Language funtions in translation

Language FunctionsTEXT-CATEGORIES AND TEXT-TYPES

Text types according to functions of language

1) Expressive

2) Informative

3) Vocative

4) Aesthetic

5) Phatic

6) Metalingual

Expressive Function

The main core of this expression is the mind of thespeaker, the writer, the originator of the utterance.

• Utterance is to express the feeling irrespective ofany response.

According to Peter Newmark:

• The main feature of the Expressive Funtion of language is the mind of the writer.

The characteristic of expressive text-types

Serious imaginative literature

• Lyrical poetry

• Short stories

• Novels

• Plays

Authoritative statements

• Political speeches

• Documents

• Legal documents

• Academic

Autobiography, essays, and

personal correspondence

• Which are considered expressive when they contain personal feelings

Informative function

The core of this informative function of language isexternal situation, the facts of a topic, reality outsidelanguage, including reported ideas or theories.

The purpose of this informative function is concernedwith the topic of knowledge and literary subject.

The format of an informative text is often standard: a textbook, a technical report, an article in a newspaper or a periodical, a scientific paper, a thesis and agenda of a meeting.

However, note two points: • First: 'informative' texts constitute the vast majority of the

staff translator's work in international organisations, multi-nationals, private companies and translation agencies.

• Secondly, a high proportion of such texts are poorly written and sometimes inaccurate, and it is usually the translator's job to 'correct' their facts and their style.

The vocative function

• The core of the vocative function of language is the readership, the addressee.

• The vocative is the case used for addressing your reader in some inflected language.

• A language that changes the form or ending of some words when the way in which they are used in sentences changes.

Inflected language

the genitive 's.

the plural -s .

the third-person singular -s .

the past tense -d, - ed, or –t.

the negative particle 'nt.

ing forms of verbs

the comparative -er and the superlative -est

Inflection in English include:

• Conative( denoted effort.)

• Instrumental

• Operative

• Pragmatic

This function of languages has been given many other names

• Notices

• Instruction

• Publicity

• Propaganda

• Persuasive writing(requests ,case, theses)

• Popular fiction whose purpose is to sell the book/entertain the reader as typical vocative.

For the purposes of translation

• The first factor in all vocative text is the relationship between the writer and the readership.

• The second factor is that these text must be written in a language that is immediately comprehensible to the readership.

Factors of vocative function

• The aesthetic function (called by Lakobson the poetic)

• This is a language designed to please the senses, firstly through its actual or imagined sound, and secondly through its metaphors.

•In many case it is no possible to translate sound effect unless one transfers the relevant language units: compensation of the kind is usually possible but not hard to translate, unless the word is simply missing in the other language( lexical gap.)

The aesthetic function

• Lexical gap or lacuna is when there is no word in another language to describe a concept.

Lexical gap

• Onomatopoeia

• Alliteration

• Assonance

• Rhyme

• Metre

• Intonation

• Stress

The sound effect consist of :

OnomatopoeiaA word that imitates the sound it represent

Alliteration Alliteration is the repetition of the same or similar sounds at the beginning of words.

RhymeRhyme is a repetition of similar sounding words occurring at the end of lines in poems or songs.

MeterIn poetry, metre(meter in American spelling) is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse or lines in verse.

IntonationIntonation describes how the voice rises and falls in speech. The three main patterns of intonation

Stresswhen one syllable is pronounced with more strength than the rest (we call it "the stressed syllable") and the rest of the syllables are weaker, but they are all pronounced clearly