INTRODUCTION

to
TRANSLATION
Abe G. Belleza, PhD
College of Arts and Letters
Bicol University
 COURSE DESCRIPTION
An introduction to the art and practice of
translation, as well as the history of translation
theory. This course is divided into three parts,
hoping to provide an analysis of the process, as
well as practical advice for intending
translators, namely: the theory of translation,
the practice of translation, and the appreciation
of literary translations as texts.
In covering these issues, the course stresses
the importance of understanding the unfamiliar,
and the need to see human experience from as
many angles
 COURSE OUTLINE
I – Introduction to the Key Concepts
of Translation

➢ The concept of translation

➢ A brief history of the discipline

➢ Translation Studies in the Philippine

Context: A historical development
 COURSE OUTLINE
II – Theories of Translation Spanning
the Centuries and Ranging Across
Cultures

➢ ‘Word-for-word’ or ‘sense-for-sense’
➢ Faithfulness, spirit, and truth
➢ Early attempts at systematic translation
theory
➢ Towards contemporary translation theory
➢ Equivalence and Equivalent effect
 COURSE OUTLINE
II – Theories of Translation Spanning
the Centuries and Ranging Across
Cultures

➢ Functionaltheories of translation
➢ Systems theories

➢ Specimens of literary translation

 COURSE OUTLINE
III – The Role of the Translator

➢ The translator as a learner

➢ The cultural and political agenda of
translation
➢ The position and positionality of the
literary translator
 COURSE OUTLINE
IV – Reflections of Translators on the
Act of Translation

➢ What goes on in the translators’ heads

when they are translating?

➢ Pleasures and Problems of Translation

(The Craft of Translation)
 COURSE OUTLINE
V – Issues and Challenges in the
Practice of Translation

➢ Structures

➢ Untranslatability

➢ Poetry and Translation

➢ Translating Prose

➢ Translating Dramatic Texts

The term translation itself has
several meanings:
➢ Changing from one state or
FORM to another

➢ theform of language:
words, phrases, clauses,
sentences, paragraphs, etc.
= Surface Structure
➢ Transferring the
meaning of the source
language (SL) into the
receptor or target
language (TL)
➢ Meaning being
transferred must be
held constant
➢ Only the FORM changes
The term translation
➢ can refer to the general subject
field, the product (the text that
has been translated) or
➢ theprocess (the act of
producing the translation,
otherwise known as
translating).