Capitolo 4 Introducing Translation studies Munday, Slide di Linguistica Inglese

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CHAPTER 4

Translation:

-Linguistic product

-Cognitive process

1950 First linguistic

approaches: detailed

list or taxonomies to

categorize what

happens in translation

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Translation strategies

The two general translation strategies identified by Vinay and Darbelnet are: DIRECT TRANSLATION OBLIQUE TRANSLATION

• TRANSPOSITION: change of one part of the speech/text for another without altering the meaning. Ex: “After he comes back”/ “Dopo che egli ritorni”./ “Dopo il suo ritorno”.
• MODULATION: changing the form of the text by introducing a semantic change or perspective. Ex: “It is not difficult to make” / “Non è difficile da fare”/“é facile da fare” obligatory optional al suo risveglio/ as soon as she got up as soon as she got up/ non appena si è alzata obligatory optional The time when/ il momento in cui the only thing worth dying for/ per cui valga la pena vivere

OBLIQUE TRANSLATION

• EQUIVALENCE, OR IDIOMATIC TRANSLATION:
• languages describe the same situation by different stylistic or structural means. E.g. : Heavens opened up = si è messo a diluviare / Blasted like hell= essere rovinati.
• ADAPTATION:
• changing the cultural reference.
• e.g., cricket (English) Tour de France (French)
• Nutella/Peanut butter.

4. Explicitation

• GRAMMAR: The doctor Il dottore / La dottoressa
• SEMANTICS: l’Etna the Sicilian volcano of Mount Etna
• PRAGMATICS: essere un Don Giovanni to be a lady killer like the

literary character Don Juan

• DISCOURSE

5. Generalization

narcisi flowers

SUPPLEMENTARY TRANSLATION PROCEDURES

(Vinay and Darbelnet)

The seven main translation procedures operate on three levels:

 the LEXICON;

 SYNTACTIC STRUCTURE;

 the MESSAGE → used to mean the uƩerance and its metalinguisƟc

context.

Two further terms are introduced which look above word level:

 WORD ORDER and THEMATIC STRUCTURE;

 CONNECTORS → cohesive links, discourse markers, deixis, punctuaƟon

marks.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SERVITUDE AND OPTION

• OPTION → Non-obligatory changes that may be due to the translator’s own style or to a change in emphasis. ↓ This could be the decision to amplify or explicate a general term, or to change word order. ↓ e.g. Italian: “Le migliori macchine fotografiche vengono prodotte in Giappone. = English: “It is the Japanese who make the best cameras / The best cameras are made in Japan.”

5 steps to follow from ST to TT:

1. identification of the units of translation;
2. examination of the content in the ST (descriptive, affective, intellectual);
3. reconstruction of the metalinguistic context of the ST;
4. evaluation of stylistic effects;
5. TT: production and revision. unit of translation «a lexicological unit» «a unit of thought» the smallest segment in a utterance whose signs are strongly linked and are considered as a single unit no individual translation!

Linguistic changes occurring in translation of ST to TT J. C. Catford A Linguistic Theory of Translation (1965) L A N G U A G E A S C O M M U N I C AT I O N

Catford’s distinction between: FORMAL CORRESPONDANT (^) TEXTUAL EQUIVALENT any TL category which can be said to occupy the “same” place in the “economy” of the TL as the given SL category occupies in the SL’ any TL portion of text which is observed on a particular occasion to be the equivalent of a given SL portion of text ENG: Yesterday I bought a book. ITA: Ieri ho comprato un libro. ENG: I need to take a painkiller for my headache. ITA: Ho bisogno di prendere qualcosa per il mal di testa. GENERAL CONCEPT TIED TO A PARTICULAR CASE Examples: ITA: Ti andrebbe un caffè? ENG: Would you like some coffee? ITA: Ho preparato le valigie e sono andata via. ENG: I packed my stuff and I left.

• CLASS SHIFTS → shiŌs from one part of speech to another.  A twenty-year-old girl / Una ragazza di vent’anni.
• UNIT/RANK SHIFTS → shiŌs from hierarchical linguistic units.  Prego / You’re welcome.
• INTRA-SYSTEM SHIFTS → selecƟon of a non-corresponding term in approximately corresponding systems.  Luggage / Bagagli, bagaglio. Idealization and decontextualization of examples → weaknesses in Catford’s approach.

• ‘Expressive function’ of a text  literary aspect in translation shifts.
• (Jirˇí Levý ) Literary translation: a reproductive and creative labour  equivalent aesthetic effect.

Why are stylistic shifts in translation so interesting now?

1. Interest in the intervention of the translator and relationship with ST author as exemplified through linguistic choices;
2. The development of more sophisticated computerized tools to assist analysis.