The main components of the translator's activity

The main problems of untranslatability underlying translation theory. The basic subtypes of oral communication. Paying attention to the contextual and collocational nuances of the word or the phrase - one of the features of the translator's activity.

Рубрика Иностранные языки и языкознание
Вид контрольная работа
Язык английский
Дата добавления 04.03.2015
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1. The theory of translation

The theory of translation deals with the problem of untranslatability.

~ No two languages having the same phonology. It's impossible to recreate the sounds of a work composed in one language into another language.

~ No two languages having the same syntactic structure. It's impossible to recreate the syntax of a work composed in one language into another language.

~ No two languages having the same vocabulary. It's impossible to recreate the vocabulary of a work composed in one language into another language.

~ No two languages having the same literary history. It's impossible to recreate the language and literary culture of a work composed in one language into another language.

~ No two languages having the same prosody. It's impossible to recreate the prosody of a work composed in one language into another language.

2. Types of interpretation

There are 2 subtypes of oral communication (as a process of communication):

- Sequential (consecutive interpretation).

- Immediate (simultaneous interpretation).

There is another division:

Escort translation. The interpreter accompanies the person. The situation is rather friendly, no tension. He knows, what he is going to speak of, knows the place of interest, gets prepared, can chose the necessary expressions or even learn his speech by heart. The only be in the ointment is the necessity to answer the questions.

Sequential translation. It depends upn the nature of the conference. We can prepare to the conference, but the preparation will be of general kind. This happens bcos he doesn't exactly know the topic of the discussion. He doesn't know exactly, what is the lng level of the speaker. He may speak idiomatic lng. The speaker will not think of the speed. If this is an academic discussion, the translator should adopt not his speech, but his psyche to the situation. He has to use his intuition. He should adopt the personal style of the speaker. They won't forgive you, if you can't interpret a metaphor.

Immediate translation. It's done without pauses, at the same rate as the speaker talks. If the translation is done in a room with special equipment, the interpreter doesn't see the speaker. Nobody pays any attention to the style. He should know many clichйs. They make speech more idiomatic & help to think over smth.

Sight translation. It is usually done in court or at conferences. It means translating documents, that haven't been given to the translator beforehand, bcos any of the parties may consider it profitable pot to let the other party know the content of the document. The interpreter should provide a good working version of the document under the question. Sight translation can be very different; bcos the situation dominates the process. The translator may be occasionally called upon to compare the documents in SL & TL. This happens most often in case of legal documents. This is a very important task. The translator should be familiar with both cultures. Another exercise occurs when a client is overwhelmed by high amount of material in foreign lng & he invites the translator to give him the summary on the spot. In this case precision is the most important thing. In this case you are not allowed to compress. It's literal translation & the thing is that if you don't know a word & think it's necessary you may ask for recognition to use the dictionary.

Oral interpretation demands the following “shall”:

- Exceptional articulation.

- High comfort speaking level in front of the audience.- Public speaking experience.

- The ability to retain one or two points while listening to new information & then reproduce entire message.

- The ability to summarize the main points of smth being said.

- Experience in one or more technical areas.

- Complete ease in both lngs.

Interpreting can take place in the following environments:Conference. It's a case when many people discuss a topic & sometimes they do it simultaneously. People interrupt each other & the translator should keep track of the main ideas & disregard repetitions. At the same time he should look for periods of time when he can sum up the previous information to precede the further. A translator is a kind of master of ceremony.

Meeting. They are usually held in a more orderly manner. The translator may resort to simultaneous translation; bcos people will keep special pauses. You're going to discuss conditions not issues. Precision is necessary & you can discuss your clients' intentions beforehand.

Telecom. It doesn't give you the atmosphere of the conference you don't feel it. Such meetings aren't full of undercurrents, which are very important for the translator. You should listen through the lines.

OPI interpretation. Americans use it very often (24 hours a day service). The service enables the speakers to communicate by phone in a 3-way conference call, including the interpreter. This service is used mainly for business. This kind of interpretation is rather difficult. The interpreter doesn't see the speakers & isn't able to learn anything about topic of conversation beforehand. Speakers can switch over to any related theme & they may be illogical. The translator should use compressed lng bcos the speakers pay for a minute.

3. The Pros & Contras of interpretation

It almost always puts an interpreter in an extremely pressured situation. He has to cope with an utterance at a moment's notice. Nobody will take care of your feelings. Being a professional means to do a lot of troubling. Interpreting assignments are often required in the evenings, during dinners you should eat invisibly.

Interpretation requires flexibility. Intellectual flexibility: reaction should be quick & very much conclusive. Physical flexibility: should be prepared to do a lot of traveling.

A serious consideration of interpreting is a role that personality plays. Many interpreters were dismissed, bcos their personalities rubbed clients the wrong way. You should know the rules of behavior & have a very important psychological background. There are things you should not do: smth that isn't your job.

You should insist on being given preparation materials. If not, inform the client that you'll be operating at a disadvantage.

Be sure to discuss your fees ahead of time & to obtain a contract. There should also be compensation for traveling expense (“per diem”). If your preparation requires some time there also should be some kind of compensation. You should charge different fees.

Confirm that there is a difference between consecutive & simultaneous interpretation. If there are several people involved in translation then make sure what your task is.

An interpreter should be specialist in different technical fields, should possess a good reaction, should have a pleasing personality, good appearance, good manners, patience & a sense of humour.

4. Requests for professional translators

The translator should possess thorough knowledge of both cultures. A foreign culture is a matter of likes & dislikes. Lng is a living phenomenon. It doesn't exist apart from the culture. To be fully familiar with lng one should be fully familiar with culture, people using it, manners, beliefs etc.

Every translator should keep up with the growth & change of the lng to be up-to-date with all its nuances, neologisms etc. Lng is in a constant state of flexibility: words, structures change from year to year. An interpreter should tell the clients, what is appropriate & what is not.

Every translator should make a distinction between the lng one translates from & the lng one translates into. Generally speaking many translators prefer to translate from a foreign lng into their own, bcos they are familiar with it. But even years of study and experience do not necessarily enable one to be completely at ease with an acquire lng. Not so many people are good writers at their own lng. The education people get has much to be desired. Every translator should be an experienced writer in both lngs.

Every translator has to be able to translate in more than one area of knowledge. In-house translator is on the staff & translates for only one firm. Free-lancing translator is invited from time to time. He has to translate in variety of areas (at least 15). The only thing that has to be disregarded is that one should be a specialist. It's nonsense.

Every translator should be a writer & an orator.

Every translator should develop a good speed of translation. The professional translator should be prepared to persuade the client that a translation would take time. He should value his time & reputation. Every translator is paid for a word. The more words you translate per hour the more income you have (250 words per hour-- the lowest rate).

Every translator should develop research skills. He must be able to acquire referent sources, which are necessary for providing high quality translation. Without them it's impossible to provide high quality translation in variety of spheres, esp. in unrelated fields.

Every translator should keep a dictionary on him or a palmtop or a laptop. He should know how to use the media: Internet, fax etc. Every translator should keep a glossary & organize it according to his convenience.

Every translator should have the ability to learn lng once in a while. Every translator should know what the area would look like in 10years. The joint ventures are usually going to develop. Every translator should polish up the lng. Many translators divide lngs into groups. To the 1st group belong lngs that are in high demand (Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Arabic etc.). To the 2nd belong lngs having the potential for a development (Ukrainian, Pharcy etc.).

5. Aspects of translator reliability

translation oral collocational

Reliability with regard to the text.

Attention to detail. The translator is meticulous in his attention to the contextual & collocational nuances of the word or phrase he uses. A context is a background, which controls the meaning of a word or phrase. Every translator should rely upon it. Contexts & collocations should be chosen carefully, bcos some words may be used in certain context in one lng but not in another. This concerns official situation or may depend upon cultural tradition in other cases.

Sensibility to the user's needs. The translator listens closely to the user's special instructions, regarding the type of translation required, understands those instructions quickly & fully & strives to carry them out exactly & flexibly. Every translator should that the client is a person who brings him business. The results of his work are vital for the client. The translator can give advice. But if it is not accepted, he should do the job, as the client wants him to.

Research. The translator does not simply work round words he does not know, by using a vague phrase that avoids the problem of leaving the question mark where the word would go, but does careful research. The translator must be 100% sure that he knows the translation is correct. He should understand that lng is a living phenomenon & that dictionaries are not able to give all the necessary words. So the translator needs a contemporary research of the lng. For this purpose he can rely upon his guess on the context, but the result should be fine. The translator should consult specialists, who can help him.

Checking. The translator checks his work carefully & if there is any doubt he has the translation checked by an expert before delivery to the client. The translator cannot be a specialist in any sphere. If the client is not a specialist, he should look for some.

Reliability with regard to the client.

Versatility. The translator is versatile enough to translate texts outside his area of specialization. There are 15 technical areas which translator should be in. Some areas overlap, have common terminology. Every translator should possess a certain ability to analyze the context & draw conclusions from it.

Promises. The translator knows his own abilities & schedules & working habits well enough to make realistic purposes to the client regarding delivery dates & times & then keep his promises or if the pressing circumstances make it impossible to meet a deadline, calls the client & renegotiates the time frame or arranges for someone else to finish the job.

Friendliness. The translator should be friendly on the phone or in person, is pleasant to be or speak with, has a sense of humor, offers helpful advise & so on. The translator should be able to smile in any situation. Every translator should know Latin.

Confidentiality. The translator should not disclose confidential matters learned through the process of translation to third parties.

Reliability with regard to technology.

Hardware & Software. The translator should own a late model of computer, a recent version of a major word-processing program, a fax-machine, a modem & know how to use them. Every firm has a list of terminology & there are many departments that have their own codes & information systems. The translator should know how to find information that is necessary for his work & how to get access to any of the in-house systems.

6. Types of text reliability

Literalism. The translation follows the original word for word, or as close to this ideal as possible. The syntactic structure of the SL text is painfully evident in the translation. There are cases when the translator isn't allowed to give an adequate translation that will have the same function as the original. In these cases he can provide it but it'll be neither English nor Russian. The client will always say that the text is written not in his lng but in some kind of hybrid.

Foreignism. The translation reads fairly fluently, but has a slightly alien feel. One can tell reading it that it's not the original, but translation.

Fluency. The translation is so accessible & readable for the TL reader as to seem like an original in the TL. It never makes the reader stop & reflect that in fact it is translation.

Summary. The translation covers the main points or the gist of the original.

Commentary. The translation unpacks the hidden complexities of the original, exploring at length implications that remain unstated or half stated in the original. The translator should provide comments, which will make it easier for the TL reader to understand the national flavor of the idiom.

Summary-commentary. The translation summarizes some passages briefly while commenting on others. The passages that most concern the user are unpacked & the less important passages are summarized. In this case the translator should find out what the client is interested in. Then he tries to give the general idea of the text, but translates fully the passages the client is mostly interested in. Then the translator, having analyzed the lng & cultural problems of the text problems, goes on supplying comments if there is some misunderstanding. The translator supplies footnotes. When there are some cultural challenges (concerning differences in the procedures or format of the documents) the translator should provide a set of notes after the document.

Adaptation. The translation recasts the original so as to have the desired impact on the audience that is substantially different from that of the original. E.g. it happens when the adult text is adapted for TV, or advertising campaign designed to associate a product with sophistication uses entirely different images of sophistication in SL & TL. In the case of adaptation the translator should pay attention to the socio-psychological aspect of the audience for whom the translation is meant. Lng problems should also be taken into consideration.

7. Classification of the translator's memory

Immediate memory. It enables a person to remember words (or phrases) for a short period of time while you are trying to make out the meaning of this or that notion. Then another type of memory becomes responsible for these words.

Operational memory. It operates all the information a person ever gets.

Long-term memory. It comes in handy when you start translating & remember some expression or a phrase. If you train it you won't need a dictionary.

Translation is an intelligent activity, requiring creative problem solving in new textual, social & cultural conditions. This intelligent activity is most often very conscious & most of the time it is subconscious. But this subconscious activity is no less intelligent (we are not aware of it), it's no les creative, but it seems to us mysterious. And this is the mysterious mode of translation. This subconscious activity this sublimated intelligence that makes it possible to translate rapidly & reliably is the product of learning. Experience store in memory in ways that enable its effective recall & flexible use. This doesn't mean that good translators should memorize vast quantities of linguistic & cultural knowledge. At least they shouldn't do it consciously. Translation should be good at storing experiences in memory. It's important to memorize words in contexts. Then the translator should be able to recall a situation & use the word in a proper way.

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