SOURCE LANGUAGE

AND
TARGET LANGUAGE
 What is Source Language?
Source language is a language which is to be translated into
another language.

Source language is a
term that refers to
language of the first
document, the language
from which the text
must be translated.
 What is Target Language?
The term target language
refers to the language
into which text is being
translated. This differs
from the source language,
which is what the original
message or content being
translated was written in.
 Target Language Role
Target language shapes

Cu
the entire translation

l tu
process, accounting for

re
the culture, dialects,

Grammar
grammar, and any other

Di
element that may differ

al e
c ts
from the source
language.
Target Language Questions to Consider
◦Who is the target audience?
◦Does the language use technical details?
◦Does the text use industry-specific
lingo?
◦How can the original message be
preserved?
 How Important is Culture in Target Language?
◦The word “culture” is known for
pertaining to three main categories of
human activity:
Collective
Expressive
Personal
 How Important is Culture in Target Language?
◦Culture is the way of life and its
manifestations that are peculiar to a
community that uses a particular language
as its means of expression.
◦Differences between cultures may cause
more severe complications for the translator
than make differences in language structure.
 How Important is Culture in Target Language?
◦For every translated sentence, the translator
must be able to decide on the importance of
its cultural context, what the phrase means,
not necessarily what it literally means, and
convey that meaning in a way which makes
sense not only in the target language but
also in the context of the target culture.
TRANSLATION
TECHNIQUES
 There are many translation techniques

◦Direct Translation
Techniques

◦Indirect Translation
Techniques
 Direct Translation Techniques

These translation techniques are

used when the concepts and
structure of the source language
can be used in the target language.
◦Borrowing.
◦Calque (Loan Translation).
◦Literal Translation.
BORROWING
TECHNIQUE
Using Foreing Words in Another Language
Borrowing is where words or
expressions are taken
directly from the source text
and carried over into the
target language.
This technique is often used when there is no
target language equivalent, such as food or
clothing, and can help to preserve the cultural
context of the source text.
 Spanish English

Burrito Burrito

Papaya Papaya

Guacamole Guacamole
 CALQUE
TECHNIQUE
Literal Use of Expressions or Words From Another Language
This is the literal translation of a phrase from one
language into another, coining a new term in the
target language. In other words, this is the literal
translation of a borrowed word.
 Spanish English

Football Balonpie

Baseball Pelota Base

Basketball Baloncesto
 LITERAL
TRANSLATION
Using the Same Words and Grammar Strcuture
When using literal
translation, each word
is translated directly.
The target text must be
idiomatic and retain
the same word order,
meaning and style as
the source text.
This technique can miss the nuances of the
original text, and is only possible with languages
and cultures that are extremely close.

English: I want a glass of water.

Spanish: Quiero un vaso de agua.

 Indirect Translation Techniques
Indirect or oblique translation
techniques are used when the two
languages and cultures are further apart.
These techniques change structural and
conceptual elements in order to preserve
the meaning and nuance of the text.

◦Transposition ◦Compensation
◦Modulation ◦Reduction
◦Equivalence/Reformulation
◦Adaptation ◦Expansion
TRANSPOSITION
Changing the Grammar Strcuture
Transposition involves a
shift from one grammatical
category to another, while
still preserving the
meaning. This translation
technique is often
necessary between
languages with different
grammatical structures.
The French sentence, ‘Je l’ai vu avant la rentrée’
can be rendered in English as ‘I saw her before
school started.’ This changes the noun ‘la rentrée’
into a verb.
MODULATION
Ajusting Words to the Translated Ideas
This involves a change of
perspective, adjusting
what has been written in
order to express the same
idea and preserve the
meaning. This translates
the text in a way that
conforms to the natural
patterns of the target
language.
A French speaker will talk about the ‘dernier
étage’ [literally; last stage] of a building, while an
English speaker will refer to the ‘top floor’.
 EQUIVALENCE/
REFORMULATION
Finding a Similar Expression
Similar to modulation,
this allows you to
preserve the meaning of
an expression, name or
proverb by finding a
target language
equivalent.
The phrase ‘être sur son 31’ [literally; to be on
one’s thirty-one] would be the French equivalent
to the English phrase ‘to be dressed up to the
nines’.
ADAPTATION
Finding a Similar Expression
Also known as cultural
substitution, cultural
elements of the source
language are replaced with
an equivalent cultural
element of the target
language. This makes the
text more familiar and easier
to understand, especially
with units of measurement.
In English people say “like mother like daughter”
an adaptation to this phrase in Spanish is “De tal
palo tal astilla”
COMPENSATION
Finding a Way to Translate an Idea Cannot be Translated
This technique
compensates for being
unable to translate a
nuance or phrase in one
specific place by
expressing the
information at another
point in the document.
While the English language only has one way of saying
‘you’, French has both ‘tu’ (informal) and ‘vous’
(formal). By making specific word choices elsewhere in
the text, the translator can compensate for the loss of
nuance.
REDUCTION
Avoiding Redundancy
When using reduction,
the translator chooses to
remove any words
forming the original text
which are considered
redundant in the target
language.
The French ‘sciences politiques’ [literally; political
sciences] can be rendered in English as just
‘politics’.
EXPANSION
Avoiding Redundancy
The opposite of reduction,
this is when words are
added in order to
preserve meaning. This
can be due to differences
in sentence structure,
grammar or terminology.
The reverse of reduction, ‘politics’ in English would
be rendered as ‘sciences politiques’ in French. Since
French also uses gender articles, expansion is natural
when translating from English into French.
 A Wide Variety of Translation Techniques
◦Direct Translation ◦Indirect Translation
Techniques Techniques
◦Borrowing ◦ Transposition
◦Calque (Loan Translation) ◦Modulation
◦Literal Translation ◦ Equivalence/Reformulation
◦ Adaptation
◦ Compensation
◦ Reduction
◦ Expansion