Translation Models

Prepared by Yurii Vakulchyk

Group MA-51
Plan

 Concept of the translation model

4 translation models 
 Situational (denotative) model of translation
 Transformational model of translation
 Situational (denotative) model of translation
 Concept of the translation model 
 To start a machine translation, computer designers invited a
group of experienced translators to ask them a question,
seemingly naive but directly referring to their profession: how
do you translate? Could you tell us in detail everything about
the translation process? What goes on in a translator's brain?
What operation follows what? Dmitri Zhukov, a professional
translator, reminisces that this simple question took everyone by
surprise, for it is a terribly difficult thing to explain what the
process of translation is.
 Attempts to conceptualize the translation process have brought
to life some theories, or models, of translation. The translation
model is a conventional description of mental operations on
speech and language units, conducted by a translator, and their
explanation.
 4 translation models

Situational Transformational Semantic Psycholinguistic

(denotative) model of model of model of
model of translation translation translation.
translation
Situational (denotative) model of
translation
 To denote means to indicate either the thing a word names or the situation a sentence
names. Hence is the term of denotative meaning, or referential meaning, i.e. the
meaning relating a language unit to the external world; and the term of denotation, or a
particular and explicit meaning of a symbol. If the translator does not understand the
situation denoted by the source text, his or her translation will not be adequate, which
sometimes happens when an inexperienced translator attempts to translate a technical
text. The main requirement of translation is that the denotation of the source text be
equal to the denotation of the target text. That is why a literary word-for-word
translation sometimes results in a failure of communication. This theory of translation is
helpful in translating neologisms and realia.
 A weak point of this model is that it does not explain the translation mechanismitself.
One situation can be designated by various linguistic means. This model does not describe
the relations between the language units in a phrase or sentence and thus gives no
explanation of the relations between the source and target language units. This model
gives reference only to the extralinguistic situation designated by the sentence.
Transformational model of translation
 When translating, a person transforms the source text into a new form. Transformationis
converting one form into another one.
 There are two transformation concepts in the theory of translation.
 In one of them, transformation is understood as an interlinguistic process, i.e., converting the
source text into the structures of the target text, which is translation proper. 
 In the second concept, transformation is not understood as broadly as replacing the source language
structures by the target language structures. Transformation here is part of a translation process,
which has three phases:
• Analysis: the source language structures are transformed into basic units of the source language.
• Translation proper: the basic units of the source language are translated into the basic units of the
target language: 
• Synthesis: the basic units of the target language are transformed into the terminal structures of the
target language: 
 This model provides us with transformation techniques. It explains how we translate equivalent-
lacking structures into another language. However, a disadvantage of this model consists in inability
to explain the choice of the transformation made, especially at the third synthesis phase. It does
not explain the facts of translation equivalence on the situational level. It also ignores sociocultural
and extralinguistic aspects of translation.
 Semantic model of translation
 This model places special emphasis on semantic structures of the source and target texts.
According to it, translation is conveying the meaning of the source text by the target text. The two
texts can be called equivalent in meaning if their semantic components are close or identical. In
order to translate, one must single out the meaningful elements of the original and then choose
the target language units that most closely express the same content elements. (This model is
sometimes called Content-Text Model.For this procedure, a componential (or seme) analysis is
widely employed.
 Like in the transformation model, the process of translation is subdivided into some phases:
• Analysis: the semantics of the source language units are represented by deep semantic categories.
• Translation: the relevant semantic categories of the source language are made equal to the deep
semantic categories of the target language.
• Synthesis: the semantic categories of target languge are verbalized.
 This model gives a good explanation of the translation equivalence and of the reasons for
translation failures when irrelevant (or not all relevant) semes have been taken into consideration.
It explains the mechanism of selecting one variable among synonyms: that synonym is chosen which
has the greatest number of relevant semes similar to the source language word.
 But the insufficiency of this model is that the process of singling out semes is a very difficult one.
It does not explain the cases of situational equivalence.
 Psycholinguistic model of translation.
 Translation is a kind of speech event. And it develops according to the psychological rules of speech event.
 The scheme of the speech event consists of the following phases:
• The speech event is motivated.
• An inner code program for the would-be message is developed.
• The inner code is verbalized into an utterance.
 Translation is developed according to these phases: a translator comprehends the message (motif), transforms the
idea of the message into his/her own inner speech program, then outlays this inner code into the target text.
 The point of this theory is that it considers translation among speaking, listening, reading and writing as a speech
event. But there is evidence to suggest that translators and interpreters listen and read, speak and write in a
different way from other language users, basically because they operate under a different set of constraints. 59
 While a monolingual receiver is sender-oriented, paying attention to the speaker's/writer's message in order to
respond to it, the translator is essentially receiver-oriented, paying attention to the sender's message in order to
re-transmit it to the receiver of the target-text, supressing, at the same time, personal reactions to the message.
 There are two essential stages specific to the process of translating and interpreting: analysis and synthesis– and a
third stage, revision, available only to the translator working with the written text. During the analysis stage, the
translator reads/listens to the source text, drawing on background knowledge, to comprehend features contained
in the text. During synthesis, the target text is produced. Then the draft written translation is revised /edited.
 However, the explanational force of this model is very restricted, inner speech being the globally disputable
problem in both psychology and linguistics.
Thank you for attention!