elaborately upheld.
According to De Beaugrande and Dressler, one would at least be able to identify some
dominances, though without a strict categorization for every conceivable example. The
term text-type according to De Beaugrande and Dressler (1981: 186) is:
A set of heuristics for producing, predicting, and processing textual occur-

rences, and hence acts as a prominent determiner of efficiency, effectiveness,
and appropriateness.
70
Taking this wide perspective into account and the kinds of parameters each ap-
proach has, one can illustrate these three models diagrammatically as shown on
the following pages.
One other difference that needs to be analyzed between Werlichs approach and Hatims
is the notion of context specification. As shown in Diagrams (2) and (3), Hatims model
is different from that of Werlich in that he takes context as an alternative to the com-
monly adopted notion of register. According to Hatim, the analysis of register, in prac-
tice, is very important but is not sufficient or explanatorily adequate. This analysis, he
argues, produces the so-called languages such as the language of science, while ig-
noring the rich range of textual activities which characterize the communicative poten-
tial of doing a science. In commenting on Werlichs model, Hatim (1984: 146) states:
The analysis of context in terms of language use (field, etc.) and user (idiolect,
regional register analysis, leaves important aspects of textuality unaccounted
for. This inadequacy sum total of its constituent parts.
Functional approach Discourse and Subsuming Functional

Situation Speakers Intention
Give Rise To
Text-Types
Descriptive Narrative Argumentative

describe objects or arrange actions promote acceptance of
situations and events beliefs and ideas
Diagram (1) The interpretation of text-categorization of De Beaugrande (1981)
71
Contextual & Psycho Contextual Factors

Analytical Approach
Innate Biological
Properties
Give Rise To
Text-Types
Descriptive Narrative Expository Argumentative Instructional

(focuses on fac- (focuses on fac- (chooses con- (purpose rela- (tells X
tual phenomena tual phenomena stituent elements tions between what to do)
& relations in & relations in manifested in a concepts of
space) time) term or a mental phenomena)
construct mani-
fested in a text)
Diagram (2) The interpretation of text-categorization according to Werlich (1983)
Pragma-Semio- Context Pragmatics

Communicative Approach Specifications Semiotics
Communicative
Purpose
Give Rise To
Text-Types
Expository Argumentative Instructive

(can be overt (counter (following future
Des. Nar. Conc. argument) or covert behavior)
(focuses on (focuses on (focuses on (propaganda tract))
objects and events and concepts)
relations In relations in
space) time)
Diagram (3) The interpretation of text-categorization according to Hatim (1984)
72
It is evident that there is a clear resemblance between Hatims text-typology and that of
De Beaugrande and Dressler. Hatim is partially concerned with the fact that text-linguis-
tics involves the setting up of a text-typology in which language is classified in terms of
text-communicative purposes. It has also been argued by Zydatiss (1982) that the whole
notion of text types is not a linguistic one, but that linguistic analysis must be supple-
mented and correlated with the analysis of function of language in the process of com-
munication. For Hatim as well as for De Beaugrande and Dressler, language users (writ-
ers, producers as well as receivers of language) approach texts by reacting and interacting
with different kinds of contexts. This is done through a process of construction which
identifies a number of contextual variables; these are called context-specifications and
involve pragmatics, semiotics, and communicative purpose (as discussed above).
Basing himself on context-specifications, Hatim (1983) goes further than De Beaugrande

and Werlich to work out his own text-typology. In modifying Werlichs model, for exam-
ple, Hatim reduces Werlichs five text-types to three (see Diagram 3). Hatim considers
Descriptive and Narrative sub-text types as Expository Texts. This is due to the fact that
both of these texts exhibit or provide similar information. Hatim also introduces another
sub-text-type within the expository text, and that is the conceptual text (focuses on
concepts). All these texts are subsumed under the category Expository Texts.
Within these context-specifications, unlike Werlich, Hatim demonstrates that the user
of language responds to a set of signals related to text or discourse. He argues that these
signals constitute the most favorable conditions for the successful realization of texts.
Hatim (1984: 147) says:
It is this pragma-semio-communicative decision on the part of discourse us-

ers, and the acceptance of such a decision by discourse receivers, which con-
stitute the optimum conditions for the successful realization of the text.
To sum up, text-types are characterized or defined similarly by the three models pre-
sented above. However, they are different in terms of focus. In their functional ap-
proach, De Beaugrande and Dressler suggest that discourse actions or situation and the
speakers intention (function of the text) appear to be the determining factors between
text-types. In contrast, Werlich, using a psycho-analytical approach, believes that not
only contextual factors but also innate biological properties in the communicants mind
should be correlated in order to identify text-types. De Beaugrande and Dressler look
at text-types as a linguistic product stemming from the function of process occurring
in the speakers/hearers mind. Above all, De Beaugrande and Dressler view text-types
from a theoretical perspective; they are not interested in structural analysis which is
orientated towards applied linguistics.
73
Hatim believes that contextual variables of pragma-semio-communicative/conceptual/

spatial/temporal transaction give rise to text-types. These context-specification variables
should be presented to define the interaction between linguistic expression and the cat-
egories from social theory. While Hatims text-typology is relatively useful, his definition
of what he calls context-specifications seems to be always changing and inconsistent. In
defining pragmatics and semiotics, Hatim proposes varying definitions. For example,
Hatim (1984: 147) defines pragmatics as action on the environment; later, he defines it
as when language users react to signals. Hatim (1987: 102) defines it as what the text-
producers attempt to achieve; and in Hatim and Mason (1990: 12), they define it as that
which attempts to account for the ways in which we perceive the underlying meaning on
the basis of what we already know or assume to be the case. At the same time, Hatim and
Mason (1990: 51) propose a definition of functional tenor as what language is used for.
This kind of definition represents their definition of pragmatics. As for semiotics, it is
almost the same case; sometimes it is defined as interaction with the environment (Hatim
1984: 147); at other times, it is defined as when language users react to signals related to
interaction with the environment; it is treating a communicative item as a sign within a
system of signs (Hatim and Mason 1990: 57). This kind of inconsistency will reflect nega-
tively on Hatims context of specification.
As for Werlichs shortcoming, John (1988) claims that one of the delinquencies of his ap-
proach, which is not realized by Hatim, is that he does not account for poetic texts (e.g.
poems), although some poetic texts can be discovered which are congruous to at least
some of the types of texts recognized by Werlich such as The Rhyme of the Ancient
Mariner. This poetic text can be identified as narrative. Despite these shortcomings, the
model of Werlich as well as those of De Beaugrande and Dressler, and Hatim are helpful
in terms of the process of text-categorization and analysis of text-typology.
Basing myself on the text-typological model of Hatim in particular, I see text as the prod-
uct of interaction of the producer/writer of the text and the expected reaction of the text
receiver. For translation purposes, this is important for the receiver in order to under-
stand the properties and the main purpose of the text. The text-producers interaction
has to meet the text-receivers reaction in order for the text to be effective, appropriate,
and meaningful.
74
5.5 Translation and Factors of Success
There are, of course, certain contextual factors that play an important role in conveying
an adequate meaning of the original text into that of the target language. These are as
follows:
5.5.1 Pragmatics
Pragmatics evolves around the function of the text. What are the text producers inten-
tions behind writing such a text? Is he trying to persuade, instruct, describe, or tell a
story? These functions are what make text-types emerge. Understanding this contextual
variable is indeed very significant.
Within text function, the semantic, syntactic, stylistic, and the pragma-semiotic structure
of the text are also important; these are what determine the translatability of text. In other
words, the content of text, the thematic-rhematic structure and their position and function,
the way the text producer initiates the text, and the chains or bonds utilized within the text
are all basic characteristics of written texts (for more information, see Shiyab 1996).
In understanding text function, the translator and/or interpreter should carefully consid-
er the relationship of the text producer to the text receiver. In other words, does the text
producer have something in mind he needs to deliver to the hearer? What is his personal
relationship to him (i.e. status, rank, etc.)? Is the language used formal or informal? All
these, while falling within the pragmatic function of texts, highlight the communicative
presuppositions that are suggested and implied by the text producer.
5.5.2 Semiotics
Of equal importance as the pragmatic dimension is the semiotic one in which text is
represented as a sign. From a contextual point of view, signs can be classified in terms of
the communicative functions they perform; this term is now taken to be implied within
speech act theory (Austin 1962: Section 6.3).
Austin argues that text is a piece of language that depends on certain conditions in order
to be adequately understood. These are represented through the signs inherent in the
internal and external structure of texts.
75
Context
Message
Addressor Addressee
Context
Code
Diagram (4) Constituents of Speech Event)
Jakobson (1971: 703) points out that there are six constituent factors that make up any
speech event; these are represented in Diagram (4). For Jakobson, any kind of commu-
nication is composed of a message that requires a contact between the addressor and the
addressee; such a contact may take an oral, visual, electronic form or whatever. This form
is manifested in a code, speech, number, writing, sound formation, etc. Also, the message
should refer to a context understood by both interlocutors; it should also make sense
through a context.
It should be emphasized that Jakobsons main focus here is that the message cannot fully
provide the totality of the meaning of the transaction, as the meaning of such Jakobson
believes that semiotics as the science of sign, evolves around understanding the struc-
tures of all signs, their utilization, and the specifics of the various sign system, all of which
have a significant role to play in the interpretation of a message.
5.5.3 Communicative Context

It is the context which emphasizes the writers awareness of the formal patterning of his
language as opposed to the formal patterning of the target language; this context helps
the translator to be ascertained of the naturalness of the translation and of the totality of
meaning of both texts.
In this particular category, emphasis here is placed on the significant and functional ap-
propriateness of language uses. This is in addition to the variables affecting all aspects of
communication. Above all, the relationship between the communicative function and
the natural forms and patterns of language may give insights into translation theory.
76
1. What is context? Give examples to explain your definition.

2. What is the role of context in translation?
3. Define text-types. What are they, according to Neubert (1988)?
4. How does context give rise to text-types?
5. Explain three factors that determine the efficiency of translation.
6. Choose and explain three words or expressions that show how context helps transla-
tors produce more effective translation.
77
CHAPTER 6
Translation: State of the Art
6.1 Introduction
Scholars from all over the world have frequently discussed aspects of technical and gram-
matical translations from one language to another. However, I believe a significant aspect
of translating texts creatively and artistically has been overlooked. The term creative
is treated here as the process of translating texts expressively and artistically through
the readers life experiences or through his own senses of the world. This does not mean
that the translator is completely free to do whatever he wants, nor should he be literal,
but rather free to be creative and artistic in his work. Translation is believed to involve
transferring thoughts behind words, sometimes between the words, or transferring the
sub-text (Delisle 1981, cited in Newmark 1988: 76). This is a procedure that should be
regarded as the heart or the central issue of translation.
6.2 Translation and Meaning
Because of the fact that the connection between translation and meaning is very obvious,
there is no need to elaborate. However, it should be pointed out that translation attempts
to uncover all the potentialities of meaning in the two languages concerned. To this effect,
meaning in all its linguistic and non-linguistic aspects has to be carefully considered in
translation. As Dummett (1993) argues, to grasp the meaning of a word is to understand
the context and the occurrence in which the word is used, and this requires understand-
ing the function this particular word performs in language. Meaning revolves around the
notion of how language functions, and such function is itself derived from all aspects of
meaning. Translation aims at using all aspects of meaning in such a way the source text
and the target text are approximated to one another from all linguistic aspects. Mean-
79
ing in semantic or lexical terms has been thoroughly studied (Ogden and Richards 1923;
Ullmann 1962; Lyons 1968, 1977, 1981), but it has been apparent, at least since Ogden and
Richards, that semantic meaning cannot account for all aspects of meaning relevant to the
translator. For this reason, meaning in this study will be treated as the totality of the infor-
mation conveyed not simply that type of information which is treatable under a formal
semantic theory (e.g. of a truth-conditional nature). This is so because meaning is not an
abstract entity but an interaction between the translator and the text. Meaning and/or func-
tion of the text is the interpretation of a given message. This usage of meaning coincides
with that of Halliday (1970, 1973), Leech and Short (1981), De Beaugrande (1978), and
Mason (1982). Those views share the assumption that meaning is understood as action and
interaction; it is a process and, at the same time, a product. The translator looks at meaning
as the intention of the text-producer in the social and cultural environment in which the
text is used. Here, Ogden and Richards (1923:187) state that meaning is:
That to which the interpreter of a symbol

a) refers.
b) believes himself to be referring.
c) believes the user to be referring.
When it comes to meaning, translation is believed to involve conveying what is implied

and not what is said (Meyer 1974). This, according to Meyer, is the meaning behind
meaning. However, in translating the implied meaning, i.e. the sub-text, the translator
must word a sentence in such a way that the sub-text is equally clear in the target text.
One cannot translate the following English sentence into Arabic, relying on the explicit
wording of it as follows:
English: When John died, his wife could not send his boy to Harvard.
(cindama tuwuffiya John lam tastatic zawjatahu irsala ibnihi ila harvard)
In the above sentence, the adverbial expression cindama (when) is translated as a time
expression. However, a more appropriate and meaningful translation to this expression
would be translating its prepositional meaning. Therefore, the best rendition to this term
is bacda (after).
It should be borne in mind here that when could be used in the first translation to refer
to: at the time of Johns death, as soon as, during the time at which something happens,
while, etc. However, the preposition after is used to refer to: subsequent in time to the
event, at a later time, because of, afterward, etc.
80
Furthermore, the word Harvard in the above sentence could also raise the same prob-
lem, particularly if one ignores its function (the most prestigious school in the United
States). Therefore, relying on the explicit meaning of the word is not enough. Text-pro-
ducers bring their own assumptions, presuppositions, and general world-view to bear
on their processing of text at all levels. Individual lexical choices are also important. In
such cases, the translator should go beyond the explicit meaning towards perceiving the
potential meaning of particular choices within the cultural and linguistic community of
the source text (Mason 1992: 23). The translator should carefully measure the thought
behind meaning as the thought that is carried on by the word is its essential meaning. It
is this kind of meaning that should not be tampered with.
Based on the above example, it is axiomatic that translation is not a direct transference
of a word in the original to a word in the target text. It is a careful analysis written with
a good choice of words. Here, the translator is in a situation where he chooses from
among several more or less equally acceptable target language versions. This, according
to Gutknecht and Rolle (1996: 2) depends on the following factors:
1. The type of text to be translated.

2. The extent to which the source language text bears stylistic markings.
3. The intended target language audience.
4. The extent to which the translator can comprehend the source language
text and identify himself with.
5. The translators stylistic preference and his ability to recognize and han-
dle stylistic register.
Now the translator has to consider many things when translating a text. Among the situ-
ational factors stated above, translation should be performed in such a way that the es-
sence, spirit, and sense of sentences are carefully maintained.
It follows, therefore, that within the core of the translation process, there lies a choice,
or a free will of the translator that, in one way or another, plays a significant role in the
process of translation. The choice of the translator has to be made if things have to be
accomplished, only because what the translator is confronted with is a text whose forms
and functions have been creatively and expressively used by the writer.
Regardless of the decision made, whether it is based on careful scrutiny, reconstruction

or on the outcome of the translators trained instinct, the final decision that must be made
has to come down to selecting the choice that the translator thinks is the closest equiva-
lent to that of the target text. At the same time, the translator tries very hard to maintain
the norms and functions of the source text; he also tries very hard not to add new shades
81
of differing points or any of the values, norms, forms and functions that are not included
within the text. Therefore, the translator works here as a coordinator who is free to choose
whatever but at the same time responsible for whatever he chooses.
6.3 Translation and Culture
There is almost a general consensus that conveying a message from one language to an-
other does not only arise from the mere use of different words and symbols, nor from
the arrangement of words together in a sentence, but rather how words, sentences and
paragraphs are presented to the foreign reader. Also, it is universally well-acknowledged
that languages have distinct realities in which each shapes and moulds its own. As a re-
sult, the culture of one language is bound to vary from another as speakers of a particular
language have their own way of thinking. How a writer thinks, therefore, determines how
he writes. These are the views of Sapir (1951) and Nida (1964).They argue that in differ-
ent cultures, approaches to writing, particularly making a paragraph tend to be different
and these approaches are culturally influenced by patterns of thinking. Such a rhetorical
device has its real effect whentranslating atextfromone language to another across two
different cultures, where the rhetorical form of the source language does not conform
fully with the rhetorical form of the target language.
This is not to say that the stylistic orrhetorical device ofparagraphing in one language
is better than in another, but it only shows how languages adhere to theirown particular
pattern of thought. In English, for example, sentences or paragraphs should actually be
joined together, as they are complementary to each other. There is no benefit from para-
graphs illogical division, for the reader gets confused while reading the text. It is common
to all readers that every sentence or paragraph expresses one single theme, and within
such paragraphs, there are signaling devices that inform the reader when to move from
one point to another. Here is a representation of what the English language patterns of
writing might look like compared to some other languages.
English Language
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
_________________________
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Language X
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
_________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
_____________________________
Two types of paragraphing according to Seale (1979: 5)
Along the same lines, Brooks and Warren (1952, 1970), commenting on the paragraph as
a convenience to the reader, argue that the paragraph is a division of composition which
signals to the reader that the division which is set off constitutes a unit of thought;it also
makes the divisions of the writers thoughts visible. Brooks and Warrengofurtherin say-
ing that this division, for the reader, is a convenience.
On the psychological reality of the paragraph, Koen, Becker, and Young (1969) compare
the paragraph with the sentence; they argue that if the importance of grasping the un-
derlying structure of the sentence contributes to its understanding, then the perception
of the paragraph performs a similar function.Also, Kieras (1978) suggests that the role
of the paragraph is to minimize memory load:the text-reader does not have to burden
his memory bythedifferent kinds of information presented in thetext. Kieras goes on to
say that the function ofthe paragraph is tomakeit easy for the reader to digest the con-
tents of the text. Therefore, common sense dictates that the lack of unified and coherent
sentences or paragraphs in any language or if sentences or paragraphs were constructed
inconsistently in relation to the language targeted by the translator, there is a possibility
that the translated text will not meet the requirement of acceptability and naturalness
demanded by the other language reader.
Furthermore, it has been suggested that language is a reflection of culture (Jakobson 1985).
These two concepts are intrinsically correlated and interconnected. Jakobson (1985: 103)
argues that language is a cultural phenomenon, and culture according to him is:
The totality of behavior patterns that are passed between generations by learn-
ing, socially determined behavior learned by imitation and instruction.
83
Jakobson goes on to say that learning a language involves learning social conventions
simply because language has cognitive and expressive aspects that are cultivated. Simi-
larly, Kaplan (1966, 1983) and Jakobson (1971) stress the fact that language affects our
conceptualization of reality; they argue that the linguistic categories that form the way we
think are different from one language to another. Jakobson (1985: 107) says:
Language is situated between nature and culture and it serves as a founda-

tion of culture. We may go even further and state that language is THE [his
emphasis] necessary and substantial foundation of human culture.
In discussing the impact of culture upon language, Jakobson (1985), Sapir (1921, 1951,
1956), Hymes (1964), and Whorf (1956) suggest that each language exists within a partic-
ular culture and has its own particular lexicon which shapes the perception of its speak-
ers. Languages reflect cultural differences, and these differences are manifested in the
categorization of gender, number, color, etc.
Within the process of translation, the awareness of the cultural as well as the socially
equivalent frameworks in which a particular text is used is extremely significant, although
perfect cultural equivalents are indeed unattainable. What is attainable is the approxima-
tion of cultural and social context of the two languages, which makes the translated text
functionally similar and relatively natural with respect to its original. Regarding this,
Malinowski (1923: 309) states:
Since the whole world of things to be expressed changes with the level of
culture, with geographical, social and economic conditions, the consequence
is that the meaning of a word must always be gathered, not from a passive
contemplation of this word, but from an analysis of its function, with refer-
ence to a given culture.
Nida shares this notion with Malinowski that any translation that excludes consideration
of cultural elements is doomed to be inadequate. Nida (1964: 90) says:
The person who is engaged in translation from one language into another
ought to be constantly aware of the contrast in the entire range of culture
represented by the two languages.
These views indicate that the link between language and culture cannot be ignored, and
that a communitys culture consists of whatever it is one has to know or believe in order
to create in a manner acceptable to its members. This is what makes translation a difficult
task as the translator has to be aware that the text he is translating is not only formed by a
84
linguistic capability but it also relates to things, people, cultural and social values, behav-
iors, and emotions. All these operate within the situational context of the text.
6.4 Translators Perception
It is to be noted that translators are different from one another; they differ conspicu-
ously in their perception of the real world. They are also different in their capabilities and
talents. It is axiomatic to point out therefore that in translating literature, for example,
four translators would more likely produce four different versions or translations of the
same text or expression. This is highly logical because each translator looks at the text or
expression from his own perspective. For example, in Shakespeares play Hamlet, one can
see how the expression Thou art a scholar, speak to it, Horaito, uttered by Marcellus in
Act I, Scene I has been translated differently by four translators: Mutran, Jabra, Jamal, and
Al-Khumyri. Because the word scholar is polysemous, each one of those four transla-
tors has translated it differently, reflecting their own personal talent or possible synonyms
available to him/her. The four translations are listed below for the sake of exposition:
(1) anta faqih (you are a jurisprudent) Jabra.

(2) anta fashi alim (you are eloquent and knowledgeable) Mutran.
(3) anta rajulun muthaggafun wa fasih (you are both a cultured and
eloquent man) Jamal.
(4) anta rajulun muta allim (you are an educated man) Al-Khmyri.
Taking into account the religious context in which the word scholar was used by Marcel-
lus, and because Marcellus looks at the addressee as a man of knowledge, we understand
and agree with several literary critics, who favored the Arabic rendition of the above
expression you are a jurisprudent simply because it is a more acceptable equivalent than
all other words provided by other translators. It also gives the gist of the meaning in this
context. However, the question always arises: can the idea that is expressed intelligently
by the writer be maintained in the translation? To answer this question, we should note
that translation is a matter of interpretation, and when we write about translation, we
only write about it from a translators perspective. The translator generally sees things
from his own subjective evaluation. He sees them from his untrammeled viewpoint. To
him, words have personal perception; they have different kinds of recognition. Therefore,
it would be hard for the translator to express the words exactly in the same form and
function of the target language. In such cases, the translator has to convey the idea ac-
cording to his own perception.
85
When the translator is confronted with a word that has to be conveyed into the target lan-
guage, his choice makes all the difference in the world. The lexis he chooses may have al-
most the same meaning to that of the other language, paying his utmost attention to avoid
contamination or not to allow translation nuances to interfere and distort the meaning
of the original. For the sake of clarity, the translator digs for textual and situational re-
semblance. The search for resemblance and synonymity is what made some linguists and
translation practitioners believe that translation is a form of synonymy. Graham (1991:
10) clearly and flatly comments on Quines idea of synonymy, stating that the natural
alternative is to abandon the notion of two messages synonymous in all respect with one
another and replace it with the requirement that similarity of meaning be attained in
some particular respects, never all.
From a philosophical point of view, Quine (1992: 57-62), while discussing the indeter-
minacy of translation, proposes that synonymy roughly consists in approximate likeness
in effect on the hearer. Quines use of the word synonymy is not restricted. He points
out that the word synonymy carried the full generality of same in meaning, whatever
that is. Quine distinguishes between two types of synonymy: broad type and narrow type.
Broad synonymy can be formulated in intuitive terms. That is, two sentences command
assent concomitantly and dissent concomitantly. This kind of concomitance is due strictly
to word usage rather than how things happen in the world. As for the narrow type, Quine
believes that it is synonymy of parts and not synonymy of wholes. Quine states:
Synonymy of parts is defined by appeal to analogy of roles in synonymous

wholes; then synonymy in the narrow sense is defined for the wholes by ap-
peal to synonymy of homologous parts.
Part-whole relationships always exist in synonymy. When two sentences have, what is
called by philosophers sameness of confirming experience and of disconfirming experience
(Grice & Strawson 1956), then we have wholly synonymous sentences; however, when two
sentences partially confirm and disconfirm experience, then we have partially synonymous
sentences. Here, one can argue, to this effect, that synonymy involves partial overlapping
or whole overlapping. That is, the meaning of one message may partially or wholly overlap
with the meaning of another and the idea of partial and whole overlapping is something
inevitable in translation. In other words, the meaning of one word is wholly or partially cov-
ered by the other. The idea of partial and whole overlapping is represented in Figure (1):
86
X Y
A B A&B
Figure (1) Representation of Partial and Whole Overlapping
It is axiomatic to point out that total or complete overlapping, if it exists, does not cause
any problem. However, for partial overlapping, one could look at A as the original word
or even text. Then B is the target word of the target text. The relationship is that of a mir-
ror image, i.e. one word in a text is mirrored to create the target image. Inevitably, this
kind of overlapping cannot always be total, because of at least phonological differences.
The most difficult part, however, is that one part is being partially or wholly covered and
another part does the covering. There is a neutral part that is not covered in partial over-
lapping, and this is the area where the translator finds himself free to move. Here, portion
X in the original occupies accompanying meaning which is not encumbered in the mean-
ing of the word B. Also, portion Y holds a concomitant meaning that is not included in
the meaning of A. Therefore, the translator, if possible, must target a total overlapping, a
very complicated if not impossible task.
It is to be noted that complete synonymy does not exist, and the translator seeks to pre-
serve the meaning that is similar to the meaning of the original. Ross (1981: 12) states:
The translator seeks to convey the same meaning in a new language as is

found in the original. Not only must he choose among the various respects
in which similarity of meaning is to be preserved; this is less sameness in any
particular respect, and is more an equivalence satisfactory to the constraints,
which govern his work.
The translator here makes his choices with differing degrees of ease or sophistication.
This actually depends on the subject matter he is dealing with. Furthermore, it often
happens that one discovers that, upon looking over the printed copy of a translation,
particularly when it comes off the press, he could, if given the choice and the chance
again, introduce a different alternative. Hence, people/or some translators often dislike
their translation of a particular subject-matter after it was published. It could be those
translators feel that they have not done well in their translation. However, when one
reads his own writing, he reads it with some satisfaction; he may not change a single jot.
87
This is the difference between translating and writing. Translating, if not done intui-
tively, is interpretation. On the other hand, writing is an art. It is a creation of the mind.
Therefore, translation is done through the creation of the individuals mind, paying his
utmost attention to the original message and the other was done intuitively based on
the writers intellect and imagination.
6.5 Translating vs. Writing
It is to be noted here that having the capability to write effectively and clearly should have
a bearing on translating appropriately. After all, translating is writing creatively with the
translators utmost attention to the meaning of the original text. The difference between
the two activities (i.e. translating and writing), however, is a matter of perception. Writ-
ing, particularly in literature, is a matter of creation whereas translating is a matter of
text-comprehension, as the idea of the text to be translated has already been determined
by the writer. Therefore, writing focuses on creating the idea whereas translating focuses
on choosing the closest natural equivalent to a particular lexis. Following is a manifesta-
tion of these two skills:
Writing Translating
Text-Transference
Creation Text-Comprehension
Figure (2) Writing-Translating Representation
In this regard, the translator must be modest; he should not be too creative nor should
he be too literal. Being too creative may result in distorting the beauty and intricacy of
the original text. Being literal may result in ambiguating the text. Therefore, the transla-
tor faces a dilemma. The solution to such information immoderation is to be accurate in
such a way that the two texts are closely approximated.
88
6.6 Translating is Personal
As the translator seeks to choose his closest natural equivalent, he looks backward and
forward. He may see that words have changed and therefore he acts upon this. He may
also discover that words have drifted, have disappeared over the years, and there is no
reason to believe that they will not continue to do so. This implies that the translator has
a sense of what is called the other meaning in relation to the text to be processed. He
should experience the text in his own way, feeling words as mobiles, sensing all possible
avenues. It is through his own perception he is capable of changing this into likeness.
After all, he is the fixer and the one who puts things into their proper perspective. He is
the one who looks backward and forward into language for the purpose of understand-
ing, making changes, maintaining text functions, etc. In this regard, one finds it relevant
to refer to the concept of moving in language, and in this sense, translating would be a
movement in the words used to make language along the context in which words or sen-
tences are used. Bakhtin (1981: 15) states:
The word is not a thing, but rather the eternally mobile, eternally changing
medium of dialogical intercourse. It never coincides with a single conscious-
ness or a single voice. The life of the word is in its transfer from one mouth to
another, one context to another, one social collective to another, one genera-
tion to another. In the process, the word does not forget where it has been
and can never wholly free itself from the domination of the contexts of which
it has been a part.
From a different perspective, some believe that translation is an imitation. In translat-

ing literature, for example, one often finds that Horace details the problems of rivaling
Pindar(odes iv. ii) and proceeds to apply his precepts (odes iv. iv) on an essentially Ro-
man theme. Horaces work was an imitation of another, but it was an art that consisted
of bending the technique of another author to his own subject and language. The many
different translations of the Arabian Nights or the One Thousand Nights and One Night
is another case in point where the style of the original work was imitated by translators
although it was alien to them.
Furthermore, translation can be viewed as an artistic activity. Kelly (1979: 44) argues that
the translator attempts to create his own personal relationship with the text-producer. He
follows this with grasping the inner significance of the text he studies. As for the relation-
ship between the translator and the text, translators should know how to use their minds,
not only in a rational way, but also in an intuitive and creative way. Panoulle (1993: 89)
89
believes that translators are expected to be creative, because texts, particularly literary
texts, use language creatively.
Some believe that translation is an interpretation. The concept Gadamer (1975:10) refers
to here is what is called the hermeneutic circle. This concept refers to knowledge as the
lived-experience. Lived-experience is what gives meaning to language and thought. A
compelling factor in support of translation as a personal lived-experience is the continual
renewal of translating traditional texts. If the goal of the translator were to capture the
intentions of the text-producer, one translation of The Iliad would be sufficient proof. In-
stead, one finds new and different translations for almost every poetic or literary work.
1. How can the sense and intuition of the translator play an important part in translation?
2. What is the difference between being creative and being simplistic?
3. Are translators different in their perception of the world? How? Can you provide
translation examples demonstrating this?
4. What is synonymy? Give examples.
5. Does Complete Synonymy exist? Give examples.
6. How is translating different from writing?
7. Is translation personal? How? Explain your answer.
6.8 Analysis and Translation of Texts
Considering what has been discussed in this chapter, read the following text, examine
it carefully, and then translate it into the target language. You should examine areas in
the text where improvement and clarification must be made once the text is translat-
ed. You may also examine the word choices that are indicative of the writers personal
judgments.
90
Dear Dr Beast,
Since the University is looking forward to becoming one of the top universities
in the world through providing the appropriate support for its students and em-
ployees, and since we are aware of the educational programs your college offers,
Text 1
we would like to ask you to approve on nominating Dr. John Jane June to give
an English course for the Department staff. The course will be given outside his
official working hours in the college. The Department will give the lecturer a
financial reward.
We appreciate your cooperation.

Wallace E. Stremming
Director
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
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CHAPTER 7
Punctuation and Translation
7.1 Introduction
This chapter attempts to describe the pragmatic and semantic functions of punctuation
marks, particularly the most frequently used punctuation marks: semicolon (;) and the
colon (:). The rationale behind describing these two punctuation marks is that no studies
have provided a detailed description of the pragmatic and semantic functions of these
marks, which are mostly used in Arabic for intonational or decorative purposes.
It was found that the system of punctuation marks in Arabic is misrepresented as users do
not specify rules for using such punctuation marks. However, in this study, it was found
that punctuation marks have linguistic implications that are not recognized by linguists
or by translators. The implications discussed here are the emphatic, additive, contrastive,
and substantiative functions.
7.2 What is Punctuation?
Punctuation, though a non-verbal communicative process, is an important and cohesive

device in all kinds of written discourse. It uses standard marks to separate words, phrases,
clauses and sentences for the purpose of cohesion. Writers use such marks to signal the
ends of sentences, express strong emotion, to separate closely related sentences or clauses,
etc. Inadequate punctuation burdens the reader and forces him to go over the text several
times to understand its meaning. At the same time, using too many punctuation marks,
and in places where they are not supposed to be used, can confuse the reader. Under-
standing the uses and functions of punctuation marks, therefore, is extremely important
93
for writers and teachers as well as translators, as their purpose is to clarify the meaning of
a particular construction within the sentence and beyond the sentence level.
In this chapter, I will try to show how punctuation marks fulfill specific semantic and
pragmatic functions, i.e. substantiation, counter-argumentation, explanation, etc. These
functions have a significant bearing on translating an expression or a text from one lan-
guage to another. The marks this chapter attempts to investigate are limited to a couple of
intra-sentential ones (Leggett et al 1982). They are the semicolon and the colon. Marks
like these are called internal because they show the relationship of each word or group
of words to the rest of the sentence.
The reason for selecting these specific punctuation marks is that they are frequent in Eng-
lish written discourse and tend to be problematic when translating into other languages,
particularly Arabic. To this latter effect, a questionnaire was distributed to 20 M.A. trans-
lation students in the English Department at Yarmouk University, Jordan. The sample
was made up of students who had taken at least eighteen credit hours (theoretical and
practical courses), to ensure that they had knowledge of translation practice and theory.
Students were asked to translate sample texts from English into Arabic. Special attention
was paid to their translations of the punctuation marks to see whether the students were
aware of their semantic and pragmatic uses. The results were unexpected and illuminat-
ing: hardly any of the students were aware of the way in which these punctuation marks
are or ought to be used. The mistakes and translations will be discussed in later sections.
7.3 Importance of Punctuation
Let there be no doubt that we all agree that punctuation is important in all kinds of writ-
ten discourse; however, few people know the extent of its importance. If a writer neglects
or pays no special attention to the functions and uses of punctuation marks, or he mis-
punctuates, it is more likely that he will be misunderstood. Even when the sense of a par-
ticular construction is clear, a mispunctuated text may be deprived of its impetus, driving
and persuasive force, spirit, and meaning. In spoken discourse, pauses and gestures have
particular functions to perform. They are used to emphasize meaning and stress, pitch of
our own tones and voices. They are used in a variety of ways to demonstrate the begin-
ning and the end of a particular unit of meaning or a particular paragraph. In this respect,
speech can be punctuated as well as a written discourse. For example, the following ut-
terances can express different meanings although the same words are used.
94
Private. No parking Private? No.

allowed. Parking allowed.
(1) (2)
It is to be noted here that example (1) indicates that no parking is allowed while example
(2) indicates that parking is allowed. What marks the difference between the two mean-
ings is the punctuation marks.
Furthermore, through punctuation marks, one can signal different information units. Hal-
liday (1985) and Baker (1994) point out that through punctuation marks, one can signal
different information structures in written language. Baker states, for example, that using a
comma can signal new information. She demonstrates this by the following examples:
(1) He was waving to the girl who was running along the platform (DC).
(2) He was waving to the girl, who was running along the platform (NDC).
DC: Defining Clause
NDC: Non-defining Clause
The above two examples are similar in terms of wording. The difference is only realized
through the use of the comma. If one carefully examines the implications created by the use
of the comma, one will observe that the first clause does not add any new information; it
presumes the reader already knows enough about the girl to identify her from this descrip-
tion. At the same time, if one examines the implications created in the second clause, one
can observe that there is a particular information structure signaled by using the comma,
and this structure represents new information. Consequently, a comma, as tiny as it ap-
pears, makes a big difference between two units of information worded similarly.
Moreover, in the above examples, two linguistics functions have been established: defin-
ing clause (DC) and non-defining clause (NDC). These two functions are commonly
realized through the use of the comma (Quirk et al 1985).
In order to clarify the point further, here is another example:

1. A woman without her man is nothing.
2. A woman, without her man, is nothing.
3. A woman: without her, man is nothing.
In the above three examples, one can see that meaning changes based on the specific use
of punctuation marks. For example, in sentence (1), there is a general statement that a
woman without her man is nothing. Prominence was given to man as the important one.
95
In sentence (2), the meaning changes in relation to sentence (1), although we are still us-
ing the exact words. Here, prominence is still given to man, but with specific reference
to a woman, as opposed to something else. In sentence (3), there is a complete shift of
meaning. Prominence is given to the importance of the woman, as if man does not exist
without the presence of the woman. All these meanings have been represented as a result
of the different uses of the punctuation marks.
From a different angle, discussing the meaning of punctuation requires paying special
attention to the delimitation and boundaries between semantics and pragmatics. Almost
all the studies that have been done on these two major fields of linguistics have associated
the delimitation of the two terms with the delimitation of Chomskys competence and
the performance or Saussures langue and parole (Hawkes 1986). The distinction between
langue and parole, according to Hawkes (1986: 20) is more or less one that pertains to the
difference between the abstract language system simply called in English language and
individual utterances made by the speakers of the language in concrete everyday situa-
tions called speech. According to Hawkes, langue is both a social product and a collection
of necessary conventions that have been adopted by a social body to permit individuals
to exercise that faculty. As for parole, it is the tip of the iceberg. Langue is the larger mass
that supports parole, and it is implied by it, both in speaker and hearer, but which never
itself appears (Hawkes 1986: 21). Thus, semantics is the input to pragmatics. However, in
this book, semantics is used to relate to the language system whereas pragmatics is used
to relate to utterances.
Many definitions have been proposed for the notions of semantics and pragmatics (see
Leech 1974: 319 and 1983; Levinson 1983). In order to show where punctuation lies, I
shall adopt Leechs complementary position in which he defines semantics as what some-
thing means. The weather is hot means The weather is hot (a statement), and pragmatics
as what somebody means by something, i.e. The weather is hot means Open the window (a
request). The former example is mainly concerned with meaning as a property of lan-
guage whereas the latter example is mainly concerned with meaning as what the speaker
intends by his utterance (his intention).
From all of this, one can conclude that punctuation and its functions lie within the field of
pragmatics. The meaning of a particular utterance has to be deduced from the speakers
intention with reference to the context of situation in which the utterance is used. Con-
text here is taken to mean the background knowledge which the speaker assumes to be
known to the hearer at the time of speaking; it does not represent brute facts but rather
institutional facts of text or context (Leech 1983: 341). In accordance with this view and
for the sake of exposition, the semantic and pragmatic functions will be referred to to-
gether here as linguistic functions.
96
7.4 Punctuation in Arabic
Williams (1982) believes that teachers must take into account the punctuation conven-
tions when teaching composition if they are to forestall some of the problems which they
face; he also believes that a consideration of punctuation may yield some useful clues to
the large semantic units which users work with or see themselves working with. In his
study of some of the differences between Arabic and English punctuation, Williams de-
scribes two systems of Arabic punctuation; the first system is a very simple one in which
commas are used to delimit sentences and full stops are used along with the conventional
line break to mark the ends of the paragraphs.
The second system, as indicated by Williams (1991), contains a whole plethora of signs,
21 in all. They are as follows:
1. comma
2. double comma
3. semicolon ;
4. full stop .
5. colon :
6. dash -
7. double dash --
8. diagonal line /
9. underlining the
10. extended line ___
11. curved brackets ( )
12. square brackets [ ]
13. hollow brackets ( )
14. curly brackets { } (To indicate a paradigmatic group)
15. dots (To indicate words missed out)
16. question mark
17. exclamation mark !
18. double quotation marks
19. equal sign =
20. ditto sign
21. concluding sign
For more detailed information on this subject, see Nafi (1981).
97
Most of the above Arabic punctuation marks have their equivalents in the English punc-
tuation system; however, there are differences when it comes to the uses of the colon
and semicolon. These are problematic in translation. Therefore, the linguistic functions of
punctuation will be investigated below and the problems associated with their uses will
be highlighted.
7.4.1 The semicolon (;)

This punctuation mark indicates a close linkage between two clauses. Apart
from the well-known functions of this mark, in Arabic as well as in English, it occasion-
ally tends to express a contrastive relation between two clauses. Consider the following
example taken from The Economist (1983: 52):
Text (1) English

The Nicaraguan people say that their families were taken away by members
of the Security Forces; the Sandinists claim that the missing have joined
the contras.
An inexperienced translator may read the English text and consider the relationship be-
tween the two clauses or sentences as that of addition; he may also not realize that the true
relationship is significant for relaying the exact meaning of the original.
Looking at the students translation, it was found that 12 students translated this punctu-
ation mark as addition, and 6 of them did not even attempt to translate it. Only 2 students
translated it correctly. The relationship expressed here is that of contrast, where two dif-
ferent points of view are being stated. Therefore, the translator should utilize the Arabic
conjunctive bayanama or amma however.
In a different context, the translator may sometimes fail in the opposite way to identify
the exact or intended meaning of this punctuation mark; he may think that the semicolon
is always used as above, to contrast between two clauses. However, the semicolon may
indeed sometimes be used as an additive conjunctive. Here is an example taken from The
Economist (1983: 105):
Text (2) English

In America in the mid 1970s, the causes of several helicopter crashes were
traced to bogus replacement parts; in 1977, 200 fake fire detection and con-
trol systems for Boeing aircraft were discovered.
98
It is clear that the original text does not indicate grammatically or structurally whether
or not the clause preceding the semicolon and the clause following it have similar values.
The reader has to guess at the writers implication behind the semicolon. The relationship
expressed between these two clauses is in fact that of addition.
Looking at the students translations, it was found that 10 students expressed an addi-
tion relationship; none of them expressed a contrast relationship. At the same time, 3
students have not even attempted to translate it. It was observed that 7 students trans-
lated it as fa (causative), expressing a relationship that is not implied. There is another
function which can be performed by the use of the semicolon. This function is its con-
trastive emphatic meaning. That is, the semicolon in English can be interpreted to mean
emphasis, requiring a different mark in Arabic. This mark is the conjunction bal. It
emphasizes the clause in which it is used in a prominent position, compared to the
preceding clauses. Here is an example taken from Cary (1984: 64):
Text (3) English

Loui must have gone to the police. What right had they to persue him like
this? He had done no wrong; he was trying to do the right thing, the sensible
thing.
It was found that only 3 students translated the semicolon correctly as emphatic; 2 trans-
lated it as an additive; 11 students did not translate it at all; 4 expressed a causative rela-
tionship. It should be pointed out that the way the semicolon is used in English, in the
above three examples, is very clear to the native speakers of English. However, this punc-
tuation mark tends to be problematic in Arabic. The students translation of examples 1, 2
and 3 shows that Arabs tend to treat the English semicolon as additive, as is the case with
almost all punctuation marks in their own language. Sometimes it is not even looked into,
and the semantic and pragmatic implications are completely ignored. This indicates that
there is a language interference problem in the way this punctuation mark is used.
7.4.2 Colon (:)

This colon is different from semicolon in the fact that the colon is cataphoric (i.e. refer-
ring or pointing forward). From a semantic point of view, it is a way of marking the
identity between what is being expressed and what is about to be expressed. For example,
I said this , where the meaning of what follows the colon must be equivalent to this but
more specific (see Quirk et al 1985: Ch. 12 for more information on this topic).
From a translation point of view, and according to Newmark (1981), when the sentence
is viewed logically and not grammatically, or used in such a way that it requires clarifi-
99
cation or illustration, it is normally punctuated with a colon. Therefore, the colon has a
cataphoric function: it is always followed by an explanation or an illustration (Halliday
1985). That is, the clause following it is a substantiation of something in the one which
precedes it.
When it comes to translating the colon, the translator should account for it by marks that
have the same semantic and pragmatic functions. These functions are represented in the
following example taken from Cary (1984: 63):
Text (4) English

Tom, without thought, answered: My name is Stone, and then, angry to
see himself faced by a policeman, went on: What do you want here? Why
should I answer your questions?
It should be noted here that the translator has to interpret the uses of the colon carefully;
he should account for the non-verbal uses of this punctuation mark during the process
of translation. To provide an accurate translation of the above example, the translator
should opt for equivalent words such as fa (causative) or id (substantative).
In the students translations, it was found that 13 students translated the colon as an ad-
ditive, and only 2 translated it expressing contrast. At the same time, 1 student translated
it as emphatic and 3 students did not translate it at all.
As the text above shows, the first colon has not been translated; it does not need to
be translated simply because what follows after the verb answered is axiomatically
understood as substantiation. However, the second colon should have been translated
because its presence in the sentence adds a temporal sequence. Thus, it can be seen
how punctuation marks which need to be conveyed into the target language are not
appropriately conveyed by translation students. This shows that students have only a
vague idea about the specific semantic and pragmatic functions of punctuation marks.
It also shows that students, when they attempt to translate punctuation marks, do not
think of the distortion they may create from not conveying the correct meaning of this
punctuation mark in the target text. The following table shows the results of students
translations of the texts under discussion:
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Additive Contrast Causative Emphatic Not Translated
Text (1) 12 2 6
Text (2) 10 7 3
Text (3) 2 4 3 11
Text (4) 13 1 2 1 3
Table (2): Students Translation of the Semicolon and Colon
As the above table shows, students seem to be confused about the uses of the semicolon
and colon; they also seem to be influenced by the writing patterns of their native lan-
guage. It is, therefore, important for translators to be made aware of these functions and
see to it that these punctuation marks are not misunderstood or simply overlooked.
Based on their translations, we can observe that students are not only unfamiliar with
the way most punctuation marks are used in English; they are also not familiar with the
punctuation marks used in their own language. Therefore, it is to be expected that any at-
tempt by them to translate an English text into Arabic will suffer so long as they have not
captured the exact meaning (i.e. semantic and pragmatic implications) of these marks.
To sum up, the purpose of this chapter has been to investigate the specific semantic and
pragmatic functions of two important but problematic punctuation marks. These were
the colon and semicolon. Emphasis was placed on how to maintain such implications in
the translation process.
It was noted that the system of punctuation in Arabic is inadequate because it does not
have well-established rules for the use of specific punctuation marks. Therefore, much
work needs to be done in order to identify what is considered to be the sentence in Ara-
bic if one wants to establish a coherent system of punctuation. As for the semantic and
pragmatic functions of the colon and semicolon, they include what is called rebuttal,
emphasis, addition, substantiation, and contrast.
Moreover, this chapter has illustrated that translating punctuation marks from English
into Arabic is indeed very problematic to translators and translation students. This has
been exemplified by the translations of the 20 Arab M.A. translation students. The re-
sults were disappointing: it was found that most of these students are not familiar with
101
the semantic and pragmatic functions of punctuation marks in general and the specific
punctuation marks discussed in this chapter in particular. Therefore, translation students
need to be taught not to allow the source language punctuation marks to influence the
punctuation marks in their translation, simply because languages have different systems
of punctuating. Students should also dig deeper for implications springing from the use
of a specific punctuation mark so as to maintain those implications in their translations.
To enhance the student and working translators understanding of the essence of punctu-
ation marks, more contrastive studies of the marks are needed, not only from a linguistic
point of view but also from a translation point of view. Our hope is to make professional
translators as well as students aware of this important yet problematic issue.
7.5 Test your Knowledge of Chapter (7)
1. What is punctuation? How is it used in your own language?

2. Are there rules by which speakers use punctuation marks?
3. What are the semantic and pragmatic functions of punctuation?
4. Give a few examples where misunderstanding the uses of punctuation marks can give
rise to translation problems.
Read the following text very carefully, and then rewrite it using correct punctuation
marks where needed.
102
*Translation Rules are Ethical Decisions
Radical individualism should thus be taken with a large grain of salt if works
like Luthers Bible and the King James Version can legitimately be criticized
for fantasy and inconsistence it nevertheless seems difficult to classify them as
Text 1
automatically second-rate because of group authorship such prejudice should
quietly be absorbed by the more global principle that the collective profession
provided the conditions necessary for the rise of the authoritative individual
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* Taken from Translation Rules are Ethical Decisions at < http://www.fut.es/~apym/on-line/ttt/7.html>.
103
CHAPTER 8
Translation and Literature
8.1 Introduction
The purpose of this chapter is twofold: (a) to show that translating literature is different
from translating other kinds of texts (i.e. descriptive, journalistic, etc.). Emphasis will be
placed on all literary forms, particularly poetry, and (b) to argue that literary texts contain
words that are often unusual in some way and used to create a special effect on the reader.
This special effect is manifested in plays, poetry, drama, novels, and other creative writ-
ten works. Translating literature is problematic simply because it involves translating the
metaphorical or figurative meanings utilized in texts. The spirit and texts artistic qualities
in such texts play an important role in the make up of what is called a literary text.
In order to show the difficulty of translating literature, particularly poetry, an example

will be taken from the works of Philip Freneau, an American poet, to demonstrate this
point. This example will be translated into Arabic in two different ways: verse and prose.
A comparison will be made between the two types of translations to show which type
(verse or prose) can attain the highest degree of acceptability and equivalency.
The example has been taken from Philip Freneau because he is known for his love of
nature; his language is figurative and full of poetic images. Therefore, translating some of
his work may give us insight on what is involved in literary translation. It may also give us
insight on whether poetry is best translated through verse strategy or prose strategy.
105
8.2 Characteristics of Texts
According to Neubert (1988:123), text is not just a neutral vessel filled with information.
It is actually a piece of writing that fulfills a particular communicative function. This
text also carries with it a segment of the worlds view of the language users. It has certain
characteristics. These are illustrated below. There are many different types of texts, and
the following are only one such many classifications:
8.2.1 Expressive
One of the main characteristics of a literary text is that it is expressive. Since text is lan-
guage, then language can be expressive. The term expressive here is used to refer to works
of art whether such art is manifested through the use of compositional elements or sym-
bols. Both means aim at merely suggesting meaning. According to Newmark (1988: 39),
the core of the expressive function is the mind of the speaker, the writer, and the origina-
tor of the utterance. Therefore, the translator, like a writer, expresses his own vision of
the world; he gives his own realization of a specific reality he wishes to express. This is in
addition to the fact that he speaks his own language, uses his own strategy, expresses his
emotions about a specific object, and about his provocation and reaction.
In writing poetry, however, the writer chooses his words with far more attention to their
sounds than to what is customary or necessarily known in the writing of prose. This is
encapsulated in the writers mental capacity through which he can write with emotions,
rhythm and percipience.
8.2.2 Denotative
This function is mainly concerned with the classification of meaning. It refers to the emo-
tional associations (personal or communal) which are suggested by lexis (i.e. see Lyons
1977, Chapter. 7). A text may manifest emotive, rhetorical, seductive, and stimulative fea-
tures. To this effect, a literary text is not mainly concerned with context or information;
it is actually concerned with explicit and implicit meanings. For example, tone, melody,
and sequence are essential components of any literary text. These represent the internal
image (Frege 1960: 16) and essential components of the literary message in general, and
poetry in particular. Therefore, the loss that may occur is when the original words con-
tain something that is not explicitly stated. This something may manifest itself in the
harmony between sense and sound. It may also manifest itself through a subtle allitera-
tion, construction of metaphors, or in onomatopoeia or any figures of speech.
106
8.2.3 Formal vs. Functional Characteristics

A literary text is not only a means of communicating something to the reader. It is also
a way of provoking the reader. The objective of literature, in particular poetry, therefore,
is not to teach the reader but rather entertain him. In addition, the writer uses a special
kind of language, a language of his own. The style of writing a text is actually a reflection
of his own character. Therefore, the writer uses metaphors, creates images, and uses col-
locations that are not frequently used in ordinary texts. The writer does this as he intends
to manifest the nature and function of the text in a way that we see the image provoked or
intended as something never seen before or at least as something different.
The attitude of the literary translator is also of considerable importance. Unlike transla-
tors of other texts, a translator of a literary text should be self-expressive; he should leave
traces of his own character just as an artist leaves his own impressions in his paintings.
To this effect, the literary text translator has a high degree of freedom in transferring a
text from one language to another. This is contrary to translators of other texts in which
accuracy and faithfulness to the original texts may be the basic prerequisites. One can
imagine, for example, what a wrong translation of heart surgery procedure can do. Also,
the kind of effect a wrong translation can have on how a particular machine works. These
wrong translations can have serious effects on people. However, in literary translation,
the translator is relatively free in his interpretation of a text, as long as he adheres to the
overall meaning.
As a result of the translators freedom, one can realize that it is this particular kind of
freedom that translators are capable of adapting, borrowing, arabicizing, and familiar-
izing Arab readers with new words. All of these are translation processes in which words
are approximated in terms of their target equivalents. This is exactly what made Al-Man-
faluti arabicize a novel for the writer De Saint Pierre, whose title is transformed into
Virtue. Also, Hafiz Ibrahim translated a novel for Victor Hugo entitled Al-Buasa (The
Wretched People). All these are being arabicized or translated as a result of the free activ-
ity of literary translation.
8.3 Nature of Literary Translation
Features that are relevant to the translation of literary texts are reflected in the aesthetic
values and their implied underlying meanings. A literary text is written in a way that a
translator is sometimes incapable of handling. The language of the literary texts is far
from the ordinary language and its common form. Poetry, for example, is never written
with simple language. Therefore, the translator should be intelligent and capable of feel-
ing and understanding the poetic text. Also, the translator should be acquainted with the
107
literary works in terms of the way sounds, words, imagery expressions, and sentences
are conveyed or relayed. They should be conveyed carefully, conforming to the writers
original work.
For an excellent translator, it is not enough to convey literary works from one language
to another, but such conveyance should be creative, profoundly imaginative and talented.
The translator can limit or identify the kind of work contemplated and the literary flavor
manifested in it. This is why translating poetry is different from translating novels. Also,
translating both poetry and novels is different from translating theatrical texts. The way
theatrical texts are written conforms with the feature of speakability (Wellwarth 1981:
140), i.e. the text is written to be read aloud so the writer can have access to the kind of
rhythm or projection so as to help the actor perform his role. The writer of a theatrical di-
alogue is also an artist. He has to sense the word, and see whether it suits the actor or not.
He feels the text to see whether or not it has a persuasive effect on its audience, particu-
larly if one takes into account that in translating literary works, one deals with feelings,
emotions, melodies, senses, and above all, the writers own experiences of the world.
8.4 Writer-Translator Relationship
One of the characteristics of a good translator is his capability of writing well. There is
a difference between a writer and a translator. A person only translating other peoples
work is not a translator, he is a conveyer or a text presenter, as he is only reading the text
(not his own) and presenting it to another reader who belongs to a different culture. If
the translation of a literary text arises out of the reading process, then the writer is the
translator of that text. The relation between the two (i.e. writer and translator) is reflected
in what is called creativity. This may be represented in the following diagram:
Writer Translator
Transference
Creative Writing Proper Reading
Diagram (1): Writer-Translator Relation
108
To this effect, some believe (see Diaz-Diocretz 1985: 33-37) that translation is a process
of creation. The writer does not write his text at one time, but at different times. First
he reads it, then writes a draft, and then rewrites it again and again. The distinction be-
tween writing and translating is therefore a matter of creativity. However, both are crea-
tive works, but the difference between them is that the translation process is less creative
in the way that it is less imaginative. In more specific terms, in writing, the writer has to
come up with an original idea or thought whereas in translation, the translator has to
base his translation on an idea that has already been formulated. Therefore, the writing
process is more creative, as it requires more imagination.
Within the literary translation process, a good translator is not the one who remains faithful
and close to the original text, but the one who is close to the mentality and thinking as well
as the experience of the writer. The former involves translating the text whereas the latter
involves creating the text. As for the first, a given message can be perceived from quite a dif-
ferent perspective (Jakobson 1960: 353). This depends very much on the texts readership.
Therefore, the text varies according to its readers. Creative translation creates and reforms
the text in a way that the writer and the translator are in full harmony and conformity.
8.5 Linguistic Context and Literary Translation
Within the framework of literary translation, the linguistic context is regarded as raw ma-
terial to the translation process. Literary texts have a more sophisticated context, which
implies the approximation of two cultures, two different ways of thinking, two different
methods of realization and above all, two different mentalities. For example, in the Arab
world, one always hears words such as ird. This word cannot be translated as just honor,
since the word has different connotations not common in English. The word ird evolves
around a womans dignity, family reputation, chastity, etc. These kinds of connotations
are not applicable when it comes to its English counterpart. Therefore, it cannot be un-
derstood and translated just by relying only on its linguistic context, without taking into
account the general context in which the word is used. The following diagram illustrates
the two kinds of context:
109
Co-text
Linguistic Context Language-specific
Linguistically interpreted
Contex
Linguistic context
General Context Culture-specific
Culturally interpreted
Diagram (2): Types of Context
Another example is the English word dating. This word is used freely and frequently
within the English culture. In Arabic, however, it has no exact equivalent. Therefore,
relying only on the linguistic context would provide an unacceptable translation, as
the English word implies connotations that are not implied in the Arabic culture (i.e.
intimate relations).
To this effect, translating literary texts requires understanding paralinguistic features.

Translators should possess the capability of analyzing, sensing and feeling the literary
text. A mastery of the foreign language and its culture and the translators own language
and culture would form a good base for the translator. However, only mastering the for-
eign language itself is not good enough for making a good translator of literature, as he
needs to be more familiar with the effects of sounds and the rhythmic setting of the text,
particularly in poetry.
As for poetry, it is the art of employing words in such a manner as to produce an illusion
on the senses: the art of doing by means of words what the painter does by means of colors
(Savory 1957: 76). Savory also points out that poetry has certain features such as rhythm,
metrical rhythm, emotion, sensuous emotion, increased figure of speech, conventional
word-order, and above all imagination. The ability to see features as an object or in a partic-
ular situation which another might miss is one of the necessities the translator of literature
should possess. Full mastery of both languages and cultures enables the translator to at least
produce the form as well as the manner or the style of the original text.
As for the strategy of translating poetry, some believe that poetry is translatable either
through prose strategy or verse strategy. Tytler (1979: 107) believes that by using
prose strategy, some of the sweetness and melody of the versification of the poem may
perish. Therefore, it is believed that verse strategy is close to the original form of the text
than that of prose. Verse strategy gives us an opportunity to enjoy and experience figures
110
of speech. It also allows us to utilize any word-order that may prove to be suitable. To this
effect, the translator may opt for verse strategy in translating poetry, simply because it has
the power of stirring the emotions of readers better than that of prose.
To make these remarks more convincing, the following example, taken from the work of
an American romantic poet, Philip Freneau, demonstrates how verse strategy in translat-
ing English poetry into Arabic is more effective and provocative than that of prose. In
describing his love of nature, Freneau (1970: 149) wrote:
Faire flower, that dost so comely grow,

Hide in this silent, dull retreat,
Untouched thy honeyd blossoms blow,
Unseen thy little branches greet:
No roving foot shall crush thee here,
No busy hand provoke a tear.
If the translator opts for prose translation, the translation in Arabic should look like this:
Translation (1):

.
.
(Below is a literal translation of the above Arabic text.)
You are the beautiful flower that grows elegantly. You are hidden in this calm
and boring retreat. Your
honeyed
blossoms
blow without someone touching

you, and your little
being
branches greet without seen. There will not be a
foot that will crush you, nor will be a hand that fools around with you.

. the
Compare
above
prose
translation
with thefollowing

verse translation, in which the
.focus

and
preference to

are given
theform of

the
original text.
.
Translation (2):

.
111
You beautiful flower that does comely grow,

Hidden in this solitude and dull retreat,
Untouched, your honeyed blossoms blow,
Unseen, your little branches greet,
No roving foot will crush you here,
No busy hand will provoke a tear.
The comparison clearly shows that translation (2) is more effective than translation (1),
simply because it stirs the emotions and provides us with an accurate and precise mean-
ing. Verse translation provides us with something that is similar to the way in which these
verses in their original context are constructed.
Another literary form that should be accounted for is drama, which has three main fea-
tures: speakability, style, and tension (Wellwarth 1981: 140). Speakability is the way words
are enunciated and style is how words are expressed and reformed on stage. As for ten-
sion, it is an easy suspense. A good translator is the one who is able to create the tension
of dramatic situations without misrepresenting the playwrights intension of dramatic
credibility within the new context.
1. What is your definition of literary translation?

2. Explain the most fundamental function of literature.
3. What are the forms of literature? Which form is the most difficult to translate? Why?
4. Why is translating a literary text difficult? How is it different from other kinds of
translation?
5. What are the characteristics of texts? Can you think of other text categorizations?
6. It is well known that literary texts are very expressive? Do you agree? Explain your
answer.
7. Explain how general context is different from literary context?
8. Is there a difference between a literary context and a linguistic context? Explain your
answer.
Read the following texts very carefully, analyze their connotative and or figurative mean-
ings, and then translate them into the target language.
112
*The Ebony Horse
Once upon a time there was a great and powerful king of Persia named Sabur,
whose wealth and wisdom surpassed all mother monarchs. He comforted those
whose spirits were broken, and he treated those who fled to him for refuge with
Text 1
honor. He loved the poor and was hospitable to strangers, and he always sought
to defend the oppressed against their oppressors.
King Sabur had three daughters as beautiful as flower gardens in the full moon
and a son as handsome as the moon. And it was his custom to celebrate two
holidays during the year, the New Year, or the Autumnal Equinox. On both oc-
casions he threw open his palace, gave alms to the people, made proclamations of safety
and security and prompted his chamberlains and viceroys. The people of his realm came
to him, saluted him, and celebrated these holy days with joy, and they also brought him
gifts, servants, and eunuchs.
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Translate the following sonnet by William Shakespeare into the target language.
You must translate it in two ways: one through prose translation, and the other
through verse translation. After you finish, compare the two translations.
Sonnet 130
Text 2
My mistress eyes are nothing like the sun;

Coral is far more red, than her lips red:
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damaskd, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound:
I grant I never saw a goddess go,--
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
And yet by heaven, I think my love as rare,
As any she belied with false compare.

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CHAPTER 9
Translation and Language

Teaching
9.1 Introduction
Since we are discussing the status and role of translation in the teaching of a foreign
language, it is important to distinguish between translating into the native language
and translating into the second language (i.e. the foreign language). According to
Barhoudarov (1983), there is an important difference between translating into the na-
tive (mother tongue) language and translating into the second or foreign language.
In translating into the native language, the foreign text to be translated is the point of
departure. That is, the foreign text is the first thing the translator deals with and ac-
counts for. Here, the translator runs into the problem of analysis. That is, the translator
analyzes the text for the purpose of understanding it and perceiving the implicit and
explicit shades of meaning behind it.
In translating into the second language, the foreign text is the targeted one. That is, the
translator aims at producing a foreign text not native to him. Here, the translator runs
into the problem of synthesis. That is, the translator goes into the process of reconstruc-
tion and production. The text to be reconstructed or produced should express all aspects
of the intricate meanings (explicit and implicit) manifested in the original.
9.2 Translation and Language Teaching
The issue of using translation as a means of teaching a foreign language remains a contro-
versy. Some believe that translation could be utilized as a means of developing language
within learners; others have some suspicions about this. Kopczynski (1983) summarizes
these for and against arguments on the use of translation by saying that translation should
115
not be used in foreign language teaching because it causes language interference. Transla-
tion can inhibit thinking in the foreign language and can produce compound bilingual-
ism rather then coordinate bilingualism. Besides, using translation in foreign language
teaching can interfere in attaining automatic habits. It also makes the learner assume
that there is one-to-one-correspondence of meaning between native language and for-
eign language. Using translation directs the learners attention to the formal properties of
foreign language items rather than their communicative functions.
From a different perspective, translation is extremely important for foreign language

teaching simply because it allows conscious learning and control of the foreign language,
and as a result, it reduces native language interference. It is to be noted here that con-
scious learning does not preclude automatic habits. Driving a car and tying a tie can be
thought of as an example. Using translation can make learning meaningful because the
learner is an active participant in the process. Learning a foreign language is not like ac-
quiring a native language, as learning a language involves conscious learning (i.e. through
grammar books, etc.) whereas acquiring a language involves unconscious learning. The
fact that children acquire the language and become native speakers in it is an example of
unconscious learning. Linguists and translators agree to the fact that translation, since it
is done consciously, is an excellent exercise for language learning, but the pity in it is that
most translators have partial understanding of the text they read.
In learning a native language, the learner is there to fall back on prior knowledge. Such
knowledge is extremely important for learning new knowledge. Here, one has to assume
that the learner makes use of the prior knowledge that exists within him and, in that, there
is a process of mental translation going on throughout the process of language learning.
It could be, in this respect, that the use of translation is helpful even more for advanced
learners. For beginners, of course, it is useful simply because it expounds grammar and
teaches vocabularies.
It should be noted that the above pro or against arguments for using translation have
been made by different scholars such as translation practitioners, linguists, psycholin-
guists, sociolinguists, etc. Those scholars have more likely linguistic and behavioristic
backgrounds. However, one attraction towards using translation as a means of teaching
foreign language has to do with the teacher, and that is, whether or not the teacher wants
language learners to use translation for learning a foreign language. Teachers and univer-
sity professors, in particular, know this fact very well. They know, whether they like it or
not, that language learners indirectly and unconsciously use the translation method for
learning a language. Harris and Sherwood (1978) claim that a child is conscious of his
bilingualism and freely switches from one language to another while learning a language.
Harris and Sherwood call this natural translation (i.e. translation which is done by peo-
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ple who have not had special training in translation). This kind of language learning led
Harris and Sherwood to believe that translation is co-extensive with bilingualism.
Other studies have touched upon the subject of translation and bilingualism, indicating
that from the earliest stages of bilingualism, the two languages are compounded. That is,
they are made up from one another. Therefore, avoiding native language interferences while
learning a foreign language is almost impossible (Harris and Sherwood 1978: 10-12).
9.3 Strategies in Foreign Language Learning
There are of course strategies in which learners can learn a foreign language and com-
municate with it effectively. One of these strategies is called code-switching. According
to Bolinger and Sears (1981) and Crombie (2004), code-switching is a linguistic behavior
in which speakers may switch between one language and another; it also means switch-
ing between standard forms and regional forms of the same language. Code switching is
mixed discourse. That is, when a word or phrase is used occasionally in a host language,
the user is inserting or using that word in a way that it becomes part of his way of using
his own language.
Foreignizing is another strategy used in foreign language learning, namely the invention
or creation of a word or phrase that does not exist in the learners second language, par-
ticularly when applying his native language morphology of second language lexical items.
Transliteration and interlingual transfer are other strategies used in learning a foreign
language. According to Bialystok and Frolich (1980) and Izzy (2005), transliteration is a
literal rendition of the native language word or phrase. As for interlingual transfer, Faerch
and Kasper (1980) and Odlin (2001) suggest that interlingual transfer is rewording the
text and interpreting verbal signs by means of some other languages. Interlingual transfer
has to account for total and full translation.
There are common questions that should be asked when considering the role of transla-
tion in foreign language teaching. These questions are represented in the type of transla-
tion, the function of translation, for whom we translate, and at which phase of language
should we introduce translation. First of all, according to Odlin (2001) interlingual trans-
lation is the type of translation that should be fully taken into account in teaching transla-
tion for the purpose of leaning a foreign language. In this approach, translation is looked
upon as a series of operations of which the point of departure and the end product are
functions within a give culture. Interlingual transfer of information has to account for
total and full translation. Total or full translation refers to the translation of language at
all levels. It should not be restricted to some partial analysis or analysis at some specific
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levels. Although the word-for-word translation and the grammar-translation methods

are the earliest types of translation, one should note that interlinear translation is used
in the grammar-translation method, whereas word-for-word and literal translations are
used in contrastive analysis.
As for the function of translation, it is to be remembered that expounding and interpret-

ing a text is not only a matter of providing equivalence but, in fact, it is a translation of
the grammatical and lexical aspects of the text. For example, at the phonological level,
students should be made aware of the different and similar sounds between the two lan-
guages, the native language (NL) and the foreign language (FL). In Arabic, for example,
there are [c], [kh], [h], and [gh] that are glottal and palatal sounds that do not exist in
English and are pronounced with difficulty by non-native speakers of Arabic. At the same
time, other sounds such as [a], [b], [d], [e], [f], [j], [t], [s], [z], [m], [n], [k], [l], and [r],
among other sounds, are pronounced the same in English. Therefore, making students
aware of the two phonological systems of the two languages is extremely significant and
undoubtedly useful. It is indeed useful in the sense that it makes them familiar with the
different pronunciations of the sounds of the two languages.
The other translation approach through which students can learn a foreign language is
the semantic approach. Semantics, in its simplest form, is defined as the study of mean-
ing (Ogden and Richards 1923; Saeed 1997). Through semantics, students become ac-
quainted with the relations connecting between sentences compared with equivalent
sentences in their native language. They also become acquainted with the fact that the
vocabulary of a particular language is not simply a listing of independent items, but
is organized into areas or fields with which words interrelate and define each other in
different ways (Bolinger and Sears 1981). Furthermore, semantization of foreign lan-
guage meanings is known to be the oldest use of translation (Kopczynski 1983). That
is, teachers within this field are mainly concerned with translating words, phrases and
sentences into the native language to explicate their meanings. This approach was de-
veloped later as the contrastive linguistic approach by Fries (1999), Lado (1957, 1968),
Granger (2003) and later by Stockwell and Bowen (1965), Di Pietro (1971), Fisiak et al
(1981), and James (1980). Fries, cited in Kopczynski (1983: 10), states:
The most efficient materials are those that are based upon a scientific de-
scription of the language to be learned, carefully compared with a parallel
description of the native language of the learner.
Along the same line, Kuchlwein (et al) (1981) suggest that one of the important tech-
niques of comparing between two languages is translation. Although contrastive lin-
guistics has been through its ups and downs, it has become an established science and
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a necessary component in preparing teaching materials. Even nowadays, according to

Kopczynski (1983), it is hard to find a pedagogic grammar which would not make con-
trastive statements.
Furthermore, translation has also been used to teach grammar structures (Marton et al
1976). Here, teachers can show students equivalent and non-equivalent structures. For
example, the sentence Adam goes to college can be explained in terms of its grammatical
equivalents. Adam is equivalent to (subject) as in English and goes can be explained in
terms of its grammatical equivalent (prepositional phrase). In terms of non-equivalent
structures, the focus in the sentence Adam is a good student should be on comparing
adjectives.
In English, adjectives precede nouns (S+V+ADJ+N) whereas in Arabic, adjectives follow

nouns (S+V+N+ADJ). Making students aware of these grammatical structures will ben-
efit them significantly in understanding both foreign and native languages.
Translation has also been used for teaching the lexis of a foreign language. Lexis is used
here in a variety of technical phrases. It could incorporate a unit of vocabulary (lexical
item or lexeme) or a complete inventory of lexical items of a language (lexicon). It could
also incorporate items that are cited in a lexicon as a set of lexical entries (for more infor-
mation, see Crystal 1986).
As for the translation method of teaching foreign language lexis, Marton (1977) suggests
that an example of translation, as an important factor in teaching lexis, is the teaching of
what is called conventional syntagms as words that are bound in advanced level of learn-
ing. Syntagms are words that are bound in collocation relationships. He rightly states that
the problem of learning new vocabulary items at the advanced level is not learning the
items themselves, but it is the conventional collocation, which they enter. In a foreign
language, there are fixed expressions which are different from expressions in the native
language. They differ in the fact that their meanings are conclusive from their component
parts. For example, in English, one can say fish and chips as an English collocant whereas
the same expression cannot collocate in Arabic. That is, in Arabic, fish does not collocate
with chips. The expression khobs and malh (bread and salt) are an Arabic collocant but
not in English, as bread does not collocate with salt. These collocations and their impor-
tance can be put in focus through translation.
It is to be noted that translation can also develop language skills at an advanced level.
An experimental project, conducted at Poznan University, Poland, Skowronski (1982),
confirms that student groups in the English Department, trained using translation tech-
niques, had better results in developing the skill of speaking and writing than the groups
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that did not use translation techniques. This shows that using translation is indeed sig-
nificant in the teaching of foreign language skills.
1. Explain how translation contributes to learning a foreign language.

2. What is the difference between language and language acquisition?
3. What are the strategies for learning a foreign language?
4. One of the methods of learning a foreign language is the Semantic Approach.
Explain this method with exemplifications.
5. What is collocation? Give examples from your native language.
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CHAPTER 10
Translation and
Pragmatics of Discourse
10.1 Introduction
This chapter has three objectives: first, it examines the pragmatic variables in an inter-
cultural and interpersonal context. Second, it argues that the use of a common language
across cultures does not always guarantee mutual understanding. Third, it highlights ar-
eas where miscommunication is likely to occur as a result of intercultural and interper-
sonal differences. Finally, this chapter provides implications for interpreters in terms of
how to eliminate factors giving rise to intercultural/interpersonal misunderstanding.
10.2 Intercultural and Interpersonal Communication
In the last two decades, approaches have been gaining grounds in intercultural and inter-
personal communication (Gumperz 1982; Antaki 1994). These approaches do not only
seek to examine the differences in the verbal behaviors of any linguistic communication,
but rather the intercultural and interpersonal communication as well. Intercultural and/
or interpersonal communication is understood here as a strategy used to create meaning
in cross-cultural communication. Such an interactional view is also known as the theory
of pragmatics, as it solely depends on a specific situation at hand.
Furthermore, theories developed within what has become known as pragmatics in re-
cent years are directly relatable to the oral mode of interpreting speakers do all the
time. In order to help the theory and the practice to meet as well as possible, one has
to look at it from the end of the oral mode of spoken language, which we call interpret-
ing. I have chosen the oral mode of spoken language because it is easier to perceive
the pragmatic variables at work in the oral mode than it is in the written mode. This
121
is simply due to the many contextual variables such as facial expressions, hand move-
ments, tone and quality of voice, etc. These variables may not really be ubiquitous in the
written mode of discourse. This does not mean that such variables are not all equally
present in the written mode of translation, but they tend to be easily manifested in the
oral mode of language (i.e. interpreting).
Although spoken and written languages in cross-cultural communications are viewed as

if they were two separable entities, one has to take into account the fact that in both activ-
ities, there is a transference and/or conversion of meaning from one language system to
another language system and from one community to another community. However, this
particular transference can be done in speech and in writing. It can also be done through
subtitling below a television screen or a film screen. In all of this, speaking and writing
involves meaning transference or conversion. There is no need to go into the controversy
of what constitutes meaning. However, one needs to point out that meaning is gener-
ally understood here as the totality of the information conveyed in a particular message,
whether stated or implied (Shiyab 1990). To this effect, what is called meaning in the
oral mode of language (i.e. interpreting, is what this chapter is going to investigate).
To relate theories of pragmatics to writing in an intercultural/cross-cultural context, one

has to understand the relationship between the addressor and the addressee. What was
the message and for whom was it destined? Unless these issues are taken into account,
understanding will be obscure and murky. One can imagine, for instance, that when
speakers have words on a printed page, they (words) are, in a sense, disassociated from
the people who produce those words and from the people for whom those words are
destined. For example, look at a particular message written on a page; one sees the words
on the page; however, no one sees who wrote those words in the first place. It might have
been the speaker or somebody also. Who knows? In a sense, since we have seen the mes-
sage, then we are the people whom it is destined for, but we should be aware that it is a
message that was not originally destined for us; it was destined for somebody else.
It is axiomatic that in a large number of, but not all, situations of speaking, the text-pro-
ducer and text-receiver are both present in one situation, in one moment in time, and in
one place; therefore, it is easy to observe communication happening.
One can reflect on the fact that during meetings, whether political or social, one might
think of the position of chairs and tables in the meeting room before the meeting even
starts. The point here is that this particular preparation might have taken minutes or even
hours. The question: why is that? I think that when people put a great deal of thought into
exactly where they place the tables and chairs, it hardly matters, although there might
be a particular configuration of tables and chairs which perhaps may not be an entirely
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Translation and Pragmatics of Discourse
symmetrical one and might have its significance, but nevertheless, for such a meeting, it
took minutes and hours.
My second example is a stylized form of an exchange that took place between two people
coming from two different cultures. These people were speaking English to each other
and it was the opening exchange of these two businessmen who had a task to negotiate a
business deal, which they failed to negotiate. The meeting was unsuccessful and the dif-
ficulty can be traced back to the very first words they spoke to each other and these are
the first words in a largely stylized form. Here is the conversation that took place between
these two people:
A: Hello!
B: Hello, he replied as he turned around to see who was talking to him.
A: It has been a long time since we have seen each other.
B: Yes. Too long, I am afraid, he replied.
A: Well, that depends on what you mean by a long time, he remarked.
Here one can realize that at this stage of the conversation, something has already gone
wrong. There is already something not working properly in terms of communication and
the questions are: can one identify what has gone wrong here and where does it start? The
point is, that by the end of this short exchange, a very competitive atmosphere is being
created because (A) is saying it has been a long time and (B) is saying well, that is your
fault, not mine, etc and for people who are trying to work out a successful business
deal, they got off on the wrong foot. Things have already started to go wrong, and instead
of being cooperative, they are finding themselves competing with each other.
10.3 Culture and Communication
Based on the above observations, one can relate this to two important points that have
been observed when people negotiate with each other. The first point is that there is a
constant need to foster good relations between the people speaking to each other. All of
us know that this is not specific to any particular culture in the sense that it is experienced
in all cultures; however, it finds its way out linguistically in different forms. When people
try to negotiate or even converse with someone, they are aware that there is a constant
need to ensure that the relations between the two people speaking to each other are tak-
ing place on the right terms; they do things linguistically with language to ensure that
happens. The second point, which is relatable to this and other exchanges, is that in differ-
ent cultures, there are unwritten rules for when it is someones turn to speak (Wells 1981;
Gumperz et al 1981; Gumperz 1982). One might have observed this in some cultures
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and/or in some linguistic cultures. In some languages, Arabic for example, it is more ac-
ceptable to interrupt the person one is speaking with than it is in other cultures. English
is a case in point. But if one is going to interrupt, there are ways of doing it linguistically;
there are ways when one should not do it linguistically. These, incidentally, are among the
most difficult problems facing language learners at all times. We are all familiar with the
kind of difficulty we face when we learn a foreign language. We actually commit, in one
way or another, a number of verbal and non-verbal offences, which are either very aggres-
sive towards the person we are speaking to or not aggressive enough.
10.4 Grices Maxims
At this point, one has to introduce Grices (1975) maxims. Until the 1970s, more or less,
not a great deal of attention had been paid to the way in which people use language to
achieve their own ends and to the rules which people implicitly obey when conversing
with other people. It was this that led Grice to talk of what he calls the cooperative prin-
ciple. Grice states the principles as Make your conversational contribution such as is
required, at the stage of which it occurs, by the accepted purpose and direction of the talk
exchange in which you are engaged (Grice 1975: 45).
What Grice is saying here is that when you talk to someone and someone is talking to
you, it is a natural assumption in the first instance, unless you have evidence to the con-
trary, that the person talking to you is trying to be cooperative. He is not deliberately
trying to mislead you; he is not deliberately going to try and bore you; he is not going to
talk to you about a lot of things that are not relevant to you, and so on. This is the basic
assumption that people make. Here, Grice formulated these assumptions into a number
of what he called maxims: quality, quantity, relation, truthfulness, and manner. The first
maxim is quality. This maxim means that the speaker or writer should include all infor-
mation that the audience requires to understand the message. In other words, speakers
should be truthful and say nothing that lacks adequate evidence. If the speaker or writer
leaves out significant information, there is a possibility that there will be a breakdown in
communication or at a least a necessity on part of the speaker to provide further informa-
tion. The second maxim is quantity, which has to do with the notion that when people
speak to each other, they go on long enough to make their point. They should be brief
and should not include unnecessary information. There is no need, on part of the speak-
ers, to keep rambling on without providing new information. When they feel they have
made their point, they stop talking. In other words, speakers should not be more or less
informative than required. The point is that when you are having an ordinary conversa-
tion with someone, you know that time is limited, because when you are talking, the
other person cannot really talk. You know that there is joint cooperation whereby the
124
conversation time is shared to a certain extent. Therefore, you will not go on longer than
you feel necessary. If someone asks you a question like, Can you show me the way to the
White House?, you will try to give him/her instructions on how to reach the White House,
which will be as short and explicit as possible. You would not say, Well, in America, as a
whole, there are many white houses. There are small white houses and large white houses.
I assume the one you want to go to is the one where the President resides. On the other
hand, if you got a taxi, you could take X street, but if you do not have one, you could take
Y street. No one would do that because they know time is limited. Grice states that the
maxim quantity is to make your contribution as informative as is required for the cur-
rent purpose of the exchange. Do not make your contribution more informative than
required (Grice 1975: 47).
The third maxim is the maxim of relevance or relation. It is very simply stated be rel-
evant. Let us consider the previous example:
Can you show me the way to the White House?
You would not normally expect a response such as:
I saw a nice woman walking down the street.
The above would not be a relevant reply. Therefore, the maxim indicates that if we assume
that the person speaking to us is being cooperative, which is the underlying assumption
if he/she is being cooperative, then he/she will give us a reply which is in some sense rel-
evant to what we have said in the first place.
The fourth maxim is the maxim of truthfulness. Grice states Do not say what you believe
to be false. Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence (Grice 1975: 48). In other
words, do not lie, but then why should that be a normal maxim of talk exchanges. One can
see that this maxim is very closely related to the maxim of quality, and Grice receives a lot of
criticism about the overlapping of both maxims. However, this maxim, as well as the other
quality maxim, relates back to this cooperative principle that when someone is talking to
you, your first assumption is that they are not telling you a pack of lies. You may have other
evidence, which would lead you to the conclusion that perhaps they are telling you a pack
of lies. However, the first natural (my italics) assumption is that when you go up to someone
and ask Can you show me the way to the White House?, they are not going to show you the
way to a white house instead, otherwise their response will be untruthful.
The last maxim is manner and is stated as Be perspicuous. Avoid obscurity of expression.
Avoid ambiguity. Be brief. Be orderly. Perhaps be orderly is important because what we
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normally expect, when one asks somebody a question, is that the answer that comes back
to us will be in a sequence and the elements which are used will be in a certain order. This
will make it easy for us to understand what has been said. This is the normal assumption.
Grice (1975: 51), in trying to show how these maxims work, gives this little exchange:
A: I am out of petrol.
B: There is a garage around the corner.
Now Grice says on the face of it if we just look at this as a sequence of linguistic elements,
people could say, if they knew nothing about the way the world works, in general, that (B)
is not being relevant. (A) says I am out of petrol and (B) starts talking about something
that is around the corner. The point here, however, as Grice says is that the normal as-
sumption is the person that we say this to I am out of petrol is, in fact, being coopera-
tive. Therefore, rather than assuming that (B) is being uncooperative, we start looking
at the words that (B) says to see if there is some meaning. In other words, there are con-
textual variables in the utterance that would enable the audience to make a connection
between the real world and the implication behind uttering that statement. According to
Grice (1975: 45-51), this is called implicature. This particular maxim is one that has had a
lot written about since it is certainly something essential for interpreters and translators.
10.5 Assessment
Grices maxims are very useful in the semantic analysis of texts. Such usefulness, however,
is reduced by the generality, not to say vagueness, with which they are formulated (Lyons
1977). According to Lyons, evaluating utterances is far more difficult than quantifying the
amount of semantic information in an utterance.
Taking this into account (i.e. conversation between people) one can say that what is in-
teresting about a breakdown in communication is that the people who are experiencing
the breakdown do not even notice that communication has broken down until much later
when things start to get aggressive.
At this point, one needs to add bi-cultural dimension to Grices Cooperative Principle,
because Grice is talking about it in relation to all people everywhere. So, what should
the interpreter do in cases where the interpreter notices that something is going wrong
in the interpreting act or feels that the speaker has lost his way in the conversation? The
dilemma is whether the interpreter can intervene and say, you have got this wrong; you
are not understanding each other. This is not intended as a criticism. It is intended to be
cooperative, etc. Conversely, do the interpreters have this right?
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10.6 Pragmatic Variables and Interpreting
One can make the proposal that conference interpreters should be given the right and
the duty to actually stop the proceeding in an international conference if they know that
some talk exchange is based on a misunderstanding, however slight. They should not be
criticized for actually intervening. There is a linguistic problem, although it is likely to be
cultural as much as linguistic. Here one can see two objections: first, this problem places
an intolerable burden on the interpreter himself/herself. If interpreters intervene in an in-
ternational conference halfway through a speech from a delegate from Jordan or Canada
or wherever, they are not going to be appreciated at all for it. What they say had better be
right and had better be demonstrably right as well.
The second objection is that in negotiations, people very often will deliberately misunder-
stand the person they are talking to as a negotiating policy. As a strategy in argument, one
deliberately fails to hear something or one deliberately takes the wrong sense of some-
thing. It happens all the time and consequently, how is the interpreter going to deal with
this? This is a very controversial issue and it is certainly true, not so much for conference
interpreters, but for liaison interpreters. There is a real need for a systematically arranged
and comprehensive collection of rules for professional liaison interpreters, stating what
interpreters should do and what they should not do in these situations. At the moment,
there is no code of practice and consequently interpreters get criticized for whatever hap-
pens. If interpreters allow the miscommunication to continue, they are criticized. People
may not like the idea that interpreters did not clear it up and stop it, then they may find
themselves more subject of criticism than if they had said nothing. So, it is an unsolved
problem. Consider the following extract between two people coming from two different
cultures. Speaker (A) is a Jordanian whereas speaker (B) is an American.
A: Excuse me. What is your name?

B: My name is Adam, he replied, with the sound of curiosity in his voice.
A: How long have been in this city?
B: Well, Ive been here for only two years, he answered.
A: Two years, huh. What do you do for a living, he asked?
B: I work in a supermarket, replied the American after some hesitation.
A: How much money do you make monthly? he asked boldly.
B: I dont know exactly, he replied with a frowned face.
A: You dont have to say exactly how much, he recommended.
B: If you will excuse me, please. Ive got to go, he replied with astonishment as he
turned and walked away suddenly.
127
In this conversation, there is a problem that is traceable back to the fact that (A) kept on
asking (B) very personal questions, and (A) finally interpreted this as an attempt to un-
dermine his respect, his position, etc. As a result, both speakers did not get on very well
with each other. However, it should be pointed out that this is a finding which comes in
via social-psychology that we all have what is known as close group and neutral group.
Your close group is those people in your immediate surrounding with whom you iden-
tify, with whom you have close relations (i.e. your family, your close friends, etc.). In dif-
ferent cultures, these are defined in different ways and there are different norms. There
are such things as close group, although we never meditate or think of who is or is not
in the close group or in the neutral group. Nevertheless, we instinctively feel this. Of
course, there is the neutral group which is everyone else.
Another complexity in cross-cultural communications is that which results from differ-

ences in the perception of ones cultural and linguistic elements (Noss 1986). For exam-
ple, in the Jordanian culture, it is considered polite to welcome strangers from a foreign
country by treating them immediately as part of your close group. Therefore, at times
you ask them some personal questions. It is a way of welcoming people, or getting close
to them, trying to make him/her feel at home. However, this is not so for the Americans
and consequently one gets these misinterpreted intentions which are a source of diffi-
culty. Now, in going on about that, one may talk about the different kinds of difficulties
which people are observed to have, and the sources of intercultural communication dif-
ficulties. There are four kinds: first, peoples language behavior; secondly, peoples non-
verbal behavior; thirdly, the basis on which we make attribution about other people; and
fourthly, the inside/outside group bias. When it comes to language behavior, people may
fail to understand each other because they do not understand the language (i.e. cultural
aspects) that each other speak. The point here is that people are behaving linguistically
in a proper manner within their own language community, but misinterpreted within
another language community due to cultural differences.
A similar point to be made here, which concerns different races and cultures, is that it so
happens that the socio-economics of a particular country, Britain for example, are such
that the people who serve food in many establishments are largely of Pakistani or Indian
origins. The people receiving the food, in this case, are mostly British. The language of
exchange between these two groups is English. When we all speak a foreign language
very often, one of the last things to change is our intonation patterns. We might get the
grammar right, but we do not always perceive that intonation patterns carry meaning. In
certain languages (i.e. Urdu), people ask questions with falling intonation which might
be interpreted as an insult, uncooperative, impolite, and rude in other languages. English
is an example. This may give rise to breakdowns in communication and may result in
128
unpleasant encounters due to cultural barriers. For more information on this subject, see
Gumperz et al 1981 and Gumperz 1982.
To relate breakdown in communication back to the business of interpreting, court inter-

preting is one of the situations where this is most difficult. It is a well observed fact that
in a courtroom where there is one interpreter representing what the judge is saying to the
witness and what the witness is saying to the judge, the pressures on that interpreter are
very great. Sometimes interpreters feel uneasy about what they do because, for the wit-
ness or the accused person, they are agents of the court, employed by the court for the
courts purposes and therefore potentially an enemy or hostile. The accused person tends
to treat interpreters as distant people, very much like out group people. Conversely, the
judge and the magistrates in the court will tend to think people may ask for interpreters
because they want to erect a smoke screen; they want to make everything very indirect
and to stop us getting them. They, therefore, distrust interpreters because they regard
them as an ally of the accused person. So, interpreters are halfway in between and have
this problem of loyalties.
Under those circumstances, the interpreter, for whom the accused person is, by defini-
tion, part of the inside-group (may have the same nationality, same age, same cultural
background, etc.), has to assume a neutrality which is very difficult to maintain.
To sum up, I would like to conclude at this point that there is a need for interpreters to
have very explicit training in the pragmatics of discourse and the way in which they oper-
ate particularly in an intercultural context. This unfortunately is not explicitly part of the
interpreters training. Moreover, what I have stated about interpreting, (i.e. the oral mode
of using language), is equally applicable to the written mode of using language. However,
the pragmatic variables of discourse in written languages (translating) are more difficult
to perceive than in spoken languages (interpreting).
10.7 Test your Knowledge of Chapter (10)
1. What are the main ideas you have learnt from this chapter?
2. Define the term pragmatics and explain how it can effect communication.
3. What are Grices maxims?
4. Compare between the maxim of relevance and the maxim of quality.
5. Are there any codes of ethics in interpreting? Why do you think so?
6. What is Grices main principle?
7. Look through this chapter again, and explain the term Implicature.
8. Give two factors that contribute to breakdown in cross cultural communication.
129
CHAPTER 11
Translation and Scientific Texts
11.1 Introduction
In this chapter, an attempt will be made to examine why scientific translation is more
important today than it was yesterday. Could it be the fact that translation is linked to
everyday technology or the impact technology has on translation? Could it be a combina-
tion of both? Could it be due to the fact that English, as a global language, is important?
What are the factors that give rise to problems in scientific translation? Can we reduce the
gap between the language of science and the language of art? These questions, I believe,
have a lot to say about translation and science.
11.2 Global Language and Science
Crystal (2003), in an article entitled English as a Global Language, asks many ques-
tions about the status of the English language. As he points out, what does it mean for a
language to be global? What are the advantages or disadvantages of a global language?
Such questions inspired many linguists to debate the prominent role of English as an
international language. Witt (2000) states that although English is not the language with
the greatest number of native speakers, in Europe for example, its importance for com-
munication is growing. One may find that the English language plays an important role
in many fields such as media, foreign language teaching, business, etc. It is the key to
access the Western modern sciences and technological advances (Shaobin 2002). Re-
searcher, Graddol (1997), argues that two billion people will be learning English as it
becomes a truly world language. All this points to the fact that since there is a close link
between language dominance and economics, technological and cultural power (Crystal
2003: 7), then one expects to see that acts of translation across languages will flourish.
131
Translation has and will continue to play a significant role in human interaction and in
the transference of knowledge (ibid: 11); this unquestionably will put a greater demand
on translation. With the dissemination of information, whether it be internet or com-
puter information, medical terminologies, technological and scientific discoveries, the
demand on transferring this knowledge from one language to another will definitely in-
crease, simply because the world progresses scientifically, and many lexical items emerge
by the minute. Therefore, translators have to find ways to render these new items into
other languages.
At the present time, translators unfortunately have little to say about newly scientific
terms, and this may hinder the translator from translating effectively. I assume people as
well as linguists have to develop a sense of appreciation of what translators go through
before they read a translated scientific text. Words such as bolt, gaskets, stave sheet, tank
chime, all have their own translation problems, resulting either from the lack of such terms
in one language or another or the difficulty of approximating between target language
and source language terms. In any act of translation, an engineering project, for exam-
ple, translators do not only deal with linguistic terminology, but also with terms that are
relevant to building projects. That is, translators working on an engineering project may
work on translating non-existing terminology related to project foundation, grounding,
drainage, external paving, electric systems, multimedia communication systems, doors
and windows, glazing, pluming, tiling, paintwork, wall covering, carpeting, false ceil-
ing, lifts, air conditioning, fittings and fixtures of all kinds, etc. This is only one kind of
environment translators may choose to work in. Other areas of scientific translation may
include new discoveries, internet and computer technology, new species or disease dis-
coveries, space and aviation worlds, etc. People may think at times that translation skills
are homogeneous, but a cursory look at a simple scientific text will prove the contrary.
Translators have to develop skills to translate scientific texts, but such skills are not the
same to translate literary or journalistic texts. Here is a text that manifests one level of
difficulty in scientific translation:
Notched Panel Installation Supplement

Taken from Liquids Storage Erection Manual (2005)
Care must be used in erecting a notched panel tank. The tank must be pro-
tected from wind damage at all times. Rings should be stable before attempt-
ing to use an inside drive-out ladder.
Installation of the notched panel tank proceeds as outlined in the Liquid

Erection Manual for the floor and bottom chime connection. The follow-
ing procedures are for preparation of the tank panels (gasket and bolts) and
132
installation of tank panels. Tank panels generally consists of a bottom panel,

(figure 1) and intermediate panel, (figure 3) and a top panel (figure 6). Panels
can be one row vertically punched without a notch, two rows and three rows
vertically punched with a notch.
A cursory look at this text indicates that this text is loaded with scientific terms. I won-
der how many of these words can be found in other languages. This is a question worth
pondering. Also, words such as fax, steering wheel, car switch, sandwich, and any other
borrowed words from English have their roots in all cultures that it becomes very hard
to come up with an equivalent. So based on this, there must be some requirements for a
translator to be a good translator for scientific texts.
Nida (1964), in his book entitled Toward a Science of Translating, elaborates on the dif-
ficulty of translating scientific texts. Apart from describing the fundamental elements of
translating and setting translation into the context of historical changes in principles and
procedures over the last two centuries, and with his emphasis on texts being understood
within their cultural contexts, he believes that translating a scientific text entails familiar-
ity with sciences in different languages. He believes that if translating scientific material
from a language contributing to the progress of science is difficult, then translating sci-
entific material from a language that is outside the domain of science would be extremely
difficult. Nida (1964: 223) states:
If, however, the translation of scientific texts from one language to another
participating in modern cultural development is not too difficult, it is not
surprising that the converse is true-that translating scientific material from
a modern indo-European language in a language largely outside the reach of
western science is extremely difficult. This really is one of the pressing prob-
lems confronting linguists in Asia today.
Having said so, translating scientific material requires different skills and familiarity with
scientific material regardless of its source. Whether a specific language contributes to the
progress of technology and science or receives technology and science, translating mate-
rial will contribute in either way.
In an article entitled Aspects of Scientific Translation, Al Hassnawi (2004) states require-

ments that are necessary for scientific translation. According to the London Institute, Al
Hassnawi points out that to be a scientific translator one should have the following:
133
1. broad knowledge of the subject-matter of the text to be translated;

2. a well-developed imagination that enables the translator to visualize
the equipment or process being described;
3. intelligence, to be able to fill in the missing links in the original text;
4. a sense of discrimination, to be able to choose the most suitable equiva-
lent term from the literature of the field or from dictionaries;
5. the ability to use ones own language with clarity, conciseness, and pre-
cision; and
6. practical experience in translating from related fields. In short, to be a
technical translator, one must be a scientist or an engineer, a linguist or
a writer (see Gasagrade 1954: 335-40; Giles 1995; Latfipour 1996 cited
in Al Hassnawi).
Along the same line, Ilyas (1989: 109) describes scientific translation as being difficult
since its language is direct and technical. He believes that scientific texts do not express
views or opinions, but rather facts, experiments and hypotheses. Therefore, it does not
accrue emotional association and implications. This, according to Ilyas, explains why a
scientific text is more direct and free from alternatives. A scientific text is also less artis-
tic, and its language is characterized by impersonal style and a precise signification. Ilyas
believes that the difficulty of translating scientific material emerges when one translates
from a language spoken by a developed nation into the language spoken by a developing
or underdeveloped nation. One wonders then how the following examples (taken from
Ilyas) can be rendered into other languages:
Bismuth ___________________
Nadir ___________________
Alcazar ___________________
Borax ___________________
Sherbet ___________________
Algebra ___________________
Cipher ___________________
Elixir ___________________
Alembic ___________________
Alkali ___________________
Alcohol ___________________
Carburetor ___________________
134
The question here is whether or not such terms have equivalents in other languages.
Translators, therefore, have to resort to methods of extraction or derivation, loanwords
or borrowing, coinage, innovation or creation.
11.3 Language of Science vs. Language of Literature
In an attempt to differentiate between the language of science and the language of litera-
ture, Al Hassnawi (2004) highlights some language details pertaining to both types of
languages. Al Hassnawi successfully demarcates the defining features and characteristics
between a scientific language and a literary language in the following table:
Scientific Texts Literary Texts
- Logicality - Lack of argumentative progression

- Precision - Vagueness
- Reason - Emotion
- Truth to particular reality - Truth to the ideal
- Generalization - Concretion
- Referential meaning - Emotive meaning
- Denotation - Connotation
- Lexical affixation - Grammatical affixation
- Idiomatic expressions are rare - Idiomatic expressions are frequent.
- Use of abbreviations, acronyms, and - Very few abbreviations, acronyms,
registers and registers
- Standard expressions - Almost all varieties
- Use of scientific terminology, spe- - No use of scientific terminology, or
cialized items, and formulae formulae
- No use of elements of figurative - Expensive use of figurative language
language
Table (1): Differences between Science and Literature According Al Hassnawi (2004)
135
Like some other disciplines, science has specialized terminology. It has its own jargon
and its own writing style. Jones (1965) presents the following ten stylistic characteristics
as a summary of good scientific writing:
1) It presents facts. It deals with the application of scientific generaliza-

tions to specific situations.
2) It is accurate and truthful. It does not guess. It tells the whole truth.
3) It is disinterested. Its purpose is to inform, not to achieve selfish purpos-
es or to persuade a reader. Facts alone do not make writing scientific.
4) It is systematic and logically developed.
5) It is not emotive. Its appeal is to reason and understand, not feel. When
it generalizes, it does so in accordance with the laws of inductive rea-
soning. It avoids high-level abstraction with emotional appeal.
6) It excludes unsupported opinions.
7) It is sincere. It tells the truth and avoids language that would make a
reader question its sincerity.
8) It is not argumentative. It reaches its general conclusions on the basis of
facts.
9) It is not directly persuasive. It is concerned with facts, with the general
laws that may be derived from the study of facts, and with the applica-
tion of general laws to specific problems. If it persuades, it does so by
logical reasoning.
10) It does not exaggerate. Because it is disinterested, it does not distort facts.
It should be pointed out here that while the above differentiation between the language
of science and language of arts is extremely significant, in the end it all boils down to the
translators experience in this particular field. I believe experience with capacity to visualize
the scientific term, and invention and creativity along with the requirements of a scientific
translator are key elements to translation, particularly scientific translation. As Robinson
(2003) states that experience is everything. While experience is important, he flatly asserts
that some experiences are richer and more memorable than others (ibid 136).
136
1. What constitutes scientific translation? Provide exemplifications.

2. Describe the language of science.
3. How is the language of science different from the language of literature?
4. What are the problems associated with scientific translation?
5. What method can be used for scientific translation?
11.5 Analysis and Translation of Sentences and Texts
Read the following sentences/texts very carefully, and then translate them into the target
language.
1. As the ship moves along, its specially designed hull shape forces any oil it encounters
underneath the boat past the holes.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. The standard way of mopping oil spills starts by containing the slick, using large float-
ing booms and then the salvage team uses skimming equipment to scoop up the oil.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
137
Prevention and Management of Diabetic Foot Ulcers

(Taken from Research Affairs, Vol.5, Issue 2, 2003)
An unwelcome consequence of the dramatic changes in life style and eating

habits that have occurred in the United Arab Emirates in recent times has been
Text 1
the rise of Type II diabetes (formerly known as maturity onset diabetes or non-
insulindependent diabetes). It is believed that among the urban population of
UAE nationals, the incidence of Type II diabetes is about 20% - 30%, which is
among the highest in the world.
Foot ulcers are a major problem for patients with diabetes and statistics in-
dicate that at least 15% of such patients have suffered at one time or another from this
condition. Several factors place diabetic patients at high risk for ulceration of the foot.
These include foot deformities such as bunions, corns and calluses, peripheral neu-
ropathy (damage to nerves supplying the feet), micro or macro angiopathy (damage to
blood vessels leading to decreased blood flow to the feet) and obesity leading to high
pressure on the foot. Other risk factors include poor glucose control, duration of dia-
betes over 10 years and smoking.
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
138
A Slicker Way to Clean up Oil Tanker Spills

(Research Affairs, Vol.5, Issue 2, 2003)
Giant fuel tankers spewing oil into the sea are an all too familiar sight. When
an oil spill accident occurs within a marine environment, it usually leads to
Text 2
serious environmental and economical impacts on the whole society. Oil spill
mitigation techniques are complex and evolving. In this research project, the
research team headed by Dr. Mamdouh Ghannam has investigated the possi-
bility of developing a new technique based on the density difference between
crude oil and water as well as the energy of the injected air bubbles to move
the crude oil spill towards a recovery unit. The Unit has been designed and
built (see Graphic) by a team of female students, Nadia Saleh, Nada Naser and
Fatima Khaliefa, as part of their graduation project during the first semester
of the academic year 2002/2003.
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
139
11.6 Finding Equivalent Terms in the Target Language
The following terms are scientific terms. Many of the terms are in the fields of medicine,
engineering, biology, physics, etc. Some of these terms were taken from the National
Institute of Health (2003) University of Kansas Medical Center (USA); others were taken
from Wikipedia Free Encyclopedia (2006b). Study the scientific terms or concepts below
and find equivalents in the target language.
Scientific Terms Definition TL Equivalent
Acceleration Acceleration is the rate at which the velocity ________________

vector changes.
Acquired mutations Gene changes that arise within individual cells
and accumulate throughout a persons lifetime; ________________
also called somatic mutations.
Adenine (A) A nitrogenous base, one member of the base ________________
pair A-T (adenine-thymine).
Acupuncture It is the practice of inserting very thin needles
in specific acupuncture points or combinations ________________
of points on the body to improve health and
well-being.
Alleles Variant forms of the same gene. Different alleles
produce variations in inherited characteristics ________________
such as eye color or blood type.
Allopathy The term Allopathy was coined by Samuel
Hanemann. The term Allopathy medicine is ________________
used most frequently in the context of critiques
of conventional medicine.
Alpha-fetoprotein A protein excreted by the fetus into the amniotic
(AEP) fluid and from there into the mothers blood- ________________
stream through the placenta.
Amino acid sequence The linear order of the amino acids in protein ________________
or peptide.
Amniocentesis Prenatal diagnosis method using cells in the
amniotic fluid to determine the number and ________________
kind of chromosomes of the fetus and, when in-
dicated, perform biochemical studies.
140
Autosome Any of the non-sex-determining chromosomes. ________________

Human cells have 22 pairs of autosomes.
Bates method The Bates method is an alternative approach to ________________
eyesight improvement and maintenance.
Bone marrow A procedure in which doctors replace marrow
transplantation destroyed by treatment with high doses of anti- ________________
cancer drugs or radiation.
Breathing meditation Deep breathing involves slow, deep inhalation
through the nose, usually for a count of 10, fol- ________________
lowed by slow and complete exhalation for a
similar count.
CAM CAM is an acronym for complementary and
alternative medicine. It also includes the recent ________________
addition of integrative medicine.
Carrier An individual heterozygous for a single reces- ________________
sive gene.
Catheter A thin plastic tube. ________________
Chelation therapy Chelation therapy is the use of chelating agents

such as EDTA to remove heavy metals from the ________________
body.
Chiropractic Chiropractic is a popular form of alternative
medicine medicine whose physical mode of action is spi-
nal manipulations that allegedly unblock nerve ________________
signals sent by the brain so that the body can
heal itself.
Clone A group of identical genes, cells, or organisms ________________
derived from a single ancestor.
Cloning The process of making genetically identical ________________
copies.
Codon A sequence of three nucleotides in messenger ________________
mRNA that specifies an amino acid.
Colonoscopy Examination of the colon through a flexible, ________________
lighted instrument called a colonoscope.
Consanguinity Genetic relationship. ________________
Conserved sequence A base sequence in a DNA molecule (or an ami-

no acid sequence in a protein) that has remained ________________
essentially unchanged throughout evolution.
141
CT or CAT scan Detailed pictures of areas of the body created

by a computer linked to an x-ray machine. Also ________________
called computed tomography scan or computed
axial tomography scan.
Current Current is the rate of flow of electrical charge. ________________
Diploid A full set of genetic material, consisting of paired

chromosomes one chromosome from each pa-
rental set. Most animal cells except the gametes ________________
have a diploid set of chromosomes. The diploid
human genome has 46 chromosomes.
Distance One of the undefined qualities of physics, it ________________
measures the separation of two points.
DNA The substance of heredity; a large molecule that
carries the genetic information that cells need to ________________
replicate and to produce proteins.
DNA hybridization A technique for selectively binding specific seg-
ments of single-stranded (ss) DNA or RNA by
base pairing to complementary sequences on ________________
ssDNA molecules that are trapped on a nitro-
cellulose filter.
DNA probe Any biochemical used to identify or isolate a ________________
gene, a gene product, or a protein.
Domain A discrete portion of a protein with its own
function. The combination of domains in a sin- ________________
gle protein determines its overall function.
Double helix The shape that two linear strands of DNA as- ________________
sume when bonded together.
E. coli Common bacterium that has been studied in-
tensively by geneticists because of its small ge- ________________
nome size, normal lack of pathogenicity, and
ease of growth in the laboratory.
Electrophoresis A method of separating large molecules (such as
DNA fragments or proteins) from a mixture of
similar molecules. An electric current is passed
through a medium containing the mixture, and
each kind of molecule travels through the me- ________________
dium at a different rate, depending on its electri-
cal charge and size. Separation is based on these
differences. Agarose and acrylamide gels are the
media commonly used for electrophoresis of
proteins and nucleic acids.
142
Enzyme A protein that facilitates a specific chemical ________________

reaction.
Erythrocytes The hemoglobin-containing cell found in the ________________
blood of vertebrates, red blood cells.
Euchromatin The chromatin that shows the staining behavior
characteristic of the majority of the chromo- ________________
somal complement.
Eugenics The improvement of humanity by altering its ge-
netic composition by encouraging breeding of ________________
those presumed to have desirable genes.
Eukaryote Cell or organism with membrane-bound, struc-
turally discrete nucleus and other well-devel-
oped subcellular compartments. Eukaryotes in- ________________
clude all organisms except viruses, bacteria, and
blue-green algae.
Exogenous DNA DNA originating outside an organism. ________________
Exons The protein- coding DNA sequences of a gene. ________________
Fecal occult blood test A test to check for hidden blood in stool. Fecal ________________
(FEE-kul-o-KULT) refers to stool. Occult means hidden.
FISH Florescent in situ hybridization: a technique for
uniquely identifying whole chromosomes or ________________
parts of chromosomes using florescent tagged
DNA.
Flower essence Flower essence therapy is a sub-category of ho-
therapy meopathy which uses homeopathic dilutions
of flowers. This practice was begun by Edward
Batch with the Baxch floweer remedies but is ________________
now practiced much more widely, utilizing
flowers all over the world. There are numerous
makers of flower essences, using the flowers that
are local to their region.
Flow karyotyping Use of flow cytometry to analyze and/or sepa-
rate chromosomes on the basis of their DNA ________________
content.
Gamete Male or female reproductive cell (sperm or
ovum) with a haploid set of chromosomes (23 ________________
for humans).
143
Gene A unit of inheritance; a working subunit of DNA.

Each of the bodys 50,000 to 100,000 genes con- ________________
tains the code for a specific product, typically, a
protein such as an enzyme.
Gene expression The process by which a genes coded informa-
tion is translated into the structures present and ________________
operating in the cell (either proteins or RNAs).
Genetic linkage map A chromosome map showing the relative posi-
tions of the known genes on the chromosomes ________________
of a given species.
Genome All the genetic material in the chromosomes of
a particular organism; its size is generally given ________________
as its total number of base pairs.
Genotype Genetic constitution of an organism. ________________
Golden Age of Eighteenth-century England is remembered as

Quackery the Golden Age of Quackery, since Queen Ann ________________
patronized and gave credibility to myriad swin-
dlers and frauds.
Grahamism Grahamism recommended hard mattresses,
open bedroom windows, chastity, cold show- ________________
ers, loose clothing, pure water and vigorous
exercise.
Haploid A single set of chromosomes (half the full set of
genetic material), present in the egg and sperm
cells of animals and in the egg and pollen cells ________________
of plants. Human beings have 23 chromosomes
in their reproductive cells.
Hardy-Weinberg law The concept that both gene frequencies and
genotype frequencies will remain constant from
generation to generation in an infinitely large, ________________
interbreeding population in which mating is at
random and there is no selection, migration or
mutation.
Hereditary mutation A gene change in the bodys reproductive cells
(egg or sperm) that becomes incorporated in ________________
the DNA of every cell in the body; also called
germline mutation.
Heterogeneity The production of identical or similar pheno- ________________
types by different genetic mechanisms.
144
Heterozygosity The presence of different alleles at one or more ________________

loci on homologous chromosomes.
Heterozygote Having two alleles that are different for a given ________________
gene.
Homeobox A short stretch of nucleotides whose base se-
quence is virtually identical in all the genes that
contain it. It has been found in many organisms
from fruit flies to human beings. In the fruit fly, ________________
a homeobox appears to determine when par-
ticular groups of genes are expressed during
development.
Homologies Similarities in DNA or protein sequences be-
tween individuals of the same species or among ________________
different species.
Homeopathy Homeopathy is an alternative medical practice
founded on resemblances. The underlying the-
ory is that diseases are cured by remedies which
produce, on a healthy person, similar effects to
the symptoms of the patients complaint. For ex-
ample, someone suffering from insomnia may
be given a homeopathic dose of coffee. Admin- ________________
istered in diluted form, homeopathic remedies
are derived from many natural sources, includ-
ing plants, metals, and minerals. Numbering in
the thousands, these remedies have been used
to treat a wide variety of ailments including sea-
sonal allergies, asthma, influenza, headaches,
and indigestion.
Homozygote Having identical alleles at one or more loci in ________________
homologous chromosome segments.
Hormones Chemicals produced by glands in the body.
Hormones control the actions of certain cells or ________________
organs.
Housekeeping genes Those genes expressed in all cells because they
provide functions needed for sustenance of all ________________
cell types.
HUGO Human Genome Organization. ________________
Hybridization The process of joining two complementary

strands of DNA or one each of DNA and RNA ________________
to form a double- stranded molecule.
145
Imaging Procedures that produce pictures of areas inside ________________

the body.
Immune system The complex group of cells and organs that de- ________________
fends the body against infection and disease.
In situ hybridization Use of a DNA or RNA probe to detect the pres-
ence of the complementary DNA sequence in ________________
cloned bacterial or cultured eukaryotic cells.
In vitro Outside a living organism. ________________
Inborn errors of Inherited diseases resulting from alterations in ________________

metabolism genes that code for enzymes.
Incomplete The gene for a condition is present, but not ob-
penetrance viously expressed in all individuals in a family ________________
with the gene.
Informatics The study of the application of computer and
statistical techniques to the management of
information. In genome projects, informatics
includes the development of methods to search ________________
databases quickly, to analyze DNA sequence in-
formation, and to predict protein sequence and
structure from DNA sequence data.
Interferon A type of biological response modifier (a sub-
(in-ter-FEER-on) stance that can improve the bodys natural re-
sponse to disease). It slows the rate of growth ________________
and division of cancer cells, causing them to be-
come sluggish and die.
Interleukin-2 A type of biological response modifier (a sub-
(in-ter-LOO-kin) stance that can improve the bodys natural re-
sponse to disease). It stimulates the growth of ________________
certain disease-fighting blood cells in the im-
mune system.
Introns The DNA base sequences interrupting the pro-
tein- coding sequences of a gene; these sequenc- ________________
es are transcribed into RNA but are cut out of
the message before it is translated into protein.
Iridology Iridology is the study of the iris to determine ________________
health.
Journaling Journaling is a technique for reducing stress by ________________
writing about stressful events in your life.
146
Karyotype A set of photographed, banded chromosomes ________________

arranged in order from largest to smallest.
Kilobase (kb) Unit of length for DNA fragments equal to 1000 ________________
nucleotides
Kinetic energy Notice that this energy of motion is proportion-
al to the square of the speed. The unit of Joule ________________
may also be expressed as kg(m/sec)(m/sec).
Ligase An enzyme that functions in DNA repair. ________________
Local treatment Treatment that affects the tumor and the area ________________
close to it.
Localize Determination of the original position (locus) ________________
of a gene or other marker on a chromosome.
Locus (plural is loci) The position on a chromosome of a gene or oth-
er chromosome marker; also, the DNA at that ________________
position. The use of locus is sometimes restrict-
ed to mean regions of DNA that are expressed.
Lod score Logarithm of the odd score; a measure of the
likelihood of two loci being within a measurable ________________
distance of each other.
Lymph (limf) An almost colorless fluid that travels through
the lymphatic system and carries cells that help ________________
fight infection and disease.
Lymph nodes Small, bean-shaped organs located along the
channels of the lymphatic system. Bacteria or ________________
cancer cells that enter the lymphatic system may
be found in the nodes.
Macrorestriction map Map depicting the order of and distance be-
tween sites at which restriction enzymes cleave ________________
chromosomes.
Malignant Cancerous. ________________
(ma-LIG-nant)
Mammogram An x-ray of the breast. ________________
(MAM-o-gram)
Mass One of the undefined qualities of physics, mass ________________
is the measure of inertia.
Megabase (Mb) Unit of length for DNA fragments equal to 1 ________________
million nucleotides and roughly equal to 1 CM.
147
Meiosis The doubling of gametic chromosome number.

Meiosis results in four rather than two daughter ________________
cells, each with a haploid set of chromosomes.
Melanoma Cancer of the cells that produce pigment in the ________________
skin. Melanoma usually begins in a mole.
Metaphase A stage in mitosis or meiosis during which the
chromosomes are aligned along the equatorial ________________
plane of the cell.
Metastasis The spread of cancer from one part of the body
(meh-TAS-ta-sis) to another. Cells in the metastatic (secondary) ________________
tumor are like those in the original (primary)
tumor.
Missense mutation A change in the base sequence of a gene that al- ________________
ters or eliminates a protein.
Mitochondrial DNA The mitochondrial genome consists of a circular ________________
DNA duplex, with 5 to 10 copies per organelle.
Mitosis The process of nuclear division in cells that pro-
duces daughter cells that are genetically identi- ________________
cal to each other and to the parent cell.
Molecule A group of atoms arranged to interact in a
particular way; one molecule of any substance ________________
is the smallest physical unit of that particular
substance.
Monoclonal Substances that can locate and bind to cancer
antibodies cells wherever they are in the body. They can be
used alone, or they can be used to deliver drugs, ________________
toxins, or radioactive material directly to the tu-
mor cells.
Moxa Moxa is an herbal preparation of mugwort dried
and rolled into a pole which resembles a cigar. It
is not smoked, but used for warming regions on ________________
the body including acupunturepoints. The use
of moxa is called moxibustion.
Mutation A change in the number, arrangement, or mo- ________________
lecular sequence of a gene.
Newborn screening Examining blood samples from a newborn
(for genetic disorders) infant to detect disease-related abnormali-
ties or deficiencies in gene products. There are ________________
other purposes for, and methods of, screening
newborns.
148
Nitrogenous base A nitrogen containing molecule having the ________________

chemical properties of a base.
Nucleic acid A large molecule composed of nucleotide ________________
subunits.
Nucleotide A subunit of DNA or RNA, consisting of one
chemical base plus a phosphate molecule and a ________________
sugar molecule.
Oncogenes Genes that normally play a role in the growth of
cells but, when over expressed or mutated, can ________________
foster the growth of cancer.
Oncologist A doctor who specializes in treating cancer. ________________
(on-KOL-o-jist)
Pap test Microscopic examination of cells collected from
the cervix. It is used to detect changes that may
be cancer or may lead to cancer, and it can show ________________
noncancerous conditions, such as infection or
inflammation.
Parthenogenesis The development of an individual from an egg ________________
without fertilization.
Pedigree A diagram of the heredity of a particular trait ________________
through many generations of a family.
Pelvic Having to do with the pelvis, the lower part of ________________
the abdomen, located between the hip bones.
Penetrance A term indicating the likelihood that a given ________________
gene will actually result in disease.
Phage A virus for which the natural host is a bacte- ________________
rial cell.
Phenotype Observable characteristics of an organism pro-
duced by the organisms genotype interacting ________________
with the environment.
Plasmid Autonomously replicating, extrachromosomal
circular DNA molecules, distinct from the nor-
mal bacterial genome and nonessential for cell
survival under nonselective conditions. Some ________________
plasmids are capable of integrating into the host
genome. A number of artificially constructed
plasmids are used as cloning vectors.
149
Pleiotropy The phenomenon of variable phenotypes for

a number of distinct and seemingly unrelated ________________
phenotypic effects.
Plum blossom Plum blossom is the name of both a tool (also
called Seven Star) and a technique in tradition- ________________
al Chinese medicine, as well as a metaphor used
by several different Chinese martial arts.
Polygenic disorders Genetic disorders resulting from the combined
action of alleles of more than one gene (e.g. heart
disease, diabetes, and some cancers). Although
such disorders are inherited, they depend on the ________________
simultaneous presence of several alleles; thus
the hereditary patterns are usually more com-
plex than those of single-gene disorders.
Polymerase Any enzyme that catalyzes the formation of
DNA or RNA from deoxyribonucleotides or ________________
ribonucleotides.
Polymerase, DNA or Enzymes that catalyze the synthesis of nucleic
RNA acids on preexisting nucleic acid templates, as- ________________
sembling RNA from ribonucleotides or DNA
from deoxyribonucleotides.
Position The position of an object is its distance from
zero. The position depends on the zero (origin) ________________
of the measurement.
Predisposition To have a tendency or inclination towards some- ________________
thing in advance.
Primer Nucleotides used in the polymerase chain re-
action to initiate DNA synthesis at a particular ________________
location.
Proband Individual in a family who brought the family to ________________
medical attention.
Probe Single-stranded DNA labeled with radioac-
tive isotopes or tagged in other ways for ease in ________________
identification.
Promoter A site on DNA to which RNA polymerase will ________________
bind and initiate transcription.
150
Protein A large, complex molecule composed of amino

acids. The sequence of the amino acids, and thus
the function of the protein, is determined by the
sequence of the base pairs in the gene that en- ________________
codes it. Proteins are essential to the structure,
function, and regulation of the body. Examples
are hormones, enzymes, and antibodies.
Purine A nitrogen-containing, single-ring, basic com-
pound that occurs in nucleic acids. The purines ________________
in DNA and RNA are adenine and guanine.
Pyrimidine Qigong is an increasingly popular aspect of
Chinese medicine. Qigong is mostly taught for
health maintenance purposes, but there are also ________________
some who teach it, especially in China, for ther-
apeutic interventions.
Radionuclide An exam that produces pictures (scans) of in-
scanning ternal parts of the body. The patient is given an
injection or swallows a small amount of radio- ________________
active material. A machine called a scanner then
measures the radioactivity in certain organs.
Recessive A gene that is phenotypically manifest in the ho-
mozygous state but is masked in the presence of ________________
a dominant allele.
Recombination The natural process of breaking and rejoining
DNA strands to produce new combinations ________________
of genes and, thus, generate genetic variation.
Gene crossover during meiosis.
Reiki Reiki purports to be an energy healing therapy,
which is claimed to help the bodys ability to heal ________________
itself through the flow and focusing of healing
energy (Reiki means universal healing energy).
Remission Disappearance of the signs and symptoms of
cancer. When this happens, the disease is said to ________________
be in remission. Remission can be temporary
or permanent.
Reproductive cells Egg and sperm cells. Each mature reproductive ________________
cell carries a single set of 23 chromosomes.
Resolution Degree of molecular detail on a physical map of ________________
DNA, ranging from low to high.
151
RNA Ribonucleic acid, a chemical similar to DNA.

The several classes of RNA molecules play im- ________________
portant roles in protein synthesis and other cell
activities.
Sanger sequence Plus and minus or primed synthesis method;
DNA is synthesized so it is radioactively labeled ________________
and the reaction terminates specifically at the
position corresponding to a given base.
Sarcoma A type of cancer that starts in the bone or ________________
muscle.
Screening Looking for evidence of a particular disease
such as cancer in persons with no symptoms of ________________
disease. Checking for disease when there are no
symptoms.
Sequencing Determination of the order of nucleotides (base
sequences) in a DNA or RNA molecule or the ________________
order of amino acids in a protein.
Shotgun method Cloning of DNA fragments randomly generated ________________
from a genome.
Side effects Problems that occur when treatment affects
healthy cells. Common side effects of cancer treat- ________________
ment are fatigue, nausea, vomiting, decreased
blood cell counts, hair loss, and mouth sores.
Sigmoidoscopy (sig- A procedure in which a doctor looks inside the
moy-DOS-ko-pee) rectum and the lower part of the colon (sig-
moid colon) through a lighted tube. The doctor ________________
may collect samples of tissue or cells for closer
examination.
Single-gene disorder Hereditary disorder caused by a mutant allele of
a single gene (e.g. Duchenne muscular dystro- ________________
phy, retinoblastoma, sickle cell disease).
Somatic cell hybrid Hybrid cell line derived from two different spe-
cies; contains a complete chromosomal comple-
ment of one species and a partial chromosomal
complement of the other; human/hamster hy-
brids grow and divide, losing human chromo- ________________
somes with each generation until they finally
stabilize, the hybrid cell line established is then
utilized to detect the presence of genes on the
remaining human chromosome.
152
Southern blotting Transfer by absorption of DNA fragments sepa-

rated in electrophoretic gels to membrane filters ________________
for detection of specific base sequences by radi-
olabeled complementary probes.
Syndrome A recognizable pattern or group of multiple
signs, symptoms or malformations that char-
acterize a particular condition; syndromes are ________________
thought to arise from a common origin and
result from more than one developmental error
during fetal growth.
Tandem repeat Multiple copies of the same base sequence on
sequences a chromosome; used as a marker in physical ________________
mapping.
Tantra The word Tantra emphasizes the connection
with the old Indian cultural background where
the body is seen as the temple of the soul. The
tantric tradition used sexual rituals for spiritual ________________
development a concept which is far away from
todays experience. For example in tantramas-
sage as a spriritual approach to sexual blockade.
Used in various groups and massage sessions.
Telomere The ends of chromosomes. These specialized
structures are involved in the replication and ________________
stability of linear DNA molecules.
Transferase Enzymes that catalyze the transfer of functional ________________
groups between donor and acceptor molecules.
Translation The process of turning instructions from mRNA,
base by base, into chains of amino acids that then ________________
fold into proteins. This process takes place in the
cytoplasm, on structures called ribosomes.
Vector A self-replicating DNA molecule that transfers a ________________
DNA segment between host cells.
Velocity vector The length of the velocity vector is the speed.
The direction of the motion () is also part of ________________
the velocity vector.
Voltage Voltage is an energy measure, the energy carried
by one coulomb of electrical charge. The voltage
between two points in a circuit is the amount ________________
of energy available for pushing each coulomb of
charge from one of these points to the other.
153
Western blotting A technique used to identify a specific protein;

analysis the probe is a radioactively labeled antibody ________________
raised against the protein in question.
Wholeness Wholeness has come to connote more than
mere completeness or fullness. It implies a real-
ity, system or truth in which all parts or aspects ________________
are present in right and healthy relationship
with each other.
Wilms tumor A kidney cancer (tumor) that occurs in chil- ________________
dren, usually before age 5.
154
CHAPTER 12
Translation and Legal Texts
12.1 Introduction
Many studies have been conducted on translation, but very few have been conducted
on legal translation. Translators find it hard to venture into the field of legal translation
simply because it involves awareness and familiarity with the two legal systems of the two
languages involved in translation. This is not easily attainable since familiarizing oneself
with the two legal systems takes lots of time, effort and perseverance. Also, legal transla-
tion is difficult due to the diversity of the legal systems pertaining to the two languages.
Furthermore, in an age where the world is becoming a small community, legal trans-
lations or legal translators are in demand. International treaties, communal and world
conflicts, international trade and joint ventures are all in demand, and so too legal trans-
lators. So what is it that puts legal translation at the forefront of this emerging discipline?
Could it be the subject-matter itself or the distinctive language quality? Could it be the
collaboration and cooperation between countries? Perhaps it is all of these. I believe legal
translation is on the rise since we live in a changing world where technology and eco-
nomics affect the world community.
12.2 Legal Language vs. Legal Translation
There is a correlation and direct link between language and law. If language provides the
form which determines its meaning, then this form has a great bearing on how legal lan-
guage is interpreted. According to Wikipedia (2006a), language plays a significant role in
the make up and interpretation of law. So those who are mainly concerned with the lan-
155
guage of law (i.e. philosophers of law) have to come up with their theory of understand-
ing law and how it is used. The use of language, according to Wikipedia (2006a), is:
Crucial to any legal system, not only in the same way that is crucial to politics in
general, but in the specific respect that law makers typically use language to make
the law and courts typically use language to state their grounds of decisions.
While language has a huge impact on the interpretation of the law, it is sometimes lit-
tered with vagueness and ambiguity. Some philosophers of law believe that vagueness is a
must in legal language, and vagueness is an inescapable attribute of language (see Chris-
tie 1964: 886). Christie believes that the exploitation of vagueness in language reaches
maximum utilization when groups in control of the legislators and those in control of
the courts are antagonistic to each other. It seems that common people are excluded from
this language as if legal language was destined for only those who utilize the law. It is no
wonder that the layman has no capacity to interpret the legal language, and he resorts to
lawyers for legal language interpretation. The way legal language was vaguely construed
makes it hard for the ordinary man to understand. As Christie (1964: 889) states:
Vagueness has some uses in law which permits men, through the use of
language, to achieve more sophisticated methods of social control, for ex-
ample, the use of vague language in legal directives to postpone ultimate
decision. Such postponement may be desired for a variety of reasons that
are often interconnected.
As for legal translation, it is understood here as the translation of binding documents

such as marriage or business contracts, birth certificates, agreements, etc. From a differ-
ent angle, legal translation is the translation of texts within the field of law (Wikipedia
2006a). The word law comes from the late old English Lagu of probable Germanic ori-
gin. According to Wikipedia, law in politics or jurisprudence is a set of rules or norms of
conduct which mandate, prescribe or permit specified relationships among people and
organizations, intended to provide methods for ensuring the impartial treatment of such
people, and provide punishments of /for those who do not follow the established rules of
conduct. There are different kinds of law: legal law, civil law, religious law, customary law,
common law, etc. Also, within the body of law, there is private law, public law, procedural
law, international law, philosophical law, anthropology of law, history law, etc. For more
information on these types of law, see Wikipedia (2006a).
It is really too hard to appreciate what is involved in legal translation, unless one is famil-
iar with legal language. However, like literary translation, many translation theorists and
practitioners believe that legal translation is hard to handle simply because its language is
156
embedded within its culture. De Leo (1999) believes that legal translation is littered with
a series of different obstacles that makes the translators job extremely difficult. Capellas-
Espuny (1999) rightly states that terminological problems are among the problems posed
by legal translation. Therefore, legal translators have to be professional translators. They
should also be aware of the two legal systems involved.
12.3 Characteristics of Legal Texts
Legal texts are texts that are written for describing a specific law. They are not written
to entertain or to inform, but to explain what a word means and entails. Therefore, legal
texts can inform, communicate and describe language. It is this multi faceted nature that
makes it hard to handle. Sager (1988) believes that any form of translation must be based
on the type of text. The objective behind classifying texts into types is to delimit their
communicative, social and informative functions. Legal texts subjected to translation can
therefore be classified into different categories. Such categories are outlined by Szabari
(1996) as follows:
1. Statutes (e.g. constitutions, laws, decrees), whose source language

texts are primarily directive and whose target language texts are
informative.
2. International and particularly bilateral treaties and agreements, in
which case both source and target language texts are binding upon the
audience. Often the two texts are articulated simultaneously, so there is
in fact no point to differentiating between the source and target texts.
A good example is the European Union, which drafts statutes bind-
ing upon member states in all twelve official languages and working
languages.
3. General texts in the field of jurisprudence which examine the elements
of a particular national legal system from a broad perspective, on a high
level of abstraction, or by comparing them to other legal systems.
Having classified legal texts into categories, one may realize that the problem of trans-
lating legal texts results from the lack of finding equivalent items in the target lan-
guage. I wonder if words such as invoice, agreement, contract, white paper, back-up
documents, and scripts are all having one to one correspondence. Also, some legal
documents can also give rise to some translation problems. For example, words such as
draft, original, proof are all types of documents. Can any two languages involved in the
translation have exact equivalents?
157
12.4 Problems in Translating Legal Texts
In most normal cases, translating legal documents poses many problems to translators.
Some of these problems may result from the nature of the two legal systems of the two
languages involved. Culture-specific terminology is an additional problem, and legal
translators have to overcome the conceptual differences between the two languages
involved. Newmark (1988) clearly states that if a word is denoting an object or referring
to an institution but does not exist in the target language, then it becomes extremely
difficult to add a psychological characteristic alien to that language. Translators there-
fore have to come up with a solution, particularly for terms that are non-existent in the
target language.
12.5 Strategies for Translating Legal Texts
It is axiomatic that law does not entail passion, and therefore, cannot be emotive as the
case with literary texts. The language of law is very precise, although it is subject to semi-
otic restrictions. However, legal language has a distinctive quality that marks it off from
ordinary language (Grazone 2000). The distinctive quality, according to Grazone, has
been pigeonholed by jurists and jurilinguists, particularly those who have pointed out
that the legal translator has to deal with problems that are dissimilar to those encountered
in other fields. Some of these problems are:
1. Fidelity:
This term refers to whether or not translation is accurate. Although fidelity is exchange-
able with the term faithfulness, it can sometimes be differentiated from faithfulness in the
sense that faithfulness refers to how closely the translation acknowledges the target lan-
guage structure. In legal translation, preserving the letter of the law is hard and tradition-
ally, translators were bound to fidelity of the source text. Therefore, the legal translators
ultimate goal is to re-enact and recreate the form and substance of the text as closely as
possible. Word-for word translation or literal translation used to be the only acceptable
method of translating a legal text. While there are variations as far as the methods of
translating legal texts are concerned, the literal method is still in use. Sarcevic (2002) cites
Didier (1990: 280) stating that translating legal documents depends on the kind of text.
For example, the method of translating a legislative document is different from translat-
ing a judgment document. According to Didier, the translation of legislation and other
informative texts requires absolute literalness. At the same time, judgments, he continues,
can be translated more freely, thus reorganizing that text type also plays an important role
in determining the strategy of a legal translation.
158
2. Sense Translation:
There is still a controversy whether legal translation should be literal or free. As indicated
above, translating legal binding documents can be literal, but at other times they can be
translated with some form of freedom. The translation strategy used will depend on the
type of text. Free translation focuses on meaning or content whereas literal translation
focuses on form. From a practical perspective, methods and techniques of translating
legal binding texts vary from one institution to another. Weisflog (1987) cited by Sarcevic
(2002) asserts that authenticated translations must be comprehensible. Substance must
prevail over form. This is contradictory to what other legal translations have advocated
(see Didier 1990). Koutsivitis (1988) believes that legal texts must be translated freely, and
the sense of the word in legal texts has to be completely understood otherwise the trans-
lated text will be littered with ambiguity. Koutsivitis believes that the translators ultimate
task is to transfer the sense of the original. So what are the ways in which legal texts can
be translated? Altay (2002), in an article entitled Difficulties Encountered in the Transla-
tion of Legal Texts, suggests ways of translating concepts that do not exist in the target
language and culture as follows:
1. Paraphrase: This method is used to explain the SL concept that is alien or peculiar
to the target reader. Such peculiarity results from the fact that this concept has no
equivalent concept in the target culture.
2. Functional Equivalence: Here the legal translator uses the closest equivalent concept.
It happens that providing functional equivalents of a legal SL term becomes very dif-
ficult as the two legal systems have nothing in common.
3. Word-for-Word Translation: This method is sometimes exchangeable with literal

translation, although there is a slight difference between the two methods. Word-for
word translation involves translating a lexical item for a lexical item in the target lan-
guage. The translator may make some linguistic adjustments to the text when needed.
Adjustments include prepositions, endings, grammatical features, etc.
Regardless of what method or strategy legal translators use in translating legal documents,
I believe it all boils down to the kinds of texts and the constraints surrounding its produc-
tion. In some parts of the world, legal texts have been adopted from other western coun-
tries (Syria, Lebanon and France are a case in point). Within these countries, translators
may find the same legal terminology unless there is a legal institution that does not exist
in one country or another. In this case, translators have to extract terminology relevant to
the target culture. Capellas-Espuny (1999) maintains that the translation of certain tech-
nical terms is impossible because institutions and legal systems in one country may differ
from those in another country due to social, cultural and historical differences. In such
159
cases, functional equivalence is the ideal translation for such technical terms. According
to Wikipedia (2006a), when translating a legal text, translators have to keep in mind that
the legal system of the source language is structured in a way that suits the culture, and
this is reflected in the legal language. Therefore, the target text is to be read by someone
who is familiar with the legal systems of the two languages involved.
1. What is a legal text?

2. Explain three characteristics of a legal text.
3. What makes legal texts difficult to translate? Give three examples.
4. Explain three methods of translating legal texts.
5. Give two examples of sense translation.
6. Is vagueness a characteristic of legal texts or does it pertain to all kinds of text?
Explain your answer with exemplifications.
12.7 Finding Target Language Equivalents
Read the following table very carefully, and translate the legal terms into the target lan-
guage. The list below is an example of how some legal terms and concepts in one language
may not have the same or similar equivalents in the target language. Some of the terms
were adopted from the United States District Court District of Idaho (1997). Others were
adopted from Her Majestys Court Service, HMCS (2005). Very few terms were adopted
from the encyclopedia AllRefer.com (2003), listing U.S legal terms and concepts.
160
Legal Terms Definition TL Equivalent
Accused The person charged. The person who has alleg- ________________
edly committed the offence.
Acknowledgement of Form of reply to, or confirmation of, service of ________________
Service process.
Acquittal Discharge of defendant following verdict or di- ________________
rection of not guilty.
Act Law, as an act of parliament. ________________
Adjudication Judgment or decision of a court or tribunal. ________________
Administration Order An order by a County Court directing a debt-

or to pay a specified monthly installment into
Court in respect of outstanding debts. The Court ________________
retains the payments made and at intervals dis-
tributes it between the creditors on a pro-rata
basis.
Adoption An act by which the rights and duties of the
natural parents of a child are extinguished and
equivalent rights and duties become vested ________________
in the adopter or adopters, to whom the child
then stands in all respects as if born to them in
marriage.
Adultery Voluntary sexual intercourse between a mar-
ried person and another person who is not the ________________
spouse, while the marriage is still valid. This is
common fact relied on for divorce.
Advocate A barrister or solicitor representing a party in a ________________
hearing before a court.
Affidavit A written statement of evidence confirmed on
oath or by affirmation to be true and taken before ________________
someone who has authority to administer it.
Affirmation Declaration by a witness who has no religious
belief, or has religious beliefs that prevent him/ ________________
her taking the oath, that the evidence he/she is
giving is the truth.
Alternative Dispute An alternative method by which parties can re- ________________
Resolution solve their dispute could be arbitration.
161
Ancillary Relief Additional claims (e.g. in respect of mainte-

nance) attached to the petition for divorce/judi- ________________
cial separation/nullity.
Annul To declare no longer valid ________________
Appeal Application to a higher court or authority for re- ________________

view of a decision by a lower court or authority.
Appellant Person who appeals ________________
Appellate Court A court of appeals which hears appeals from ________________

lower court decisions.
Applicant Person making the request or demand (e.g. per- ________________
son who issues an application).
Application The act of applying to a court ________________
Appraisement or Valuation of goods seized under warrant of ex- ________________

Appraisal ecution prior to sale.
Attachment of An order that directs an employer of a debtor to
Earnings deduct regularly an amount, fixed by the court, ________________
from the debtors earnings and pay that sum
into court.
Award Result of an arbitration hearing or the amount ________________
of damages assessed by a court.
Bail Release of a defendant from custody, until his/
her next appearance in court, subject sometimes ________________
to security being given and/or in compliance
with certain conditions.
Bailiff Officer of the county court empowered to serve ________________
court documents and execute warrants.
Bankrupt Insolvent unable to pay creditors and having
all goods/effects administered by a liquidator or
trustee and sold for the benefit of those credi- ________________
tors; as a result of an order under the Insolvency
Act 1986.
Barrister A member of the bar; the branch of the legal
profession which has rights of audience before ________________
all courts.
Bench Warrant A warrant issued by the judge for an absent
defendant to be arrested and brought before a ________________
court.
162
Brief Written instructions to counsel to appear at a

hearing on behalf of a party prepared by the so- ________________
licitor and setting out the facts of the case and
any case law relied upon.
Case Conference Usually the first hearing in a multi track claim
and an opportunity to take stock and consider ________________
the way forward.
Case number A unique reference number allocated to each ________________
case by the issuing court.
Caution Notice given to the Land Registry by any person
with an interest in particular land to ensure that ________________
no action is taken in respect of the land without
the persons knowledge.
Caveat A notice given to the registrar that effectively
prevents action by another party without first ________________
notifying the party entering the caveat.
Certificate of Legal A certificate of costs allowed following taxation ________________
Aid Costs by a judicial or taxing officer.
Cessate A grant of representation of limited duration ________________
which has ceased and expired.
Chambers Private room or Court from which the public
are excluded in which a District Judge or Judge ________________
may conduct certain sorts of hearings.
Charge A formal accusation against a person that a ________________
criminal offence has been committed.
Charging Order An order directing that a charge be registered
at the Land Registry on property owned by the
debtor. This is also a form of enforcing civil ________________
debt. An order preventing the sale or disposal of
a property until the charge has been cleared.
Circuit Court The circuit court is the trial court with the
broadest powers in a state. It handles all civil ________________
cases with claims of.
Circuit Judge A judge who sits in the County Court and/or ________________
Crown Court.
Civil Matters concerning private rights and not of- ________________
fences against the state.
163
Civil Justice The result of the access to justice report by Lord

Woolf. The aim is to provide more effective ac-
cess to justice through quicker, cheaper and
more proportionate justice for defended cases. ________________
It introduced a unified set of Rules and Practice
Directions for the County and High Courts, and
Judicial Case Management The reforms came
into effect on 26 April 1999.
Claim Proceeding issued in the County or High Court. ________________
Claimant The person issuing the claim. ________________
Claim form The form that a claim is issued on. ________________
Codicil An addendum signed and executed which ________________

amends or adds something to a will.
Commissioner of Solicitors authorized by the Lord Chancellor to
Oaths administer oaths and affirmations to a statement ________________
of evidence.
Committal Committal for trial: following examination by
the magistrates of a case involving and indict-
able or either way offence, the procedure of di- ________________
recting the case to the Crown Court to be dealt
with.i)
Common Law The law established, by precedent, from judicial ________________
decisions and established within a community.
Compensation Sum of money to make up for or make amends
for loss, breakage, hardship, inconvenience or ________________
personal injury caused by another.
Concurrent Sentence A direction by a Court that a number of sen-
tences of imprisonment should run at the same ________________
time.
Concurrent Writ A duplicate of the original writ bearing the
same date and expiring at the same time as the ________________
original.
Conditional A discharge of a convicted defendant without
Discharge sentence on condition that he/she does not re- ________________
offend within a specified period of time.
Conduct Money Money paid to a witness in advance of the hear-
ing of a case as compensation for time spent at- ________________
tending court.
164
Consecutive Sentence An order for a subsequent sentence of impris-

onment to commence as soon as a previous ________________
sentence expires. Can apply to more than two
sentences.
Contempt of Court Disobedience or willful disregard to the judicial ________________
process.
Contributory Partial responsibility of a claimant for the injury ________________
in respect of which he/she claims damages.
Co-respondent A person named as an adulterer (or third per- ________________
son) in a petition for divorce.
Corroboration Evidence by one person confirming that of an-
other or supporting evidence, for example fo- ________________
rensic evidence (bloodstain, fibers, etc.) in mur-
der cases.
Counsel A Barrister. ________________
Count An individual offence set out in an indictment. ________________
Counterclaim A claim made by a defendant against a claim-

ant in an action. There is no limit imposed on a ________________
counterclaim, but a fee is payable according to
the amount counterclaimed.
County Court Sometimes inaccurately referred to as the Small
Claims Court, County Courts deal with civil
matters including all monetary claims up to
15,000. Many County Courts have extra pow-
ers which enable them to deal with divorce and ________________
other family proceedings, bankruptcy actions,
matters relating to children and cases involv-
ing ships and boats known as admiralty actions.
Some County Courts are also branch offices of
the High Court known as District Registries.
Court Body with judicial powers. ________________
Court of Appeal Civil and Criminal divisions and hears appeals:

from decision in the High Court and County ________________
Court and, against convictions or sentences
passed by the Crown Court.
Court of First It is a generic term for a trial court of original or
Instance primary jurisdiction. It hears employment dis- ________________
putes brought by employees.
165
Court of Limited It refers to courts that are limited in the types

Jurisdiction of criminal and civil cases they may hear. For ________________
example, traffic violations generally are heard by
limited jurisdiction courts.
Court of Protection The branch of the High Court with jurisdiction
over the states of people mentally incapable of ________________
handling their own financial affairs.
Court Room The room in which cases are heard. ________________
Covenant A formal agreement or a contract constituting ________________

an obligation to perform an act.
Creditor A person to whom money is owed by a debtor. ________________
Criminal Person who has been found guilty of a criminal ________________

offence.
Crown Court The Crown Court deals with all the crime com-
mitted for trial by Magistrates Courts. Cases
for trial are heard before a judge and jury. The
Crown Court also acts as an appeal Court for ________________
cases heard and dealt with by the Magistrates.
The Crown Court can also deal with some civil
and family matters.
Damages An amount of money claimed as compensation
for physical/material loss (e.g. personal injury, ________________
breach of contract).
Debtor Person owing money to another party. ________________
Decree An order of the Court in proceedings com- ________________

menced by petition.
Decree Absolute A final certificate, resulting from an application, ________________
dissolving a marriage.
Decree Nisi Order for divorce unless cause to contrary is ________________
shown within a set period.
Declaration Court order setting out the rights of a party in ________________
the form of a statement.
Deed A legal document which sets out the terms of an ________________
agreement, which is signed by both parties.
Default Judgment Obtained by the claimant as a result of the fail-
ure of a defendant to comply with the require- ________________
ments of a claim (i.e. reply or pay within a 14
day period after service of the claim).
166
Defendant Person sued; person standing trial or appearing ________________

for sentence.
Deponent Person giving evidence by affidavit. ________________
Deposition A statement of evidence written down and ________________

sworn on oath, or by affirmation.
Designated Civil A judge designated to deal with the Civil Justice ________________
Judge Reforms for a group of courts.
Detailed Assessment Where costs are dealt with by the drawing of a ________________
bill of costs.
Determination Act of scrutinizing a bill of costs in criminal
proceedings to see if the work done and amount ________________
claimed is reasonable.
Devi Person to whom freehold land is given by a ________________
will.
Disability The inability of a person to handle their own
affairs (e.g. through mental illness or a mi-
nor under 18 years of age) which prevents in- ________________
volvement in civil legal proceedings without
representation.
Discovery of Mutual exchange of evidence and all relevant
Documents information held by each party relating to the ________________
case.
Discontinuance Notice give by the court, on instruction by the
claimant that they no longer wish to proceed ________________
with the case.
Dismissal To make order or decision that a claim be ________________
ceased.
District Judge A judicial officer of the Court whose duties
involve hearing applications made within pro- ________________
ceedings and final hearings subject to any limit
of jurisdiction previously known as Registrars.
Divisional Court As well as having an original jurisdiction of their
own, all three divisions of the High Court have
appellate jurisdiction to hear appeals from low- ________________
er Courts and tribunals. The Divisional Court
of the Chancery Division deals with appeals in
bankruptcy matters from the County Court.
Divorce Dissolution or nullity of marriage. ________________
167
Dock Enclosure in criminal Court for the defendant ________________

on trial.
Enforcement Method of pursuing a civil action after judg- ________________
ment has been made in favor of a party.
Estate The rights and assets of a person in property. ________________
Execution Seizure of debtors goods following non payment ________________

of a Court order.
Executor A person or persons specified to carry out the ________________
provisions of a will.
Exempt To be freed from liability or allegiance. ________________
Exhibit Item or document referred to in an affida-

vit or used as evidence during a Court trial or ________________
hearing.
Expert Witness Person employed to give evidence on a subject ________________
in which they are qualified or have expertise.
Federal Courts The court system which handles civil and crimi-
nal cases based on jurisdictions enumerated in ________________
the Constitution and Federal statutes.
Fee Monies payable on issue of a claim or subse- ________________
quent process.
Fiat A decree of command. ________________
Garnishee A summons issued by a plaintiff, against a third

party, for seizure of money or other assets in ________________
their keeping, but belonging to the defendant.
Guarantor Someone who promises to make payment for
another if payment is not made by the person ________________
responsible for making the repayments of a loan
or hire purchase agreement.
Guardian A person appointed to safeguard/protect/man-
age the interests of a child or person under men- ________________
tal disability.
168
High Court A civil court which consists of three divisions:

i) Queens Bench (can be known as Kings
Bench Division if a King is assuming the
throne) civil disputes for recovery of money,
including breach of contract, personal injuries,
libel/slander; ________________
ii)Family concerned with matrimonial mat-
ters and proceedings relating to children (e.g.
wardship);
iii) Chancery property matters including
fraud and bankruptcy.
Indictable Offence A criminal offence triable only by the Crown
Court. The different types of offence are classi- ________________
fied 1, 2, 3, 4. Murder is a class 1 offence.
Injunction An order by a court either restraining a person
or persons from carrying out a course of action
or directing a course of action be complied with. ________________
Failure to carry out terms of the order may be
punishable by imprisonment.
Insolvency The condition of having more debts (liabilities) ________________
than total assets.
Inspection of Following disclosure of each parties documents
Documents by discovery, the arrangements made by the ________________
parties to allow mutual exchange and copying
of documents.
Interlocutory Interim, pending a full order/decision, e.g. in-
terlocutory judgment awarded an entered as fi- ________________
nal judgment.
Intestate Without leaving a will. ________________
Issue To initiate legal proceedings in pursuit of a ________________

claim.
Judge An officer appointed to administer the law and
who has authority to hear and try cases in a ________________
court of law.
Judgment Final decision of a court A monetary judgment
requires the payment of a sum of money by one ________________
party to another.
Judicial/Judiciary i) Relating to the Administration of justice or to
the judgment of a Court. ________________
ii) A judge or other officer empowered to act as
a judge.
169
Jurat A statement contained at the conclusion of an

affidavit which states the name of the person
giving the evidence, the name of the person be- ________________
fore whom and the place where the oath or af-
firmation was taken.
Juror A person who has been summoned by a court to ________________
be a member of the jury.
Jury Body of jurors sworn to reach a verdict accord- ________________
ing to the evidence in a court.
Justice of the Peace A lay magistrate person appointed to adminis-
ter judicial business in a Magistrates Court. Also ________________
sits in the Crown Court with a judge or recorder
to hear appeals and committals for sentence.
Jurisdiction The area and matters over which a court has le- ________________
gal authority.
Juvenile Person under 17 years of age ________________
Law The system made up of rules established by an

act of parliament, custom or practice enjoining ________________
or prohibiting certain action.
Lease The letting of land or tenements, e.g. rent, for ________________
property for a prescribed period.
Legal Personal The person to whom a grant of probate of letters ________________
Representative of administration has been issued.
Legatee Person to whom personal estate is given by will. ________________
Levy A duty carried out by a bailiff or sheriff under

the authority of a warrant or writ of fi-fa, for a
sum of money whereby goods of value belong- ________________
ing to the debtor are claimed with a view to re-
moval and sale at a public auction in an attempt
to obtain payment.
Libel A written and published statement/article
which infers damaging remarks on a persons ________________
reputation.
Licence Permission to carry out an act that would other- ________________
wise be considered illegal.
Lien A legal right to withhold the goods/property of ________________
another until payment is made.
170
Listing This form is used to ensure that all issues are re- ________________
solved and that the parties are ready for trial.
Litigation Legal proceedings. ________________
Lord Chancellor The cabinet minister who acts as speaker of the

House of Lords and oversees the hearings of the ________________
Law Lords.
Lord Chief Justice Senior judge of the Court of Appeal (Criminal
Division) who also heads the Queens Bench Di- ________________
vision of the High Court of Justice)
Lord Justice of Appeal Title given to certain judges sitting in the Court ________________
of Appeal.
Magistrates Court A court where criminal proceedings are com-
menced before justices of the peace who exam-
ine the evidence/statement and either deal with ________________
the case themselves or commit to the Crown
Court for trial or sentence.
Master of the Rolls Senior judge of the Court of Appeal. ________________
Matter Proceedings commenced by way of originating ________________

application.
Minor Someone below 18 years of age and unable to
sue or be sued without representation, other ________________
than for wages. A minor sues by a next friend
and defends by a guardian.
Mitigation Reasons submitted on behalf of a guilty party in
order to excuse or partly excuse the offence com- ________________
mitted in an attempt to minimize the sentence.
Mortgage A loan of money advanced to purchase prop-
erty. The transfer of the property is withheld as ________________
security for payment.
Mortgagor The party obtaining the loan. ________________
Mortgagee The party that advances the loan. ________________
Motion An application by one party to the High Court ________________

for an order in their favor.
Non-Molestation An order within an injunction to prevent one ________________
person physically attacking another.
171
Non-Suit Proceedings where the plaintiff has failed to es-

tablish to the Courts satisfaction that there is a ________________
case for the defendant to answer.
Notary Public Someone who is authorized to swear oaths and ________________
certify the execution of deeds.
Notice of Issue Notice sent by a Court to the claimant giving
notification of the case number allocated to ________________
their action and details of fees paid. Confirms
date of service.
Nullity Application to the Court for a declaration that
a marriage be declared void or be annulled i.e. ________________
declared never to have existed or to have sub-
sisted until the Court dissolved it.
Oath A verbal promise by a person with religious be- ________________
liefs to tell the truth.
Official Solicitor A solicitor or barrister appointed by the Lord
Chancellors Department. The duties include
representing, in legal proceedings, people who ________________
are incapable of looking after their own affairs,
i.e. children/persons suffering from mental
illness.
Oral Examination A method of questioning a person under oath
before an officer of the Court to obtain details of ________________
their financial affairs .
Order A direction by a Court. ________________
Originating A method of commencing proceedings under

Application the authority of a specific act of parliament (e.g. ________________
Landlord and Tenant Act), whereby the applicant
asks the Court to grant an order in their favor.
Ouster An order within an injunction to force a person ________________
to leave a property.
Particulars Details relevant to a claim. ________________
Party Any of the participants in a Court action or ________________

proceedings.
Penal Notice Directions attached to an order of a Court stat-
ing the penalty for disobedience may result in ________________
imprisonment.
172
Petition A method of commencing proceedings whereby

the order required by the petitioner from the
Court is expressed as a prayer (e.g. the peti- ________________
tioner therefore prays that the marriage be dis-
solved divorce proceedings).
Petitioner A person who represents the petition. ________________
Plaintiff See claimant. ________________
Plaint Note See notice of issue. ________________
Plaint Number Old-fashioned term for Claim Number. ________________
Plea A defendants reply to a charge put to him by a ________________

court (i.e. guilty or not guilty).
Pleading Documents setting out claim/defense of parties ________________
involved in civil proceedings.
Possession Legal proceedings by a landlord to recover land/ ________________
Proceedings property (i.e. house, flat, garage etc.).
Power of Arrest An order attached to some injunctions to allow
the police to arrest a person who has broken the ________________
terms of the order.
President of the Fam- Senior judge and head of the Family Division of ________________
ily Division the High Court of Justice.
Pre-trial Review A preliminary appointment at which the Dis-
trict Judge consider the issues before the ________________
Court and fixes the timetable for the trial.
Probate The legal recognition of the validity of a will. ________________
Probate Court A court found in some jurisdictions which is

primarily concerned with the proper distribu- ________________
tion of the assets of the deceased.
Prosecution The institution or conduct of criminal proceed- ________________
ings against a person.
Prosecutor Person who prosecutes. ________________
173
Public Trustee A person (usually a barrister or solicitor) ap-

pointed by the Lord Chancellor as:
i) trustee for trusts managed by the Public Trust
Office;
ii) Accountant General for Court Funds;
iii) Receiver (of last resort) for Court of Protec- ________________
tion patients (Pronounced Puny) High Court
judge. Any judge of the High Court other than
the heads of each division. The word puisne
means junior and is used to distinguish High
Court judges from senior judges sitting at the
Court of Appeal.
Putative Father The alleged or supposed father of an illegitimate ________________
child.
Quash To annul (i.e. to declare no longer valid). ________________
Quantum In a damages claim the amount to be deter- ________________

mined by the court.
Queens Council Barristers of at least ten years standing may ap-
ply to become queens counsel. Queens Coun-
cils undertake work of an important nature and ________________
are referred to as silks which is derived from
the Courts gown that is worn. Will be known as
Kings counsel if a king assumes the throne.
Receiver Person appointed by the Court of Protection to ________________
act on behalf of a patient.
Recognisance An undertaking before the Court by which a
person agrees to comply with a certain condi-
tion (e.g. keep the peace/appear in court). A ________________
sum of money is normally pledged to ensure
compliance.
Recorder Members of the legal profession (barristers or
solicitors) who are appointed to act in a judicial ________________
capacity on a part time bases. They may progress
to become a full time judge.
Redetermination An application by a solicitor or counsel for
amounts assessed by determination to be ________________
reconsidered.
Remand To order an accused person to be kept in cus-
tody or placed on bail pending further court ________________
appearance
174
Respondent The person on whom a petition or originating ________________

application is served.
Right of Audience Entitlement to appear before a Court in a legal
capacity and conduct proceedings on behalf of a ________________
party to the proceedings.
Service Delivery by post or personal service of the claim, ________________
or other court documents.
Sheriff An officer of the Crown whose duties, amongst
other things, consist of the enforcement of High ________________
Court writs of execution.
Silk Queens Counsel, a senior barrister sometimes ________________
referred to as a leader or leading counsel.
Slander Spoken words which have a damaging effect on ________________
a persons reputation.
Small Claims Track The path that defended claims of no more than
5000 (and Personal Injury and Housing Dis- ________________
repair claims of no more than 1000) are al-
located to.
Solicitor Member of the legal profession chiefly con-
cerned with advising clients and preparing their
cases and representing them in some courts. ________________
May also act as advocates before certain Courts
or tribunals.
Specified Claim A type of claim which is issued for a fixed
amount of money allegedly owing. Previously ________________
known as a liquidated claim.
Squatter A person occupying land or property without ________________
the owners consent.
Statement A written account by a witness of the facts of ________________
details of a matter.
Stay of Execution An order following which judgment cannot be ________________
enforced without leave of the court.
Stipendiary A legally qualified and salaried Magistrate. ________________
Magistrate
Subpoena A summons issued to a person directing their ________________
attendance in Court to give evidence.
Suit Legal proceedings commenced by petition. ________________
175
Suitor Person bringing a suit before the Courts. ________________
Summary Judgment Judgment obtained by a plaintiff where there is

no defense to the case or the defense contains no ________________
valid grounds.
Summary Offence A criminal offence which is triable only by a ________________
Magistrate Court.
Summing-up A review of the evidence and directions as to the
law by a judge immediately before a jury retires ________________
to consider its verdict.
Summons Order to appear or to produce evidence to a ________________
Court.
Summons (Jury) Order to attend for jury service. ________________
Summons (Witness) Order to appear as a witness at a hearing. ________________
Superior Court It is a basic county trial court. ________________
Supreme Court The highest court in the United States, which

has the ultimate power to decide constitutional
questions and other appeals based on the juris-
diction granted by the Constitution, including ________________
cases based on federal statutes, between citizens
of different states, and when the federal govern-
ment is a party.
Supreme Court of Collective name encompassing High Court of ________________
Judicature Justice, Crown Court and Court of Appeal.
Surety A persons undertaking to be liable for anothers ________________
default or non-attendance at Court.
Surrogate Court A court where a surrogate/an officer especially
in some states of United States, presides the pro- ________________
bates of Wills and estates, and which has juris-
diction over such probates.
Suspended Sentence A custodial sentence which will not take effect
unless there is a subsequent offence within a ________________
specified period.
Territorial Courts A court in an administrative territory of the Unit- ________________
ed States that has local and federal jurisdiction.
Testor A person who makes a will ________________
176
Tipstaff An officer of the Supreme Court whose duties

involve the enforcement of High Court arrest ________________
warrants.
Tort A civil wrong committed against a person for
which compensation may be sought through a ________________
civil Court (e.g. personal injury, negligent driv-
ing, libel, etc.).
Trial Window A period of time within which the case must be ________________
listed for trial.
Tribunal A group of people consisting of a chairman
(normally solicitor/barrister) and others who
exercise a judicial function to determine mat-
ters related to specific interests (e.g. VAT tribu- ________________
nal appeals against the amount of duty levied by
Customs and Excise Lands tribunal appeals
against the valuation of land).
Trust Property legally entrusted to a person with in- ________________
structions to use it for another person.
Trustee A person who holds or administers property in ________________
a trust for another.
Verdict The finding of guilty or not guilty of a jury. ________________
Vice Chancellor Senior judge and head of the Chancery Division

of the High Court of Justice (although the Lord ________________
Chancellor is the nominal head).
Walking Possession A signed agreement by a debtor not to remove
goods levied by a bailiff under the authority of
a warrant of execution and to allow the bailiff ________________
access at any time to inspect the goods, in con-
sideration of which the bailiff leaves the goods
in the possession of the debtor.
Ward of Court The title given to a minor who is the subject of a
wardship order. The order ensures that custody
of the minor is held by the Court with day to
day care of the minor being carried out by an
individual(s) or local authority. As long as the ________________
minor remains a ward of Court, all decision
regarding the minors upbringing must be ap-
proved by the Court (e.g. transfer to a different
school, medical treatment, etc.).
177
Warrant of Method of enforcing an order of the Court

Committal whereby the penalty for failing to comply with
its terms is imprisonment; the bailiff is author- ________________
ized to carry out the arrest and deliver the person
to prison (or in some instances the Court) from
the debtor and return them to the creditor.
Warrant of Delivery Method of enforcing a judgment for the return
of goods (or value of the goods) whereby a bail-
iff is authorized to recover the goods (or their ________________
value) from the debtor and return them to the
creditor.
Warrant of Execution Method of enforcing a judgment for a sum of
money whereby a bailiff is authorized, in lieu of ________________
payment, to seize and remove goods belonging
to a defendant for sale at public auction.
Warrant of Possession Method of enforcing a judgment for possession
of a property whereby a bailiff is authorized to ________________
evict people and secure against re-entry.
Warrant of A remedy available following illegal re-entry of
Restitution premises by persons evicted under a warrant of
possession. The bailiff is authorized to evict all ________________
occupants found on the premises and redeliver
the premises to the plaintiff.
Will A declaration of a persons intentions to distrib- ________________
ute his/her estate and assets.
Winding Up The voluntary or compulsory closure of a com-
pany and the subsequent realization of assets ________________
and payment to creditors.
Witness A person who gives evidence in Court. ________________
Writ of Summons A writ directing a person to appear in court to ________________

answer a complaint.
178
The following two texts are legal texts. Read the texts carefully, analyze their distinctive
features and translate them into the target language.
Minutes of Regular General Meeting

A.B.C. Company
(Limited Liability Company)
On this .day of .. 19 ...... at 10:30 a.m., the regular Meeting
Text 1
of A.B.C. Company (Limited Liability Company) was held at the Companys
Head Office at .., upon an invitation served by registered mail
by the Companys Chairman to Partners, Companies Department and the
Companys Auditor.
The meeting was attended by Partners representing 100% of the Companys

total capital stock.
The meeting was presided over by Mr. ., the Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Mr. was appointed a secretary of the meeting.

Mr. and Mr. .were appointed as vote counters and their ap-
pointment was approved by the attendants.
The attendance list showed that the attendants represented 100% of the total capital stock
of 1000.
179
_____________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
180
*Articles of Partnership
Articles of Agreement, made ...., 19

by: 1- ... 2- ..
Text 2
The said parties hereby agree to become copartners, under the firm name of
.., and as such partners to carry on together the business of buy-
ing and selling all sorts of dry goods, at .. street, in the city of
.....
The said . agrees to contribute Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000) to the

capital of said firm; and the said agrees to contribute One Thousand Dol-
lars ($1,000) to the same; the sum of Twenty-Five Hundred Dollars ($2,500) of said capi-
tal to be expended in the purchase of a stock in trade.
The said .. shall have exclusive charge of all the buying for the firm.
-_____________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
* Passage adopted from New Websters Law for Everyone by Hugo Sonnenschein (1982).
181
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A textbook of translation

Theoretical and practical implications

Cover Design: Koloriet/Danni Elskens

Said M. Shiyab & Garant Publishers

1.1 Definition of Translation 21

2.5 Ethics and Rules in Translation 39

6.3 Translation and Culture 82

8.1 Introduction 105

9.1 Introduction 115

10.1 Introduction 121

11.1 Introduction 131

12.1 Introduction 155

Chapter 1, Introduction: Perspectives on Translation, looks at the history of the dis-

Chapter 5, Text and Context in Translation, is a tribute to teaching total communica-

Chapter 8, Translation and Literature, is geared to be of service to the more advanced

Professor Shiyabs translation textbook is an up-to-date and well-organized presentation

Grateful acknowledgment is also made to my family, particularly my wife, Tammy, who

1.1 Definition of Translation

1.2 Translation: Past and Present

Steiner Translation is the interpretation of verbal signs in one language

Rabin Translation is a process by which a spoken or written utterance

Catford Translation is the replacement of textual material in one lan-

Savory Translation, the surmounting of the obstacle, is made possible

Jakobson Inter-lingual translation or rewording is an interpretation of

Inter-lingual translation or translation proper is an interpreta-

Inter-semiotic translation or transmutation is an interpretation

Frawley Translation means re-codification. (S)

De Beaugrande Translation should not be studied as a comparing and contrast-

Tytler Translation should give a complete transcript of the ideas of the

The style and manner of writing should be the same character

Translation should have all the ease of the original. (M)

Newmark Translation is rendering the meaning of a text into another lan-

Diaz-Diocaretz Translation will be understood as the final product of problem-

Table (1) Interrelation Definitions of Translation

1.3 What is a Translator?

1. Translation is more about people not words.

1.4 Methods of Translation

texts: word-for-word-translation, literal translation, faithful translation, semantic transla-

1.4.1 Word for Word Translation

1.4.2 Literal Translation

1.4.3 Free Translation

1.5 Translation: Art or Science?

1.6 Why Do We Need Translation?

1.7 Test Your Knowledge of Chapter (1)

1.8 Text-Comprehension and Translation

Importance of Translation and Interpretation

The Kyiv conference contributed to the establishment of contacts among re-

2.2 Misconceptions about Translation

Newmark (1991) has outlined the responsibilities of instructors involved in teaching

In order to help students understand the nature, responsibilities and requirements of

2.3 Students and Teachers Perceptions

Second, from personal experience, I believe translation is a complex process. It requires

2.4 Other Perceptions

A translator must be a self-starter, an independent worker, with a good dose of

2.5 Ethics and Rules in Translation

2.6 Test Your Knowledge of Chapter (2)

1. Give four misconceptions students have about majoring in translation.

2.7 Multiple Choice Questions about Chapter (2)

Based on your understanding of Chapter (2), answer the following questions:

1. The term fallacy means:

3. Most fallacies about translation studies were fed by:

4. According to this chapter, translators are . perceived by the

6. Since translation deals with my native language, then it is: