University of Algiers 2

Faculty of Foreign Languages

1st Lesson: Introduction to Translation Principles

SEQUENCE 1: PRESENTATION
You are going to learn how to translate a text from English to Arabic & vice versa as a way to
know more about the English culture and literature, and try to find the equivalent in Arabic. Why?
To discover others’ culture and lifestyle in comparison to yours.
Translation is used as a means of interpreting information, as a tool of learning English, and for
translating different types of texts into various languages.
Situation: A tourist/ businessman ask you for the way? What’s your reaction?
What if you don’t know the right way?  You ask someone else. Then, you have to interpret the
information to the asker.
This is interpreting which is the spoken form of translation.

SEQUENCE 2: DEFINING TRANSLATION AND ITS PURPOSE

Translation is a phenomenon that has a huge effect on everyday life. This can range from the
translation of a key international treaty to the following multilingual poster that welcomes
customers to a small restaurant near to the home.

Definition: If we look at a general dictionary, we find the following definition of the term
translation: translation n. 1 the act or an instance of translating. 2 a written or spoken expression of
the meaning of a word, speech, book, etc. in another language. (The Concise Oxford English
Dictionary)
The first of these two senses relates to translation as a process, the second to the product. This
immediately means that the term translation encompasses very distinct perspectives. The first sense
focuses on the role of the translator in taking the original or source text (ST) and turning it into a
text in another language (the target text, TT). The second sense centres on the concrete translation
product produced by the translator. This distinction is drawn out by the definition in the specialist
Dictionary of Translation Studies (Shuttleworth and Cowie 1997:181): Translation: An incredibly
broad notion which can be understood in many different ways. For example, one may talk of
translation as a process or a product, and identify such sub-types as literary translation, technical
translation, subtitling and machine translation; moreover, while more typically it just refers to the
transfer of written texts, the term sometimes also includes interpreting.
This definition introduces further variables, first the ‘sub-types’, which include not only
typically written products such as literary and technical translations, but also translation forms that
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have been created in recent decades, such as audiovisual translation, a written product which is
read in conjunction with an image on screen (cinema, television, DVD or computer game).
Moreover, the reference to machine translation reveals that translation is now no longer the
preserve of human translators but, in a professional context, increasingly a process and product
that marries computing power and the computerized analysis of language to the human’s ability to
analyse sense and determine appropriate forms in the other language.
A
FORM AND CONTENT

Roman Jakobson makes the crucial claim that ‘all cognitive experience and its classification is
conveyable in any existing language’ (Jakobson 1959:238, see Text B1.1). So, to give an example,
while modern British English concepts such as the National Health Service, public–private
partnership and congestion charging, or, in the USA, Ivy League universities, Homeland Security
and speed dating, might not exist in a different culture, that should not stop them being expressed in
some way in the target language (TL). Jakobson goes on to claim that only poetry ‘by definition is
untranslatable’ since in verse the form of words contributes to the construction of the meaning of
the text. Such statements express a classical dichotomy in translation between sense/content on the
one hand and form/style on the other. The sense may be translated, while the form often cannot.
And the point where form begins to contribute to sense is where we approach untranslatability.
This clearly is most likely to be in poetry, song, advertising, punning and so on, where sound and
rhyme and double meaning are unlikely to be recreated in the TL.
The spoken or written form of names in the Harry Potter books often contributes to their
meaning. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, one of the evil characters goes by the name
of Tom Marvolo Riddle, yet this name is itself a riddle, since it is an anagram of ‘I am Lord
Voldemort’ and reveals the character’s true identity. Think how you might deal with this
form–content problem in translation into another language.
In the published translations, many of the Harry Potter translators have resorted to altering the
original name in order to create the required pun: in French, the name becomes ‘Tom Elvis Jedusor’
which gives ‘Je suis Voldemort’ as well as suggesting an enigmatic fate with the use of the name
Elvis and the play on words ‘jeudusor’ or ‘jeu du sort’, meaning ‘game of fate’. In this way the
French translator, Jean-Francois Menard, has preserved the content by altering the form.
The problem with many published TTs of the kind cited earlier is essentially one of impaired
‘comprehensibility’, an issue closely related to ‘translatability’.
Translatability is a relative notion and has to do with the extent to which, despite obvious
differences in linguistic structure (grammar, vocabulary, etc.), meaning can still be adequately
expressed across languages. But, for this to be possible, meaning has to be understood not only in
terms of what the ST contains, but equally significantly, in terms of such factors as communicative
purpose, target audience and purpose of translation. This must go hand in hand with the
recognition that, while there will always be entire chunks of experience and some unique ST values
that will simply defeat our best efforts to convey them across cultural and linguistic boundaries,
translation is always possible and cultural gaps are in one way or another bridgeable. To achieve
this, an important criterion to heed must be TT comprehensibility.

SEQUENCE 3: TRANSLATION PRINCIPLES AND THEORIES

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 Many linguists and translators have studied the translation process and connected it with
different linguistic studies and practical issues of language. For instance, Catford (1965) thought
that: “Translation is the replacement of textual material in one language (SL) by equivalent textual
material in another language (TL).” (Catford, 1965: 20). So, what is important for him is to
maintain a kind of ‘equivalence’ (in terms of form only) between the source text (ST) and the target
text (TT).
Another different view of translation is given by Nida and Taber (1982: 12): “Translating
consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source-
language message, first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style.” Accordingly, they
focus on both content and form of the message to reproduce the same effect of the source text.
Eg. Shall I compare thee to a summer night? (Shakespeare). How can you find an equivalent
description in Arabic, taking into consideration the two different cultures and environments?
‫ھﻞ أﺷﺒﮭﻚ ﺑﻠﯿﻠﺔ رﺑﯿﻌﯿﺔ داﻓﺌﺔ؟‬
A: I am out of petrol.
B: There is a garage round the corner. (Yule & Brown, 1983)
‫ ﻧﻔﺪ اﻟﺒﻨﺰﯾﻦ ﻣﻦ ﺳﯿﺎرﺗﻲ‬:‫أ‬
.‫ ھﻨﺎك ﻣﺤﻄّﺔ وﻗﻮد ﻗﺮﯾﺒﺔ ﻣﻦ ھﻨﺎ‬:‫ب‬

From this last example we can deduce the presence of the theory of context in translation. In
order to trace referents in a given discourse one should rely on the available linguistic material(s) or
on the physical environment of the current situation in which the referring expression is used, i.e.
context.

Eg1. A couple of rooms have complained about the heat. (A hotel) (Yule, 1996: 20)

One can see that the addressor in here refers to particular people who are living in a hotel using the
referent expression ‘A couple of rooms’ (inference) assuming that the addressee will inevitably
deduce or infer the intended meaning.

.‫اﺷﺘﻜﻰ ﻗﺎطﻨﻮ اﻟﻐﺮﻓﺘﯿﻦ ﻣﻦ اﻟﺤﺮارة اﻟﻤﺮﺗﻔﻌﺔ‬

Eg2 : Waiter A : Where is the spinach salad sitting ?

‫اﻟﻨﺎدل‬1‫ أﯾﻦ ﯾﺠﻠﺲ ﻣﻦ طﻠﺐ ﺳﻠﻄﺔ اﻟﺴﺒﺎﻧﺦ؟‬:

Eg. 3: Bert : Do you like ice-cream?

‫ أﺗﺤﺐ اﻟﻤﺜﻠﺠﺎت؟‬:‫ﺑﺮت‬
.‫ ﺑﺎﻟﻄﺒﻊ أﺣﺒﮭﺎ‬:‫آرﻧﻲ‬

The reader in this case has to remember that language is not only a matter of vocabulary, it also
involves culture and the background knowledge in order to make the relation between A’s question
and B’s answer. That’s B’s implied meaning is that: “yes, obviously.” Since the Pop can never be
Orthodox; he can be just Catholic. (Implicature) (‫)اﻟﺘﻀﻤﯿﻦ‬

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Eg. 4: My uncle is coming home from Canada.
.‫ﻋﻤّﻲ ﻋﺎﺋﺪ ﻣﻦ ﻛﻨﺪا‬

One is supposed, as a hearer, to presuppose that the speaker has an uncle who lives in Canada and
he is still there (Brown & Yule, 1983: 29). This logical presupposition is to be normally captured
without receiving an utterance as: “I have an uncle. My uncle’s coming home. He was living in
here. He went to Canada. He is still there.” This again emphasizes the fact that what is
communicated is more than what is said.

4. CONCLUSION

This course dealt with the definition of translation as a transfer of a text from one language to
another by respecting the dichotomy form – content to a certain extent. It has got different types,
but it is conditioned by the relationship comprehensibility – translatability. There are different
theories of translation that claimed that its main purpose is to find the equivalent of a text in
another language keeping certain factors such as meaning, context and culture.

KEY WORDS: TRANSLATION – INTERPRETING – PROCESS – PRODUCT - TRANSFER – COMPREHENSIBILITY –

/‫اﻷﺻﻞ – ﻟﻐﺔ اﻟﮭﺪف‬/ ‫ اﻟﺘﺮﺟﻤﺔ )اﻟﺘﺤﺮﯾﺮﯾﺔ( – اﻟﺘﺮﺟﻤﺔ اﻟﻔﻮرﯾﺔ – ﻋﻤﻠﯿﺔ – ﻣﻨﺘﺞ ـ ﻧﻘﻞ – ﻗﺎﺑﻠﯿﺔ ﻟﻠﻔﮭﻢ – ﻗﺎﺑﻠﯿﺔ ﻟﻠﺘﺮﺟﻤﺔ – ﻣﻘﺎﺑﻞ – ﻟﻐﺔ اﻟﻤﺼﺪر‬:‫اﻟﻜﻠﻤﺎت اﻟﻤﻔﺘﺎﺣﯿﺔ‬
.‫اﻟﻘﺮاء – اﻟﮭﺪف‬/‫ اﻟﺜﻘﺎﻓﺔ – اﻟﺠﻤﮭﻮر‬- ‫ اﻟﻤﺘﺮﺟﻢ – اﻟﺸﻜﻞ – اﻟﻤﻀﻤﻮن – اﻟﻤﻌﻨﻰ – اﻟﺴﯿﺎق – اﻷﺳﻠﻮب‬/‫اﻟﻮﺻﻞ – اﻟﻨﺺ اﻟﻤﺼﺪر – اﻟﻨﺺ اﻟﮭﺪف‬/‫اﻟﻠﻐﺔ اﻟﻤﻨﻘﻮل إﻟﯿﮭﺎ‬

HOMEWORK: Summarize the content of this course with your own words. Then, translate the
summary into Arabic (Your own translation).