In Other Words a Coursebook on Translation 1992 It has had great influence on Translation training and consequently Translation studies Baker looks at equivalence at six levels ID: 589091
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Slide1
Mona Baker
In Other Words: a
Coursebook
on Translation (1992)
It
has had great influence on Translation training and consequently Translation studies. Slide2
Baker looks at equivalence at six levels
Word level:
words and phrases for which there are no equivalents in the target language
Above word level:
collocation,
markedness
, and register (the set of words that might potentially collocate with the word in question, and by marked collocations. ) , as well as the translation of idioms and fixed expressions
Grammar:
explains number, gender, person, tense,
aspect, voice, word order and an introduction to the concept of text and its organization
Thematic structure:
covers the concepts of theme and
rheme
Cohesion:
the network of lexical, grammatical and other relations which provide links between various parts of a text
Pragmatic:
The way utterances are used in communicative situations.Slide3
Thematic and information structure
metafunctionsSlide4
I
realized the problem
theme
rhemeSlide5
Baker incorporates a comparison of nominalization and verbal forms in theme position:
1
. Analyzed-were the relations between dopamine and motor functions.
(begins with pronominal verbal form)
2. The relations between dopamine and motor functions were analyzed.
(normalized word order with passive verbal form in the final position)
3. An Analysis is carried out of the relations between dopamine and motor functions.
(use of the nominalized form “analysis” and the addition of a different passive form)WHY?To meet the conventions of English abstractSlide6
The ProblemThematic structure is realized differently in different languages.For example, Arabic, Spanish, and Portuguese are verb inflected languages.
(The verb is in the theme position)
Some languages, like Portuguese,
omit the subject pronoun.
This also creates a different thematic pattern. Slide7
Halliday VS BakerHallidayan model of thematic analysis is English-oriented what casts doubt on its validity.
Baker produces
an alternative
:
functional sentence perspective model of thematic structure.
It is more suitable for languages with a frequent VS order.
Why?
1. It takes into account communicative dynamism and word order. 2. It is much more straightforward to implement: theme is in the first position, come what may.Slide8
The translator should be aware of relative markednessRelative markedness is used to distinguish two meanings of the same term, where one is common usage (unmarked sense) and the other is specialized to a certain cultural context (marked sense
).
1. It helps us to heighten our awareness of meaningful choices made by speakers and writers in the course of communication.
2. It helps in deciding whether it is appropriate to use a marked form or not. Slide9
Problems of copying ST pattern into TT1. What is marked varies across languages.2. Calquing a rigid English word order in VS languages produces a monotonous translation.
3.
Gerzymisch-Arbogast
1986 considers the German calquing of English cleft to be clumsy.
4.
Enkvist
1978 pointed out the dilemma of balancing concern for information dynamics with sometimes incompatible concern for other areas such as basic syntactic patterns.Slide10
CohesionIntroduction:
Blum-
Kulka’s
study “Shifts of Cohesion and Coherence in Translation”
All translators tend to use cohesive ties explicitly.
Changes in cohesion in translation may bring about functional shifts in the text.
Some languages need to state the gender of the character.Slide11
Baker and CohesionBaker defines cohesion
as
“
the network of lexical, grammatical and other relations which
provide links between various parts of a text
” (p. 190
).
In order to have cohesion, a text must have references that the reader can follow clearly and consistently without confusion. The density and the progression of cohesive ties throughout the text are the most important.Sometimes this web of relationships differs between St and TTWHY?
“Because the network of lexical cohesion will not be identified across languages. “ (Baker 1992)For example
: Portuguese lexical repetition to pronoun useSlide12
Pragmatics“The study of
language in use
. It is the study of meaning not as generated by linguistics system, but as conveyed and manipulated by the participants in a communicative situation”
Baker explores ways
in
which translators can be sure to produce translations that faithfully
reflect
the use in context and typical interpretation in context of the source text. Slide13
Three major pragmatic concepts1. Coherence2. Presupposition
3.
Implicature
Slide14
CoherenceCoherence is defined as the subjective perception that a text has internal
consistency and that its references and ideas expressed are clear and
flow
logically.
The TT must also be coherent.
It must hang together logically in the mind of the TT receiver.
Depends on the hearer’s or the receiver’s expectations and experience of the world
This may be the same for the ST and the TT readers.Slide15
PresuppositionPresupposition relates to the linguistic and extra-linguistic knowledge the sender assumes the receiver to have or which are necessary in order to retrieve the sender’s message. For example, “let me now turn to bananas”Slide16
The problemThe problem occurs when the TT receiver can’t be assumed to possess the same background knowledge as the ST receivers.
Possible reasons?
Because of cultural differences
Because the knowledge is being translated after a time gap when the original information is no longer activated by the reference.Slide17
Implicature Baker defines implicature as “what the speaker means or implies rather than what s/he said”Implicature
is
the
way that people can “understand more than is actually said” (p. 235).
It was developed by Paul Grice.Slide18
Grice’s rulesQuantity: Give the amount of information that is necessary. Don’t give too much or too little.
Quality:
Say only what you know to be true or what you can support.
Relevance:
What you say should be relevant to the conversation
Manner:
Say what you need to say in a way that is appropriate to the message you wish to convey and which normally will be understood by the receiver. Slide19
Some theorists add one more rule…Politeness: Be polite in your commentsNote:Chapter 8, in Baker’s
In other Words,
is new to the second edition and is titled
“Beyond Equivalence:
ethics
and morality
.”Slide20
The maxims might be deliberately ignored for a humorous effect. Some problems are posed for the translator when the TL works by different maxims.
For example, some vulgar jokes about God
were
omitted
when producing the TT in Arabic
so as not to upset local sensibilities. Baker notes that the translator should be aware of these principles in operation in the respective languages and cultures.