METHODS

Of Translation

Word-for-word translation: in which the SL word order is preserved and the words translated singly by their most common meanings, out of context.

Literal translation: in which the SL grammatical constructions are converted to their nearest TL equivalents, but the lexical words are again translated singly, out of context.

Faithful translation: it attempts to produce the precise contextual meaning of the original within the constraints of the TL grammatical structures.

Semantic translation: which differs from 'faithful translation' only in as far as it must take more account of the aesthetic value of the SL text.

Adaptation: which is the freest form of translation, and is used mainly for plays (comedies) and poetry; the themes, characters, plots are usually preserved, the SL culture is converted to the TL culture and the text is rewritten.

Free translation: it produces the TL text without the style, form, or content of the original.

Idiomatic translation: it reproduces the 'message' of the original but tends to distort nuances of meaning by preferring colloquialisms and idioms where these do not exist in the original.

Communicative translation: it attempts to render the exact contextual meaning of the original in such a way that both content and language are readily acceptable and comprehensible to the readership.

ANDRE LAFEVERE NOTED SEVEN METHODS:

Phonemic translation attempts to recreate the sounds of the source language (SL) in the target language (TL). And at the same time the translator tries to transfer the meaning. According to Lafevere, in general the result sounds awkward and sometimes leaves some parts of the original meaning behind.

Literal translation means word-for-word translation. This method will not be able to transfer the original meaning; while the phrase and sentence structures tend to fall by the wayside in the TL.

The metrical translation emphasizes the reproduction of the original meter into the TL. And because each language has its own specific stressing and pronunciation system, this method will result in the inappropriate translation in terms of meaning and structure.

Verse-to-prose translation has also some weaknesses. The outstanding weakness is the loss of the beauty of the original poem.

The next method is rhymed translation which emphasizes the transferring of the rhyme of the original poem into the translation in TL. The result will be appropriate physically but tend to be semantically inappropriate.

The sixth method is free verse translation. With this method the translator may be able to get the accurate equivalents in the TL with a sound literary value of the result. On the other hand, the rhyme and meter tend to be ignored. So, physically the result is different from the original, but semantically it seems the same.

The last method noted by Lafevere is interpretation. According to him there are two types: version and imitation. A version of a poem in the TL will semantically be exactly the same with the original, but physically totally different. Further, an imitation is exactly a different poem, but the title, topic, and starting point are the same with the original poem.

THE TRANSLATING PROCEDURES, AS DEPICTED BY NIDA (1964) ARE AS FOLLOW: Technical procedures:

analysis of the source and target languages; a through study of the source language text before making

attempts translate it; Making judgments of the semantic and syntactic

approximations. (pp. 241-45) 

Organizational procedures: constant reevaluation of the attempt made; contrasting it with the existing available translations of the same text done by other translators, and checking the text's communicative effectiveness by asking the target language readers to evaluate its accuracy and effectiveness and studying their reactions.