According to th e O xfo rd D ictio n a ry, 'to tra n s la te ' is 'to express th e sense in o r in to a n o th e r language'. But w h a t is 'th e sense' really? T ra nslating a piece o f w ritin g is n o t ju s t a question o f picking up th e fo re ig n language d ic tio n a ry and s u b s titu tin g one set o f w o rds fo r a a o th e r. A lth ough it represents th e su b s titu tio n o f a set o f w ords fro m one lexicon fo r those fro m a n o th e r, it is u ltim a te ly a fo rm o f co m m u n ica tio n , concerned, as Peter N e w m ark says, w ith tra n s m ittin g c u ltu re and tru th . For th is reason, a tra n s la tio n should o n ly be a tte m p te d a fte r th e tra n s la to r has ca re fu lly studie d th e w hole te x t, and asked h e rse lf a n u m b e r o f questions. F irstly, it is im p o rta n t th a t she considers th e purpose o f th e said te x t. In s o fa r as all w ritin g is a fo rm o f co m m u n ica tio n , does th is p a rtic u la r te x t aim - user in s tru c tio n s fo r a household appliance, fo r exam ple - sim p ly to tra n s m it in fo rm a tio n to a w o u ld -b e user? O r does it s triv e - an a d v e rtis e m e n t o r hotel brochure o r any o th e r piece o f p u b lic ity m a te ria l - to arouse in te re s t so th a t th e re a d e r w ill w a n t to buy th e p ro d u ct, o r sta y in th e hotel? O r is its purpose - like th a t o f a piece o f lite ra tu re , o r a film - to s tim u la te th e im a g in a tio n , to
inspire and to e n te rta in - as well as, perhaps, to in struct?
Once she has ascertained th e purpose o f th e te x t, th e tra n s la to r needs to consider w ho th e readers o f th e tra n s la te d te x t w ill be. The readers o f th e tra n s la tio n w ill, o f necessity, com prise a d iffe re n t g roup fro m th e readers o f th e orig in a l - b u t th e y are lik e ly to share certain ch a ra cte ristics. I f th e o rig in a l te x t was aim ed a t a w ide audience - th e 'm a n in th e s tre e t' anxious to g e t to grips w ith his new c o ffe e -m a ke r, fo r exam ple - th e n th e reade r o f th e tra n sla te d te x t is like ly to fall in to th e sam e ca te g o ry and have th e sam e expe ctatio ns. But perhaps th e o rig in a l was aim ed a t a m ore discrete and w e ll-d e fin e d g ro u p , perhaps by its style and c o n te n t it has defined its readership.
Will th e reade r o f th e tra n s la tio n be som eone w ith a good know le dge o f th e c u ltu re fro m which th e o rig in a l has sprung , o r w ill he be som eone w ith a v e ry sparse know ledge o f it? I t has been said th a t e ve ry th in g is tra n sla ta b le 'o n co n d itio n th a t th e tw o languages belong to cu ltu re s th a t have reached a com parable degree o f d e v e lo p m e n t'; how u p -to -d a te w ill he be w ith th e re q u isite technical know ledge? Balancing th e e xp e cta tio n s o f th e p o te n tia l readers w ith those o f th e w rite r is, in th is w ay, p a rt o f th e tig h tro p e w hich th e tra n s la to r tre a d s ; it w ill d icta te , fo r e xam ple, th e e x te n t to which a n n o ta tio n s and fo o tn o te s w ill be needed in th e tra n s la tio n , and th e w ay in which c u ltu ra lly -s p e c ific references and ite m s o f specialist vo ca b u la ry are (o r are n o t) tra n sla te d .
The s ty le a n d re g is te r o f th e tra n sla te d te x t should, fo r reasons o f in te g rity and coherence, m irro r th a t o f th e o rig in a l. I t w ould be m isleading if th e tra n s la to r o f a te x t w ritte n in a discursive and am using style w ere to re n d e r it ponderous in tra n s la tio n ; ju s t as it w ould be w rong fo r a tra n s la to r to o v e r-s im p lify w h a t was o rig in a lly an e ru d ite piece o f prose.
H ow ever, th is is n o t to ignore th e fa c t th a t th e re m ig h t well be instances in w hich a te x t - a w kw a rd ly w ritte n in th e o rig in a l - could be m ade m ore accessible by th e tra n s la to r. I t is a question o f ju d g e m e n t.
The style in w hich so m e th in g is w ritte n ofte n represents a large p a rt o f w h a t th e w rite r is try in g to convey, and th is is p a rtic u la rly like ly to be th e case w ith a w o rk o f lite ra tu re , such as a poem o r novel: it is n o t o nly w h a t th e w rite r is saying, b u t how she says it w hich is im p o rta n t. A llusions, d e lib e ra te a m b ig u ity , h u m o u r, parody, and language w hich contains a llite ra tio n and assonance, are likely to be fe a tu re s o f such a te x t, and to re p re se n t problem s w hich th e tra n s la to r needs to solve a p p ro p ria te ly. To th a t e x te n t, tra n s la tin g is ra th e r like doing a jig s a w puzzle. O th e r kinds o f w ritin g - a piece o f a d v e rtis in g , fo r exam ple - m ay well contain su b lim in al m essages to w hich th e tra n s la to r w ill need to be a le rt - as to any kind o f's u b - te x t'.
Reading Tests Test 2
Much tra n s la tio n is, by d e fa u lt, given to those w ith an in adeq uate grasp o f e ith e r th e source o r ta rg e t language; - and o fte n o f both. I t is fre q u e n tly ove rlo o ke d th a t th e successful
tra n s la to r needs an e xce lle n t know ledge o f th e source language and a p e rfe c t m a s te ry o f th e ta rg e t language in its te chnical and colloquial aspects. The ta rg e t language, fo r th e best results, should be her m o th e r-to n g u e bu t, as Peter N e w m ark says, m a n y tra n s la to rs who tra n s la te o u t o f th e ir ow n language 'c o n trib u te g re a tly to m any people's h ila rity in th e process.' So, fo r e x a m p le , it once happened th a t 'la sagesse n o rm a n d e ' becam e, in English, 'N o rm a n w isd o m '.
QUESTIONS 1-3
Complete the sentences below with information from the reading passage. You may use NO MORE
THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
1. Translating a text is more than m erely__________________
2. Each text whether informative, stimulating or instructive has needs to take into account.
3. The reader of Hhe translation may have only a ___________ which the origi nal comes.
QUESTIONS 4 -6
Choose the appropr^te letters A -D and write them in Boxes 4-6 on your answer sheet.
4. Anything can b>e translated, provided th a t...
A the t>wo languages are equally developed.
B the t\wo languages have similar levels of cultural development.
C the translator is up-to-date.
D the translator has the same expectations as the reader.
5. According to thje writer, it is sometimes possible to make a translation ...
A clear-er than the original.
B overl]y simple.
C humcorous.
D pondierous.
6. When translating a literary text, which one of the following is important for the translator?
A The \way in which a writer says something as much as the content.
B Sublhminal messages.
C Allusiions.
for others.
____________ that the translator
Test 2 Reading Tests
QUESTIONS 7-10
The writer mentions a number of Judgements that need to be made by the translator. Which Four of the
Judgements below are mentioned? Write your answers (A-H) in Boxes 7-10 on your answer sheet.
7. _________
8. __________
9. _________
10