The Translator

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What Distinguishes Major Types of Translation?

Juan C. Sager

To cite this article: Juan C. Sager (1998) What Distinguishes Major Types of Translation?, The
Translator, 4:1, 69-89, DOI: 10.1080/13556509.1998.10799007

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The Translator. Volume 4, Number I (1998), 69-89

What Distinguishes Major Types

of Translation?

JUAN C. SAGER
UMIST, UK

Abstract. This paper attempts to justify the distinction between

literary translation, Bible translation and non-literary translation
on the basis of the different choices made by translators on a
small number of parameters which determine distinct strategies
for each major translation type. The parameters discussed are:
the situational antecedents for the new translation in the target
culture; the availability of suitable document types in the target
culture; the purpose of the target document, especially when seen
from the point of view of the source document: the relative status
of the target document in relation to the source document; the
degree of awareness the target readership should be given of the
fact that they are reading a translation; the availability of textual
models in the target language and the appropriateness and extent
of their use. The particular{eatures whichjustifY treating literary
translation as a separate category are examined in some detail
towards the end of the article.

The translating profession clearly distinguishes between literary and non-

literary translation, and many consider Bible translation as a third major branch.
For the theorist, the question arises as to whether these distinctions are based
only on textual characteristics of these three major classes of document or are
also rooted in different approaches to the translation of the Bible, ofliterature
and of other texts. For the purpose of this paper, let us accept that translators
rightly recognize the following major functional classes of writing:

literary texts, also called 'belles lettres', consisting of novels, stories, plays,
poetry, etc., which we may define as the product of an author's imagination;
'sacred' texts, which in practice means the Bible, since other major reli-
gions do not favour or permit the translation oftheir fundamental writings;
non-literary texts, usually called 'technical', which cover a wide range of
purpose-specific texts. While the range of these documents is exceedingly
wide - non-literary texts have numerous subtypes - for the purpose of this
paper they need not be differentiated further.

ISSN 1355-6509 © St Jerome Publishing, Manchester

70 What Distinguishes Major Types of Translation

Let us also accept that each of these functional classes of writing requires a
different approach to translation, and that we ought to be able to establish the
reasons for such differences in approach. In order to differentiate these three
classes of document from the point of view of translation, I propose to examine
the various stages of the translation process, from the specification right up to
the actual application of techniques.
Looking at these three major classes of document from the micro level of
translation techniques, we must admit that such procedures as transposition,
modulation, etc., so cogently described by Vinay & Darbelnet (1958), are in
principle all equally applicable to the three classes. But, if we want to under-
stand when, how and in what combination the various types of translation
techniques are applied to the different forms, genres and registers of texts, as
represented by the documents in these three classes, we must attempt to for-
malize sets of decisions which lead to different translation strategies for each
class. These strategies will then determine the range of techniques applicable
in each case. The main objective of this paper is to show that the three classes
of document and their translation can be uniquely differentiated on the basis
of the parameters used for formulating translation strategies. The selection of
relevant parameters at particular stages of the preparation process will be
shown to diverge clearly for each of these three major classes. In the identifi-
cation and definition of these parameters, each major type of text will be
examined separately with a view to developing a unique characterization of
the three text types as separate translation categories. My observations about
Bible translation are purely theoretical because I have no translation experi-
ence in this field. Having written at length about non-literary translation (Sager
1990), I shall concentrate towards the end of this article on characteristics of
literary translation.

1. The translation process

As background, it may be useful to present here a simplified outline of the

phases of the translation process. I For the purpose of this paper it is sufficient
to conceive the translation process as consisting of four major phases: specifica-
tion of the task; preparation; execution; revision. Our main interest lies with
the areas ofthe specification and the preparatory work, which are less visible
than the actual task of translation itself, but are instrumental in shaping it.
By task or job-specification, I understand that the translator receives or
elicits from the client, who commissions the translation, what is expected of
him or her. In particular, the translator:

(a) ascertains what the client (a publisher or other commissioner) wants,

in the same way as an abstractor needs to know what sort of abstract
is needed, or as the tailor needs to know whether the customer wants a
shirt, a coat or a dress, etc.;
Juan C. Sager 71

(b) formulates a clear image of the future user of the product.

From direct experience the translator often knows more about the expectations
of a future readership of a text than the commissioner, if the commissioner is
not himlherselfthe end user.
By preparation I understand that the translator:

(c) interprets the text, i.e. establishes what it means and how it is ex-
pressed, in the same way as the tailor assesses the material to be used,
e.g. cotton, linen or wool, patterned or plain, etc;
(d) attempts to reconcile the job specification with the nature of the text in
hand and his or her own qualification for the job, in the same way as
the tailor must assess whether the client's demand is something s/he
can accept to produce with the material that has been made available.

The preparation concludes with the formulation of a translation strategy

which brings together these four steps of preliminary work and provides crite-
ria for the application of translation techniques.
Another way of explaining the preparation stage is to see it as a case of
problem-solving (Wilss 1996). Given the fact that texts to be translated have
been written for a first-language readership, there is a tension between what is
given, i.e. the conditions surrounding the source text to be processed ~ and its
readership ~ and the objective of the target text, i.e. the purpose of the trans-
lated document ~ and its readership. The specification process identifies this
tension by formulating the requirements of the new text; in the preparation
process the translator resolves this tension by selecting the parameters that
will determine the translation strategy to be adopted.
Adherence to a chosen, pre-established or given strategy ensures an even
translation and avoids many possible queries of details of technique or method
later. Once there is a strategy for the entire job, translators will selectively
apply a number of techniques appropriate for the purpose. While some of these
techniques are applicable to a great number of translation types, the availabil-
ity of others depends on the chosen strategies, for example the use offootnotes,
periphrases, loanword creation or structural parallelism.

2. Choices for determining the translation strategy

The formulation of a strategy can be represented as a sequential decision pro-

cess that involves choosing from a number of parameters which, at successive
stages, characterize different types of translation for the document classes iden-
tified above. The first four parameters are fixed since they are given by the
circumstances of in terlingua I communication, the nature of the source text and
the purpose of the translation. They deal with simple alternatives which re-
strict subsequent choices. These parameters are:
72 What Distinguishes Major Types of Translation

the situational antecedents for the new translation in the target culture;
the availability of suitable document types in the target culture;
the purpose of the target document, especially when seen from the point
of view of the source document;
the relative status of the target document in relation to the source
document.

The last two parameters are variable and operate by degrees since they
involve the translator in subjective decisions along scales or axes. They are:

the degree of awareness the target readership should be given of the fact
that they are reading a translation;
the availability of textual models in the target language and the appro-
priateness and extent of their use.

Together these parameters determine the translation strategy to be adopted.

2.1 Parameter 1: situational antecedents

The first major consideration for the definition of a translation strategy is the
question of whether the target culture provides situational antecedents for the
production ofthe new text. For example, whether there is a tradition of making
verbatim transcripts of what is said on particular occasions, as in a court of
law or a political assembly, or whether there are theatres in which plays are
performed, or whether there are religious services in which 'sacred' texts are
read or hymns sung.
The first parameter, then, involves determining whether the target culture
offers situational antecedents or whether the translated document will create a
new communicative situation in the target culture.

Technical translation. In the past, technology and cultural transfer were ac-
companied and in many cases made possible by translations which created
new situations. Christianization introduced a tradition of written texts in re-
gions with strong oral traditions, the adoption of principles of Roman Law
created situations for the promulgation of written law and the recording of
written proceedings. Later, during the period of European colonization of parts
of Africa and Asia, many translations had to be made without situational ante-
cedents and thereby new situations were created which are now considered
precedents for subsequent translations. In modem times, with ease of commu-
nication as a result of an increasingly global economy and almost simultaneous
research and development across the world, we find that for technical transla-
tion there is no dearth of situational antecedents. Where there are wide cultural
distances or inequalities in socio-economic development between language com-
Juan C. Sager 73

munities, there may, however, be no useful antecedents. In such cases the trans-
lated document can provide a model for future original documents.

Literary translation. The most obvious examples for situational antecedents

in literature are found in circumstances where literary forms fulfil comparable
functions in both societies, for example the function of the novel in Italy and
Spain, but not the novel in a culture without such a form or without a written
language. In Europe, literary translation now usually occurs of comparable
literary forms which are used in comparable situations. It is, however, impor-
tant to acknowledge that European literature has only gradually acquired its
homogeneity of situations for the use of literary forms following many centu-
ries of export and import of new literary forms both in prose and poetry, drama,
novel and short story. We only have to think of the move from the oral to the
written literary tradition, for example in the translation of the Icelandic Sagas,
or the wide impact of early translations from Arabic in Spain and of the Ren-
aissance translations of the authors of antiquity in Italy, France and England.
But even in more recent history we have seen the creation of new commu-
nicative situations as a result of translation which introduced Western literary
forms (novel, drama, films) into countries of Asia and Africa that did not
have these document types. A different process of creation of new situations
through translation occurs with the introduction of subtitling, surtitling and
dubbing and the techniques of adaptation ofliterary forms of one language to
film, television, or even opera in another language, all processes not unlike
translingual abstracting, because they involve a reduction of text as a partial
substitute for the original or source language text.

Bible translation. For Bible translation, the question of situational anteced-

ents is fundamental because it allows us to distinguish between two substantially
different methods of translation: (a) first translation from a source to a target
language (interlingual translation), and (b) re-translation in a target language
(partial or total intralingual translation).
Because of the unique function and the special linguistic and historical ori-
gin of the Bible, every 'first' translation has no situational antecedent. While
this situation no longer exists for 'Western languages' - all of which have at
least one Bible in the vernacular - and a number of other languages, mission-
ary translation efforts regularly create new communicative situations, frequently
even involving the development of a written language for the speech commu-
nity concerned.
The second type of Bible translation involves the up-dating of the language
in order to make it accessible to a contemporary readership. Ever since the
first vernacular translations of the Bible, the door was opened for subsequent
translation because each translation could then be considered a version pro-
duced by scholars of a particular historical period for their own time. The
74 What Distinguishes Major Types of Translation

existence of parallel contemporary versions mitigated some of the 'sacred'

nature of the language and competing versions then inevitably acquired the
character of different interpretations of the original texts. 2

2.2 Parameter 2: target-language document type

Where a situational antecedent exists, there should, under normal circumstances,

also be a suitable document type which fits this situation. In the first instance,
therefore, translators have to search for usable models of document types which
they can follow. There may even be a whole tradition for the creation of such
models consolidated in guidelines similar to those that exist for some forms of
institutional writing. Many firms and institutions have in-house guidelines for
the production of such translations.
The second parameter which influences the choice of translation strategy
involves determining whether the target culture offers document models which
can serve as environment or examples for the new document. If no such models
exist, the translator is forced to use an existing or create a new translation-
specific document type, such as 'gist translations' or subtitles for films.

Technical translation. Technical translations normally maintain the same

document type as their originals. If the target language does not have the same
document type, the translator has to investigate whether a document type spe-
cific for this type of translation has been created. If no precedent exists the
translator has to create a new document type in the target language, the func-
tion of which has to be explained to the target-language readership. Such a
new document type is, in the first instance, used only for the purpose oftrans-
lation, i.e. it is a translation-specific document type. With time, such new
document types may become incorporated into the target culture and then pro-
vide suitable precedents for original source language writing besides being
models offuture translations. Some forms remain specific to translated docu-
ments. Examples of the latter include subtitles in films, gist translation ofletters
and various types of 'for information only' translation.

Literary Translation. Many literary forms entered a language first as 'trans-

lation-specific' forms. This, for example, was the case of the sonnet when it
was first translated out of Italian, but it soon became accepted as a new liter-
ary form in most Western languages; the novel, an evolution of the Italian
'novella', is another example. Much more recently we have the example ofthe
Japanese haiku, which is being imitated in other languages. Equally, a Japa-
nese rendering of the Aphorisms of Larochefoucauld or Lichtenberg would
probably be first classified as a translation-specific literary form, and only
time would tell whether it will be imitated and so become a natural Japanese
form.
Juan C. Sager 75

A permanent translation-specific form of literary translation is the prose

translation of poetry.

Bible translation. All first Bible translations in a language were translation-

specific documents and, because ofthe unique nature ofthe Bible, have remained
so. We must, however, admit a difference in this unique character. While,
outside the realm ofliterature, we cannot conceive an imitation of the literary
form of the Bible, many segments have become fully incorporated into the
language, have given rise to other forms of writing and song, and the popular
perception of the vernacular Bible is no longer that of a translation.

2.3 Parameter 3: purpose

Situations for communication are created by the purpose which motivates the
communication. The purpose of a text is usually signalled by the document
type and must be understood from two angles; firstly, the writer's intention in
composing a text and, secondly, the reader's expectation in reading the text. 3
But there is a new element in translation because the purpose of a trans-
lated text is no longer set by the writer but by the person who commissions the
translation. Texts chosen for translation are assumed to be directed at speci-
fied readerships of another culture. Thus, readers of translations are by definition
'secondary readers', as opposed to the primary readers originally addressed
by the source text. The new, secondary readership's expectations may differ
from those of the primary readership: for instance, a law applicable in the US
may only be of interest as an example in another country. Hence it is necessary
to ascertain the purpose of the translated text separately, because it may differ
from that of the original writer's intention. The writer is, in fact, frequently
unaware that a translation of his or her text is being commissioned. The reduc-
tion of an article into a target-language abstract, or of a report into a
target-language summary, represent changes of purpose which have to be ac-
companied by a change of the document type for the translation. Translators
recognize this secondary role and part of the decision-making process which
leads to the formulation of their strategy involves defining to what extent this
new expectation of a secondary readership has to be accompanied by a change
in the document type or to be mitigated through the degree of awareness read-
ers are to be given of the fact of translation.
Translators, therefore, have to ask themselves whether the secondary read-
ership of the translation has the same expectation in reading the text as the
primary readers. If the answer is negative, the target text may require a change
of document type.
When the same purpose and document type are maintained, we can speak
of dependent texts; when there is a change of document type it is convenient
to speak of derived texts.
76 What Distinguishes Major Types of Translation

The third parameter in deciding a translation strategy, then, involves deter-

mining whether the purpose of the new document can or should be the same as
that of the original. Having the same purpose means, firstly, that the intention
associated with the source document can be replicated for the target-language
document and, secondly, that the expectations of the target reader are the same
as those of the reader of the original. In this case we speak of 'dependent'
documents. If, however, the original intention is unsuitable for the target docu-
ment because the target language reader has different expectations, translators
express the content of the source document in a different document type, here
called 'derived' document. Typical changes of document type in translation
are abstracts, synopses, summaries and commented texts.

Technical translation. Many translations of technical texts are read with dif-
ferent expectations. Readers frequently only scan translated documents to keep
themselves informed of developments in other countries. Translation can and
does accommodate this need for quick information and so facilitates access to
a wide range of documents. As a result, changes of document type are quite
common, as exemplified by such widely used forms as target language synop-
ses, abstracts and summaries of source texts.

Literary Translation. In literary translation, we generally assume the inten-

tion and expectations of source and target text to be the same. The intention for
communication usually originates with a publisher who wants to make a text
available to a readership of another culture, or, occasionally, with a translator
who believes that a publisher might be interested in a hitherto unknown writer
in the target culture.
Obviously, in literary translation we do not normally accept changes of
intention or expectations which would involve a change of document type. But
there is the special case of subtitles of films or surtitles in opera houses, which
are not assumed to replace the entire dialogue but to be a summary only, while
still remaining speech of some sort.
It is, however, also possible to envisage other exceptions. For example, an
English historical novel may be of interest as an example of cultural difference
only, but then we may say that it loses its function as a novel and its translation
is then no longer bound by the conventions ofliterary translation.

Bible translation. Ever since the first complete versions ofthe Bible in Greek
and Latin appeared, the purpose of translations of the Bible has always been
the same, whatever source texts were used to achieve that purpose. In addition
to the fundamental missionary purpose of Bible translation, alternative trans-
lations of the various texts which constitute the Bible are also produced as
scholarly source documents for research and use by future translators. A schol-
arly translation of this type typically contains all the variant readings and their
Juan C. Sager 77

translations together with the commentaries explaining and justifying them, as

they have been accumulated over the centuries. It is arguable whether this can
be called a change in document type.

2.4 Parameter 4: relative status of source and target text

The decisions hitherto taken in the formulation of a translation strategy are

decisive for determining the relative status of the translated document with
respect to its source. This relationship between source and target document
indicates, on the one hand, how closely the target text has to be modelled on a
previously existent translation, and, on the other, how closely it has to follow
linguistic and/or pragmatic features of the source document.
The fourth step in determining a translation strategy is, therefore, to decide
the status of the target document vis-a-vis the source document or, in other
words, to determine the degree of their functional interdependence. The pre-
cise definition of this status obliges translators to establish, once and for all,
and for the whole translation process, the appropriate degree of deviation from
the source document, the latitude allowed in terms of the translator's personal
interpretation of the document and the liberty of expression that is deemed
acceptable.
Relative status ranges from very little formal and substantial dependence
to maximal formal and substantial dependence between source and target docu-
ment and can in practice be divided into five types:

Equal documents are characterized by a high degree of reciprocal depend-

ence between the text in the source and target language, to the extent that
each document fulfils exactly the same function in its culture and, from the
point of view of its function, it is no longer possible to qualify one docu-
ment as a translation of the other.
Parallel documents are meant to be used separately or jointly, allowing
the reader to compare alternative language versions. While no claim is made
for full equality on a legal basis, the functional scope of parallel texts is
usually identical.
Dependent documents retain the document type of the source text but offer
varying degrees of deviation from the structure, the expression and the con-
tent of the original. The vast majority of translations fall into this category.
• Derived documents recast the content of the original in another document
type, more appropriate to the new readership. This type of translation is
often excluded from consideration by theorists, although abstracts and precis,
for example, are widely used forms in the non-literary field oftranslation.
• Autonomous documents represent the extreme borderline of 'free' trans-
lation and are produced when the original only serves the role of a draft
for a target-language document and has no independent function as final
78 What Distinguishes Major Types of Translation

document. Autonomous translations are therefore more or less loosely based

on an original text which has only been produced for the purpose of being
translated or which the commissioner designates as such.

Technical translation. All five types of relations exist. An example of equal

texts include documents relating to bilingual legislation in countries like Canada
or Belgium where, after translation, source and target text co-exist side by
side, as fully equal documents, so that we can no longer speak of original and
translation. Examples of parallel texts include translations of contracts with
a legal status in only the source language, and bi- or multilingual leaflets,
sales literature, notices etc. Dependent translations are usually produced when
there are no closer specifications available and are common for scientific and
technical literature such as textbooks, brochures, and manuals. Derived trans-
lations are increasingly common in information services for science and
technology, where translators sift through documents and provide selective
information to their clients in the form of abstracts or synopses, etc. It may be
useful to classify machine translation in its present state of progress under
this heading because it can usually only serve to provide superficial informa-
tion on the content of a document. It is also convenient - and strictly speaking
accurate - to classify the product of machine translation as a translation-
specific document type. In the world of commerce, autonomous translations
are frequently produced by secretaries who work on the basis of general instruc-
tions for writing letters or messages. Autonomous translation also occurs in
the case of multilingual teams of researchers, where one researcher produces
a final document based on the draft notes produced by colleagues in other
languages.
Literary Translation. For literary translation, the extremes of relative status
are rare. Equal translation can be said to exist in cases where an author pro-
duces a second language version for another audience and declares it to be so,
as Beckett did for Happy Days, which he translated into French as Ah, les
beauxjours. Unauthorized autonomous translation of works ofiiterature would
amount to plagiarism. But this type occurs at the level of the production of
second-language film scripts and dialogues for dubbing of films. The adapta-
tion of works ofiiterature in one language into another form in another language,
for example the conversion of a novel into a film script, also belongs to this
group. This leaves the many intermediate points at which the target text is in
some way functionally and structurally dependent on the source text. In de-
pendent translations, the degree of dependency is determined by the next
distinguishing parameter, i.e. awareness. In literary translation there is also a
tradition of parallel translations which allows contrasting comparisons. This
category has many subclasses and is known in such distinctive forms as cribs
and parallel text editions of poetry and plays. The function of parallel transla-
tion is usually didactic.
Juan C. Sager 79

Bible translation. The status of a translated Bible can vary. For normal pur-
poses of religious use it is an autonomous document. As a source for
re-translation it is considered a dependent document.

2.5 Parameter 5: awareness

A major strategic consideration which affects decisions on the available trans-

lation methods is that of the readers' knowledge of whether the text they are
reading is a translation or not. Translators must decide whether readers of
translations should be aware or unaware of the fact that the text is translated.
On the extremities of status, awareness is irrelevant for different reasons: in
autonomous translations there is no source text, in full equal translations both
texts can be considered source and target texts at the same time.
The fifth parameter which influences the choice of translation strategy,
therefore, concerns establishing the extent to which target readers should be
made aware of the fact that they are reading a translation; in some cases, it is
more effective for the readership to be unaware of the fact that they are dealing
with a translation. 4

Technical translation. Awareness is usually irrelevant for technical docu-

ments and in some cases, such as textbooks, it is undesirable. By contrast,
awareness is important in the case oflegal documents when only one language
version, usually the original, is considered to be authentic.

Literary Translation. In serious literary translation, reader awareness of the

fact of translation is normally assumed. In the translation of novels and plays
awareness can be deliberately exploited or reduced. There has always been a
conflict between adaptation, which intends to make the reader unaware of
translation, and culture-preserving translation, which stresses the differ-
ence of the source culture and language in the translation. Pulp fiction is
expected to be easy to read in whatever language it occurs; Agatha Christie's
novels in French aim at being read as ifthey were originally written in French. 5
In general, we can say that literature which is appreciated for an author's
style will try to reflect the distinctiveness of style through the translation and
thus make readers fully aware of the fact of translation. Literary translations
which attempt to let the author's style weigh more heavily than readability in
the target language can be said to be written in what Frawley (1984) has called
a 'third code': a code located between two cultures and two languages. For
example, the English Don Quixote has ceased to be Don Quijote, a work of
Spanish Literature, but without having become part ofthe English literary canon
or tradition.
Though considerations of awareness are largely pre-empted by convention
and circumstances, a strategic decision on awareness fundamentally shapes
the subsequent choices of translation methods. 6
80 What Distinguishes Major Types of Translation

Bible translation. The creation or avoidance of awareness has a special role

in the case of Bible translation. On the one hand, it is obvious that the context
of events is remote in space and time for a contemporary reader. The re-creation
of the Biblical settings against the background of the readership of the
translation has been attempted but is not normally considered desirable for
Bible translation. At the same time, however, opinions vary as to whether the
universality of the message, especially in the passages that consist of direct
speech, is best maintained through a timeless, usually older version of a trans-
lation, or whether the distance between reader and message weakens its impact
or even comprehensibility. The latter, incidentally, is the main reason given
for regular re-translations.

2.6 Parameter 6: translation text models

The last step in determining the translation strategy which will guide the trans-
lation process is the search for textual models for dependent texts and derived
texts, and, to a lesser extent, for the other forms of texts, i. e. full-equal, paral-
lel, autonomous and translation specific document types. Each document type
is governed by a number oflinguistic conventions which determine the degree
of diversity of structure and expression permitted. Models available for trans-
lators to draw on may consist of full texts or only certain collocations or
idiomatic expressions.
The sixth parameter for deciding a translation strategy involves, firstly,
identifying textual models in the target language and, secondly, determining
the necessity or desirability of following these models. Ignorance of models
cannot only lead to a great deal of unnecessary research but, worse, produce
unacceptable translations.
Just as writers use standard phrases, translators will also draw on expres-
sions used in previous translations. Translators will first search for previous
translation models, and will tend to follow them closely provided their quality
is assured. If they cannot be found, suitable models have to be sought from
smaller units of discourse down to individual expressions and terminology,
and in special cases even patterns of rhyme, rhythm and onomatopoeia. Here
we are already moving towards the stage of translation techniques.

Technical translation. In general, because technical communication is pat-

terned, stereotyped and predictable, technical texts usually have specific textual
models in the target language, for example technical reports, brochures, pub-
licity material. Translators usually model their work on previous translations
and, where these are not available, they rely on original target language texts
with the same function. Translators can then be said to adopt the professional
role of the writer and speak with his or her voice, regardless of whether the
writer is a scientist, a judge, a news reporter or a private letter writer. Because
Juan C. Sager 81

ofthis identification with the writer, the name of the translator is not normally
mentioned in technical documents. Besides, many technical texts are anony-
mous or have a collective authorship and this then applies also to the translator.
In these cases it can be said that the message matters more than the writer.

Bible translation. For first-time Bible translation there are no textual models
in the target language. The justification and condition of re-translations of the
Bible is that the translator has a clear perception of the suitable registers of
contemporary language into which he or she wishes to cast the new version of
the Bible.

Literary translation. In literary translation it is normal to follow existing

general models, i.e. to translate a novel into a novel and a play into a play,
except that there is already the special case of translating poetry into prose.
But the use of models stops at the level of the document type because literary
translation assumes texts to be the result of creative writing by individual
authors.
The characteristics of literary texts which justify substantially different
approaches to their translation require a more detailed analysis which will be
offered in the following section.

3. Characteristics of literary texts and literary translations

Elsewhere (Sager 1994), I have given a full analysis of the characteristics of a

wide range of non-literary texts, and especially their pragmatics which justify
the separate and distinct range of translation strategies outlined in the previous
sections. Since it would be invidious to repeat them here, the reader is referred
to this earlier study. The characteristics of 'sacred' texts and their use, as ex-
emplified by the Bible, which justify different approaches to their translation
have been competently identified by Nida (1961), Beekman and Callow (1974)
and others.
The following is an attempt to characterize those features ofliterary texts
which demand different approaches to their translation. These seem to be
(a) the individuality of the author, and (b) the creative nature ofliterary texts.
Translators ofliterary texts have to reconcile their own individuality with that
of the author and find a compromise in order to express this individuality in
the creative process.

3.1 The individuality of authors and translators

A literary translator cannot accept that there are textual models below the broad-
est definition of genres. The author is expected and respected to speak with an
individual voice. We can, at most, claim that while the first translated text of
82 What Distinguishes Major Types of Translation

an author has no precedent, second novels, plays etc. have a certain model
available in the first work - unless we are dealing with authors who deliberately
split their creative personality, as in the case of the famous Portuguese writer
Joao Pessoa who wrote simultaneously under several names which reflected
several aspects of his creative personality (for many years readers remained
unaware of the real identity of the author).
Respect for the individual voice of the author is the most important differ-
entiating mark of literary translation. This respect has to be extended to
translators who, as interpreters of the author, may differ in their interpretation
and therefore produce widely differing translations. This fact justifies the co-
existence of alternative and equally valid translations ofliterary works. So we
can have several translations of a famous novel or play, but not several ver-
sions ofa commercial contract or an international treaty.
In translated novels, this relation between author and reader is not only
fundamentally disturbed by the existence of another language, another me-
dium of expression, and its underlying culture, but by the introduction of another
person, the translator. The fact that the translator is NOT the author means
that, by necessity, another persona is introduced into this discourse, and in the
same way as the author has chosen a mode of addressing the reader, transla-
tors also have to choose and define their role in the discourse between the
writer and the reader they are called upon to mediate. 7

3.2 The creative nature of literary texts

In creative writing the author invents the world, environment, setting, charac-
ters, their speech and philosophy, which he or she presents to the reader. The
translator has no objective reality against which to measure the author's fic-
tional world and is therefore in the same position as a naive source-language
reader who has to interpret what they read. But authors' fictional worlds are
born out of their own life experiences and are by necessity coloured by the
culture of their environment and influenced by their command of language,
which is another manifestation of the cultural influence exerted on them.
As in all fiction, both author and translator rely on the reader's sympathy
with the author's intention which leads to the acceptance of the setting as a
non-specific place (suspension of disbelief). Translators therefore have to iden-
tifY and determine the time and place ofthe text they translate. This identification
creates the well-known problems of cultural distance the translator has to deal
with. We can imagine the problems created by a science fiction fantasy writ-
ten in French when it is translated into Japanese or Chinese. 8
Being part of a particular cultural environment, authors cannot escape the
linguistic specificities of their culture. The translator may have to separate the
author's cultural linguistic peculiarities from the text if they may be in con-
flict with his or her intention. For example, despite the country-neutral setting
Juan C. Sager 83

of the events in Jose Saramago's Blindness, it is quite natural that in the

Portuguese original Portuguese readers should find typically Portuguese prov-
erbs, metaphors, analogies, etc., without feeling that the novel is located in a
Portuguese-speaking country. However, in an English translation it is neither
simply a question of creating a typically English linguistic environment - this
might lead readers to think that Saramago intended his novel to be located in
England - nor of giving readers the impression that the action happens at a
time and place that have no parallels at all with their own reality.
Then there is the problem of the direct speech of the characters. A high
degree of naturalness of discourse inevitably requires culture-specific modes
of expression. Saramago overcomes this by his own technique of dialogue-
writing which is at times racy and fully adjusted to the characters and at times
rather literary. In addition, the narrator sometimes intervenes to comment on
the way his characters speak, so that absolute naturalness is not seen as the
primary objective of dialogue-writing. This provides a guide for the transla-
tor's treatment of dialogue, allowing him or her to hint at the voice of a narrator
in the background who controls what the characters are saying.

3.3 The expression of individuality in the creative process

In literature, ever since the classics, it is widely accepted that prose writers
can express their individuality through voices. They may speak directly or
adopt a persona, an alter ego, which can be distanced from the plot and the
characters in time, location and emotional involvement; in one particular form,
the drama, they can do this through the characters in a play and eventually
through actors. What is left in many cases is only the author's viewpoint. The
reader discovers the author's viewpoint in the voice of the narrator and this
identification shapes his or her subsequent reading of the text.
Translators have to adapt their strategy to the choice of the author's per-
sona in a work of literature. Through the persona the author creates the
emotional (or aesthetic) distance he or she wishes to establish between the
narrator and the story and therefore the degree of involvement or detachment
at which the work should be read. In translation, this distance has to be rede-
fined because the different cultural setting of the environment in which the
translation is read inevitably increases the physical and emotional distance.
The translator's definition of his or her persona, as the alter ego of the author,
can be used to increase or bridge these distances.
Regarding the function of the narrator, which the translator has to identify,
there are a number of positions which traditionally occur in novels and stories:

The author may speak directly to the reader by adopting the persona of an
omniscient narrator, who either remains aloof ofthe action or gets person-
ally involved by interpolating his or her own commentary. This may take
84 What Distinguishes Major Types of Translation

the form of an editorial intrusion, correcting statements made by the char-

acters, or simply creating an alienating distance between the reader and the
story. For example, the Portuguese novelist Jose Saramago once said ''I'm
opposed to a certain idea, which is fashionable nowadays, of an absent,
impartial and objective narrator, who limits himself to registering impres-
sions without reacting to them himself. Probably all this has to do with my
inability (unpardonable from a theoretical point of view) to separate the
narrator from the author himself' (Pontiero 1989:38). It is a hallmark of
Saramago's novels that he interrupts the story, and often even the speech of
his characters, to comment on what they have said.

The author may adopt an oblique position to the story in one of several
ways. First, he or she may write in the first person, i.e. adopt the voice of
one of the characters involved in the story, as in the case of Charles Dick-
ens's David Copperfield, James Joyce's Stephen Daedalus and Graham
Greene's voice in Travels with My Aunt. An extreme case, which I re-
cently edited, is Guimaraes Rosa's 'My Uncle the Jaguar', where a jaguar
tells a story. Despite Saramago's statement cited above, he also writes
novels in the first person, for example his Manual ofPainting and Calligra-
phy in which he contrasts portrait painting with creating fictional characters.
To convert a first person narrator of the source language into a first person
narrator in the target language is particularly difficult because the charac-
ter is entirely made up of his or her own speech, which is in the source
language.
Second, the author may write in the third person but from the viewpoint
of only one or a small number of participants in the story, for example
Clarice Lispector's The Besieged City, which is seen from the position of
only one character though it is written in the third person of a narrator
whom one assumes to be the author.

There are also combinations of these positions: shifts of viewpoint, as in

Saramago's The History ofthe Siege ofLisbon. This starts with a straightfor-
ward dialogue between a proofreader and an author then moves to a third person
account of an episode in the life ofthe proofreader which, as in many novels, is
interspersed with dialogues of the characters; but there are also sections of
historical writing which the proofreader has undertaken.
Finally, the author may create a narrator, thus deliberately separating him!
herself from the story. Clarice Lispector, in The Hour of the Star, adopts a
doubly distant voice by having the story told by a male narrator who also
writes a long introduction to the novel, thus creating a wide distance between
author and reader, which affects the translator in a different way. It might have
been possible, for example, to choose the role of a female English narrator
who relates a story set in Brazil.
Juan C. Sager 85

4. Summary and conclusion

Parameter 1, situational antecedent, partially defines and singles out first-

time Bible translation as a situation without precedent. Parameter 2,
document type, identifies first-time Bible translation as a translation-specific
document type and admits the existence of such types also for the other two
document classes. Parameter 3, purpose, allows us to make an important dis-
tinction between dependent and derived texts which significantly widens the
scope of what is comprised under the heading of technical translation. The
possibility of changing purpose is in practice only applicable to technical trans-
lation. Parameter 4, relative status, identifies two distinct types of technical
translation and further characterizes first-time Bible translation as autono-
mous. The status of parallel texts requires different interpretations according
to whether it occurs in literature or in technical writing. Parameter 5, aware-
ness, is very important for literary translation, and parameter 6, textual models,
conclusively separates literary from the other two classes of documents.
This simple characterization also helps to identifY the conditions upon which
translation strategies have to be based for each major type of translation. The
following tables show the paths of decision making which differentiate the
major types of translation. It will be seen that technical translation covers the
widest range of options and would need subdivisions in order to identify its
many subtypes, such as 'translation from drafts', 'interlingual gists and di-
gests', 'interlingual abstracting', etc.
For first-time Bible translation there is no situational precedent and the
new document type is inevitably translation-specific. The purpose is the same
as that of the source text, but the relative status is that of an autonomous docu-
ment for the majority of its users. Hence awareness of the source text through
the translation is undesirable. There are no textual models for the translator to
follow.

SITUATIONAL PRECEDENT yes no

DOCUMENT TYPE KNOWN yes no translation-specific
PURPOSE same different
RELA TIVE STATUS equal parallel dependent derived autonomous
AWARENESS full little none irrelevant

TEXTUAL MODELS yes no

In the case of a re-translation of the Bible for the purpose of up-dating its
language, the picture is quite different. The translator has a situational and
documentary precedent in previous translations which may be translation-
specific. The purpose of the text is obviously the same. The re-translation is,
86 What Distinguishes Major Types of Translation

however, to be considered an autonomous document, and awareness is

undesirable because its users are not encouraged to undertake exegesis on a
comparative basis with earlier translations. There are, however, clear textual
models to guide the translation in the up-dating task.

SITUATIONAL PRECEDENT yes no

DOCUMENT TYPE KNOWN yes no translation-specific?
PURPOSE same different
RELATIVE STATUS equal parallel dependent derived autonomous
AWARENESS full little none irrelevant
TEXTUAL MODELS yes no

Literary translation usually works on the basis of situational precedents

and hence has models for the document type to be produced. In most cases the
purpose of the new text is the same and the relative status is that ofa depend-
ent document, allowing the reader the possibility of comparison with the
original- thus opening also the possibility of parallel translation (e.g. of po-
etry). Consequently readers are normally aware of the fact that the text they
are reading is a translation but, given the nature of creative writing, the trans-
lator works without textual models, except in the rare cases where there is a
previous translation of a comparable work by the same author and the same
translator.

SITUA TIONAL PRECEDENT yes (usually) no

DOCUMENT TYPE KNOWN yes no translation-specific
PURPOSE same different
RELA TIVE STATUS equal parallel dependent derived autonomous
AWARENESS full little irrelevant
TEXTUAL MODELS yes no

F or technical translation the path through this sequence of choices is more

diverse and several strands are possible, none of which, however, coincides
with those of the other major classes. The majority of translations have
situational and documentary precedents, with some being translation-specific.
This permits changes in purpose in the interest of greater communicative effi-
ciency. Those which retain the same purpose may take on the status of equal
(e.g. multilingual laws), parallel (e.g. multilingual brochures) or dependent
Juan C. Sager 87

documents (e.g. reports). Equal and parallel texts naturally assume full aware-
ness of the fact of translation, but for dependent and derived texts the relevance
of translation awareness diminishes to the point of becoming irrelevant. Most
technical translations can be based on existing textual models.

SITUA TlONAL PRECEDENT yes usually no

DOCUMENT TYPE KNOWN yes no translation-specific
PURPOSE same different
RELA TlVE STATUS equal parallel dependent derived autonomous
AWARENESS full little irrelevant
TEXTUAL MODELS yes no

The diversification of paths through this decision process leads to transla-

tion-specific document types at one extreme and autonomous status (e.g. 'gist')
at the other; obviously, awareness is irrelevant, but textual models are usually
available in the form of previous translations.
The other frequent path involves a change in purpose, which can occur in
either normal document types of the target language, such as abstracts, or in
translation-specific types such as digests and 'for-information-only' transla-
tions. The status can then only be 'derived' or 'autonomous'. Awareness of the
source text is relatively rare and textual models are usually available.

JUAN C. SAGER
Department of Language Engineering, UMIST, POBox 88, Manchester,
M60 IQD, UK

Notes

1. For a full description of the stages of the translation process, see Sager
(1994).
2. This form of Bible re-translation, with or without reference to the original
Greek and Aramaic sources, bears a certain resemblance to the re-transla-
tion of works of literature which are undertaken from time to time for
various reasons.
3. The purpose of texts has been widely discussed in the literature; see for
example Buhler (1934) and Jakobson (1960). Here it is sufficient to recog-
nize such broad overall purposes of documents as 'infonnative', 'directive',
'persuasive', 'evaluative'.
4. There is, in addition, the question of an author's knowledge that his or her
text is being translated. If the author knows, the translator can consult the
author about the correct interpretation of a text. But this possibility neither
88 What Distinguishes Major Types of Translation

affects the formulation of a translation strategy nor the translation tech-

niques employed, unless the author is given a voice in specifying the optimal
readership for the translation, which is rare.
5. But there are even problems associated with the translation of Agatha
Christie's 'Poirot' detective stories into French. In the original, the Bel-
gian detective speaks with a very 'Frenchified' English; see also Edwards
(1995:52).
6. Under the heading of awareness we must also consider the special case of
pseudotranslations, i.e. texts disguised as translations, which are motivated
by snobbery, prejudice and a variety of commercial reasons. For example,
in many countries pulp fiction, such as Wild-West stories and detective
novels with a US setting, are given a phoney' American' authenticity by
having pseudonymous authors with English-sounding names or are de-
clared to be translations when they are not. Spaghetti Western films flourish
in Italy solely because in Italy it is customary to dub all foreign films, so
that Italian film audiences only know Italian-speaking John Waynes and
Clint Eastwoods.
7. There is one issue in literary theory that should not concern us here, namely
the distinction that T. S. Eliot makes between writers speaking to them-
selves and writers speaking to a reader. Obviously, translators cannot fully
identify with the creative imagination of writers and hence cannot be said
to speak with their own voice to themselves. Translators must consider
themselves readers who have been addressed by the writer and who repro-
duce the writer's message as well as they have understood it. Besides,
working on a professional basis for a publisher, there is from the outset the
assumption of a readership for which the translation is intended.
8. For example, in a recent comparison of translations I found that in a Por-
tuguese novel the author had chosen to quote verbatim a medieval
Portuguese chronicle. The English translator converted this into indirect
speech, thus paraphrasing the original in a somewhat archaic English,
whereas the translators into French, Italian and Spanish had chosen to
maintain direct speech; to do this they had invented some pastiche medi-
eval French, Italian and Spanish, respectively, which could give the
erroneous impression that the original chronicle was written in one of
these languages.

References

Beekman, John and John Callow (1974) Translating the Word of God, Dallas:
Summer Institute of Linguistics.
Biihler, K. (1934) Sprachtheorie: Die Darstellungsfunktion der Sprache, Stutt-
gart: Klett.
Edwards, J. (1995) Multilingualism, London: Penguin.
Frawley, William (1984) 'Prolegomenon to a Theory of Translation', in William
Frawley (ed) Translation: Literary, Linguistic and Philosophical Perspec-
Juan C. Sager 89

tives, London: Associated University Press.

Jakobson, Roman (1960) 'Linguistics and Poetics', in T. Sebeok (ed) Style in
Language, Cambridge, Mass.: MIT.
Nida, Eugene A. (1961) Bible Translating, Leiden: United Bible Societies.
Pontiero, Giovanni (1989) 'Interview with Jose Saramago', PN Review 4: 38.
Sager, Juan C. (1984) 'Reflections on the Didactic Implications of an Extended
Theory of Translation', in W. Wilss and G. Thome (eds) Die Theorie des
Ubersetzens und ihr Aufschlusswertfur die Ubersetzungs- und Dolmetsch-
didaktik, Tiibingen: Gunter Narr.
------ (1994) Language Engineering and Translation: Consequences of Auto-
mation, Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Vinay, J.-P. and Jean Darbelnet (1958) Stylistique comparee du fram;ais et de
I 'anglais, Paris: Didier; translated into English by Juan Sager and M.-J.
Hamel as Comparative Stylistics of French and English: A Methodology
for Translation, Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 1995.
Wilss, Wolfram (1996) Knowledge and Skills in Translator Behaviour, Amster-
dam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins.