TRANSLATION METHODS

TRANSLATION METHODS

Introduction to Translation

index

FAITHFUL

LITERAL

WORD FOR WORD

SEMANTIC

FREE

COMMUNICATIVE

ADAPT ATION

WORD FOR WORD

This type of translation keeps the SL word order; words are translated out of context, according to their most common meaning. Such kind of translation can be used as a preliminary translation step but it is not applied in real translation tasks.

EXAMPLES

literal translation

This type of translation preserves the grammatical structures of the SL where they are translated into their nearest TL equivalents. It takes place when the SL and TL share parallel structures. Words are translated out of context paying no attention to their connotative meanings.

EXAMPLES

FAITHFUL TRANSLATION

This method maintains a balance between the literal meaning of the SL word and the TL syntactic structures. It sounds more reasonable as it considers the context, aiming at producing a more precise meaning of the SL texts.

EXAMPLES

SEMANTIC TRANSLATION

Semantic translation attempts to render, as closely as the semantic and syntactic structures of the second language allows, the exact contextual meaning of the original (Newmark 1982: 39). Semantic translation aims to replicate the original texts’ forms within the target language, reproduce the original context, and retain the characters of the SL culture in the translation. A semantic translation is more source text-focused. Although, not necessarily a literal translation, it follows the source text more closely.

EXAMPLE

communicative TRANSLATION

This type of translation attempts to render the exact contextual meaning of the original text in such a way that both content and language are readily acceptable and comprehensible to the reader. It is particularly suitable when translating conventional formulae or proverbs and it involves some levels of cultural approximation. Communicative translation aspires to create the same effect created by the SL text on the TL reader.

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EXAMPLES

FREE TRANSLATION

This strategy preserves the meaning of the original but uses natural forms of the TL, including normal word order and syntax, so that the translation can be naturally understood. It preserves the content at the expense of the form, and it provides a longer paraphrase of the original. It is a form of idiomatic translation that favours colloquialisms and idioms which do not exist in the SL.

EXAMPLE

ADAPTATION

Adaptation means the modification of the idea in the source language (SL) to find an acceptable one in the target language (TL). It is necessary when something specific to one language culture is expressed in a different way that is familiar or appropriate to another language culture. It is a shift in a cultural environment.

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EXAMPLES