Initiation à la Traduction - L2 - Langue anglaise Dr BOUKHELEF Faiza

Lecture 04 : Direct Procedure of Translation ‫أساليب الترجمة المباشرة‬

Introduction :

The central problem of translating has always been whether to translate literally or freely, the
words or the meaning, the form or the content, the letter or the spirit, the direct meaning or the
implied meaning (Newmark, 1988:45). Translation scholars have suggested different Strategies
to deal with different translation problems (procedures and methods)
Definition of Translation strategies

Translators distinguish between global translation strategies and local translation strategies: •
global translation strategy (translation method): the overall strategy you apply to a text as a
whole – the primary choice you have to make here is how close to the source text you want
your target text to be.. However, local translation strategy (translation procedure): strategies
you apply in the translation of individual expressions in the source text, such as words,
grammatical constructions, idioms etc.)

Translation Procedures :

Vinay and Darbelnet list seven translation procedures. Three direct and four indirect..In this
section we deal with direct procedures: -borrowing ‫ اإلقتراض‬-calque ‫ المحاكاة‬-literal translation
‫الترجمة الحرفية‬

-1-Borrowing ‫اإلقتراض‬

Eg :

English Arabic

Taxi ‫طاكس ي‬

Technology ‫تكنولوجيا‬

Mobile ‫موبايل‬

1- Borrowing
is a common translation technique(Procedure). It basically means that the translator makes a
conscious choice to use the same word in the target text as it is found in the source text. This is
usually the case when there is no equivalent term in the target language. This technique also
allows the translator to put a text clearly within a particular cultural context through the register
of the vocabulary it uses. Certain terms allow people belonging to communities of similar

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interests to transcend linguistic boundaries. Despite using different linguistic systems, they
share the same reality and the same code to decipher it. Depending on where this code was
created, some words will have a lot more prestige than others in a certain context.

The English language has been described by David Crystal as an "insatiable borrower." More
than 120 other languages have served as sources for the contemporary vocabulary of
English.Present-day English is also a major donor language--the leading source of borrowings
for many other languages.
. Borrowing in translation is not always justified by lexical gap in the target language, but it
can mainly be used as a way to preserve the local colour of the word, or be used out of
fear from losing some of the semiotic aspects and cultural aspects of the word if it is
translated.

Regarding borrowing, we should also add that a certain term is taken from a language, but in a
natural way, which means that it will respect the rules of grammar and pronunciation of the
target language. An example of Borrowing is the verb ‘mailer’, which is used in Canadian-
French spoken language; here, the French suffix-er is added to the English verb ‘mail’ to
conform to the French rules of verb-formation.

In conclusion, borrowing is one of the most used translation techniques. It is used mainly out
of necessity, due to the fact that a certain word does not exist in the target language. We use a
lot of borrowed words in the spoken language every day, without even knowing they come from
another language. Most of the borrowed words come from English and they are usually
technical terms.

-2- Calque ‫المحاكاة‬

Egs :

Science Fiction ‫علم الخيال‬

To shed crocodile tears ‫يبكي بدموع التماسيح‬

To throw dust in the eye ‫الرماد في العيون‬

They practice the policy of throwing down the gauntlet . ‫يتبعون سياسة رمي القفاز‬

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Calque is a loanword from a French noun – it’s derived from the verb calquer, meaning to copy,
to trace.

In linguistics, a calque (or loan translation) can be defined as a word-for-word translation from
one language into another. For example, when you take a phrase in French and then literally
translate root-for-root or word-for-word into English, that’s a calque.
To calque means to borrow a phrase or word from another language whilst translating its
components in order to create a new lexeme in the target language. It’s a class of loan in which
words or phrases are borrowed from another language, with each of the elements of the phrase
being translated. Basically, it’s respecting the syntactical structures of the target language.
Calque contributes to the richness of a target language by avoiding the direct use of foreign
words. Calque is a construction, unlike a loan which is a phonetic and morphologic adaptation.
In English we see many examples of common phrases that are calques translated from other
languages.
For example; Adam's Apple is a calque of the French pomme d'Adam. In this example, the
English phrase is derived from a direct literal translation of the original.
The term ‘calque,’ or ‘Through-Translation’ as Newmark (1988) called it, refers to the case
where the translator imitates in his translation the structure or manner of expression of the
ST. So there are two different types of calque:
1/Structural Calque‫المحاكاة البنيوية‬

Calque may introduce a structure that is stranger from the TL. For instance, ‘champions league,’
‘week-end’ and ‘iceberg’ are used in French though it does not consist of such English structure
’NP+NP.’ Calque is widely used by translators to deal with names of international
organizations. Examples of these names are: European Cultural Convention, Convention
culturelle européenne; and study group, group d’étude (Newmark 1988).

2/Calque of expression ‫المحاكاة التعبيرية‬

It concerns the imitation of the manner of expression of the ST in the TT. According to Vinay
and Darbelnet, Canadians are accustomed to use the expression ’les compliments de la saison,’
which is an imitation of the English expression ’season greeting,’ (current French: fruit de
saison) (cited in Bayar 2007).

3- Literal translation :‫الترجمة الحرفية‬

A literal translation is a translation that follows closely the form of the source language.It is
also known asword forword translation.

Newmark agrees that this technique is the best option for translating texts where the form is as
important as the content such as great speeches, autobiographies, literary works.

Common features of this translation procedure

a) Maximal closeness to the SL meaning and structure.

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b) Conformity to theTL grammar.

Some authors assume that literal translation lead to a bad translated text, a translated text where
the SL structure is reflected in an exaggerated and unwanted way.

On the other hand, Vinay & Darbelnet explained, “My thesis is, however, that literal translation
is correct and must not be avoided, if it secures referential and pragmatic equivalence to the
original.” It can be used when other techniques have failed.

Literal translation:

• one word to one word (Hall→Salle→‫) بهو‬

 Group to group (un beau jardin → a beautiful garden→ ‫)حديقة جميلة‬

• collocation to collocation (make a speech → faire un discours→‫)ألقى خطابا‬

 clause to clause (when that was done → quand cela fut fait)
 sentence to sentence (The man was in the street → L’homme était dans la rue→ ‫كان الرجل‬
‫)في الشارع‬

What is the difference between literal translation and word for word translation?

John loves his mother ‫ يحب جون أمه‬literal translation

John loves his mother ‫جون يحب أمه‬ word for word

word for word means transferring SL grammar and word order as well as the primary meanings
of all SL words.

Unlike the other techniques, literal translation is considered as a procedure and a method in the
same time.

Practice

The United Nations

An international organization, based in New York, which aims to preserve peace around the
world and solve international problems. It was formed in 1945, and replaced the League of
Nations. Most of the world’s independent states are members, and each has one vote in the
General Assembly. The United Nations Security Council has the power to take military or
economic action to settle international disputes. Other branches of the United Nations include
the World Bank, the International Court of Justice in The Netherlands, and the United Nations
Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The Secretary General of the United Nations is Ban-Ki Moon.

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‫األمم المتحدة‬

‫ تأسست هذه املنظمة‬.‫هي منظمة دولية مقرها نيويورك تهدف إلى حفظ السالم حول العالم وحل املشكالت الدولية‬
ً ‫ وأما معظم دول العالم املستقلة فهي أعضاء فيها‬،‫ وقامت محل عصبة ألامم‬5491 ‫في عام‬
‫وكل منها لديها صوت واحد‬
‫ وأما مجلس ألامن فلدية السلطة باتخاذ التدابير العسكرية والاقتصادية وذلك لحل النزاعات‬.‫في الجمعية العامة‬
‫ ويوجد لدى ألامم املتحدة فروع أخرى مثل البنك الدولي ومحكمة العدل الدولية في هولندا ومنظمة ألامم‬.‫الدولية‬
.‫ وأما بان كي مون فهو ألامين العام الحالي لألمم املتحدة‬،‫املتحدة للطفولة‬
 REFERENCES
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in Translation). Didier Érudition, Paris. 1990
 - Alexander Tytler. “Essay on the Principles of Translation”. London1791.
 - Bassnett-McGuire, S.. Translation Studies. London: Routledge. 1980
 - Chomsky, Noam, Syntactic Structures. The Hague .Paris: Mouton. 1957.
 - Eugene A. Nida & Charles R. Taber. “The Theory and Practice of Translation, with
Special Reference to Bible Translating”. Brill, Leiden.1969.
 - Nida, E.A.. "Approaches to Translating in the Western World". In Foreign Language
Teaching and Research. 1984
 - Ghazala, Hassan.. Translation as Problems and Solutions: A Course Book for
University Students and Trainee Translators. 8th ed. Malta: Elga 2008
 - J.M. Cohen. “Translation”. In “Encyclopedia Americana”. Grolier, New York, vol.
27.1986
 - James S. Holmes. “The Name and Nature of Translation Studies”. In “Translated!
Papers on Literary Translation and Translation Studies”. Rodopi, Amsterdam, 1972-
88.
 - Jean Delisle & Judith Woodsworth.“Translators through History”. John Benjamins,
Amsterdam.2012

 - Jean-Paul Vinay and J. Darbelnet, Stylistique comparée du français et de l’anglais.

Paris:
 Jeremy Munday, Introducing translation Studies. Routledge 2008.
 -Louis G. Kelly. “The True Interpreter. A History of Translation Theory and Practice
in the West”. St. Martin’s Press, New York.1979
 -Mona Baker & Gabriela Saldanha.“Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies”
(2nd edition). Routledge, London.2009
 -Peter Newmark, A Textbook of TranslationNew York: Prentice Hall, 1988.
 -Roman Jakobston. “On Linguistic Aspects of Translation”. Essay.1959

‫ مكتبة ابن سينا للطبع‬.‫ أسس الترجمة من اإلنجليزية إلى العربية وبالعكس‬،‫عز الدين محمد نجيب‬

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