THEORITICAL FOUNDATION OF TRANSLATING AND

INTERPRETING

CREATE BY:

DELPHI BODDE (222112011)

ANGELITA AFELYN TOUPA’(222112017)

ENGLISH EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION
INDONESIAN CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY TORAJA
YEAR 2024
 BACROUND
The meaning of translation may be defined differently by each individual who
defines it. This is related to the perspective from which the individual defines it and of
course accompanied by knowledge and experience. People might give a definition by
emphasizing translation as the transfer of meaning and messages from a source language
into the target language or based on the view that translation is a process of cultural
transfer.
 Definition of Translation
Translation (or translation practice) is a set of actions performed by a translator
when translating a source (or original) text into another language. Translation is a means
of communication between languages.

The following are excerpts from several opinions of linguists regarding the
definition of translation which is often used as a reference by practitioners and observers
of translation.

1. Catford (1965; 20), in his book A linguistic Theory of Translation, defines translation
as the transfer of discourse in the source language (TL) with equivalent discourse in
the target language (TL). Here, Catford emphasizes that the transferred discourse
must be commensurate with the original discourse. Because equivalent is a key word
in the translation process, the message in the transferred discourse will naturally be
comparable to the message in the original discourse. On the other hand, if the
transferred discourse and the original discourse are not equivalent, the transferred
discourse is not considered a translation.
2. According to Levy, translation is a skill where the translator's identity can be
reflected in the form of his opinion. Levy in his book Translation as Decision Process
(quoted in Holidaja, 1993; 49) states that translation is a creative process that always
gives the translator freedom or choice regarding several possible closest matches in
producing situational meaning. Levy further said that as a creative process, translation
gives the translator the opportunity in the form of freedom or autonomy to find the
exact match according to the context of the situation. With this autonomy, a translator
has large and significant opportunities to develop his skills and habits. He is free to be
creative in interpreting what the original author has written as long as it is not taken
out of context.
3. In line with Levy's explanation, Larson (1984; 3), in his book Meaning-Based
Translation: A Guide to Cross-Language Equivalence, defines translation as a change
in form from SL into the recipient language (BPa) where the meaning must be kept
the same . Larson explained that translation consists of tracing the lexicon,
grammatical structure, communication situation, and cultural context of the SL,
analyzing it to determine the meaning, and then reconstructing the same meaning
using the lexicon and grammatical structure that are reasonable in the SL. In other
words, Larson suggests that translation is a transfer of meaning from SL into BPA,
this meaning is transferred into BPa through semantic structure and it must be
maintained even if the form changes.
4. Newmark (1988; 5) in his book A Textbook of Translation views translation as
expressing the meaning of a discourse into another language such as the discourse
intended by the author.
5. Brislin (1976) as quoted by Suryawinata (1989) points out that translation is the
transfer of thoughts and ideas from a TL into a TL, whether it is spoken or written
language, whether that language already has an orthography (writing system) or not,
whether it is sign language for deaf people or not.
6. In Nida's view, translation consists of an effort to produce in the SL the closest
natural equivalent of the SL message, first in terms of meaning, and second in terms
of style (Nida and Taber, 1969; 12). related to reproducing the message from the SL
into the TL, the translator should translate the text by making grammatical and lexical
adaptations if possible, and not create any difficulties in the translation result for the
TL user to understand. But what is more important is to find an equivalent that has a
clear meaning rather than maintaining a form of expression that might be ambiguous
in the TL. Meaning is at the top, because this is the core of the message that must be
conveyed, while style is secondary.
7. According to House in his dissertation "A Model for Translation Quality
Assessment" explains the definition of translation as the transfer of a text in a SL
through semantic and pragmatic equivalents into a SL (House in Hilidaja, 1993; 51).
House differentiates meaning into two aspects, namely semantic meaning and
pragmatic meaning. Semantic meaning is closely related to denotative meaning,
namely meaning based on a dictionary, while pragmatic meaning is related to
connotative meaning.
8. Forster in his book Translation An Introduction defines translation as transferring the
content of SL discourse into TL, without always associating content with form
(Forster in Hanafi, 1986). In this case, Forster gives instructions that what we do in
translating must be able to transfer the content of the message which must also
automatically be able to maintain the form of expression and style of the SL. Content,
which is closely related to form, is based on the function of the translation itself. The
content in question can provide benefits not only to translators but also to readers.

From the opinions of the figures above, it can be concluded that translation, both oral
and written, places more emphasis on the meaning or message conveyed. Whether the
translation results comply with the form of the SL is not fundamental, the most important
thing is that the translation results have exactly the same intent and meaning as the
message in the SL. So there is clarity and similarity between the messages in the SL and
TL, where the messages constructed in the TL are stated naturally to be received by TL
users; messages in the SL are not measured by SL users.

In our opinion, translation is a complex and multifaceted process that involves not
only converting words from one language to another, but also understanding and
conveying the meaning and context of the original text. Translation plays a crucial role in
facilitating communication and understanding between different cultures and languages.
It is important to note that the quality of a translation can significantly impact its
effectiveness and accuracy. This is why translators often need to possess a deep
understanding of both the source and target languages, as well as a keen sense of cultural
sensitivity. Additionally, the challenges and techniques involved in translation can vary
depending on the type of text being translated, such as literary or non-literary texts.
 CONCLUTION
Translation is a complex and multifaceted process that involves understanding
and conveying the meaning and context of the original text, taking into account cultural
differences and preferences of the target audience. The quality of a translation can
significantly impact its effectiveness and accuracy, and translators need to possess a deep
understanding of both the source and target languages, as well as cultural sensitivity.
Different linguists have provided various definitions of translation, emphasizing different
aspects of the process, such as the importance of equivalence, creativity, meaning, and
form. The ultimate goal of translation is to facilitate communication and understanding
between different cultures and languages, by providing a clear and accurate
representation of the original text in the target language.