LINGUISTIC THEORIES OF TRANSLATION

Language Universals v. Linguistic Relativism

Science of translation
Equivalence
Semantic and communicative translation
Korrespondenz and quivalenz
Translation shifts
Discourse and register analysis

Equivalence
Roman Jakobson (1959/2000) > Equivalence in difference is the cardinal
problem of language and the pivotal concern of linguistics

Discusses equivalence at level of obligatory grammar and lexicon, for example:

gender
aspect
semantic fields

Equivalence at word level

Baker (1992) Chapter 2
Morphology lexical and syntactic
Lexical Meaning
Propositional v. Expressive meaning
Presupposed meaning
Evoked meaning
dialect geographical, temporal, social
Register field/tenor/mode of discourse
Semantic fields and lexical sets

Equivalence above word level

Baker (1992) Chapter 3
Collocation
Collocational range and markedness
Collocation and register
Collocational meaning
Idioms and Fixed Expressions

Grammatical equivalence
Baker (1992) Chapter 4
Grammatical vs. Lexical categories
The Diversity of Grammatical Categories:
Number
Gender
Person
Tense and Aspect
Voice
Word Order
Newmark (1981)
Semantic / communicative translation at level of:
Transmitter/addressee focus
Culture
Time and origin
Relation to ST
Use of form of SL
Form of TL
Appropriateness
Criterion for evaluation

Koller (1976/89)
Korrespondenz and quivalenz
Denotative equivalence
Connotative equivalence
Text-normative equivalence
Pragmatic equivalence
Formal equivalence

Vinay & Darbelnet (1977/2000)

Translation shifts
Direct translation:
Borrowing
Calque
Literal translation
Oblique translation
Transposition
Modulation
Equivalence
Adaptation
Function at the level of the lexicon, syntax and message

Linguistic theories and translation

Most of these theories are considered linguistic and are useful for teaching
translation
Most translation occurs at the linguistic level at some stage of the process
However, too much stress on linguistic levels can have negative effect at the
text level

Halliday
Functional-Systemic linguistics

Textual equivalence
Baker (1992) Chapter 5
Thematic and Information Structures
Theme and Rheme
Sentence analysis S Od Oi Cs Co Cp Adj Conj Disj
Information Structure: Given and New
 Word Order and Communicative Function

Textual equivalence
Baker (1992) Chapter 6
Cohesion
Reference
Substitution and Ellipsis
Conjunction
Lexical Cohesion

FOCUS ON THE FUNCTION OF THE TEXT

Baker (1992) Chapter 7 - Pragmatic equivalence

Reiss (1970s) Functional approach
Holz-Mntarri (1984) Translational action
Vermeer (1970s) and Reiss & Vermeer (1984) Skopos theory
Nord (1988/91) Text Analysis in Translation

Pragmatic equivalence
Baker (1992) Chapter 7
Coherence
Presupposition
Implicature
Grice's maxims of
Quantity
Quality
Relevance
Manner
Politeness

Reiss (1970s)
Functional approach
Classification of texts as:
'informative
'expressive
'operative
'audiomedial'

Reiss (1971)
Text types
Reiss > Chesterman (1989)
Text types and varieties

Holz-Mntarri (1984)
Translational action

A communicative process involving:

The initiator
The commissioner
The ST producer
The TT producer
The TT user
The TT receiver

Reiss & Vermeer (1984)

Skopos theory
Focuses on purpose or skopos of translation
Rules
1. A TT is determined by its skopos
2. A TT is an offer of information in a TC and TL concerning an offer of
information in a SC and SL
3. A TT is not clearly reversible
4. A TT must be internally coherent
5. A TT must be coherent with the ST
6. The five rules above stand in hierarchical order, with the skopos rule
predominating.

Comments on the rules

 1. Skopos theory focuses above all on the purpose of the translation. The
purpose of the TT determines the translation methods and strategies in order
to produce a functionally adequate or appropriate result.
What do we need to know in order to produce a functionally appropriate
translation?
Why is an ST to be translated?
What will the TT function be?
2. Rule 2 is important in that it relates the ST and TT to their function in their
respective linguistic and cultural contexts. Knowing the function of the TT in
its TC is as important as knowing the function of the ST in the SC.
3. What do we mean by irreversibility? The function of the TT does not always
match with the function of the ST.
4. Rule 4 refers to internal textual coherence: the TT must be interpretable as
coherent with the TT receivers situation. In other words, the TT must be
translated in such a way that it is coherent for the TT receivers, given their
circumstances and knowledge. (Munday 79)
5. Rule 5 refers to intertextual coherence or fidelity rule: this means that there
must be coherence between the TT and the ST or, more specifically, between:
the ST information received by the translator;
the interpretation the translator makes of this information;
the information that is encoded for the TT receivers.

In accordance with rule 6, i.e. the rule of hierarchical order, rule 4, i.e. intratextual
coherence, is more important than rule 5, i.e. intertextual coherence.

Advantages:
Skopos theory allows the possibility of the same text being translated in different
ways according to the purpose of the TT and the commission which is given to the
translator.
Vermeer, who extends the validity of his Skopos theory explicitly to legal translation,
provides as an example the translation of a will written in French. This may be
translated in at least two ways depending on the function it is required to perform in
the TC.
If it were addressed to a foreign lawyer dealing with the case, it would need to be
translated literally, with a footnote or comment.
If it appeared in a novel, the translator might prefer to find a slightly different
equivalent that works in the TL without the need of a formal footnote, so as not to
interrupt the reading process (cited in Munday: 80).
Following Vermeers example, the Italian jurist Sacco provides the example of a
translation of a an English thriller book to Italian; in this case, the English words
attorney and executor, for instance, can legitimately be translated into Italian
respectively with pubblico ministero and esecutore testamentario, although these
translations would sound inappropriate in a highly or medium specialized context.
(the example is reported in Garzone)

Criticisms:
The main objection to Skopos theory, especially as far as its applicability to LSP texts
is concerned, is that, at its extreme, this theory aims to the dethronement of the ST,
which is an inadmissible idea in the perspective of legal translation where the ST is
sacred writ (Garzone).
In fact, this objection also applies to literary texts (Munday).
In sum, in either case Skopos theory would not pay sufficient attention to the
linguistic nature of the ST nor to the reproduction of microlevel features in the TT.
These criticisms are tackled by another functionalist, Christiane Nord, with her
model of translation-oriented text analysis.
Nord (1988/91)
Translation-oriented Text Analysis
Nords functional approach is more detailed than Vermeer and Reisss in that it
incorporates elements of text analysis, which examines text organization at or above
sentence level.
1. The importance of the translation commission (or translation brief, as Nord
terms it);
2. The role of ST analysis;
3. The functional hierarchy of translation problems.