TRANSLATION AS A PROCESS

Translation as a process

Translation as a product is a written text in a target language as the end result of a translation process for a source-language text.

The translator is mainly a “message conveyor.” Thus a translation may be understood as the process whereby a message which is expressed in a particular source language is linguistically transformed in order to be understood by readers of the target language. Actually, the translator is conveying the meaning expressed by the original writer so the end reader gets a translated text that is faithful to the source text in meaning.

Sometimes the translator finds it necessary to reconsider the original wording for better understanding of the source text in order to render it in the target language.

When dealing with a translation, one of the processes included in the work is the analysis of the ST. This analysis, called TOSTA (Translation Oriented Source Text Analysis), helps us discover the function of the text, the target readers (with different levels of knowledge and different ages), as well as “ST elements that need to be preserved or adapted in translation” (Nord 1991: 21).

The translation process is of twofold:

1. The translator needs to detect possible modifications and flaws in the original text and understand the meaning they intend to convey. To do this, the translator often needs to be familiar with the contents of the text in order to clarify the ambiguities he has come across.
2. The translator will unwrap the syntactic structure of the original text and then formulate the corresponding message in the target language, thus giving the original text added value in terms of both wording and impact.

Phases of Translation:

• The First Phase: Analysis of the source text.
• The Second Phase: Transfer of the text into the target language.
• The Third Phase: Revision of translation.
  

Analysis of the source text:

The goal of this stage is complete understanding of the SL text. This may include a number of steps:
1. General Reading of the source text.
2. Underlining the difficult words.
3. Looking up the difficult words in a dictionary.
4. Close reading of the source text after understanding the difficult words.

Transfer of the text into the target language:

At this stage, the translator tries to write a draft translation following certain steps:
1. Writing a draft translation of the text in the target language.
2. Paying special attention to the grammar and spelling of the target text.
3. Including all the details mentioned in the source text.
4. Trying to make the target text as original as possible and sound natural not translated.

Revision of the translation:

This stage aims at giving a correct and final translation as a target text. Revising of the translation when it is completed and trying to make it better by editing it:
1. Make sure that all the details of the source text are found in the target text.
2. Check the spelling and grammar of the target text.
3. Try to make the translated version sounds natural in its target language form.
4. Read the translation after finishing the corrections without referring to the source text to emphasize the naturalness of the target text.

Levels of the Process of Translation

In fact, Newmark asserts that the process of translation operates in four levels:

• source text level: the source text itself and its immediate impression on the translator.
• referential level: the level of content of the text (technically the level of the conceptual representation) .
• cohesive level: the level where you aim at making a cohesive target text (and analyze the cohesion of the source text).
• level of naturalness: the level of constructing a natural target text in an appropriate language.

1. The textual level:

At this level, you translate, or transpose, the syntactic structures of the source text into corresponding structures in the target text. Often you will find that, for a variety of reasons, you will have to change these structures into something quite different further down the line to achieve target language naturalness.

2 . The referential level:

As mentioned above, this is the level of content, so here you operate primarily with the message (or information) or semantics of the text. This is where you decode the meaning of the source text and build the conceptual representation. This is where you disambiguate polysemous words and phrases and where you decode idioms and figurative expressions. This is where you figure out whether what the locution(s) and illocution(s) of the source text are and what the perlocution might be.
Once you have decoded the word or expression in question, you encode it into an appropriate target language expression. Note that there will be cases, like idioms and metaphors, in which you will have to use literal expressions in the target language, because it does not have any corresponding idioms or metaphors.
The referential level and the textual level are, of course, closely intertwined, as the nature and texture of the source text convey the message, and, of course, you also encode the message, using language, into the target text.

3. The cohesive level:

The cohesive level links the textual and the referential levels in that it deals with the structure/format of the text and information as well as with what Newmark calls the mood of the text.
At the structural sublevel, you investigate how various connectors, such as conjunctions, enumerations, repetitions or reiterations, definite articles and determiners, general category labels, synonyms, punctuation marks, simple or complex conjuncts, link sentences and structure the text and what Newmark calls its train of thought – which is basically its underlying information structure.
You establish its tone by finding so-called value-laden and value-free passages, such as subjective and objective bits, euphemisms, and other framing devices, framing being the strategy of linguistically presenting something in the perspective of one's own values and worldview, in a way promoting these. All of this will have to be somehow transferred into the target text so you achieve maximal equivalence at this level .

4. The level of naturalness:

This level is target text oriented, focusing exclusively on the construction of the target text. Random, unpredictable things that just seem unnatural in the target language makes things more complicated as naturalness often depends on the situation, such that something might seem natural in one context but unnatural in another. Perhaps, the only way, to ensure naturalness is to read through your translation and spot unnaturally sounding parts and change them into something that sounds more natural. This is something that most people skip when they do translations.

References:
Kim Ebensgaard Jensen, Basics of Translation, The process of translating– spring 09.

Newmark, Peter,1988,A textbook of translation. Prentice-Hall International (New York).

Nord, C. (1991). Text analysis in translation: Theory, methodology and didactic application of a model for translation-oriented text analysis.

Lecture Notes: Novice Translator's Guide lines

Based on: What Every Novice Translator Should Know by Antar S.Abdellah.

Translation is a science, an art, and a skill. It is a science in the sense that it necessitates complete knowledge of the structure and make-up of the two languages concerned. It is an art since it requires artistic talent to reconstruct the original text in the form of a product that is presentable to the reader who is not supposed to be familiar with the original. It is also a skill because it entails the ability to smooth over any difficulty in the translation, and the ability to provide the translation of something that has no equal in the target language.
In translation, the richness of vocabulary, depth of culture, and vision of the translator could certainly have very conspicuous effects on his/her work. Another translator might produce a reasonably acceptable version of the same text, which, however, may very well reflect a completely different background, culture, sensitivity, and temperament. Such differences cannot, in Chabban's view (1984), detract from the merit of either translator. This is simply because translation is decidedly a more difficult job than creation.

Criteria for a good translation:

A good translation is one that carries all the ideas of the original as well as its structural and cultural features. Massoud (1988) sets criteria for a good translation as follows:

• A good translation is easily understood.
• A good translation is fluent and smooth.
• A good translation is idiomatic.
• A good translation conveys, to some extent, the literary subtleties of the original.
• A good translation distinguishes between the metaphorical and the literal.
• A good translation reconstructs the cultural/historical context of the original.
• A good translation makes explicit what is implicit in abbreviations, and in allusions to sayings, songs, and nursery rhymes.
• A good translation will convey, as much as possible, the meaning of the original text (pp. 19-24).

El Shafey (1985: 93) suggests other criteria for a good translation; these include three main principles:

1. The knowledge of the grammar of the source language plus the knowledge of vocabulary, as well as good understanding of the text to be translated.
2. The ability of the translator to reconstitute the given text (source-language text) into the target language.
3. The translation should capture the style or atmosphere of the original text; it should have all the ease of an original composition.

From a different perspective, El Touny (2001) focused on differentiating between different types of translation. He indicated that there are eight types of translation:

1. word-for-word translation,
2. literal translation,
3. faithful translation,
4. semantic translation,
5. adaptive translation,
6. free translation,
7. idiomatic translation, and
8. communicative translation.

He advocated the last type as the one which transmits the meaning from the context, respecting the form and structure of the original and which is easily comprehensible by the readers of the target language.
El Zeini (1994) didn't seem satisfied with such criteria for assessing the quality of translation. Hence she suggested a pragmatic and stylistic model for evaluating quality in translation. She explains that the model " places equal emphasis on the pragmatic component as well on the stylistic component in translation. This model covers a set of criteria, which are divided into two main categories: content-related criteria and form-related criteria" and expected that by following these criteria, "translators will be able to minimize the chance of producing errors or losses, as well as eliminate problems of unacceptability" (p. xvii).

Translation problems:

Translation problems can be divided into

1. linguistic problems and
2. cultural problems.

the linguistic problems include grammatical differences, lexical ambiguity and meaning ambiguity; the cultural problems refer to different situational features. This classification coincides with that of El Zeini when she identified six main problems in translating from Arabic to English and vice versa; these are lexicon, morphology, syntax, textual differences, rhetorical differences, and pragmatic factors.
Another level of difficulty in translation work is what As-sayyd (1995) found when she conducted a study to compare and assess some problems in translating the fair names of Allah in the Qu'ran. She pointed out that some of the major problems of translation are over-translation, under-translation, and untranslatability.
Culture constitutes another major problem that faces translators. A bad model of translated pieces of literature may give misconceptions about the original. That is why Fionty (2001) thought that poorly translated texts distort the original in its tone and cultural references, while Zidan (1994) wondered about the possible role of the target culture content as a motivating variable in enhancing or hindering the attainment of linguistic, communicative and, more importantly, cultural objectives of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) education. Hassan (1997) emphasized this notion when he pointed out the importance of paying attention to the translation of irony in the source language context. He clarified that this will not only transfer the features of the language translated but also its cultural characteristics.

The translator's work

These problems, and others, direct our attention to the work and the character of translators, how they attack a text so as to translate, and the processes they follow to arrive at the final product of a well-translated text in the target language.
Enani (1994:5) defines the translator as "a writer who formulates ideas in words addressed to readers. The only difference between him and the original writer is that these ideas are the latter's". Another difference is that the work of the translator is even more difficult than that of the artist. The artist is supposed to produce directly his/her ideas and emotions in his/her own language however intricate and complicated his/her thoughts are. The translator's responsibility is much greater, for s/he has to relive the experiences of a different person. Chabban (1984) believes that, however accurately the translator may delve into the inner depths of the writer's mind, some formidable linguistic and other difficulties may still prevent the two texts from being fully equivalent. Therefore we do not only perceive the differences between a certain text and its translation, but also between different translations of the same text
On the procedural level, El Shafey (1985:95) states: "A translator first analyzes the message, breaking it down into its simplest and structurally clearest elements, transfers it at this level into the target language in the form which is most appropriate for the intended audience. A translator instinctively concludes that it is best to transfer the "kernel level" in one language to the corresponding "kernel level" in the "receptor language."

Translation skills for novice translators

The present study suggests four main macro-skills for any translator who begins his/her work in the field of translation. These are: reading comprehension, researching, analytical, and composing skills. These macro-skills include many sub- or micro-skills that need to be mastered.

Reading comprehension:

While we are translating, we do not think of our activity as being broken down into phases. After doing our first translations, many automatic mechanisms come into play that allow us to translate more quickly; at the same time, we are less and less conscious of our activity.
Osimo (2001) indicates that in order to think about the translation process and to describe it, our essential task consists of analyzing its phases, even if we are aware of the fact that they do not always coincide with perceptibly different or distinguishable moments. If we want to describe a process that often is beyond the translator's own consciousness, we are forced to divide the process into different phases which, in the everyday practice of translation, can reveal the inter-twining, almost entangling, of these phases. The first phase of the translation process consists of reading the text. The reading act, first, falls under the competence of psychology, because it concerns our perceptive system. Reading, like translation, is, for the most part, an unconscious process. If it were conscious, we would be forced to consume much more time in the act. Most mental processes involved in the reading act are automatic and unconscious. Owing to such a nature-common and little-known in the same time-in our opinion it is important to analyze the reading process as precisely as possible. The works of some perception psychologists will be helpful to widen our knowledge of this first phase of the translation process.
When a person reads, his brain deals with many tasks in such rapid sequences that everything seems to be happening simultaneously. The eye examines (from left to right as far as many Western languages are concerned, or from right to left or from top to bottom in some other languages) a series of graphic signs (graphemes) in succession, which give life to syllables, words, sentences, paragraphs, sections, chapters, and texts.
Simply reading a text is, in itself, an act of translation. When we read, we do not store the words we have read in our minds as happens with data entered using a keyboard or scanner into a computer. After reading, we do not have the photographic or auditory recording in our minds of the text read. We have a set of impressions instead. We remember a few words or sentences precisely, while all the remaining text is translated from the verbal language into a language belonging to another sign system, which is still mostly unknown: the mental language.
The mental processing of the read verbal material is of a syntactical nature when we try to reconstruct the possible structure of the sentence, i.e. the relations among its elements. In contrast, it is of a semantic nature when we identify the relevant areas within the semantic field of any single word or sentence; and it is of a pragmatic nature when we deal with the logical match of the possible meanings with the general context and the verbal co-text.
The difference between a reader and a critic is negligible: the reader trying to understand has the same attitude as the critic, who is a systematic, methodical, and self-aware reader. While reading, the individual reads, and perceives what he reads, drawing interpretations and inferences about the possible intentions of the author of the message.
Holmes (1988) suggested that the translation process is actually a multi-level process; while we are translating sentences, we have a map of the original text in our minds and, at the same time, a map of the kind of text we want to produce in the target language. Even as we translate serially, we have this structural concept so that each sentence in our translation is determined not only by the original sentence, but also by the two maps—of the original text and of the translated text—which we carry along as we translate.
The translation process should, therefore, be considered a complex system in which understanding, processing, and projection of the translated text are interdependent portions of one structure. We can therefore put forward, as does Hönig (1991), the existence of a sort of "central processing unit" supervising the coordination of the different mental processes (those connected to reading, interpretation, and writing) and at the same time projecting a map of the text to be.

Novice translators as well as student translators are advised to master the following basic reading comprehension skills:

• Read for gist and main ideas.
• Read for details.
• Identify the meaning of new words and expressions using one or more components of the structural analysis clause; prefixes, suffixes, roots, word order, punctuation, sentence pattern, etc.
• Identify the meaning of new words and expressions using one ore more of the contextual analysis; synonyms, antonyms, examples, etc.
• Identify the writer's style: literary, scientific, technical, informative, persuasive, argumentative, etc.
• Identify the language level used in the text: standard, slang, religious, etc.
• Identify cultural references in the choice of words in the text.

Researching skills:

Enani (2002b) notices that "the most commonly heard advice to translators is 'if you don't know the meaning of a word, look it up in the dictionary.' It is the commonest and the vaguest insofar as the definite article suggest that the dictionary is known to both speaker and listener." He indicates that there are different kinds of dictionaries that a translator should refer to; a bilingual dictionary, a dictionary on a historical basis, dictionaries of current English, dictionaries of idioms, specialized dictionaries (dictionaries of common errors, dictionaries of idiomatic usage, slang dictionaries, technical dictionaries) encyclopedic dictionaries, dictionaries of neologisms, and monolingual dictionaries.
Despite this long list of different kinds of dictionaries, it is a single dictionary that the translator is supposed to refer to each and every time s/he translates. The choice of the best, or the most appropriate, dictionary depends on the style of the protext (original text, text before translation) and on the different types of users of the translation.
Calderaro (1998) indicates two major users of the meta text (text after translation) who may use the translated version; the specialist user and the lay user. Identifying the prospective users of the metatext is very important in the process of researching, as this will determine which kind of dictionaries the translator will refer to, which level of information should be presented and to "detect the exact moments when it is necessary to establish a balance between the scientific level of the author and the knowledge the user supposedly has."
Novice translators, as well as student translators are encouraged to use the following basic researching tips;

• Use bilingual dictionaries for looking up meanings of new words.
• Use monolingual dictionaries to check the usage of the new words in the source language and in the target language.
• Use related encyclopedias and glossary lists for specialized terms;
• Use software dictionaries if necessary and available.
• Refer to specialized magazines and journals to help you familiarize yourself with the text, particularily when it is a technical text.

Analytical skills:

The translation process is characterized by an analysis stage and a synthesis stage. During analysis, the translator refers to the prototext in order to understand it as fully as possible. The synthesis stage is the one in which the prototext is projected onto the reader, or rather, onto the idea that the translator forms of who will be the most likely reader of the metatext.
The text, according to Bell (1998) is analyzed in two ways: micro- and macro-analysis of the actual text: monitoring for cohesion and coherence, and checking for coherence between the actual text and the potential text-type of which it is a token realization. Micro-analysis has the purpose of verifying text cohesion and inner cohesion of the single units of text. Macro-analysis is aimed at checking for coherence and cohesion between the created text and the model in the category to which the text belongs. For example, if the text is an instruction booklet for a household appliance, or a story for a newspaper, often there are models for such types of text to which we frequently (consciously or unconsciously) adhere.
Such an analytic exam was necessary in order to identify the individual mental processes involved in the above-mentioned activities; we know, however, that such activities are actually carried out in very short time span. During this mental work, there is a constant shift of focus between micro-analysis and macro-analysis, between micro-expression and macro-expression, i.e. a constant comparison between the meaning of the single utterances and the meaning of the text as a whole, or, on a larger scale, a constant comparison between the sense of the specific text and the comprehensive sense of the corpus which forms the "intertext," whether or not the translator is aware of this fact. In this context, "intertext" should be understood as the intertextual universe in which a text is located.

Translators are advised to use the following strategies in the analysis stage:

• Identify beginnings and endings of ideas in the text and the relationships between these ideas.
• Identify the "best" meaning that fits into the context;
• Identify the structure in the Target Language that "best" represents the original;
• Identify transitions between ideas and the "best" connectors in the target language that represent the original.

Composing skills:

At this point, the mental construction resulting from interpretation seeks an outer expression.
Osimo (2002) suggests that, in this expression stage, there are two substages. One is aimed at expression, the other at cohesion. The translator, having finished his/her interpretative work, has two needs: first, to externalize the set of impressions caused by the text and translate into speech elements the impressions the mind produced by contact with the prototext; and second, to make this product coherent within itself, i.e., transform the set of speech elements into a text (the metatext).

He describes the passage from mental content to written text in these terms:

• pinpointing elements useful for discrimination of the content to be expressed from similar contents;
• pinpointing redundant elements;
• choice of words (lexicalization) and attention to their cohesion (inner links);
• choice of grammatical structure(s);
• linear order of words;
• parts of speech;
• sentence complexity;
• prepositions and other function words, and
• final form.

As a novice translator, or a student translator, you are invited to make use of the following basic strategies:

• Use correct word order as used in the target language.
• Use correct sentence structures as used in the target language.
• transmit the ideas of the text in clear sentences in the target language.
• Rephrase certain sentences to convey the overall meaning translated;
• Make changes to the text as a whole to give it a sense of the original without distorting the original ideas.
• Try one or more of the following strategies when facing problems of untranslateability.

1. Syntactic strategies:

• Shift word order.
• Change clause/sentence structure.
• Add or change cohesion.

2. Semantic strategies:

• Use superordinates.
• Alter the level of abstraction.
• Redistribute the information over more or fewer elements.

3. Pragmatic strategies:

• Naturalize or exoticize.
• Alter the level of explicitness.
• Add or omit information.

Conclusion

This study described the basic skills and strategies that novice translators as well as student translators need to master in their daily experiences with translation tasks. The main skills proposed are: reading comprehension, researching, analytical, and composing skills. The study suggested other sub-skills and strategies for planting one's feet firmly in the land of translation. The skills and strategies presented in this study represent just the basic level for beginners and students. However, advanced and professional translators may find them relevant as well.

References

As-sayyad, S.,M., (1995). "The problem of English Translation Equivalence of the fair names of Allah in the Glorious Qu'ran": A Contextual Study." MA thesis, Faculty of Education, Ain Shams University.
Attia, I.,M.,(1975). "A classification of some common Erodes involved in the process of Written Translation from Arabic into English and some Suggestions for Remedial Measures.", MA thesis, Faculty of Education, Al Azhar University.
Bell R. T.( 1998). Psycholinguistic/cognitive approaches. In Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies. London, Routledge.
Calderaro, Lic Denis C. (1998). "Considerations on Teaching Translation". Translation Journal, Vol 2 No. 3, July 1988. (On-line). Available: http://accurapid.com/journal/05educ.htm.
Chabban, I.,G.,(1984). "An Analysis of the techniques of translation based on some literary material translated from English into Arabic", Ph.D. thesis, Faculty of Al Alsun, Ain Shams University.
El Menoufy, A.(1982). "A Communicative Approach to Translation". Discourse Analysis: Theory and Application. Cairo :CDELT, Mar30-Apr3.
El Shafey, F.,A.,M.,(1985). "Compounding in English and Arabic, Implications for Translation Methodology" M.A Thesis, Faculty of Arts, Cairo University.
El Sheikh, A,A. (1990)."Towards a Systematic Approach to Evaluation of Translation Examinations" Teaching English : The Decade Ahead, Proceedings of the Tenth National Symposium of English Language Teaching in Egypt, CDELT, Ain Shams University, Cairo.
El Zeini, N.,T.,(1994). "Criteria for the Evaluation of Translation : A Pragma-stylistic approach". PhD. Thesis, Faculty of Arts, Cairo University
Enani, M., (1999). Graduated Exercises in Translation from Arabic to English. Cairo: Anglo Egyptian Bookshop.
Enani, M., (2000b). Dictionaries for the Translator, An Introduction. Cairo: Anglo Egyptian Bookshop.
Enani, M., (2001). English-Arabic Translation, An Introduction. Cairo: Anglo Egyptian Bookshop.
Hassan, A.,H., (1997). " Verbal Irony in Arabic and English: A Discourse Approach". MA thesis, Faculty of Education, Ain Shams University.
Holmes J. S. (1988). Translated Papers on Literary Translation and Translation Studies. Amsterdam, Rodopi,. ISBN 90-6203-739-9. cited in Osimo, B. (2000). "Translation Course" part one. On-line Book. Available: http://www.logos.it/pls/dictionary/linguistic_resources.traduzione_en?lang=en (25 April 2002).
Hönig h. G. Holmes(1991). "Mapping Theory" and the Landscape of Mental Translation Processes, in Leuven-Zwart and Naaijkens (ed.). Translations Studies: The State of the Art. Proceedings of the first James S. Holmes Symposium on Translation Studies, Amsterdam, Rodopi,. ISBN 90-5183-257-5, p. 77-89. cited in Osimo. B. (2000). "Translation Course" part one. On-line Book. Available: http://www.logos.it/pls/dictionary/linguistic_resources.traduzione_en?lang=en (25 April, 2002).
Massoud, M. (1995). "Producing Realizable Translations in a Culturally-globalized world" English Language in 2000,Proceedings of the 14th National Symposium of English Language Teaching, CDELT, Ain Shams University, Cairo.
Massoud, M.,F.,(1988). Translate to Communicate, A Guide for Translators. New York: Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data.
Osimo. B. (2000). "Translation Course" part one. On-line Book. Available : http://www.logos.it/pls/dictionary/linguistic_resources.traduzione_en?lang=en (25 April 2002)
Osimo. B. (2001). "Translation Course" part two. On-line Book. Available: http://www.logos.it/pls/dictionary/linguistic_resources.traduzione_en?lang=en 25 April 2002)
Osimo. B. (2002). "Translation Course" part three. On-line Book. Available: http://www.logos.it/pls/dictionary/linguistic_resources.traduzione_en?lang=en (25 April 2002).
Zidan, A.,T. (1994). "An Exploratory Study of the Acceptability of Target Culture content in EFL Instruction: A Cross-cultural Perspective". Global Age: Issues in English Language Education, Proceedings of the 13th National Symposium of English Language Teaching, CDELT, Ain Shams University, Cairo.
التونى, جمال(2001). فن الترجمة. ط 2 . القاهرة : دار الكاتب المصري .
الواسطى, سلمان داود.(2001)." التفاعل بين الإنسان و الآلة فى الترجمة الحاسوبية ". مجلة التعريب. العدد الرابع.(online). Available: http://www.acatap.htmlplanet.com/arabization-j/accessories/jour-4.html (Nov. 6, 2001).
خلوصى,. صفاء (2000). فن الترجمة . ط2 .القاهرة: الهيئة المصرية العامة للكتاب
عنانى, محمد(1994). فن الترجمة. ط 2 . القاهرة :الشركة المصرية العالمية للنشر- لونجمان.
عنانى, محمد(1997). الترجمة الأدبية بين النظرية و التطبيق . القاهرة : الشركة المصرية العالمية للنشر- لونجمان
عنانى, محمد(1996). المصطلحات الأدبية الحديثة . القاهرة : الشركة المصرية العالمية للنشر- لونجمان
عنانى, محمد(a2000). مرشد المترجم . القاهرة : الشركة المصرية العالمية للنشر - لونجمان
فينوتى. لورانس .(2001)." الترجمة و طرق تدريس الأدب " . ترجمة أحمد رامز قطرية . ". مجلة التعريب. العدد الرابع. (online). Available: http://www.acatap.htmlplanet.com/arabization-j/accessories/jour-5.html (Nov 6, 2001).

© Copyright Translation Journal and the Authors 2002Send your comments to the Webmaster URL: http://accurapid.com/journal/21novice.htmLast updated on: 05/03/2003 13:06:44

THE QUALITIES OF A GOOD TRANSLATOR

For translators to best achieve their task, they ought to have some particular qualities:

1. Rich Vocabulary Background

Rich vocabulary background is of extreme importance. The more you are affluent in vocabulary, the easier you understand texts, and the less you make use of the dictionary. Besides, you will not waste time thinking or seeking what word to use while translating, but will easily and quickly find the appropriate words.

It is advantageous for translators to acquire technical terms in a wide range of fields: Business, Administration, Law, Media, Politics, Computer Science, Bible, Sciences of Nature (Medicine, Botany, Zoology, Geography, Anatomy, etc.), farming, engineering, and many more.

A good translator must burn with curiosity, which should entice them to keep on learning new words.

2. Good at keeping Ideas Intact

The translator's main focus is to conserve the idea of the source text as intact as possible, and express it the simplest and clearest possible.

3. Clarity

A good translator ought to make sure the product of translation expresses the idea of the source text without ambiguity, but clearly. A translator who has really grasped the author's mind can even express the idea more clearly than it was in the source text. So translator should work in such a way that readers do not happen to read a sentence twice or more for them to understand. Rather, the meaning of the translated material must be easily and quickly understood at first reading.

4. Concision

Concision is another important quality of a good translator. Of course, concision does not imply omitting some ideas - which is a big translation error! Rather, concision must bring translator to avoid encumbering the translated text with unnecessary words. A good translator will avoid using too complicated structures where he or she can use simple and clear ones. This is because concision is meant to make comprehension easy.

5. Sense of Simplicity

Language is designed for communication. In the scope of this view, translators must regard communication as the priority. Therefore, too cumbersome structures, unnecessary words and uncommon terms should be avoided. Instead, it is advisable make use of simple - of course not poor - expressions to convey the ideas of the original text.

6. Subtlety

Subtle translators are good at dodging language difficulties. Subtlety involves wisdom and intelligence. The next chapter will describe the commonest translation techniques which help you carry out translation with the sharpest subtlety you can.

7. Eloquence

Translator should also cultivate eloquence - a capability that enables them to find the best expression which present ideas with liveliness and authenticity in the target language. Besides, translator should endeavor to process the document so that the reader cannot feel at all that the text handy is a product of translation. This should be a motto for every translator.

Reference:

Good Translation! By Michael I. Shukrani (2008 Edition).Edited and printed by:PowerBooks Production Cape Town, South Africa.

http://hosannatrans.com/goodtranslation.html

Lecture Notes: What is translation?

What is translation?

DEFINITIONS OF TRANSLATION

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 of one of the authors:

Example A1.1

How can we then go about defining the phenomenon of ‘translation’ and what the study of it entails? If we look at a general dictionary, we find the following definition of the term translation:

Example A1.2

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):
   
   Example A1.3
   

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 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.

Our threefold definition of the ambit of translation will thus be:

1. The process of transferring a written text from SL to TL, conducted by a translator, or translators, in a specific socio-cultural context.
2. The written product, or TT, which results from that process and which functions in the socio-cultural context of the TL.
3. The cognitive, linguistic, visual, cultural and ideological phenomena which are an integral part of 1 and 2.
   
   

Based on: Basil Hatim and Jeremy Munday (2004). Translation, An advanced resource book . Routledge.

Welcome to LANE 350 " Introduction to Translation”

Course Objectives:

1. Highlighting the importance of translation with special reference to the transference of technology and modern advancements in scientific disciplines;

2. Reviewing the different types and schools of translation; and

3. Introducing major problems confronted by the translator: cultural and linguistic.

The course aims to:

• Develop theoretical and practical skills for translation.
  
• Familiarize students with translation methods and approaches.


• Introduce them to different types of translation.


• Equip students with the translation tools and techniques in order to find solutions for translation problems.
  

Course Description

This introductory translation course offers students an overview of translation theory while providing practice with a variety of texts. Emphasis is given to rendering translations from English into Arabic language and vice versa in different topics related to translation practices. Basic concepts and problems in the area of Translation Studies are identified and discussed . Various modes and types of translation as well as translation strategies and techniques are also discussed. Students are familiarized with the role and functions of translator/interpreter in the process of intercultural communication.

The course has both a theoretical and practical components. Theoretical issues are illustrated by specific examples; and practical exercises are built around them. The course offers practical approaches to translation. It is based on topic areas, incorporating study of different text-types, style, use of dictionaries, text comparison, collocation, equivalents and practical hints and tips. The Internets is used both as text resource and as translation tool.

The course is a foundation as well as language-specific training in translation.

By the end of the course students should have a basic level of competence which will enable them to take on translation work with confidence.

The class format is a combination of PowerPoint presentation and group discussion. The class deals with linguistic and cultural problems which are involved in the process of translation/interpretation common to most language pairs.