MID -TERM TEST ON TRANSLATION THEORIES

I. Answer the following questions: (40 points)

1. What are the different current views on translation?
Current views both in language and translator training favour a communicative approach
by concentrating on language in communication rather than language as a formal
construct, there is a marked difference between the two. The language is the object of
listeners and speakers try to get as close as possible to native competence, a competence
which is then accessed for production. In the case of translation, language is used as a
tool and the emphasis is no longer on competence but performance since the translator
has to focus on “particular instantiations of language use, in specific texts and contexts”.
Unlike in language translation where the language system in the brain is accessed for
production, in translation the language system is accessed, which is by definition an
intrinsic part of translation irrespective of the stance taken as to its importance. Stressing
the communicative aspect of language training, Menck states that for translation exercises
to be useful in language training they must cease to be mere testing devices for certain
competencies and approximate translation for professional purposes. This means that
authentic texts must be chosen and the communicative situation taken into consideration
by giving clear translation briefs. As such, translation should become a fifth training
objective in foreign-language training, apart from comprehension, speaking, reading and
writing, to contribute to competence and intercultural understanding. The communicative
aspect of language and intercultural understanding with regard to translation will be
discussed in more detail in the following paragraphs on the functional approach to
translation.
2. What is Nida's general theory of translating?
Gentzler argues that Nida's theory, despite its emphasis on dynamic equivalence,
is as abstract as Chomsky's. It seems to assume that the SL text can be seen as something
having a unified meaning. Moreover, it assumed that a translation can evoke from the TL
reader an emotional and cognitive response which is similar to what the SL readers had to
the original. Meaning is defined according to the function of the SL text and it is given a
status similar to that of universal structure. This also makes demands on the translator. To
understand the meaning, s/he should not only know both the languages involved in the
process, but also know the subject matter thoroughly. The translator should have an
empathetic relationship with the SL author, and have an ability to get underneath the skin
of the author. This is important to understand the meaning of the SL text. This of course
requires the translator to totally subjugate her/his personality to that of the author.
Gentzler points out that this also has the problem of what in literary terms is called
‘intentional fallacy' or guessing the author's intention. Very often a literary work might
convey what its author had not intended. Despite the obvious preference for the
sociosemiotic perspective, Nida seems to be going back to the concept of fidelity in
translation. Who is more faithful to the SL text – the translator who does ‘word for word'
translation or the one who conveys the basic meaning of the text even as s/he deviates
from the original in these formal elements? Nida says that the former might lose the
wood for the trees and go completely astray in arriving at the meaning. It cannot be
denied that Nida seems to have a contradictory stand on the issue: on the one hand he is
pointing to the essential instability of language and showing how it changes from place to
place and time to time. But paradoxically he also insists on a meaning that is an
unchanging entity behind the flux of language, which is an idealistic view that contradicts
his pragmatic approach to language and translation.
Nida is but one of the many translation theorists but he is a very influential one.
He gave a theoretical and scientific bent to translation that was thought to be a secondary
and derivative activity in the U.S. But there are critics like Gentzler who point out: “The
assumption that [the] higher, originary message not only exists, but that it is eternal and
precedes language is always already presupposed by Nida, and it affects his science”. By
reiterating the primacy of meaning what Nida is doing is privileging what he perceives to
be the message of the SL text. He does not trust his readers to understand the text by
themselves and polishes and prunes it according to his tastes. The result is a text that is
doctored to avoid the inherent ambiguities and instabilities of all literary works. This is
why Gentzler would say that Nida provides an “excellent model for translation” for a
manipulative purpose (like the translation of the Bible) but that his theory fails to become
a science. In spite of this criticism we cannot deny that Nida has made valuable
contribution to translation theory. He helped to focus attention on the socio-cultural
contexts of language and literary texts. His concepts of formal and dynamic equivalence
remain useful and relevant even today.
Acronyms:
SL: source language
TL: target language
II. Translation practice
1. Read the text and find out the features of the situational context (30 points)
Fluctuation is a term which is used for describing the interdependence between
episodic, fragmentary experiences which we make everyday, and structured knowledge
which we need to accommodate anew, haphazardly made experiences, such as the
meaning of hitherto unknown words or metaphors, the impact of new stories, and all the
other experiences we make when we try to find adequate solutions for translation
problems. Like any language user, translators strive to develop standard translation
procedures which enable them, consciously or subconsciously, to render textual input by
projecting source-text items onto the standard lexical (terminological), phraseological,
syntactic, and textual patterns of the target linguistic repertoires. At least for translators
who in their professional life enjoy the tremendous privilege of having to cope only with
a fairly homogeneous spectrum of texts, translation is in part a habit. In order to practise
habits, a translator has to learn them. This seems to be commonplace observation, but to
be aware of its pedagogical significance, it is fundamental to the preparation of
translation-teaching materials.
Field:
The term “Fluctuation” in translation
Tenor:
This content is extracted from the document on translation to explain to readers the
knowledge about fluctuations in translation.
The document states that it is important for translators that in the process of translation,
experience situations and basic knowledge in translation (the standard lexical -
terminological, phraseological, syntactic, and textual patterns of the target linguistic
repertoires) are closely related. Besides, translators need to master a fairly homogeneous
spectrum of texts to form a good habit in translation.
Mode:
The language is presented through a paragraph of written text that represents the
interpretation of the term “Fluctuation” to translators for improving their work.
2. Translate the text into Vietnamese (30 points)
Biến động là một thuật ngữ được sử dụng để mô tả sự phụ thuộc lẫn nhau giữa
những trải nghiệm theo từng giai đoạn, rời rạc mà chúng ta tạo ra hàng ngày và kiến thức
có cấu trúc mà chúng ta cần để đáp ứng những trải nghiệm mới, được tạo ra một cách
ngẫu nhiên, chẳng hạn như ý nghĩa của các từ hoặc hoặc sự ẩn dụ chưa được biết đến của
từ đó, tác động của những câu chuyện và tất cả những trải nghiệm khác mà chúng ta thực
hiện khi cố gắng tìm ra giải pháp thích hợp cho các vấn đề dịch thuật. Giống như bất kỳ
người dùng ngôn ngữ nào, người dịch cố gắng phát triển các quy trình dịch tiêu chuẩn
cho phép họ với ý thức hoặc tiềm thức nhất định, hiển thị đầu vào văn bản bằng cách
tham chiếu các văn bản nguồn lên các mẫu từ vựng (thuật ngữ), cụm từ, cú pháp và văn
bản tiêu chuẩn của mục tiêu của ngôn ngữ. Ít nhất đối với những dịch giả, những người
được hưởng đặc ân to lớn trong cuộc đời nghề nghiệp của họ khi chỉ đối mặt với một phổ
văn bản khá đồng nhất, dịch thuật phần nào đã trở thành một thói quen. Để rèn luyện thói
quen, người phiên dịch phải học phổ văn bản đó. Điều này tưởng như là bình thường,
điều cốt lõi chính là phải chuẩn bị các tài liệu giảng dạy- dịch thuật thì mới có thể nhận
thức được ý nghĩa sư phạm của nó.