TRANSLATION STRATEGIES

TRANSLATION DIFFICULTIES AND NONEQUIVALENCE SITUATIONS Prof. univ.dr. Elena Croitoru Dunarea de Jos University of Galati

Translation Strategies
1.

2.

3.

Direct transfer the same word or expression used in the TT literal translation Cultural adaptation a free (or creative) translation the use of a word/expression specific to the TLC Calque translation for compounds or phrases which are rendered element for element in the TT (most calques derive from E
and Am originals)

Translation Strategies
4. Hypernymy and hyponymy - hyperonym - the general word used for the specific one (e.g. plant for flower/lily) - hyponym - the specific word for the general one (e.g. lily for flower)
Hyperonymy frequent; hyponymy rare

5. Explicitation an explanatory tag for the TRs; text internal expansions in various degrees

Translation Strategies
6. Additions footnotes endnotes glossaries

translatorprefaces/postscripts text external: they are not part of

the text and include commentaries of specific features primarily literal, being guided by the source text and culture (Dollerup 2006: 152)

Translation Strategies

Prefaces: - free - created by the T as part of his role of a mediator between the two LCs - meant only for the TRs / audience
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Translation Strategies
7. Non-realization / omissions
omissions illogical since a text cannot omit anything (Dollerup 2006: 152) Non-realization situations: the T assumes the original word, phrase, sentence or passage will be incomprehensible to the TRs, and will require too long an explanation. Words and passages may be skipped by accident or deliberately (id.,
ibid., emphasis added)

Translation Strategies
8. Compensation - inserting sth similar/approximate at another place in the TT - related to the cultural dimension of the context - for words/expressions that cannot be rendered in the TLC - closely related to equivalence it is, to a certain extent, literal (like non-realization, it
is a free strategy)

Bakers Translation Strategies

1.

Translation by a more general word (superordinate) one of the

commonest translation strategies in nonequivalence situations, with propositional meaning:

e.g. The cream is easy to apply. This shampoo is easy to put on the hair. Wash the hair with this shampoo. This is a dry area.

Bakers Translation Strategies

2. Translation by a more neutral/less expressive word: e.g. mumble (a mormi, ndruga, bolborosi) home / house + synonyms and the Romanian equivalents - modifiers: sweet home, big house
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Bakers Translation Strategies

3. Translation by cultural substitution - replacing a culture-specific word /expression with a TL word that does not have the same propositional meaning - the same impact on the TRs the TRs will be able to identify sth familiar
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Translation by Cultural Substitution

On an individual level, the translators decision to use this strategy will largely depend on : a) how much licence is given to him/her by those who commission the translation b) the purpose of the translation.
(Baker 1992: 31)

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Translation by Cultural Substitution

On a more general level, the decision will also reflect, to some extent, the norms of translation prevailing in a given community. Linguistic communities vary in the extent to which they tolerate strategies that involve significant departure from the propositional meaning of the text.
(id., ibid., emphasis added)

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Translation by Cultural Substitution

e.g. cream tea no equiv. in other cultures
(an afternoon meal; tea and scones with jam and clotted cream; it can also include sandwiches and cakes)

(a very approximate equiv.: the Italian pastry only a type of food) bitch! It. porca (literally, the female of swine for women: unchastity (expressive meaning) conservatory green house e.g.Morning coffee is served in the conservatory (emphasis on the evoked meaning, not on the propositional one)

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Translation by Cultural Substitution

The T uses the loan word on its own, without an explanation, for the educated TR who knows the E cream-tea custom Equivalents in a back translation: - English style tea saloon (from a French text)
- cream cakes and tea (from a Japanese text) Are they really equivalents? Do they have the same meaning?

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Bakers TSs
4. Translation using a loan word or a loan word plus explanation
-

with culture specific words, modern concepts and buzz words if the loan word is repeated, it is used on its own: e.g. cream tea
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Bakers TSs
5. Translation by a paraphrase using a related word when a very frequent word in the SL is lexicalized in a different form in the TL: e.g. related to - have a kinship relation terraced gardens - gardens created in a terrace?
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Bakers TSs
6. Translation by paraphrace using unrelated words when the SL word expresses a concept which is not lexicalized at all in the TL - modifying a superordinate - unpacking the meaning of the SL word e.g. have a totally integrated operation carry
out all steps of production
(Baker 1992: 39)

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Bakers TSs

E.g. interact causally influence each other mutually areas most accessible to where human beings enter most easily
(Baker 1992: 40)

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Bakers TSs
The main advantage of the paraphrase strategy is that it achieves a high level of precision in specifying propositional meaning. One of its disadvantages is that a paraphrase does not have the status of a lexical item and therefore cannot convey expressive, evoked, or any kind of associative meaning. Expressive and evoked meanings are associated only with stable lexical items which have a history of recurrence in specific contexts. A second disadvantage is that it is cumbersome and awkward to use because it involves feeling a one-item slot with an explanation consisting of several items.

(Baker 1992: 40, emphasis added)

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Bakers TSs
7. Translation by omission when the meaning conveyed by a word or expression is not very important and distracts the reader with very long explanations a) some loss of meaning b) recommended when it does not affect fluency and readability
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Bakers TSs
8. Translation by illustration when a SL word referring to a physical entity which can be illustrated does not have an equivalent in the TL

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Difficulties in Translating Idioms

1.

2.

3.

4.

No equivalent in the TL A similar counterpart in the TL but a different context of use A SL idiom used in both its literal and idiomatic senses Different contexts of use in SL and TL

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No equivalent in the TL
e.g. Carry coals to Newcastle Merry Christmas Idioms and fixed expressions which contain culture-specific items are not necessarily untranslatable. It is not the specific items an expression contains but rather the meaning it conveys and its association with culture-specific contexts which can make it untranslatable or difficult to translate.
(Fernando and Flavell 1981: 85, emphasis added)

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A similar counterpart in the TL but a different context of use

to sing a different tune to say or do sth that signals a change in opinion because it contradicts what one has said or done before a cnta pe voci /tonuri diferite to go to the dogs - lose ones good qualities (about a person, place) a se duce de rp / pe apa Smbetei to skate on thin ice act unwisely
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A SL idiom used in both its literal and idiomatic senses

The play on idiom cannot be successfully reproduced in the TL if there is no corresponding idiom e.g. poke ones nose into othersprivate affairs a-i bga nasul n treburile altora / a se amesteca Ill cut off my (right) arm (right used for emphasis) Pigs might fly.

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Different contexts of use in SL and TL

frequent in English advertisements, promotional materials and in the tabloid press - rare in news reports e.g. get up and go (a car) after your own heart get going in/to show what you are made of
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Different contexts of use in SL and TL

its a lot more than just a pretty face its just the ticket Using idioms requires that the translator should be not only accurate but also highly sensitive to the rhetorical nuances of the language.
(Fernando and Flavell 1981: 85, emphasis added)

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Strategies used in translating idioms

1.

2.

3.
4. 5.

using an idiom of similar meaning and form using an idiom similar in meaning but with a different form translation by paraphrase translation by omission translation by compensation

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Translating idioms
Depends on:
1.
2.

3.

4.

the existence of an idiom with a similar meaning the TL; the significance of the specific lexical items making up the idiom; the appropriateness or inappropriateness of using idiomatic language in a given register in the TL; the context in which a given idiom is translated.

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1. Using an idiom of similar meaning and form

Using a TL idiom which conveys roughly the same meaning as the SL idiom and including lexical equivalent items Such a match is rarely possible e.g. to poke ones nose into other peoples business force the hand of (the president)

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2. Using an idiom similar in meaning but with a different form

High frequency e.g. one good turn deserves another (Such a species) is very much at home in this area. feel the force of ones fist to make things hot for smb

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3. Translation by paraphrase

The most common Used when a match cannot be found in the TL or when it seems inappropriate to use idiomatic language in the TT because of the differences in stylistic preferences of the SL and TL.
(Baker 1992: 74, emphasis added)

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Translation by paraphrase
e.g. to push a (another) pony past the post favour another candidate (in a back translation from French); help another competitor to reach the end of a race (in a back translation from Arabic) to get a handle on to master

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4. Translation by omission

a)
b)

c)

Used when an idiom has no close match in the TL its meaning cannot be paraphrased for stylistic reasons
(Baker 1992: 77, emphasis added)

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5. Translation by compensation
either omitting or playing down the feature of idiomacity where it occurs in the text and making up for it somewhere else in the TT

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Results

Using the typical phraseology of the TL its natural collocations, its own fixed and semi-fixed expressions, the right level of idiomacity, and so on will greatly enhance the readability of your translations.

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Results

Getting this level right means that your TT will feel less foeign and, other factors being equal, may even pass for an original.
(Baker 1992: 78, emphasis added)

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References

Baker, M. 1992. In Other Words. Croitoru, E. 1999. Translating Idioms. In British and American Studies. Croitoru, E. 2009. Idiomatic Expressions with and as Modalizers, in Interstudia, Dollerup, C. 2006. Basics of Translation Studies. Fernando, C. and Flavell, R. 1981. On Idiom: Critical Viws and Perspectives. Universiry of Exeter.qtd. in M. Baker. In other Words

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