The translator and

translation: an
Introduction
The translator as

• Bricklayer Copier

• Mimic Subject

• Cryptographer Intermediary

• Controller Artist
The translator (adapted from Chesterman) (Gonzalez Davies 2004)

metaphor Role Background

rebuilding bricklayer Classical
Copying copier Early Biblical
Imitating mimic Rheotrical, belles infidèles
creating artist German romantics
transcoding cryptographer Early linguistics , MT
sending intermediary Sociolinguistics,
translational action
manipulating controller Polisystem theory
thinking subject Cognition, protocols
 What is translation?

• From the Latin translatio – translatus - transferre

• TRANS “across” + FERRE “to carry” or “to bring”

• or the kindred TRADUCERE “to lead across” or “to bring
across”
• the Greek term for translation “METAPHRASIS” (a “speaking
across”) = English “METAPHRASE” (i.e. a literal, word-for-word
translation) vs. “PARAPHRASE” (a “saying in other words”)
DEFINITION:
= a process of transferring from one language to another
ideas expressed in writing and the product of this practice.

a process / activity / art / craft comprising the interpretation

of the meaning of a text in one language – the source text –
and the production, in another language, of a new equivalent
text – the target text. Both texts aim at communicating the
same meaning.
Translation/interpreting

– TRANSLATION = transferring from one language to another ideas

expressed in writing

– vs.
– INTERPRETING (or "interpretation“) (consecutive, simultaneous,
liaison interpreting) = transferring ideas expressed orally or by use of
gestures (e.g. sign language) / facilitating oral or sign-language
communication between two or more speakers who are
not speaking, or signing, the same language
Human or machine?

Traditionally translation has been a human

activity, though attempts have been made

– to computerize or otherwise automate the translation of

natural-language texts (machine translation)
– or to use computers as an aid to translation (computer-
assisted translation = CAT)
 Three types of translation

• 3 types of written translation (Jakobson, 1959):

– Intralingual: within the same language (e.g. biscuits in
BrE vs. cookies in AmE)
– Interlingual: from one language to another (e.g. biscuits
in BrE and biscotti in Italian)
– Intersemiotic: from verbal to non-verbal sign (e.g. the
word ‘ sea’ and its iconic representation on canvas)
 Translation equivalence

• is a often seen as a precondition/ requirement of translation

(different from other types transformations: adaptation,
abridgment, summary, etc.)

• reader/listener assumes equivalence (instinctive view),

• translator creates equivalence (more or less conscious view),
• researcher investigates equivalence (contrastive view)
 Equivalence (2)

• is never complete
 the TL text is identical with the original text only from certain
points of view (formal, situational, contextual,
communicative, etc.) (various types and degrees of
equivalence exist!)

– normative view: prescribes what the translator has to do to produce

an equivalent translation; what it is that he/she has to definitely
preserve, or can sacrifice from the original text
– descriptive view: describes, on the basis of the analysis of numerous
translating facts, how translators create equivalence, what it is that
they have preserved or sacrificed
 Equivalence (3)

• is text-type dependent
– no identical equivalence requirements can be
established for different text types (e.g. a users’
manual, a movie script):
• the number of text types determines the number of
equivalence types possible (Reiss 1971)
 Problems of Translating

comprehension / production problems

– The text: Creative exploitation of linguistic means of
expression
– The translator: Insufficient world knowledge and/or
insufficient linguistic knowledge
– Insufficient source text comprehension (e.g.
disambiguation, misunderstanding…)
Production problems
– Lack of semantic/communicative autonomy
– Continuing presence of the source text
• linguistic interference (translationese)
A map of Translation Studies: Holmes (1972;
1988)
 What do translation studies study?

• Translation oriented text-analysis (Hatim and Mason

1990, Nord 1997, Mauranen and Kujamäki 2004)

• ST analysis
• ST/TT comparative analysis
• analysis of translated and non-translated text in T
language
 What do translation studies study? (2)

• Translation assessment (House 1977,81)

• Principles and criteria
• Orientation (ST, TL, audience)

• Translation and genres (Rega 2001, Scarpa 2001)

• Role of translators
• Strategies adopted
• Typical problems
 What do translation studies study? (3)

• Multimedia translation (Perego 2005)

• Types of multimedia texts
• Transfer strategies
• Translator training/education

• History of translation (Neergard 2002, Robinson 2003)

• Effects of a particular transaltion on national culture
• Changing role and status of translators across time
• changing views of translation
 What do translation studies study? (4)

• Ethical issues (Pym 1998, assnett and Trivedi 1999, Venuti 1995)
• Criteria for a “good” translation
• Cultural development/hegemony

• Translation process (Hurtado Abir 2001, Williams and

Chesterman 2002)
• Individual vs. group production
• Professional vs “natural” strategies
 What do translation studies study? (2)

• Translator training/education (Hurtado Albir 2001)

• Syllabus/curriculum
• Competences
• Assessment

• Translation as a profession (Robinson 2003)

• Positions and areas
• Professional bodies (AITI, ITI, BDÜ…)
Translation as a profession

a core skill for any language service provider

Frame of reference
 house rules, style guides, standards (incl. ISO)
 increased availability of CAT tools to monitor quality post-
translation:
a. Terminological consistency
b. Translation memory
e.g. http://www.metatexis.com/
a. Technical aspects: tags, software testing
 Localisation

= adaptation of language, content and design to reflect local

cultural sensitivities in web design and software
= adapting software for non-native environments, especially
other nations and cultures, so that it is as familiar as
possible to a specific place
local language + local conventions (e.g. units of measurement,
currencies, symbols, paper size, colours?)
• also internationalization = the process of ensuring that an
application is capable of adapting to local requirements
(e.g. writing system)
Translation and new technologies

• Computers have changed the

work of translators

• Machine translation is
increasing in accuracy

• Research: corpora
 Lexicography and Terminology

• What lexicographic and terminological resources are

available?

• How can terminological databases be created for the use of

translators?
– Dictionary management systems

• Standardizing terminology
The “empirical turn”?

Translation as motivated and

Translation as language
situated decision process
transfer

Studying translation means

a) Observing the behaviour of translators (as individuals or as a
proessional group) in specific situations
b) Describing factors that co-determine specific situations
c) Describing what translators do rather than what they should be
doing
A double perspective
Internal External
Cognitive process The translator
(“peering into the black (who translators are, what
box”) distinguishes them from
bilingual speakers etc.)

Translation competence
(what it is, how it develops, etc.)
Methodological issues
• Need for empirical data (beyond impressionistic analysis)
• Identificatication of appropriate data collection methods
• Linking theoretical reflection to data
• Relating individual analyses to the field (Hurtado Albir 2001: 172)
• Naturalistic studies – observing phenomena as they manifest
themselves
• Experimental studies – the researcher interacts with the data and
identifies dependent and independent variables
Cfr. Gile (1998); Williams & Chesterman (2002)
What data for empirical research ?
Translation as a product
Translation as a process

What texts? How many?

?
NB: The distinction “should ignore the fact that the
one is the result of the other, and that the nature of
the product cannot be understood without a
comprehension of the nature of the process"
(Holmes 1978: 81)
 Translation as a product

Data
Translations, parallel and comparable corpora

Hypotheses
– Translation Universals
– presence/absence of specific features

Research questions
– “What is the frequency of main clauses and subclauses in corpus X?”
– “Why does corpus Y have more relative clauses than expected?”
– “How are theme and rheme patterned in corpus Z?”
 Translation as process
Data
• “off-line”: translations, notes, revisions
• “on-line”: Think-Aloud Protocols; logs; use of dictionaries; measures of eye
movement and cerbral activity

Hypotheses
• the translator: expertise, competence stages
• the task: text type, brief, languages, direction
• situational factors: tools, resources

Research questions
• “What are the differences between professional and non professional translators as to use of dictionary
/global translation strategies etc.?”
• “What role does creativity play in translation?”
• “What features of a source text create translation problems?”
• “What is the relationship between the translation quality and translator attitudes/ working conditions
etc.?”