SEC - Translation ( Minz ma'am )

The relevance of translation as a multi-faced and multi dimensional activity and its international importance as a socio-cultural bridge between countries has grown over the years. Not only two countries and nations interact with each other, but individuals too need to have contact with members of other community of different parts of the world. People and societies want to draw from literature encoded in other languages as well as gain practical knowledge and special skills that different languages may offer. Since, translation works as a bridge between the communication system of various linguistic communities, the knowledge of one language tends to be insufficient. This involves not only a working knowledge of two different languages but also the knowledge of their literature and culture. From this perspective translation is the skill that enhances practical and communication skills of the users and it also requires some development.

Translation is basically a linguistics process covering a wide and complex area. Knowledge of the linguistic complexities of different languages and the non-equivalent between languages that are gained during the act of translating cannot be matched by any other exercise. In this context the teaching of practical translation entails the teaching of language use of the target language. In other words while learning translation a student acquires the specific content material along with selection of dramatical structures and socio cultural contexts, not only of the source language but also of the target language.

Qualities of a translator

The translator can be said to be the focal element in the process of translation. It is generally believed that a writer in the source language is the best translator of the target language text. A translator should have minimum qualification of being a proficient bilingual. It is necessary that he is well conversant with the socio-cultural contexts of both the source language (SL) and the target language (TL).

Sound knowledge of the source language. A translator should have adequate knowledge of the source language from which he is translating into the target language which is generally his mother tongue or first language. He should have command over the grammatical syntactic, semantic and pragmatic features of the source language. A translator however has to confine himself not only to the source language text but a host of the other factors also that intervene in the process of translating the target language.

Proficiency in the target language.
A translator should be proficient and must have knowledge of the linguistics and stylistic characteristic of the target language. It is better initially for a translator who start translating into his mother tongue or first language.

Adequate knowledge of the subject. A good translator must have adequate knowledge of the subject or area, to which the source language text relates so that the translator is able to capture the spirit of the source language text. One must have an in-depth knowledge to be able to produce accurate translation. For example : If one translates Geeta or any other religious text, one must have adequate knowledge of its religious and theological aspects.

Definition of translation.

Broadly speaking translation turns a text of Source Language (SL) into a correct and understandable version of Target Language (TL) without losing the suggestion of the original. Many people think that we bilingual is all that is needed to be translator. That is not true. Being bilingual is important but translation skills are built and developed on the basis of one’s own long drawn out communicative and writing experiences in both the languages. As a matter of fact translation is a process based on the theory of extracting the meaning of the text from its present form and reproduce that with different form of a second language.

Conventionally , it is suggested that translators should meet three requirements :

1. Familiarity with the Source Language.
2. Familiarity with the Target Language.
3. Familiarity with the subject matter to perform the job successfully.

Based on this concept, the translator discovers the meaning behind the forms in the Source Language and does his best to reproduce the same meaning in the target language. Supposedly what changes is the form and the code and what should remain unchanged is the meaning and the message therefore one may discern that the common definition of translation is that, it is the selection of the nearest equivalent of a language unit of Source Language, in the target language.

Linguistically, translation consists of studying the lexicon, grammatical structure, communication situation & cultural context of the source language & its texts. Analysing it in order to determine its meaning and then reconstructing the same meaning using the lexicon and grammatical structure which are appropriate in Target Language and its cultural context, is also included. The process of translation starts with the comprehension of the source text closely and after discoursing the meaning of the text. The translator re expresses the meaning he has drawn out into the target language. This is done in such a way there is minimal loss in the transformation of meaning into the translated language.

In practice there are variation in the types of translations by various translators. This is because translation is essentially an art and not science. Many factors including is proficiency in language, culture background, writing flow etc determine the quality of translation. Translation turns a communication in one language into  a correct and understandable version of that communication in another language.

Sometimes a translator takes certain liberties with the original text in order to recreate the mood and the style of the originals. This is called accommodation. A accommodation is considered , a synonym of adaptation which means changes are made such that their target text reduced is written with the spirit of the original.

Q) What is translation ? What are the main problems that a translator faces ?

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Translation demands attention not because it paves way for global interaction and offers an excellent opportunity to undergo socio-cultural surveyor various languages and their literatures but also gives an opportunity to establish the study of literary criticism. In the context of Indian studies keeping in view the multilingual cultural nature of our country , translation has an important role to play. It is through translation that we can look into the rich heritage of India and feel proud of our cultural legacy. The relevance of translation as multi faceted and a multi dimensional activity and its international importance as a socio-cultural bridge between countries has grown over the years.

Translation is vital for multinationals as it enables the companies to operate in multiple countries. Sometimes they need to pass information or collect data from the employees on branches across the world. In this case it becomes necessary to translate the information. Translation here also involves translations of proposals and demands related to the government in local countries.

In today’s world international diplomacy is the most important of all external affairs. Many a times the world leaders are expected to present their ideas in other parts of the world. It becomes important that those ideas are translated properly and accurately.

Translation of various cut forms like music films and literature from a region is necessary for global understanding of a region and his life. 

The plight of Palestine refugees, poverty in Brazilian streets and myths and legends of ancient India are spread across the world riding on the shoulder of good translation. Translated films and subtitled films generate more revenue for global film industry, while translated Music and literature provides added royalties to artists. Recognition  from the world stage and international fame is an added bonus. Translation helps in transfer of news, world events can only be transmitted accurately if correct informations received by news agencies. This involves proper translation of news coming from local bodies and regional centres. If proper translation is not done, the news can turn o be ambiguous and unreliable.

Global citizenship can only be achieved through sharing. We need to be able to communicate our ideas and thoughts without delay and ambiguity. Different people around the world use different languages and are most comfortable handling their online activities in their own regional languages. If translation is done in a common language, customers and acquaintances can connect with them easily.

Translation helps to boost tourism industry. Tourist around the world complain of being tricked as they are unfamiliar with destinations. If proper translation is offered to tourist along with genuine guidance, a region becomes tourist friendly. It not only makes country popular but also helps in increasing the revenue of country.

Translation of a literary text. 

If we are concerned with literary translation it should be our aim to take as much of the beauty and significance of the source test into the target text.  There are some basic points to base in mind.  The idea of a translation, by an large is to present to a reader from another language in a language known to him.  The reader of a translated text doesn't fully comprehend the grandeur of the original.  But covering something not meant, not intended and not supposed to be intended would be unfair. 

It is not easy to render a poem into a similar meter.  Many translators translate it in free verse to make their task easy. No two language have the same metrical forms.  Each language has its own term of phrase and idiom and beauties in one language may not be retained were translated into another.  Social worker, workers of cultural levels and technical words need to be carried into the target language with almost caution.  The translator could be faulted for taking too much for granted from his reader or underestimate the reader. Too many explanations and too many foot notes distract.  The ideal thing is to be inviting and encouraging the reader to get the feel of the original text.  It is essential to be reader friendly and fidelity to the target reader is obviously a little more important than fidelity to the original text. 

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Modes Of Translation.

1. Word for word translation.
2. Conceptual translation.

Word for word translation preserves the word order of the SL and in this mode of translation words are translated by their most common meanings. The main use of this methods either to understand the mechanics of the SL or to construe a difficult text as a pre-translation process.

Conceptual Translation : Words and concepts that are often deeply embedded in the culture associated with the SL often prone to be the most challenging and difficult for the translator. Different procedures have been suggested for translating such culture specific concepts. Graedler puts fourth some procedures of translating culture specific concepts :

1. Making up a new word.
2. Explaining the meaning of the SL expression in lieu of translating it.
3. Preserving the SL term intact.
4. Opting for a word in the TL which seems similar to or has the same ‘relevance’ as the SL term.

For defining culture bound terms as the terms which refer to concepts, institution personnel which are specific to the SL culture. 

Harvey put forward four major translating techniques for culture bound terms :

1. Functional equivalence : It means using a referent in the TL culture whose function is similar to that of the SL referent. However this technique can be misleading.
2. Formal equivalence or linguistic equivalence : It means word for word translation.
3. Transcription or Borrowing (i.e. reproducing or, where necessary, transliterating the original term). It stands at the far end of SL oriented strategies. If the term is formally transparent or is explained in the context it may be used alone. In other cases particularly where no knowledge of the SL by the reader is presumed, transcription is accompanied by an explanation or a translators note.
4. Descriptive or self-explanatory translation : It uses generic terms to convey the meaning. It is appropriate in a wide variety of contexts where formal equivalence is considered insufficiently clear. If a text aim at a specialised reader it can be helpful to add the original SL term to avoid ambiguity. 

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Strategies of Literary Translation OR Basic Principles Of Literary Translation.

1. Broadly speaking, the word translation implies the transference of a text in one language into another one. The text from which the translation is made is called the source text and the language i.e. used in the source text is called the source language. Similarly, the language of the text into which the translation is being done is called the target language. In the terminology of literary or other translation, the term source language is abbreviated into SL and similarly the target language is abbreviated into TL.
2. We should understand that, the meaning of the text in the SL and the meaning of the text in the TL must be the same or approximately the same. Therefore the theorists of translation, are of the opinion that the ultimate objective of a piece of translation is the transference of the meaning from the SL to the TL.
3. The third thing that we would like to discuss is with regard to grammar.
4. The grammar especially the syntax could be the same between the SL and the TL and also that the syntax of the SL could be different from TL.

In making a piece of translation, the similarity or the dissimilarity must be kept in perspective. If not then, the translated text shall become ungrammatical. The implication here is that, the translated version in the TL  must keep in mind the various aspects of the grammar in the the SL.

     5. Let us now consider the issue of vocabulary. Every language has its own kind of vocabulary. The similarity of dissimilarity sometimes depends on the language family to which a language belongs. The English language & the Hindi language belong to separate branches of Indo-European language family. English is a member of the Western branch & Hindi is member of the Eastern branch. If we compare that two we see for example that the word fool means a stupid person in English and a flower in Hindi. The implication here is that the person making the translation should find out as far as practicable the equivalent words in the SL and the TL unless this is done, there will be difference in meaning between the source text and the translated text.

    6. In continuation from the preceding point, we would like to broach the issue of certain words or expressions which are typical to the SL. These typicalities must be kept in mind in the transferring of the text in SL into the text in the TL. 

In order to exemplify this let us consider the word thappar. This could be translated into the word slap in the TL. But the taste of pain which is contained in the word thappar is absent in the word slap. Suppose we are translating an SL text and we come across the expression kill two birds with one stone. This expression could translated into  ek pant do kaaj. But the translated version has an element of religiosity in it and the one in English is related to the culture of hunters. So expressions such as these are often considered to be untranslatable.