Translation procedures or techniques

(Jesús Tronch, Universitat de València)

 

There have been various names, definitions and classifications, since Vinay and Darbelnet first proposed seven methods or procedures (loan, calque. literal translation, transposition, modulation, equivalence, adaptation) in 1958.

Molina and Hurtado define translation techniques as "procedures to analyse and classify how translation equivalence works" and propose a categorization based on how they affect the result of the translation (2002, p. 509).

Translation procedures are applied by translators when they formulate an equivalence for the purpose of transferring elements of meaning from the Source Text (ST) to the Target Text (TT) (Delisle) in micro-textual units (sentences and smaller units of language).

Molina and Hurtado (507-509) distinguish translation techniques from categories such as

- translation methods: the translators’ global approach or plan of action on a given text, according to their intention 

- translation strategies: "procedures (conscious or unconscious, verbal or non-verbal) used by the translator to solve problems that emerge when carrying out the translation process with a particular objective in mind",

More than one technique or procedure can be seen in one translation, and some translations may result from a cluster of procedures that is difficult to discern.

The techniques from BORROWING to DISCURSIVE CREATION are arranged according to their relationship to translation methods, as proposed by Martí Ferriol  (2013, p. 122).  

Terms in capitals and bold are those proposed by Molina and Hurtado. Terms between curly brackets {} are those in which Delisle differs from Newmark. When the Spanish term has a form dissimilar to the English one, it appears between inverted commas “”.

 

§ BORROWING (transference, loan word, transcription; transliteration) “préstamo” = Transference a SL word to a TL. Either because the TL does not have a lexicalized correspondence, or for stylistic or rhetorical reasons. E.g football > fútbol 

PURE BORROWING 

e.g. coup d’état; noblesse oblige!, Realpolitik, “mermelada light”, “música rap”, ad hoc formulation, proper names, names of people (except the Pope and royals), The Times, American On Line,

NATURALIZED BORROWING (naturalistation, {direct transfer, “traslado”}= Adapting a SL word first to the normal pronunciation, then to the normal morphology of the TL

e.g (in French) thatchérisme; (in German) Performanz


§ CALQUE (through-translation) “calco” = Transference of a SL word or expression into the Target Text using a literal translation of its component elements> (Delisle) The literal translation of common collocations, names of organizations, the components of compounds, and perhaps phrases. E.g football > balompié

e.g. superman >Übermensch

compliments de la saison > compliments of the season

marriage de convenance > marriage of convenience

skyscraper > rascacielos


§ LITERAL TRANSLATION (formal equivalent) = rendition of a phrase or expression word for word. E.g.: They are as like as two peas > Son iguales como dos guisantes.

"The translation of the English word ink as encre in French is not a literal translation but an established equivalent." (Molina and Hurtado 510)

Word-for-word translation (Close translation)= Transferring SL grammar and word order as well as the primary meanings of all SL words

He works in the house -now > Il travaile dans la mansion maintenant

make a speech > faire un discours (collocation to collocation)


One-to-one translation (Close translation)= Each SL word has a corresponding TL word, but their primary (isolated) meanings may differ

hacer un examen > take an exam

He will soon be back > Estará pronto de vuelta


§ ESTABLISHED EQUIVALENCE (equivalence) "equivalente acuñado" = Use of a term or expression recognized (by dictionaries or language in use) as an equivalent in the TL [...]   They are as like as two peas  > Se parecen como dos gotas de agua   (Molina and Hurtado 510)  ink > encre

To substitute a TL statement for a SL statement which accounts for the same situation, even though there is no formal or semantic correspondence.

To render a set phrase [idiom, cliché, “locución”] from the SL with a set phrase from the TL which expresses the same idea, although in a different way (Delisle).

Different from modulation in that it belongs to the semantic level, not to the lexical level. It can be regarded as an extreme case of ‘modulation’.

the story so far > Résumé des chapitres précédents

The early bird catches the worm > A quien madruga Dios le ayuda

One bitten, twice shy > El gato escaldado del agua fría huye

Such hypocrisy makes me see red > Esas hipocresías me sacan de quicio

Get off your backside and do something useful! > ¡Deja de rascarte la barriga y ponte a hacer algo útil!

No parking at all times > vado permanente

You are welcome > de nada

 

recognised translation (Newmark) = Use of the official or generally accepted translation of any institutional term

Rechtsstaat> constitutional state

 

 

§ REDUCTION (implicitation, concision, omission) = Suppression of a ST information item in the TT. E.g.: Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting  > Ramadan (in Arabic)

computer science > informática

machine à laver > lavadora

 OMISSION  E.g.: Now, sirrah; what, will he come? > ¿Qué?, ¿va a venir?

{implicitation} Intended to increase the economy of the TT and achieved by not explicitly rendering elements of information from the Source Text in the Target Text when they are evident from the context or the described situation and can be readily inferred by speaker of the TL

 Be sure the iron is unplugged from the electrical outlet before filling with water > Desconectar la plancha siempre antes de llenar el depósito

The committee has failed to act > La comisión no actuó

  Reduction is in opposition to amplification.

§ LINGUISTIC COMPRESSION  Used in subtitling and simultaneous interpreting = To synthesize linguistic elements in the TT.  E.g.: Yes, so what? >¿Y?  


§ PARTICULARIZATION = Use of a more precise or concrete term.  E.g.: window  > guichet, fenêtre, devanture

 It is in opposition to generalization.

 

§ GENERALIZATION = Use of a more general or neutral term. For instance, the use of a hyperonim. E.g.: guichet, fenêtre, devanture  > window 

Functional equivalent  (Newmark) = To neutralise or generalise a SL cultural word by using a culture-free word

He was not a diplomat but a wistful major in the Life Guards > No era diplomático sino triste general del Regimiento Real de Caballería

 

§ TRANSPOSITION  (shift (Catford), {recategorization}) = A change in the grammatical category from SL to TL (singular to plural; position of the adjective, changing the world class or part of speech)

Working with you is a pleasure > Trabajar contigo… El trabajo contigo … Cuando trabajo contigo…

d’une importance exceptionnelle > exceptionally large (SL adj. + adjectival noun > TL adv. + adj.)

Tras su salida> after he’d gone out

There’s a reason for life > Hay una razón para vivir

with government support > apoyado por el gobierno

It’s getting dark > comienza a oscurecer

No tardará en venir > He will soon be back 

 

{denominalization} To transform a noun or nominal structure in the ST into a verbal structure in the TT

Some languages, such as French and German, prefer to package verb-related information in verbal nouns, whereas English prefers to use verbs, specifically action verbs. Hence we speak of {deverbalization} or {nominalization} when translating out of English into other languages (Delisle)

 

§ DESCRIPTION = Replacement of a term or expression with a description of its form or/and function. E.g.: Panettone > The traditional Italian cake eaten on New Year’s Eve 

Samurai > Japanese aristocracy from the eleventh to the nineteenth century (descriptive equivalent, for Newmark, related to expansion)

 baccalauréat > French secondary school leaving exam (functional equivalent, for Newmark)

 

§ AMPLIFICATION (explicitation, addition, paraphrase) = Introduction of details that are not formulated in the ST: information, explicative paraphrasing. E.g.: Ramadan (in Arabic) > Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting 

 explicitation  To introduce precise details into the TT for clarification (Delisle)

E.g To help resolve the basic questions of delegation > Para ayudar a resolver el problema fundamental de la delegación de poderes

 notes, additions, glosses  When the translator supplies additional information in the form of footnotes, endnote, glossaries at the end of the text, or within the text (e.g. Debrecen > the city of Debrecen, in West Hungary)

expansion {amplification} To use more words in the Target Text in order to re-express an idea or to reinforce the sense of a ST word because its correspondence in the TL cannot be expressed as concisely (Delisle)

vivificante > life-giving

penalty (in football) > tir de réparation

Yorkshire > condado de Yorkshire


 

§ LINGUISTIC AMPLIFICATION  Used in dubbing and consecutive interpreting = Addition of linguistic elements.  E.g.: No way > De ninguna de las maneras



§ MODULATION = Variation through change of viewpoint, of perspective, and very often of category of thought (Vinay and Darbelnet), change of focus (Molina and Hurtado) introducing a clarification with respect to the original formulation

Il n’a pas hésité > He acted at once

shallow > poco profundo

(positive for double negative, double negative for positive [antonymy] - modulation)

sleep in the open > dormir à la belle étoile

sleep by the fire > sentarse junto a la chimenea

La scrittura non è altro che una forma di parlare > Lo escrito no es otra cosa que una forma de hablar

(abstract for concrete - modulation)

You’re quite a stranger > No se te ve el pelo> On ne vous voit plus

The firing of cannons > El estampido de los cañones

(cause for effect - modulation)

from cover to cover > de la primera hasta la última página

(one part for another - modulation)

lebensgefährlich > danger de mort

heatlh insurance > seguro de enfermendad

À feu et à sang > a sangre y fuego

Safe and sound > Sano y salvo

(reversal of terms - modulation)

(active for passive - modulation)


§ VARIATION = "To change linguistic or paralinguistic elements (intonation, gestures) that affect aspects of linguistic variation: changes of textual tone, style, social dialect, geo-graphical dialect, etc., e.g., to introduce or change dialectal indicators for characters when translating for the theater, changes in tone when adapting novels for children, etc" (Molina and Hurtado 511)

§ SUBSTITUTION  (linguistic, paralinguistic). Used above all in interpreting. = "To change linguistic elements for paralinguistic elements (intonation, gestures) or vice versa, e.g., to translate the Arab gesture of putting your hand on your heart as Thank you." (Molina and Hurtado 511)

 

§ ADAPTATION  (cultural equivalent for Newmark)= To replace a situation of the SL by an analogous situation of the TL (when communicative situations are difficult to understand in the culture of TL, when the situation of the SL does not exist in the TL - a cultural gap- and therefore another equivalent situation has to be created)  E.g. "café" for "pint" in  I'll buy you a pint > Te invito a un café (on the assumption that coffee is the drink most Spaniards have when socializing)

To replace a socio-cultural reality from the SL with a reality specific to the Target Culture in order to accomodate for the expectations of the Target Audience (Delisle)

Dear Sir > Muy señor mío

Yours ever > Le saluda atentamente

Saria male usar quelle parole antique toscane > Sería malo servirnos de aquellas palabras que ya están fuera de uso

Dupont et Dupond (characters in Tinin) > Thomson and Thompson > Hernández y Fernández >

= A cultural SL word is translated by a TL cultural word (Newmark)

baccalauréat is translated as ‘(the French) ‘A’ level’, or Abitur as ‘(the German) ‘A’ level’

He met her in the pub > La encontró en el bar > Il l’ a retrouvée dans le café

vingt mètres derrière lui > veinte metros por detrás de él > twenty yards behind him

 

§ DISCURSIVE CREATION  ("proposal" for Deslile). = "To establish a temporary equivalence that is totally unpredictable out of context"  E.g. Rumble fish (title of a film) > La ley de la calle   (Molina and Hurtado 510)



§ COMPENSATION  "To introduce a ST element of information or stylistic effect in another place in the TT because it cannot be reflected in the same place as in the ST" (Molina and Hurtado 510).  When loss of meaning, sound-effect, metaphor or pragmatic effect in one part of a sentence is compensated in another part, or in a contiguous sentence

E.g. The French use of the pronoun tu to express familiarity between two people (as opposed to formal vous) could correspond in English to the use of a first name or nickname, or be marked by familiar syntactic phrases (ex. I’m, you’re) (Delisle).


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Translation methods and techniques (Martí Ferriol 2013, p. 122):

Literal translation method:  borrowing, calque, literal translation (including word-for-word and one-to-one translation), established equivalent

Interpretative-communicative method: modulation, variation, linguistic substitution, adaptation, discursive creation

An intermediate zone comprises techniques arranged in a logical gradation, from those that suppress linguistic elements to those that modify or amplify them (p. 123).

 

 Diagram (page 122)



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Procedures that are better understood as strategies

synonymy (Newmark) = To use a near TL equivalent to an SL word in a context, where a precise equivalent may or may not exist. This procedure is used when there is no clear one-to-one equivalent, when literal translation is not possible, and the word is not important in the text (adjectives, adverbs of quality), not important enough for componential analysis.

Personne gentile > kind person

Conte piquant > racy story

 paraphrase= Amplification or explanation of the meaning of a segment of the text. For Delisle, paraphrase is the result of amplifying a TT by replacing a word from the ST with a group of words or phrasal expression that has the equivalent sense 

componential analysis (Newmark) = To split up a lexical unit into its sense components  - > as a technique (result), it is an AMPLIFICATION


{recasting} = To modify the order of the units in a ST in order to conform to the syntactic or idiomatic constraints of the Target Text

 

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