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Translation Theories - Summary

The document summarizes several theories and perspectives on translation: - Vermeer sees translation as an action with a goal or "skopos" and a result or "translatum." The client defines needs and the translator decides on the best strategy. - Reiss identifies three text types - informative, expressive, and operative - that guide translation. - Schaffner and Munday discuss key aspects of skopos theory, including how the target text purpose can differ from the source text. - Nida distinguishes between formal equivalence and dynamic equivalence translations. The latter aims to communicate the same message to the target audience.

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526 views5 pages

Translation Theories - Summary

The document summarizes several theories and perspectives on translation: - Vermeer sees translation as an action with a goal or "skopos" and a result or "translatum." The client defines needs and the translator decides on the best strategy. - Reiss identifies three text types - informative, expressive, and operative - that guide translation. - Schaffner and Munday discuss key aspects of skopos theory, including how the target text purpose can differ from the source text. - Nida distinguishes between formal equivalence and dynamic equivalence translations. The latter aims to communicate the same message to the target audience.

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amani mahi
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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31.03.

2016

HANS J. VERMEER

SKOPOS AND COMMISSION IN TRANSLATIONAL ACTION

 Vermeer starts his theory with an incorrect idea about translational action which is that
translation is based on a source text.
 Vermeer sees translating process as an action.
 I totally agree on his idea that any action has an aim. Therefore, translational action
has an aim, too.
 Here, the aim of translational action is called as skopos.
 Then, any action has a result. Vermeer calls result of translational action(new event) as
translatum.
 In his theory, client (who needs a translation) must define his/her needs correctly to
get an accurate result from the translator.
 Translator is seen as an expert in translation field. This theory reminds me doctors in
medicine field. Translator should be able to decide the best translation strategy like
doctors do in surgical operation.
 Translator provides intercultural communication between source and target culture.
 If translation is merely a trans-coding, everyone who is bilingual, will be a translator.
So, translation is transposing the source text to the target culture.
 We must not forget that the source text is bound to source culture and the target text is
oriented towards to the target culture.

TURGAY KURULTAY

ÇEVİRMEN, ÇEVİRECEĞİ METNİ NASIL OKURSA OKUMUŞ OLUR?

YA DA ÇEVİRİ SÜRECİNDE BİR ÖN AŞAMA OLARAK 'ÇEVİRİ AMAÇLI METİN


ÇÖZÜMLEMESİ' VAR MIDIR?

 Turgay Kurultay criticizes magazines, translation studies education and educators


about not giving the value to the translation field it deserves.
 I agree with the Kurultay's view on the point that we must not see translation studies
in literary field.
 For me, text analysis is a part of the translation. Because before starting translating
process, we should understand the text completely.
 Translator must do research before starting translating process. He/She must learn
problems, norms, aims at first.
 Translator shouldn't start translating from the first word or sentence because if he/she
does like that, the text won't be smooth or it will be meaningless in the target culture.
 If a text is written for source culture reader, norms it won't be easy to translate it to the
other culture.
 Translator's decision must be coherent to the whole text.
 Translation oriented text analysis(TOTA) makes us know why the text will be
translated, who the audience is, where the text will be published etc.
 When the translator can not find word which has the same meaning in the target
language, he/she must find the closest word. Moreover, the translator should maintain
his/her decision throughout the text.

KATHARINA REISS

TYPE, KIND AND INDIVIDUALITY OF TEXT

Reiss points that interlingual translation may be defined as a bilingual mediated


process of communication.
According to Reiss' text, translator is the medium. It can means that translator is the
second sender.
It can be understood from the text that when translator translate a text, unintentional
changes may arise. This occurs because of different language structures.
Intentional changes can also appear if the aim or the audience is different from the
source text.
According to her, the conscientious translator reads the whole text first to get an
impression.
Translator should choose a text type from 3 types before beginning to formulate
his/her text.
These three types are explained below;
a) Informative type: The communication of content.
b) Expressive type: The communication of artistically organized content.
c) Operative type: The communication of content with a persuasive character.

In my opinion, these types are useful both for the translators and for the translation
studies students.

CHRISTINA SCHAFFNER

SKOPOS THEORY

 Importance of skopos from the past to the present is pointed in the text.
 It is said that the function of the text must be known by the translator.
 Schaffner talks about purpose/aim of the text, outcome of the translated
action(translatum) like Vermeer does.
 The view of a text is an offer of information in source language/culture, which
characterized again when translated to another culture.
 Like the other texts about skopos, Schaffner supports the idea that skopos of the target
text can be different from the skopos of the source text.
 Schaffner criticizes Vermeer and Reiss on their skopos theory. Schaffner argues that
skopos theory is less applicable for literary translations.
 It can be thinking again. Because skopos theory must be used for all types of
translation.
 I think change of focus in translation is good innovation. Because when you translate a
poem, you can not transfer the meaning exactly if you translate it completely source-
oriented.

JEREMY MUNDAY

SKOPOS THEORY

 Skopos theory focuses on the best result for translation.


 Vermeer and Reiss' aim is making a theory which will be general enough for all texts.
 Basic underlying rules of the theory;
1. A translatum (or TT) is determined by its skopos.
2. A TT is an offer of information in a target culture.
3. A TT does not initiate an offer of information in a clearly reversible way.
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.
 Here, there are two points I want to study on. One of them is adequacy and the other is
equivalence. We can make translation either adequate or equivalent. It is chosen in
respect of client's need and translator's decision.

EUGENE NIDA

TWO BASIC ORIENTATIONS IN TRANSLATING

 There are so many different things between languages and cultures that when we
translate a text, sometimes we can not find the equivalent word in the target language.
Even if we can find, it may not be meaningful in target language/text. So, like in the
speaking we must translate texts meaningfully. Otherwise, target language reader can
not understand the text easily. Or they may find the translation nonsense.
 In Nida's "Two Basic Orientations in Translating", Nida talks about two orientations
which one is formal equivalence and the other is dynamic. Formal, like its name, is
word to word translation. To understand these words, such a translation must have
numerous footnotes.
 In dynamic equivalence, translator must translate the text in the best comprehensible
way for target reader. This is such a way that when source language reader reads the
text and understand easily, target language reader should be able to understand the
translatum in the same way.
 Dynamic translation must be natural like source language text.
 I think the dynamic equivalence is more comprehensible for target language readers.
Moreover, in my opinion, translation is not only the language transferring process, it is
also culture transferring.
 I agree with Forster's idea on a good translation as "one which fulfills the same
purpose in the new language as the original did in the language in which it was
written."

CHRISTIANE NORD

DEFINING TRANSLATION FUNCTIONS. THE TRANSLATION BRIEF AS A


GUIDELINE FOR THE TRANIEE TRANSLATOR

 Nord talks about functionalist approaches to translation. Like the other texts Nord
summarizes action, sender and addressee.
 We can understand from this text that, translators enable communication between two
different culture.
 Your goal as a translator is providing the receiver to join the game. Also providing
him/her full comprehensible information.
 Translation brief should contain;
I. the target-text addressee
II. the prospective time and place of text reception
III. the medium over which the text will be transmitted, and
IV. the motive for the production or reception of the text.

GAMZE BAHAR UÇAR

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