Translation Procedures

[A.m.ir]

Translation Procedures


I. Preparation

A. Before beginning the translation task

1. training in writing in R/L (receptor language) creatively

a. manuscript preparation and publishing

2. training in linguistics

a. discovering the features of the receptor language

b. comparing between structures of the two languages

3. training in translation principles

B. As the translator begins work on a specific translation project

1. becoming acquainted with the text

a. reading the text through several times

i. marking unclear sections

ii. understand the message intended by the author

iii. get a feel of for the style and emotional tone

2. study the background material

a. about the author

b. about the circumstances of the writing

c. about the purpose for its writing

d. about the audience of the text

e. about the culture of the S/L (source language)

f. about the historical background

g. to compare different versions of the text

h. to study linguistic matters

i. studying translated texts of the same genre

3. taking notes

a. key words

b. obscure sections

c. cultural matters and problems

II. Analysis

A. Key words

1. finding good lexical equivalence in the receptor language

2. paying attention to important words

B. Study the groupings

1. sections, chapters, opening, closing, relations between units, cohesive devices

2. they give clues concerning the theme

C. Discourse analysis

Analytical process is from large units identifying the units and the relations between them, deciding which are more prominent, then to move to the smaller units, such as paragraphs and sentences

1. identifying all EVENTS and PARTICIPANTS

2. rewrite the text in the S/L in propositions, eliminating the skewing between deep and surface structure of the source text (semantic analysis)

a. making implicit information explicit

b. eliminating the secondary and figurative meaning

III. Transfer (Process of going from the semantic structure analysis to the initial draft of the translation. It takes place in the mind of the translator)

A. Transferring meaning discovered by semantic analysis to the R/L

B. Introducing the appropriate R/L skewing

IV. Initial draft

A. Process

1. check equivalents

2. working on paragraph levels

3. composing the draft as naturally as possible

4. checking the draft for any lack of information (accuracy)

B. Things to consider

1. who will use the translation

2. the author’s purpose

3. the topic of the paragraph, theme of the larger unit

V. Reworking the initial draft

A. process

1. done when a large section of the work has been completed

2. after a week or two of the completion of the initial draft

3. read aloud through the manuscript looking for

B. Purpose

1. check for naturalness

a. wrong grammatical forms

b. places that seem too wordy

c. wrong order, awkward phrasing

d. places where connections don’t seem right and don’t flow easily

e. collocational clashes

f. questionable meanings (odd meaning)

g. style

h. anything that makes it sound unnatural and foreign

2. check for accuracy to find (by comparison with the S/L and semantic analysis) if

a. something omitted

b. something added

c. different meaning

d. zero meaning (doesn’t communicate)

3. check for theme (whether the theme comes through clearly)

a. comprehension testing

4. information load

a. volume

b. speed

c. redundancy

d. implicit information

e. explicit information

f. ambiguity

VI. Testing the translation

VII. Polishing the translation

VIII. Preparing the manuscript for the publisher



Remarks:

1- Unless the translator has done some creative writing, other than translation, it will be hard for him to write naturally in the receptor language.

2- The paragraph is probably the basic unit which the translator should focus on.

3- Translator should not make a literal translation of the rewrite. Rather, he should use it as a base and draft a translation of it which is clear and natural in the receptor language.

[A.m.ir]

Testing the Translation

Testing the Translation


I. Why test the translation

A. Accuracy (accurate)

1. no addition of meaning in restructuring

2. no omission of meaning in restructuring

3. no changing of meaning in restructuring

B. Clarity (clear)

1. communicating as easily as the S/L text to the people who are going to use it

2. the only test is with persons who are not familiar with the source text and ask questions which will show what they understand

C. Naturalness (natural)

1. the forms should be the natural idiomatic forms of the R/L

2. does it flow easily?

3. does it sound right?

II. Who does the testing

A. The translator himself

1. self-check

a. comparison

b. back-translation

2. comprehension tests

3. naturalness

a. comparing translation with texts in the R/L

b. having people read the translation

c. reading it over and over himself

B. Translation consultant

1. possible inaccuracies

2. correct use of translation principle

3. understanding the source text message

C. Tester

1. someone who checks the translation with people who are unfamiliar with the source text in order to see if it communicates clearly (using comprehension questions)

D. Reviewer

1. someone who reads through the translation and makes comments about clarity and naturalness and accuracy, and emotive content

III. How the testing is done

A. Comparison with the source text (testing accuracy)

1. careful comparison several times

2. to check for equivalence of information content

B. Back-translation into the source language (testing accuracy)

1. a bilingual makes a back-translation of the translated text into the S/L

2. it is a literal rendering used for checking purposes, and to show up the structure of the translated text, and focus on meaning equivalence

3. helps to look for differences in meaning

4. helps to look for inadequate application of translation principles

C. Comprehension checks (testing clarity)

1. to find out whether or not the translation is understood correctly by speakers of the language who have not seen the translation previously

2. to find out what the translation is communicating to the audience for whom it is Intended

3. qualifications of the tester

a. trained in translation principles

b. understand the goals of an idiomatic translation

c. know how to do the testing

d. who relates well with people

e. knows how to listen well and record accurately

4. steps in comprehension test

a. overview (retell or give summary of the material)

b. asking questions about the translated text

i. discourse style

ii. theme

iii. details

D. Naturalness (testing naturalness)

1. work done by reviewers

a. to see if the form of the translation is natural

b. to see if the style is appropriate

E. Readability testing (testing clarity)

1. process

a. reading a part of the translation aloud

b. marking hesitations

c. re-reading

2. purpose (translation should have ….)

a. pleasing style

b. good rhythm

c. moves along at an acceptable pace

d. formatting is suitable (size and type of font, punctuations, spelling..

F. Consistency checks (testing accuracy and clarity)

1. content of the translation

2. technical details of presentation

3. using key-word equivalent

4. using key phrases

5. format (spelling, punctuations, …)

IV. How the results are used in polishing the final manuscript

1. initial draft

2. second draft

3. revised draft

4. final draft

Remarks:

1. Testing should begin early in the project.

2. As the translation comes near to completion, it is very important that consistency checks of various kinds be made. Some of these checks have to do with the content and others with the technical details of the translation.

3. A back-translation is not meant to be a polished idiomatic text in the source language; rather it is a literal rendering of the translation to be used for checking purposes.


Source:
Mildred L. Larson. Meaning-Based Translation, A Guide to Cross-Language Equivalence. University Press of America, Lanham, 1984. pp.476_503
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