Translatability vs. Untranslatability

Babel ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 289-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ke Ping
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Source Language ◽  
Language Meaning

Abstract The problem of translatability or untranslatability is closely related to man's understanding of the nature of language, meaning and translation. From the sociosemiotic point of view, "untranslatables" are fundamentally cases of language use wherein the three categories of sociosemiotic meaning carried by a source expression do not coincide with those of a comparable expression in the target language. Three types of untranslatability, referential, pragmatic, and intralingual may be distinguished. On the understanding that the object of translation is the message instead of the carrier of the message, language-specific norms considered untranslatable by some linguists should be excluded from the realm of untranslatables. And since translation is a communicative event involving the use of verbal signs, the chance of untranslatability in practical translating tasks may be minimized if the communicative situation is taken into account. In a larger sense, the problem of translatabiliiy is one of degrees: the higher the linguistic levels the source language signs carry meaning(s) at, the higher the degree of translatability these signs may display; the lower the levels they carry meaning(s) at, the lower the degree of translatability they may register. Résumé Le problème de la traduisibilité ou de la non-traduisibilité est étroitement lié à la compréhension par l'homme de la nature de la langue, de la signification et de la traduction. Du point de vue socio-sémiotique, les "non-traduisibles" sont fondamentalement des cas d'usage de la langue dans lesquels trois catégories de signification socio-sémiotique transmis par une expression source ne coïncident pas avec ceux d'une expression comparable dans la langue cible. On distingue trois types de "non-traduisibles": référentiels, pragmatiques ou interlangues. Etant entendu que l'objet de la traduction est le message et non le vecteur de ce dernier, des normes spécifiques à la langue, considérées "intraduisibles" par certains linguistes, devraient être exclues du domaine des "intraduisibles". Et comme la traduction est un acte de communication impliquant l'usage de signes verbaux, l'éventualité d' "intraduisibles" lors des tâches de traduction pratique peut être réduite lorsque la situation communicative est prise en considération. Dans un sens plus étendu, le problème de "traduisibilité" est une question de niveaux: plus les signes de la langue source transmettent de significations aux niveaux linguistiques les plus élevés, plus ces signes peuvent mettre en évidence le niveau de traduisibilité; au contraire, plus les niveaux qu'ils transmettent sont inférieurs, plus bas est le niveau de traduisibilité qu'ils enregistrent.

scholarly journals THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL PECULIARITIES OF TRANSLATING CULTURE-SPECIFIC TERMS

2020 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 494-497
Author(s):  
B. Mizamkhan ◽  
◽  
T. Kalibekuly ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Mutual Understanding ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Source Language ◽  
Language Groups ◽  
Adequate Understanding ◽  
Cultural Connotations ◽  
Different Cultures ◽  
Cultural Linguistics

The term “culture-specific vocabulary” appeared in the 1980s. Problems of translating culture-specific terms from one language to another have always been a serious issue for translators. It causes even more problems if the languages being compared belong to different language groups and represent different cultures. Nevertheless, the study of culture-specific vocabulary helps to achieve the adequacy of translation, which in turn helps speakers of different languages ​​and cultures to achieve mutual understanding. The above emphasizes the relevance and timeliness of the study of translation from the point of view of cultural linguistics. This paper will examine the peculiarities of translating culture-specific terms from Kazakh into English. It provides different methods of translating cultural connotations, taking into account the ways of living and thinking, as well the historical and cultural backgrounds embedded in the source language (hereafter SL) and target language (hereafter TL). These methods will be analyzed using specific examples, originals and translations of such works as “The Path of Abai” by Mukhtar Auezov and “Nomads” by Ilyas Yessenberlin. Therefore, the main aim of the paper is to try to explain main approaches and theories needed for adequate understanding of different cultures through translation.

Coincidence in Translation

Target ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert de Beaugrande
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
Linguistic Theory ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Source Language ◽  
Language System ◽  
Communicative Context ◽  
And Linguistics

An important factor impeding the development of explicit theories of translation has been the centrality of coincidence. Skilled translating consists not of following rules or algorithms of equivalence, but of generating coincidences between the materials of the source language and those of the target language. Conventional aspirations of linguistic theory emphasize degrees of generality, uniformity and formality, which such an activity does not readily seem to fit. Also, language science and linguistics have consistently rated form over meaning and language system over communicative context, while translation is an activity in which meaning dominates over form, and context immediately controls and influences how the language system is used. Recent approaches to text and discourse are now striving to revise traditional theoretical aspirations in order to attain better models of language use, and may thus provide a basis for unifying theory with practice in translation.

Is there interference of usage constraints?

Target ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 252-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bert Cappelle ◽  
Rudy Loock
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Frequency Shifts ◽  
Source Language ◽  
Il Y A ◽  
Language Frequency ◽  
Language Norms ◽  
Large Corpus

We examine the possible impact of frequency differences between a construction in L1 and its equivalent in L2 on translations. Our case is that of existential there in English and existential il y a in French. Using corpus evidence, we first confirm previous claims that existential there is used more freely in English than existential il y a is in French. Drawing on extensive counts conducted in available corpora and self-compiled samples of translated English and French, intra-language comparisons of translated and non-translated language use show that existential there is under-represented in English translated from French while existential il y a is over-represented in French translated from English. It is suggested that source-language interference is responsible for these differences. In addition, counts of existentials in individual novels and their translations show that inter-language frequency shifts systematically occur in the direction of target-language norms, most clearly so for translations into French, which suggests that the observed usage constraint on il y a still applies to a noticeable extent in translated French. Methodologically, we argue the need for a large corpus of translated French.

scholarly journals TRANSLATIONAL CREATIVITY: TRANSLATING GENRE CONVENTIONS IN STATUTES

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 23
Author(s):  
Sandro Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
Target Audience ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Intended Target ◽  
Source Language ◽  
Legal Translation ◽  
Pragmatic Principle ◽  
Genre Conventions

A long-established approach to legal translation focuses on terminological equivalence making translators strictly follow the words of source texts. Recent research suggests that there is room for some creativity allowing translators to deviate from the source texts. However, little attention is given to genre conventions in source texts and the ways in which they can best be translated. I propose that translators of statutes with an informative function in expert-to-expert communication may be allowed limited translational creativity when translating specific types of genre convention. This creativity is a result of translators adopting either a source-language or a targetlanguage oriented strategy and is limited by the pragmatic principle of co-operation. Examples of translation options are provided illustrating the different results in target texts. The use of a target-language oriented strategy leads to target texts that contain genre conventions expected by the target audience and at the same time retain the substantive legal contents of source texts. This, I argue, results in translations that are both factually and conventionally correct seen from the point of view of the intended target audience.

scholarly journals Teacher’s target language use in classroom discourse: teacher’s point of view

EDUPEDIA ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
Puspa Sari ◽  
Syahrir Syahrir ◽  
Husnani Aliah
Keyword(s):  
Classroom Discourse ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
First Language ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Language Class ◽  
Language Knowledge ◽  
Students First ◽  
Teaching Learning

The language class is closely related to the assumption that students will learn and generate the target language. Students are supposed to be able to relate, at least, with the language they have studied. The teacher hopes to not only teach but also use the target language in their teaching-learning process and show the students how to use it. This research explores the teacher's target language in the classroom discourse from the teacher’s point of view—a Qualitative approach employed in this research. The teacher believed that the use of the target language has to be in a maximum way. However, drawn away by the situation of students’ target language knowledge, the use of target language becomes infrequently used. She only used target language for simple words or sentences, which is she knew her students able to comprehend. She needed to use the target language and the students’ first language and mother tongue to help the students more comfortable comprehending the lesson.

scholarly journals Information-Structure strategies in English/Spanish translation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ángel Luis Jiménez-Fernández
Keyword(s):  
Information Structure ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Spanish Translation ◽  
Source Language

This paper discusses information structure-based strategies that could be used in translating from English to Spanish. It is widely observed that many problems arise in translation when establishing the theme/topic and providing the focus content in the target language, given the grammatical instruments available in the source language. It is extremely important to use similar discourse mechanisms to present the same message in exactly the same terms from an information-structure point of view. This means that the syntactic configuration may be different in the source and target texts. I focus on three information structure phenomena, namely Passive, Topic Fronting and Negative Preposing in the two languages, to analyse the preservation of the discourse flow in various translations for the optimal use of the relevant constructions.

scholarly journals CULTURAL ADJUSTMENTS IN TRANSLATION OF ENGLISH TO INDONESIAN IN NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 97
Author(s):  
Yoharwan Dwi Sudarto ◽  
Suhartono Suhartono ◽  
Mintowati Mintowati
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Adaptation ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Target Language ◽  
National Geographic ◽  
Source Language ◽  
Culture Adaptation ◽  
Literal Translation ◽  
Translation Technique ◽  
Tv Show

This study describes the technique in translation which is used in the TV show National Geographic. The technique is from Molina and Albir. This research is aiming to discover the culture adaptation, addition and reduction, literal translation, linguistic adaptation in the subtitle from source language to target language. This research is started by choosing the show, transcripting the English, and rewriting the subtitle on the screen. After that, the data is analyzed from the culture adaptation point of view in translating English into Indonesian. The result of this research showed that there is culture adaptation in translating English as source language into Indonesian as target language. First point is the cultural adaptation which adapts with the habit of communicating in target language. This adaptation needs comprehension of the habit of communication in both language. Second, it is addition and reduction which make the result of translation more informative, short, and logical. Next thing is the literal translation which translates the source language literally. Then the linguistic adaptation which adapts the grammar of source language to target language. The data received had been researched to be analyzed in the translation technique.

scholarly journals Kieślowski’s „Dekalog” doorheen tijd en ruimte: Poolse realia in Nederlandse ondertitels

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 109-132
Author(s):  
Joke Bossens
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Original Script ◽  
Source Language ◽  
Dutch Translation ◽  
Polish Culture ◽  
Krzysztof Kieslowski

One of the challenges every translator has to deal with is the translation of culture-specific elements. The present study approaches the topic from the subtitler’s point of view and examines the strat-egies used in the translation of culture-bound elements in the Dutch subtitles of the ten-part Polish series Dekalog made by Krzysztof Kieślowski. 74 culture-bound elements were found in the original script and compared with their Dutch translation. The applied methods for rendering these culture-specific wordsinto Dutch were categorized into source language oriented and target language oriented strategies following the taxonomy introduced by Pedersen 2005. Finally, theirfrequency was analysed in order to determine to what extent the foreign character of the Polish culture-specific elements in Dekalog has been preserved while rendering them into Dutch.

scholarly journals Analisis Penerjemahan Kalimat Pasif Bahasa Inggris Ke dalam Bahasa Indonesia pada Novel Morning, Noon and Night Karya Sidney Sheldon

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 49
Author(s):  
Djuria Suprato
Keyword(s):  
Target Language ◽  
Intended Meaning ◽  
Source Language ◽  
Language Meaning ◽  
Bahasa Indonesia

A translated novel can enrich the culture and life of other nations. In order to properly understand the intended meaning of the author, the translator must understand both the source language and the target language. Meaning is an important element in the translation. Article explained the results of the study of the passive sentences of the source language (English) translated into Indonesian. The results of the study show that not all of the passive sentences of the source language can be translated in the form of passive sentences in target language. Instead, the passive sentences can be translated in the form of active sentences because of the meaning contained.

scholarly journals Transparency and Translatability of the Terminological Metaphor in the Domain of Computer Science (A Contrastive Analysis)

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 381-389
Author(s):  
Doina Butiurca
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Target Language ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Common Denominator ◽  
Contrastive Analysis ◽  
Source Language ◽  
The Common ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractOur research, Transparency and translatability of the terminological metaphor in the domain of the internet, is a contrastive analysis in the topic of the metaphor, especially. The relationship between the common and the special lexicon in the domain of the Internet in the English language as source language, the relationship between the common denominator between the source language and the semantic basis, of equivalence in the target language represent the aims of the research. The languages in which the analysis is carried out are different from the genealogical and typological point of view (the English language on the one hand, the Romance language and Hungarian on the other). The perspective is a descriptive-semasiological one, and the methods applied - the paradigmatic and syntagmatic analysis, the contrastive analysis - are adapted to this perspective. The transparency in the meaning, the degree of translatability, the motivated character of the terminological metaphor, the role of linguistics / of semantics in the terminology of the Internet are only some of the conclusions of the research.

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