The translation shift - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

The translation shift approach

linguistic approaches to the analysis of translationSlide2

Translation shifts =small linguistic changes occurring in translation of ST to TT.Slide3

Since the

1950s

there has been a variety of linguistic approaches to

the analysis

of translation that have proposed detailed lists or taxonomies in

an effort

to categorize the translation

process. The

focus in this chapter is on the

following

three

models

:Slide4

1. Vinay

and

Darbelnet's

taxonomy

(1958)

which is the classical model and one which has had

a

very

wide

impact;

2

Catford's

(1965) linguistic approach, which included the introduction

of the

term 'shift' of translation;

3 van Leuven-

Zwart's

(1989, 1990) very detailed model, designed for

the analysis

of the key concept of small '

microlevel

' translation shifts

and the

gauging of their effect on the more general '

macrolevel

'.Slide5

Vinay and Darbelnet's model

Vinay and

Darbelnet

carried out a comparative stylistic analysis of French

and English.

They looked at texts in both languages, noting

differences between

the languages and identifying different

translation

strategies

and

'

procedures

'Slide6

The two general translation strategies identified by Vinay and

Darbelnet

(2000

: 84-93) are

direct translation and oblique translation

, which hark

back to

the 'literal vs. free' division discussed in chapter 2. Indeed, 'literal' is given by the authors as a synonym for direct translation. The two strategies comprise seven procedures, of which direct translation covers three:Slide7

1. Borrowing

: The SL word is transferred directly to the TL. This

grouping covers words such as the Russian

rouble

, or more recently,

glasnost

and

perestroika

, that are used in English and other languages to

fill a

semantic gap in the TL. Slide8

2.Calque

/

kælk

/.

:

This is 'a special kind of

borrowing‘ where

the SL

expression or

structure is transferred in a literal translation.

Vinay

and

Darbelnet

note that both borrowings

and calques

often become fully integrated into the TL, although

sometimes with some semantic change, which can turn them into false friendsSlide9

3.

Literal translation

: This

is 'word-for-word' translation, which

Vinay

and

Darbelnet

describe as being most common between

languages of

the same family and culture

. Slide10

Literal translation is the authors' prescription for good translation:

'literalness

should only be sacrificed because of structural and

metalinguistic requirements

and only after checking that the

meaning is

fully preserved' (1995: 288

).'Slide11

But, say Vinay and

Darbelnet

, the translator may judge literal translation to be 'unacceptable'

because

it

:

(a) gives a different meaning;

(b) has no

meaning

;

(c) is impossible for structural reasons;

(d) 'does not have a corresponding expression within the metalinguistic

experience

of the TL';

(e) corresponds to something at a different level of language

.Slide12

In those cases where literal translation is not possible, Vinay and

Darbelnet

say

that the strategy of oblique translation must be used. This covers

a

further

four

procedures

:Slide13

1.Transposition

:

This is a change of one part

of speech

for another without changing the sense.

Vinay and

Darbelnet

see

transposition as 'probably the

most common

structural change undertaken by translators'. They list at

least ten different categories, such as: verb

-+ noun:

'

adverb

-+ verb: e.g.

It is sunny

الدنيا شمسSlide14

2.Modulation

:

This changes the semantics and point of view of the SL.

Modulation

is a procedure that is justified,

'when, although a literal, or even transposed, translation

results in

a grammatically correct utterance, it is considered unsuitable,

unidiomatic or awkward in the TL' Slide15

Vinay and

Darbelnet

place much store by modulation as 'the

touchstone of

a good translator', whereas transposition 'simply shows a

very good

command of the target language' (1995: 246).

Modulation at the

level of message is subdivided (pp. 246-55) along the following lines:Slide16

abstract for

concrete

cause-

effect

part-

whole

part-

another

part

reversal of

terms

negation

of opposite

active to passive (and vice versa)

space

for time

rethinking of intervals and limits (in space and time)

change of symbol (including fixed and new metaphors).Slide17

3.

Equivalence

:

Vinay and

Darbelnet

use this term

to

refer

to cases

where languages describe the same situation by different stylistic

or structural

means. Equivalence is particularly useful in translating

idioms and

proverbs (the sense, though not the

image).Slide18

In her article ‘

Equivalence in Translation: Between Myth and Reality’,

Leonardi

(2000)

mentions that

Vinay

and

Darbelnet

view equivalence-oriented translation as a procedure which involves repeating the same image or situation as in the source language, while using completely different

wording

….Slide19

They conclude that “the need for creating equivalences arises from the situation, and it is in the situation of the SL text that translators have to look for a solution” (ibid: 255). They argue that even if the semantic equivalent of an expression in the SL text is quoted in a dictionary or a glossary, it is not enough, and it does not guarantee a successful translation. They provide a number of examples to support their

theorySlide20

They argue, for example, that ‘Take one’ is a fixed expression which would have as an equivalent French translation ‘

Prenez-en

un’. However, if the expression appeared as a notice next to a basket of free samples in a large store, the translator would have to look for an equivalent term in a similar situation and use the expression

‘

Échantillon

gratuit

’ (ibid: 255-256)

.Slide21

It seems that what Vinay and

Darbelnet

call equivalence is roughly similar to what

Newmarks

calls

communicative translation

, “

where in a given situation, the ST uses an SL expression standard for that situation, and that the TT uses a TL expression standard for an equivalent target culture situation

”

Slide22

4.

Adaptation

:

This

involves changing the cultural

reference

when

a situation in the source

culture

does not exist in the target

culture. It is mainly a procedure appropriate to particular circumstances such as translating plays for the stage, which aims to achieve a particular kind of equivalence that can be appreciated within the TL culture. Consequently, the themes, characters, plots are usually preserved, whileSlide23

t

he ST culture is converted to the TL culture and the text rewritten. There are several literary masterpieces that have been adapted from their SLs into TLs ,e.g. most Shakespearean

plays

have been adapted into

Arabic

for the stage and the popular “The Thousand and One Nights” has also been adapted into English and many other languages. Slide24

Vinay and

Darbelnet

continue

by

giving a

list of five steps for the translator to follow in

moving from

ST to TT; these are:

1 Identify the units of translation.

2 Examine the SL text, evaluating the descriptive, affective and

intellectual

content

of the

units

.

3 Reconstruct the metalinguistic context of the message.

4 Evaluate the stylistic effects.

5 Produce and revise

the

TT.