ETI 102Introduction to Translation

Translation strategies

Translation strategies• Strategy: a plan, method, or series of maneuvers or

stratagems for obtaining a specific goal or result

• What kinds of textual changes do translators make? • Early classifications: – by Nida: changes of order, omission, structure,

addition– by Vinay and Darbelnet: loan/calque, literal

translation, transposition, modulation, etc.

Translation Strategies• Chesterman’s (1997) list of some general characteristics of

translation strategies include the following: a) Translation strategies apply to a process b) They involve text-manipulationc) They are goal-orientedd) They are problem-centerede) They are applied consciouslyf) They are inter-subjective

• They could be broadly categorized as:– Syntactic strategies– Semantic strategies– Pragmatic strategies

Syntactic Strategies

• G1 Literal: word-for-word

• G2 Loan/Calque: the SL expression is literally transferred to the TL.– kamikaze, brunch, software, laptop, trend, kismet, raki– honeymoon: balayı, weekend: haftasonu, laptop: dizüstü,

desktop: masaüstü

Syntactic Strategies

• G3 Transposition: interchange of parts of speech that don’t change the meaning– PM warns diplomats – Başbakandan diplomatlara uyarı

• G4 Unit shift: a ST unit (morpheme, word, phrase, clause, sentence) is translated as a different unit in the TT.– Not wanting to be late, we took a taxi. – Geç kalmak istemediğimiz için taksi tuttuk.

Syntactic Strategies• G5 Phrase structure change: this strategy comprises a

number of changes at the level of the phrase (including number, person, tense, mood etc.)– The merchandise displayed here is sold on board only. – Burada gördüğünüz ürünler sadece uçakta satılmaktadır.

(number)– For details of the program, turn to page 63. – Program detayları sayfa 63’te yer almaktadır. (mood)

Syntactic Strategies• G6 Clause structure change has to do with the structure

in terms of its constituent phrases (active-passive, transitive-intransitive, etc.)– A press release appearing on the official website of the city

indicated the mortar shell fell in a non-residential field. – Kentin resmi internet sitesinde yer alan basın açıklamasında,

havan topunun düştüğü yerin herhangi bir yerleşim merkezi olmadığı belirtildi. (active to passive)

Syntactic Strategies• G7 Sentence structure change includes changes between

main clause, sub-clause status and changes in sub-clause types etc.– The company had an excellent year, so they gave everyone a

bonus. (Şirkette bu yıl işler yolunda gittiği için herkese ikramiye verdiler.)

• G8 Cohesion change is something that affects intra-textual reference, ellipsis, substitution, connectors, etc.– Business was so good that Strauss was soon out of canvas; he

wrote to his brothers to send more. (İşler öylesine iyi gitti ki kısa sürede Strauss’un elindeki çadır bezi tükendi. Strauss da erkek kardeşlerine daha fazla göndermeleri için mektup yazdı.)

Syntactic Strategies• G9 level shift includes changes in phonology,

morphology, syntax and lexis. In a level shift, the mode of expression for a particular item is shifted from one level to another. An obviously influential factor here is the types of languages concerned, whether they are more analytic or agglutinative. – Kapıyı kapatabilir misiniz? (Please close the door.)– Çekoslovakyalılaştıramadıklarımızdan mısınız? (Are you one of

those whom we could not convert into a Czechoslovakian?)

• G10 Scheme change refers to the kind of changes translators incorporate in the translation of rhetorical schemes such as parallelism, repetition, alliteration, metrical rhythm, etc.

Semantic Strategies• S1 Synonomy is the strategy wherein the translator

selects not the obvious equivalent but a synonym or near synonym for it in order to avoid repetition for example.– Genç adamın üzerindeki öfkenin solgun bahçedeki sesi la

havleydi, tamam. Ama bu yalın kılıç öfkenin bir de rengi vardı. (The sound of the young man’s rage in the pale garden was la havle, alright. But this plain cold steel ire had a color, too.)

• S2 Antonomy occurs when an antonym is selected in combination with a negation element. – Teşekkürler, tokum. (Thanks, I’m not hungry.)– It’s not difficult to understand. (Anlaması kolay.)

Semantic Strategies• S3 Hyponymy: Shifts within the hyponymy relation are

common. In principle, this strategy comes in three subclasses:1) ST superordinate (red) TT hyponym ⇒

(scarlet/vermillion/crimson/etc)2) ST hyponym (rose) TT superordinate (⇒ flower)3) ST hyponym (route) TT hyponym (⇒ service)

Semantic Strategies• S4 Converses are pairs of (usually) verbal structures

which express the same state of affairs from opposing viewpoints. (e.g. buy/sell, give/take)– Kindly note that the prices quoted are exclusive of postal

charges. (Belirtilen fiyatlara kargo ücreti eklenmektedir.)

• S5 Abstraction change has to do with a different selection of abstraction level. In translation it may either go from abstract to more concrete, or from concrete to more abstract. – from all corners of the globe... (dünyanın her köşesinden...)

• S6 Distribution change is a change in the distribution of the same semantic components over more items (expansion) or fewer items (compression). – May I have your attention, please! (Lütfen dikkat!)

Semantic Strategies• S7 Emphasis change is a translation strategy that adds,

reduces, or alters the emphasis or thematic focus.– It’s important that you follow the instructions carefully.

(Talimatlara uymanız son derece büyük önem taşımaktadır.)

• S8 Paraphrasing results in a TT version that can be described as loose, free, and in some contexts even untranslated.

• This paraphrase strategy is well represented by rewritten and/or simplified versions of world literature, for example published by Penguin/Longman-readers for language learners from a beginner level to an advanced level.

Semantic Strategies• S9 Trope change covers actually a set of strategies

regarding the translation of rhetorical tropes (i.e. figurative expressions).– ST trope X ⇒ TT trope X– ST trope X ⇒ TT trope Y– ST trope X ⇒ TT trope Ø– ST trope Ø ⇒ TT trope X• Aslan gibiydin. (You were very brave.)

• S10 Other change includes other modulations of various kinds, such as change of (physical) sense, or deictic direction.– en çok ses getiren... (the most notable...) ⇒ change from auditory

to visual sense

Pragmatic Strategies• Pr1 Cultural filtering refers to naturalization, domestication

or adaptation of SL linguistic elements that are culture-specific and subsequently should be translated into TL cultural or functional equivalents.

• The opposite procedure borrows these SL elements and can be referred to as exoticization, foreignization, or estrangement.

• Pr 2 Explicitness takes the form of adding more components in the TT than are actually present in the ST. Implicitness is not just leaving out a ST language element, but refers to elements that can be expected to be inferred by readers in general.

Pragmatic Strategies• Pr3 Information change is necessary if the new (non-

inferrable) information has been understood as relevant to the TT reading public, though it is not present in the ST. The opposite is also possible if the information is not relevant in the TT. This happens for instance in the process of summarising.

• The omitted information cannot be inferred hereafter and is therefore different from implicitness.

• Pr4 Interpersonal change is important when the overall style is under consideration. Formality level, degree of emotiveness and involvement, the degree of technical lexis are all important matters when the relationship between text/author and reader are concerned.

Pragmatic Strategies• Pr5 Illocutionary change is a strategy linked with other

strategies and concerns changes in the speech act (illocutionary action). For instance, changing the mood of the verb from indicative to imperative, a change from statement to request, or the use of rhetorical questions and exclamations, but also changing from direct to indirect speech with certain verbs (state, tell, report) are applications of this strategy.

• Pr 6 Coherence change can be seen in connection with G8 (the cohesion change), however, coherence change has much more to do with the logical arrangement of information in the text, and on an ideational level (the formation level of ideas).

Pragmatic Strategies• Pr7 Partial change strategy contains partial translations,

such as summary translation, transcription, and translation of sounds. One example of summary translation is the translation of multiple page letters into a single page for the judicial representatives of government. The translator is in this case highly visible in the product through his accompanying notes and annotations (actually this is also covered in the next strategy).

Pragmatic Strategies• Pr8 Visibility change refers to the visibility of the translator

in the translation product. Chesterman refers to this point as an overt intrusion or foregrounding of the translatorial presence [of the translator] (p.112). Examples are translations withfootnotes, bracketed comments and added glosses. The reader becomes aware of the presence of the translator, who is no longer transparent. Official translators are required to make themselves visible, in testifying that the translation was made with the original document as source material, or as a translator/explicator in the case that the letter content and explanation should be kept visibly separate.

Pragmatic Strategies

• Pr9 Transediting covers the radical re-editing by the translators of badly written original texts. It includes drastic reordering and rewriting of the whole text body in general. Technical manuals are testing the translator’s ingenuity for making a readable product. With these manuals, both time and the allotted text space are taking a toll on the quality of ST and TT products.

Pragmatic Strategies

• Pr10 Other pragmatic changes are changes and cover for instance layout, choice of dialect and other factors. With official documents from Japanese city halls, for example, the translator is required to follow the layout of the original, even if the TT format documents have their own prescribed layout. Keeping the ST format intact has the advantage that if there is any doubt, the column and the row can be referred to to single out the doubted entry. As for the dialect, register in fact, the language choice in official documents is formal written style.

Translate how?• “The first word in this sentence has three letters.”• Literal translation: Bu cümlenin ilk kelimesinde üç harf

vardır.• Instrumental translation: Bu cümlenin ilk kelimesinde iki

harf vardır.• Documental translation: Bu cümlenin İngilizcesinin ilk

kelimesinde üç harf vardır.

• In an English-language Western, the cavalry captain asks the captured Indian, "Do you speak English?". What will he say in the Turkish-language version of the film?

• In the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the two bank-robbing heroes leave the US and go to Bolivia, to rob more banks. The first thing they do there is learn Spanish. What will they do in the Spanish version of the film?

Translate the following

• The pot calling the kettle black.• Birds of a feather flock together.• Political leaders shed crocodile tears while

allowing the war to continue. • The pen is mightier than the sword.• Haste makes waste.• Early bird catches the worm.• Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched.• A person is known by the company he keeps.• Those who sleep with dogs will rise with fleas.

Source

• Chesterman, Andrew. (1997). Memes of Translation. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Co.