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Introduction To Translation

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14 views

Introduction To Translation

Uploaded by

Gailan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Introduction to Translation

Communicative vs. Semantic Theory


Communicative Vs. Semantic
Theory
 Communicative Translation:
It attempts to produce on its readers an effect as
close as possible to that obtained on the readers of
the original.

 Semantic Theory:
It attempts to render, as closely as the semantic and
syntactic structures of the second language allow, t
he exact contextual meaning of the original.
Differences
 Communicative translation addresses itself solely
to the second reader, who does
notanticipate difficulties or obscurities, and woul
d expect a generous transfer of foreign elements
into his own culture as well as his language
where necessary. But even here the translator still
has to respect and work on the form of the source
language text as the only material basis for his
work.
 Semantic translation remains within the original
culture and assists the reader only in its
connotations if they constitute the essential
human message of the text.

 Basic Difference: where there is a conflict, the


communicative must emphasize the force rather
than the content of the message.
 Communicative translation is likely to be smoother, simpler,
clearer, more direct, more conventional, conforming to a
particular register of language, tending to under-
translate, i.e. to use more generic, hold all terms in difficult
passages.

 Semantic translation tends to be more complex, more


awkward, more detailed, more concentrated, and pursues
the thought-process rather than the intention of the
transmitter. It tends to over-translate, to be more specific
than the original.
Similarities
 Both semantic and communicative translation comply
with the usually accepted
syntactic equivalents for the two languages in questio
n

 Both convey a general rather the a culturally bound


message.

 The two methods are cooperative and complementary


in coping with specific translation problems.
Relation with Text Typology
 Scholars suggest that translator should decide the
translation method depending on text type, which
mean that translation is a text-oriented activity.
They have to consider the characteristics of the
text and choose the appropriate method.
Types of Texts
 There are three types of texts:

Expressive Text, Informative Text, Vocative Text.

 Expressive Texts: Literature (poem, novel,


drama), authoritative speech (political statements,
rules, laws, academic works), autobiography,
prose and personal letters.
 Informative Text: Textbooks, technical reports,
newspapers, journals and theses.

 Vocative Text: treats readers as center. Its purpose


is to call readers to think and feel as the writer’s
aim. Propagandas and advertisements.
 Semantic Translation can handle expressive texts.

 Communicative Translation can handle


informative and vocative texts.
Introduction to Translation
Hermeneutics Theory
Hermeneutics Theory
 Translation theory was once strictly confined
within the scope of linguistics. Translation was
merely referred to as a conversion of languages,
from the source language into the target language.

 Nevertheless, when research is carried further and


deeper, meaning is found not only associated with
the language or the text but also with the author
and the reader.
What is Hermeneutics?
 Hermeneutics can be defined as the science and
methodology of interpreting texts.

 Traditional hermeneutics is the study of the interpretation of


written texts, especially texts in the areas of literature,
religion and law.

 Modern hermeneutics encompasses everything in the


interpretative process including verbal and nonverbal forms
of communication as well as prior aspects that affect
communication, such as presuppositions, pre-understandings
Hermeneutics in Translation
 The three factors that hermeneutics considers in
translation are:

- Author
- Text
- Reader
Author
 Centering on the author, there has been a lot of
followers who preach that in literary translation a
thorough study of the author's life experience,
historical and social background is of paramount
necessity for any translator to ensure interpretation
of the author's meaning or intention is most
adequate. There have been many articles and theses
on evaluation of a literary work, digging quite in
depth those factors about the author to make sure
the interpretation of the work is the closest.
Text
 The stress on text results in the supreme status of the
structuralism and later deconstruction in translation
theory. This school accuses the above-mentioned
group of staying far away from the essential element
and foundation of interpreting the meaning of the
original. They hold that as soon as the author has
finished the writing the meaning is fixed in the text
and any 'guess' away from the text should be
abandoned completely. Thus when two translations are
compared the grammar, diction and sentence
structures are valued above anything else.
Reader
 Reception theory is introduced in translation theory
which is defined as the "approach to literature that
concerns itself first and foremost with one or more
readers' actualization of the text.“

 The translation should include the enjoyment of the


effects as stirred by speech or poetry which can bring
about both a change in belief and the liberation of his
mind in the listener or the spectator

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