TrIn 3001: Introduction to Translation

1. TrIn 3001: Introduction to Translation Semana 2B (31/V/06)

2. Class Agenda • Turn in translation exercise #1 (3 paragraphs) • Part 1: • Types of translations and discourse genres • Part 2: • Class exercises pp. 25-27ABC (Larson) • Discuss 12 questions (Nida) • Correct punctuation exercises • Discuss “sample” translations • Discuss exercise translation #2

3. Meet 3 professional translators… Who’s out there?

4. Translator qualifications (as posted on the Net) 1. Peruvian with degrees in Business and Advertising. International Advertising Association member who taught at university level. Fields: Legal, medical, sales, PR, technical writing, advertising and marketing. Edition and proofreading, tape transcription, escort, on-site translation, simultaneous interpretation, narration and voiceovers. Graphic design and DP background for publications in both languages. Large network of professionals and service bureaus for multilingual projects. Internet reception/delivery. Websites translated into Spanish. Accurate and reliable translations… with attention to style and tone.

5. Qualifications 2. Eight years translation experience: financial prospectuses and newsletters, 401(k) plan forms and newsletters, health and patient education materials, academic literary articles, educational materials and textbooks, instructions for use and package inserts for medical devices. Education: MA French and Spanish (US); BA English, French, Spanish, (US); 3 years Maritime telecommunications (Spain); 1 year Business and Economics (Spain). ATA accredited English>Spanish.

6. Qualifications 3. More than 20 years experience as technical translator and conference interpreter. More than 10 years as certified court interpreter. Native of Colombia. MA degree in Spanish and Latin American Studies with joint translation certificate from the Monterey Institute of International Studies. Most recent translation experience in computer applications and telecommunications industry software, literature for computer industry, software localization, medical literature (in particular veterinary medicine), marketing publications, and legal documents. Experienced user of TRADOS Translation Tools

7. Accuracy (Precisión) Adaptation (Adaptación) Completeness (Totalidad) Style (Estilo) Grammatical variation (Variación de gramática) Idiomatic quality (calidad idiomática) A good translator follows principles:

8. Accuracy • True reproduction of “exact” meaning from source language form to equivalent receptor language form. • Ex1: A palabras locas, orejas sordas. • To mad (crazy) words, deaf ears. • Semi-literal, accurate, meaning maintained • Ex2: Dar en el clave • To hit the nail on the head. • Idiomatic, accurate, meaning maintained

9. Adaptation (or Modulation) • Adapt source language form to receptor language form to reflect an adjustment due to the situation/environment/culture. • Be aware of the semantic value of words, etc. according to culture: words with the same morphology may carry different meanings. • Ex: beef stew (US vs. Argentina) • Ex: El Canciller pidió la palabra. The Foreign Minister asked for the floor. (not “the chancellor”; not “the word”).

10. Up to my nose Hand to hand combat Within earshot At a snail’s pace Decision-making Five o’clock shadow Fat cats A pocos pasos Toma de decisiones Hasta las cejas Combate cuerpo a cuerpo Peces gordos A paso de tortuga Sombra de barba Matching

11. Completeness • The translation must reflect a complete description and meaning of the original language. It may be necessary to omit words and make grammatical changes in order to ensure an accurate, complete translation.

12. Style • Style is the writer’s unique mode of expressing thought. • The translator should integrate and reproduce the style of the source language writer into the receptor language translation. • The translator should suppress his/her own stylistic effects upon the receptor translation.

13. Examples of Style

14. Grammatical variation • The syntactical structure, parts of speech, etc., must vary in form from the source language to the receptor language to maintain meaning.

15. Thine • Aformofthepossessivecaseofthepronounthou, nowsupersededincommondiscoursebyyour, thepossessiveofyou, butmaintainingaplaceinsolemndiscourse, inpoetry, andintheusuallanguageoftheFriends, orQuakers. • Note: Intheoldstyle, thinewascommonlyshortenedtothi (thy) whenusedattributivelybeforewordsbeginningwithaconsonant; now, thyisusedalsobeforevowels. Thineisoftenusedabsolutely, thethingpossessedbeingunderstood.

16. Idiomatic quality • An idiomatic translation is one that has the same meaning as the source language but is expressed in the natural form of the receptor language. • Source language: Me puse el sombrero rojo. • Literal: Myself I placed/put/set the hat red. • Idiomatic: I put on my red hat.

17. 1. Literal translation 2. Idiomatic translation 3. Modified literal translation 4. Unduly free translation 5. Parts of speech: noun, verb…. 6. Figure of speech: metaphor 7. Passive vs. active construction 8. Denotative (designative) 9. Connotative (associative) 10. Phoneme 11. Morpheme 12. Ideophone 13. Dialect 1. Traducción literal 2. Traducción idiomática 3. Traducción quasi-literal 4. Traducción libre 5. Elementos de oración: sustantivo, verbo . . . . 6. Figuras literarias: metáfora 7. Construcción pasiva vs. activa 8. Denotativo (referencial) 9. Connotativo (figurado/afectivo) 10. Fonema 11. Morfema 12. Ideofono 13. Dialecto Terms: Ch 2 Kinds of Translations

18. Key concepts in Ch. 2 • I. Literal translations…. • follow the form of the source language. • are interlinear (may be desirable in a linguistic study of the source language). • are nonsensical and have little communication value. • The literal choice of lexical items makes the translation sound foreign. • Most who translate literally actually make a modified literal translation. The order and grammar are made acceptable in the receptor language but the lexical items are translated literally. No part of it is natural.

19. Key concepts • II. Idiomatic translations…… • communicate the meaning of the source language text in the natural forms of the receptor language, both in grammatical construction and choice of lexical items. • do not sound like translations. • Most translations are a mixture of a literal transfer of the grammar units along with some idiomatic translation of the meaning of the text.

20. Idiomatic translations…. • Unduly free translations are not usually acceptable because….. • they add extraneous information not in the source text. • they change the meaning of the source text. • they distort the facts of the historical and cultural setting of the source language text. • They are sometimes done for humor or to evoke a special response. • Making an ancient text seem contemporary is an example of unduly free translation.

21. Translation continuum……

22. Goal of the Translator • The translator’s goal is to reproduce in the receptor language a text which communicates the same message as the source language but using the natural grammatical and lexical choices of the receptor language…..an idiomatic translation.The translator knows s/he is successful if the receptor language readers do not recognize the work as a translation at all, but simply as a text written in the receptor language.

23. Kinds of FORM adjustment • 1. Translating Grammatical Features • Parts of speech: noun, pronoun, verb, etc. • Grammatical construction: order reversal, passive vs. active construction • 2. Translating Lexical Features • Lexical items (words, phrases): idioms, secondary meanings, figures of speech-metaphors, similes, etc. • Some lexical combinations are ambiguous.

24. Examples of Grammar Features • Parts of speech: I see you. = Lo/la/te/los/las/os veo. 2. Order reversal: I give it to him. = Selo doy. black and white = blanco y negro 3. Passive vs. active: How do you say? = ¿Cómo se dice?

25. Examples of Lexical Features • Idioms: a string of words whose meaning is different than the meaning conveyed by the individual words. Translate the following: • Dive into a book: • Fall in love: • Run into a friend:

26. Figures of speech The names of animals are used metaphorically in most languages. Translate the simile and compare: cute as a kitten Ambiguous lexical combinations: Translate: It is too hot to eat. Metaphors: List the connotative descriptions of S/he is a pig. in the languages of Mexico. In Mixteco: In Tzeltal: In Aztec: In Otomí:

27. Terms for Translation: Possible or Impossible

28. Semantic classes: Formal classes:

29. 5 semantic relations between words or groups of words:

30. Psychological functions of language:

31. Sociological functions of language:

32. How is translating “impossible”? • Language both reveals and hides. Words provide clues to meaning. Verbal signs are defined by other signs. Words do not clothe reality but are like pegs to hang ideas. • It depends on shared knowledge in that readers are expected to “know” something of the content. • There is an underlying parallax “distortion” within each language. No two words in any two languages have the same denotative or connotative meanings.

33. Questionnaire for Translation: Possible or Impossible 1. According to Nida, what is the popular assumption that makes translation impossible? 2. What does Nida say about word-for-word translation? What milieu tends to favor such a translation?

34. 3. Does Nida make a distinction between interpretation (interpreting) and translation (translating)? If you were to make a distinction, what would it be like? 4. According to Nida, what is most important in translation: faithfulness to the source culture or faithfulness to the receptor culture? Do you agree with Nida? Why or why not? What will be the implications of one or the other for the product of your translation?

35. 5. What are some of the genres that Nida mentions for Bible translation? For secular translations, what are the genres that one is likely to encounter? 6. What are some of the characteristics of languages that make translation possible?

36. 7. Why do you think that Nida argues that “translating can never be discussed apart from the cultures of the respective languages”? What are the implications of this statement for translators or for the training of translators? 8. What are some of the things mentioned by Nida that allegedly make translation impossible?

37. 9. Should translation be considered a “science”? Or an “art”? 10. What are, according to Nida, the two most important processes involved in translation?

38. 11. What is Nida’s reason for comparing translation to a game? 12. Why do you think Nida concludes his article by saying that “translating is both challenging and discouraging”? Do you agree with him? Have you ever felt discouraged by your own translation?

39. Larson Ch. 30: What Kind of Writing is This? Discourse Genres and Translation • A discourse genre is a form of writing that an author chooses to communicate his/her purpose; each discourse genre has its typical style, structure and organization. • NOTE: Most texts include combinations of one or more discourse genres. For example: Newspaper articles are often both NARRATIVE and EXPOSITORY. Stories and novels often combine the NARRATIVE and REPARTEE genres. Tourist information that tells you how to get somewhere can be both DESCRIPTIVE and PROCEDURAL.

40. Summary of Discourse Genres

41. Summary Chart- characteristics of discourse genre

42. ILLOCUTIONARY function • The speech act of doing something else-offering advice or taking a vow, for example - in the process of uttering meaningful language. Thus, for example, in saying "I will repay you this money next week," one typically performs the illocutionary act of making a promise.

43. In-class practice • Exercises pp. 25-27 Larson text • Practice 1: Identify and discuss types of discourse genre • Practice 2: Translation of false cognates • Practice 3: Correct punctuation exercises (manual pp. 94+ and 99+) • Optional activity: post a question to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sptranslators/

44. Practice 1 • Identify and write down the discourse genres (include the title in English of each document) represented by the translated materials found in the manual on pages 139-223. 2. Identify three discourse genres of the translated documents distributed by the instructor (write the title of each document in English). 3. Please turn in your list at the end of class.

45. Practice 2 • Groups of 3: After consulting the Glossary on manual p. 111, write down at least one “literal” false cognate of the listed problem word (p. 108) in one column and the appropriate “idiomatic” translation in a second column. • Ex: assist a patient --- asistir (false cognate) ----- ayudar (idiomatic translation of “assist”) • Ex: attend a class --- atender (false cognate) ---- asistir (idiomatic translation of “attend”)

46. Homework for June-5-06 • Read Chapter 3 (Larson) • Translation exercise #2: birth certificate (Spanish to English)

47. Translation exercise #2 1) Make a list of key terms and concepts that need to be defined and explained in order to understand the Spanish text completely. 2) Make a list of English terms and phrases that you will use CONSISTENTLY as equivalents for the terms in step (1). Please consult manual p. 56+ for vocabulary support. 3) Type your translation on a computer (using Microsoft Word, if possible). Please use Times font in 14-point size. DOUBLE-SPACE your English text so that you and your classmates can easily make comments on your work.  4) After you have finished your translation, proofread it to make sure it is complete. In the process of proofreading, CHECK SPELLING and PUNCTUATION. Bring two printed copies to class, one for your group analysis and the other for the instructor. Make sure that your name and date are at the top of your printed copies.

48. Partial birth certificate Acta de nacimiento de la niña Herminia Vargas González, Zapoteca Huauchinango, Pue. --- Al centro en Zapoteca del municipio de Huauchinango del Estado de Puebla, siendo las 9:00 nueve horas del día 12 doce de Noviembre del año de 1979 mil novecientos setenta y nueve, ante mí C. Humberto Gómez Martínez, Presidente Auxiliar Municipal y por Ministerio de Ley Juez encargado del Registro Civil de este lugar, compareció el señor Porfirio Vargas Delgado, casado por el Civil y de 27 veintisiete años de edad, católico, alfabeta, campesino, originario y vecino de este lugar, manifestó que el día 20 veinte de septiembre del año de 1979 mil novecientos setenta y nueve, siendo las 3:00 tres horas en su casa habitación, nació viva sin defectos físicos una niña, la que presentan para su inscripción con el nombre de Herminia Vargas González, que ocupa 2o. segundo lugar en la familia, siendo hija legítima del declarante y de su esposa María González Castro, casada por el Civil y de 17 diez y siete años de edad, católica, alfabeta, doméstica originaria de Topatla Municipio de Huauchinango, Puebla, y vecina de este lugar, --------------------------- 

49. Partial birth certificate Es copia tomada fiel y exactamente del original a que me remito y se expide a solicitud de parte interesada para los usos legales y convenientes: - En Zapoteca Huauchinango Puebla, a los 5 cinco días del mes de Abril del año de 1986 mil novecientos ochenta y seis. “Sufragio Efectivo No Reelección” (please see next 2 slides!) El Presidente Auxiliar Municipal y Juez Encargado del Registro Civil. _________________________ Vicente Gómez Martínez.

50. Slogans/Lemas • In government correspondence official slogans (“lemas”) are sometimes used either in the letterhead, or more commonly just before the signature block. These usually reflect an event or saying of some historical significance, and should be translated between quotation marks. The English-speaking businessperson may find this unusual and the translator may wish to add a brief footnote explaining the significance.