Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Translation in Journalism
Translation in Journalism
Translation in Journalism
TRANSLATIONINJOURNALISM
"Translation
is
not
a matter
of
words
only;
it
is
a matter
of
making
intelligible
a
wholeculture.”
(AnthonyBurgess)
The Translator's Handbook by Morry Sofer is one of the most authoritative
resource books on translation. In the chapter "Requisites for Professional
Translators,
Morry
Sofer
says:
"Any
person
who
knows
more
than
one
language
has the ability to explain a word or a sentence in "the source language" (the
language you translate from) by using an equivalent word or sentence in the
target language" (the language you translate into)." According
to
Morry
Sofer,
the first requisite for a translator is the thorough knowledge of both the
sourceandthetargetlanguages.
The second requirement for a translator is thorough "at-homeness" in both
cultures. "A language is a living phenomenon. it does not exist
apart
from
the
culture
where
it
is
spoken
and
written.
To
be
fully
familiar
with
a language,
one
must also be familiar with the culture in which the language is used, with
the
people who use it, their
ways,
manners,
beliefs
and
all
that
goes
into
making
a
culture."
Third, a translator must keep
up
with
the
growth
and
change
of
language,
and
be
up-to-date
in
all
of
its
nuances
and
neologisms.
"Languages
are
in
a constant
state of flux, and words change meaning from year to year. A pejorative
term
can become laudatory, and a neutral term can become loaded with meaning."
Years ago, the English word "gay" simply meant "joyous." Now it is used to
define an entire segment of society: the male homosexuals. We once spoke
of
2
the "almighty dollar." All those who travel abroad now know the dollar
is
not
necessarilyeveryone'spreferredcurrency.
Fourth,
a translator
is
to
be
a prolific
writer
and
speaker
in
the
target
language,
butnotnecessarilybeproficientasawriteroraspeakerinthesourcelanguage.
Fifth, a translator should be able to translate in more than one area of
knowledge:politics,sports,economy,law,
scienceandtechnology,internationalrelations,environmentetc.
A translator must gain enough knowledge and acquire ascendancy over
vocabulary in all these fields to be able to produce perfectly accurate and
well-craftedtranslations.
Sixth, a translator as a writer and orator should have the ability to articulate
ideas quickly and accurately, in real time and in an understandable but
penetrativelanguage.
Seventh, a translator must have the required speed for translation to meet the
deadlinepressures.
Eighth, a translator should
possess
research
skills,
with
passion
to
disseminate
themostaccurateinformation.
The
second
requirement
for
a translator
is
thorough
"at-homeness"
in both
cultures. "A language is a living phenomenon. It does not
exist
apart
from
the
culture
where
it
is
spoken
and
written.
To
be
fully
familiar
with
a language,
one
must also be familiar with the culture in which the language is used, with
the
people who use it, their
ways,
manners,
beliefs
and
all
that
goes
into
making
a
culture." Third, a translator must keep up with the growth and change of
language, and be up-to-date in all of its nuances and neologisms. "Languages
are in a constant
state
of
flux,
and
words
change
meaning
from
year
to
year.
A
pejorative term can become laudatory, and a neutral term can become loaded
3
with
meaning."
Years
ago,
the
English
word
"gay"
simply
meant
"joyous."
Now
it
is
used
to
define
an
entire
segment
of
society:
the
male
homosexuals.
We
once
spoke
of
the
"almighty
dollar."
All
those
who
travel
abroad
now
know
the
dollar
isnotnecessarilyeveryone'spreferredcurrency.
Fourth, a translator
is
to
be
a prolific
writer
and
speaker
in
the
target
language,
but
not
necessarily
be
proficient
as
a writer
or
a speaker
in
the
source
language.
Fifth, a translator should be able to translate in more than one area of
knowledge:
politics,
sports,
economy,
law,
science
and
technology,
international
relations, environment etc. A translator must gain enough knowledge and
acquire ascendancy over vocabulary in all these fields to be able to produce
perfectlyaccurateandwell-craftedtranslations.
Sixth, a translator as a writer and orator should have the ability to articulate
ideas quickly and accurately, in real time and in an understandable but
penetrative language. Seventh, a translator must have the required speed for
translation to meet the deadline pressures. Eighth, a translator should possess
researchskills,withapassiontodisseminatethemostaccurateinformation.
The second requirement for a translator is thorough "at-homeness" in both
cultures. "A language is a living phenomenon. It does not
exist
apart
from
the
culture
where
it
is
spoken
and
written.
To
be
fully
familiar
with
a language,
one
must also be familiar with the culture in which the language is used, with
the
people who use it, their
ways,
manners,
beliefs
and
all
that
goes
into
making
a
culture."
Third,
a translator
must
keep
up
with
the
growth
and
change
of
language,
and
be
up-to-date in all of its nuances and neologisms. "Languages are in a constant
state of flux, and words change meaning from year to year. A pejorative
term
4
can become laudatory, and a neutral term can become loaded with meaning."
Years ago, the English word "gay" simply meant "joyous." Now it is used to
define an entire segment of society: the male homosexuals. We once spoke
of
the "almighty dollar." All those who travel abroad now know the dollar
is
not
necessarilyeveryone'spreferredcurrency.
Fourth, a translator
is
to
be
a prolific
writer
and
speaker
in
the
target
language,
but
not
necessarily
be
proficient
as
a writer
or
a speaker
in
the
source
language.
Fifth, a translator should be able to translate in more than one area of
knowledge:
politics,
sports,
economy,
law,
science
and
technology,
international
relations,environmentetc.
A translator must gain enough knowledge and acquire ascendancy over
vocabulary in all these fields to be able to produce perfectly accurate and
well-craftedtranslations.
Sixth, a translator as a writer and orator should have the ability to articulate
ideas quickly and accurately, in real time and in an understandable but
penetrative language. Seventh, a translator must have the required speed for
translation to meet the deadline pressures. Eighth, a translator should possess
researchskills,withainformation
Translation
is
defined
as
the
rendering
of
text
from
one
language
into
another.
A
good translator
should
possess
three
key
skills.
The
first
is
an
understanding
of
the
source
language:
the
language
from
which
that
translation
is
to
be
done.
The
second
is
knowledge
of
the
target
language:
the
language
in
which
the
text
is
to
be
translated.
The
third
is
in-
depth
knowledge
of
subject
matter.
For
instance,
a
translator who has no knowledge or understanding of the stock market
cannot
translate
the
stuff
on
the
developments
taking
place
in
a stock
market.
There
are
two kinds of translators: the translators who are employed by governments or
5
companies are called technical translators, and the translators who work for
publishinghousesortranslatetextsas freelancersarecalledliterarytranslators.
News
organizations
do
not
recruit
translators
but
reporters
and
sub
editors
have
to
work
in
two
languages.
A Hindi
newspaper
reporter
or
a sub
editor
should
be
proficient in Hindi, and should
be
at
ease
with
English
to
translate
whatever
is
communicated in English into Hindi. While translating news, especially
interpretative
pieces
and
technology
stories,
technical
terms
will
often
become
a
problem.
They
may
not
have
ready
equivalence
in
the
target
language,
but
they
are bound to make sure that they translate the jargons in an easily
understandablelanguage.
There are three types of translations: literal, idiomatic, and free. Literal
translation is word-for-word
translation
and
uses
the
grammatical
structure
and
lexical form of the source language. The first important practitioner of this
theory
was
Pliny
the
Younge
who
introduced
the
style
of
translating
words
from
GreektoLatinandvice-versa.
The word-for-word translation approach is adopted for translations of sacred
scriptures
and
authoritative
texts
where
it
is
essential
not
to
change
the
meaning
of any word. The idiomatic translation is thought-for-thought translation and
seeks to closely communicate the meaning
of
the
source
text
in
the
target
text.
This theory of translation can be traced back to Marcus Cicero, the Roman
statesman orator and writer who lived in the first century BC. He translated
many Greek works into Latin using the sense-for-sense approach. He was
against the word-for-word approach because
such
a translation
to
him
sounded
strange.
Free translation paraphrases or updates information, and is more commonly
done
in
newsrooms.
This
style
of
translation
is
popular
among
journalists.
They
not only translate news reports from source language into target
language,
but
6
also amplify, complement and supplement information. Journalists also give a
newspintothecontentgiveninahandout.
John Dryden, a 17th century poet and translator categorized translations into
three:
1.Metaphrasetranslationwhichisword-for-wordorline-by-line
translation.
2.Paraphrasetranslationwhichissense-for-sensetranslation.
3.Imitationtranslationwhichisaliberaladaptation.Hecallsthe
first and last extremes, and
the
middle
as
the
best
way
to
go.
The
17th
century
poet
and
translator
Abraham
Cowley
also
advocated
freedom
in
translation.
He
derided the word-for-word translation as one madman translating another.
The
poets have always been apprehensive about translations. Their biggest fear is
that
the
essence
of
their
thoughts
is
lost
when
the
poem
is
translated
in
another
language. The legendary poet Robert Frost best expressed this when he said:
"Poetryiswhatislostintranslation."
Different principles have been advanced by different translators over the ages
but the most commonly accepted principles of translation are the following.
First, the translator must have a good understanding of the language in which
thetextiswritten.
Second, the translator should have an excellent knowledge of the language in
which
that
text
is
to
be
translated
and
ideally
it
should
be
the
mother
tongue
of
the translator. Third, the translator should have the maturity and
experience
to
understand the content and intention of the author whose work is to be
translated. Fourth, the translator unless specifically required should avoid a
wordtowordtranslation.Thiskillsfreeflowofthoughtandtwiststhespiritand
7
the beauty of expression and the soul of the original work is lost. Five, the
translator should use words and forms of speech that are easily understood.
Sixth, the translator should try to create an overall effect that is similar to the
toneandtenoroftheoriginalwork.
A
good
translator
should
be
able
to
translate
a document
in
such
a way
that
the
accuracy
and
meaning
of
the
source
text
is
retained.
The
writing
style
should
be
similar
to
the
one
used
by
the
author
in
the
source
text,
and
the
translated
text
should be fully understandable to the target audience. The translator must
always
remember
that
his
or
her
job
is
not
to
become
its
author
as
the
celebrated
EnglishessayistSamuelJohnsonnoted,"Atranslatoristobelikehisauthor.
It
is
not
his
business
to
excel
him."
What
are
the
principles
to
be
followed
while
translating a news copy? Journalists always have the big advantage of the
liberty of using the free form of translation. They can add information, and
translate the news report in a manner that is easier for the is easier for the
readers tounderstand
Journalists
should
read
the
ne ws
reports
from
the
beginning
to
the
end
to
get
a sense of the story. They should refer to the dictionar or to their senior
colleagues when they come across unfamiliar words or context. A good
translation
must
capture
the
essence
of
what
the
writer
wants
to
communicate.
It
is only when they
have
understood
the
report
in
its
entirety
that
journalists
can
do
justice to
the
translation.
Journalists
should
ensure
that
the
translated
copy
is
fullofverveandvigorandthereadersenjoyreadingit!
It is possible that the original copy has words for which there are no ready
equivalents in the target language. One such commonly used word is
"computer." This is an English word but most Indians are familiar with it
and
use it freely in their own languages. News desks retain such words in the
8
translated
text,
instead
of
using
literal
translations
of
well-known
foreign
words.
A
golden
rule
of
translation
is
that
the
translator
should
translate
meanings,
and
not words. If there is no equivalent of a foreign word in target language, the
foreignwordshouldbeusedasitis.
The foreign words are not the only issues that the translators have to grapple
with. The same word may have different meanings in different contexts. For
example, the word 'skip' means "move
along
lightly,
stepping
from
one
foot
to
the other with a hop or bounce." But this is not the only meaning. The word
'skip'
also
means
"to
leave
something
out
or
to
go
away
hastily
or
secretly."
The
translator has to identify its usage in the correct context. For this, he needs
to
haveathoroughknowledgeofthesourcelanguage.
The
idioms
can
be
particularly
confusing.
The
same
is
true
of
slang.
It
may
take
time for the translator to familiarize himself with idioms or slangs
used
in
the
source
language.
The
quality
of
translation
depends
on
how
good
the
translator's
understanding
of
the
source
language
is.
Another
challenge
before
the
translator
is the retention of the style and elegance of the original text in the target
language.
The translator
may
have
to
use
more
words
in
the
target
language
as
compared
to the source language. A news translator has to struggle with quotes from a
news source. A striking statement in the source language could be a play of
words.
The
speakers
of
that
language
will
understand
but
not
those
of
the
target
language.Itisnoteasytocapturethenuancesofdirectspeech.
Another
difficulty
that
newspersons
face
in
a country
like
India
is
that
they
may
interview a news source in one language but write the news report in another
language. For instance, a reporter working for an
English-language
newspaper
9
may interview a source in Hind because the source does not know English.
Newspapers
advise
all
reporters
to
take
notes
in
the
source
language
not
to
miss
outthefinernuancesofthelanguage.
To ensure consistency, news desks have translation style guide that carry the
translations
of
commonly
used
foreign
word
organizations,
phrases,
idioms
etc.
Journalists refer to the transatlantic style guide whenever they are in doubt. It
savestimeandensuresconsistency.