from one recent quotation

Any scientific investigation , both statistical and

diagrammatic, of what goes on in the brain during
the process of translating is remote and at
present, speculative.

(some linguists and translation theorists make a fetish of

diagrams, schemas, and models).
a) What happens when translators translate?

b) What is the process as it is?

 It is essential that the balance be redressed
through the systematic study of the process.

It is the process which creates the product

and it is only by understanding the process
that we can hope to improve skills as
translators.
Systematic study
of the process
The need for such a 1.
shift of attention has,
indeed, already been
argued for and we
strongly endorse the
sentiment expressed:
Part of a theory of
translation would
account for the process
of moving from original
text to mental
representation and how
it differs from the
original text.
>> continuation >>

2. We must adopt a descriptive rather than

prescriptive approach to the investigation of
the process, recognizing that the purpose of
translation theory is:

To reach an understanding of the process

undertaken in the act of translation and not to
provide a set of norms for effecting the perfect
translation.
 Orientation towards the objective
specification of the steps and stages through
which the translator works as the source text
in the original language is transformed into
the target text;

Focus on the process which creates the

translation rather than on the translation
itself.
- de Beaugrande

Warns:
it is inappropriate to expect that a
theoretical model of translation should
solve all the problems a translator
encounters. Instead, it should formulate
a set of strategies for approaching
problems and for coordinating the
different aspects entailed.
1. Be re-oriented towards description, whether
of process or product, and away from
prescription
2. Have conventions of text-linguistics which is
increasingly the most revealing way of
dealing with the product
We need to be clear with what these mean and how they fit
into the investigative process in which we are engaged.
 It is essential to distinguish between sensation
and perception; and that

The process of sensation and perception are

best explained by AGGREGATE, WHOLE, and
SYSTEM
 phenomena studied by scientists;

fed into the mind through senses;

Have boundaries put around them by the

process of perception; and

are thus converted into information-bearing

data = WHOLE
 It is the THEORY of the scientist which, when
passed on to others, is realized as a model.
 Phenomena
Are observed and
collected in the form of

DATA Whose cohesive character

is explained by a

THEORY

Which is transmitted to
MODEL others in the form of a
- Wilss

Warns:
neither psycholinguistics nor neurology
can as yet provide reliable information
on how linguistic data are stored in the
brain, how linguistic matching
procedures take place and what mental
structures are active in recalling
linguistic information.
Theories and Models

Given that, we must

be clear about what
THEORY is an explanation of a
theories and models phenomenon, the perception of
are and how they
relate to each other. system and order in something
observed. It exists in the mind,
with no tangible manifestation;
an idea which constitutes the
internal representation of a
phenomenon.
Theories and Models

THEORY
exists in the mind, with
no tangible
manifestation; an idea
which constitutes the
internal representation
of a phenomenon.
MODEL is, in contrast, an
external representation of the
explanation; a realization of the
theory. It exists as a tangible
object (a diagram, formula, or text)
which stands for the idea
embodied in the theory.
1. It must faithfully represent the theory that it
stands for.
2. It must reveal significant characteristics of
the phenomenon explained in the theory; it
should be a copy of the original
phenomenon, focusing on the essential
parts.
3. It must have heuristic function through
analogy (drawing similarities).
 A theory of translation as

1. PROCESS requires a study of information

processing, and within that, such topics as:
a) Perception
b) Memory
c) Encoding and decoding messages

*Theory of Translating
 A theory of translation as

2. PRODUCT requires a study of texts not

merely by means of the traditional levels of
linguistic analysis (syntax and semantics) but also by
making use of stylistics and recent advances in
text-linguistics and discourse analysis.

*Theory of Translated Texts

 A theory of translation as

2. Both PROCESS & PRODUCT requires the

integrated study of both and such a general
theory is, presumably, the long-term

*Theory of Translating and Translation

(ideal) the greater the conformity, the more powerful the theory

1. EMPIRICISM it must be testable

2. DETERMINISM it must be predictable

3. PARSIMONY it must be simple

4. GENERALITY it must be comprehensive

It might perhaps be more feasible to think of
DEVELOPING an APPROACH
rather than a theory
 If we adopt this plan of action,
we can draw upon considerable expertise in
applied linguistics, from which the approach,
method, technique series comes,
and produce a tentative initial list of what we
might expect from a theory of translation.
 We are in search of
an integrated, interdisciplinary,
multi-method, and multi-level approach
to the explanation of the phenomenon of
translation and we would locate the approach
within a broadly defined applied linguistics
which would embrace in addition to the learning
of:
foreign languages, lexicology and lexicography,
speech pathology, stylistics, language planning
 Inside or between languages, human
communication equals translation.

A study of translation is a study of language.

 The process of translation takes place in the
mind of the translator, given that, we have no
direct access to it, and shall be forced back
into precisely unsatisfactory kind of
description of the product which we have
been saying that we wish to avoid.
It is perfectly legitimate to build up a model on
the basis of inferences drawn from an objective
study of the product .

The development of psychology has shown a

multiple approach involving both induction and
deduction which is likely to be revealing than
using only one approach.
 What is the unit of translation?

It is the smallest segment of a source

language text which can be translated as a
whole in isolation from other segments.

SL: as small as possible and as large as

necessary author
a) What happens when translators translate?

b) What is the process as it is?