The Journal of Specialised Translat ion I ssue 11 - January 2009

D e a lin g w it h cu lt u r a l e le m e n t s in t e ch n ica l t e x t s for t r a n sla t ion

Ra de gu ndis St olze , D a r m st a dt Un ive r sit y of Te ch nology

ABSTRACT

Cult ure is t he background of every hum an com m unicat ion. Cult ural em bedding as a
feat ure of t ext s in general is also valid in t echnical and scient ific t ext s. As t ranslat ion by
hum ans is based on underst anding, t he t ranslat or needs knowledge in order t o det ect
cult ural aspect s. This is possible by put t ing down im plicit cult ural references t o cert ain
st ruct ures on t he t ext level. Cult ural elem ent s appear in t he t ext on all levels – from t he
concept and form of words, t o t he sent ence and t ext st ruct ure, t o pragm at ics. Exam ples
for t he various appearances are present ed in t he first part of t he paper.

The second part discusses t ranslat ion as a writ ing process. Here t he cat egories of
at t ent ion governing t he t ranslat or’s approach are present ed. Taking a holist ic view of t he
t ext , t he t ranslat or m ay consider t he relevant cult ural cont ext , discourse field, concept ual
world and predicat ive m ode t o prom ot e his or her underst anding. The t arget language
form ulat ion will t hen observe t he m edium , st ylist ics, coherence and funct ion of t he t ext .
Dealing wit h cult ural elem ent s m ay be m ot ivat ed in view of t he aforem ent ioned
cat egories of at t ent ion.

KEYW ORD S

Cult ure, t erm inology, t ext t ype, funct ion, cat egories of at t ent ion, underst anding,
pragm at ics.

1 . I n t r oduct ion

Technical t ranslat ion or research in language for specific purposes ( LSP)

has long been considered as a field of t he exact sciences, and t he idea of
a cult ural em bedding of t echnical and scient ific t ext s was dism issed from
t he t heoret ical analysis:

As a ‘higher- level’ discipline, building upon t he insight s of cont rast ive linguist ics and
sharing wit h it t he not ion of ‘t ert ium com parat ionis’, TS [ sc. Translat ion St udies]
seeks opt im ally inclusive rules of ST/ TT coordinat ion ( Wilss 1996: 10) .

I t is quest ionable, t hough, whet her t he not ion of a t ert ium com parat ionis
– valid for st andardised t echnical t erm inology – can be t ransferred t o t he
t ask of t ranslat ing in general. Translat ing t echnical t ext s in t he
professional environm ent or in scient ific com m unicat ion is m ore t han
handling t erm inology.

Text s, as t he m eans of oral and writ t en com m unicat ion am ong persons,
are carriers of m essages. And any m essage wit hin a t echnical or scient ific
discourse field includes bot h subj ect - relevant inform at ion and som e
im plicit references t o t he cult ural background of t he person speaking.
There is no st erile sphere of ‘opt im al t ext coordinat ion’ in t he real world.
Cult ure as t he background of every hum an com m unicat ion is a dynam ic
phenom enon based on hist orical t radit ion including t he individuals’
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personal developm ent . Cult ural issues in t ranslat ion are connect ed wit h
t he problem of underst anding t he t ext s t o be t ranslat ed, because in m any
cases t he t ranslat or is not necessarily a m em ber of t he sam e cult ure.
The t ranslat or t herefore will have t o be aware of his or her own
herm eneut ic approach. Underst anding is never a m at t er of fact but
requires int erpret at ion as t he process of searching for m eaningfulness.
Herm eneut ics sees com prehension as a cognit ive revelat ion of m eaning t o
t he int erest ed recept ive reader ( St olze 2003: 81) ; it is not an act ive
const ruct ion of sense, and it m ay also fail.

The foreign realit y is always seen phenom enologically from a part icular
individual perspect ive. This individual perspect ive is t he “ herm eneut ic
circle” as every hum an disposes of different experiences and knowledge.
You can only underst and som et hing when a bridge of knowledge already
exist s. But t his is no fixed rest rict ion, as t he circle m ay easily be ext ended
by learning. However, wit hout any cult ural or fact ual pre- knowledge I will
not underst and a piece of inform at ion, even if it is present ed t o m e in t he
m ost logical way. Herm eneut ics calls for a crit ical self- awareness
regarding t his problem : one m ust always ask oneself whet her sufficient
knowledge is given for underst anding, t ranslat ing and ent ering int o a
debat e, or whet her som e learning st rat egies are st ill needed.

When we accept t hat t ext s funct ion wit hin cult ures, t here m ust also be
som e cult ural feat ures discernable in t hose t ext s. Cognit ive t ext
processing based on reading is a part ly int uit ive int eract ion bet ween t he
bot t om - up input of t he t ext st ruct ure and t he t op- down int ervent ion of t he
cont ent of one’s m em ory. That m eans t hat underst anding can be put
down t o linguist ic st ruct ures on t he t ext level t hat first t riggered t he
respect ive cognit ive react ion. Cult ure will be present in t ext s, even in
t echnical ones. And cult urally based convent ions of t ext const ruct ion m ay
even const it ut e a m aj or t ranslat ion problem for scient ific com m unicat ion.
Det ect ing cult ural elem ent s in t ext s t herefore is decisive for t ranslat ion.

2 . Cu lt u r a l e le m e n t s in t e x t s

A key quest ion is what are cult ural elem ent s and how are t hey visible in
t ext s? Cult ural elem ent s cannot be reduced t o st range obj ect s t hat would
be unknown elsewhere. Cult ural elem ent s are a background of knowledge
which is generally relevant for adequat e com m unicat ion wit hin a societ y:

Cult ure, being what people have t o learn as dist inct from t heir biological herit age,
m ust consist of t he end product of learning: knowledge, in a m ost general, if
relat ive, sense of t he t erm . By t his definit ion, we should not e t hat cult ure is not a
m at erial phenom enon; it does not consist of t hings, people, behaviour, or
em ot ions. I t is rat her an organizat ion of t hese t hings. I t is t he form s of t hings t hat
people have in m ind, t heir m odels for perceiving, relat ing, and ot herwise
int erpret ing t hem ( Goodenough 1964: 36) .

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Cult ure det erm ines how people speak and writ e and perceive each ot her.
Consequent ly, cult ural elem ent s, t herefore, m ust be present im plicit ly in
t ext s, but as a background feat ure t hey are im plicit . This becom es crucial
in t ranslat ion, when a t ranslat or from a different cult ure m ay not be able
t o adequat ely int erpret t he im plicit cult ural t races, or even m isint erpret s
t hem . I n t ranslat ions we oft en find m ore or less adequat e “ m odulat ions”
or “ adapt at ions” result ing in “ cult ural shift s” . And a t ranslat ion where
foreign elem ent s are not adapt ed will appear as an “ overt t ranslat ion”
( House 1997: 29) “ which allows t he t ranslat ion recept or a view of t he
original t hrough a foreign language while clearly operat ing in a different
discourse world” .

This in t echnical t ranslat ion is inadequat e, since t he purpose of

t ranslat ing, here, is sim ply t o cont inue a scient ific com m unicat ion across
t he language border. Science m eans com m unicat ion am ong scient ist s
regarding t heir respect ive view on t he obj ect s ( Kalverkäm per 1998: 31) .
Technical t ranslat ion requires t he form ulat ion of com m unicat ively
adequat e t echnical t ext s in t he ot her language. This includes clarit y,
precision and linguist ic econom y, as t he key funct ion of LSP ( Language for
Specific Purposes) is t he specificat ion, condensat ion and anonym it y of t he
proposit ions ( Gläser 1998: 206) . Cult ural elem ent s in t ext s m ight be
deem ed superfluous here, but t hey are always t here, if only im plicit ly.

Cult ural t races in t ext s cert ainly have a specific linguist ic form . Hence it is
useful t o present an overview of various linguist ic m anifest at ions of
cult ure in t ext s. This ranges from t he word level and synt act ic st ruct ures
t o t he st yle on t he t ext level, and it s pragm at ic social funct ion.

2 .1 . Cu lt u r e in t e r m in ologica l con ce pt s

I n t echnical t ranslat ion t he t erm inology m ust be checked conscient iously.

Of course no cult ural differences are prevalent in int ernat ionally
st andardised t erm inology, e.g. words list ed in relevant dat abases wit h t he
m ark CE or DI N or I SO. However, t his t ype of t erm inology is very m uch in
t he m inorit y. Term inology is int elligible wit hin a scient ific or t echnical
dom ain, as “ t erm s in a t ext presuppose m em orized cont ext s and pract ical
sit uat ions bot h for t heir usage and for t heir com prehension”
( Kalverkäm per 1983: 154, m y t ranslat ion) .

Underst anding of t erm inology – which is essent ial for correct t ranslat ion –
is not fully guarant eed by t he consult at ion of dict ionaries and dat abases,
because new t erm s are const ant ly being creat ed t hat part ly even carry
inherent concept ual differences. Schm it t ( 1999: 228ff) present s som e
im pressive exam ples of an int er- cult ural incongruence of concept s, where
com parable t erm s are not equivalent because t he concept s t hey designat e
are different for cult ural reasons. There are for inst ance varying st andards
for t he st eelm aking bet ween t he U.S.A. and Germ any: carbon st eel is not

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equivalent t o Kohlenst offst ahl ( as is indicat ed in m any dict ionaries) , rat her
it is Baust ahl, a less brit t le t ype of st eel.

Due t o clim at ic variat ions, t he safet y and const ruct ion rules m ay be
different in count ries, even if t he t erm s designat ing t he respect ive obj ect
are apparent ly t he sam e: Wärm epum pe ( in Germ any for environm ent -
friendly house- heat ing) ~ heat pum p ( for heat ing and/ or cooling in t he
U.S.) . From a linguist ic perspect ive we are faced wit h “ false friends” .
There is also t he exam ple of apparent ly equivalent t erm s in t he
const ruct ion of power st at ions: Druckhalt er- Wasserst andsm esskanal ~
pressurizer wat er level sensing channel, or int egriert es Blockregelsyst em
~ int egrat ed cont rol syst em , et c. Even if t he basic funct ion of t he
respect ive obj ect is t he sam e, e.g. in t he Am erican and t he Germ an
cult ure, t he t erm s st ill are incongruent , because t he obj ect s are
const ruct ed in a different way.

Problem s of equivalence vary am ong t he languages. For t he com binat ion

of m at erials t he Germ an and t he English language have special words:
löt en – t o solder; schweißen – t o weld. The I t alian language is, by
com parison, less specific and so, for exam ple, t he word saldare can m ean
löt en/ schweißen, whereas French, anot her Rom ance language, has t he
t erm s brasage/ brasure – Löt en and soudage/ soudure – Schweißen, which
are occasionally even used int erchangeably.

Som et im es, new t echnical t erm s are creat ed by m eans of m et aphorical

t erm inology referring t o sim ilarit ies in t he funct ion, form , or posit ion of an
obj ect . But even if t he concret e form of an obj ect m ight lead t o a sim ilar
cognit ive concept in various cult ures, t his is not necessarily always t he
case. Problem s in t ranslat ion can arise when t he m et aphors are not
ident ical bet ween languages and t ranslat ors are not aware of t his
possibilit y, for exam ple:

m ale plug – St eckerst ift

head light – Scheinwerfer
fem ale m ould – Negat ivform
cable sleeve – Kabelm uffe.

Ot her exam ples are provided by Schm it t ( 1999: 238ff) , for exam ple, who
m ent ions different legislat ion on product ion m et hods, varying m easuring
m et hods, t he specific clim at e, sem ant ic prot ot ypes, e.g. a ‘ham m er’ t hat
act ually has various concret e form s and t hus nam es ( ball peen ham m er –
Schlosserham m er, cross peen ham m er – Klauenham m er) . Of course t his
problem can oft en be solved wit h t he help of a dict ionary, but t he
t ranslat ors need t o be aware of t he problem . They will have t o be crit ical
and possess t he relevant knowledge in order t o be able t o select t he right
expressions.

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The above exam ples present cult ural differences in t erm inological
concept s bet ween t he languages. I n addit ion t o t his variat ion t here is t he
basic difference of t erm inological concept ualisat ion in t he sciences and in
t he hum anit ies ( St olze 2003: 201) t hat will reflect in t he t ext s. I n t he
nat ural sciences t erm inology is based on exact definit ions and includes
m et hodical deduct ion. Every t erm has it s place wit hin a hierarchical
syst em , but it is not always t ot ally free of cult ural differences in t he
concept s, as shown. I n t he hum anit ies, on t he ot her hand, t here is
academ ic convent ion and int erpret at ion of concept s t o be agreed am ong
scholars. Whet her ‘t ranslat ion’, for inst ance, is defined as an int er- lingual
t ransfer or a cult ural m anipulat ion or t he represent at ion of a m essage
underst ood or a cognit ive decision process, et c. depends on t he respect ive
academ ic ‘school’. Recognit ion of t he relevant t erm inology and it s
dist inct ion from general language form s is im port ant , in order t o prevent
naïve underst anding of a specialist t ext .

2 .2 . Cu lt u r e in t h e la n gu a ge for m

Languages are t he m ain expression of cult ural differences developed in

hist ory. Term inology in nouns and adj ect ives com bined wit h a few t enses
are charact erist ics of t he funct ional st yle of com m unicat ion for specific
purposes. But t here are langue- specific form s of word com pounding, t o be
recognised and applied in t echnical t ranslat ion. English and Germ an t erm s
are m ost ly const rued by a com binat ion of several nouns, or of an
adj ect ive wit h a noun, in a sim ilar sequence. On t he cont rary, in Rom ance
languages t he word com pounding goes in t he reverse order and is realised
by part icles. The following exam ples illust rat e t hese issues:

G 1- 2- 3- 4: Brem sst örungskont rolllam pe

E 1- 2- 3- 4: brake failure warning lam p
F 4- 3- 2- 1: t ém oin dét ect eur d’incident de frein
I 4- 3- 2- 1: lam pada pilot a di dist urbo del freno
P 4- 3- 2- 1: lâm pada de cont role de folha de freio

I n a geographical t ext , for exam ple, we m ight have t he t erm undersea

basalt ic volcanoes, and t ranslat e it according t o t he st andard ( St olze
1999: 68) wit h unt erseeische Basalt vulkane, as m ore t han t hree part s are
unusual, especially for popular t ext s. However, t here are m any ot her
solut ions possible idiom at ically, but not t echnically:

- unt erseeische basalt ische Vulkane ( adj ect ive, no t echnical

expression)
- unt erseeische Vulkane aus Basalt / des Basalt s ( unnecessary
explicit at ion)
- basalt ische unt erseeische Vulkane ( focus reversed)
- basalt ische Unt erwasservulkane ( unclear)
- Basalt vulkane unt er dem Wasser ( lack of precision)
- basalt ische Vulkane unt er Wasser ( unclear)
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- Unt erwasservulkane aus Basalt ( general language)

- unt er Wasser liegende Vulkane aus Basalt ( lit erary) .

The Germ an language allows one- word com binat ions as shown in t he
previous exam ple, and t his is generally applicable in t ranslat ion. For
exam ple, t he t erm a change in t he rat e of exchange m ight be t ranslat ed
wit h Wechselkursänderung inst ead of “ Änderung des Wechselkurses” , a
lit eral version which is considered as t oo long, t hough being perfect ly
correct regarding t he sem ant ic cont ent .

Som et im es t he analysis of very long com pounds requires special

knowledge:

ein planfest gest ellt er Aut obahnabschnit t is “ a sect ion of t he m ot orway

in planning for which t he official approval of t he plan has definit ely
been grant ed” ( acc. t o Germ an law VwVfG) , t o be t ranslat ed wit h a
m ot orway sect ion finally planned; sim ilarly
vert akt et e Direkt fahrt en im Nahverkehr is a “ syst em of public
t ransport at ion where buses and t rains are scheduled suit ably t o one
anot her in order t o prevent t oo long int ervals of wait ing for t he
passengers” ( m y explanat ion) , m aybe t ranslat able by a m ode of
scheduled direct t ransport .

I n t he adj ect ive- noun com binat ions one has t o check whet her t his is a
norm al qualifying expression: long dist ance ( Langst recke) , basalt ic
volcano ( Basalt vulkan) , t ext ile product ( Text ilprodukt ) or, rat her, a
relat ive qualifier: seasonal worker ( worker for one season –
Saisonarbeit er) , t ext ile indust ry ( indust ry producing t ext iles –
Text ilindust rie) , president ial elect ions ( elect ion of t he president –
Präsident schaft swahlen) , et c. Due t o t he language econom y t he use of
t his linguist ic concent rat ion is developing fast in m any European
languages. Linguist ic differences based on cult ure are not lim it ed t o t he
word level but also include synt act ic st ruct ures.

2 .3 . Cu lt u r e in t h e syn t a x

Synt act ic form s concern t he way in which t he elem ent s in a sent ence are
com bined idiom at ically. Whereas t he languages in lit erat ure dem onst rat e
a great variet y of creat ive linguist ic form s, t echnical com m unicat ion uses
a purposeful reduct ion of st ylist ic form s where t he cont ent - orient ed nat ure
of t echnical com m unicat ion m eans t hat short assert ive sent ences, a linear
t hem e- rhem e organisat ion, and a dense synt act ic com pression are
prevalent . However, t here are differences bet ween languages, beyond
t echnical and scient ific writ ing st yles. The following exam ples illust rat e
how concise explicit expressions are realised in Germ an by reducing
several subordinat e clauses int o an at t ribut ive const ruct ion:

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Wenn sich das Werkst ück abkühlt , können Oberflächenspannungen

ent st ehen > Beim Abkühlen des Werkst ücks können …
Die Welle wird durch das St irnrad anget rieben, das auf der Achse
fest sit zt . > Die Welle wird durch das auf der Achse fest sit zende
St irnrad anget rieben.

There are differences in indicat ing t he direct relat ionship.

G: Wenn x gegeben, dann folgt y; – E: if x is given, y will result ;
F: ét ant donné A nous dirons B ( present vs fut ure t ense) .

I f t he t arget language st ruct ure is different , t he t ranslat or will have t o

apply shift s in order t o enhance int elligibilit y. This also concerns t he use of
discourse m arkers which is different in t he languages and where
int erference bet ween t wo languages in t ranslat ion m ay cause less
idiom at ic form ulat ions ( Olohan & Baker 2000: 142) . Several hypot heses
have been present ed as t o why and when t ranslat ors resort t o
‘explicit at ion’ showing im plicit variat ions, and com m unicat ive preferences
across languages are one of t he fact ors t o consider. Cont rast ive English-
Germ an discourse analyses, m ade by House, am ong ot hers, suggest t hat
Germ an speakers and writ ers t end t o present inform at ion synt act ically in
a m ore explicit m anner t han t heir English count erpart s:

They t end t o ( overt ly) encode or verbalize proposit ional cont ent rat her t han leave it
t o be inferred from t he cont ext ( House 2004: 187) .

Therefore, according t o House, a t endency t o explicit at e am ong English t o

Germ an t ranslat ors would sim ply be a reflect ion of Germ an
com m unicat ive preferences. We call t hese phenom ena cult ural aspect s
because t hey are inherent t o t he idiom at ic usage of language, and t his
should not be om it t ed in t echnical com m unicat ion.

St ruct ural differences bet ween languages are part icularly visible in
com m unicat ive sit uat ions which are funct ionally com parable, for inst ance
regarding legal relat ions. Even if Germ an expressions are m ore explicit t o
som e ext ent , as shown, we can also not e t hat t he English language has a
t endency t o express det ailed sem ant ic variat ions wit h m ore words. I t
present s t he feat ure of double phraseological form s t hat would correspond
t o single form s in Germ an. Such form s concern bot h obj ect s and act ions,
for exam ple:

act ion or proceedings – Gericht sverfahren

adm inist rat ion & account ing – Geschäft sbuchhalt ung
conflict or inconsist ency ( in a cont ract t ext ) – Widerspruch ( im Text )
cost s, charges or expenses – Kost en
cust ody & support – Sorgerecht
execut or & adm inist rat or of est at e – Nachlassverwalt er
in force & effect – in Kraft
t o agree & warrant – vereinbaren
t o alt er or m odify – verändern
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t o const rue & int erpret – auslegen

( t his agreem ent is) m ade & ent ered int o bet ween – ( diese
Vereinbarung) wird geschlossen zwischen.

The Germ an language is m ore inclusive in it s expressions here ( but t his

does not m ean t hat a lack of expression would be a lack of st at em ent
giving room for legal act ion) . For t ranslat ors it is im port ant t o not e t he
linguist ic difference which excludes a lit eral t ranslat ion.

2 .4 . Cu lt u r e in t h e t e x t st r u ct u r e

The cult ure- specific use of language is closely linked wit h t he

com m unicat ive sit uat ion, and frequent ly recurring sit uat ions lead t o t he
creat ion of specific t ext t ypes. A fixed st ruct ure of t ext s enhances
int elligibilit y for t he com m unicat ion part ners wit hin t heir cult ure. Linguist ic
research has grouped t ext t ypes in various t ext genres, bot h for lit erary
( Werlich 1975: 71) and for specialist com m unicat ion ( Göpferich 1995) .
The t ext st ruct ure as a reflect ion of cult ural norm s is m ost clearly visible
in t ext s which are t ot ally st andardised for t heir sit uat ion root ed in a
cult ure, i.e. m edical cert ificat es, weat her report s, t ax declarat ions, school
cert ificat es and em ploym ent references, court sent ences, bills, business
let t ers, balance sheet s, obit uaries, m enus, crossword puzzles, cooking
recipes, t ourist inform at ion, et c. Such t ext s are each t im e st andardised
wit hin t heir cult ural background, and a possible t ranslat ion m ay eit her
focus on a lit eral and form al re- present at ion or on a t arget - specific
t ransform at ion, depending on t he purpose.

Germ an CVs, for exam ple, generally begin wit h birt h and present t he
whole developm ent of t he person from schooling t o st udies up t o work
experience. I n ot her count ries t he t radit ion is t o focus on t he present
sit uat ion, adding inform at ion on t he past .

Whereas Germ an t est im onials cont ain a det ailed descript ion of t he
em ployee’s charact er and working m et hod, Am erican credent ials are a
sim ple cert ificat e on t he period and field of em ploym ent .

Court sent ences in Germ any show first t he subst ance of t he j udgem ent in
a sent ence followed by a st at em ent of fact s and t he present at ion of t he
reasons for t he decision, quasi as a j ust ificat ion of t he sent ence.

Court sent ences in France begin wit h t he st at em ent of fact s followed by

t he reasons for t he decision based on a list ing of relevant art icles from t he
code, which finally leads t o t he subst ance of t he sent ence.

I n I t aly t he court sent ences begin wit h a present at ion of t he lawyer’s

conclusions, a descript ion of t he inst ruct ion proceedings, and t he reasons
for t he decision, t he whole ending in t he subst ance of t he j udgm ent .

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I n Brit ish or Am erican court sent ences we find t he accum ulat ion of relat ive
sent ences as a t ypical feat ure of t his t ext genre. Exam ple:
The court finds t hat … and t hat … - I n Germ an t ext s such long list s are
unusual.

I n Brit ish court sent ences t he m ot ivat ion of t he decision is oft en given by
t he j udge in a personal st yle ( Lashöfer 1992: 14/ 19) according t o t he
com m on law syst em wit h independent j udges, whereas t his st yle in
Germ an decisions would not be considered adequat e, since t hey have a
general legal effect iveness based on t he civil law .

I nform at ive t ext t ypes on a higher level – possibly wit h an int ernat ional
perspect ive –, such as user m anuals, pat ent specificat ions, pat ient
package insert s, scient ific papers, m onographs, court sent ences, art icles
of law, sales cont ract s, am ong ot hers, are based as a t ext t ype on a
specific com m unicat ive sit uat ion, and in t heir cont ent t hey focus on a
specific t echnical obj ect . And st ill t here are t races of cult ure left in such
t ext s which have not yet been st andardised on an int ernat ional level.
Text s as language usage wit hin a cult ural sit uat ion are never a m ere
response t o ext ernal condit ions or t echnical obj ect s but , rat her, a result of
individual language usage. Cult ural aspect s are m ainly visible in t he global
t ext st ruct ure.

I t is not always easy t o dist inguish bet ween cult ural t ext st ruct ures and
charact erist ics of a t ext t ype. We not e, however, t hat m acrost ruct ures of
t ext s m ay be cult urally different , even if t he ext ra- lingual funct ion as such
is com parable.

There seem t o be cult urally different st yles of writ ing but t he im port ance
of cult ural st yles in academ ic present at ions is oft en underest im at ed by
academ ics when present ing abroad. Everybody int uit ively st art s wit h one’s
own idea of st ruct uring t ext s, and t his m ay cause underst anding
problem s. What usually goes down well in our hom e count ry m ay receive
an ent irely different recept ion elsewhere. Johan Galt ung, Professor of
Peace St udies wit h a focus on cult ural st ereot ypes, was one of t he first t o
docum ent his differing experiences of holding lect ures and appearing at
int ernat ional congresses. Galt ung ( 1995) described a “ Saxon, Teut onic,
Gallic and Nippon” st yle of academ ic writ ing. These differences m ainly
concern t he st ruct ural arrangem ent of argum ent at ion – whet her m ore
linear in sm all pieces, or rat her t heoret ical wit h som e supposedly circular
argum ent , or em phasising a good form ulat ion, or giving m uch reference
t o m ast ers t hus obscuring novelt y. This is relevant for t ranslat ing such
art icles. I t m ay even be necessary t o rewrit e an art icle in a ‘shape’ which
is preferred in t he t arget cult ure.

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2 .5 . Cu lt u r e in pr a gm a t ics

Pragm at ics refers t o senders and receivers of a t ext m essage and,

t herefore, is also part of t he t ext it self. I t is part icularly in t his respect t hat
we find t races of t he cult ural background which is im plicit ly m ent ioned.
There are different social procedures for organising social life, especially in
law. This is reflect ed, for inst ance, in legal t ext s and personal docum ent s:

I n an original I t alian cert ificat e of m arriage, issued in 2008, t here m ay be

found a sent ence in t he form of a foot not e like: ( 1) indicare il rit o civile,
cat t olico, ebraico, ecc. ( “ please indicat e t he m arriage cerem ony: civil,
Cat holic, Hebrew, et c.” ) .

This t ells us t wo cult ural specificit ies: ( a) in I t aly t he law perm it s m arriage
celebrat ions by religious com m unit ies, unlike Germ any for inst ance ( only
civil) and t o t he U.S.A. ( any official person) , and ( b) especially in t he
Sout h ( Naples, Messina) t here have been living a lot of inhabit ant s wit h
Hebrew fait h.

Different legal st ruct ures t oo can have an im pact on t he t ext level. To t he

unwit t ing t ranslat or wit h insufficient background knowledge t his m ay lead
t o an inadequat e t ranslat ion hardly com prehensible. Consider t he
following exam ple from a business let t er:

Am erican source t ext :

As a supplier who has been wit h D. since it ent ered int o Chapt er 11 nearly
t wo years ago, we want ed t o share som e very im port ant news wit h you.
D. has filed it s proposed Plan of Reorganizat ion and relat ed Disclosure
St at em ent wit h t he U.S. Bankrupt cy Court .
The Court will consider t he Disclosure St at em ent at a hearing on Oct ober
3, 2007 and if t he Disclosure St at em ent is approved at t hat hearing, t hen
D. will seek confirm at ion of t he Plan of Reorganizat ion at a hearing before
t he U.S. Bankrupt cy Court on or about Novem ber 19, 2007. I f t he Plan of
Reorganizat ion is confirm ed at t he hearing, t hen D. will seek t o em erge
from Chapt er 11 by t he end of t he calendar year. ( Let t er inform ing
cust om ers on t he st at e of evaluat ion.)

Translat ion ( a) :
Als Zulieferer, der bei D. war, seit diese vor knapp zwei Jahren in Kapit el
11 eint rat , wollen wir I hnen einige sehr wicht ige I nform at ionen
überm it t eln. D. hat ihren vorgeschlagenen Um st rukt urierungsplan und die
zugehörige Offenbarungserklärung beim U.S. Bankrupt cy Court
eingereicht .
Das Gericht wird die Offenbarungserklärung bei einer Anhörung am 3.
Okt ober 2007 begut acht en, und wenn diese dabei genehm igt wird, will D.
versuchen, bei einer Anhörung vor dem U.S. Bankrupt cy Court um den 19.
Novem ber 2007 eine Best ät igung des Um st rukt urierungsplans zu
erreichen. Wird dieser best ät igt , wird D. versuchen, gegen Jahresende aus
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Kapit el 11 hervorzugehen. ( Translat ion difficult ies wit h “ t o ent er int o

Chapt er 11/ t o em erge from it “ and ” file t he Plan of Reorganizat ion“ . The
lit eral t ranslat ion is hard t o underst and in a Germ an cont ext because
overcom ing bankrupt cy is difficult here.)

Translat ion ( b) :
I hnen als Zulieferer von D. seit der Zeit , als diese vor fast zwei Jahren ein
Verfahren nach Kapit el 11 des Am erikanischen Konkursrecht s ( Bankrupt cy
Code) eingeleit et hat , m öcht en wir einige sehr wicht ige I nform at ionen
m it t eilen. D. hat ihren vorgeschlagenen Reorganisierungsplan und die
zugehörige Offenbarungserklärung beim US- am erikanischen
Konkursgericht eingereicht . Das Konkursgericht wird in einem Term in am
3. Okt ober 2007 die Offenbarungserklärung prüfen, und wenn diese in
dem Anhörungst erm in genehm igt wird, wird D. die Best ät igung des
Reorganisierungsplans bei einer Anhörung vor dem US- Konkursgericht am
oder um den 19. Novem ber 2007 beant ragen. Wird der
Reorganisierungsplan dann bei diesem Term in best ät igt , will D. versuchen,
bis zum Ende des Kalenderj ahres aus dem Verfahren nach Kapit el 11
heraus zu kom m en. ( This t ranslat ion t ries t o explain t he im plicit
cult ural/ legal difference and t hus m ake t he m essage t ransparent . I nst ead
of a m erely lit eral t ranslat ion it adds explanat ion: in Kapit el 11 eint rat >
ein Verfahren nach Kapit el 11 des am erikanischen Konkursrecht s
eingeleit et hat .)

Cult ural differences include varying ideas of polit eness, st ereot ypes of
foreign people, and special im ages of a societ y in anot her area. Such
feat ures t end t o reflect on t he t ext level and any lit eral t ranslat ion will
sound st range in t he t arget cult ure. Below we have a Germ an publicit y
t ext for a set of knives which seem s t o be a lit eral t ranslat ion from an
Am erican t ext . I n t hat cult ure publicit y and underlining one’s capacit y,
rat her t han being unassum ing, is a social value. This is visible in t he t ext
wit h it s collect ion of superlat ives and at t ribut ive const ruct ions in t he
descript ion of t he knives for sale. For Germ an readers t his sounds very
st range, and t his t ranslat ion will cert ainly not fulfil it s publicit y purpose.
Exam ple:

Text , obviously t ranslat ed:

Die Jagdm essersam m lung schlecht hin!
Zwölf neue Messer aus feinem St ahl. Aufwendig vergoldet und versilbert
m it Messing, Zinn und Hirsch und Büffelhorn verziert . – Die erst e
Sam m lung, die von der NATI ONAL FI SH AND WI LDLI FE FOUNDATI ON
aut orisiert wurde.
Mit aus St ahl gearbeit et en Klingen, die auf Hochglanz poliert wurden. Die
Griffe sind in einer Vielzahl verschiedener Mat erialien von Hand gefert igt .
I n j ede Klinge ist ein Design eingraviert , das den Griff auf faszinierende
Weise ergänzt . Die Sam m lung um faßt sowohl fest st ehende Messer als
auch Klappm esser. Jede Klinge und j eder Griff wird in einem anderen St il
gefert igt . Ein Muß für Nat urm enschen und Sam m ler. Ob skulpt iert oder
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geschnit zt , j eder Ent wurf hebt die Schönheit eines j eden Messers
einzigart ig hervor. – [ ADAC m ot orwelt , 2/ 1993] .

Back t ranslat ion:

The absolut e collect ion of hunt ing knives!
Twelve new knives in fine st eel. Lavishly gold- and silver- plat ed and
decorat ed wit h brass, t in, st aghorn and buffalo horn. –
The first collect ion aut horized by NFWF.
Wit h blades worked in st eel given a high polish. The handles are
handm ade in a variet y of different m at erials. A design is engraved in
every blade fascinat ingly com plem ent ing t he handle. The collect ion
includes bot h fixed knives and j ack- knives. Each blade and each handle is
m anufact ured in a different st yle. A m ust - have for nat ure boys and
collect ors. Whet her sculpt ed or carved, each m odel uniquely em phasizes
t he beaut y of every single knife. ( m y t ranslat ion)

Chest erm an ( 1994) refers us t o “ quant it at ive aspect s of t ranslat ion

qualit y” , as t he expect at ions of readers not only focus on t he
com m unicat ive adequacy of a t ext regarding cult ural feat ures, but also on
idiom at ic charact erist ics, such as t he relat ive frequency of cert ain part s of
speech. Chest erm an ( 1994: 154) m ent ions st at ive verbs, t he lengt h of
sent ences, and cohesion devices, but superlat ives are also relevant . A
m ore idiom at ic Germ an t ranslat ion could t ry t o reduce t he exaggerat ed
English adj ect ives and part iciples ( verziert , gefert igt , gearbeit et ,
faszinierend, einzigart ig) and apply inst ead word com pounds
( handgearbeit et , hochglanzpoliert ) as a m odern language signal in
t echnical com m unicat ion. A publicit y t ext will require a new redact ion
inst ead of a t ranslat ion.

New t ranslat ion:

Jagdm esser als Sam m lerst ücke!
Jet zt gibt es zwölf neue Messer aus verziert em Edelst ahl m it Horngriffen.
Die erst e Sam m lung m it Aut orisierung der Um welt organisat ion WWF.
Jedes einzelne der fest en oder Klappm esser ist anders gest alt et . Alle
hochglanzpoliert en St ahlklingen m it Spezialvergoldung t ragen eine schöne
Gravur passend zum handgearbeit et en Griff. - Ein Muss für alle
Nat urfreunde und Sam m ler!

Heurist ic back t ranslat ion

Hunt ing knives as collect or’s it em s!
Now t here are t welve new knives in decorat ed high- grade st eel wit h
handles in horn - t he first collect ion aut horized by t he environm ent
organizat ion WWF. Every single piece of t he fixed and j ack- knives has a
different shape. All polished st eel blades wit h special gold- plat ing carry a
beaut iful engraving t hat m at ches t he handm ade handle. – A m ust for all
nat ure lovers and collect ors!

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I nt ercult ural differences m ay also cause problem s in business relat ions

when correspondence t ext s cont ain hidden inform at ion. Whereas
Am ericans and Europeans follow t he norm s of clear, direct expression,
t here are ot her cult ures favouring indirect expression in order not t o be
im polit e or offend t heir part ners, even if t hey com m unicat e in t he English
language ( Hall 1976: 98) . The exam ple below shows t he at t em pt t o hide
uneasy m essages, e.g. a reluct ance t o pay or t he failure t o reach sales
goals, wit hin unclear gram m at ical form s. I n t his case a t ranslat ion should
be very precise, even giving special com m ent s, in order t o enable
decisions on t he side of t he cont ract part ner.

Business let t er ( ca. 1998) :

( ...) I t hink if we had succeeded t o sell in U. R. t eam , we also easy t o
int roduce your it em s t o t he ot her t eam , so we need your 100% help t o
first order of U. R. product s.
I heard about K. soccer shop want t o buy som e product from you. I t hink
t hey want t o buy som e European Soccer t eam s product s. I s it correct ? I n
case, we have no problem t o sell direct ly from you, but if t hey want t o
m ake original design product s, it ’s becom e problem t o our relat ionship in
fut ure business.
Please consider our m arket is very closed and sm all m arket for such
it em s. I will t ry t o m y best effort t o sell your product s in t his m arket , so
please cont inue t o support t o our com pany. ( The point is t hat a pot ent ial
licensee fears not t o at t ain t he proposed sales volum e. He hint s som e
com pet it ive business, and he want s t o receive m ore free sam ples. The
Germ an part ner com pany does not like t his, fearing pirat e copies. The
int ernat ional aggressive pushing of product s st ill seem ed t o be unknown
on t his side.)

Scient ific language is also a group language, a sociolect . Pragm at ic

aspect s of user preferences have t o be observed in t ranslat ion.
Com m unicat ion in cert ain discourse fields using a special sociolect , e.g. in
groups such as t eenagers, a polit ical part y, unions, churches,
m anagem ent wit h corporat e ident it y, and ot hers, is visible in t heir t ext s.
Polit ically correct expressions for cert ain groups is recognised in Germ any
in inclusive language: St udent I nnen, ErzieherI nnen ( st udent s, t eachers) .

The t ranslat or will need t o have a clear knowledge of t he cult ural

specificit ies and explain t hem in t he t ranslat ion. There are various
possibilit ies for com pensat ing cult ural incongruence bet ween t ext s:
explicat ion, paraphrasing, adapt at ion, and m odificat ion ( St olze 1999:
225f) .

Cult ural keywords and cert ain colours t rigger specific associat ions.
Translat ors will need t o know such aspect s, in order t o prevent
m isunderst anding or unint ended com ic. Values of a societ y are alm ost
always different from one anot her, and t his again will have t races in t ext s.

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Religious and ot her m et aphors will in a lit eral t ranslat ion not always creat e
t he sam e cognit ive ideas as in t he original t ext .

All of t hese t races of t he cult ure in a t ext m ay cause com prehension

problem s for a t ranslat or unacquaint ed wit h t hese unique feat ures. At a
first glance, t he respect ive indicat ions m ight seem wrong, unusual, or
inadequat e for t he t arget readers. A t ransparent t ranslat ion is needed t hat
can give presence t o t he new t ext and m ake int elligible t he cult ural
differences which nonet heless are im plicit in t he m essage. The t ranslat or
will have a specific out look t o t he t ext s present ed for t ranslat ion.

3 . Th e t r a n sla t or ‘s a ppr oa ch

We have discussed various aspect s of cult ural diversit y as t hey appear in

t ext s. Every t ext as an individual ent it y is different , and t he t ranslat or
needs a relevant fact ual and procedural knowledge base in order t o
recognise it s charact erist ics. As any t ranslat or will only represent what he
or she has underst ood from t he t ext beforehand, t ranslat ion as a dynam ic
process is a herm eneut ical problem . The t ranslat or as a person ( and not a
m achine) needs point s of orient at ion t o becom e sensit ive for t he cont ent
of a t ext , and at t he sam e t im e t o act ivat e t he given knowledge base.
When he or she becom es aw are of a lack of t echnical knowledge, one will
st art research act ivit ies, analyse parallel t ext s, ask specialist s, or search
t he I nt ernet . But t he awareness m ust first be creat ed.

Just like finding one’s way in unknown t errit ory, t he t ranslat or will use a
cognit ive m ap for guidance. One will observe som e point s of orient at ion,
going from m acroscopic t o m icroscopic. Any linguist ic feat ure has an
int rinsic relat ionship t o t he whole of a t ext , and wit hin a different
proposit ion it m ay have a different m eaning. Hence t he m ere descript ion
of linguist ic form s indicat ing cult ural aspect s, such as st andard form ulae,
specific word com pounds, st range proposit ions, unusual expressions, is
not sufficient . Analysis does not lead t o com prehension. We have, rat her,
t o det erm ine t he ‘right cult ure’ which is relevant as t he cognit ive
environm ent for t he t ext and det erm ines t he value of individual st ruct ural
elem ent s. One will first t ry t o grasp t he t ext ’s m essage as a whole, and
only lat er analyse det ails wit h reference t o t he t ext ’s em bedding.
The orient at ion in such a holist ic approach t o t ext s m ay be assist ed by
som e ‘cat egories of at t ent ion’ which are present ed in t he following t able
( St olze 2003) :

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Translat or’s Specialist com m unicat ion

reading
CULTURAL CONTEXT Epoch of t ext , sphere of sciences or hum anit ies wit h
st at e of developm ent
D I SCOURSE FI ELD Special dom ain and discipline, level of com m unicat ion
Underst anding

( expert / laym en) , t ext t ype

CONCEPTUAL WORLD Term inological concept ualisat ion ( definit ion vs.
convent ion) , sect or of special discipline
PREDI CATI VE MODE Sort of inform at ion present at ion, speech act s,
sent ence st ruct ure, form ulaic language, use of
foot not es
Translat ion Language for specific purposes
writ ing
MEDI UM Form of publicat ion, layout , illust rat ion, space
available, st ruct ural m arkers, script font s
STYLI STI CS Funct ional st yle, phraseology, st andard t ext blocks,
Form ulat ing

passive voice, direct ives, cont rolled language

COHERENCE Equivalence of scient ific t erm inology, specificat ion of
scholarly concept s, t echnical word com pounding
FUNCTI ON Macrost ruct ure, parallel t ext t ypes, addressees’
expect at ion, int elligibilit y

Based on t he herm eneut ic philosophy of language, t he t ranslat or’s holist ic

approach t o t ext s is discussed t here. The idea is t hat t ranslat ors begin
t heir work wit h a global view of t he t ext t o be t ranslat ed, rat her t han wit h
a t ext analysis focusing on synt act ic st ruct ures which appear difficult t o
t ranslat e. The t ranslat or’s approach in pract ice is reversed from t he
sequent ial t ext processing t o a vert ical t reat m ent of t he t ext as a whole.
The global approach is applied sim ilarly in dealing wit h lit erary and wit h
t echnical t ext s, and t he above cat egories for specialist com m unicat ion are
in a som ewhat different m anner also valid for t he t ranslat ion of lit erat ure
( St olze 2003: 244) where t he knowledge base is m ore general and
language allows m ore creat ive solut ions. Est ablishing t he right cult ural
cont ext from t he beginning will enable a bet t er underst anding of t he
individual feat ures in a t ext . The various cat egories of at t ent ion for
reading and writ ing in t ranslat ion are like a cognit ive m ap and have
proved t o be relevant for t he process of t ranslat ing.

3 .1 . Un de r st a n din g t h e or igin a l

Faced wit h t he t ask of t ranslat ing one will first check t he CULTURAL CONTEXT
about t he epoch of a t ext , i.e. t he relevant sphere of sciences or
hum anit ies wit h t heir st at e of developm ent . This is ext ra- t ext ual
inform at ion which needs t o be collect ed in order t o posit ion t he t ext
adequat ely. An older t echnical t ext will require different knowledge
regarding t erm inology, com pared wit h a report on t he m ost recent
scient ific developm ent s in a field.

This cult ural cont ext t hen includes t he relevant DI SCOURSE FI ELD , e.g. t he
special dom ain and t he level of com m unicat ion. I s it a scient ific t ext for
expert s in t he field, or rat her an expert - lay m essage like in user m anuals?

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Which t ext t ype is valid? This inform at ion is const rued wit h a view on t he
aut hor and t he place of publicat ion of t he t ext which also det erm ines t he
special dom ain. The t ranslat or will t hen be able t o est ablish whet her s/ he
is capable of t ranslat ing t hat t ext , or whet her furt her research is needed,
and t his even before act ually going int o m uch det ail. Posit ioning t he t ext
in a cert ain discourse field will raise t he awareness for any t erm inological
differences, eit her in t he concept s or in t he form .

The underst anding of t echnical t ext s is t hen guided by t he t erm inology

found on t he t ext level. The CONCEPTUAL WORLD of t he sect or of a special
discipline is relevant . The varying t erm inological concept ualisat ion wit h
definit ions in t echnology com pared wit h convent ions in t he hum anit ies
bot h wit h t heir cult ural qualit ies are issues for t he t ranslat ion.

Finally t he t ranslat or will focus on t he PREDI CATI VE MODE found in t he t ext ,

i.e. t he form of t he inform at ion present at ion, t he speech act s, t he
sent ence st ruct ure, form ulaic language, use of foot not es, et c. All of t hese
m ainly synt act ic aspect s will give addit ional inform at ion for t he
underst anding of t he t ext as a t ext t ype. Then we can also t ranslat e it .

3 .2 . W r it in g t he t r a n sla t ion

I n form ulat ing t he t ranslat ion we will first observe t he MEDI UM. The
required t arget language layout , form of illust rat ions, t he space available,
t he st yle of st ruct ural m arkers and even script font s m ay be cult urally
different and are relevant for t ranslat ion.

Translat ion is considerably governed by STYLI STI CS. The adequat e

funct ional st yle, t he phraseology, st andard t ext blocks t o be used, any
passive voice required, t he form of direct ives, and cont rolled language
m ay be relevant in t he given t ranslat ion. Cult ural variat ion t o t his respect
shall be considered, also regarding a sociolect . A t ranslat ion for a specific
t arget discourse field would have t o observe t his fact and int roduce it int o
t he t ranslat ion t ext .

One point of adequat e t ranslat ion is t he COHERENCE of t he t arget t ext . This

can be obt ained by checking t he equivalence of t he t arget scient ific
t erm inology and t he specificat ion of scholarly concept s, not t o forget
about t he language- specific t echnical word com pounding. There will
always be used t he t arget norm s, independent from t he form s in t he
source t ext .

As a final st ep, focusing on t he FUNCTI ON of t he t ranslat ion, one will lift t he

look from t he sent ence level t o t he t ext 's m acrost ruct ure including parallel
t ext t ypes. One will t hink of t he addressees’ expect at ion and of t he law of
int elligibilit y. A t ext for lay people poses ot her challenges t han one for
expert s, even if t he t ranslat or him self is no expert in t hat field.

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I t is clear t hat cult ural elem ent s are an issue for t echnical t ranslat ion, but
t heir handling is governed by t he global t ext funct ion. The goal of
t ranslat ion is precision in m aking t ransparent t he foreign cult ural ideas,
however in a funct ionally adequat e and idiom at ic form ulat ion. This goes
beyond t he surface level observat ion of “ covert vs. overt t ranslat ions”
( House 1997: 29) .

3 .3 . H a n dlin g cu lt u r a l e le m e n t s in t e x t s

As point s of orient at ion for t he t ranslat or t hese global “ cat egories of

at t ent ion” do not form a sequence but are all valid sim ult aneously,
however not t o t he sam e ext ent . Every t ext is different and no general
procedure is yet available from t he point of view of an int er- linguist ic
t ransfer. These cat egories m ay nonet heless m ake t he t ranslat or sensit ive
t o t he im port ant aspect s in a t ext t o be t ranslat ed.

Regarding cult ure in t erm inological concept s, an addit ional explanat ion or
t he correct t arget t erm is needed; regarding t he linguist ic form of t erm s,
t he t arget norm shall always be applied. Cult ural feat ures in t he synt ax
will be changed int o t arget idiom s, so as not t o affect t echnical
com m unicat ion.

As regards cult ure in t he t ext st ruct ure, we have t o decide whet her or not
a specific source- cult ural st andard t ext will be replaced by a t arget - cult ure
st andard t ext t ype. A subst it ut ion of t ext t ypes seem s adequat e for
inst ruct ion m anuals or publicit y t ext s, where t he social funct ionalit y is
predom inant . In docum ent t ranslat ion ( cert ificat es, cont ract s,
t est im onials, business correspondence, et c.) , on t he ot her hand, a form al
preservat ion is required. Those t ext s wit h inform at ive funct ion have t heir
validit y as an original, and t he t ranslat ion is only a secondary t ext t o help
underst anding ‘what t he t ext is saying’.

I n view of cult ure in pragm at ics, a t ransparent t ranslat ion offering

explanat ions of t he foreign feat ures seem s adequat e, because here a
m odificat ion would be equivalent t o a change of t he t ext m essage, and
endanger t he flow of inform at ion in t echnical com m unicat ion. The point in
t ranslat ion is not t o det ect any st range elem ent s in a t ext and t o define
t hem as cult ural aspect s, but t o see and int erpret t hat t ext against it s
cult ural background right from t he beginning, and t hus underst and any
cult ural t races in t heir right m eaning. This m ight even happen
unconsciously, when t he t ranslat or follows t he said cat egories of at t ent ion.

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Bibliogr a ph y

• Ch e st e r m a n , An dr e w ( 1994) . “ Quant it at ive Aspect s of Translat ion Qualit y.”

Lebende Sprachen 4/ 1994, 153- 156.

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Biogr a ph y

Dr. Radegundis St olze holds a Diplom - Überset zerin and is a qualified

t ranslat or, working wit h Germ an, English, French and I t alian. An
independent sworn t ranslat or, she also holds an M.A. and a Dr. Phil. from
Heidelberg. She is a Lect urer at t he Universit y of Technology, Darm st adt ,
She has published widely in t he field of TS and has been a board m em ber
of t he European Societ y for Translat ion St udies for over fift een years. Her
scholarly int erest s are: t heory of t ranslat ion, herm eneut ics, legal
t ranslat ion, t ranslat ion for specific purposes, bible t ranslat ion int o
Germ an.

radegundis@st olze- darm st adt .de

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