1. Problems of periodization.

George Steiner and

his monograph “After Babel”.
PROBLEMS OF ‘PERIOD STUDY’
As an academic discipline translation theory was elaborated comparatively recently, in the
second half of the 20th century. Yet seminal ideas on the nature of translation and methods of
translating had been repeatedly expressed in the previous epochs, at least since the 1st
century BC.
George Steiner in his monograph with the symbolic title After Babel outlines 4 periods of the
theory, practice and history of translation: 1) (100 BC) from Cicero’s principle ‘sense for
sense versus verse for verse translation’ up to the publication of Alexander Tytler’s Essay on
the Principles of Translation (1791) – pre-theoretical stage when ideas on translation were
shaped by translators themselves in prefaces, commentaries, sometimes even in the poetic
form (e.g. Horace); 2) TO THE 40S OF THE 20TH C. – FIRST TENTATIVE ATTEMPTS TO
ELABORATE THE METALANGUAGE OF TRANSLATION THEORY AND APPLY HERMENEUTIC
METHODOLOGY TO UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE OF TRANSLATION; 3) FROM THE 40S TO
60S OF THE 20S C. – THE INTRODUCTION OF STRUCTURAL LINGUISTICS AND
COMMUNICATION THEORY INTO THE STUDY OF TRANSLATION; 4) FROM THE 60S OF THE 20TH
C. – TRANSLATION AT THE INTERFACE WITH OTHER PHILOLOGICAL AND SCIENTIFIC
DISCIPLINES. AS STEINER’S PERIODS DO NOT COVER THE 21ST C. IT IS POSSIBLE TO ADD A
NEW TENDENCY: TO VIEW TRANSLATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF PHILOSOPHICAL, IN
PARTICULAR, PHENOMENOLOGICAL TRENDS.
Steiner’s divisions illustrate the difficulty of studying translation diachronically, his first
period covers a span of some 1700 years while his last two periods cover a mere thirty years.
There is a large body of literature that attempts to decide whether Petrarch and Chaucer were
medieval or Renaissance writers, whether Rabelais was a medieval mind, or whether Dante
was a Renaissance mind. An examination of translation in those terms would not be very
helpful at all. André Lefevere has compiled a collection of statements and documents on
translation that traces the establishment of a German tradition of translation, starting with
Luther and moving on via Gottsched and Goethe to the Schlegels and Schleiermacher

2. Is translation a Roman invention? The views of Cicero and Horace on translation.

- Eric Jecobcen's claim that translation is a Roman invention serves as a starting point to
discuss the role and status of translation for the Romans. (Both Cicero and Horace had
created influece of successful generation of translator and disscuss translation within the
wider cope of the two main functions of the poet : universal human dutok, acquiring,
disiminating wisdom in the spasial art of making and chaping epoch)
-The Romans didn' t lack creativity but had a literary system that emphasized a hierarchy of
texts and authors, transcending linguistic boundaries and reflecting the Roman ideal of a cent
ralized state. (the significance of Roman literature is that the were abale to create some
imagenative literature in their own writing at least until the first century BC)
-Horace and Cicero made a distinction between word-for-word and sense- for-sense (or
figure-for -figure) translation. They emphasized enriching the native language and literature
through translation, focusing on aesthetic criteria rather than strict fidelity.

Word-for-word translation - IS A TRANSLATION OF A TEXT DONE BY TRANSLATING EACH WORD

SEPARATELY, WITHOUT LOOKING AT HOW THE WORDS ARE USED TOGETHER IN A PHRASE OR
SENTENCE.
Sense-for-sense - IS THE OLDEST NORM FOR TRANSLATING. IT FUNDAMENTALLY MEANS
TRANSLATING THE MEANING OF EACH WHOLE SENTENCE BEFORE MOVING ON TO THE NEXT, AND
STANDS IN NORMATIVE OPPOSITION TO WORD-FOR-WORD TRANSLATION (ALSO KNOWN AS LITERAL
TRANSLATION).
+ приклад
The Romans belived that when you are translating sth you can also make the language better
by adding new words so the translators job was to understand the original text and make a
new version in a way that captures the meaning not just the exact words and to do tthis for the
people who read the translated version.
As translations were done from Greek, the language understood by educated Romans, the
task of translators was more aesthetic than pragmatic: to develop Roman literature and show
that borrowed ideas can be better expressed in Latin. The governing tendency was to reshape
Greek texts according to Roman literary norms and cultural principles. As S. Bassnet taptly
said: Translation then was an exercise in comparative stylistics. In Roman literature, copying
and imitating great writers of the past was seen as a way to achieve greatness. Translation
was a part of this imitation. So, Roman translation was special because it followed a set of
rules that crossed language boundaries.

3. Translation theory and practice in the Middle Ages.

(This era covers 10 centuries till the 14th century when the English language suplented French
as the dominal literary language because of the impact of black deth(epidemic of 1349
on school education. The founder of English literary language and his followers tried
to translate and write only English which influenced on the cultural development of
literature. Before invention of printed books translators worked with copies and texts
so it was truly rewritten sourses in another language but on the other hand those were
works written on the baqsis of antient works)

Translations were scarce as prestigious languages (Greek and Latin) prevailed in church and
education. If religious and philosophical texts contained commentaries in a vernacular
tongue, they were as literal as possible to avoid accusations in violating sacred words. Mist
ranslations resulting from the tendency to render the first meaning of a word reverberated in
the cultural images up to the 20th c.; e.g. horns (instead of halo) of Michelangelo’s Moses
borrowed by Ivan Franko in his poem Moses. Unlike religious text, medieval secular
literature of ten freely used foreign topics, so calls wandering plots, and transplanted them
onto the new ground.

Medieval translations in the Middle Ages had clear distinctions, with Anglo-Norman favored
for elites and English for the general public. Anglo-Norman translations were prominent at
courts and monastic centers, even by female translators like Clemens from Barking. During
this era, mutual influence between languages like English and French was common, used in
international relations and religious texts from "holy languages." King Alfred the Great
initiated word-for-word literary translation into Saxon. Abbot Aelfric continued this tradition
with Old Testament and grammar translations. Translation principles varied, with "word for
word" for church and official texts, and "free translation" for fiction. Roger Bacon criticized
excessive freedom in translation. By the 14th century, most translations were anonymous,
except for Richard Rolle and John Wycliffe, who made the first word-for-word Bible
translation into English. The Middle Ages saw the popularity of religious and didactic
literature translations into national languages, using both word-for-word and free methods

4. Prerequisites for the creation of Wycliffe's Bible.

(In the religious world services were conducted in Latin so it was iilegal to translate the Bible
into local languages but Wycliffe believed that it is far more important to teach the Bible than
any others prohibitions and pope)
The Wycliffe Bible 1382, also known as the Wycliffe's Bible, is one of the earliest English
translations of the Bible, dating back to the 14th century. It was translated by John Wycliffe
and his associates during a time when Latin was the dominant language for religious texts.

The language used in the Wycliffe Bible is Middle English, which is quite different from
modern English. It reflects the linguistic characteristics and vocabulary of the time, which
can be challenging for modern readers. For example, the opening lines of Genesis in the
Wycliffe Bible start with "In the bigynnyng God made of nouyt heuene and erthe."
One of the peculiarities of the Wycliffe Bible is its literal approach to translation. It aimed to
translate the Latin Vulgate Bible into English as accurately as possible. This resulted in some
passages having a word-forword translation that might sound awkward to modern ears.
Wycliffe is the first known writer to use the word “loathsome” to describe other people. It
appears in these pages of the Book of Psalms, in the last column. The full phrase is: “bei ben
corrupt and maad ahominable in her wickednessis” (they are corrupted and made abominable
in their wickedness).

5. Explain the significance of the Reformation era and its key ideas in the
context of translation practice development.

In 1517, a German monk and university professor named Martin Luther began a movement
called the Reformation. He believed that the church needed to change. Luther thought that
people could only be saved by believing in Jesus Christ and God's grace, not by doing deeds
like buying indulgences. He also wanted the Bible to be available in languages people could
understand, not just in Latin. So during this period we can see a little revolution because
translation could be read not only by scholars but also by ordinary reader end this era mainly
revolves around the translation of the Bible.
Etienne Dolet understand the content of the source text;
be proficient in both the source and target language; avoid translating “word for word”; use
common, everyday language; produce the target text in an eloquent and harmonious style.
“How to translate well from one language into another” (1540). Five essential translation
principles:

6. How did Martin Luther's approach to Bible translation differ from the
earlier translations, and what was the significance of his emphasis on “to
Germanize”?
Luther’s translation was more successful than previous translations of the Bible into German
because it spoke German, that is, it did not sound like Latin or Hebrew translated into
German but rather sounded like German. Luther’s concern for making the text speak German
went far beyond merely using German words that were widely and commonly known. Luther
also recognized that languages had peculiarities that had to be respected in translation.
Martin Luther main concepts:
to correct errors resulting from the literal approach in the previous versions and create more
clear and estetic texts; to produce a comprehensible and aesthetically satisfying text; every
German-speaking Christian to be able to understand the Word of God.
DOMESTICATION/ GERMANIZATION “To translate properly is to render the spirit of a
foreign language into our own idiom. I try to speak as men do in the market place and I listen
to the speech of the mother at home, the children in the street…”

7. Describe the concept of classicism in translation. What were some of the

key features of classicism in translation, and how did John Dryden's
outlined approaches influence translation practices during this time?
A movement aesthetic attitude which was based on reiterating, techniques and subjects from
ancient Greece and Rome.
Notable aspect of Classicism in translation was the emphasis on borrowing ancient models
and motifs while adapting them and changes realia.
This tendency was openly formulated by the british author and translator John
Dryden. His 3 key approaches to translation: 1) Metaphase (Literal Translation)
2) Imitation(Unduly free translation- more liberate interpretation of the souse
text, leads to more ingagion translation) 3) Paraphrase(Translation with some
latitude, the middle ground between metaphase and imitation/ the translator
retains main and core ideas of the original work while adapting some of the
expressions and words to the target audience)
8. Describe some of the main translation concepts during the
Enlightenment era. Explain Goethe’s three kinds (phases) of translation.
In the late XVII century a new era has begun. A time characterized by the pursuit of
knowledge, scientific discoveries and new philosophical views. This age, lasting for the
entire XVIII century later got the name by which we know it now — Enlightenment.
Translation also experienced a fair share of development during this time, leading many great
scholars and writers to discuss such topics as structural, thematic and stylistic integrity of the
translated text, cultural authenticity and many more.
Main concepts: Age of reason, pursuit of happiness through knowledge, seperation of
church and state, didactic nature of the movement
Important figures: Johann Gottsched Friedrich Schleiermacher Johann Breitinger August
Wilgelm Schlegel Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Gottsched — translators must correct imperfections of the original. A good translation
should correspond to the rule of normative poetics but not to the original text. Johann Breitinger —
the mentality of the nation is reflected in its language. There are no words in the original that can be
left out in translation. the translator should give a complete transcript of the idea of the original. the
style and manner of the original should be preserved in the translation. translation should have the
same ease as the original.
The original is a living organism, all the details of which should be preserved in the
translation. However, the translation should be read with ease and naturalness as if it had
been written in the target language. (August Wilgelm Schlegel)
New notions: “alienation” (foreignizing) and “naturalization” (domestication) — “On different
methods of translating” (1813) by Friedrich Schleiermacher; concept of “World literature”(was used
to describe not only entire literary legacy of the world but also how it travel from country to country,
which info would be received on its way) — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; Goethe‘s 3 kinds (phases)
of translation

3 kinds of translation: 1) ncompletely comesticated text - acquaints us with foreign countries in

our own terms (Luther’s Bible), domesticated and simplified prose translation;
2) forenisation + domestication - the assimilation of foreign ideas and feelings, appropriation
through substitution and reproduction (French classicism); - this allowes us to better preserve
the original ideas and cultural influences of the text but still try to make it as easy to the
reader as possible
3) foranisation - perfect identity between the original and translation that combines the
uniqueness of the original with a new form and structure; West-Östlicher Divan (1819) by
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

9. Why is Ivan Franko a very significant historical figure for Ukrainian

translators? Name a couple of his most significant works in this field of
study.
Formed Ukrainian Translation into a full-fledged discipline, provided the necessary
foundation for the future scholars and translators;
Writer, poet, literary scholar, activist, translator, literary and translation critic;
Translated numerous literary masterpieces (W. Shakespear: “The Tempest” , “The Merchant
of Venice”...; Homer: “Oddysey” , “Iliad”; J.W. von Goethe: “Faust”);
Wrote an immense amount of articles and scientific works on translation;
Provided critique to many well-known literary figures of his time (P. Kulish and many more);
10. Explain in detail the scientific methods of translation proposed by
Eugene Nida.
USA (Eugene Nida) «science of translation»
Eugene Nida: “Towards a Science of Translating” (1964);
Introduction of modern scientific methods to translation(To treat the translation as a science,
to have some bprinciple experiments around control of the process of translation, how should
we analise and reviale it)
Translator should naturalize – domesticate (for example) the Bible according to the new
cultural context (e.g. translate “our father” as “our mother” for those tribes where the main
deity is female because it resonate better for their culture)
Scientific methods:G
enerative transformational grammar — translation as a back-transformation from the ST
(Sourse text)surface structure (actual sentence in a given language) to the deep structure (all
syntactic and semantic information that determines the meaning,) then to the TT surface
structure;
Componential analysis; (breaking down large chunks of date or other formation into classes
in components and study them on the row)
Principle of dynamic equivalence — the effect produced on the reader of the translation
should be the same as the effect produced on the reader of the original
Written task
Read A History of Ukrainian Translation Studies by T. Shmiher, chapter “Ukrainian
translation studies and its periods.” Upload your notes on the chapter to the Google Drive:
(https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1pA8AALR9BbAt3_jnwSaS6r3WtPC0-YYa?
usp=drive_link).

Be ready to discuss it in class.