From ‘Is’ to ‘Ought’

Target ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Chesterman
Keyword(s):  
Translation Studies ◽  
Translation Product ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
Professional Norms ◽  
Target Source ◽  
General Translation

Abstract Translation studies need to cater for both description and evaluation. This can be achieved via the study of translation norms. The norms governing translation are: (a) professional norms concerning the translation process (= norms of accountability, communication and target-source relation); and (b) expectancy norms concerning the form of the translation product, based on the expectations of the prospective readership. While general translation laws account for the behaviour of translators in general, normative laws describe the translation behaviour of a subset of translators, namely, competent professionals, who establish the norms. Normative laws originate in rational, normdirected strategies which are observed to be used by professionals. These laws are empirical, spatio-temporally falsifiable, probabilistic, predictive and explanatory.

scholarly journals A Study on Zeng Hu’s Translation of The Thorn Birds from the Perspective of Chesterman’s Norm Theory

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 996
Author(s):  
Chengyi Ma
Keyword(s):  
Translation Studies ◽  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
Translation Strategies ◽  
Vital Importance ◽  
Professional Norms ◽  
Norm Theory ◽  
Further Development

Based on the norm theory of Toury and Hermans, Chesterman makes a further development on the study of translation norms. In his theory, translation norms fall into two categories: expectancy norms and professional norms. Expectancy norms are from the expectations of target readers and influenced by the economic, political and cultural factors of the target society. Professional norms manipulate the translation process and are subject to expectancy norms. Professional norms can be further divided into accountability norms, communication norms and relation norms. Chesterman’s norm theory covers the ethical, social and skill norms during the whole translation process, which has great significance for translation studies and practice. The author of this paper has conducted an overall study on The Thorn Birds translated by Zeng Hu from the perspective of Chesterman’s norm theory, aiming to analyze the translator’s conformity to these norms and how these norms influence his translation. It can be concluded that translation is a norm-governed activity. During the translation of The Thorn Birds, the translator Zeng Hu has, in his own way, ingeniously conformed to the translation norms by Chesterman: he not only conforms to the expectancy norms by adopting different translation strategies and styles according to the target readers’ needs, but also applies professional norms to make his translation work well accepted by readers and enjoy lasting popularity. Thus, it can be seen that the instructional and normative effects of translation norms is of vital importance to the success of a translation.

The problem of equivalence in translating legal texts

2011 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandro Paolucci
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Law ◽  
Translation Studies ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Source Text ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
Central Topic ◽  
Legal Texts ◽  
General Translation

AbstractAlthough it is a subject of continuous debate and a frequent source of controversy, the concept of equivalence remains a central topic in translation studies. The solution to any translation problem is obviously far beyond the mere linear transposition of a source text into a target language and, particularly when translating legal texts, specialists in comparative law and legal translators continuously strive to find the most equivalent term or concept in the target language. After briefly presenting equivalence issues in general translation, this article examines the problem of equivalence in legal texts. It stresses the relevance of terminological equivalence, including as a translation process that may compete with others within the same text.

Shorter than a text, longer than a sentence

Target ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-124
Author(s):  
Arndt Heilmann ◽  
Tatiana Serbina ◽  
Daniel Couto Vale ◽  
Stella Neumann
Keyword(s):  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Full Text ◽  
Ecological Validity ◽  
Translation Studies ◽  
Translation Product ◽  
Source Text ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
Text Condition

Abstract This paper investigates what effect the length of the source text has both on the translation process and on the translation product. In an eye-tracking and keystroke logging experiment, we compared three conditions, namely full texts, three-sentence sequences and single sentences as source items. The results suggest that translations of single sentences differ significantly from full texts, whereas three-sentence sequences are representative of the full text condition. Therefore, research in process-based translation studies might benefit from using shorter source texts without endangering the ecological validity of experiments.

scholarly journals The role of archival and manuscript research in the investigation of translator decision-making

Target ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Munday
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
Textual Analysis ◽  
Translation Studies ◽  
Translation Product ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
Research Methodologies ◽  
Literary Archive

This paper discusses the application of research methodologies from history and literary studies to the analysis of the translation process. Specifically, this concerns the use of literary archive and manuscript material to investigate the various stages in the construction of the translation product. Such material has been drastically underexploited in translation studies to date. The paper describes the type of material available for researchers and how this has been used. This is followed by a case study involving the detailed textual analysis of a translator’s drafts and revisions. The paper considers the value of such research methods in investigating the translation process and how they might complement and interact with other methodologies.

Una aproximación empírica a la ­clasificación y traducción de las figuras retóricas en la publicidad

Babel ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Calzada Perez
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Investigation ◽  
Great Majority ◽  
Translation Studies ◽  
The Other ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
New Rhetoric ◽  
Rhetorical Figures ◽  
Ancient Times ◽  
The One

Since ancient times the suasive value of rhetorical figures has been vastly studied. In fact, Aristotle himself argued that the aim of rhetoric was not just to persuade but to find the best methods of persuasion (Aristotle, Retorica, ed. 1990). These methods have been frequently used in advertising, where they are employed to capture the consumer’s attention and, consequently, to sell the advertised product. However (despite the frequent appearance of rhetorical figures in advertising), there is a scarcity of studies on the role of these persuasive mechanisms in the translation of publicity. Bearing upon the “new rhetoric”, the present paper has a twofold purpose. On the one hand, it aims to import a clear taxonomy of rhetorical figures from advertising into translation studies and subsequently to illustrate the transfer of these figures. On the other hand, it analyses the behaviour of rhetorical figures in the translation process by means of an empirical investigation whose goal it is to further categorise them in a systematic and rational way. Drawing upon the seminal work of McQuarrie and his collaborators, the paper performs a quantitative analysis of a corpus of 120 matching pairs consisting of English advertisements and their existing Spanish counterparts. Results evidence that a great majority of rhetorical figures are “translated”, thus confirming the globalising tendencies of advertising.

scholarly journals Translation of Religious Terminology: al-fat-h al-islami as a Model

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 136
Author(s):  
Ali Al-Halawani
Keyword(s):  
Analytical Method ◽  
Cultural Background ◽  
Translation Product ◽  
Lexical Analysis ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
Islamic Conquest

<p>This paper is an attempt to illustrate the importance of understanding the religious and cultural background of the ST in the translation process in order to reach an accurate and precise translation product in the TL. The paper affirms that differences between cultures may cause complications which are even more serious for the translator than those arising from differences in language structures. The sample of the study is concerned with an Islamic term, namely <em>al-fat-<span style="text-decoration: underline;">h</span> al-Islami-</em>commonly rendered into English as <em>Islamic Conquest</em> or <em>Invasion-</em> a religiously and culturally bound term/concept. The paper starts by defining culture, and then follows with an extensive lexical analysis of the selected term/concept. The study proves that it is difficult to translate this concept into the TL simply due to the lack of optimal or even near optimal cultural equivalents. The skill and the intervention of the translator are most crucial in this respect because, above all, translation is an act of communication. It is hoped that this study will provide a more precise equivalent of this significant concept; a matter which may better reflect the innate peaceful nature of Islam as a religion. The in-depth descriptive analytical method this study follows can be used to analyze other religiously and culturally bound terms/concepts.</p>

scholarly journals A Glimpse from the Chambord Staircase at Translation’s Role in Comparative Literature

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 37-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Koustas
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Literature ◽  
Cultural Studies ◽  
Comparative Studies ◽  
Translation Studies ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
Canadian Literature ◽  
Translation Strategy ◽  
Selection Of

While the importance of the translation process remains recognized as a worthwhile activity in both Literary/Cultural Studies and in fiction, it is frequently overlooked in larger discussions of Canadian literature, including comparative studies. Such activities aim to blur the lines between Us and Them, between Other and Self, or between the Rest of Canada (the Roc) and Quebec, in other words, to align or combine the frequently cited legendary two staircases of Château de Chambord. However, in the process, they have obscured other boundaries, such as those between Comparative Literature and Translation. Studies in Comparative Canadian Literature, for example, frequently overlook, or at least downplay, the importance of translation, neglecting to consider, for example, the translation strategy used and the selection of translated works available for comparison.

scholarly journals Abu Bakr Salem's Saudi-Hadhrami Songs in Translation

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Extra Dimension ◽  
Translation Studies ◽  
Descriptive Study ◽  
Prosodic Features ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
Cultural Elements ◽  
The Aesthetic ◽  
Poetic Texts

This exploratory and descriptive study attempts to investigate Abu Bakr Salem’s songs and poems to see how demanding the process of translating such poetic texts is. Three of the most authentic songs of the Saudi-Hadhrami famous singer have been translated and discussed to achieve the study goals which are refreshing translation studies with this regard as well as checking whether these Arabic songs are translatable. The translator was given much freedom to render this kind of challenging text which is loaded with cultural elements and prosodic features in the light of Low’s (2005) Pentathlon Approach. The translator has done his best to manifest the aesthetic elements as far as possible. The findings are that folkloric Saudi-Hadhrami songs are untranslatable and the translation process is too complicated. Therefore, translators are not recommended to translate songs because a loss of meaning or form becomes something unavoidable. The intricacies lie mainly in manifold dimensions including cultural, colloquial, and prosodic aspects. In addition, the extra dimension of the music is beyond the translator's control.

scholarly journals Domestication and Foreignization in Key Cultural Text Translation: A Case Study of the English Translation of Lost in the Crowd

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Mehri Ebrahimi ◽  
Tengku Sepora Tengku Mahadi
Keyword(s):  
English Translation ◽  
Translation Studies ◽  
Dominant Strategy ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
Cultural Terms ◽  
Cultural Texts

Translation of key cultural texts is a challenging area since these texts not only present intricacies of cultures but also distinguish them from each other. In spite of it, investigating the translation of key cultural texts is one of the neglected areas in the field of translation studies. In the light of Venuti’s (2008) concepts of domestication and foreignization strategies, this research examines translation of Islamic religious cultural terms in Lost in the Crowd by Al-e Ahmad from Persian into English. It also investigates possible relationship between the accuracy of translation and the choice of strategy. The findings of the study reveal that domestication was the dominant strategy opted for by translators in the translation process. Moreover, the findings show that majority of the Islamic Persian terms were rendered into English adequately but the rate of adequate translation using a domesticating strategy was much higher than foreignizing.

scholarly journals Film Novelization as Multimodal Translation

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 ◽  
pp. 125-136
Author(s):  
Beata Mazurek-Przybylska
Keyword(s):  
Translation Studies ◽  
Book Market ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
Literary Adaptation ◽  
Multimodal Texts ◽  
Image Schemata ◽  
Multimodal Text ◽  
Effective Analysis

Novelization, i.e. a literary adaptation of a film, despite its widespread presence on the book market, was treated as a merely commercial phenomenon, and until the late 1990s, it did not inspire any academics research. The main objective of this paper is to show that the phenomenon of novelization can offer new opportunities for linguistics and to reconsider the place of novelization in adaptation and translation studies. It is claimed that the process of film-to-book transformation can be called a translation process. The term multimodal translation is adopted since transforming a multimodal text film into a monomodal one book involves a change of modalities and their density. What follows is an attempt to propose tools that can be used for the effective analysis of multimodal translation, which involve the classical Aristotelian view of the three-part plot of verbal texts and Elżbieta Tabakowska’s theory of cognitive translation. In order to illustrate the film–book translation process, an Interstellar film segment and its book counterpart are analyzed and the conclusion has been drawn that both the film and the book units use the same orientational image schemata. These findings prove that the extension of Tabakowska’s theory to multimodal texts is an adequate framework for the comparison of a film and its novelization.

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