Traducción de Textos Generales y Literarios Inglés-Español

Nacho Suárez Ramos

UNIT 1: AN INTRODUCTION TO TRANSLATION THEORY

Define the term translation.

This term can have several meanings; it can refer to the subject field, the
product or the process. The process of translation can be defined as the
action of changing an original written text (source text, ST) in the original
verbal language (source language, SL) into a written text (target text, TT)
in a different verbal language (target language, TL). It is science AND art.

How have translation studies evolved

18th century to 1960s: grammar translation method: learning
grammatical rules and sentences out of context. (not communicative)
Until 1960: Language learning (mother tongue not used-looked to use
communicative skills)
1960-1970: Translation Workshops and Comparative Literature
1960-1980: Contrastive Analysis
Language Learning: Translation used to be regarded as a mere method
to learn a second language.
Translation Workshops: Translation was promoted in the USA through
these workshops which served as a platform to introduce new
translations into the target culture and to discuss the finer principles of
the translation process and of understanding texts.
Comparative Literature: This approach involved studying and
comparing literature from different nations and cultures. Translation
was, then, needed to access to texts originally written in diverse
languages.
Contrastive Analysis: This comparative study of two languages aimed to
spot general and specific dissimilarities between them. Much of the data
in these studies was provided by translations.

In the summary of the unit, we read: “(...) The discipline as we now

know it owes much to the work of James S. Holmes”. Describe his
role in the development of the subject of translation studies.
Holmes’s paper The name and nature of translation studies has been
generally regarded as the foundation of the field. He proposed a
framework for translation studies as a distinct discipline without the
limitations imposed so far by the existing disciplines, but taking into
consideration research and expertise from different fields related to
translation.
His explanations were presented later by Toury in what has been known
as Holmes’s map. Translation studies are divided into pure and applied
areas.
The pure areas objectives are:
- descriptive (a description of the phenomena)
- theoretical (the establishment of general principles to explain and
predict such phenomena).
The applied areas are relevant for:
- translator training (providing methods, techniques, etc),
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- translation aids (such as dictionaries, grammars, etc.)
- translation criticism (evaluation and review of translations).

Tip 1.3. - Holmes’s view of descriptive translation studies (DTS)

Product-oriented: descriptive analysis of interlingual translations. Creation of a general

history of translation.
Function-oriented: study of contexts. Why is translation necessary for a given society?
Transversal connections with the newborn discipline of cultural studies.
Process-oriented: what is going on in the mind of the translator? Cognition and translation.

Tip 1.4. - Holmes’s partial restrictions in translation theory

Medium: machine and human translation.

Area: language and contrastive analysis.
Rank: linguistic focus of the translation. Linguistic level, such as sound, word,
sentence, paragraph, text, as well as considerations regarding extra-linguistic issues.
Text-type: genre
Time: translation and language change.
Problem: pitfalls in translation.

Tip 1.1. - Types of translation according to Jakobson

Intralingual (rewording): interpretation of verbal signs by means of different verbal

signs of the same language.
Interlingual (translation): interpretation of verbal signs by means of signs of some
other language.
Intersemiotic (transmutation): interpretation of verbal signs by means of signs of non-
verbal systems.

Discuss the interdisciplinary nature of translation studies:

Interdisciplinary is not an easy concept to define as ‘it exists in the
interstices of the existing fields’ (McCarty 1999). It challenges the
conventional way of thinking by establishing and promoting new avenues
where different types of knowledge and technologies converge. As we have
already stated, the relation of translation studies with other disciplines
is not fixed; rather, it has shifted over the years constantly. Analyzing
translation studies from a systemic point of view, McCarthy points out
that ‘conventional disciplines have either a primary or a secondary
relationship with a new interdiscipline’.
Primarily related to linguistics (semantics, pragmatics, applied and
contrastive linguistics), modern languages and language studies,
comparative literature, cultural studies (gender and postcolonial),
philosophy (for meaning) and (more recently) sociology and history.
These relationships are not fixed and have changed over the years. Before
more focused on contrastive studies, but now more with cultural and
most recently to computing and media.
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Secondarily, related to translator training (courses in law, medicine,
finance, science…..) and computer assisted translations (CAT).

UNIT 2: CONTRASTIVE FEATURES OF NON-SPECIALISED TEXTS

What is needed for translation to be considered a profession?

As every profession, it should provide students with systematic training
in the field. SOCIETY SEEMS TO DEMAND FORMAL EDUCATION TO BE
TAKEN SERIOULY. This training must include not only practical skills
(vocational, like a plumber), but also a strong theoretical component
(academic) which will encourage students to reflect on what they do, and
on how they do it in one way rather than another. This deep knowledge
of the objects and tools they work with will serve to prove to themselves
and others that they are in control of what they do; that they do not
translate just because they have a gift or a flair for it, but rather because,
like other professionals, they have made a conscious effort to understand
the different aspects of their work.

Tip 2.4. - The concept of word in translation studies

‘For our present purposes we can define the written word with more precision as any
sequence of letters with an orthographic space on either side’ (our italics).

Tip 2.5. - Types of meaning (Baker 2011 11-15)

Lexical meaning: the specific value of the word or lexical unit in a particular linguistic
system and the ‘personality’ it acquires through usage with that system.

Propositional meaning: it provides the basis on which we can judge and utterance as
true or false.

Expressive meaning: it relates to the speaker’s feelings or attitude rather than to what
words and utterances refer to. It cannot be judged as true or false. Removing words
with only expressive meaning will not alter the information content of the message,
but only the attitude expressed by the speaker.

Presupposed meaning: it arises from restrictions on what other words or expressions

we expect to see before or after a particular lexical unit. These restrictions may be
selectional (a function of the propositional meaning, as in an intelligent stone), or
collocational (semantically arbitrary, as in a very perfect house).

Evoked meaning: it arises from dialect (geographical, temporal or social) variation and
register (field, tenor and mode) variation.
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1. Presupposed meaning: arises from co-occurrence restrictions (what we
expect to see before or after a particular lexical unit). There are 2 types.
a. Selectional restrictions: function of the propositional meaning of a
word. With studious we expect a human subject. And with geometrical
we expect an inanimate subject.
b. Collocational restrictions: semantically arbitrary, they do not follow
logically from the propositional meaning. Laws are broken (not
contradicted like in Arabic), teeth are brushed (not polished like in
German or Italian)

2. Evoked meaning: arises from dialect and register variation.

Dialects can be classified:
a. Geographical (Scottish/British/American: lift or elevator)
b. Temporal: words/structures used by older and younger generations
OR words used at different points at time
c. Social: used by different social classes:
perfume/scent….napkin/serviette

Registers: variety of language that a language user considers appropriate

to a specific situation
a. Field of discourse: “What is going on” that is relevant to the speaker´s
choice of linguistic terms. (are they at the football game or are the just
talking about it?)
b. Tenor of discourse: relationship between the people taking part in the
discourse. (doctor/patient…mother/child……superior/inferior)
c. Mode of discourse: the role which language is playing (speech, essay,
lecture, instructions…) and its medium of transmission (spoken or
written).

Tip 2.6. - Common problems of non-equivalence (Baker 2011 18-23) PEC

 Culture-specific concepts.
 The source language concept is not lexicalized in the target language.
 The source language word is semantically complex.
 The source and target languages make different distinctions in meaning.
 The target language lacks a superordinate.
 The target language lacks a specific term (hyponym).
 Differences in physical or interpersonal perspective.
 Differences in expressive meaning.
 Differences in form.
 Differences in frequency and purpose of using specific forms.
 The use of loanwords from the source text.

Tip 2.9. - Strategies used by professional translators to confront non-equivalence

 Translation by a more general word (superordinate).

 Translation by a more neutral/less expressive word.
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 Translation by cultural substitution.
 Translation by using a loan word or loan word plus explanation.
 Translation by paraphrase using a related word.
 Translation by paraphrase using unrelated words.
 Translation by omission.
 Translation by illustration.

- Translation by a more general word. This strategy involves going up

a level in a given semantic field to find a more general word that covers
the core propositional meaning of the missing hyponym in the target
language. Example: “She calmly started her car and drove them into
town”. In Spanish, since there is not a verb meaning to take somebody
somewhere by car, we may decide to say: “Arrancó el coche
tranquilamente y los llevó al centro”.
-Translation by a more neutral/less expressive word. Sometimes,
using a more neutral word saves from conveying the wrong nuance. Some
of the expressive meaning may be lost in translation, but sometimes it
can be compensated. Example: “They used to have their dinner at noon
when the machinery stopped to be checked”. In certain parts of Britain,
particularly in Scotland, the little meal taken at midday is called dinner.
To call it dinner usually has geographical or class connotations (middle-
upper class would say “lunch”). In Spanish, a translator probably would
say: “Solían comer a las 12 cuando paraban las máquinas para
revisarlas”. It would not make any sense to say “cenar” in Spanish. The
geographical/class connotations are lost in translation.
-Translation by cultural substitution. It involves replacing a culture-
specific item or expression with a target-language item which does not
have the same propositional meaning but is likely to have a similar
impact on the target reader. Example: “Take it easy, relax and have a cup
of tea”. A translation to Spanish could easily be transformed into
“Tranquilo, relájate y tómate un café”.
-Translation using a loan word or loan word plus explanation. The
translator should decide whether his/her readers will know the loan word
or will need a clarifying footnote. Once explained, it can be used repeated
times in the text. Example: “La excursion incluye una visita a un bar de
tapas en la ciudad”. A translation into English could be: “The trip
includes a visit to a tapas bar in the town”. Should an explanation be
required, the translator may want to add a footnote like this: “In Spain,
tapas are small plates of food served with drinks.” On the other hand, a
translation into Spanish of a especialised text about computers could
leave a loan word without any explanation at all because the reader is
expected to fully understand its meaning. For instance: “hardware”.
However, if this term appears in a text with a wider audience, the
translator should add a footnote to the term reading: “Conjunto de
componentes materiales de un sistema informático”.
-Translation by paraphrase using a related word. This strategy is
useful when the concept is lexicalized in the target language but in a
different form. An equivalent word is used, but it may have another
function in the phrase and it may need more words to form a correct
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utterance. Example: “Did you fax him a reply?” A Spanish translator
would have to paraphrase since in Spanish, fax can be used as a noun,
but not as a verb. “¿Le has enviado un fax con la respuesta?
-Translation by paraphrase using unrelated words. It entails modifying
a superordinate or unpacking the meaning of the source item, i.e, when
there is not an equivalent for the term, some words, not related to the
source term, are needed in order to explain the meaning of the term.
Example: “I’ll text you later”. A Spanish translation would probably
require more words to unpack the meaning: “Luego te envío un mensaje
al móvil”
-Translation by omission. When dealing with a non-vital item whose
meaning explanation would distract the reader, the translator can opt for
omitting the word or utterance. Example: “Secondly, he has to thank the
groom for doing him his very best man”. The word “very” could cause
troubles for a natural reading in Spanish, so the translator can decide
that this term is not vital to convey the meaning of the groom’s friend and
assistant. “En Segundo lugar, tiene que agradecer al novio que lo eligiera
como testigo”.
-Translation by illustration. When possible, an illustration can avoid
lengthy explanations which would clatter the text. Example: “Keep
yourself in the driver’s seat of your life”. Let us imagine that this
utterance is accompanied by an illustration of someone driving a car. We
could translate it as: “Sé tú mismo quien maneje tu vida”. Although it is
not a natural expression in Spanish, it would fit the illustration and it
make sense in the reader’s mind.

Semantic fields
Semantic fields (sets of words that refer to a series of conceptual fields)
reflect the divisions and subdivisions ‘imposed’ by a given linguistic
Tip 2.7. community on the continuum of experience […] semantic fields are
arranged hierarchically, going from the more general (superordinate), to
the more specific (hyponym) (Baker 2011 16-17).

Describe common collocational related pitfalls and problems in

translation:

COLLOCATION: tendency of some words to co-occur in a given language.

Semantically arbitrary restrictions (not logical). Which usually has to do
with the propositional meaning.
Collocations are arbitrary and independent of meaning. New ones can be
created.
Tip 2.10. - Collocational range and collocational markedness

Range: set of words (collocates), which are typically associated with the word in
question. Specificity and the number of senses a word may have, determines its
collocational range. Thus, the more general and polysemous the word is, the wider its
range.
Markedness: since there is no such thing as an impossible collocation, the terms
typical or untypical, admissible or inadmissible, are employed instead. Thus, a
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collocation that features an unusual, striking or unexpected combination of words will
be described as marked.

Tip 2.11. - Collocation-related pitfalls and problems in translation

 Engrossing effect of source text patterning.

 Misinterpreting the meaning of a source language collocation.
 Tension between accuracy and naturalness.
 Culture specific collocations.
 Marked collocations in the source text.

Idioms and fixed expressions are frozen patterns of language, which

Tip 2.12. allow little or no variation in form and, in the case of idioms, often carry
meaning, which cannot be deduced from the individual components.

Tip 2.13. - What you cannot (normally) do with an idiom

 Change the order of the words.

 Delete words from it.
 Add a word to it.
 Replace a word with another.
 Change its grammatical structure.

What strategies will help us to translate idioms? Try to provide some

examples (different from the ones in the book).
-Using an idiom of similar meaning and form. “A bird in the hand is
worth two in the bush” can be translated into the Spanish equivalent
“Más vale pájaro en mano que ciento volando”.
-Using an idiom of similar meaning but dissimilar form. Example:
“They may be counting their chickens they are hatched”. A Spanish
equivalent could be: “Me parece que están vendiendo la piel del oso antes
de cazarlo”, or “Les va a pasar como el cuento de La Lechera”.
-Borrowing the source language idiom. Example: “The male peacock
first fans out his long train”. We may opt to say: “El pavo real abre su
amplia cola como un abanico”.
-Translation by paraphrase. Example: “She has had the time of her life”.
A possible translation by paraphrase would be: “Se lo ha pasado como
nunca en su vida”.
-Translation by omission of a play on idiom. Example: “Actions speak
louder than words”. To translate this expression into Spanish, we may
need to omit the play on actions speaking louder because it does not
make sense in that language. A solution would be to choose an idiom
similar in form and conveying a similar meaning like “Obras son amores
y no buenas razones” although the play on the source idiom were lost.
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-Translation by omission of entire idiom. Example: “To be honest, that
is not my cup of tea”. A Spanish translator may opt to omit the idiom and
simply say: “La verdad es que no me gusta”.

Tip 2.13. - Fixed expressions. Potential pitfalls.

These patternings are very much like idioms and they allow no variation in form.
Unlike idioms, they often have transparent meanings. They encapsulate stereotypical
aspects of experience and therefore perform a stabilizing function in communication.

 How to interpret them correctly?

 Misleading idioms.
 Existence of a very close counterpart with a totally or partially different
meaning.

 How to translate them correctly?

 No equivalent may exist.

 The equivalent exists but it is not semantically, syntactically, or
pragmatically valid.
 There is a play on idiom that cannot be successfully reproduced.
 The convention of using idioms in discourse varies in context and
frequency between the two languages.

UNIT 3: DEFINING ELEMENTS OF NON-SPECIALISED TRANSLATION

Tip 3.3. - Grammatical categories

Number: the expression of countability for language. Information on number is

encoded in one way or another depending on the particularities of the lexical
encoding of a given language.

Gender: the grammatical distinction according to which a noun or pronoun is

classified as either masculine or feminine in some languages. This extends to animate
and inanimate beings. Determiners, adjectives and sometimes verbs agree with the
noun in gender as well as in number, depending on the language.

Person: it is related to the notion of participant roles. A closed system of pronouns

may be organised in a way that suits speakers of a certain language better in their
interactions with one another. The most common distinction is that of first, second
and third person.
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The person system implies that some nouns are sometimes used to refer to female
and male members of the same species or professions in their masculine and feminine
forms.
Expressive meaning may be embodied as gender shift.

Tense and aspect: they are grammatical categories in a great number of languages.
The form of the verb usually indicates time relations (locating an event in time, such
as present, past and future) and aspectual differences (temporal distribution of an
event, completion or non-completion, continuation or momentariness).

Voice: a grammatical category which defines the relationship between a verb and its
subject. When the clause is in active voice, the subject is responsible for performing
the action. In passive clauses, the subject is the affected entity.

Halliday´s information flow: Of the numerous formulations available for

expressing a given message, a speaker or writer will normally opt for one
that makes the flow of information clearer in a given context.
Thematic structure (either acceptable or ill-formed) can be represented
in hierarchy: Clause consists of two segments: Theme and Rheme
Theme: first part, what the clause is about. Two functions:
1. point of orientation (connects back to previous speech, so provides
coherence, more organizational)
2. point of departure (connects forward and contributing to development
of later stretches of language)
Rheme: second part, what the speaker says about the Theme. Goal of
discourse. Most important part.

Conjunctions (however, nevertheless…) and disjuncts (in my opinion,

clearly, frankly…) usually come at the beginning and are NOT part of the
basic thematic structure…they are not part of the propositional content
of the message.
Theme is usually the subject and Rheme the predicate….but there are
marked themes.

Tip 3.9. - Marked vs. unmarked sentences

Meaning is closely associated with choice. The more obligatory an element, the more
marked it will be and the weaker will be its meaning. The less expected a choice, the
more marked it is and the more meaning it carries.
The more expected, the less marked it is and the less significance it will have.
The more marked the choice, the greater the need for it to be motivated.

Tip 3.10. - Main types of marked theme in English

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Fronted theme: the achievement of marked theme by moving into initial position an
item which is otherwise unusual there. From less to more marked:

 Fronting of time or place adjunct.

 Fronting of object or complement.
 Fronting of predicator.

Predicated theme: using an it-structure (cleft structure) to place an element near the
beginning of the clause.

Identifying theme: nominalisation using a wh-structure (pseudo-cleft structure).

Proposed theme: gloss tag at the beginning of the clause.

Postposed theme: gloss tag at the end of the clause.

Tip 3.11. - Information structure

This alternative division of the clause in segments considers that what is given
(information) represents the common ground between speaker and hearer and gives
the latter a reference point to which he or she can relate new information. On the
other hand, what is new (information) represents what the speaker wants to convey
to the hearer. With this definition it becomes clear that there is a close association -
at least in the Hallidayan model - between theme/given and rheme/new.

Tip 3.13. - Firbas’ model. Functional Sentence Perspective (FSP). The Prague school

Communicative Dynamism (CD) is a property of communication, displayed in the

course of the development of the information to be conveyed and consisting in
advancing this development. The higher the degree of CD, the more an element of a
sentence ‘pushes communication forward’.

Communicative dynamism (CD) emerges from the interaction between:

• Linear modification (syntax).

• Semantic structure.
• Context.

A clause consists of two types of elements: foundation-laying/context-dependent

elements and core-constituting/context-independent elements. The former have a
lower degree of CD and are always thematic. The latter, however, may be thematic or
rhematic.
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How to minimize linear dislocation:

In languages that have relatively free word order, there is less tension
between syntax and communicative function.
Word order can indicate: roles of subjects, object, etc (syntax)….roles of
actor, patient, beneficiary (semantics), information flow (theme/rheme or
given/new) (communicatively)
a. voice change:
-active for passive, or the other way around: passive for active (but
remember to provide an agent!)
-ergative structures, using object of transitive verb as subject of
instransitive verb
b. change of verb: change it for a verb with a different syntactic
configuration but with similar meaning. (give/get…like/please: I like it,
It pleases me). Though not used much because they may seem unnatural.
c. Nominalization: replacing a verbal form with a nominal one.
(describe/description)
d. Extraposition: change the position of the entire clause using a cleft

Tip 3.16. - What is cohesion? / What is coherence?

Cohesion: the network of lexical, grammatical and other relations which provide links
in various parts of a text. It is a surface relation. It is a property of the text (objective).
‘Cohesion is the surface expression of coherence relations. It makes conceptual
relations explicit’.

Coherence: the network of conceptual relations which underlie the surface text. Links
provided by conceptual or meaning dependencies. Subjective. Varies from reader to
reader.

Tip 3.17. - Halliday and Hasan’s Cohesion in English (1976). Cohesive devices.

Reference: relationship between a word and what it actually points to in the real world
(identity between two linguistic expressions). When more than two items are
associated in his way, we call them chains of co-referentiality, Which are very
common when trying to avoid repetition.

Substitution and ellipsis: replacement or omission of a set of items for a different set
of items.

Conjuction: the use of formal markers to relate sentences, clauses and paragraphs to
each other. It is a connection between what has already been said and what is about
to be said. There are various different types: additive, adversative, causal, temporal
and continuative.

Lexical cohesion: the role played by the selection of vocabulary in organising relations
within a text. Reiteration and collocation are two instances of these phenomena.
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Tip 3.18. - Halliday and Hasan’s (1976) continuum of cohesive elements (from more
explicit to less explicit.

 Repetition.
 Synonym.
 Co-reference.
 Superordinate.
 General word.
 Pronominal reference.

Tip 3.19. - Additional cohesive elements

 Continuity of tense.
 Consistency of style.
 Punctuation devices: colon and semicolon.
 ‘Chaining’ (repetition of part of the preceding information in the following sentence).
 Inclusion of visual materials.
 Layout.
 Hyperlinks.

UNIT 4: INTERLINGUISTIC INEQUIVALENCE ITEMS IN NON-SPECIALISED

TRANSLATION

Coherence and the Co-operative Principle

‘[Coherence] depends on the receiver, and on his ability to interpret the
indications present in the discourse, so that, finally, he manages to
understand it in a way which seems coherent to him’.

-make your contribution such as required

-at the stage at which it occurs
-by the accepted purpose or direction of the exchange. The maxims
involved are:
-quantity: as informative as required (be informative)
-quality: say what is true, don´t lie (be truthful)
-relevance/relation: make contributions relevant (be relevant)
-manner: don´t be obscure or ambiguous, be brief and be orderly (avoid
ambiguity)

Implicatures: is a pragmatic inference that allows us to achieve

coherence. Very important in translation. We must understand more
than what is actually said. Implied meaning (irony/sarcasm: opposite of
what is said).
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Standard implicature: when the meaning of the question is literal “What
time is it” (I don´t know the time).
Conversational Implicature: when one or more maxims is flouted. When
I say “What´s the time” implying that you are late.

What is implicature?
Implicature is to understand more than what is actually said. For
example, when someone is being sarcastic the implicature will be to be
able to recognize the speaker is referring to the opposite of what he is
stating. Non literal meaning.
There are two types of implicature:
Conventional implicature:
-textual resources: therefor, because, in spite of…..
-grammatical resources: structures
Non-conventional implicature:
-standard (Levingson): literal meaning. EX: What time is it? (I don´t know
this info)
- Conversational implicature (Grice): non literal meaning/rhetorical. EX:
What time is it? (you are late)

Implicatures are very important in the translation process. The translator

has to be able to identify the implicatures in the original text and to
transfer them to the translated text so that what is implied by the
writer/speaker is also understood in the translation. Without them, the
message will not be fully delivered and thus the translated text will lack
resemblance to the original one.

How does background information affect the translation process?

Depending on the circumstances the translator may find him/herself in
the position of having to reassess what may or may not be available to
the target readers. By doing this he/she will make sure that implicatures
can be worked out and the text will be understood. It is not just about
increasing reader’s knowledge but also about meeting reader’s
expectations, for example, the organization of language can affect the
coherence of a text and to avoid unwanted implicatures. So the translator
may decide, when he/she anticipates a serious clash between assumed
and actual background knowledge of the reader, to include more
information in the body of the text as means to aid the understanding of
the text. As much as the translator may look after an appropriate
reception of the message on the side of the reader, he/she is not
responsible in creating a text that meets the exact expectations of the
readers.

Explain the main ethical implications of the translator’s choices.

Tip 4.9. - Ethical decision-making

Deontological: definition according to what is right in and of itself (Kantian).

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Teleological: definition by reference to what produces the best results (Utilitarian).

Tip 4.11. - Moral principles

Universalist: moral principles exist and apply universally, with context-sensitive

variations.

Consequentialists: cost benefit analysis of the consequences. Egoists and altruists are
utilitarians also.

 Act-utilitarianism: an ethical decision results in the most favourable

consequences for the largest number of people in a given context.

 Rule-utilitarianism: the most adequate rules lead to the right decision,

where utility is maximised.

Kantian ethics: actions are right or wrong in and of themselves, irrespective of the
consequences and contextual considerations.

Do translators have a code of ethics to regulate their work? Please

explain.

Tip 4.12. - Codes of ethics

 Professional codes of translation and interpreting regulate ethical behaviour in

the field. Although they are by no means universal, or even standardised, many
specialists and professional translators agree on the need for:

 Accuracy.

 Impartiality.

 Confidentiality.

Keep in mind:
-No code can ever predict the full range of concrete ethical issues that
may arise in the course of professional practice.
-Codes, like laws, are never infallible.
-It is in the interest of society as a whole for individuals to be
accountable for their positions, in professional life as elsewhere.

UNIT 5: CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF NON-SPECIALISED TEXTS

Two different texts in specialized translation:

 Traducción de Textos Generales y Literarios Inglés-Español
Nacho Suárez Ramos
-technical translation: go beyond limits of technical or scientific: legal,
philosophical, journalistic, medical, architectural, telecommunications,
marketing……
-With some degree of specialization
-Should be lexically very similar to the original, form and content
CANNOT be split
-no ambiguity or misinterpretation, must understand the terminology
very well
-must be very precise, it doesn´t matter if it sounds “better or worse”
-many times can only use calques or straight borrowing (with an
explanatory note) A=B
Literary text: focuses on content AND on manner which it is presented
A can never = B
-equivalence between two texts is not exactly measurable
-a number of possible variants are available
-the original writer has created something based on his/her
imagination, the translator must enter into their world.
-must reshape the text, respecting original matter and manner, while
making it coherent in the TL

Tip 5.3. - Berman’s deforming tendencies

 Rationalisation.
 Clarification.
 Expansion.
 Ennoblement / Popularization.
 Qualitative / Quantitative impoverishment.
 Destruction of rhythm, underlying networks of signification, linguistic patternings,
vernacular networks, or the exoticization of expressions and idioms.
 Effacement of the superimposition of languages.

Domestication: changing the SL values to make them more

accessible/understandable to the TL audience. Replacing of linguistic
and cultural elements to make it more intelligible.
Advantage: smooth and natural. Disadvantage: loses cultural info and
is not authentic nor faithful to the original. Very common in dubbing for
TV.
Foreignization: keeping the SL values in their original form. Disturbing
the linguistic and cultural elements of the TL. Advantages: enriches the
audience´s culture, keeps flavor of original text. Disadvantage:
translation may not be understood, so useless.
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Most useful translation strategies (from pdf by Noa)

 Borrowing. (taking a word from another language: borrowing or calques):
drag queen, pop, surfing…..
 Transposition: WORDS.(when parts of speech change structure when
translated): red car/coche rojo, handknitted/tejido a mano
 Modulation: PHRASES (more abstract than Transposition, different phrase to
express the same idea): Te lo dejo/You can have it
 Reformulation.(completely different, creative): idioms, slogans, titles of
books or films
 Compensation.(no direct translation, so the meaning is compensate in
another moment. Ud= more formal speech)
 Expansion.(expand info in the TL, YMCA is expanded to explain what it is)
 Neutralisation, simplification and omission. (leave it out or simplify) “Broker”
simplified to “intermediaries”
 Equivalence (Proper names are left alone):
 Adaptation. (reword, freer translation): innavigable/imposible de manejar

Tip 5.7. - Contrastive analysis

 It is defined as ‘the common comparison of two languages by paying attention

to differences and similarities between the languages being compared’. The
following issues are to be considered:

 The need to be faithful to the text.

 Then need to understand semantic and cultural differences.

 The presence or absence of beliefs and values and patterns of thought.

Tip 5.8. - Degrees of difficulty in contrastive analysis

 Zero (transfer). no difficulty/difference. The translator can simply

transfer (positively) a sound, lexical item or structure from the SL
to the TL. Hello = hola good afternoon= buenas tardes
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Nacho Suárez Ramos
 One (coalescence). when 2 or more items in the SL are only 1 in the
TL Handset/phone/telephone= teléfono much/many=
mucho

 Two (underdifferentiation). An item in the SL is absent in the TL

Anyhow= ???? (need context)

 Three (reinterpretation). an item from the SL is reshaped or

redistributed in the TL. The result is similar but not the same.
“Internet” is pronounced differently in English and in Spanish.

 Four (split). an item in the SL refers to 1 or more items in the TL

Head= cabeza, director, dirigir, líder / Play= jugar o tocar un
instrumento

LEXICAL LEVEL in contrastive analysis:

1. Cognates: similar pronunciation and meaning in both languages EX:
class/clase lemon/limón pair/par
2. Words similar in meaning but different in form (cultural
connotations are different) EX: Partner= pareja drink=bebida
3. Words with strange meanings: creates misunderstandings
EX: conservatory: habitación que forma parte de la casa y jardín a la vez
4. Idioms:
EX: look after= cuidar catch up=recuperar Mother in law= suegra
5. Words that have different connotations in 2 languages (neutral or
positive in one and negative in another
EX: Moorish/Moro gypsy/Gitano
6. Geographically restricted words: Argentina/Spain USA/
England EX: petrol/ gas lift/elevator

The discourse level in contrastive analysis

Pragmatic aspects of language according to Discourse Analysis.
 Presupposition (shared knowledge).
 Context. (linguistic and physical)
 Deixis (pronouns, possessives, demonstratives and some adverbs).
 Ellipsis. (occurs in almost all languages)
 Substitution.(by more general word)
 Conjunctions. (signals between segments)
 Propositions.(coherence relations that the hearer needs to recover to interpret a discourse)
 Speech acts (illocutionary acts: direct or indirect).
 Cohesion. (links and connectors in texts that keep it together)
 Coherence. (make the text meaningful)

UNIT 6: TEXT ANALYSIS AND THE TRANSLATION OF NON-SPECIALISED

TEXTS

Why use dialects?

-for humor
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Nacho Suárez Ramos
-to show regional or social origin
-for local color
-to show contrast between characters
-also to show ethnic and cultural factors (black English)

Tip 6.5. - Translation strategies: dialect

 Attempting some form of non-standard variety in the TL.

 Standard language only (making reference to the dialect).

 Ignoring the non-standard language completely.