11. In and Out of Languages: Translation
11.4. Theory and practice
Having had a brief look at the very complex issue of equivalence, let us take a look at an ex-ample. The example I have chosen is quite banal, since it is not only intricate sentence for-mulations and complicated ideas that present the translator with challenges. Even in the case of a text taken out of context, like the one below, it is possible to go through some of the various issues that come up in the process of translating.
The first issue is whether we are going to produce a text that reads like an original or one that reads like a translation.
The second issue is whether we can reproduce both the forms (syntax and lexis) and the ideas of the original, or whether we have to give preference to the one or the other.
The third issue is how we can retain the style of the original. This means taking into account, firstly, elements such as the characteristics of the user of the code (i.e. the kind of dialect used which would indicate age, region and social class) and secondly, elements related to the use of the code such as the relationship between the addresser and the ADDRESSEE(how formal, how polite, how personal, how accessible), the mode (spoken or written, how spontaneous, part of a monologue or a dialogue, and how private), and the function of the message. Here we also need to decide whether we can reproduce the same kind of text, and whether the act of communication has taken place in a time close to us (if not, then that will present us with further decisions to take).
The final issue is whether we can translate everything, and whether we will have to add any-thing.
11.4. Theory and practice
In this brief chapter, many aspects have had to be left out, but that is not because they are unimportant. In every case, it is relevant to know who the translation is intended for, why it is being done, under what circumstances, and between which languages and cultures.
Imagine a kitchen, where a Hungarian family is eating breakfast and talking before leaving for school or work. The mother says to a child:
Az asztal alá esett a kiflid.
Over to you – translate this into English.
Now let us look at the details together.
1 Some elements are straightforward:
Az/a= the (at least in this case)
asztal = table (the setting, the participants, the script, and the object tableare similar in an ordinary Hungarian and an English family)
2. aláis not quite as easy to find an equivalent for: undertranslates it, but how equivalent is it? Not really, since aláimplies a motion in a direction. Does the dictionary help us? The entry for aláis beneath, underneath. These are static as well, telling us about location. It seems we cannot specify the motion in our choice of preposition, this be-comes clear in English only together with the verb. The choice between underand un-derneath depends on whether we want to give the location as completely and emphatically under. Since this is not indicated, the more general underis more nat-ural.
3. Surely the verb esettwill not present a problem? The verb does not, indeed. However, the tense does. The Hungarian is in the past tense but the simple past tense is only one option in English; a more appropriate solution would be the present perfect. So what is the closest equivalent of esett?
4. Many Hungarians eat a kiflifor breakfast and do not consider this unusual. Who would have thought that such a simple object has no equivalent in English? We could call it a breakfast rollor a bread roll, but a different object comes to mind for the Eng-lish-speaker. How about croissant, vaguely reflecting the shape? Pity that croissants are made of quite different dough and are associated with France and not Hungary.
Also, if you buy a kroaszanin Hungary this is clearly not a kifli. If enough people in the English-speaking world take to eating “kiflis”, the word could come into fashion.
An English-speaking family living in Hungary may actually use kifli, but we have no information that our example is about such a relatively rare family. Perhaps a sort of Hungarian breakfast rollis the closest to an equivalent, but that would certainly make the object seem unusual, which may not be appropriate.
Example: Az asztal alá esett a kiflid.
Gloss: the table to-below fall-PAST the kifli-your
All our choices involve some sort of loss, either of meaning or of style. Our actual decision would probably be made on the basis of what the audience needs to know in the translation context.
5. Next we come to the question of whose kifliis under the table. As a general rule, Hungarian uses a suffix to indicate the possessive and English uses a separate function word, so it is not difficult to translate. Still, it does mean that we seemingly omit the second article (a) in the English translation, since the English yourserves to replace both the aand the ~d.
6. What is the relationship between the addresser (the mother) and the ADDRESSEE(the child)? In Hungarian, the use of kiflid, as opposed to kiflije, reflects the real world relationship. In the English language we need not reproduce this, but we also cannot reproduce the implication.
7. Then there is the question of word order. Hungarian allows a lot of choice in word order – although it is probably not fair to call it a free word order language. English allows less, and unusual word order is more marked. In a situation where it is de-scribing what has happened, Az asztal alá esett a kiflid is neutral. Another neutral for-mulation is possible: A kiflid az asztal alá esett. No such neutral alternative, telling us where the kifli has fallen, is possible in English. From the English version we could only tell if the emphasis is on telling us where or telling us what if this were stressed in an oral exchange.
8. Finally, let us give a summarized statement about the issues we outlined before the example. Our translation should read like an original, of a similar, informative, text type; should translate both forms and ideas; retaining the style; and allowing the omission of minor elements in the interests of sounding like an original.
11.4. Theory and practice
Having read this, take another look at your translation, at your target text. Did you take everything into account? Did I perhaps miss something? Is the translation below that tries to specifically resolve all the issues the ‘best’ one? Which translation is the closest to being an equivalent of the original text?
1. Your roll has fallen under the table
2. It is under the table that your own Hungarian crescent-shaped breakfast bread roll has fallen, my child
3. It is your bread roll that has fallen under the table 4. *The table under fell your kifli
Now look at the exercises below and re-consider the issues raised above.
Points to Ponder
1. Take a look at Trilla, written by Örkény István (in Egyperces novellák). The line:
Kicsavarja a papírt az írógépbőlis repeated four times before the poem-like story re-veals that it is about a woman. Play around with the question of how this short work could be translated into English.
2. Imagine you have to translate an entry in a Hungarian encyclopaedia into English.
Look up a few such entries and you will find that they include elements that form chains of reference. Choose an entry about a person in Hungarian history that you admire and translate it, paying particular attention to the ways in which the different people mentioned are referred to.
3. Think about situational expressions. What is the equivalent of the sign which says, No smoking, or the cautionary sign outside a house, Beware of the dog. If you begin a letter in English with the words Dear Professor Smith, would you begin the letter in Hungarian *Drága Kovács Professzor? Why?
4. Ponder the difference between written and spoken language, and translating written texts and interpreting. Can a clear line be drawn between these two activities? What sort of information about the way in which our minds process language could we get by transcribing simultaneous interpreting?
Suggested Reading
Baker, M. (1992): In Other Words: a Course-book on Translation. Routledge: London A book that helps the reader learn to translate while taking a guided tour of linguistics and considering a wide variety of actual translation examples.
Bell, R.T. (1992): Translation and Translating: Theory and Practice. Longman: London This book presents a model of the process of translation, together with a discussion of many aspects of linguistics that have been integrated into the model. Argues for seeing the clause as the unit of translation.
Klaudy, K. (2003): Languages in Translation. Scholastica: Budapest
An excellent introduction to the theoretical aspects of translation studies; it also offers a structured way of looking at actual translational transfer operations. It is a trans-lation from the original Hungarian book.
Nida, E.A. – Taber, R. (1969): The Theory and Practice of Translation. Brill: Leiden.
An important work that is interesting to read. The focus is on Bible translation.
Venuti, L. (2004): Translation Studies Reader (2nd Ed). Routledge: London and New York An excellent collection of ‘classic’ writings about translation, with a good introduc-tion to each secintroduc-tion of the book. It includes the article by Holmes referred to in this chapter.
Web-sites
http://www.anukriti.net
An interesting site. Check out the “About Translation” section which tells you more about some of the issues, and the researchers, discussed in this chapter, without going into great detail.
http://www.proz.com
This is an Internet forum where translators, interpreters and their clients can ex-change views, opinions, and experiences. It provides a way for translators to access the advice of other translators about any more or less specialist question they may have. If you do any actual translating, try it out.
Suggested Reading
rom your own experience of school, would you understand the following situation?
It takes place in a primary school in Canada between a student and the teacher of French.
Student: Can I use the stapler, Monsieur?
Teacher: Parle français! [Speak French!]
Student: But it’s not nine o’clock yet.
Why is the teacher annoyed? Why does the student think that the time is relevant to the choice of language? Although the teacher and the student know each other and are in the same place at the same time, they quite clearly think the situation is different. All of us use something that resembles a script for our everyday interactions – we know what to expect.
The teacher expects the school to be a ‘French-speaking zone’, while the student expects to speak French only once school has actually started. As we speak, we also express our own identity. In this case the teacher is asserting his authority – which the student subtly rejects.
After all, the reply could have been in French! If you start observing what happens in any conversation in your own life, you will find evidence of these kinds of scripts, and you will find examples of seemingly illogical statements that the people speaking understand without
effort. You will find out more about how this works in this chapter.
Andrea Kenesei
Pannon University, Veszprém Institute of English and American Studies
12.1. Speaking and writing – similar or different?
(1)Rita [hairdresser, recently admitted to university] (coming back to the desk): D’ y’
get a lot like me?
Frank [teacher at the university]: Pardon?
Rita: Do you get a lot of students like me?
Frank: Not exactly, no …
Rita: I was dead surprised when they took me. I don’t suppose they would have done if it’d been a proper university. (from Educating Rita by Willy Russell)
(2)Educating Rita illustrates how a comedy can also raise serious issues. One of its great-est attractions is its humour, which springs from Rita’s and Frank’s relationship and the attraction of two very different cultures and backgrounds. (from Introduction to the novel)