1. WHAT IS TRANSLATION? Lecture (1) Part (1)

2. Translation ■the process in which a written communication or a text in a first language is produced as the written communication or text in the second language interpreting the same meaning. ■Text in the first language is the  "source text" ■The equivalent text that communicates the same message  "target text" or "translated text". ■Initially translation has been a manual activity. Today, together with manual translation, there is also automatic translation of natural-language texts, which is referred to as machine translation or computer-assisted translation which use computers as an aid to translation. ■It is the process of turning an original or "source" text into a text in another language.textlanguage ■A Translator is an individual or a computer program that transfers a text into another language. ■The discipline concerned with issues related to the production of translations is called Translation Studies.

3. ■The problem of translation is to retreat to a simpler sense of one's own style and creatively adjust this to one's author. ■“A translated text, whether prose or poetry, fiction or nonfiction, is judged acceptable by most publishers, reviewers, and readers when it reads fluently, when the absence of any linguistic or stylistic peculiarities makes it seem transparent, giving the appearance that it reflects the foreign writer's personality or intention or the essential meaning of the foreign text the appearance, in other words, that the translation is not in fact a ‘translation’, but the 'original.'” (Lawrence Venuti, The Translator's Invisibility: A History of Translation. Routledge, 1995).meaning

4. Translation is different from interpreting: 1.The difference between interpreting and translation is the mode of expression: Interpreters deal with spoken language and translate orally, while translators deal with written text, transforming the source text into a comprehensible and equivalent target text. 2.Both interpreting and translation presuppose a love of language and deep knowledge of more than one language. However, the differences in the training, skills, and talents needed for each job are vast. ■The key skill of a good translator is the ability to write well in the target language and understand the source language and culture by using dictionaries. ■An interpreter, on the other hand, has to be able to translate in both directions quickly and accurately without the use of any dictionaries.

5. Translation as a process and its requirements: How does translation happen? Transference STL into TLT can be by means of processes which take place within memory. The translation process can be described as: 1) The analysis of one language-specific text (SLT) into a universal (non-language-specific) semantic representation (i.e. Decoding the meaning of the source text  Deconstruction). The criteria of this analysis are: a.The intention of the text: the translator must understand the intention (goal) of the text. b.The intention of the translator: is he trying to cause the same emotional charge as the original on the readers? Or is he trying to convey the cultural flavor of the SL text? Or is he addressing a different uniformed reader, who has to have the SL text made more explicit and any cultural or institutional term explained? c.The reader and the setting of the text: the translator asks himself: who is the reader? What education, class, age, sex? Informed or ignorant, laymen or expert? d.The quality of the writing and authority of the text: whether the text is well written (i.e. the manner) or bound up with the culture of the community or not.

6. (2) the synthesis of that semantic representation into a second language-specific text (TLT), (i.e. Re-encoding or translating this meaning in the target language.  Construction). TLT

7. Translation process requires the following steps (the task or the role of the translator): 1.Comprehension of the source text: the goal of this first step is to retrieve the meaning that the author intends to convey to the target reader (s). ■Comprehension is differs reading and understanding texts in ordinary communication. In the latter, one may seek to read text so as to get informed about a subject, to learn something, to interact with people, or just for entertainment, etc. ■Translation comprehension is a different matter because it is “oriented to production” of a target text which convey the meaning that the source author originally intends to convey in his\her text. ■A translator needs to fully understand the source text so as to retrieve its meaning; a task which requires at least two types of knowledge: knowledge of the source language, and knowledge of the subject matter of the text. ■Knowledge of the source language includes three main facets of language: knowledge of the lexicon, knowing its syntactic rule system and its text creating system.

8. 1.Knowing the lexicon requires not only the understanding of the meaning of individual words of a foreign language, but also the meaning of the words in certain context. ■For example, in a collocation, each word indicates a single meaning discarding any other ones. In the collocation “to conduct a research”, the meaning of the verb “to conduct” is necessarily modified by the company it takes here, i.e. the noun “research”, and the collocation indicates a meaning expressed in Arabic by “ يجري بحثاً ” literally “to run a research”. ■The other possible meanings which the verb “to conduct” might rightfully have when it collocates with other nouns, as in the phrase “to conduct heat”, يوصل الحرارة, do not come into play here.

9. 2.Syntactic knowledge, relates to those fixed rules according to which words, phrases and groups combine into larger unit-clauses and sentences, to convey meaning. these rules are language-specific, differ from one language to another. For instance, one rule of English is that adjectives precede (come before) the nouns the describe or qualify: “a big house”. However, in Arabic syntax adjectives usually come after nouns: ‘ بيت كبير ’ and not ‘ كبير بيت ’, and ‘reconnaissance aircraft’ becomes in Arabic ‘ طائرة استطلاع ’ but not the reversed order ‘ استطلاع طائرة ’.

10. 3. Knowing the text creating system means being able to understand, not single words or lists of them, nor even isolated sentences or paragraphs, but texts in which language users express thoughts, ideas, feelings, views, etc. The meaning of a text is expressed by all its words, expressions, clauses, sentences, and paragraphs held together and interwoven in a whole which is the text. For example, a stretch of a text like ‘….or the will to do so’, if taken in isolation, might be understood in many different ways, but will only convey the pertinent meaning it has in the text if it is inserted into the text and considered in relation to other items thereof.

11. ■The translator’s knowledge of the source language should enable him\her to relate the different items of the text to each other so as to find out what the whole text refers to. Below the level of text knowledge, comprehension might stop at the level of words, phrases or even sentences, taken singly; bearing any of the possible meanings they have in the language, but not necessarily the one intended by the author. ■If comprehension fails, translation will inevitably fail, because “successful translation is often nothing else but the verbalization of our comprehension”. ■The meaning of the source text cannot only be retrieved depending on the sole linguistic knowledge, but also on the reader’s experience of the world. ■This experience or knowledge of the world is of two types: general knowledge and specialized knowledge.

12. ■General knowledge relates to those things that members of a language community know and do not need to be explained or defined in their texts, for example historical events, political institutions, literary works, etc. ■specialized knowledge refers to that of the subject matter of the text. It concerns primarily the translation of specialized texts, i.e. scientific and technical ones relating to the various fields of human knowledge and experience: science, technology, industry, medicine, etc.  Because specialized fields are extremely varied and constantly changing, the translator is not expected to be familiar with them all.  Translator must know the basic concepts necessary for understanding a specialized text s\he is called upon to translate: how to efficiently access information in textbooks, encyclopedias, brochures, internet sites, and other documentation materials, or seek help from experts.  In addition, this knowledge base will form a background against which the words of the field have their particular meaning as terms in the absence of this knowledge, the terms risk to be mistaken for words of the general language, bearing any of the possible meanings they might have.

13. 2. Extracting the meaning of the source text: This step is an intermediary one linking the two major phases of the process. It represents the culmination point of comprehension while it constitutes the starting point for re-expressing the meaning into the target language. In this step, after reading and analyzing the source text, the intended meaning is supposed to be dissociated from the SL form so that what remains in the mind of the translator is not the SL words, phrases or even sentences, but a mental image, or a ‘semantic representation.’ Of what has been conveyed in the text.

14. 3. Re-expressing the meaning into the target language: This third final step requires perfect command of the target language. The type of knowledge needed here differs from that required for comprehension of source texts. For the translator, the SL is a medium of reception used mainly for understanding texts; passive albeit deep knowledge which enables retrieving the meaning embedded in texts is, therefore, enough for comprehension. Re-expressing the meaning into the target language requires active knowledge that enables production of texts in that language. This final step is not a matter of simply expressing the meaning into the target language, but re-expressing it. The translator is not a ‘writer’ who expresses his\her own ideas in his\her own words and styles, s\he rather reformulates ‘the product of someone else’s thoughts, reasoning, priorities and objectives.

15. ■The source text may be general or specialized, formal or informal style. ■A translator should transfer the SLT into the TL with the same witting conventions, i.e. the same style level, transferring metaphors, etc. ■when drafting the target text, the translator is expected to be able to move amongst the TL registers and usages smoothly and naturally, without difficulty, so that the target reader would be able to read and understand the text smoothly and naturally, without difficulty. ■The target text should be like the original composition.

16. Factors to take in consider for translation: ■Translation does not mean a simple word for word for correspondence between any two languages. It is not a mechanical process where each word is translated to the target language. ■Many factors are to be taken into consideration to get the exact output in the target language. The factors are as follows: o Actual context o The rules of grammar of the two languages rules (sentence structure in English: S-V-O, in Arabic: V-S-O) o The spellings in the two languages o Their writing conventions (e.g. punctuation) o Meaning of idioms and phrases o Text translation may imply the translation of right-to left alphabets (such as Arabic and Hebrew). o Language-specific and culture-specific words (waffle, جلابية ), collocations (to conduct a research يجري بحثاً :), idioms ( يشمر عن ساعديه to take the gloves off, تعلو كلمته أو تكون له الغلبة to take the cake(, fixed expressions (it should be noted that تجدر الإشارة إلى أن أو جدير بالذكر ).

17. Success of translation: For the success of translation, four requirements are to be fulfilled: 1.Making sense. 2.Displaying the spirit and manner of the original. 3.The translated document has a natural and easy form of expression. 4.The translated document produces a similar response.

18. Translation criticism: ■A criticism of a translation is different from a review of a translation.Review means to comment on new translations, description and evaluation as to whether they areworth reading and buying. Criticism is a broader activity, analysis in detail, evaluating old and new translations,assuming that readers know the translation.

19. Translation criticism should: 1. Take into account all the factors and elements in the process of translation: a)Knowledge of translation purpose (intention or function). b)Knowledge of translation strategies, and restraints. c)Knowledge of cultural differences. d)Knowledge of problem solution approach. e)Knowledge of equivalence and correspondence. f)Knowledge of text types and register. g)Knowing the levels of translation (word, above word, grammar ‘sentence’, text) h)Knowledge of the audience.

20. 2)Not be a mere identification of errors, an intuitive or highlysubjective appraisal judging translations as ‘good’, ‘bad’. ‘faithful’ without qualifyingthese adjectives. 3) Be grounded on thorough analysis and description: a) to avoid value judgments b) not to proclaim one translation better than another c) seek to define the translator’s method and purpose. 4) Take into account the presence of ideology in translation. Critics may also have their own hidden ideology conditioning their criticism.

21. Translation review should: -describe the quality of a translation with more than a single adjective and - refrain from trashing the translator’s work on the basis of isolated errors.

22. Subjectivity and Objectivity of translation and translation criticism: ■The terms “objectivity” and “subjectivity,” in their modern usage, generally relate to a perceiving subject (normally a person) and a perceived or unperceived object. The object is something that presumably exists independent of the subject’s perception of it. In other words, the object would “be there,” as it is, even if no subject perceived it. Hence, objectivity is typically associated with ideas such as reality, truth and reliability. ■There can hardly be any two identical translations of the same source text because translators have different interpretation skills, personalities, knowledge of the subject matter, and language and cultural competence. This reflects the subjectivity of translation.

23. 1. Subjectivity of translator: ■-Individuality of the translator/cannot detach him/herself from the text (preference for terms and style especially when translating literary texts: creative or artistic writing such as poems) ■-Reading and interpretation of the original ■-Knowledge of the subject matter ■-Affiliation and loyalty (One of the most important principles for translation is complete fidelity to the intent of the original author. ■-Source and target language proficiency (the hermeneutical process: reading and interpretation of the original, writing of each text type and field) ■-Deviation from source text meaning ■-Disregard of text function if not justified by purpose of translation. (Clients requirement) ■- Concision and accuracy

24. 2. Subjectivity of translation criticism: ■-The purpose of the translation (function of translation) ■-Translation commission (clients, censorship, polices) ■-Critic's interpretive skills ■-Critic's sense of aesthetic and literary inspiration

25. Any Criticism of translation should examine the following: ■-Linguistic elements ■-Pragmatic &contextual elements ■-Text type ■-Readership (age, education, religion, moral values, culture) ■-Clarity

26. The role of translation critic: ■-Translation critic should first observe the type of the text in SL, and then consider the linguistic and nonlinguistic factors (contextual, geographic, and cultural). ■-Translation critic must consider the motives which prompted the translator to change either the form or the content of the original. ■-Since success in dealing with translation problems can be determined only by a comparison with the text in the original language, reference to the original text provides the only effective means for establishing a detailed evaluation of a translation.

27. ■-A constructive translation critic should make a comparison of the ST and TT and offers an opportunity for choosing between different equivalents. ■-A critic should evaluate the translator's capability of integrating the text's elements of content, structure and style. ■- Conformity to grammatical and stylistic standards as well as lexical and semantic norms of the target language is expected of a good translator. ■-When a translation has a specific function, the appropriateness of a translation method should be judged in the light of the special purpose instead of by the text type. ■- It is the responsibility of the translator to disclose the nature of his work as an adaptation, a revision, a summary, or a translation so that the critic can evaluate the work by the function of the translation and not by the normal standards and the reader can understand the purpose of the translation.

28. The Characteristics of a good translator: ■The translator must have good passive knowledge of the passive working languages (linguistic and cultural knowledge), i.e. knowledge and mastery of SL and TL norms and culture. S\he must be bilingual and bicultural ■The translator must have good command of their active working languages (e.g. skillful in writing). ■ The translator must have enough knowledge of the subjects of the texts they process (extralinguistic knowledge or world knowledge). ■The translator must know how to translate (know the process and methods of translation). ■The translator must meet some intellectual criteria (e.g. mental aptitude) which help his to understand and translate the texts, i.e. reading and comprehension skills. ■The translatorshould understand the purpose of the translation: the target text must achieve the same purpose of the source text. Is the text to inform, to persuade, to describe, etc. Also, he must transfer the same effect on the target reader (s) as the ST has. ■Readership: the translator should consider his\her readers (age, sex, education, etc).

29. Ethics of translation: 1) Translations should be censored according to moral, religious, ideological, and commercial values of the target culture. 2) The translator's moral modification of the original, whether by expansion, euphemisms, attenuations or omission, are mostly intended to purify the original in the interest of a particular group of readers.3) Keeping confidentiality of the work and documents and their translations. 4) Loyalty: it means the presence of ideology in the translation and the faithfulness to the text. 5) Translation commission: the translator should be aware of clients, censorship, and polices related to his profession.

30. Methods of Translation Some of the common methods of translation are as follows: ■Word-for-word translation: Here the source language word is translated into another language by their most common meanings, which can also be out of context at times, especially in idioms and proverbs. ■Literal Translation: Here the source language grammatical constructions are translated to their nearest target language. However the lexical words are translated singly, out of context. ■Faithful Translation: Here the translation interprets the exact contextual meaning of the original within the constraints of the grammatical structures of the target language. ■Semantic Translation: Semantic translation refers to that type of translation which takes into account the aesthetic value of the source language text.

31. ■Adaptation: Adaptation refers to that type of translation which is used mainly for plays and poems. The text is rewritten considering the source language culture which is converted to the target language culture where the characters, themes, plots are usually preserved. ■Free Translation: This method of translation produces the translated text without the style, form, or content of the original text. ■Idiomatic Translation: It translates the message of the original text but tends to distort the original meaning at times by preferring colloquialisms and idioms. ■Communicative Translation: This method displays the exact contextual meaning of the original text in a manner where both content and language are easily acceptable and comprehensible to the readers. ■The difference between semantic and communicative is the stress on ‘message’ and ‘meaning’