What is Back Translation?

Although we have the utmost confidence in our linguists, who are carefully evaluated for their
expertise in specific subject domains, we are occasionally asked to include an additional validation
step called a “back translation” in our workflow. A back translation can be defined as the
translation of a target document backto the original source language. The back translation should
be performed by a separate linguist with no knowledge of the original source content.

The Back Translation Process

When is it Important?
Back translations are specifically important when working with highly sensitive or high risk
information. A back translation may also be legally required. For example, Institutional Review
Boards (IRBs) and ethics committees often require a back translation and certificate of accuracy for
the translation of pharmaceutical marketing or clinical trials materials. The back translation will
help to identify any potential ambiguities or sensitive details that may have been overlooked or
misunderstood in the translation. It also assures that any cross-cultural issues are addressed and
ironed out before publication of the translated text. This will confirm that the text is conceptually
and culturally appropriate for the target audience.

What should you expect from a back translation?

A back translation will never be an exact replica of the original source text. Despite striving for
objectivity, translation is often a subjective matter. There is no mathematical formula to any
language, and one translator’s word choice may not exactly match the preference of another. We
instruct our linguists to perform a back translation as literally and directly as possible in order to
give the most precise dictionary meaning of the translation and to avoid introducing any personal
style choices.

How does the reconciliation process work?

After the back translation is completed, the next step is to compare the back translation to the
source to determine whether or not there are any differences that matter between the two, and to
reconcile those differences either by making changes to the translation or by confirming that the
original translation does convey the proper message. We compare the back translation to the
source text first to see whether we spot any questionable areas and flag any concepts that have
been misunderstood or language that leaves room for ambiguity and attempt to reconcile any
obvious problem areas.

Next the back translation with our notes, if any, will be passed on to the client’s editorial team for
review. The client also compares the back translation to the original source text and flags any
problem areas they see. Finally, any problems identified will be entered in a spreadsheet and
passed on to the original translator who will review the issues report, address any ambiguities or
seeming inconsistencies, and provide feedback on the spreadsheet, defending her translation or
offering an alternative. This reconciliation report is passed back to the client, who may accept or
reject any alternative. The objective is to work with the client to identify language that best
expresses the content in the client’s original source text. Not all differences between the source
text and the back translation are significant.

Back translations are not a guarantee of accuracy, but they are a helpful way to identify any
potential bumps in the road. For reviewing style or branding, a back translation is not ideal. In
these cases, you may want to send the translation to your in-country reviewer or local distributor
in this case.
Do you still have questions about back translation?Ask us
Or call 215-729-6765 to
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BerandaTRANSLATION: Definition, Kinds of Translation and Equivalence

TRANSLATION: Definition, Kinds of

Translation and Equivalence
April 30, 2012 sangapitu97 english

1. Translation

1. The Definition of Translation

There are some definitions of translation. Nida states that translation consist of
reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalence of the source
language message, first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style[1].
Newmark in Rudi Hartono states that translation is rendering the meaning of a
text into another language in the way that the author intended the text.[2]
From the definition above the translation has the same term “equivalence”. The
meaning, context, though, or message of both source of reproducing in the
receptor language, the closest natural are equivalent to the message of source
language. The first is meaning and secondly is style. The message of source
language must equivalent. The reader of translation who knows the target
language only will be confused if the target language is influenced by the source
language.
Meanwhile the result of translation must be transferring the meaning of the
source language clearly. In order to make the clear meaning of source language, it
is expected that the meaning of target language can be understood by the readers.
So, the result of translation must be readable. In target language, readability is
needed, because it makes the readers easier to catch the content of the translation
text, conversely when the translation text is not readable. It will make the readers
difficult to understand the content of the text well.
Based on many definitions above, the writer assumes that the translation is a
process of transferring thoughts and message from the source language to the
target language, in the form of written or spoken.

1. The kinds of translation

Practically, there are some kinds of translation that have their own characteristics
and forms. Some kinds of translation are found because of the differences and
similarities of the source structures, different kinds of text that are going to be
translated and different purpose of translation. Newmark states that translation
methods relate to whole texts, translation procedures are used for sentences and
the smaller units of language.[3]
Roman Jakobson in Hatim and Munday makes a very important distinction
between three types of written translation[4]:1)Intralingual
translation,translation within the same language, which can involve rewording or
paraphrase, 2) Interlingual translation,translation from one language to
another,3)Intersemiotic translation,translation of the verbal sign by non verbal
sign for example music or image.
 Nababan differentiates kinds of translation, such as word for word translation,
free translation, literal translation, dynamic translation, pragmatic translation,
aesthetic-poetic translation, ethnographic translation, linguistic translation
communicative translation and semantic translation[5].

1. The Process of Translation

The process of translation can be defined as the activity of translation. The

translation process usually is used by a translator as a guide in translating text
from the source language into the target language.
The process of translation consists of three steps, analyze texts of source
language, transfer, restructuring[6]

Figure 1. Process of translation

(Nida and Taber)

The first stage is analysis, translator analyzes about grammatical relationship and
meaning of the word. In the transfer stage, translator analyzes material of source
language and target language that is transferred base on the mind of translator.
The material that has analyzed (X) is transferred to receptor text (Y), and then it
is restructured to make final message that is acceptable in receptor language.

2. Translation Equivalence

Base on oxford dictionary equivalence is equal or interchangeable in value,

quantity, significance, etc.[7] Vinay and Darbelnet as cited in Munday, stated that
“equivalence refers to cases where languages describe the same situation by
different stylistic or structural means”[8].
Equivalence consists of the concept of sameness and similarity; it has the same or
a similar effect or meaning in translation.
There are types of equivalence defined by Nida, which are also called two basic
orientations of translation[9]:

1. Formal correspondence

It focuses attention on the message itself, in both of form and content. Once is
concerned that the message in the receptor language should match as closely as
possible the different elements in the source language.

1. Dynamic equivalence

It is the principle equivalent effect, where the relationship between receptor and
message should be substantially the same as that which existed between the
original receptor and the message. The goal of the dynamic equivalence is seeking
the closest natural equivalent to the source message. This receptor oriented
 approach considers adaptations of grammar, of lexicon, and of cultural reference
to be essential in order to achieve naturalness.
Vinay and Darbelnet view that equivalence-oriented translation as a procedure
which ‘replicates the same situation as in the original, whilst using completely
different wording’. Equivalence is therefore the ideal method when the translator
dealing with proverbs, idioms, clichés, nominal or adjectival phrases and the
onomatopoeia of animal sounds.[10] According to Jakobson’s theory, ‘translation
involves two equivalent messages in two different codes’. Jakobson goes on to
say that from a grammatical point of view languages may differ from one another
to a greater or lesser degree, but this does not mean that a translation cannot be
possible, in other words, that the translator may face the problem of not finding a
translation equivalent.[11]
An extremely interesting discussion of the notion equivalent can be found in
baker who seems to offer more detail list of conditions upon which the concept
equivalent can be defined at different levels as follow:

1. Equivalence that can appear at word level. Baker gives a definition of the
term word since it should be remembered that a single word can be regarded as
being a more complex unit or morpheme, and it discuss about lexical
meaning.[12]
2. Above word level equivalence, when translating from one language into another.
In this section, the translator concentrates on the type of lexical pattering, they
are collocation, idioms, and fixed expression.[13]
3. Grammatical equivalence, when referring to the diversity of grammatical
categories across languages. Baker focuses on number, tense and aspects, voice,
person and gender.[14]. In the process of translation; such differences between
SL and the TL often imply some change in the information content. When the SL
has a grammatical category that the TL lacks, this change can take the form of
adding information to the target text. On the other hand, if it is the target
language that lacks a category, the change can take the form of omission.
4. Textual equivalence when referring to the equivalence between a SL text and a TL
text in terms of thematic and information structure.[15] She also adds the
discussion in this section about cohesion.[16]
5. Pragmatic equivalence, when referring to implicaturs and strategies of avoidance
during the translation process.[17]

Vinay and Darbelnet, Jakobson, Nida and Taber, Catford, House, and finally is
Baker. These theorists have studied equivalence in relation to the translation
process, using different approaches.
C.Grammatical Equivalence
Grammar is the set of rules which determine the way in which units such as
words and phrases can be combined in a language. Grammar has two main
dimensions: morphology and syntax, morphology concern the structure of single
words, the way in which their form varies to indicate specific contrast in the
grammatical system (example: singular/plural, number, present/past), syntax
concerns the grammatical structure of groups of words (clauses or sentence),the
linear sequence of classes of words (noun, verb, adverb, adjective, etc).
Different grammatical structures in the SL and TL may cause remarkable changes
in the way the information or message is carried across, these changes may
induce the translator either to add or to omit information in the TT because of the
 lack of particular grammatical devices in the TL itself, amongst these
grammatical devices which might cause problems in translation.[18]
As far as translation is concerned, the most important difference between
grammatical and lexical choices is that the former are generally obligatory while
the latter are largely optional. In the process of translation, such different
between source language and the target language often imply some change in the
information content. When the source language has a grammatical category that
the target language lacks, this change can take the form of adding information to
the target text. On the other hand, if it is the target language that lacks a category,
the change can take the form of omission. grammatical rules may vary across
languages and this may pose some problems in terms of finding a direct
correspondence in the TL.

1. Number

Number is the inflection of nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives and determiners to

show singular, dual, or plural forms. Distinguished three classes of number:
singular (‘one’), dual (‘two’), and plural (‘more than two’).[19] The idea of
countability is probably universal, but not all of language have grammatical
category of number, even if they might make distinctions at the lexical meaning.

1. Gender

The term gender, usually attributed to Protagoras in Shery Simon, is derived

from a term meaning class or kind and referred to the division of Greek nouns
into masculine, feminine and neuter.[20]Gander is grammatical category
according to which a noun or pronoun is classified as masculine or feminine.

1. Person

Morphological category of the verb used to mark the singular and plural finite
verb forms as ‘speakers’ (first person), ‘addressees’ (second person), or a ‘person,
state or thing’ referred to in the utterance (third person).[21] Subgroup of
pronouns which refer to persons is as the speakers (I, we), addressees (you) or
other persons/things (he, she, it) (inclusive vs. exclusive).The category of person
relates to the notion of participant roles.

1. Tense and Aspect

English has two way tense systems, so that in place of the past tense form was, we
could use the corresponding present tense form is.[22] Aspect is a term used to
describe the duration of the activity described by a verb whether the activity is
on-going or completed.[23] In those languages which have these categories, the
form of the verb usually provides two types of information: time relations and
aspectual differences.

1. Voice

Voice is grammatical category that defines the relationship between subject and
verb. It calls the active clauses if the subject have role responsible to performing
action, and it call passive clause if the subject is the affected entity.[24]

1. D. Translation Procedure
Translation procedures or translation shifts are defined as “the smallest linguistic
changes occurring in translation of ST (source text) to TT (target
text)”.[25] Translation is a field of various procedures. Translation procedures
are use to get equivalence between source language and target language in
translation process. There are many kinds of translation procedure, but the writer
want to explore some procedure that must be use by translator to conform to the
stylistic demands and grammatical conventions of the target language. These
possibilities are expanded below.[26]

1. Additional information

The change can take the form of adding to the target text information which is
not expressed in the source language, if the target language has the grammatical
category which the source language lacks.[27] Information which is not present
in the source language text may be added to the target language text.

1. Deletion information

Baker refers to deletion as “omission of a lexical item due to grammatical or

semantic patterns of the receptor language”.[28] In the process of translating, the
change of information content of message can be done in the form of omitting
information in the source language, if the target language lacks a grammatical
category.

1. Structural adjustment

Structural adjustment is another important strategy for getting equivalence

between source language and target language. Structural adjustment is also
called shift, or transposition, or alteration. Newmark states that “A ‘shift’
(Catford’s term) or ‘transposition’ (Vinay and Darbelnet) is a translation
procedure involving a change in the grammar from SL to TL”. There are four
types of transposition:[29]

1. Type 1: the change from singular to plural (and vice versa), or in the position of
the adjective.

Example of change from singular to plural:

SL: a pair of glasses
TL :sebuah kacamata [30]
Example of change in the position of adjective:
SL: black ink TL: tinta hitam

1. Type 2: the change in grammatical structure from SL to TL because SL

grammatical structure does not exist in TL.

Example:
SL: Tas situ aku letakan diatas meja
TL: I placed the bag on the table
This example shows that except for sentences in passive voice or a particular
structure, the concept of placing of object in the beginning of the sentence in
 Bahasa Indonesia (TL) is not recognized in the English (SL) grammar; hence it is
transposed into a simple sentence.

1. Type 3: an alternative to when literal translation of SL text may not accord with
natural usage in TL. Such alternatives include:

1) Noun/noun phrase in SL becomes verb in TL.

Example:
SL: …to study their history for better understanding of their behavior. {Noun
phrase}
TL: …mempelajari sejarah mereka untuk lebih memahami perilaku mereka.
{Verb}
2) The joined form of adjective participle (i.e. adjective formed from a verb) and
noun, or noun phrase in SL becomes noun + noun form in TL.
Example:
SL: engineering technique {adjective + noun}
TL: teknik perekayasaan {noun + noun}[31]
3) Clause in the form of participium (i.e. verb form sharing the functions of a
noun) in SL is expressed into its direct form in TL.
Example:
SL: The house designed by my father is being built.
TL: Rumah yang dirancang oleh ayah saya sedang dibangun.

1. Type 4: the replacement of a virtual lexical gap by a grammatical structure.

The emphasis in SL is shown through TL regular grammatical construction.

Example:
SL: This is the book I’ve been looking for all this time.
TL: Buku inilah yang kucari selama ini.
There are many kinds of translation procedures. Translation procedures will
make easily to get grammatical equivalence between source language and target
language in the process of translation.

E. Assessment in Translation Studies

Assessment in translation therefore goes beyond the evaluation of particular
translations and must take into account other instruments. In this research, the
writer uses the form of equivalent assessment according to Nababan:[32]
 Scale Definition Category

The meaning of word, phrase, clause and sentence of source

3 language can be transferred to the target language accurately, there Accuracy
no found distortions in meaning.

Large section the meaning of word, phrase, clause and sentence of

2 source language had be transferred to the target language Almost accuracy
accurately, but there still found any distortions in meaning or
ambiguity translation which influences message.

The meaning of word, phrase, clause and sentence of source

1 language can be transferred to the target language inaccurately or Inacurasy
deletion

Table 1. Assessment of Equivalence

[1]Nida,Eugene A and Taber. The Theory and Practice of

translation.Leiden:E.J.Brill.1969.p16
[2]Rudi Hartono.Op.cit.p2

[3] Rochayah Machali. Pedoman Bagi Penerjemah..Jakarta:grasindo.2000.p48

[4] Munday, jeremy and Basil Hatim.Translation an advanced resource book.
Newyork: Routledge. 2004. p5
[5] Rudolf Nababan.Teori Menerjemah.Yogyakarta:Pustaka pelajar. 2008.p30
[6] Nida,Eugene A and Taber. Op.Cit. p33
[7] A S Homby Oxford. 1995. Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of current English
(fifth edition).OxfordUniversity press: Oxford.p.389
[8] Munday, J. Introducing Translation Studies.London: Routledge.2001.p.58
[9]Nida,Eugene A and Taber.Op.Cit. p22
[10] http://accurapid.com/journal/14equiv.htm
[11]Munday,Jeremi.Op.Cit. p37
[12]Baker, Mona . In Other Words: a Coursebook on Translation, London:
Routledge.1992. p.12
[13]Ibid.p.47
[14] Ibid.p.84
 [15] Ibid.p.119
[16] Ibid.p.173
[17] Ibid.p.218
[18] Baker, Mona . In Other Words: a Coursebook on Translation, London:
Routledge. 1992. p.86
[19]Charles F. Meyer. Introducing English Linguistics. Cambridge University
Press:UK.2009 .p27
[20] Sherry Simon. Gender in Translation Cultural Identity and The Politics of
Transmission.London: Routledge.1996.p.16
[21] Bussman,Hadumod. Routladge Dictionary of Language and Linguistics.
Routladge: London.1996.p.883.
[22] Radford, Andrew et.al. Linguistics An Introduction Second
edition.CambridgeUniversity Press:UK.2009.p250
[23] Ibid.p.252
[24] Mona Baker.Op.Cit. p.102
[25]Munday,J.Op.Cit.p.55
[26]/http:www.proz.com/doc/2071. October 25,2011
[27] Baker, Mona.Op.Cit.p.86
[28] Ibid.
[29] Newmark,Petter. A Textbook of Translation.New York: Prentice-Hall
International. 1988. p85
[30] Rochayah Machali.Op.Cit. p.64
[31]ibid.p.67
[32] repository.usu.ac.id/bitstream/123456789/7392/1/09E01836.pdf

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2 respons untuk ‘TRANSLATION: Definition, Kinds
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