Reading Material for Media Translation

UNIT 1: WHAT ARE TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETATION?

Objectives
After studying this unit, you will be able to:
- define translation and interpretation;
- identify semantic and stylistic equivalence;
- identify important terms of translation and interpretation.
1.1 Definitions

If there were only one human language, there would be no need for
translation to facilitate communication between human beings
variously located.

Translation is of the utmost importance in the affairs of a world that

has gone through the rapid technological development called
modernization, which furthermore has enhanced international
relations to the point where people feel they can legitimately talk of
‘globalization’.

(Weissbort and Eysteinsson, 2006)

Often translation is rendering the meaning of a text into another language in the way that the
author intended the text. Common sense tells us that this ought to be simple, as one ought to be
able to say something as well in one language as in another. On the other hand, you may see it as
complicated, artificial and fraudulent, since by using another language you are pretending to be
someone you are not. Hence, in many types of text (legal, administrative, dialect, local, cultural)
the temptation is to transfer as many SL (Source Language) words to the TL (Target Language)
as possible. The pity is, as Mounin wrote, that the translation cannot simply reproduce, or be, the
original. And since this is so, the first business of the translator is to translate.

Translation is a complex and multifaceted term that has been attributed a wide array of
definitions:
1. It is defined as the expression in another language (or target language) of what has been
expressed in another, source language, preserving semantic and stylistic equivalences,
2. It is also defined as the rendering of a source text (ST) into the target language (TL) so as
to ensure that the surface meaning of the two will be approximately similar and the
structures of the ST will be preserved as closely as possible but not so closely that the TL
structures will be seriously distorted and
3. Still it is defined as the transformation of a text originally in one language into an
equivalent text in a different language retaining, as far as possible, the content of the
message and the formal features and functional roles of the original text.

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Catford, an English linguist and author of A Linguistic Theory of Translation (1965) defines
translation as the “the replacement of textual material in one language (source language) by
equivalent textual material in another language (target language)”. Hence, translation is the
transfer of a message from one language into another. In this course, the two languages involved
are English and Amharic.

Two other well-known translators, Eugene Nida and Charles Taber, provide the following
definition: Translating consists of reproducing, in the target language the nearest equivalent to
the message in the source language, in the first place in the semantic aspect and in the second
place, in the stylistic aspect.

J. P. Vinay and J. Darbelnet give a rather simple definition: “the passage of language A into
language B to express an identical reality” to mean (“በ’ሀ’ ቋንቋ የተጻፈን አንድ ጽሁፍ የያዘው መልዕክት
ሳይቀየር ወደ’ለ’ ቋንቋ መቀየር”).

Note that you translate a message or a text and NOT a language. Language is however the
tool for translation.

For example; look at the phrase ‘to express an identical reality’ in the above definition of
translation. The Amharic equivalent of this phrase can be “ተመሳሳይ እውነታን ለመግለጽ”. And if we
have to always translate only the language, this is how the phrase should be translated. But look
at the Amharic version of the definition and you can see that the phrase is translated as “ የያዘው
መልዕክት ሳይቀየር”.
You have to note two things here:
1. Both translations are possible since they mean the same thing,
2. The phrase was translated as “የያዘው መልዕክት ሳይቀየር” because what was translated was
the message but not the language.

Now let us turn our attention to the discussion of interpretation.

Interpreting, or interpretation, is the intellectual activity that consists of facilitating oral

or sign-language communication, either simultaneously or consecutively, between two or among
three or more speakers who are not speaking, or signing, the same language.

The words interpreting and interpretation both can be used to refer to this activity; the word
interpreting is commonly used in the profession and in the translation-studies field to avoid
confusion with other meanings of the word interpretation.

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Not all languages employ, as English does, two separate words to denote the activities of written
and live-communication (oral or sign-language) translators. Even English does not always make
the distinction, frequently using translation as a synonym of interpreting, especially in
nontechnical usage.

On the surface, 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. 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 and express oneself clearly in the
target language. That is why professional translators almost always work in only one direction,
translating only into their native language. Even bilingual individuals rarely can express
themselves in a given subject equally well in two languages, and many excellent translators are
far from being bilingual. The key skills of the translator are the ability to understand the source
language and the culture of the country where the text originated, and, using a good library of
dictionaries and reference materials, render that material into the target language.

An interpreter, on the other hand, has to be able to translate in both directions, without the use of
any dictionaries, on the spot.

Dear student, we presented this definition of interpretation here to help you have some idea about
what it is and how it differs from translation and because people always confuse translation with
interpretation.

Now you should learn basic terms used in translation and interpretation.
1.2 Translation and Interpretation Terms

1.2.1. Source Language (SL) and Target Language (TL)

Source Language (SL) is the language of the original text or message. The Target Language
(TL) is the language into which you translate the message. For instance, if the text is from
English to Amharic in this case, English becomes Source Language (LS) and Amharic becomes
the Target Language (TL). In order to be able to translate, you will need a good grasp of the two
languages in question. That is one major reason you should take this course very seriously. If you
master English and Amharic, translation will not be a problem to you.

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The definition provided by Nida and Taber shows that there are two major aspect of translation:
the semantic aspect and the stylistic aspect. The semantic aspect simply refers to the meaning
while the stylistic aspect points to the style. Style means the manner in which the author has
written the text. In translation, there are some very basic terms that you have to know. You
should know the terms in English and their Amharic equivalents. Note that as a student
translator, you should be proficient in the two languages. When you write and speak two
languages fairly well, you are called a bilingual person (ልሳነ-ክልኤ).

1.2.2. Thème and Version

In some countries where teachers teach in their mother tongue, students translate from their
mother tongue into the foreign language and vice versa. When you translate a text from your
mother tongue (in this case Amharic) into a foreign language in this case English), the translation
exercise is known as le thème. But it is called version, if you translate into your mother tongue
from a foreign language. To be able to translate properly you will need to know some steps that
could guide you.

1.2.3. A language, B language and C language

A language – Native language

Most people have one A language, although someone who was raised bilingual may have two A
languages or an A and a B, depending on whether they are truly bilingual or just very fluent in
the second language.

B language – Fluent language

Fluent here means near-native ability - understanding virtually all vocabulary, structure, dialects,
cultural influence, etc. A certified translator or interpreter has at least one B language, unless he
or she is bilingual with two A languages.

C language - Working lang uage

Translators and interpreters may have one or more C languages - those which they understand
well enough to translate or interpret from but not to. For example, if Mr X has the following
language skills:

A - English
B - French
C – Spanish,

So in theory, he/she can translate French to English, English to French, and Spanish to English,

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but not English to Spanish. Translators and interpreters should only work into the languages that
they write/speak like a native or very close to it. Incidentally, another thing to watch out for is a
translator who claims to have several target languages (in other words, to be able to work in both
directions between, say, English, Japanese, and Russian). It is very rare for anyone to have more
than two target languages, although having several source languages is fairly common.

Q. Is there such thing as perfect translation?

Translation is an instrument of education as well as of truth precisely because it has to reach

readers whose cultural and educational level is different from, and often 'lower' or earlier, than,
that of the readers of the original - one has in mind. 'Foreign communities have their own
language structures and their own cultures, 'foreign' individuals have their own way of thinking
and therefore of expressing themselves, but all these can be explained, and as a last resort the
explanation is the translation. No language, no culture is so 'primitive' that it cannot embrace the
terms and the concepts of, say computer technology or plainsong. But such a translation is a
longer process if it is in a language whose culture does not include computer technology. If it is
to cover all the points in the source language text, it requires greater space in the target language
text. Therefore, whilst translation is always possible, it may for various reasons not have the
same impact as the original.

A satisfactory translation is always possible, but a good translator is never satisfied with it. It can
usually be improved. There is no such thing as a perfect, ideal or correct' translation. A translator
is always trying to extend his knowledge and improve his means of expression; he is always
pursuing facts and words.

Q. Is translation art or science?

It has been debated whether translation is art or craft. Literary translators, such as Gregory
Rabassa in If This Be Treason, argue that translation is an art – a teachable one. Other
translators, mostly technical, commercial, and legal, regard their métier as a craft – again, a
teachable one, subject to linguistic analysis, that benefits from academic study.

As with other human activities, the distinction between art and craft may be largely a matter of
degree. Even a document which appears simple, e.g. a product brochure, requires a certain level
of linguistic skill that goes beyond mere technical terminology. Any material used for marketing
purposes reflects on the company that produces the product and the brochure. The best
translations are obtained through the combined application of good technical-terminology skills
and good writing skills.

Translation has served as a writing school for many prominent writers. Translators, including
monks who spread Buddhist texts in East Asia and the early modern European translators of the
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Bible, in the course of their work have shaped the very languages into which they have
translated. They have acted as bridges for conveying knowledge and ideas between cultures and
civilizations. Along with ideas, they have imported, into their own languages, loanwords and
calques of grammatical structures, idioms and vocabulary from the source languages.

A translator works on four levels:

Firstly, translation is a science, which entails the knowledge and verification of the facts and the
language that describes them- here, what is wrong, mistakes of truth, can be identified;

Secondly, it is a skill, which calls for appropriate language and acceptable usage;

Thirdly, an art, which distinguishes good from undistinguished writing and is the creative, the
intuitive, sometimes the inspired, level of the translation;

Lastly, a matter of taste, where argument ceases, preferences are expressed, and the variety of
meritorious translations is the reflection of individual differences.

Whilst accepting that a few good translators (like a few good actors) are 'naturals', it would be
suggested that the practical demands on translators are so wide, and the subject still so wrapped
up in pointless arguments about its feasibility, that it would benefit students of translation and
would be translators to follow a course based on a wide variety of texts and examples.

Now, let’s come to the discussion of the purposes of translation.

According to Newmark (1988), translation serves the following purposes:

- as a means of communication,
- a transmitter of culture,
- a technique of language learning, and
- a source of personal pleasure.

As a means of communication, translation is used for multilingual notices, which have at last
appeared increasingly conspicuously in public places; for instructions issued by exporting
companies; for tourist publicity, where it is too often produced from the native into the 'foreign'
language by natives as a matter of national pride; for official documents, such as treaties and
contracts; for reports, papers, articles, correspondence, textbooks to convey information, advice
and recommendations for every branch of knowledge. Its volume has increased with the rise of
the mass media, the increase in the number of independent countries, and the growing
recognition of the importance of linguistic minorities in all the countries of the world. The
importance of translation for communication is highlighted by one historic event, i.e., the
mistranslation of the Japanese telegram sent to Washington just before the bomb was dropped on
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Hiroshima, when a Japanese word ‘mokasuiu’ was allegedly translated as ‘ignored’ instead of
‘considered.

Translation has been instrumental in transmitting culture, sometimes under unequal conditions
responsible for distorted and biased translations, ever since countries and languages have been in
contact with each other. Up to the nineteenth century European culture was drawing heavily on
Latin and Greek translations. In the nineteenth century German culture was absorbing
Shakespeare. In this century a centrifugal world literature has appeared, consisting of the works
of a small number of 'international writers, which is translated into most national and many
regional languages. In general, translation is now used as much to transmit knowledge and to
create under-standing between groups and nations, as to transmit culture.

As a technique for learning foreign languages, translation is a two-edged instrument: it has the
special purpose of demonstrating the learner's knowledge of the foreign language, either as a
form of control or to exercise his intelligence in order to develop his competence. This is its
strong point in foreign-language classes, which has to be sharply distinguished from its normal
use in transferring meanings and conveying messages.

The personal pleasure derived from translation is the excitement of trying to solve problems.
There is an exceptional attraction in the search for the right word, just out of reach, the semantic
gap between two languages that the translator tries to fill. The relief of finding it, the 'smirk after
hitting on the right word when others are still floundering is an acute reward, out of proportion
and out of perspective to the satisfaction of filling in the whole picture, but more concrete. The
quality of pleasure reflects the constant tension between sentence and word.

Activity 1.2 Answer the following questions

1. Define translation and interpretation.

2. What is the difference between translation and interpretation?
3. Why do you think there is no such thing as a perfect, ideal or correct translation?

1.3 Equivalence: Semantic and Stylistic

Remember that translation has previously been defined as the expression in another language (or
target language) of what has been expressed in another, source language, preserving semantic
and stylistic equivalences. What are these equivalences (semantic and stylistic) that should be
preserved in translation?

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In the task of translation, the translator has an obligation to find ‘equivalents’ which ‘preserve’
features of the original text the case which makes the task of translation tough. In making the
problem of equivalence very plain, Hartmann and Strok (1972) note:

Texts in different languages can be equivalent in different degrees (fully or

partially equivalent), in respect of different levels of presentation (equivalent in
respect of context, of semantics, of grammar, of lexis, etc) and at different
ranks (word-for-word, phrase-for-phrase, sentence-for-sentence).

It is apparent, and has been for a very long time indeed, that the ideal of total equivalence is a
chimera. Languages are different from each other; they are different in form having distinct
codes and rules regulating the construction of grammatical stretches of language and these forms
have different meanings.

To shift from one language to another is, by definition, to alter the forms. Further, the contrasting
forms convey meanings which cannot but fail to coincide totally; there is no absolute synonymy
between words in the same language, so why should anyone be surprised to discover a lack of
synonymy between languages?

Something is always ‘lost’ (or, might one suggest, ‘gained’?) in the process and translators can
find themselves being accused of reproducing only part of the original and so ‘betraying’ the
author’s intentions. Hence, the interestingly, the notion of betrayal is also very much a part of the
history of the concept of translation, the proverbial truth being that the translator is a traitor
(its nearest Amharic parallel ‘Kedategna’).

If equivalence is to be ‘preserved’ at a particular level at all costs, which level is it to be? What
are the alternatives? The answer, it turns out, hinges on the dual nature of language itself.
Language is a formal structure –a code- which consists of elements which can combine to signal
semantic ‘sense’ and, at the same time, a communication system which uses the forms of the
code to refer to entities in the world of the senses and the world of the mind) and create signals
which possess communicative ‘value’.

The translator has the option, then, of focusing on finding formal equivalents which ‘preserve’
the context-free semantic sense of the text at the expense of its context sensitive communicative
value or finding functional equivalents which ‘preserve’ the context-sensitive communicative
value of the text at the expense of its context-free semantic sense.

The choice is between translating word-for word (literal translation) or meaning-for- meaning
(free translation)

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But the problem here is pick the first and the translator is criticized for the ‘ugliness’ of a
‘faithful’ translation; pick the second and there is criticism of the ‘inaccuracy’ of a ‘beautiful’
translation. Either way it seems, the translator cannot win, even though we recognize that the
crucial variable is the purpose for which the translation is being made, not some inherent
characteristics of the text itself.

Perhaps there is less need today than there used to be in the 60s and 70s to assert that variation is
in no sense an inconvenient characteristic of language in use but its very nature without which it
would be unable to function as a communication system. That said, we need to specify between
the choices which are available to the communicator and the functions such choices may be
called upon to play.

Faced by a text-written or spoken- in a language which we know, we are able to work out not
only (1) the semantic sense of each word and sentence but also (2) its communicative value, (3)
its place in time and space and (4) information about the participants involved in its production
and reception. For a translator to be on the safer side, she/he is advised to consider asking the
WH-Questions about a text so that he/she can have better orientation about different pieces
which will come together in the translation: ‘What’, ‘Why’, ‘When’, ‘How’, ‘Where’ and ‘Who’.

Each of these questions defines one (or more) parameters of variation:

What? Is the message contained in the text; the content of the signal; the propositional content
of the speech acts.

Why? Orients us towards the intention of the sender; the purpose for which the text was issued,
the illocutionary forces of the speech acts which constitute the underlying structure of the text;
the discourse. These run the whole gamut from informing through persuading to flattering and
it is rare for a text to possess a single function. Multiple functions are the norm rather than the
exception for adult language, so our task as receivers of texts, is to tease out the primary function
from those which are secondary; a fundamental difficulty in the attempt to devise a text
typology.

When? Is concerned with the time of the communication realized in the text and setting it in its
historical context; contemporary or set in the recent or remote past or future.

How? Is ambiguous, since it can refer to:

(a) manner of delivery: the tenor of the discourse; serious or flippant or ironic;
(b) Medium of communication: the mode of the discourse; the channel (s) - verbal/non-verbal,
speech/writing-selected to carry the signal.

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Where? Is concerned with the place of communication; the physical location of the speech event
realized in the text.

Who? Refers to the participants involved in the communication; the sender and the receiver (s).
Both spoken and written texts will reveal, to a greater or lesser extent, characteristics of the
speaker or writer as an individual and also, by inference, the attitude the sender adopts in relation
to the receiver(s) and to the message being transmitted.

We take it as axiomatic that language is a code which posses features-phonological ( and, in the
case of written languages, graphological), syntactic, lexical and semantic- and that language use
is made possible by making selections from among these sets of code features in order to relate
texts which act as adequate vehicles for the communication of meaning.

We would further expect to find, in any stretch of language, choices which function as indicators
of the temporal, physical and social provenance of the user and these we would term dialect
features equally expected would be markers of the use to which the language was being put and
these we would term register features. For the translator, both dialect and register features are
important but, of the two, it is the parameters of register which are probably the more significant.

Jakobson points out how difficult it is to achieve complete equivalence because of the
complexity of the codes involved. Even in intralingual translation we have to make use of
combination of code units to interpret meaning. So, even synonyms cannot guarantee full
equivalence. This becomes complicated when the SL and TL are different.

In addition to the difference between two language systems, cultural differences also pose huge
barriers to translation activity. Eugene Nida says: “Since no two languages are identical, either in
the meanings given to corresponding symbols or in the ways in which such symbols are arranged
in phrases and sentences, it stands to reason that there can be no absolute correspondence
between languages. Hence there can be no fully exact translations” (Venuti 126).

1.4. The translator and the text-writer

The individual uses of language of the text-writer and the translator do not coincide. Everybody
has lexical if not grammatical idiosyncrasies, and attaches ‘private’ meanings to a few words.

The translator and the text-writer have different theories of meaning and different values. The
translator’s theory colors his interpretation of the text. He may set greater value than the text-
writer on connotation and correspondingly less on denotation.

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The genuine translator is a writer “who wants to bring those two completely separated persons,
his author and his reader, truly together, and who would like to bring the latter to an
understanding and enjoyment of the former as correct and complete as possible without inviting
him to leave the sphere of his mother tongue.” (Schleiermacher in Lefevere, 1977: 74)

Activity 1.3 Based on your reading, answer the following questions:

1. Why do you think is a translator sometimes considered ‘a traitor’?

2. What are literal and free translations?
3. What are formal and functional equivalents in translation?
4. What other things should a translator or interpreter consider in addition to the semantic sense
of each word and sentence when facing a text-written or spoken in a language which he/she
knows?

1.5. Summary

Both translation and interpretation involve adapting messages from one language to another. But
they differ in the sense that translation is the transference of meaning between written languages,
while interpretation is the transference of meaning between spoken languages. A satisfactory
translation is always possible, but there is no such thing as a perfect, ideal or correct translation.
A translator always tries to extend his knowledge and improve his means of expression; he
always pursues facts and words. That is why translating consists of reproducing, in the target
language the nearest equivalent to the message in the source language, in the first place in the
semantic aspect and in the second place, in the stylistic aspect.

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UNIT 2: THE TRANSLATOR AND THE PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION

Objectives

After studying this unit, you will be able to:

- identify what a translator needs to transfer meaning from one language into another;
- identify what the processes of translation are;
- translate some sentences from English to Amharic and from Amharic to English.
2.1. Translation as a Process of Communication

Etymologically, ‘translate’ means to carry across. In context, it could mean carrying across a
message or a text. It has also been defined as a process of communication that involves a sender
and a receiver. Like any other form of communication, the sender sends a message that is coded
in a certain way. This code is received and analyzed or decoded by the receiver before it is
understood. Katharina Reiss has defined translation as a “bilingual mediated process of
communication, which ordinarily aims at the production of a TL (Target Language) text that is
functionally equivalent to an SL (Source Language) text (2 media: SL and TL+1 medium: the
translator, who becomes a secondary sender; thus translating: secondary communication)”
(Venuti 160). In other words, translation is a process of communication that involves two
languages and in which the translator acts as a mediator. Since the translator is the one who is
originally sending the message s/he becomes a ‘secondary sender’ and therefore translation
becomes ‘secondary communication’. Thus, translation also goes through many stages before its
conclusion. According to Eugene Nida the SL message undergoes analysis by the translator
before it is transferred to the TL. It is then restructured according to the TL pattern before it is
comprehended. In other words, a message is first decoded by the receiver and then recoded by
him/her.

The problem with all forms of communication including translation is that breakdowns might
occur in the course of reception of the message. Even in same language communication, there is
no guarantee that the receiver decodes the sender’s message in the way s/he had intended. This is
true of translation also; in fact, chances of miscommunication are higher as the sender’s and
receiver’s codes are different and also because it is mediated through a third figure of the
translator. This is why there is the assumption that there is “loss” in the translation process, that
complete equivalence is impossible.

The cultural differences between sender and receiver also complicate matters. Let us take a
simple example difference between English and Amharic languages in the way the pronoun ‘he’
is used.

The Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia has left for Braseless to
attend the world climate talks. He is expected to meet different world leaders.”

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If a translator wants to translate this introduction of a news story into Amharic without
considering how Ethiopians address this kind of people (officials, people who should be
respected etc), he/she may translate it like the following:

“የኢትዮጵያ ፌደራላዊ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ሪፖብሊክ ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር በዓለም አቀፉ የአየር ፀባይ ለውጥ ጉዳይ ላይ
በሚወያየው ስብሰባ ለመሳተፍ ወደ ብራስልስ ሄደ፡፡ በቆይታውም የተለያዩ አገራት መሪዎችን እንደሚያገኝ
ይጠበቃል፡፡”

In this translation the culture difference between speakers of the two languages-English and
Amharic- with respect to addressing people of this kind in their respective languages was not
considered. English language speakers use the pronoun ‘he’ to refer to the third person singular
masculine subjects regardless of age and social status differences, however; Amharic speakers
use ‘እሱ’ and ‘እርሳቸው’ to refer to young and elderly/respected people respectively. Hence, the
correct translation which accommodates this cultural difference can be:
“የኢትዮጵያ ፌደራላዊ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ሪፖብሊክ ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር አቶ ሀይለማርያም ደሳለኝ በዓለም አቀፍ የአየር ፀባይ
ለውጥ ጉዳይ ላይ በሚዎያየው ስብሰባ ላይ ለመሳተፍ ወደ ብራስልስ ሄዱ፡፡ በቆይታቸውም የተለያዩ አገራት መሪዎችን
እንደሚያገኙ ይጠበቃል፡፡”

Susan Bassnett gives an example of how complicated the translation of even ordinary prosaic
words can become in other languages. The ordinary affirmative ‘yes’ in English can become ‘ja’
in German, ‘si’ in Italian and ‘si’ or ‘oui’ in French. The choice of words in French becomes a
problem. While ‘oui’ is the common term used, ‘si’ is used especially when there is
disagreement of some sorts. There is also the culturally specific manner of repeating the
affirmative in all the three languages: ja ja or si si. But repeating the affirmative in English (yes,
yes) is very uncharacteristic of the English people as a whole. The good translator has to be
aware of all of these minute cultural differences even before starting off on the process of
translating even a simple word like ‘yes’ (Bassnett, 16-17).

Activity 2.2

Answer the following questions

1. Why is a translator called a ‘secondary sender’ and translation a ‘secondary communication’?

2. What do you think is the reason why complete equivalence is impossible in translation?

2.2. What does a translator need?

The question that needs to be asked here is: ‘What is it that translators need to know and be able
to do in order to translate?’ We are seeking, in other words, a specification of ‘translator

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competence’. Specifying translator competence requires that we consider both abstract

knowledge systems (linguistic and real world experience) and the crucial practical skills of
reading and writing.

We may begin by making the perhaps obvious point that the translator processes texts and, given
that we have just spent some time outlining the knowledge and skills required in (implicitly,
monolingual) text processing, we already have a good deal of the answer to our question. The
translator must, as a communicator, posses the knowledge and skills that are common to all
communicators (this much by definition) but, but this is the issue in this section, in two
languages (at least). What, we need to ask, does the translator’s knowledge-base contain? One
answer has been suggested in the following terms:

... the professional (technical) translator has access to five distinct kinds of
knowledge; Target Language (TL) knowledge, text-type knowledge; Source
Language(SL) knowledge; subject area (‘real-world’) knowledge; and
contrastive knowledge.

In sum, specifying translator competence requires that we consider both abstract knowledge
systems (linguistic and real world experience) and the crucial practical skills of reading and
writing).

2.2.1. Communicative Competence

Communicative competence is a multi-component competence with four areas of knowledge and

skills: grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse and strategic competences.

1. Grammatical competence: knowledge of the rules of the code, including vocabulary and
word-formation, pronunciation/spelling and sentence structure i.e. the knowledge and
skills required to understand and express the literal meaning of utterances.

For instance, let us see how the knowledge of the difference between the English
sentence structure (Subject+ Verb + Object) and Amharic sentence structure (Subject +
object + Verb) helps a translator in transferring meaning from English sentences into
Amharic:

English: Haile washed the dish

(Sub. + Verb + Obj.)

Amharic parallel: ሀይሌ ሰሀኑን አጠበ

(Sub. + Obj. + Verb)

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Dear student;
In this example translation you have to also notice how the definite article ‘the’ is
translated into Amharic. As you remember from your previous study of the English
grammar (at schools or university level), the definite article ‘the’ is used to designate a
noun as being specific and identified. Hence, the above English sentence does not have
the meaning that Haile washed some dish, but it tells the meaning that that Haile washed
a specified or identified dish that has been mentioned before (or may be in the context
of a conversation the dish the speaker of this sentence thinks that the other conversant
has already known).

In the Amharic version of the sentence the article ‘the’ has changed the object ‘ሰሀን‘ into
‘ሰሀኑን’ to indicate that the dish is a specified or identified one.

Look at the following similar examples:

English Amharic
(a) You can use a bicycle to get to
the police station. ወደፖሊስ
ጣቢያ ለመሄድ ብስክሌት መጠቀም
ትችላለህ፡፡
(b) You can use the bicycle to get
to the police station. ወደፖሊስ
ጣቢያ ለመሄድ ብስክሌቱን መጠቀም
ትችላለህ፡፡

In sentence (a), the speaker is referring to unidentified bicycle, whereas in Sentence (b) the
speaker is referring to the bicycle that the listener has already known (an identified bicycle).

2. Sociolinguistic competence: knowledge of and ability to produce and understand

utterances appropriately in context, i.e. as constrained by topic, the status of the
participants, purposes of the interaction, etc.

Look at the following sentence and try to see how the meaning changes in two different
contexts:

(a) How do you find the new house? {This sentence could be used in a context where
someone wants to know which way and/or direction the listener uses to get to the new
house}.

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In this case the sentence can be translated into Amharic as: ‘አዲሱን ቤት እንዴት (በምን
መንገድ) ታገኘዋለህ?’

(b) How do you find the new house? {This same sentence could be used in a context
where someone wants to know whether the new house is comfortable to the listener
or not}

In this case the sentence can be translated into Amharic as: ‘አዲሱ ቤት ተስማማህ ወይ?’

This is an indication that a translator also needs to have the knowledge of how the context
in which the language is used and purposes of interactions in order to translate well. The
knowledge of culture difference between speakers of the Source Language (SL) and
Target Language (TL) and discussed in Section 2.1 of this unit is also one aspect of the
sociolinguistic competence a good translator should possess.

3. Discourse competence: the ability to combine form and meaning to achieve unified
spoken or written texts in different genres. This unity depends on cohesion in form (the
way in which utterances are linked structurally to facilitate interpretation of a text) and
coherence in meaning (the relationships among the different meanings in a text; literal
meanings, communicative functions or social meaning).

4. Strategic competence: the mastery of communication strategies which may be used to

improve communication or to compensate for breakdowns (caused by limiting factors in
actual communication or to insufficient competence in one or more of the other
components of communicative competence).

This approach would lead us (adapting Hymes’ definition of Communicative Competence as we

did Chomsky’s definition of Linguistic Competence) to attempt to specify ‘translator
communicative competence’:

the knowledge and ability possessed by the translator which permits him/her
to create communicative acts- discourse- which are not only (and not
necessarily) grammatical but... socially appropriate.

A commitment to this position would make us assert that the translator must possess
linguistic competence in both languages and communicative competence in both
cultures, consisting of:

1. Knowledge of the rules of the code which govern usage and knowledge of and ability
to utilize the conventions which constrain use,

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2. knowledge of the options available for the expression of all three macro functions of
language and knowledge of and ability to use the options available for making
clauses count as speech act in conformity with the community ground rules for the
production and interpretation of a range of communicative acts (i.e., discourse) in
order to create, comprehend and use context -free texts as the means of participation
in context- sensitive (situated) discourse.

2.2.2. Expertise

This contains two components:

1) A knowledge base which contains the combined knowledge and expertise of the domain (or,
more likely, the sub-domain). In medicine, for example, this would include lists of illnesses
together with their associated symptoms.

2) An inference mechanism (also known as an “inference engine”); software which can use the
knowledge base to reason or make inferences about the info contained there. In medicine this
mechanism would compare symptoms reported to it with those listed in the database and
match symptoms with likely illnesses.

In addition an expert system would need (a) a user interface which would allow a dialogue to
be held between the system and the user, (b) a monitor which would keep track of this
dialogue (recording the sequence of questions and answers, for example) and (c) a knowledge
acquisition system which allows the knowledge base to be up-dated. Even so, the fundamental
elements remain (1) the database of knowledge and (2) the means of accessing it.

Clearly the next task for anyone who accepts the notion of translator competence as an expert
system would be to set about attempting to model it. We would envisage a translator expert
system containing the kinds of knowledge and skills discussed previously, i.e., minimally the
following:

(1) A knowledge base consisting of:

(a) Source language knowledge: the syntactic rule systems of the code, its lexicon and
semantics and its text-creating systems
(b) Target language knowledge equivalent to that in the source language
(c) text-type knowledge
(d) Domain knowledge
(e) Contrastive knowledge of each of the above;
(2) An inference mechanism which permits:
(a) The decoding of texts, i.e. reading and comprehending source language texts,
(b) The encoding of texts, i.e. writing target language texts.
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2.2.3. Ideal Bilingual Competence

Translators are often required to be native speakers of the target language, and this requirement
is supported by a number of strong reasons as well. Without firsthand experience of the target
language, the rendition has a good chance of being completely marred by a lack of proper
syntactical, or even semantic, representation, not to speak of cultural or social elements. (Islam,
Quamrul, 2009, Target language and the need for being native).

Ideal Bilingualism: “translation theory is primarily concerned with an ideal bilingual reader-
writer, who knows both languages perfectly and is unaffected by such theoretically irrelevant
conditions as memory limitations, distractions, shifts of attention or interest, and errors (random
or characteristic) in applying this knowledge in actual performance” (Bell, 1991).
Activity 2.3

Answer the following questions based on your reading

1. Imagine that a translator translates the sentence: ‘Asfaw went to school’ into ‘አስፋው ሄደ
ወደ ትምህርት ቤት፡፡’. What do you think is the problem with this translation? What kind of
knowledge do you think the translator is lacking?
2. How do you think does sociolinguistic knowledge help a translator when he/she transfers
meaning from one language to another (e.g. from English to Amharic)?

2.3 Translation Misconceptions

Newcomers to translation sometimes proceed as if translation were an exact science — as if

consistent, one-to-one correlations existed between the words and phrases of different languages,
rendering translations fixed and identically reproducible, much as in cryptography. Such novices
may assume that all that is needed to translate a text is to encode and decode equivalents between
the two languages, using a translation dictionary as the "codebook".

On the contrary, such a fixed relationship would only exist where a new language synthesized
and simultaneously matched to a pre-existing language's scopes of meaning, etymologies, and
lexical ecological niches. If the new language were subsequently to take on a life apart from such
cryptographic use, each word would spontaneously begin to assume new shades of meaning and
cast off previous associations, thereby vitiating any such artificial synchronization.

Another common misconception is that anyone who can speak a second language will make a
good translator. In the translation community, it is generally accepted that the best translations
are produced by persons who are translating into their own native languages, as it is rare for

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someone who has learned a second language to have total fluency in that language. A good
translator understands the source language well, has specific experience in the subject matter of
the text, and is a good writer in the target language. Moreover, he is not only bilingual but
bicultural.

2.4. The Translation Process

2.4.1 Memory, meaning and language

The translator, like any other communicator, lives in the world of the senses through which
perceptions are integrated as concepts, experiences can be ‘recalled’ and even ‘relieved’ through
the systems of memory.
When we consider memory systems, it is essential to distinguish between sensation-receiving
stimuli from the outside world through the senses- and perception; the organization of these
impressions into an endlessly varied but stable and consistent world with agreed dimensions
of space and time.
Central to the process of sensation and perception are the three terms aggregate, whole and
system, related in the manner shown in Figure 2.1.

Aggregate
s

Consisting of sensory
stimuli are perceived as

Whose cohesive
character is
Wholes
conceptualized as a

System
Figure 2.1 Sense and Perception
This figure can be read in the following way: the chaotic aggregates which are fed into the
mind through the senses have ‘boundaries’ put around them by the processes of perception
and are thus converted into information-bearing ‘wholes’. What converts the formless

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aggregate into the structured whole is the perception of ‘system’ or ‘pattern’. Note, to that
aggregates and wholes are substantial ‘things’ in the ‘real world’, in contrast with system
which is abstract and exists (if at all) in the mind.

But there is more to it than this. Just like any other individual, the translator ‘understands’
new experiences in terms of ones which have gone before and deals with them as though they
were recurrences of the same event. Memory, clearly contains more than ‘records’ of past
experiences; it also has plans for action on the basis of what we know and what we have
done. It is also clear that much of our experience of the external world of the senses and of
the inner world of the mind is mediated by language; the concepts stored in our memories
refer to entities via the conventions of language and do so variably depending on the
language used.

What do communicators know about language? The answer to this constitute the world of
linguistic scholarship to date but, suffice it to say: knowledge of the options available for (1)
converting amorphous ‘ideas’ into concepts which are organized into propositions ( semantic
knowledge), (2) mapping propositions, which are universal and not tied to any language, onto
the clause-creating systems of a particular language (syntactic knowledge) and (3) realizing
clauses as utterances and texts in actual communicative situations (rhetorical knowledge).

While all this applies to human beings in a general sense, it applies to translators in a very
particular sense; for the translator there are at the very least, two languages and two cultures
involved rather than one.

In addition, it is almost certainly the case that translators are more consciously aware of
language and the resources it contains than monolingual communicators are. Both possess
procedural knowledge about language (they know how to operate the system) but to possess
factual knowledge ( knowing that the system has such and such characteristics) is an
altogether different story, as students of linguistic quickly discover during their initial
attempts to explain just what it is that they are doing when they speak or write. Procedural
knowledge and factual knowledge are mentioned here to make clear the magnitude of the
task which faces us; we are embarking on the attempt to turn the procedural knowledge
which translators possess into factual knowledge which can be probed, shared, discussed.
The question that we would wish to ask then is ‘How does the translator move from one
language to the other in the course of translation? And the answer we shall give will be in the
form of a very simple model of the process.

2.4.2. The Communication Process

The translator, as we have been saying, is by definition a communicator who is involved in

written communication. We might, therefore, begin by providing a rough, general model of
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the process of written communication before moving on to the specific and particularly
problematic process in which translators are involved.

The model, presented in Figure 2.2 derives ultimately from work in information theory, and
contains nine steps which take us from encoding the message through its transmission and
reception to the decoding of the message by the receiver. It provides us with a starting point
for the explanation of the process of communication, albeit limited to the monolingual and,
by implication, to dyadic interaction; one sender and one receiver.

Code

Channel Channel
SENDER SIG [message] NAL RECEIVER

Content

Figure 2.2 Monolingual communication

Even with these limitations, however, it contains within it the elements and processes which
need to be explained and raises a large number of questions which require an answer if we
are to succeed at all in our attempt to make sense of the phenomenon of translation. We could
describe this process in terms of nine steps:

1. The sender selects message and code

2. Encodes message
3. Selects channel
4. Transmits signal containing message
5. Receiver receives signal containing message
6. Recognizes code
7. Decodes signal
8. Retrieves message and
9. Comprehends message.

We ought not, however, to assume that this is a simple, unidirectional and linear process nor
that each step must be completed before the next can be started. Processing is by its very
nature both cyclic (the sender may well begin again at step 1 while the receiver is no further
advanced than step 5 or 6).

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A second model (Figure 2.3) is now needed to provide a clear contrast between the processes
of monolingual communication and translation. It can be read as a communication of the
model above by equating step 5 in the monolingual process presented above with step 1 in
the bilingual process given below, i.e. ‘receiver receives signal containing message’ is
equated with ‘translator receives signal 1 containing message’. This model is, it must be
admitted, rather crude and vague at this stage but none the less serves to focus our attention
on the points of similarity and difference between translation and ‘normal’ communication.

Code

Channel Channel
SENDER SIG[message]NAL 1 TRANSLATOR

Content 1

Code 2

Channel Channel
RECEIVER SIG[message]NAL 2

Content 2

Figure 2.3 Translating

1. Translator receives signal 1 containing message

2. Recognizes code 1
3. Decodes signal 1
4. retrieves message
5. Comprehends message
6. Translator selects code 2
7. Encodes message by means of code 2
8. Selects channel
9. Transmits signal 2 containing message

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We might comment here. There are several crucial points of difference between monolingual
communication and bilingual communication involving translation (we are sticking to written
communication in both cases): there are two codes, two signals (or utterances or texts) and ,
given what we have been saying about the impossibility of 100 percent equivalence, two sets
of content (i.e. more than one message)

It follows, then, that in our modeling of translating, we shall need two kinds of explanation:

1. a psycholinguistic explanation which focuses mainly on steps 7 and 3 in Figure 3.3

decoding and encoding –and,
2. a more text-linguistic or sociolinguistic explanation which focuses more on the
participants, on the nature of the message and on the ways in which the resources of the
code are drawn upon by users to create meaning-carrying signals and the fact that a
sociocultural approach is required to set the process in context.

2.4.3 The Translation Process

There are probably as many definitions of ‘translation’ as there are of ‘sentence’ (and
probably no more revealing). One which is not totally unattractive (and which we have
already used) is: ‘the replacement of a representation of a text in one language by a
representation of an equivalent text in a second language.

The question which immediately arises is” ‘How does this happen?’ A partial answer, which
serves to draw together the discussion in this section, is provided by Figure 3.4: a much
simplified outline of a more comprehensive model of translation process.

The model shows, in extremely simplified form, the transformation of a source language text
into a target language text by means of processes which take pale within memory: (1) the
analysis of one language specific text (the source language text, the SLT) into a universal
(non-language-specific) semantic representation and (2) the synthesis of that semantic
representation into a s second language specific text (the target language text, the TLT).

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Source Analysis
Memory
Language
Text
Semantic
Representatio
n

Synthesis
Target
Language
Text

Figure 2.4.Translation process

2.4.4. The Role of Context

The last point, in fact, is that, in translation, the translator indeed has to be aware of all the
varieties of contexts-so many it is idle to list them again-but this does not mean that context is
the overriding factor in all translation, and has primacy over any rule, theory or primary
meaning. Context is omnipresent, but it is relative. It affects technical terms and neologisms less
than general words; it permeates a structured text and touches disjointed texts rather lightly.
Where a writer deliberately innovates, the translator has to follow him, and blow the context.

A translator with his eye on his readership is likely to under-translate, to use more general words
in the interests of clarity, simplicity and sometimes brevity, which makes him 'omit to translate
words altogether. (A translator has to account for every SL word, not to translate it.) Under-
translation is justified if an informative text is deficient in clarity. It is not justified if it is
unnecessary and is a mere retreat from a literal translation- You must not write down to your
reader.

A good literal translation must be effective in its own right. If it shows SL interference, that must
be the translator's conscious decision. The translator unconscious of SL interference is always at
fault. The less context-bound the words (e.g. lists, technical terms, original metaphors,
'unacceptable collocations), the more likely a literal translation -whilst the more standard are the
collocations, colloquialisms, idioms, stock metaphors, the less likely is a literal translation.
Inevitably, there is a proper place for literal translation as a procedure in all good translations.

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2.5. Steps in Translation

Let’s come now to a rather more practical “craft” of translation:

2.5.1 Reading and Comprehension

Translation involves some basic steps. The first step is your ability to read the text very well.
You can only translate a text successfully if you can read it well. Of course, mere reading well is
not enough. Good translation presupposes good comprehension. In other words, you can only
translate what you understand. Understanding the text is very crucial to a good translation. That
is why Mounin notes that communication through translation is possible if we try to understand
it well and this starting point of any translation should be clear and concrete for any translator.

2.5.2 Re-expression

The final stage is re-expression or encoding. That is the stage of the actual translation. This
implies that you can read and understand the text very well. Verify difficult words and tenses and
cultural implications. Thereafter, you start the actual translation. That is to say you re-express or
encode the message in another language.

Note that translation is an act of communication where you convey a message from one language
into another. If you translate wrongly, two things are likely to happen:

1. You may communicate a wrong message

2. You may not be communicating at all.

According to Newmark (1988), in translating a text, a translator should bear in mind the
following points:
(1) The individual style or idiolect of the SL author. When should it be:
(a) Preserved
(b) Normalized?
(2) The conventional grammatical and lexical usage for this type of text, depending on the topic
and the situation.
(3) Content items referring specifically to the SL, or third language (i.e, not SL or TL) cultures.
(4) The typical format of a text in a book, periodical, newspaper, etc., as influenced by tradition
at the time.
(5) The expectations of the putative readership, bearing in mind their estimated knowledge of the
topic and the style of language they use, expressed in terms of the largest common factor,
since one should not translate down (or up) to the readership.

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(6), (7), (8) as for 2, 3 and 4 respectively, but related to the TL;
(9) What is being described or reported, ascertained or verified (the referential truth), where
possible independently of the SL text and the expectations of the readership.
(10) The views and prejudices of the translator, which may be personal and subjective, or may
be social and cultural, involving the translator's 'group loyalty factor, which may reflect
the national, political, ethnic, religious, social class, sex, etc. assumptions of the translator.

Needless to say, there are many other tensions in translations, for example between sound
and sense, emphasis (word order) and naturalness (grammar), the figurative and the literal,
neatness and comprehensiveness, concision and accuracy.

Although all these are potential tensions in translation, the principle with which this module
starts is that everything without exception is translatable; and the translator cannot afford the
luxury of saying that something cannot be translated.

2.6 The Importance of Reading the text

You begin the job by reading the original for two purposes: first, to understand what it is about;
second, to analyze it from a 'translator's point of view, which is not the same as a linguist's or a
literary critic's. You have to determine its intention and the way it is written for the purpose of
selecting a suitable translation method and identifying particular and recurrent problems.

Understanding the text requires both general and close reading. General reading to get the gist;
here you may have to read encyclopaedias, textbooks, or specialist papers to understand the
subject and the concepts, always bearing in mind that for the translator the function precedes the
description - the important thing about the neutrino in context is not that it is a stable elementary
particle-preserving the law of conservation of mass and energy, but that now the neutrino has
been found to have mass, the Universe is calculated to be twice as large as previously thought-
they all present somewhat different images, lax bundles of shapes that differ in each culture,
united primarily by a similar function, an object for a person to sit on plus a few essential formal
features, such as a board with a back and four legs. A knife is for cutting with, but the blade and
the handle are important too - they distinguish the knife from the scissors.

Close reading is required, in any challenging text, of the words both out of and in context. In
principle, everything has to be looked up that does not make good sense in its context; common
words like serpent (F), to ensure they are not being used musically or figuratively (sly, deceitful,
unscrupulous) or technically (EEC currency) or colloquially; neologisms - you will likely find
many if you are translating a recent publication; acronyms, to find their TL equivalents, which
may be non-existent (you should not invent them, even if you note that the SL author has

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invented them); figures and measures, convening to TL units where appropriate; names of people
and places etc.

2.7 The Importance of identifying the intention of the text

In reading, you search for the intention of the text, you cannot isolate this from understanding it,
they go together and the title may be remote from the content as well as the intention. Two texts
may describe a battle or a riot or a debate, stating the same facts and figures, but the type of
language used and even the grammatical structures (passive voice, impersonal verbs often used
to disclaim responsibility) in each case may be evidence of different points of view. The
intention of the text represents the SL writer's attitude to the subject matter.

A piece about floors may be pushing floor polishes; about newspapers, a condemnation of the
press; about nuclear weapons, an advertisement for them -always there is a point of view,
somewhere, a modal component to the proposition, perhaps in a word- unfortunately,
nevertheless, hopefully.

Again, in a detailed, confused piece about check-ups on elderly patients who may have to
undergo chemotherapy, the author's intention is to show that patients must have a thorough
physical check-up before they start a course of drugs: if physical problems are cleared up first,
there may be no need for psychiatry.

A summary of this nature, which uses only a few key words from the original, appears to be
isolated from the language, simply to show what happens in real life, and it is indispensable to
the translator. But he still has to 'return to the text. He still has to translate the text, even if he has
to simplify, rearrange, clarify, slim it of its redundancies, and pare it down.

2.8 The intention of the translator

Usually, the translator's intention is identical with that of the author of the SL - text. But he may
be translating an advertisement, a notice, or a set of instructions to show his client how such
matters are formulated and written in the source language rather than how to adapt them in order
to persuade or instruct a new TL reader-ship. And again, he may be translating a manual of
instructions for a less educated readership, so that the explanation in his translation may be much
larger than the 'reproduction'.

2.9. The need for good dictionaries

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In order to understand a text fully, you may have to consult good dictionaries from time to time.
You look up for difficult words or expressions in the dictionaries. You may also verify the
meaning of words that are not entirely new.

When you are in doubt as regards spelling or gender, you have recourse to a dictionary.
You need not only monolingual dictionaries, but also bilingual ones. A monolingual dictionary is
a dictionary where the author or authors define the words in the same language. A bilingual
dictionary involves two different languages e.g. Amharic and English. It is a advisable for you to
have at least three good dictionaries:

(1) An entirely English dictionary

(2) A bilingual English- Amharic Dictionary
(3) A unilingual Amharic Dictionary

There is need, however, for you to be careful in the use of dictionaries. Good dictionaries give
several options for the same word. You have to choose the right option in the light of the context.
Look at the following example:

If you want to look up the meaning of the word ‘capital’ in the English dictionaries, they will
give you at least the following possible meanings:

Capital: 1. a city that is the seat of government of a country, state, or province

2. Material wealth in the form of money or property
3. adj. Involving or incurring punishment by death
And many other meanings.

If you are asked to translate the sentence “There is no enough capital to start the business”
and if you as a translator know only the first meaning of the word capital, you can imagine what
the translation can look like.

Hence, in such situations when a word seems to have different meanings when used in different
contexts, you have to seriously examine the context before deciding which meaning of the word
fits your particular translation.

When using dictionaries, the translator has to know the following important points:

Although it is one of the most useful resources in the translation industry, it is not the best
resource to rely on when translating. We know that the dictionary is a great tool to be used when
looking for a term or a sought explanation. But you need to be aware that dictionaries become
quickly outdated and yours may be too old to use. Otherwise, it can give you problems in the
translation and can cause the use of misleading words. Dictionaries do not have all the words
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and terms a translator needs, nor do they contain all the information which specialized references
may have.

2.10. Computers and the Internet

Computers and the Internet too can be very useful. Make good use of your computer, if you are
computer-literate. Use computer and internet translations with caution. They often produce very
bad translations but they offer relevant equivalent terms in isolation.

Generally speaking, in translating texts from one language to another, consider the following
steps which can be represented as ‘The Four Ts’

The text:
The translator has to examine/determine the reason why the translation should be done;
(texts are chosen to be translated for various reasons; most often translators translate texts
to communicate information to people speaking another language. They can also
translate texts to share the enjoyment of the source text. The translator should examine
his reasons for choosing the text and the potential for its use by the receptor language
audience.

The Target:
Translators should also think about the audience for whom the translation is being
prepared. The form of the translation will be affected by questions of dialect,
educational level, age level, bilingualism, and people’s attitudes towards their
languages. Will it be used in school, in business, or will it be read orally in church and at
home? The question of alphabet is also very important. The attitude of the target
audience towards the proposed alphabet should be determined before the translation
begins. Some excellent translations have been rejected because those who read them did
not like, or could not read, the alphabet.

The team:
If the translator is a competent bilingual person (i.e. in SL and in TL) the translation
project can be done completely by one person. But even so there should be others
available for evaluation and consultation. So, most translations require a team, a number
of people who are going to contribute to the translation at some stage in the translation
project. The team may consist of:

1) Co-translators, where one is a specialist in the source language and the other is a
specialist in the receptor language.
2) A translator with capability to handle both source language and receptor language
matters and an advisor and consultant or

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3) A committee working together with specific responsibilities (e.g. Translating,

consulting, testing, reviewing, proofreading, etc.) delegated to each one.

The tools:
The written source materials used for by translators as a help broadly to understand and
interpret and to find equivalents in the TL in addition to the document (the text materials
like: dictionary, lexicons, grammars, cultural descriptions, historical facts, etc of both in
the SL & TL.

Basically one may put the steps in translation project as follows: Preparation, analysis
(this include resolving ambiguity, identifying implicit information, studying key words,
interpreting figurative sense, if there is any) (the two can be summed up in Exegesis
which means the process of discovering the meaning of the text in ST), transfer, initial
draft, reworking the initial draft, testing, polishing, an preparing the manuscript (final).

2.9 Summary

In this unit you have studied translation as process of communication and the challenges
translators and interpreters face while taking one message to another language through
translation. Thus, since translation is aimed at promoting communication between two or more
language i.e. between the source language to the target language, communicative competence in
both the linguistic and cultural issues is of crucial importance so that message can be transferred
as clearly and objectively to the target language.

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UNIT 3: FORM AND MEANING

Objectives

After studying this unit, you will be able to:

- identify what form and meaning are in translation;
- identify the three approaches of discerning word meaning;
- define what sentence meaning mean.

Activity 3.1 Brainstorming

Answer the following questions before you read the unit.

1. How do you think can form (the structure of a word, phrase and sentence) affect meaning
in translation?
2. What do you think is the relationship between form and meaning?

The main question in translation is of meaning which always appears in the process of
translation, not translation as a product of the process. Translating a text from the source text
(ST) must consider the closest natural equivalent meaning. It implies that the meaning of the
target text must be equivalent with that of the source.

Meaning is classified into two kinds, referential meaning and connotative meaning. A translator
must be aware of which meaning is possibly intended by the author. Besides, it should also be
paid attention on the components embedded in a certain unit of meaning. By understanding the
components of meaning of the source language expressions a translator can make the best
decision related to the components.

Generally, translation is a process of rendering meaning, ideas, or messages of a text from one
language to other language. There are some considerations which follow this process, which
mainly related to the accuracy, clarity and naturalness of the meaning, ideas, or messages of the
translation. It means that it is an important thing to consider whether the readers of the target text
accept equivalent information as the readers of the source text do. These considerations are
clarified in some definition of translation stated by some experts. One of the most prominent
definitions of translation is stated by Newmark (1988: 5) who defines translation as “rendering
the meaning of a text into another language in the way that the author intended the text”. This
definition stresses on rendering meaning of the source language text into the target language text
as what is intended by the author.

Hatim and Munday (2004: 6) define translation as “the process of transferring a written text from
source language (SL) to target language (TL)”. In this definition they do not explicitly express
that the object being transferred is meaning or message. They emphasis on translation as a

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process. Nida and Taber (1982: 12), on the other hand, state that “translating consists in
reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source language
message”. This definition is more comprehensive than the previous ones. Nida and Taber
explicitly state that translation is closely related to the problems of languages, meaning, and
equivalence.

From the definitions mentioned above, it is found that translation is a process which is intended
to find meaning equivalence in the target text. Rochayah Machali (2001) and Mona Baker (1992)
underline the term meaning equivalence because it is the meaning which is transferred in the
target language.

In this case, translators are faced with text as unit of meaning in the form of sets of words or
sentences. This means that language which is used is unit of meaning in discourse which can be
understood by the participants of the communication (Machali, 2007). So, the main problem in
the process of translation is about meaning which will occur when the process is in progress, not
translation as a product. Hatim and Munday (2004: 34) also suggest that “one of the key
problems for the analyst was in actually determining whether the source text meaning had been
transferred into the target text”. It is clear here that meaning is the key problem: whether
meaning of the source language text is accurately transferred into the target language text.

3.1. Word-meaning: three approaches

“Meaning is the kingpin of translation studies. Without understanding what the text to be
translated means for the L2 users the translator would be hopelessly lost. This is why the
translation scholar has to be semanticist over and above everything else. But by semanticist we
mean a semanticist of the text, not just of words, structures and sentences. The key concept for
the semanticists of translation is textual meaning.”(Neubert, 1984).

Among the possible ways of approaching the description and explanation of word- meaning,
three stand out as particularly interesting:

1. Reference theory (which would express the relationship between word and entity in some
terms such as ‘word X refers to entity Y’);
2. Componential analysis (which would make use of an analogy from chemistry-‘each word
contains a number of atoms of meaning’); and
3. Meaning postulates (which would relate meaning to meaning through the conventions of set
theory-‘a tiger is a mammal, is an animal’, i.e. ‘a tiger is a kind of mammal and a mammal is a
kind of animal’ or ‘animal includes mammal, includes tiger’: [[[tiger] mammal]] animal]. We
shall look at each of these approaches in turn.

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3.1.1. Reference Theory

Reference theory seeks to provide the answer to the question: ‘What is the relationship between
the phenomena observed through the senses and the words that are used to refer to those
phenomena?’ There are two traditional and contrary answers to the question which go back to
Ancient Greece: (a) the link between the word and the ‘object’ to which it refers is a natural and
necessary one which is determined by the structure of the universe (Plato’s position) or (b) the
connection is an arbitrary one constrained by no more than social convention (Aristotle’s
position).

It is; unfortunately, clear that the first (naturalist) position cannot be correct, in spite of the
attested existence of such (English) onomatopoeic words as cuckoo, hoot, tinkle and so forth,
where the word ‘imitates’ the sound. There is, clearly, no simple one-to-one relationship of word
to meaning to object.

Such examples of ‘sound symbolism’ extremely rare and the overwhelming majority of words in
any language demonstrate no recognizable relationship whatsoever with the ‘object’ to which
they refer. Hence, the conventionalist would argue, the connection between the linguistic form of
the word and its referent is clearly man-made rather than natural and constitutes a convenient
system for labeling ‘objects’ by means of arbitrary assigned and socially accepted signs.

Modern linguistics during the last hundred years has taken as its starting point in any discussion
of meaning the conventionalist acceptance of the need for the relationship between word and
‘object’ to be an indirect one mediated by a concept.

Building on this assumption, de Saussure provides a rather more explicit model of the
relationship in which the link is shown to be between the linguistic sign and the ‘object’. The
relative sophistication of de Saussure’s model is that it sees the linguistic sign itself as being
composed of two indivisible elements, the concept and the acoustic image, which realizes it.
This might be shown diagrammatically:

Linguistic Sign= Concept Object

Acoustic
image

An example of this, for English, might be the relationship between the word ‘tree’ and the actual
tree perceived by the senses which is referred to by using the word. We shall use single quotes
for the word, SMALL UPPER CASE for the concept and a phonemic transcription for the
acoustic image:

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TREE

‘Tree’= /tri:/

The value of this for us is that it suggests ways in which we can integrate linguistic models of the
semantic and lexical structures of languages with psychological models of the conceptual
structure of memory and thus show parallels between the formal structures of languages and the
psychological processes of perception and memory.

All very well, one might stay, but what of the translator? Does the translator store the same
information in different parts of memory depending on the language? If so, it seems strikingly
inefficient to have the same concept represented again and again merely because its linguistic
realizations are different. If not, what happens to the indivisibility of the sign on which de
Saussure was so insistent? Not only does this appear to be a substantial problem in relation to
translation and to bilingualism but also, though to a lesser extent, in monolingual usage where
lexical ‘synonyms’ occur.

3.1.2 Componential Analysis

The task of ‘making sense’ of chaotic and continuous sensory data requires processes of pattern
recognition and, most importantly, the segmentation of the data into discrete, codable elements.
This is as true of ‘making sense’ of language as it is of analyzing chemical substances. For
example, for the chemist, water and hydrogen peroxide share the common components H and O
(hydrogen and oxygen) but differ in the amount of oxygen they contain; H 2O as against H2O2,
I.e. the ‘meaning’ of each depends on the components they posses and the way those components
are organized.

A very similar ‘atomic’ and ‘molecular’ approach to the description of word-meaning was
developed in the 1950s by anthropologists working on, among other topics, kinship systems and
soon extended to other systems- color categories, plant taxonomies, diseases, etc.- and to
semantics as a whole. As a theory which sought to isolate universal semantic features (features
which would apply in any language) componential analysis has been a disappointment. But as a
technique for describing at least part of the semantic system of particular languages, it is still
worth considering particularly as a means of gaining insights into the similarities and differences
between languages; insights which cannot but be of value to the translator and the language

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learner. It is in this spirit, viewing componential analysis as a technique rather than theory, that
we shall outline it below.

The essential assumption of componential analysis is that the meaning of a word is the sum of a
number of elements of meaning which it posses- semantic distinctive features- and that these
elements are binary; i.e. marked as present or absent (+ or -).

We might take, as an example, a set of English words such as man, woman, boy, girl and show
how a componential analysis can be used to specify the lexical entry for each, limited (for the
time being) to semantic features which create dictionary-like listings.

First of all, it is clear that the four words (or, more correctly, the four concepts they realize) do,
indeed, form a s et of items. They share the characteristics or feature human. Man and woman
share the feature adult and man shares with boy the feature male. For this set, these three features
are sufficient to create definitions for each which distinguish them unambiguously: Man=
‘human, adult, male’, etc.
The lexical entries would be:

Man + human
+ adult
+ male

Woman + human
+ adult
- male

Boy + human
- adult
+ male

Girl + human
- adult
- male

However, a fuller entry for the item would include:

(a) its pronunciation (and, if the language has an orthography, its written form as well);
(b) Syntactic information- the form class to which it belongs (noun, verb, etc.) whether it is
countable if it is a noun or transitive if it is a verb, etc.;
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(c) any significant morphological information: if it has any ‘irregular’ forms; and
(D) Its semantic sense: indication of its conceptual; content. Filled out in this way, we could
include both elements of de Saussure’s linguistic sign –acoustic image and concept- and, in
addition, syntactic information which would be essential if the word were to be involved in
the creation of sentences and used for communication.

Modified in this way, the entry for man might be as follows:

Man / mæn/
‘man’
noun
+ count
Plural= /men/
+ human
+ adult
+ male

How much phonological and syntactic information should be included in each lexical entry? In
psychological terms, if the database is to provide enough information for the production and
comprehension of grammatical sentences, each conceptual address will have to provide adequate
information on the pronunciation, grammatical features and meaning of the item stored there.
What, though, is ‘adequate’? Part of the answer to this lies in the structure of the language in
question.

In the first case (pronunciation), supra-segmental information will need to be included in

addition to segmental (i.e. vowels and consonants) in languages where,
1. Word stress is variable in polysyllabic words ( e.g. English /’permit/ [noun] versus
/per’mit/or Italian /’porto/ I carry [present tense] versus /por’to/ I carried [past tense] or
2. Where lexical items are distinguished by tone as in Chinese, e.g. /lan/ with a high rising
tone blue versus /lan/ with a low fall-rise; lazy.
In the second (grammatical class), a number of distinctions would have to be included such as:

1. Abstract versus concrete, countable versus non-countable, gradable versus non-gradable for
English, as would
2. Grammatical gender for languages such as French and German and
3. Morphological information for agglutinative or flexional languages such as Turkish and
Arabic respectively.

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In the third (meaning), it is not only denotative but also connotative meaning the needs to be
stored, presumably as part of the individual’s encyclopedic knowledge and mainly in the
conceptual memory. Suffice it to say that somewhere and somehow in long term memory there
must be a system which allows lexical items to interact with each other, with the grammatical
resources of the language and with encyclopedic knowledge, otherwise, the communicator would
have no means of producing or understanding grammatical sentences or appropriate utterances
and we all, clearly, do both on a vast sale.

From the translator’s point of view, componential analysis has considerable attractions as a
practical technique even if, as we shall see below, it suffers from a number of defects as a theory.

Consider the problem of lack of fit between the lexical items of two languages; as issue which
continually faces the translator.

There are two major problems with componential analysis, both of which reduce its
usefulness:

1. That the ‘features’ proposed for the analysis of any item are arbitrary-not, in itself, necessarily
a problem- and hence, what may be criteria for one user may turn out to be trivial or
secondary for another and
2. The binary nature of the features (possession or non-possession). This limits the application of
the analysis to items which are clearly distinguishable in such terms and makes it difficult to
create satisfactory lexical entries for several categories of item. Those which:

(1) Belong to multiple rather than binary taxonomies-metals, for example: gold, silver, tin,
copper, lead, zinc...;
(2) are in hierarchical relationships with each other – measuring scales, for example; inch, foot,
yard...;
(3) overlap- house, home, dwelling-place or share and divide;
(4) relate to each other by reference to some assumed norm-short and tall or hot and cold.

For the translator, each of these is (potentially, at least) significant. Do users of both languages,
for example, categorize the same metals as ‘precious? How do they perceive units of
measurement-time, space, volume, weight, etc.- or distinguish, for example, house from home?

3.1.3. Meaning postulates

A fundamental problem for the translator is that the relationships of similarity and difference
between concepts (and the words that express them) do not necessarily coincide in the languages
involved in the translation. However, it is not difficult to express such relationships for a

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particular language in terms of simple set theory and the key notions of inclusion and exclusion;
the first focusing on what concepts have in common; the second on what distinguishes them.

We can isolate three key types of relationship between concept and concept (and, therefore,
between word and word).

At one end of the scale we place inclusion (hyponymy) and at the other exclusion (antonymy).
As might be expected, between the two and exhibiting features of overlap- partial inclusion and
partial exclusion- we find a middle term: synonymy.

(a) Hyponymy (b) Synonymy (c) Antonymy

A A B A B
B

The first of these, hyponymy, involves total inclusion; one concept (or the meaning of one word)
is included in another. For example, animal includes tiger or wine includes hock, i.e.
distinguishing example from class or, in traditional terminology, the subordinate (hyponym)
from the super ordinate.

Naturally, where systems are in agreement, hyponymy presents no problems for the translator.
The difficulties start when they differ. Consider for example, Dr Johnson’s famous inclusion in
his dictionary of oats with in the class food for animals rather than food for men or, even in
contemporary dictionaries, foxhunting or bullfighting with in the class sport.

Consider the hyponymy in the following text:

• Sisayine zelelle eiletine – Ge’ez
• Give us this day our daily bread.-English
• የእለት እንጀራችንን ስጠን ዛሬ -Amharic

The second, synonymy, is particularly problematic, since it involves overlap rather than total
inclusion or exclusion and assumes that, in principle, either item may be selected, in any context.
Absolute, 100 percent synonymy is, as might be expected, very rare and perhaps impossible,
since it would require each item to be totally interchangeable and collocate not only with the
same sets as the other but with all members of those sets. Two close English synonyms- hide and
conceal- illustrate this.

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Leaving aside the fact that ‘hide’ can also be a noun and assuming, therefore, that both are verbs,
we find the two to be virtually interchangeable (though the game of conceal- and- seek is clearly
unacceptable!), except for correlations with less formal and more formal style respectively, i.e. it
is the context of use rather than the co-text of usage which constrains the selection between
them.

If there are, as we suggest there are, problems associated with differences in conceptual class
organization between languages, there must, necessarily, be even more intricate problems where
overlap is involved.

The word 'synonym’ is used in the sense of a near TL (Target Language) equivalent to an SL
(Source Language) word in a context, where a precise equivalent may or may not exist. This
procedure is used for a SL word where there is no clear one-to-one equivalent, and the word is
not important in the text, in particular for adjectives or adverbs of quality (which in principle are
'outside' the grammar and less important than other components of a sentence). A synonym is
only appropriate where literal translation is not possible and because the word is not important
enough for componential analysis. Here economy precedes accuracy. A translator cannot do
without synonymy; he has to make do with it as a compromise, in order to translate more
important segments of the text, segments of the meaning, more accurately. But unnecessary use
of synonyms is a mark of many poor translations.

What is a translator to do with the English, French and German terms of areas covered by trees?
What is included in what and what are the overlaps in the series sapling, tree, wood, spinnery,
grove, thicket, forest or arbre, bosquet, bois, for’et, all of which refer to areas covered by trees
(beginning with a single tree, of course) but the extent differs from term to term; wald certainly
seems to be larger than for’et, for example. It would, as translators are well aware, be simple
(and rather unrevealing) to proliferate examples of this kind.

The third, antonymy, concerns exclusion rather than inclusion and, as might be expected,
exclusion involves a number of relationships which can be illustrated by considering the
following words:

1. True-false
2. Gold-silver-copper-iron-tin…
3. Large- small
4. Teacher-student
5. One-two-three-four…
6. Become-stay/remain

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It is clear that each word is not only in contrast with the rest of the words in the set but also that
some sets consist of items which are in opposition and that, of these, some are gradable
opposites.

Activity 4.2

A. Define the following words both in Amharic and English using the concept of
hyponymy:
Example: Tree = is a type of plant. (English)
ዛፍ ማለት የዕፅዋት ዓይነት ነው፡፡(Amharic)
1. Cat =…………………………………………………………………(English)
………………………………………………………………………(Amharic)
2. Car =…………………………………………………………………(English)
………………………………………………………………………(Amharic)

3. Sofa =…………………………………………………………………(English)
……………………………………………………………………… (Amharic)

B. Define the following words both in Amharic and English using the concept of
synonymy:
Example: rich = wealthy (English)
ሀብታም = ባለጸጋ (Amharic)

4. big =…………………………………………………………………(English)
……………………………………………………………………… (Amharic)
5. kill =…………………………………………………………………(English)
……………………………………………………………………… (Amharic)
6. revenge =……………………………………………………………(English)
……………………………………………………………………… (Amharic)

C. Define the following words both in Amharic and English using the concept of
antonymy:
Example: big is the opposite of small (English)
ትልቅ የትንሽ ተቃራኒ ነው፡፡ (Amharic)
7. Female is…………………………………………………………………(English)
……………………………………………………………………… (Amharic)
8. Long is…………………………………………………………………(English)
……………………………………………………………………… (Amharic)
9. Dead is…………………………………………………………………(English)
……………………………………………………………………… (Amharic)

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3.2 Sentence meaning

The goal of semantics, in the view of the majority of linguistics, is:

1. To show how words and sentences are ‘… related to one another in terms of such notions
as “synonymy”, “entailment” and “ contradiction” and
2. To ‘… explain how the sentences of (a) language are understood, interpreted and related
to states, processes and objects in the universe.

Clearly, on this, translators and linguists are in substantial agreement that both orientations to
the description and explanation of ‘meaning’ are necessary: an understanding of: (1) the
relationship of form to form within the code and also (2) that of the formal structures of the
code to the communicative context of use. Of the two, the translator particularly needs the
second.

3.2.1. Words and Sentences

Part of the aim of the earlier discussion of word- meaning was to show relationships of inclusion
and exclusion between concepts and, hence, between the words which express them. Similar
relationships can be found (as might be expected) between sentences.
The next step is to use the notion of equivalence (one of the key concepts in translation theory)
to relate one sentence to another and to recognize that word-meaning can only be arrived at
through the study of the meaning of the word in the linguistic co-text of the sentence and that
sentence-meaning depends, just as crucially, on the setting of the sentence in its communicative
context.

We shall be making a number of important points about ‘sentence-meaning’ in comparison and

in contrast with ‘word-meaning’ by using the term ‘sentence’ in an informal everyday manner
and by leaving the critical distinction between utterance, sentence and proposition.

Faced by a text, the reader (and, therefore, the translator) has to cope not only with the semantic
sense of the words but also the ‘meaning’ of the sentences.

The reader needs to be able to work out what is stated in a sentence is true or false, whether it
possesses a single meaning or is ambiguous and, indeed, whether ‘it makes sense’ at all.
Equally, skilled reading (an undeniable prerequisite for skilled translating) also depends on
seeing relationships between the sentences of a text by making inferences about such
relationships. After all, the whole of the meaning of a text is not (and cannot be) spelled out in
actual written sentences. Some sentences entail other sentences, some suggest implications,

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others depend on presuppositions the writer makes about the reader’s knowledge and
expectations.

Sentence-meaning, like word-meaning, can be approached initially through the notions of

inclusion and exclusion and the discovery of the sentence level equivalents of hyponymy,
synonymy and anotonymy. We might begin by considering some examples:

1. Tigers are animals

2. Tigers are fierce
3. Tigers are birds
4. They found him a good friend
5. Semantics killed the students
6. A He wrote a book on linguistics
B. He wrote a book
7. A .What is his book about?
B It’s not about athletics!
8. Can you lend me Leech’s Semantics?

We readily see that these sentences group together in various ways. In the first three examples,
the linkage is the truth test, i.e. the answer to the question: ‘Is what is asserted in the sentence
true or false?’
1. True, necessarily so, by virtue of the meanings of the words in ti.
2. Neither true nor false; more information is needed.
3. ‘False, necessarily so, by virtue of the meanings of the words in it.
The next two, though still concerned with the meanings of the words, are focused not on true
value of the assertions but on the grammatical relationships between the words.

4. Ambiguous, since we cannot tell whether ‘him’ is the complement or the object of
‘found’. There appear to be two equally plausible interpretations between which it seems
impossible to judge, without an appeal top some additional information from the
linguistic co-text or social context:
(a) ‘they found him to be a good friend’ (taking ‘him’ to be the complement), or
(b) ‘they found a good friend for him’ (taking ‘him’ to be the indirect object).
5. Nonsensical; ‘semantics’ is abstract and cannot, except in a figurative sense, ‘kill’
anyone. ‘Kill’ requires an animate subject. It may appear, at first sight, that this sentence
is no more than another example of the type already presented in sentence3; false by
virtue of the meaning of the words in it. But it can be shown that this is not in fact the
case and to do this, we need to refer to the notion of encyclopedic and lexical entries,
since the difference between the two examples lies in the nature of the anomaly in the
entries for the concepts involved.

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In the first case, the anomaly is purely conceptual, since the encyclopedic entry for ‘bird’ would
not contain the information (asserted in sentence 3 that it includes the concept tiger (i.e. bird is
not a hyponym of tiger). In simple terms, it is just not true that a tiger is a kind of bird and our
encyclopedic knowledge of the world about us confirms this.

The second case is doubly anomalous, since the anomaly is both conceptual and syntactic:
(a) The encyclopedic entry for semantics would exclude information that suggested that
abstract entries could kill and
(b) the lexical entry would include the grammatical information [noun, abstract] and that for
kill would include [animate agent]. Thus, giving a concept which is realized by an
inanimate a propositional role reserved for animates (actor or agent) produces pragmatic
nonsense and, at the same time, using an inanimate, abstract noun as the subject of a verb
like ‘kill’ breaks the selection rules of grammar and produces grammatical nonsense.

The remaining three are also connected but in a very different way. Up to this point, we have
been appealing to the formal linguistic co-text-relating word-meaning to word-meaning within
each example –without explicit reference to the functional and communicative context of actual
use.

The last three examples force us to appeal to context. In each case, communicators
(speakers/writers or hearers/readers) are able to draw conclusions-make inferences-from the text;
to derive B from A (as in 6), to comprehend what is implicit (as in 7), to make assumptions about
the ‘normal’ context of the use of an utterance (as in 8).

6. A entails B, i.e. if he wrote a book on linguistics, it follows, necessarily, that he wrote a

book. The converse is not necessarily the case, i.e. B does not entail A. He may well have
written a book but it could have been on any subject, not just linguistics.
7. The implication of B is that the speaker is uncertain about the topic iof the book.
8. The speaker presupposes that the hearer has a copy of the book, that the hearer will be
willing to lend it, that asking to borrow it will not give offence, etc.

In short, the eight examples provide us with eight distinct kids of sentence relationship
1. Analytic sentence
2. Synthetic sentence
3. Contradiction
4. Ambiguity
5. Anomaly/nonsense
6. Entailment
7. Implicature
8. Presupposition

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3.2.2 Utterance, Sentence and Proposition

We must now return to the distinction between utterance, sentence and proposition; three levels
of abstraction and idealization which apply to any stretch of language we may wish to translate.

There is a type-token relationship between the three, such that we can envisage the most abstract
(the proposition) as being an ideal underlying type of which there are a number of tokens or
manifestations: a range of sentences which share the same propositional content. Equally, the
same relationship holds between sentence and utterance. Each sentence can be viewed as an ideal
type which can be realized by a range of actual utterances; tokens of it.

We are all aware of this distinction between the ideal and the actual in our everyday experience
in which examples abound; the written score and the actual performance of a piece of music; the
written text of a play and the production on the night; a recipe and the cooked dish. Music critics,
interestingly from our point of view, refer to ‘performances’ of a piece of music as ‘accounts’,
‘interpretations’ and ‘realizations’, making the same point as we are.
In linguistics, the distinction is crucial and can be exemplified by de Saussure’s langue-parole
and the similar, though not identical, distinction between competence and performance in
Chomsky.

The traditional issues in translation of the relationship between ‘fidelity’ and ‘freedom’ and the
choice between ‘literal’ and ‘free’ (or ‘semantic’ and ‘communicative’) seem to resolve
themselves into the simple question: ‘Are we translating prepositions, sentences or utterances?’
and, the related question, ‘What is the implication of choosing one rather than the other?’ This
being so, it is essential to be clear in distinguishing the three concepts.

Specifically, the utterance can be typified as being concrete and context-sensitive. It is the
utterance and not the sentence that is recorded on paper or an audio tape and t is tied to a
specifiable time, place and participants. It is judged in terms of appropriateness rather than
grammaticality, i.e. whether and to what extent it is constrained by social convention; whether, in
terms of normal expectations of communicative behavior, it is acceptable.

The sentence in contrast, is abstract and context-free. Unlike utterances, sentences exist (if at all)
only in the mind. When a sentence is said or written down, we still tend to refer to it as a
sentence. This is an unnecessary confusion, it would be wiser to recognize the difference
between the substantial written-down sentence and the abstract idealized sentence of which it is a
realization, i.e. the written sentence is better thought of as an utterance or a text. Think of what
happens when we remember what someone said or wrote. We tend to remember it in an ‘edited’
and idealized form; not the actual utterance with its pauses, um’s and er’s, slips of the tongue,
etc, but the idealized sentence of which the utterance we had heard was but one instance. Again,
in contrast with the utterance, the sentence is not set in time or space nor tied to any particular
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participants: speakers, hearers, writers, readers. It is, however, language specific, since it is
judged in terms of grammatically, i.e. whether it conforms to the rules of the particular linguistic
code and whether, in those terms, it is possible.

The proposition is even more abstract than the sentence. It is the unit of meaning which
constitutes the subject-matter of a sentence (and, once realized in actual use, that of the
utterances as well). It has been defined as ‘that part of the meaning of the utterance of a
declarative sentence which describes some state of affairs and, hence, in uttering a declarative
sentence, a speaker is asserting a proposition.
Being even more abstract than the sentence, the proposition is not only context-free but also
language-free in the sense that it cannot be tied to any specific language. An utterance can be
said or written in any language and recognized as a realization of a sentence of that particular
language but the propositional meaning underpinning the utterance (and the sentence) is
universal rather than language specific.

In the analysis of the proposition, we find that the grammatical categories Subject, Object etc.,
which served at sentence level do not apply and a pair of fundamental logical relationships is
required: the predicate (state or action) and the argument ( the entity or entities referred to by the
predicate). In a little more detail, these expand into the processes (i.e. predicates) and roles (i.e.
arguments).

3.3 Summary

In this unit, you have seen how form and meaning are related. Moreover, different types of
meanings including such meanings as word meaning, sentence meaning, utterance meaning and
propositional meanings have been discussed in view of translation. Identifying these different
meanings helps a lot to translate messages from a source language to the target language in
question; otherwise translation may suffer from mistranslation.

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UNIT 4: MEANING AND TRANSLATION: TYPES OF MEANING

Objectives
Up on the completion of this unit, students will be able to:
- identify the logical or denotative meanings in translation;
- analyze contextual meanings of expressions in translation;
- understand social meanings in translation;
- work with thematic meaning in translation.

4.1. The Logical or Denotative Meaning

This refers to meaning which is referential, objective and cognitive and hence is a shared
property of the speech community. The denotative meaning of a word is its literal meaning. -It is
the definition you would find in the dictionary.
Denotatively the word ‘Dog’ refers to a four- legged pet animal. This same word is translated
into Amharic as ውሻ.
Let’s use another example with the word “CAT”

The dictionary (Denotative Meaning) describes a cat this way:

A carnivorous mammal, domesticated as a rat catcher or pet.

4.2. The Connotative Meaning

Connotative meaning of a word is when the word creates feelings and emotions.

It’s good to compare the connotative meanings of the words ‘Dog’ and ‘Cat’ across different
languages and to see the possible care and caution a translator should apply in translating the
word in the latter sense.

Connotatively the word ‘Dog’ can be translated differently in different contexts for it carries
meaning beyond its surface meaning. For example; in some of the Ethiopian cultures, it
communicates a local and subjective meaning like low prestige, having the quality of repeatedly
going back to what one detests and being decadent.

If we take the word ‘Cat’, it can have different connotative meanings. It would depend on how
you feel about cats.

If you like cats, the word ‘cat’ may suggest:

- Graceful motion

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- Affectionate playfulness
- Noble reserve
- Admirable self sufficiency

If you don’t like cats, the word might suggest:

- Stealthiness
- Spitefulness
- Coldness
- Haughty disdain

Therefore, connotative meaning is culturally conditioned. A word which has positive connotation
/overtones/ emotive meanings in one culture may actually have a negative connotation in
another.

Note that although synonyms mostly have related meanings, they do not convey identical
meaning in different contexts. Let’s take example:

Skinny (has negative connotation)

Thin (is with neutral meaning)
Slender (is perceived positively).

However, as far as referential meaning is concerned they are synonymous, but they are used
differently. So, connotative meaning is all about Cultural difference, the most difficult problem
in translation.

Understanding meaning of a word is not merely based on the referred object of the word.
Sometimes, a translator also needs to give emotional reaction to the word. The reaction might be
strong, weak, positive or negative. this kind of meaning is closely related to individual emotional
reaction which, then, is named as connotative meaning. In other words, giving the meaning of a
word is not merely from its concrete or abstract dimension, but it also involves the sender’s
emotional condition. There are three main principles to understand connotative meaning. They
are:

a. The relationship between the word and the speaker

When certain words become very closely related with certain types of speakers, this will be well
accepted by the member of the group. For example; there are words which are used and
understood by members of certain social class, level of education, and religion.

b. Condition of the speaker

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The same word expressed by the same speaker but in different condition or setting may rise
different connotative meaning. Some expressions are related to certain environments as in court,
police station, market, tourism objects, etc. for illustration, there is a woman who met her friend
while she is shopping in a market. She told a story to her friend that last night there were a
robbery at her neighbor’s house. Her friend may respond it as new information that warns her to
be more careful at home. Different respond will appear when the woman told the story to a
police officer. This will become a report to be seriously handled.

c. Linguistic factor

Parallel words which are always in pairs with other words give different various connotations.
The word ‘ጥቁር’ in Amharic, for example, when it is used with the following words has different
meanings:
1. ‘ጥቁር ደም’ = unsolved and long-lasting problem which
evokes a sense of revenge
2. ‘ጥቁር ነጥብ’ has the meaning of unforgettable mess
3. ‘ጥቁር ጠባሳ’ regrettable loss.
4. ‘ጥቁር እንግዳ’ a guest who deserves much service

The word ‘ጥቁር’ in some examples above are in fact a kind of color. The word has different
meanings when it occurs before certain words that the receivers might react differently.

d. Elements of Meaning

Larson (1984) states that there are some characteristics of language which involve the process of
translation. By knowing the elements of meaning of the source language, translators can make
the right decision related to these elements. The elements are described below፡

1. Plural system

English and Amharic language are different in marking plural nouns. In written communication,
English uses inflectional morpheme -s or -es, or adds phoneme /-s/, /-z/, or /-is/ in spoken. Some
irregular forms also exist. While in Amharic, markers of plural nouns are shown by using
different forms. For example:

Amharic English

መስፈርት መስፈርቶች criterion criteria

በግ በጎች sheep sheep

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መረጃ መረጃዎች information pieces of information

If the translator or the interpreter does not have the knowledge of the irregular plural markers
English has, he/she may use the regular plural markers in translating texts or speech which will
in turn lead to mistranslation.

2. One form with many alternative meaning

A word has a primary meaning that is the meaning which at the first time is got by the receiver or
reader. The second or alternative or connotative meaning is one which is affected by the context. The
examples below may clarify this:

The boy runs fast. = ልጁ በፍጥነት ይሮጣል፡፡

He runs his eyes over the crowd. = አይኑን በተሰበሰበው ሰው ላይ አንከራተተ፡፡

Life must run its course. = ህይወት በተለመደው መንገድ ትቀጥላለች፡፡

In the above three English sentences, the same word ‘run’ has different meanings.

3. Grammatical marker

In this case, grammatical marker has two functions, primary and secondary functions. The word
‘on’, to give an example, in English indicates some meanings. This fact is described below፡

Reta found a book on the table. = ረታ (አንድ) መጽሐፍ ከጠረጴዛው ላይ አገኘ፡፡

Reta found a book on Biology. = ረታ (አንድ) የባዮሎጂ መጽሐፍ አገኘ፡፡

Reat found a book on Wednesday. = ረታ ረቡዕ ዕለት (አንድ) መጽሐፍ አገኘ፡፡

The word ‘on’ in the examples above indicates ‘position’ or ‘location’, ‘about’ and relation of time
which in Amharic are translated as ‘ከ- ላይ’, ‘የ’, or ‘ዕለት’.

4.3. The Social Meaning

Social meaning can be seen in terms of Speaker-addressee relationship, which will often
determine choices of vocabulary that result in sub-dialects of a language.

A person does not talk the same way to a small child as he does to an educated adult audience:
age, social status/class, educational level, technical expertise are determinants of the diction.

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If we take the following two sentences:

- Baby wants milk
- Daddy loves you,
we know that the speaker is addressing a very small child.

Other points that should be considered in translation are levels of politeness, formal/informal
aspects of language use.

(እርስዎ is a polite and formal form of 2nd person singular pronoun in Amharic; Vous in French;
Usted in Spanish; Lei in Italia.)

Q. How can we find its equivalent in English?

Non-verbal languages or symbolic actions like nodding one’s head in the source language can
vary from language to language. Consider the difference between Indians’ nodding of the head
and that of the Ethiopians.

Q. What is the implication of social meaning for translators and interpreters?

Well, translators should be aware of the fact that social meanings often have different meanings
in the receptor language and in the source language. Therefore, an adjustment may need to be
made in order to avoid a wrong meaning or zero/no meaning at all!

Dear students;

In social meaning what a translator or an interpreter should bear in mind is how pragmatic
meanings influence translation. Pragmatics is the branch of linguistics dealing with language in
use and the contexts in which it is used, including such matters as deixis (deictic
words/expressions- a word or expression whose meaning is dependent on the context in which
it is used, e.g., here, you, that one there, or next Tuesday.); taking turns in conversation, text
organization, presupposition, and implicature (the action of implying a meaning beyond the
literal sense of what is explicitly stated).

Look at the following example:

Saying the frame is nice (to imply the meaning I don't like the picture in it);

Where is the fire? (to ask someone why they are in such a hurry or state of excitement);

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I love you. (Writing this sentence on a dusty table by a husband to his wife to imply that the
table needs to be cleaned or to inform that the table is filled by dust.)

4.4 The Thematic Meaning

It concerns itself with how the order of words or even punctuations spoken/written affects the
meaning that is entailed.

a. Shift of emphasis due to the use of Passive and active voices:

Example:
(1) My brother sent me 500 dollars (Active)
(2) Five hundred dollars were sent to me (Passive)
In sentence (1) the emphasis falls on the doer of the action i.e. the subject. Therefore, if
we are asked to translate4 this into Amharic, we can translate it as ‘ወንድሜ 500 ዶላር
ላከልኝ፡፡

In sentence (2), the emphasis moves to the receiver of the action i.e. ‘I’. Therefore, if we
want to translate it into Amharic, we use a similar pattern and maintain the shift in
emphasis. ‘አምስት መቶ ዶላር ተላከልኝ፡፡
b. Shift of emphasis due to relative clause usage:

Example:
(1) The cat which is black is sitting on the table.
(2) The cat which is sitting on the table is black.

Both sentences tell two things about the cat i.e. ‘the cat is black’ and ‘the cat is sitting on
the table’. But when these pieces of information are related using relative clauses, they
can give us the above sentences which differ in emphasis. The purpose of sentence (1) is
telling a reader/listener where the cat is sitting and giving additional information about
the color of the cat. Therefore, the Amharic parallel can be:

“ጥቁሯ ድመት ጠረጴዛው ላይ ተቀምጣለች፡፡

The purpose of sentence (2) is to inform a reader/listener what color the cat has and
giving additional information about where the cat is. Therefore, the Amharic parallel can
be:

“ጠረጴዛው ላይ የተቀመጠችው ድመት ጥቁር ናት፡፡

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C. Shift in meaning due to a change in the place of punctuation mark:

Look at the following two example sentences which convey different meanings when
they are punctuated differently:

a. “A woman without her man is nothing.”

“A woman, without her man, is nothing.”
Amharic meaning: ሴት ልጅ ያለወንድ (ድጋፍ) ከንቱ ናት፡፡
“A woman: without her, man is nothing.”
Amharic meaning: ወንድ ልጅ ያለግራ ጎኑ ከንቱ ነው፡፡

b. Kill him not leave him.

- Kill him not; leave him.
Amharic meaning: አትግደለው፣ ተወው፡፡
Kill him; not leave him.
Amharic meaning: ግደለው፣ አትማረው፡፡
Activity 5.1

A. Translate the following words denotatively and connotatively into Amharic:

1. Lion: Denotative meaning:………………………………………………………..

Connotative meaning:……………………………………………………….
2. Snake: Denotative meaning:……………………………………………………..
Connotative meaning:…………………………………………………….
3. Pigeon: Denotative meaning:……………………………………………………..
Connotative meaning:…………………………………………………….
4. Sofa: Denotative meaning:……………………………………………………..
Connotative meaning:…………………………………………………….
5. parrot: Denotative meaning:……………………………………………………..
Connotative meaning:…………………………………………………….

B. Translate the following words denotatively and connotatively into Amharic:

6. ወንበር: Denotative meaning:………………………………………………………..

Connotative meaning:……………………………………………………….
7. ቀለም: Denotative meaning:……………………………………………………..
Connotative meaning:…………………………………………………….
8. እሳት: Denotative meaning:……………………………………………………..
Connotative meaning:…………………………………………………….

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9. እንጀራ: Denotative meaning:……………………………………………………..

Connotative meaning:…………………………………………………….
10. ሱሪ : Denotative meaning:……………………………………………………..
Connotative meaning:…………………………………………………….

C. Translate the following expressions into English

11. ውሀ አጣጪ ............................................................................
12. ደም መላሽ
…………………………………………………………………………………………
……………..
13. ሆደ- ሰፊ
…………………………………………………………………………………………
……………..
14. ቀልበ-ቢስ
…………………………………………………………………………………………
………………
15. ሆደ ባሻ………………………………………………………
D. Translate the following sentences into Amharic:

16. Asfaw received a letter

………………………………………………………………………………..
17. A letter was received
...........................................................................................................
18. The woman who won the scholarship is my colleague.
……………………………………………………………………………….
19. The woman who is my colleague won the scholarship.
……………………………………………………………………………….
20. Let’s eat grandma.
………………………………………………………………………………..
21. Let’s eat, grandma.
………………………………………………………………………………..

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4.5. Summary

In this unit a number of issues have been raised with regard to types of meaning and their
significance in translation. Making distinction among the various meanings such as denotative,
connotative, social and thematic meanings is found to be indispensible, for it lends itself to
different understanding of meanings thereby transferring appropriate message from the source
language to the target language. Thu, you have been introduced that denotative meaning is the
literal, objective and universal meaning of a word or an expression while connotative meaning is
the local, contextual and subjective meaning which needs a careful translation and interpretation.
The social meaning, on the other hand, is seen in terms of speaker-addressee relationship and
thematic meaning is a focus on a shift in emphasis in the part of a sentence.

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UNIT 5: TECHNIQUES AND METHODS OF TRNSLATION AND SOME PRACTICES

ON TRANSLATION
Objectives
After studying this unit, you will be able to:
- define different techniques of translation (literal translation, borrowing, loan translation,
transposition, modulation, equivalence and adaptation;
- translate English words and expressions (including idioms and proverbs) into Amharic and
vice versa;
- translate texts from English to Amharic and from Amharic to English.

5.1 Translation Methods

According to Newmark (1988), the central problem of translating has always been whether to
translate literally or freely. The argument has been going on since at least the first century BC up
to the beginning of the nineteenth century; many writers favored some kind of free translation:
the spirit, not the letter; the sense not the words; the message rather than the form: the matter not
the manner.

Then, at the turn of the nineteenth century, when the study of cultural anthropology suggested
that the linguistic barriers were insuperable and that language was entirely the product of culture,
the view that translation was impossible gained some currency, and with it that, if attempted at
all, it must be as literal as possible.

The argument was theoretical, however: the purpose of the translation, the nature of the
readership, the type of text, was not discussed. Too often, writer, translator and reader were
implicitly identified with each other.

In the next section, let’s see the different translation methods which are found in the continuum
of being literal and free in the task of translation.
1. Word-for-word translation

This is often demonstrated as interlinear translation, with the TL immediately below the SL
words. The SL word-order is preserved and the words translated singly by their most common
meanings, out of context. Cultural words are translated literally. The main use of word-for-word
translation is either to understand the mechanics of the source language or to construe a difficult
text as a pre-translation process.

2. Literal translation

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The SL grammatical constructions are converted to their nearest TL equivalents but the lexical
words are again translated singly, out of context. As a pre-translation process, this indicates the
problems to be solved.

3. Faithful translation

A faithful Translation attempts to reproduce the precise contextual meaning of the original
within the constraints of the TL grammatical structures. It 'transfers' cultural words and preserves
the degree of grammatical and lexical 'abnormality' (deviation from SL norms) in the translation.
It attempts to be completely faithful to the intentions and the text-realization of the SL writer.

4. Semantic translation

Semantic translation differs from 'faithful translation' only in as far as it must take more account
of the aesthetic value (that is, the beautiful and natural sounds of the SL text, compromising on
'meaning' where appropriate so that no assonance, word-play or repetition jars in the finished
version. Further, it may translate less important cultural words by culturally neutral third or
functional terms but not by cultural equivalents and it may make other small concessions to the
readership. The distinction between 'faithful' and ‘semantic' translation is that the first is
uncompromising and dogmatic, while the second is more flexible, admits the creative exception
to hundred percent fidelity and allows for the translator's intuitive empathy with the original.

5. Adaptation

This is the 'freest' form of translation. It is used mainly for plays (comedies and poetry; the
themes, characters, plots are usually preserved, the SL culture converted to the TL culture and
the text rewritten. The deplorable practice of having a play or poem literally translated and then
rewritten by an established dramatist or poet has produced many poor adaptations, but other
adaptations have 'rescued’ period plays.

6. Free translation

Free translation reproduces the matter without the manner, or the content without the form of the
original. Usually it is a paraphrase much longer than the original, a so-called 'intralingual
translation’, often prolix and pretentious, and not translation at all.

7. Idiomatic translation

Idiomatic translation reproduces the 'message' of the original but tends to distort nuances of
meaning by preferring colloquialisms and idioms where these do not exist in the original.
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8. Communicative translation

Communicative translation attempts to render the exact contextual meaning of the original in
such a way that both content and language are readily acceptable and comprehensible to the
readership.

Newmark (1988) comments that only semantic and communicative translations fulfill the two
main aims of translation- accuracy and economy.

A semantic translation is more likely to be economical than a communicative translation, unless,

for the latter, the text is poorly written. In general, a semantic translation is written at the author's
linguistic level a communicative at the readership's. Semantic translation is used for 'expressive'
texts, communicative for 'informative' and 'vocative' texts.

Semantic and communicative translations treat the following items similarly: stock and dead
metaphors, normal collocations, technical Terms, slang, colloquialisms, standard notices,
phaticisms, ordinary language. The expressive components of 'expressive' texts (unusual
syntactic structures, collocations, metaphors, words peculiarly used, neologisms) are rendered
closely, if not literally, but where they appear in informative and vocative texts, they are
normalized or toned down (except in striking advertisements).

So much for the detail, but semantic and communicative translation must also be seen as wholes.
Semantic translation is personal and individual, follows the thought processes of the author,
tends to over-translate, pursues nuances of meaning, yet aims at concision in order to reproduce
pragmatic impact. Communicative translation is social, concentrates on the message and the
main force of the text, tends to under-translate, to be simple, clear and brief, and is always
written in a natural and resourceful style. A semantic translation is normally interior in its
original- as there is both cognitive and pragmatic loss. A communicative translation is often
better than its original. At a pinch, a semantic translation has to interpret, a communicative
translation to explain,

Theoretically, communicative translation allows the translator no more freedom than semantic
translation. In fact, it does, since the translator is serving a putative large and not well defined
readership, whilst in semantic translation, he is following a single well defined authority, i.e. the
author of the SI text.

9. Literary Translation

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Literary translation is a type of translation which is distinguished from translation in general. A

literary translation must reflect the imaginative, intellectual and intuitive writing of the author. In
fact, literature is distinguished by its aesthetics. Little concern has been devoted to the aesthetics
of literary translations because these translations are popularly perceived as unoriginal (Devy
1999: 183).

Belhaag (1997: 20) summarizes the characteristics of literary translations:

- Expressive
- Connotative
- Symbolic
- focusing on both form and content
- Subjective
- allowing multiple interpretation
- Timeless and universal
- using special devices to ‘heighten’ communicative effect
- Tendency to deviate from the language norms

Moreover, literary translations must reflect all the literary features of the source text such as
sound effects, morphophonemic selection of words, figures of speech …etc. (Riffaterre 1992:
204-205).

Gutt (1991) stresses that in translating a literary work one should preserve the style of the
original text. In accordance with Gutt,
this wider, stylistic dimension of communication is, of course, of special interest to
literary studies, and so it is not surprising that theorists concerned with literary translation
have paid considerable attention to the preservation of the stylistic properties of texts"
(1991: 123).

A writer’s style is known “from the words he chooses or the way he constructs his sentences”
(1991: 123). According to Savory (1957), literal translation of a literary work does not reproduce
the effect of the original. Because literature allows multiple interpretations, there should be
freedom in literary translations to consider a wide range of implicatures. Thus, rendering the
equivalent effect of the original requires freedom to explore different interpretations. That
approach is meant to achieve relevance in translation (1991: 156-157).

Basically, translation consists of transferring the meaning of the source language into the target
language. That process is done by changing the form of the first language to the form of the
second language. Thus, it is meaning which is being transferred and must be held constant. But
what type of meaning a translator should transfer!

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Generally, linguists distinguish different types of meaning. When it relates language to events,
entities, etc., it is called referential / denotative meaning. When it relates language to the mental
state of the speaker, it is called attitudinal / connotative / expressive meaning. If the extra-
linguistic situation affects the interpretation of text, it is called contextual / functional /
interpersonal / situational meaning (Crystal 1997: 237).

Larson (1984: 36) adds organizational meaning to the list to refer to the grammatical structure of
a text such as deictics, repetition, groupings, and information organization that form a coherent
text. Any level in language has its own significance because it plays a role in the total meaning,
e.g. phonetic, lexical, grammatical, semantic and pragmatic meanings. In semantics the word
"mean" can be applied to words and sentences in the sense of ‘equivalent to’ (Hurford and
Heasley 1983: 3). In pragmatics it can be applied to speakers in the sense of "intend". Pragmatic
meaning is the utterance meaning or the speaker meaning as opposed to the sentence meaning.
Grice (1975) distinguishes those two types of meaning as non-natural meaning and natural
meaning (Levinson 1983: 16).

The attention given to pragmatic facts and principles in the course of translation can enhance the
understanding of the text and improve the quality of translation. A good translation is not simply
concerned with transferring the propositional content of the source language text (SLT), but also
with its other pragmatic features which seem to be neglected in the activities of translation such
as speech acts, presuppositions, implicatures, politeness and deictic expressions in literary
translation.

5.2 Techniques of Translation

Activity 5.1: Brainstorming

1. What do you think will happen if we always translate phrases, sentences etc. word for
word?
2. What do you think is the Amharic parallel for the expression “rain cats and dogs”

There are two broad techniques of translation involved in the translation of texts. These are direct
translation (la traduction directe) and indirect translation (la traduction indirect). Direct
translation covers three techniques: Literal translation (la traduction littérale), borrowing
(emprunt ) and loan translation (calque). Whereas indirect translation covers four other
techniques: Transposition, modulation, equivalence and adaptation.

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5.2.1 Literal translation (traduction littérale)

Literal translation simply means word for word translation. It is the replacement of source
language syntactic structure by target language structure (normally at clause level) which is
isomorphic (or near isomorphic - corresponding or similar in form and relations) in terms of
number and type of lexical item and synonymous in terms of content.

For example, the French ca va sans dire appearing in English as it/that goes without saying.

If you take English and Amharic,

‘I am watching film’ can be translated as ‘ፊልም እያየሁ ነው፡፡’

Literal translation, also known as direct translation, is the rendering of text from one language to
another "word-for-word" (Latin: "verbum pro verbo") rather than conveying the sense of the
original. Literal translations thus commonly mistranslate idioms. Look at the following example:

‘a skeleton in the closet’ is an idiomatic expression. If a translator uses a literal translation and
translates word-for-word, he may produce the meaning ‘ቁም ሳጥን ውስጥ የተቀመጠ አጽም.’

But as an idiomatic expression the meaning is ‘a closely kept secret that is a source of shame or
embarrassment.

We hope you know that these days the English expression ‘Eleventh hour’ is literally translated
and used in Amharic but with a meaning different from what it actually means:

Eleventh hour = አስራ አንደኛው ሰዓት

Correct meaning = the last moment before something happens = መጨረሻ ላይ

Activity 5.2
Translate the following expressions into Amharic.

1. I smell a rat
2. Side effect

Also, in the context of translating an analytic language to a synthetic language, it renders even
the grammar unintelligible.

A literal English translation of the German word "Kindergarten" would be "children garden," but
in English the expression refers to the school year between pre-school and first grade.....

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Literal translation of the Italian sentence, "So che questa non va bene" ("I know that this is not
good"), produces "Know (I) that this not go (it) well," which has English words and Italian
grammar.)

5.2.2. Borrowing (emprunt)

It is the carry-over of lexical items from the source language to the target language, normally
without formal or semantic modification; for example, the English weekend in French or the
French raison d'être in English. Borrowing is a technique that is used all over the world. You
resort to it when an equivalent word is nonexistent in that language. For instance, you are not
likely to have the following foreign food items in Amharic- cutlet, lasagna etc. So, what you do
is to use the same words in Amharic. You may put them in inverted comas or you write them in
italics. Amharic language borrowed many words from English, Italian etc. You can hardly
identify some of these words as borrowed ones.

For instance; television, technology, information etc.

You observe that these words look like original Amharic words. That is because in borrowing,
you take note of the phonology and orthography of the target language.

5.2.3 Loan Translation (calque)

It is the linear substitution of elements of one language by elements of the other (normally noun
phrases).

For example, the English hot dog appearing in Spanish as perro caliente. Loan translation
(calque) may be defined in two ways:

a) A particular type of borrowing or

b) A literal translation of an expression or a structure that is foreign to the target
language.

Both definitions have an element of borrowing, but the difference between borrowing proper and
loan translation is loan translation involves the use of the target language. You borrow the idea,
word, expression or structure. You maintain the language into which you are translating.

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Examples:

Red Cross = ቀይ መስቀል

Skyscraper = ሰማይ ጠቀስ

5.2.4 Transposition

The rendering of a source language element by target language elements which are semantically,
but not formally equivalent (because of, for example, word-class changes). Transposition
simply means replacing a part of speech (or grammatical category) with another part of speech
(or grammatical category). Examples of parts of speech are nouns, adjectives, verbs, prepositions
and adverbs.

You use transposition and other indirect techniques of translation to avoid meaningless
sentences.

Examples: water (noun) water (Verb) ማጠጣት in Amharic

Sun (noun) Sun (Verb), ማሞቅ in Amharic

Any time translation involves a change of grammatical category or part of speech, you simply
recognize that transposition is at work.

5.2.5 Modulation

Shifting the point of view (for example, of the speaker); for example, the French sign complet
and the English no vacancies.

Examples: Single = ያላገባ

Closed = ስራ የለም

5.2.6 Equivalence

The replacement of a stretch of source language (particularly idioms, clichés, proverbs and the
like) by its functional equivalent (greeting etc); for example, English hi by Italian ciao, English
hello (on telephone) by Italian pronto (literally ‘ready’) etc.

The two concepts – equivalence and modulation – are similar in the sense that they both express
a change of point of view. However, you use equivalence when you are translating idiomatic

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expressions, clichés, proverbs and other stock expressions. The examples you see under this
section are either idioms, proverbs, clichés or other types of stock expressions.

5.2.6.1 Translating Idioms

An idiom is a phrase whose meaning cannot be determined by the literal definition of the phrase
itself, but refers instead to a figurative meaning that is known only through common use. In
linguistics, idioms are widely assumed to be figures of speech that contradict the principle of
compositionality; however, this has shown to be a subject of debate. John Saeed defines an idiom
as words collocated together happen to become fossilized, becoming fixed over time. This
collocation -- words commonly used in a group -- changes the definition of each of the words
that exist. As an expression, the word group becomes a team, so to speak. That is, the collocated
words develop a specialized meaning as a whole and an idiom is born. An idiom is a word or
phrase that means something different from the words imply if interpreted literally. When a
person uses an idiom, the listener might take the actual meaning wrong if he or she has not heard
this figure of speech before. Idioms don't usually cross language boundaries. In some cases,
when an idiom is translated into another language, the meaning of the idiom is changed or does
not make any sense as it once did in another language. Idioms are probably the hardest thing for
a person to learn in the process of learning a new language. This is because most people grow up
using idioms as if their true meanings actually make sense.

Look at the following example idiomatic expressions in English and their Amharic translations:
Idiom Meaning Amharic parallel

1. From the horse’s mouth from a well-informed and ከትክክለኛ ምንጭ

reliable source
2. A bed of roses an easy, comfortable situation or አልጋ ባልጋ
existence
3 Hit the nail on the head to be absolutely correct or ትክክለኛ ምላሽ መስጠት
accurate
4 Make ends meet to be able to afford to pay for the ኑሮን ማሸነፍ
expenses of daily living
5 Get up on the wrong side of to be in an irritable or angry ጥሩ ባልሆነ ስሜት ቀንን
the bed mood right from the start of the መጀመር
day
6 Skeleton in the closet a closely kept secret that is a ጥብቅ ሚስጥር
source of shame or

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embarrassment

5.2.6.2 Translating Proverbs

Proverb is a short well-known saying that expresses an obvious truth and often offers advice.

Idiom Meaning Amharic parallel

1. Familiarity breeds Knowing somebody very well አወቅሁሽ ናቅሁሽ

contempt may lead to a lack of respect for
them
2. True friends are tested in It's when you have problems that ለክፉ ደራሽ ወዳጅ ነው
adversity. you realize who your real friends ጭራሽ
are.
3 A problem shared is a It will be easier to deal with a በሽታውን የደበቀ
problem halved problem if you discuss it with መድሀኒት የለውም
someone
4 Haste makes waste If something is done too ሲሮጡ የታጠቁት ሲሮጡ
quickly, it may be done carelessly ይፈታል
and need to be redone.
5 Beauty is in the eye of the Different people have different ቁንጅና እንደተመልካቹ
beholder tastes. ነው

6 Beauty is only skin deep A person's character is more ውበት ውስጣዊ ነው

important than their appearance.
7 It is no use crying over a Don't express regret for የፈሰሰ ውሃ አይታፈስም
spilt milk something that has happened and
cannot be remedied.
8 Man proposes, God Our destiny depends on God's ሰው ያስባል፤ እግዜር
disposes. will. ይፈጽማል
9 The end justifies the Wrong or unfair methods may be የትም ፍጪው ዱቄቱን
means. used if the result of the action is አምጪው
good.
10 a bird in the hand is worth It's better to keep what you have የቆጡን አወርድ ብላ
two in the bush than to risk losing it by searching የብብቷን ጣለች፡፡
for something better.

5.2.7 Adaptation

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You use adaptation in instances where you do not have an equivalent expression or word to
express the message. It involves compensation for cultural differences between the two
languages. In the absence of an equivalent word in the target language, the translator may use
adaptation.

For instance; you may find it difficult to translate Nigerian dishes into French. You may take the
following examples: gari, amala, tuwo, akpo

To translate these words you may have recourse to (borrowing). But you will find it difficult to
convey the message. You can therefore turn to adaptation by using French meals that are
popular.

You cannot use this technique indiscriminately. It is advisable to use it only when it is absolutely
necessary.

Example: Bless you = ይማርህ

5.3. Some Example Translations with Explanations

5.3.1 Sentence Level Translations

Look at the following sentences and their Amharic translations:

1. Good Morning:
a. If you translate this expression literally (word for word) into Amharic, you will find a
meaning (like መልካም ጥዋት) which is not acceptable in the culture of Amharic speakers.
In Amharic language when people exchange greetings in the morning they say
‘እንደምን አደርህ ?’
b. In English this same expression is used whether a speaker addresses a single
individual or many people and it is also the same for a youngster or an elderly etc.
But, when it is translated into Amharic, the translator has to consider the situation in
which the expression is used. Hence, according to the context in which it is used
(gender, number etc.), ‘Good Morning’ can be translated as:

- እንደምን አደርህ ወይም ደህና አደርህ

- እንደምን አደርሽ ወይም ደህና አደርሽ
- እንደምን አደራችሁ ወይም ደህና አደራችሁ

2. Don’t forget to submit the assignment next week.

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When you translate this sentence, you should not try to maintain the same word order in
Amharic as it is in this English version. If you do this, it will be just like translating the
English- ‘Fana killed the rat’ as “ፋና ገደለች አይጧን፡፡”. You know that this Amharic
sentence is unacceptable since this syntactic structure is not possible in Amharic. But,
what is possible in Amharic is “ፋና አይጧን ገደለች ፡፡”.

So, if you translate the given sentence following the English structure, you may translate
it as “ አትርሱ ማስረከባችሁን አሳይመንታችሁን በቀጣዩ ሳምንት፡፡“

But the translator has to bring the subject of the sentence to the initial position and then
go to the object and finally to the verb. Therefore, the correct translation is

“አሳይመንታችሁን በቀጣዩ ሳምንት ማስረከባችሁን አትርሱ፡፡”

3. “Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who
prepare for it today.” Malcolm X

You can see that this is a quotation by Malcolm X. As quotation is a piece of speech or
writing quoted in a book or magazine somewhere, it should be translated in a way it
remains short and maintains the touch of a quotation.

“ትምህርት ወደመጪው ዘመን የምንሸጋገርበት የይለፍ ካርዳችን ነው፤ መጪው ጊዜ ዛሬ እየተዘጋጁ ላሉት
ነውና፡፡“

4. A burnt child dreads the fire

This proverb has the meaning: A bad experience will make people stay away from certain
things. If a translator translates this proverb into Amharic, he/she should not look for the
literal meanings of individual words in the proverb.

If he/she applies a direct word for word translation, he/she may translate it as “በእሳት
የተቃጠለ ህጻን እሳትን ይፈራል፡፡” which is somewhat awkward in meaning. But the translator
has to think of an Amharic proverb which has similar meaning and translate it as “እባብ
ያየ በልጥ በረየ::”

5. The Ugandan government and opposition representatives are in Freetown, the capital of
Liberia, for peace talks.
This is an example news headline. In this headline many of the words can be translated
directly. But how do you translate the words ‘opposition’, the preposition ‘in’ and the
phrase ‘peace talks’?

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If you translate the phrase word for word, you may translate the headline as:

የዩጋንዳ መንግስትና የተቃውሞ ተወካዮች ለሰላም ንግግር በላይቤሪ ዋና ከተማ ፍሪታውን ውስጥ ናቸው፡፡

In this translation the phrase “የተቃውሞ ተወካዮች” doesn’t seem sensible and the other
phrase “ለሰላም ንግግር” is not also that descriptive in the context where different parties
come together to resolve their differences. If you also take the other phrase “ፍሪታውን ውስጥ
ናቸው”, it is not suitable in transferring the intended meaning of the writer. Hence,
considering all these things a better translation (Remember that we have studied in the
previous units of this module that there is no perfect translation!) is:

የዩጋንዳ መንግስትና የተቃዋሚ ፓርቲ ተወካዮች ለሰላም ውይይት በላይቤሪያ ዋና ከተማ ፍሪታውን ተቀመጡ፡፡
The translator can also use “ተገናኙ’ instead of the word “ተቀመጡ”
Activity 5.3
A) Translate the following sentences into Amharic.
1. Happy Easter.
………………………………………………………………………………..
2. The agreement has been signed between the two countries.
…………………………………………………………………………………….
3. Translations is most challenging activity to work on.
………………………………………………………………………………………
4. The construction of the hospital is underway.
…………………………………………………………………………………………
5. One today is worth two tomorrow.
…………………………………………………………………………………………
6.The uniquely magnificent natural attraction and home of such Ethiopian endemic
animals as Walia Ibex, Gelada Baboon, the Red Fox and different plant and bird species-
the Simien Mountains National Park- is one of the eight UNESCO’s proclaimed World
Heritage Sites of Ethiopia.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………

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Activity 5.4
B) Translate the following sentences into English.
7. ለመብላት አትኑር፤ ለመኖር ብላ እንጂ፡፡
…………………………………………………………………………………………
8. ዝምታ ወርቅ ነው፡፡
………………………………………………………………………………………..
9. ካንድ ብርቱ ሁለት መድሓኒቱ፡፡
………………………………………………………………………………………..
10. ከብዙ ውጣ ውረድ በኋላ ለውጤት በቃን፡፡
…………………………………………………………………………………………
11. መልካሙን ሁሉ እመኝልሃለሁ፡፡
……………………………………………………………………………………

5.3.2. Paragraph Level Translations

Let’s take another opening of a news:

1. Counting has been started following yesterday’s vote for presidential election in Malawi.
Nine parties are running for power. Preliminary evidences indicated that the incumbent
president will come to power for the second time.

How can you translate the sentence written in bold?

- If the translator takes the literal meanings of words in the sentence as they are, he/she
may translate it as “ዘጠኝ ፓርቲዎች ለስልጣን ይሮጣሉ፡፡” which doesn’t make sense.
- Moreover, it may tell the meaning that the competing parties are in fierce battle only
to take the power which is not journalistically appropriate to describe such political
competitions and is likely to be provocative.

Therefore, the translator has to translate the word “running” as a healthy political
competition for next presidency and translate it as “ዘጠኝ የፖለቲካ ፓርቲዎች እየተፎካከሩ
ነው፡፡”

Hence, the news can be translated as:

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በማላዊ ትናንት ለፕሬዚዳንታዊ ምርጫ ድምፅ መሰጠቱን ተከትሎ የድምፅ ቆጠራ ተጀመረ፡፡ ዘጠኝ የፖለቲካ
ፓርቲዎች እየተፎካከሩ ነው:: ከድምጽ ቆጠራው በተያያዘ የሚወጡት መረጃወች አሁን በስልጣን ላይ ያሉት
ፕሬዚዳንት ምርጫውን ለሁለተኛ ጊዜ እንደሚያሸንፉ እያመለከቱ ነው፡፡

2. It is known that Ethiopia has been organized into different regional administrations on the
basis of nations and nationalities of its people since 1993. The Amhara National Region is
one of these newly established regions.

Amharic version:

አገራችን ኢትዮጵያ ከ 1985 ዓ.ም ጀምሮ ብሔር ብሔረሰቦችን መሠረት ባደረጉ የተለያዩ የክልል አስተዳድሮች
መዋቀሯ ይታወቃል፡፡ ከነዚህ በአዲስ መልክ ከተደራጁት ክልሎች መካከልም የአማራ ብሔራዊ ክልል አንዱ ነው፡፡

3. Divided into ten administrative zones, this main land of the Amhara people also
incorporates nations, nationalities and peoples of Awi, Oromo, Hemra and Argoba. On the
basis of the 1995 National Census Report, a projection made by Finance and Economic
Development Bureau for the year 2009 has indicated that the region has a population of
20, 650,419. Of this, it is estimated that 87.4 percent live in rural areas while 12.6 live in
cities.

Amharic version:

በአስር አስተዳደር ዞኖች የተከፋፈለው የአማራ ክልል ከአማራ ብሔር በተጨማሪ የአዊ፣ የኦሮሞ፣ የኸምራ፣
የአርጎባ ብሔር ብሔረሰቦችንና ሌሎች የተለያዩ ህዝቦችን አቅፎ ይገኛል፡፡ የገንዘብና ኢኮኖሚ ልማት ቢሮ
የ 1987 ዓ.ም የህዝብና ቤት ቆጠራ ላይ ተንተርሶ ለ 2001 ዓ.ም በሰጠው ትንበያ መሰረት የክልሉ አጠቃላይ
የህዝ be ብዛት 20,650,419 ሲሆን ከዚህ ውስጥ 87.4 በመቶ የሚሆነው በገጠር 12.6 በመቶው ደግሞ በከተማ
እንደሚኖር ይገመታል፡፡

4. An ancient manuscript called ‘Teamire Maryam’ relates the naming of the town to one
miraculous event. According to the manuscript, in 1454 there sparked a fierce debate
between Christian clergies and few debaters called ‘Estifanosawyan’. On one occasion, the
debate was held in an assembly in the presence of the king and the clergy leaders. Finally,
since Estifanosawyan were judged to change their mind and refused, they faced a strong
punishment. On the 38th day after this happened (on March 18, 1454) a bright light
descended from the sky and stayed for long period (probably for days). The descending of
this light which was also mentioned in the king’s chronicle was eventually taken as a divine
proof for the truthfulness of the clergymen and the falsity of Estifanosawyan’s argument.
And hence, the king called the place Debre Birhan (‘Yebirhan Amba’-meaning the Hill of
Light).

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Amharic version:

"ተአምረ ማርያም" የተሰኘ የጥንት ድርሳን የከተማዋን ስያሜ ከአንድ ተአምራዊ ሁነት ጋር አያይዞ
ይገልፀዋል፡፡ በ 1446 ዓ.ም በክርስትና ሃይማኖት ካህናትና በጥቂት "እስጢፋኖሳውያን" በሚል መጠሪያ
የሚታወቁ ተከራካሪዎች መካከል ክርክር ይነሳል፡፡ ንጉሱና የካህናቱ አለቆች በተገኙበት አንድ እለት በጉባኤ
ክርክሩ ተካሄደ፡፡ በመጨረሻም "እስጢፋኖሳውያን" እንዲያስተካክሉ ተጠይቀው አሻፈረን በማለታቸው ከፍተኛ
ቅጣት ይደርስባቸዋል፡፡ ይህ በሆነ በ 38 ኛው ቀን መጋቢት 10/1446 ዓ.ም ረዘም ላለ ጊዜ / ምናልባትም ለቀናት/
የቆየ ቦግ ያለ ብርሃን ከሰማይ ይወርዳል፡፡ የብርሃኑ መውረድ ለእስጢፋኖሳውያን ስህተተኛነት ለካህናቱ ደግሞ
ትክክለኛነት ምስክር ነው በሚል ተተርጉሟል፡፡ ስለዚህ ብርሃን መውረድ የንጉሱ ዜና መዋእልም ያትታል፡፡ በዚህ
ሳቢያ ንጉሱ የስፍራውን ስም ደብረብርሃን /የብርሃን አምባ/ በማለት ሰይመውታል፡፡

5. Senegal's presidential election, which saw the incumbent concede defeat peacefully, has
been hailed as a "great victory for democracy" in Africa.

President Abdoulaye Wade has accepted that he was defeated by Macky Sall in Sunday's
run-off.

The African Union said Mr Wade's concession showed "maturity" in the country's
democracy while the European Union called Senegal a "great example".

Mr Sall addressed thousands of cheering supporters in the capital, Dakar.

He promised to be a president for all Senegalese people.

The president-elect, 50, said the poll marks a "new era" for the country.

Amharic version:

በሴኔጋል የተካሄደውና በስልጣን ላይ የነበሩት ፕሬዚዳንት ሽንፈታቸውን በፀጋ የተቀበሉበት ምርጫ

ለአፍሪካ ታላቅ የዴሞክራሲ ድል ተብሎ ተወደሰ፡፡

ፕሬዚዳንት አብዱላየ ዋዴ በአገሪቱ እሁድ እለት በተካሄደው በዚህ ምርጫ በተፎካካሪያቸው በማኪ ሳል
መሸነፋቸውን በፃጋ ተቀብለዋል፡፡

የአፍሪካ ህብረት “ የሚስተር ዋዴ ሽንፈታቸውን አምነው መቀበል የአገሪቱን ዴሞክራሲ ማደግ የሚያሳ ነው
፡፡” ያለ ሲሆን የአውሮፓ ህብረት በበኩሉ ሴኔጋልን ታላቅ “ምሳሌ ሲል” አሞካሽቶአታል፡፡

ሚስተር ሳል በዋና ከተማዋ ዳካር ደስታቸውን በመግለጽ ላይ ለነበሩት በሺዎች ለሚቆጠሩ ደጋፊዎቻቸው
ንግግር ያደረጉ ሲሆን በንግግራቸውም ሁሉንም የሴኔጋል ህዝቦች በእኩል ለመምራት ቃል ገብተዋል፡፡

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የ 50 ዓመት እድሜ ያላቸው አዲሱ ተመራጭ ፕሬዚዳንት ምርጫው ለአገሪቱ የአዲስ ዘመን መክፈቻ ነው
ብለዋለ፡፡

6. The Loin, the Fox and the Ass

The Loin, the Fox and the Ass entered into an agreement to assist each other in the chase. Having
secured a large booty, the lion on their return from the forest asked the ass to allot his due portion
to each of the three partners in the treaty. The ass carefully divided the lion’s booty into three
equal shares and modestly requested the two others to make the first choice. The lion, bursting
out into a great rage, devoured the ass. Then he requested the fox to do him the favour to make a
division. The fox accumulated all that they had killed into one large heap and left to himself the
smallest possible morsel. The lion said, “Who has taught you, my excellent fellow, the art of
division? You are perfect to a fraction.” He replied, “I learned it from the ass, by witnessing his
fate.” Then the lion said, “Wise is the man who learns from the misfortunes of others.”

Amharic version:

አንበሳ፤ ቀበሮና አህያ

በአንድ ወቅት አንበሳ፣ ቀበሮና አህያ በመረዳዳት ሊያድኑ ይስማማሉ፡፡ በመጀመሪያው የአደን ቀን ብዙ ግዳይ ይዘው
እንደተመለሱ አያ አንበሶ የራሱን ግዳይ ለሶስቱ ሸሪኮች ከፍሎ እንዲያድል አህያን ይጠይቀዋል፡፡ አህያውም
የአንበሳውን ግዳይ በጥንቃቄ እኩል ከሶስት ከመደበ በኋላ ሁለቱ ሸሪኮች የሚመርጡትን እንዲወስዱ በትህትና
ጠየቀ፡፡ በዚህን ጊዜ አያ አንበሶ በቁጣ ገንፍሎ አህያውን ዘነጣጥሎ በላው፡፡ ከዚያም ግዳዮችን በመከፋፈል
እንዲረዳው ቀበሮን ይጠይቃል፡፡ ቀበሮ ሆየ ሶስቱም ያመጧቸውን ግዳዮች ለራሱ ለስም ያህል ትንሽ ጉርሻ በማስቀረት
ያንበሳውን ድርሻ በአንድ ላይ ከከመረ በኋላ፣ “ይኸው ጌታየ፣ ይህ የእርሶ ነው፡፡” አለ፣ ወደተከመረው ስጋ
እያመለከተ፡፡ አያ አንበሶ፣ “ጎሽ የኔ ጎበዝ፣ ማነው የማካፈል ጥበብ ያስተማረህ? ትንሽ ነቁጥ ያህል እንኳን
የማታዛባ ፍጹም ነህ::” አለው፡፡ ቀበሮ እንዲህ ሲል መለሰለት “ከአህያ ነው የተማርኩት ጌታየ፤ እጣ ፋንታውን
በማየት፡፡” አንበሳውም፣ “ከሌሎች ስህተት የሚማር ሁሉ ጠቢብ ነው::” አለው ይባላል፡፡ (Taken from Yaregal
Alene, 2013)

Activity 5.5

A) Translate the following paragraphs into Amharic

1. “I doubt whether any one believes me if I write more about the Rock-hewn churches of
Lalibela. Even readers will say what I have said so far is not true. But I swear in the name of
the Almighty God that what I have written is all true. Even it is possible to say more than this.
However, I hope I will not be called a liar.”
Francisco Alvarez
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Amharic equivalent:
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2. The Oxen and the Butchers

The oxen once upon a time sought to destroy the butchers who practiced a trade destructive to
their race. They assembled on a certain day to carry out their mission, and sharpened their horns
for the contest. But one of them who exceedingly old (for many a field had he plowed) thus
spoke: “these butchers, it is true, slaughter us, but they do so with skillful hands, and with no
unnecessary pain. If we get rid of them, we shall fall into the hands of unskillful operators, and
thus suffer a double death: for you may be assured, that though all the butchers should perish, yet
will men ever want beef.” (Taken from Yaregal Alene, 2013)

Amharic equivalent:
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1. The Blue Nile Falls

The spectacular Blue Nile Falls locally known ‘Tis Isat’ (Smoke of Fire’) are found nearby Tis
Abay town which is 30 kilometers east of Bahir Dar. Dropping over a sheer chasm of 400 meters
wide and 40-50 meters deep, the Blue Nile Falls are one of the most dramatic and stunning
spectacles. The cascading water that plunges down the chasm produces a continuous spray of
water droplets and mist that make the area look as if it were covered with smoke. The thundering
cascade, the subsequent rain bows that shift and shimmer across the gorge and the green scenery
are sources of exceptional pleasure.

Amharic equivalent:
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2. Washera Maryam

Surrounded by natural springs in all four sides, Washera Mariam is found 8 kilometers after a
turnoff at Ginb Geregera village which is located on Bahir Dar- Motta road. The monastery is
said to be founded in 1434. Washera Maryam Monastery is the leading ‘Kine’ (poetry) school in
Ethiopia where a number of clerical professionals learn and teach one of whom was Emahoy
Gelanesh. Still now ‘kine’ (poetry), Ge’ez and ‘Kidasie’ (Hymn) are taught in the monastery. In
the monastery there are amazing paintings one of which is a picture that was said to be speaking
and called ‘Menkir Haila’. Several parchment manuscripts, wooden panel paintings, silver and
brass crosses are some of the movable heritages housed in the monastery.

Amharic equivalent:
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5. Ethiopian forces and Somali pro-government troops have captured a major base from al-
Shabab militants, residents say.

The central town of El Bur was one of the main bases still controlled by the al-Qaeda-linked
group, analysts say.

But residents say al-Shabab fighters had withdrawn before the pro-government forces arrived.

Al-Shabab still controls many southern areas but is also under pressure from Kenyan and
African Union forces.

Kenyan troops invaded from the south last year, while the AU force has pushed al-Shabab out
of the capital, Mogadishu.

Amharic equivalent:

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B) Translate the following paragraphs into English.

6. የአውራ አምባ ማህበረሰብ

በአማራ ክልል ደቡብ ጎንደር ዞን ፎገራ ወረዳ ውስጥ ከባህር ዳር ወልዲያ መንገድ 68 ኪ.ሜትር ርቀት ላይ ወደ
ቀኝ በመታጠፍ መንደሯን የሚጠቁመውን ታፔላ አቅጣጫ ተከትሎ በመጓዝ 2 ኪ.ሜትር ላይ የሚገኝ ማህበረሰብ ነው፡፡
ማህበረሰቡ እንደ አንድ ጎሣ ከጥንት ጀምሮ በሃይማኖት ወይም በዝምድና እና በሌሎች ጉዳዮች ምክንያት በአንድ
በመተሳሠር የተፈጠረ ሳይሆን ለአንድ የጋራ ሀሳብ ተገዥነት ከተለያዩ ቦታዎች በተሰባሰቡ ግለሰቦች የተመሠረተ
ነው፡፡ ማህበረሰቡ በ 1964 ዓ.ም በእጣት በሚቆጠሩ ግለሰቦች ቢመሠረትም አሁን የአባላቱ ቁጥር ከ 388
በላይ ደርሷል፡፡ ማህበረሰቡ ለማመን የሚያዳግቱ አይነት ድንቅና ሙሣጭ የህይወት ፍልስፍና መክረውና ዘክረው
እውን ያደረጉት ውብና ማራኪ ማህበራዊ ህይወት ማንንም የሚያስደምምና የሚያስደንቅ ነው፡፡

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English equivalent:
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7. ደቅ ደሴት

ጣና ሀይቅ ካሉት ደሴቶች ትልቁ ደቅ ደሴት ነው፡፡ ከባሕር ዳር ከተማ ሰሜናዊ አቅጣጫ 37 ኪ.ሜ ርቀት ላይ
የሚገኝ ሲሆን በጀልባ ቢያንስ 3 ሰዓት ያስኬዳል፡፡ ይህ ደሴት ቀደም ሲል “የሰባት ደብር አገር” በመባል
ይታወቅ ነበር፡፡ በኋላ ግን ምህላ ኪዳነምህረት ተጨምራ ደብሮቹ ስምንት ደርሰዋል፡፡ እነሱም ፡- ከደሴቱ
በቅርብ ርቀት የሚገኘው ዳጋ እስጢፋኖት ገዳምን ጨምሮ፣ ናርጋ ስላሴ፣ ቅድስት አርሴማ፣ ኮታ ማርያም፣ ዘእብድ
እየሱስ፣ ጆጋ ዮሐንስ፣ ጋድና ጊዮርጊስና ምህላ ኪዳነምህረት ናቸው፡፡ “ደቅ” የሚለው ቃል በግዕዝ “ልጅ”
ወይንም “ትንሽ” ማለት ነው፡፡ ስያሜውን ያገኘውም ምናልባት ከሌሎች የሀይቁ ደሴቶች ከባህር ወለል በላይ
ያለው ከፍታ ከሁሉም እጅግ አነስተኛ በመሆኑ ሣይሆን እንደማይቀየር ይገመታል፡፡

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8. የሌሊት ወፍና ሸለምጥማጥ

በአንድ ወቅት መሬት ላይ ወድቆ በሸለምጥማት የተያዘ አንድ የሌሊት ወፍ ሸለምጥማጡን እንዲምረው ተማፀነ፡፡
ሸለምጥማጡ ግን የአእዋፍ ዘር የሆነ ሁሉ የሱ ጠላት ስለሆነ እንደማይምረው ነገረው፡፡ በዚህኑ ጊዜ የሌሊት ወፉ
ከድንጋጤው ትንሽ እንደመረጋጋት እያለ እሱ የአይጥ ዘር እንጂ ወፍ አለመሆኑን፣ የወደቀውም ሲበር ሳይሆን ሲዘል
መሆኑን በማስረጃ አረጋግጦ ነገረው፤ ሸለምጥማጡም የሌሊት ወፍ የነገረውን በማመን ለቀቀው፡፡ በሌላ ጊዜ ይኸው
የሌሊት ወፍ በሌላ ሸለምጥማጥ ይያዛል፤ ሸለምጥማጡ እንዳይበላውም ይለማመጠዋል፡፡ ሸለምጥማጡ ግን ለአይጥ የተለየ

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ጥላቻ ስላለው እንደማይምረው ይነግረዋል፡፡ በዚህ ጊዜ የሌሊት ወፉ ከድንጋጤው ትንሽ እንደመረጋጋት እያለ እሱ
አይጥ ሳይሆን የሌሊት ወፉ መሆኑን በማስረጃ አስደግፎ ይነግረዋል፡፡ የሌሊት ወፉ ለሁለተኛ ጊዜ በዚህ መንገድ
አመለጠ፡፡(Taken from Yaregal Alene, 2013)

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9. ሰሜን ሸዋ

በኢትዮጵያ ታሪክ ውስጥ የቆየ ታሪክ ካላቸው አካባቢዎች አንዱ የሰሜን ሸዋ ዞን ነው፡፡ 15¸900.97 ካሬ ኪ/ሜ
ስፋት ያለው የሰሜን ሸዋ ዞን በ 2 የከተማ አስተዳደሮችና በ 22 ወረዳዎች ተከፋፍሎ 2,299,874 ህዝብ የሚኖርበት
ሲሆን ውርጭ፣ ቆላ፣ ደጋና ወይና ደጋ የአየር ንብረቶችንም አካቶ ይዟል፡፡ አዋሳኞቹም በምዕራብ፣ በደቡብ
ምእራብ፣ በደቡብና ደቡብ ምስራቅ ኦሮሚያ ክልል፣ በሰሜን ምስራቅ አፋር፣ በሰሜን ደ/ወሎና ኦሮሚያ ዞኖች ናቸው፡፡
ዞኑ ከቅድመ ታሪክ ጀምሮ እስከ ታሪክ ዘመን ያሉ አሻራዎች የሚገኙበት ስለመሆኑ የአርኪዮሎጂ ግኝቶች ይጠቁማሉ፡፡
ከ 1270 እስከ 1527 እ.ኤ.አ ድረስ "የሰለሞን ስርወ መንግስት" የመራሄ መንግስቱ ዋና ማዕከል እንደነበረም
የተለያዩ የታሪክ ምንጮች ይገልፃሉ፡፡

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5. 4 Summary

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Translators and interpreters face a number of challenges while they try to render a meaning
transfer from one language to another. One of these being cross-cultural differences which are
believed to cause cross-cultural conflicts in translation. The differences in cross-culture may also
lead to soft and hard conflicts. The other challenge, still related to cross-cultural difference,
translators and interpreters face is ‘lost in translation’. While translating and interpreting
language items, translators and interpreters may be obliged to lose the message being transferred
from the SL to TL, for there may exist a problem of untranslatability. Moreover, commitment to
stylistic excellence, clarity of expression, and ad verbum exactness is the other big challenge to
translators and interpreters. Thus, since cultural and linguistic compatibility may not exist
between the source language (SL) and target language (TL), acting or working as cultural
mediator to achieve an approximate meaning transfer from the source to the target languages is
highly recommended.

 Main References

Arnold, D.J., Balkan, L. et al. (1994). Translation: An Introductory Guide, London: Blackwells-
NCC,
Bassnett, S. (2002).Translation Studies (3rd edition). Routledge Tailor & Francis: London and
New York
Bell, Roger T. (1991). Translation and Translating: Theory and Practice. London:
Longman.
Newmark, P. (1988). A Textbook of Translation. Prentice H: New York London Toronto Sydney
Tokyo
Paul, G. (2009) (Ed.).Translation in Practice. Dalkey Archive Press: Champaign and London
Weissbort, D and Eysteinsson, A. (2006). (edited) Translation, Theory and Practice: a Historical
Reader. Oxford University Press

Yaregal Alene. (2013). Amazing Fables of Aesop in English and Amharic: With Practical
Exercise. Far East Trading P.L.C.

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